Pentax-DA 560mm F5.6 ED AW
Flare and Ghosting
For the flare test we did these four tests:
- Shooting directly into the sun
- Keeping the sun right outside of the image (but not blocked by the lens hood),
- Shooting close to the sun but shielding it by the lens hood, and
- Shooting a traditional back-lit scene
Other tests we performed showed that the DA 560mm lens even with the hood extended allows for full-frame (24 x 36 mm) shooting so the hood is not as long and narrow as it could have been was it designed purely for the APS-C format.
Shooting into the sun |
Shooting right next to the sun |
Keeping the sun shielded by the lens hood |
Backlit scene |
Verdict on Flare and Ghosting
Flare is an issue if the sun rays hit the front element of the lens even if the sun itself isn't captured by the sensor. There is no flare or ghosting in normal backlit situations. Chromatic aberrations are easy to spot when flare occurs; the lens's simple optical formula is likely in part responsible for this.