Problem with Sony A300

[vegas9798]

I purchased my A300 about 18 months ago . This was my first DSLR although I had shot for several years with a Minolta XG 7,so I was starting from zero as far as the Digital aspect is concerned. This is why I wasn't sure at first if I indeed had a problem or if what I was experiencing was typical of all DSLR's. I enjoy experimenting with long night exposures and from my very first attempt with my A300 I have been plagued with this "Glow" in the top corners of my extended exposure landscape shots. I have done some research and found that this appears to be the symptoms of a sensor that is overheating. So, would this be something that "Should be fixed"? By that I mean would it be economically feasible to have it repaired since I'm pretty sure that after 18 months Sony would no longer be responsible to make it good,or would I be better off just to continue using it as is and doing my best to edit out the glowing corners?

[bono]

Just some questions:

- Did the flash fire?
- Did you use a lens hood?
- Could you supply Exif-Data?

[vegas9798]

The attached was :

Shot in RAW
Expousre Time= 116 sec @ f/3.5
ISO=400
Flash was suppressed
Spot metering mode
WB=Man

This, the glowing corners,happens everytime I try shooting long exposures regardless of ISO settings etc.. The intensity is deffinitely proportional to the exposure time and only appears on the two upper corners,or in this case the right top and right bottom corners. I have taken shots in a totally blacked out room and still get this. One therory that was offered from another forum was that possibly stray light had entered through the optical viewfinder since I had not used the little plastic cover,so I used the cover and...... yep GLOWING CORNERS ! I really enjoy shooting things like star trails and while I can edit the glow out in PSE, MOST of the TIME, I'd rather not have to do so!

Thanks for any and all help in advance !

[bono]

I would try another lens just to see if that is the problem. The kit lenses are not very good in many cases so just try another one or get an old used Minolta copy from ebay. What lens are you using and do you own another lens?

And for long exposure I would set ISO to 100 and Aperture to f/11 or f/16.

[vegas9798]

First of all .....Thanks a bunch for offering your help Bono !
Yes I have the kit lens,Sony 18-70,a Sigma 70-300mm 1:4-5.6 APO DG,as well as a Sigma 105mm 1:2.8 DG Macro EX,I have tried them all as well as various stops,ISO's, I've tried EVERYTHING at least a zillion times ! My main concern at this point is the well being of my sensor. As I said, so far I have been able to edit "The Glow" out of ....most shots,I'm concerned that I my have a problem with my sensor that could progressively get worse,which doesn't appear to be happening at the present time,or could possibly have an adverse effect on other circuitry. Do you happen to know of any particular Sony web sites that may offer any info ?

[bono]

It sounds as if the Camera is damaged. So I would live with it or have it repaired. If you bought your camera in Europe you would have 2 years guarantee but in the US it is only one year.

[OsmosisStudios]

You guys are all a little crazy.

That's NORMAL. It's from the long exposure. That's almost a full 2 minutes. Almost all DSLR cameras do that and its just from being exposed so long. It is the sensor essentially overheating, but it's totally normal and affects all cameras.

There *are* ways of correcting it. One of the main ones is to take another shot with the lenscap on with the same settings and using it as a corrective frame. You can find more info from Google.

Your camera is fine.