Is my lens bad?

[l bo]

First off great forum!

Well I was taking some night shots for the first time and noticed some disturbing reflections that appeared on the images. These are horrible pics and I need an attatchment to prevent wobble when snapping shots on the tripod, especially at night with a telephoto lens. I was just "playing" and learning on my new Canon Rebel 300D. There is a HUGE learning curve that I am still on the bottom of.

Is this reflection normal? Or do I have an issue with the lens? It "appeared" clean and no problem with other shots taken. What do you guys think? Note the "glows" that appear in the sky, also not sure if using the proper terms to describe camera settings, please correct if wrong.

Focal Lenght 300mm/f5.6/100ISO/Tv 20 http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y231/Donny1994/SurfFishTournSpring05036a.jpg


Focal Length 300mm/f5.6/100ISO/Tv 25 http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y231/Donny1994/SurfFishTournSpring05040a.jpg


Focal Length 300mm/f5.6/100ISO/Tv 25 http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y231/Donny1994/SurfFishTournSpring05039b.jpg

Thanks in advance.

[soupdragon]

Just looking at the light trails it is almost certainly camera shake.

If you want to test your lens, (simple but effective) mount your camera on a tripod and take a picture of a news paper page.

[rammy]

Agree with soupdragon. Blatantly obvious on the third image, you can actually see the path that the camera took whilst the shutter was open.

I have taken some pretty good images at night time with my 300D and Kit lens so can't say it is that. Has to be your tripod probably. Try placing the camera on a wall or other sturdy object AND use the timer or remote or cable release. Do not under any circumtances try and press the shutter yourself when taking night shots, remote control of some kind is best. Switch camera to AV, dial in F16 or smaller and trip the shutter for atleast 30 seconds, if not a minute. Stand well back.

BTW - Was it windy?

I have also found that the firmware hack and MLU gives an even better result :D

[DavidEB]

The fringes around the bright lights do look like camera shake, as soupdragon says, but the extra lights floating in the sky suggest that there might be something else here, too.

In the first image the faint ghost images in a near-horizontal row about 1/3 of the way from the top of the frame look like internal lens reflections, maybe reversed left-right, from the bright lights at bottom. Similarly, the multicolored UFO-like things in the sky in the second and third image look like internal lens reflections. Most lenses have a hard time photographing small bright lights against a dark background and off-axis flares are not unusual.

It also looks like your lens has some chromatic aberration, which is also common in long lenses. CA is most obvious at high-contrast edges (lights against dard sky, tree branches in sillouette, etc), and is greatest off-center. I'd like to get my hands on a 400mm DO lens just to see if it really eliminates CA, as canon claims.

I agree that you should repeat the shot using a tripod, and also a cable release. If your rebel has the hacked software, use mirror lockup to further eliminate vibration. Take the same shot at a variety of f-stops - most lenses show less internal reflection when stopped down a bit. Take a similar shot with another lens you respect, and see how they compare (if the other lens is shorter, move closer).

Newspaper shots in even illuminatino can demonstrate the sharpness of a lens in general but are not good tests for either flare or chromatic aberration. But they are very difficult to interpret away from the center focus point unless you have a means of ensuring that the image plane is absolutely parallel to the wall. A flare test requires something like the type of conditions you have used.



Good luck,


David

[Andy_T]

I assume that TV 25 means that the shutter speed was 1/25 second.

According to the 'rule of thumb', you should either use a shutter speed of 1/500 at that focal length or put the camera on a tripod (with mirror lockup and self timer).

Best regards,
Andy

[kawter2]

ISO100 ???????????????????? WHY?

[cfcRebel]

I use timer (and tripod) to take night shots because I don't have remote or shutter release cable. You can try that too.

[l bo]

Thanks for the tips guys. LOL I was using a tripod, and it's somewhat decent I guess. No doubt I need a remote or cable release , or set a timer.


In the first image the faint ghost images in a near-horizontal row about 1/3 of the way from the top of the frame look like internal lens reflections, maybe reversed left-right, from the bright lights at bottom. Similarly, the multicolored UFO-like things in the sky in the second and third image look like internal lens reflections. Most lenses have a hard time photographing small bright lights against a dark background and off-axis flares are not unusual.

That's what I was thinking. So this is normal? The lens is a EF 75-300mm 1:4-5.6 and have had it for a while with my 35mm film Canon rebel.

I assume that TV 25 means that the shutter speed was 1/25 second

Actually 25 seconds

I just got the Rebel about 1 month ago so I haven't hacked anything yet. Still learning the settings and first time I really took ny pics at night.

ISO100 ???????????????????? WHY?

Because I am an idiot. Didn't think of it when I was taking the pics. I thought low ISO for low loght and higher ISO for high speed shots with a lot of light? Again, still learning so thanks for the input.

[Titus213]

No doubt I need a remote or cable release , or set a timer.

I can't even afford a cable release so I use the 10 second delay for night shots. Granted I can't go over 30 seconds but it doesn't get THAT dark around here. And granted the mirror still contributes but that's the best I can do right now.

Idiot? No, just someone learning. If you don't learn anything here I'll let you call yourself an idiot. As much as most of these guys hate to admit it they weren't born with this knowledge either.:lol:

[Tom W]

If you're using a filter, lose it for these types of shots. Also, stop down just a bit (maybe 2/3 stop) to get rid of the ghosting.

Use ISO 400; the 300D does well there. That'll let you get a reasonable shutter speed. Follow the advice of others and use the timer. Make sure your tripod is steady and solid.

[kawter2]

I can't even afford a cable release so I use the 10 second delay for night shots. Granted I can't go over 30 seconds but it doesn't get THAT dark around here.

Use Mirror lock up and it is only a 3min delay ;)

[Andy_T]

3 sec actually :wink:

Were the pictures taken outside?
In (slightly) windy conditions, 25 seconds is a very long time.
Especially with 300 mm.
Also, your pressing the shutter and the mirror slap surely contributed a lot to the blur.

And if you have any filters in front of your lens ... remove them for night shots. I found that out when I did night shots with my Tamron 28-75/2.8 with Hoya SMC filter and my 18-55 kit lens without filters and the pictures from the kit lens came out a lot better :shock:

Best regards,
Andy

[clicky]

The flares comes from reflections in your lens, "cheap" lenses often have these faults, the problem tends to be larger the more zoom (and glass) the lens has, atleast before you consider any really expensive L-enses. The only remedy is another lens preferably a prime, but you could try diffrent ranges, maybe the problem is less visible at another range?

ISO 100 should be OK, but then again - a 25 sec exposure with 300 mm in windy conditions demands a tank of a tripod. Use as low ISO as possible 'cause long exposures on high ISO would give you alot of noise. Use the lock-mirror and selftimer/remote shutter release to avoid any camera-shake.

[kawter2]

3 sec actually :wink:




HAHAH im the idiot now!!! lololol

[ed2day]

The reflections (ghosting) are common problems with night shots and bright lights. More so with digital cameras. I'm talking about the slight light spots in the sky(partic. 2nd pic). Take off the UV filter if you have one. Coated UV filters are better for this problem.

[mr.photoguy]

Night Shots, with a 300mm lens...
Are you serious.
You would need a remote release, and a heavy stable tripod, and would get affected or moved by wind.
Try to get closer, and use a wide angle, or medium zoom lens.