Shooting at close to sunset time

[aam1234]

Noticed when it approaches sunset (but not very close to sunset) the photos become very soft. That happened with two different lenses, one of which is an L lens.

At 1st thought it might be cam shake, but the sun was strong enough to get 1/320+ sec. on a 200mm lens. And most were with a monopod.
Note though, all were taken near the beach, but it wasn't humid.

Anybody experienced that. What do you think the reason might be.

Thanks

[Jon]

Quite a similar reason to why you get the colours in the sky around then - the sun's at a lower angle and, in this case, it's backlighting any particulates in the atmosphere, and adding a "diffusion filter". So it's not so much the lens that's soft as it is the air.

[aam1234]

Thanks Jon,

But there wasn't any "foggy" effect or anything. It was perfectly clear to the human eye.

[Jon]

Ah, but the human eye has a better post-processor than even an Eos 1D Mk II! After all, it does colour balancing automatically and perfectly under all conditions too.

You wouldn't necessarily see "fog", there'd just be a slight loss of clarity which would show up as general softening.

[aam1234]

Thanks again. I was concerned as it was the first time I tried the L lens I received yesterday.

The funny/strange thing is that the old lens (from mid 80's) performed better in that situation. It had a UV filter though, so that might explain the difference.

[roanjohn]

examples??

Ro1

[aam1234]

Sorry Roan, I don't have any photos in the net.

[aam1234]

Just curious, does that happen everywhere or just near the beach (or any big body of water).

Thanks

[Jon]

Can happen anywhere when you're looking toward the light source, especially at a low angle. I might add, you could also be seeing the effect of light incident on the lens. Shooting with the sun to your back will, given consistent meteorological conditions, always look cleaner than with it in your face.

[EXA1a]

Noticed when it approaches sunset (but not very close to sunset) the photos become very soft. That happened with two different lenses, one of which is an L lens.

At 1st thought it might be cam shake, but the sun was strong enough to get 1/320+ sec. on a 200mm lens. And most were with a monopod.
Note though, all were taken near the beach, but it wasn't humid.

Anybody experienced that. What do you think the reason might be.

Thanks
There are many poeple in this forum who are willing to help for all kinds of problems. However, a posting like this requires sample photos and detailed info of the shots, e.g. lens, settings, filter. Was the front element really clean? Is the lens really clean inside (dust, fungi).
Without that info it's just wild guessing what might be the problem.
BTW: The term "soft" is being used (in this forum) for all kinds of not-crisp pictures, even for out-of-focus pics.

--Jens--

[aam1234]

Shooting with the sun to your back will, given consistent meteorological conditions, always look cleaner than with it in your face.

That's the case here, the sea is "east". And it wasn't really sunset. To put it in perspective, the sun sets at 6:30 pm here (almost dark) but was shooting at 5-5:30 pm.

[aam1234]

Thanks EXA1a, and sorry just saw your response.

Unfortunately I don't have any photos in the net to shaw a sample.

And you are right, the term "soft" maybe not be the most accurate one to describe those photos. It's actually worse than "soft". I think "Hazy" is a better term to describe them.

[jukas]

Thanks EXA1a, and sorry just saw your response.

Unfortunately I don't have any photos in the net to shaw a sample.

And you are right, the term "soft" maybe not be the most accurate one to describe those photos. It's actually worse than "soft". I think "Hazy" is a better term to describe them.

It's hard to guess without photo examples, but could it be as a result of where you based your exposure metering? If you can't post examples, try this... next time set your camera to M, and set the apature you want to use. Then move the camera to the left or the right of the setting sun, so that the sun isn't in the viewfinder, but the sky around it is, and take your meter reading there. Adjust your shutter speed until your in camera meter shows a correct exposure, recompose and shoot.

Obviously if it's not an exposure problem the above suggestion won't help.

[aam1234]

Hi jukas,

Wasn't shooting a sunset. The sun was at my back.

[robertwgross]

Wasn't shooting a sunset. The sun was at my back.

We just assumed that it was a sunset, since that was the topic of this thread.

---Bob Gross---

[aam1234]

We just assumed that it was a sunset, since that was the topic of this thread

Opps my fault. I'll try to change the title.

[scottbergerphoto]

I don't know if this helps, but when taking pictures at dusk I meter off of the sky that contains the colors I want without the seting sun in the viewfinder.

http://www.pbase.com/image/31578319.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/image/31578599.jpg