[hsu1]

Guys, HELP! I've just come back from testing my new Tamron 17-55 2.8 lens with my beloved K200d, and half of my photos have come back with some sort of lens flare issue! It seems to be a lot more pronounced in overexposed & long exposure shots. Is this a fault with the lens, or just down to bad technique? I was shooting with the bundled lens hood but it didn't seem to help at all. I've checked the front and back elements of the lens and it doesn't look like there's any scratches or dust at all?





I really want to love this lens but it just won't work out if all my images are going to end up like this!!

edit: no UV filters used.

edit 2: is this better placed in the lens forum? sorry, I'm a complete newb!

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Last edited by hsu1; 07-07-2009 at 06:48 AM.

[vizjerei]

The bundled lens hood won't really help since the light source looks like coming from the object you shoot. Any dust on the lens front element? if not then it really doesn't have anything you can do about it..

[Marc Sabatella]

I really want to love this lens but it just won't work out if all my images are going to end up like this!!

They won't - only (some of) the ones with bright light sources within the frame. Same as with any other lens.

[newarts]

Direct Flare I think (multiple reflection from internal lens surfaces):


I think the bright light indicated by the arrow is the cause of the flare (symmetrical with the center of the shot.)

The lens is not too bad I think; that light is probably 1,000-10,000 times brighter than the scene average. The lens coatings knocked down the internal lens reflections by a factor of 1,000 at least. Pretty good.

Dave

PS Each un-coated window glass surface reflects about 4% of light incident on it; it is usually higher for lens glasses.

[konraDarnok]

Looks like you have a UV filter attached. Ja? Take it off at night.

[philbaum]

Looks like you have a UV filter attached. Ja? Take it off at night.

I had the exact same thought. When getting flare, the first thing i check is whether i have a filter installed.

Phil

[philbaum]

Looks like you have a UV filter attached. Ja? Take it off at night.

I had the exact same thought. When getting flare, the first thing i check is whether i have a filter installed.

[jstevewhite]

I'm thinking you've got some internal reflection problems. I've shot a few images like that - long exposures with light sources in the frame - and not seen that sort of ghosting. Flare around the light source, sure, but no bizzare ghosts like that.

[mickeyobe]

I am going to be an optimist.

Could what we see possibly be the light illuminating the atmospheric haze and not a problem with the lens at all?

What happens when you shoot in daylight?

Mickey

[philbaum]

Direct Flare I think (multiple reflection from internal lens surfaces):

I think the bright light indicated by the arrow is the cause of the flare (symmetrical with the center of the shot.)

The lens is not too bad I think; that light is probably 1,000-10,000 times brighter than the scene average. The lens coatings knocked down the internal lens reflections by a factor of 1,000 at least. Pretty good.

Dave

PS Each un-coated window glass surface reflects about 4% of light incident on it; it is usually higher for lens glasses.

Dave,
I think you've got it right. I wouldn't normally take a delayed exposure like this with the highlights so blown. I'd try the lens on other subjects before giving up on it. Looks like the lens is sharp enough.

[hsu1]

Thanks guys. I'm a lot more at ease now. My initial thoughts were that the cause of the flare was the large floodlights as per your explaination Dave. But then later on in the night that weird ghosting / flare thing happened again during the second shot which got me worried - that scene was pretty far away, surely the fires couldn't be causing any lens flare!!? That's when I started examining the glass for scratches, damage etc. I'm still really worried, but more testing is in order I guess!

Another shot with the problem:



And there's definately no filters attached to the lens!! It is a mystery!!

[Marc Sabatella]

It's not a mystery. Again, bright lights directly in the field of view can do this with any lens. How far away the light is is irrlevant - if it's bright and in or near the field of view, you've got a potential flare situation. It won't always happen to the extent of those examples, but will depend on your angle to the light, the exposure (the flare is a lot dimmer than the lights, so it disappears if you expose darker), etc. Google the term "lens flare" and you'll see all sorts of discussions and examples. Including a bright light source within the picture is a recipe for trouble, and zooms will generally be affected more than primes, because they tend to have more elements.

[newarts]

Thanks guys. I'm a lot more at ease now. My initial thoughts were that the cause of the flare was the large floodlights as per your explaination Dave. But then later on in the night that weird ghosting / flare thing happened again during the second shot which got me worried - that scene was pretty far away, surely the fires couldn't be causing any lens flare!!? That's when I started examining the glass for scratches, damage etc. I'm still really worried, but more testing is in order I guess!

Another shot with the problem:



And there's definately no filters attached to the lens!! It is a mystery!!

I think maybe there are two very bright lights flanking the entrance to the Ferris Wheel in the positions indicated by the yellow lines I drew.

Or equally likely, two UFOs.

A Dave of Ames

[hsu1]

Thanks everyone! What a relief to know that it's down to my bad technique rather than a defect lens!

[simico]

On your first pic it's a UFO scanning the ferris-wheel