Home › Forums › Photography Q&A › Aberration or artifacting lens problem
- This topic has 5 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 2 years, 2 months ago by William Frazer.
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December 27, 2021 at 4:37 pm #67678William FrazerParticipant
Hello and Merry Christmas, everyone.
I was shooting this little Christmas tree in our house, and I noticed a rather annoying problem. You can see quite a bit of artifacting, produced, I believe, by the lens being used.
The use of a lens hood changed nothing. The only lights around were the lights on the tree.
Is there anything I can do about this? (before post)Metadata
Camera:
Nikon D3100
Exposure mode: Manual
White balance: Auto
Exposure compensation:±0
File format: RAW/NEF
Shutter speed: 15 sec
Aperture: f/2.8
ISO value: 100
Metering: PatternLens:
Sigma 70-200mm 2.8
Optical Stabilization: Off
Focal length: 105 (35mm film)December 27, 2021 at 7:45 pm #67681David FrazerParticipantI believe what you are seeing is called ghosting. The dots of light correspond to a vertically and horizontally reflected image. So a point of light in the top left would “ghost” to the bottom right. Incidentally, I can tell from this image that the centre of the lens is not in the centre of the image. This could be because it was cropped just a bit on the top and right, or it could be that the lens is slightly off-centre (not a dramatic problem, by the way).
Ghosting is a common problem with UV filters, but can also occur with the actual lens, especially older lenses without the fancy coatings. Did you have a UV filter on when taking the picture?
December 27, 2021 at 8:43 pm #67683William FrazerParticipantDid you have a UV filter on when taking the picture?
No. Just a clear protective filter
I can tell from this image that the centre of the lens is not in the centre of the image.
No, the image is not cropped. But the Christmas tree is not centered on the image, either. Would that make a difference?
December 28, 2021 at 9:54 am #67685Ezra MorleyModeratorNo. Just a clear protective filter
That is almost surely the problem. Try removing it, and the problem should be greatly diminished.
December 28, 2021 at 12:22 pm #67687James StaddonKeymasterYup! I had a similar problem the other day. Since I was photographing toward a direct light source, and that light source was not in the very center of the frame, I got lens flare. I took the protective UV filter off, and it solved the problem. Same exact photo, taken with the filter (left), and without the filter (right).
January 3, 2022 at 12:55 pm #67985William FrazerParticipantThanks, everyone, for the ideas!
@buddingphotographer, I never even thought of that.
I’ll be trying again. -
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