Faulty equipment or faulty photographer? (K-x)

mamba909 · 02-13-2010, 08:16 PM

Hey all,

DSLR newbie here. I took quite a few flower photos today, and when I got back and took a look at them on my computer, I couldn't help notice that a lot of them looked a little hazy/fuzzy with some of the flowers having a sort of glow around them. I'm not sure whether I have faulty equipment (camera, lens, UV filter, etc.) or I'm the one at fault. I've provided a sample image here:

Here's some details about the photo:

- Shot hand-held with the kit lens (DA L 18 - 55mm) at 55 mm, 1/1000 s, F/5.6, ISO 200

- Shake Reduction enabled (not sure whether or not it was activated at the time the shutter was fully depressed)

- I used the center focus, half click, recompose method (my preferred method that I picked up while using my p&s and bridge cameras)

- I have a Hoya HMC UV(c) filter on the lens

- All in-camera filters are off

The full size version is available on flickr for you to analyze.

A nice side effect of this problem is that it gives my photos a slightly dreamy look.

Well, any ideas/advice/feedback for this DSLR n00b is appreciated!

P.S. I hope this is in the right section. Mods, I apologize if it is not in the right section and please move it to where you see fit.

Thanks in advance, and I hope that this thread creates some constructive discussion and not "oh noes teh K-x is a faulty caemra!!!1" nonsense.

Wheatfield · 02-13-2010, 08:35 PM

You have quite a nice picture there.
I want you to Google "Depth of Field" and learn about the interaction of aperture to what ends up in focus in a picture.
You don't have a defective camera, you have a very good eye and have, by what appears to be a lucky accident, used selective depth of field as a compositional device.

mamba909 · 02-13-2010, 08:50 PM

Thanks for the feedback, Wheatfield. I really appreciate it. However, I feel like there's more to it than that. If you view the photo at its original size, you can see that there's a bit of haziness/fuzzyness at the part that is in focus. Also, there's a "glow" around the edges of the petals and plant.

Is this just a property of the kit lens at telephoto and wide open? Or is this just normal and am I just freaking out because I'm not used to this shallower DoF? Have I started my descent into pixel peeping???

Oh, and thanks for the comments, Wheatfield. =)

enoeske · 02-13-2010, 08:57 PM

No, that doesn't look normal. It looks a lot like the lens is getting fogged up from condensation or something.

Few Q's:

Are you moving from extreme temperature to another extreme temperature such as warm indoors and cold outdoors?

Have you tried shooting without the filter?

Have you tried stopping the lens down to f/8 or f/11 in that same bright light?

mamba909 · 02-13-2010, 09:11 PM

Hmm, you might be on to something there, enoeske. It's been a little hazy around Southern California; we had quite a bit of rainfall three days ago. Today was in the mid-seventies... and you know what... I do have a habit of keeping my hand over the lens opening while walking around. Also, I did remove and replace the lens cap quite often. Perhaps that's what caused the fogging up.

Well, I'm going to try shooting without the filter tomorrow and at different apertures and compare the results.

flockofbirds · 02-13-2010, 10:03 PM

My DA II 18-55 (same optical formula as the DAL) is soft (glows) wide open at 55mm as well. I think its normal for the lens and it goes away when you stop it down a bit.

Nothing to worry about.

Andi Lo · 02-13-2010, 10:07 PM

Yeah that's just 18-55 being 18-55... stop down a bit and shoot at 50mm ish (instead of 55) and you'll get better results

enoeske · 02-13-2010, 10:29 PM

I had to dig through some real old stuff to find some shots with 55mm @ f/5.6. My da II never glowed at 55mm. The OP isn't normal behavior unless he's shooting in some bad weather conditions. Under normal circumstances, the kit lens is reasonably sharp even wide open.

mamba909 · 02-13-2010, 11:04 PM

Heh heh, thanks for the info, flockofbirds and Andi. I'm gonna try shooting the same plant tomorrow at different f-stops with and without the filter on and see what I get.

enoeske, thanks for digging through your archive. Yeah, I'm not seeing any softness in those shots.

Maybe I should also note that I'm not getting any softness/hazyness/glowing in indoor or low light shots.

mamba909 · 02-13-2010, 11:44 PM

I'm posting another sample. To me it seems like it's in focus, but it has a more extreme case of glowing.

