Canon has finally released a statement on the black spot problem that some Canon EOS 5D Mark II users were experiencing.

As we reported on 15 December, the black dots problem had been picked up by our sister title Amateur Photographer where the tech team noticed that black dots
appear next to highlights of long exposure images taken on the
full-frame DSLR.

There is also an issue with noice banding in some images.

Here’s Canon’s statement:

‘To Owners of the EOS 5D Mark II Digital SLR Camera

Thank you for using Canon products.

We have learned that some users of the Canon EOS 5D Mark II
digital SLR camera have identified two types of image quality phenomena
that appear under certain shooting conditions.

1. “Black dot” phenomenon (the right side of point light sources becomes black)

2. Vertical banding noise

We are currently investigating and analysing the causes, and
examining measures to reduce or eliminate these phenomena by providing
correction firmware. An announcement will be made on the Canon website as soon as measures have been determined.

Details of the phenomena and shooting conditions under which they are likely to occur are as follows.

1. “Black dot” phenomenon (the right side of point light sources becomes black)

When shooting night scenes, the right side of point light sources (such
as lights from building windows) may become black. The phenomenon may
become visible if the images are enlarged to 100% or above on a monitor
or if extremely large prints of the images are made.

2. Vertical banding noise

If the recording format is set to sRAW1, vertical banding noise
may become visible depending on the camera settings, subject, and
background.

• Vertical banding noise is not noticeable if the recording format is set to sRAW2.

• Vertical banding noise does not occur if the recording format is set to RAW or JPEG.

• Noise can be reduced if C.Fn II-3: Highlight tone priority is set to 0: Disable.

Canon apologizes for any inconvenience caused and thanks photographers for their patience.