Shot noise[edit]
The dominant noise in the lighter parts of an image from an image sensor is typically that caused by statistical quantum fluctuations, that is, variation in the number of photons sensed at a given exposure level. This noise is known as photon shot noise.[5] Shot noise has a root-mean-square value proportional to the square root of the image intensity, and the noises at different pixels are independent of one another. Shot noise follows a Poisson distribution, which is usually not very different from Gaussian.
In addition to photon shot noise, there can be additional shot noise from the dark leakage current in the image sensor; this noise is sometimes known as "dark shot noise"[5] or "dark-current shot noise".[11] Dark current is greatest at "hot pixels" within the image sensor. The variable dark charge of normal and hot pixels can be subtracted off (using "dark frame subtraction"), leaving only the shot noise, or random component, of the leakage.[12][13] If dark-frame subtraction is not done, or if the exposure time is long enough that the hot pixel charge exceeds the linear charge capacity, the noise will be more than just shot noise, and hot pixels appear as salt-and-pepper noise.