Another person I asked thinks that it might be the result of SR being enabled. I've always assumed that SR only kicks in when the shutter speed demands it. Does it always kick in when it's enabled?

distudio · 02-14-2010, 01:31 AM

Originally posted by mamba909

I'm posting another sample. To me it seems like it's in focus, but it has a more extreme case of glowing.

Another person I asked thinks that it might be the result of SR being enabled. I've always assumed that SR only kicks in when the shutter speed demands it. Does it always kick in when it's enabled?

It looks pretty normal, very high contrast with the lens wide open, no surprises.

SR is in effect when it's switched on and the hand symbol appears in the VF regardless of shutter speed.

Diffusion · 02-14-2010, 02:07 AM

Originally posted by mamba909

I'm posting another sample. To me it seems like it's in focus, but it has a more extreme case of glowing.

Hmm, never quite experienced this myself, but I stopped shooting with the kit lens a long time ago. Wide open it is just not that good.

Originally posted by mamba909

Another person I asked thinks that it might be the result of SR being enabled. I've always assumed that SR only kicks in when the shutter speed demands it. Does it always kick in when it's enabled?

SR will always be active if enabled, never mind the shutter speed.

I would borrow someone else's lens to see if the problem goes away.

netrex · 02-14-2010, 03:19 AM

Remove the UV filter, no need for it, just be careful. Also, with a shutterspeed of 1/1000th, you'll be hard pressed to make a blurred photograph from moving the camera unless you really tried to, so turn off shake reduction.

Try shooting at 55mm and f/5.6 (wide open) at various focus distances, very close, medium distance and far off to see if there is a difference in image quality.

alaricxyz · 02-14-2010, 03:48 AM

Maybe there's a smudge in front of your lens. :-)

Nass · 02-14-2010, 04:31 AM

Looks most like condensation to me. Was the wind still?

02-13-2010, 08:16 PM	#1
mamba909 Pentaxian Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: L.A. County, CA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 405	Faulty equipment or faulty photographer? (K-x) Hey all, DSLR newbie here. I took quite a few flower photos today, and when I got back and took a look at them on my computer, I couldn't help notice that a lot of them looked a little hazy/fuzzy with some of the flowers having a sort of glow around them. I'm not sure whether I have faulty equipment (camera, lens, UV filter, etc.) or I'm the one at fault. I've provided a sample image here: Here's some details about the photo: - Shot hand-held with the kit lens (DA L 18 - 55mm) at 55 mm, 1/1000 s, F/5.6, ISO 200 - Shake Reduction enabled (not sure whether or not it was activated at the time the shutter was fully depressed) - I used the center focus, half click, recompose method (my preferred method that I picked up while using my p&s and bridge cameras) - I have a Hoya HMC UV(c) filter on the lens - All in-camera filters are off The full size version is available on flickr for you to analyze. A nice side effect of this problem is that it gives my photos a slightly dreamy look. Well, any ideas/advice/feedback for this DSLR n00b is appreciated! P.S. I hope this is in the right section. Mods, I apologize if it is not in the right section and please move it to where you see fit. Thanks in advance, and I hope that this thread creates some constructive discussion and not "oh noes teh K-x is a faulty caemra!!!1" nonsense.

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02-13-2010, 08:35 PM	#2
Wheatfield Moderator Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: The wheatfields of Canada Posts: 15,981	You have quite a nice picture there. I want you to Google "Depth of Field" and learn about the interaction of aperture to what ends up in focus in a picture. You don't have a defective camera, you have a very good eye and have, by what appears to be a lucky accident, used selective depth of field as a compositional device.

02-13-2010, 08:50 PM	#3
mamba909 Pentaxian Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: L.A. County, CA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 405 Original Poster	Thanks for the feedback, Wheatfield. I really appreciate it. However, I feel like there's more to it than that. If you view the photo at its original size, you can see that there's a bit of haziness/fuzzyness at the part that is in focus. Also, there's a "glow" around the edges of the petals and plant. Is this just a property of the kit lens at telephoto and wide open? Or is this just normal and am I just freaking out because I'm not used to this shallower DoF? Have I started my descent into pixel peeping??? Oh, and thanks for the comments, Wheatfield. =)

02-13-2010, 08:57 PM	#4
enoeske Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Surprise, Az Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,136	No, that doesn't look normal. It looks a lot like the lens is getting fogged up from condensation or something. Few Q's: Are you moving from extreme temperature to another extreme temperature such as warm indoors and cold outdoors? Have you tried shooting without the filter? Have you tried stopping the lens down to f/8 or f/11 in that same bright light?

02-13-2010, 09:11 PM	#5
mamba909 Pentaxian Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: L.A. County, CA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 405 Original Poster	Hmm, you might be on to something there, enoeske. It's been a little hazy around Southern California; we had quite a bit of rainfall three days ago. Today was in the mid-seventies... and you know what... I do have a habit of keeping my hand over the lens opening while walking around. Also, I did remove and replace the lens cap quite often. Perhaps that's what caused the fogging up. Well, I'm going to try shooting without the filter tomorrow and at different apertures and compare the results.

02-13-2010, 10:03 PM	#6
flockofbirds Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Oregon, USA Photos: Gallery Posts: 178	My DA II 18-55 (same optical formula as the DAL) is soft (glows) wide open at 55mm as well. I think its normal for the lens and it goes away when you stop it down a bit. Nothing to worry about.

02-13-2010, 10:07 PM	#7
Andi Lo Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia Posts: 2,924	Yeah that's just 18-55 being 18-55... stop down a bit and shoot at 50mm ish (instead of 55) and you'll get better results

02-13-2010, 10:29 PM	#8
enoeske Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Surprise, Az Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,136	I had to dig through some real old stuff to find some shots with 55mm @ f/5.6. My da II never glowed at 55mm. The OP isn't normal behavior unless he's shooting in some bad weather conditions. Under normal circumstances, the kit lens is reasonably sharp even wide open.

02-13-2010, 11:04 PM	#9
mamba909 Pentaxian Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: L.A. County, CA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 405 Original Poster	Heh heh, thanks for the info, flockofbirds and Andi. I'm gonna try shooting the same plant tomorrow at different f-stops with and without the filter on and see what I get. enoeske, thanks for digging through your archive. Yeah, I'm not seeing any softness in those shots. Maybe I should also note that I'm not getting any softness/hazyness/glowing in indoor or low light shots.

02-13-2010, 11:44 PM	#10
mamba909 Pentaxian Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: L.A. County, CA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 405 Original Poster	I'm posting another sample. To me it seems like it's in focus, but it has a more extreme case of glowing. Another person I asked thinks that it might be the result of SR being enabled. I've always assumed that SR only kicks in when the shutter speed demands it. Does it always kick in when it's enabled?

02-14-2010, 01:31 AM	#11
distudio Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Sydney Photos: Albums Posts: 450	Originally posted by mamba909 I'm posting another sample. To me it seems like it's in focus, but it has a more extreme case of glowing. Another person I asked thinks that it might be the result of SR being enabled. I've always assumed that SR only kicks in when the shutter speed demands it. Does it always kick in when it's enabled? It looks pretty normal, very high contrast with the lens wide open, no surprises. SR is in effect when it's switched on and the hand symbol appears in the VF regardless of shutter speed.

02-14-2010, 02:07 AM	#12
Diffusion Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 74	Originally posted by mamba909 I'm posting another sample. To me it seems like it's in focus, but it has a more extreme case of glowing. Hmm, never quite experienced this myself, but I stopped shooting with the kit lens a long time ago. Wide open it is just not that good. Originally posted by mamba909 Another person I asked thinks that it might be the result of SR being enabled. I've always assumed that SR only kicks in when the shutter speed demands it. Does it always kick in when it's enabled? SR will always be active if enabled, never mind the shutter speed. I would borrow someone else's lens to see if the problem goes away.

02-14-2010, 03:19 AM	#13
netrex Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Alta Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 279	Remove the UV filter, no need for it, just be careful. Also, with a shutterspeed of 1/1000th, you'll be hard pressed to make a blurred photograph from moving the camera unless you really tried to, so turn off shake reduction. Try shooting at 55mm and f/5.6 (wide open) at various focus distances, very close, medium distance and far off to see if there is a difference in image quality.

02-14-2010, 03:48 AM	#14
alaricxyz Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Laoag City Photos: Gallery Posts: 44	Maybe there's a smudge in front of your lens. :-)

02-14-2010, 04:31 AM	#15
Nass Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The British Isles Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,402	Looks most like condensation to me. Was the wind still?