Dane Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 So tonight I took my Nikon D3100 out to do some long exposure of traffic. However on some pictures I took notice to ghosting, and a green reflection. I'll post some pictures before to show you guys. I put on a Sunpak PlatinumPlus 52mm UV Filter. I think it's multicoated. first picture: second: Is this because of the UV filter? If I put a polarizer on it, would that be better instead? I took a picture zoomed in of a light inside, no reflection, zoomed out, no reflection. This Picture turned out ok, no reflections. Other pictures have like one spot of ghosting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djnv2010 Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 it's an alien spacecraft, lol!! sorry, had to! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dane Posted January 10, 2011 Author Share Posted January 10, 2011 it's an alien spacecraft, lol!! sorry, had to! LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I8PP Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 I'd say it's the filter. Using a polarizer at night gains nothing. Go back to the same spots as pictures 1 and 2 and retake the shots exactly (ISO, aperture, shutter etc) but don't put on any filter to confirm. In the second shot, the green appears to me as an opposite reflection of the curve of traffic you are capturing. Alternatively, try shining a flashlight directly at the lens (filter on) in a dark environment while keeping your settings the same as the original. The difference between the first two shots with green streaks and the 3rd one is the third one does not have the headlights shining directly towards the lens, which may explain why there doesn't appear to be any green flaring. Or you missed the mothership that time... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dane Posted January 10, 2011 Author Share Posted January 10, 2011 I'd say it's the filter. Using a polarizer at night gains nothing. Go back to the same spots as pictures 1 and 2 and retake the shots exactly (ISO, aperture, shutter etc) but don't put on any filter to confirm. In the second shot, the green appears to me as an opposite reflection of the curve of traffic you are capturing. Alternatively, try shining a flashlight directly at the lens (filter on) in a dark environment while keeping your settings the same as the original. The difference between the first two shots with green streaks and the 3rd one is the third one does not have the headlights shining directly towards the lens, which may explain why there doesn't appear to be any green flaring. Or you missed the mothership that time... Just tried with a flashlight with the filter, and yes there is a green reflection...hmmm I guess it's not multicoated? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I8PP Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Just tried with a flashlight with the filter, and yes there is a green reflection...hmmm And without the filter... i would presume clean. Otherwise you got some issue with the lens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dane Posted January 10, 2011 Author Share Posted January 10, 2011 And without the filter... i would presume clean. Otherwise you got some issue with the lens. Without it, the green is gone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I8PP Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Without it, the green is gone Well there you go. Just goes to show that putting more glass in front of your glass can degrade image quality :) (but i still do anyways... can't go damaging my 17-55 2.8 now :p) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dane Posted January 10, 2011 Author Share Posted January 10, 2011 Well there you go. Just goes to show that putting more glass in front of your glass can degrade image quality :) (but i still do anyways... can't go damaging my 17-55 2.8 now :p) Yeah thats why I bought it too, to protect the lens, most of my pictures will be in the daylight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yusuf M. Veteran Posted January 10, 2011 Veteran Share Posted January 10, 2011 In case you're still wondering, that green streak is caused by the internal reflection of the UV filter. The light passing through the UV filter's anti-reflective coating is reflected onto the surface of your lens. When you take a picture, the sensor picks up that reflection as a green streak. Take off the UV filter or use one that doesn't have anti-reflective coating to get rid of the green streak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dane Posted January 10, 2011 Author Share Posted January 10, 2011 In case you're still wondering, that green streak is caused by the internal reflection of the UV filter. The light passing through the UV filter's anti-reflective coating is reflected onto the surface of your lens. When you take a picture, the sensor picks up that reflection as a green streak. Take off the UV filter or use one that doesn't have anti-reflective coating to get rid of the green streak. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkyDX Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Kinda unrelated but I think these pics look great and the green stroke, while unwanted looks nice too! :p Somehow your shots give me a Gran Turismo 5 feeling :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dane Posted January 10, 2011 Author Share Posted January 10, 2011 Kinda unrelated but I think these pics look great and the green stroke, while unwanted looks nice too! :p Somehow your shots give me a Gran Turismo 5 feeling :) Haha thanks. It took me awhile to find an empty parking lot with no one around. The rest of them are at http://www.flickr.com/photos/danegre/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazzy88ss Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Yea I get the same thing w/ my UV filters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 In most cases you can imagine UV/Clear filters are useless in digital photography and as you already saw cheap filters do degrade picture quality. With that said, don't use UV filters at all unless you really need to (which is almost never and besides "protecting" your lens - protecting a cheap lens with a cheap filter? please don't!) and use any other filters only when you really need them (like pola, ND, GND, etc). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazzy88ss Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Yea but when I have 300 pound guys crashing into me on the basketball court, I want something to protect my $2000 lens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HawkMan Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 well make sure it's a quality filter maybe first party, since I've heard only Nikon and Canon actual plane their filters, not sure how true this is though, could be "old" truth from a previous gen photographer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazzy88ss Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Not sure what the filter is (don't feel like pulling it out, maybe a Hoya?) but it was about $65. Been just fine for me. I also shoot stock photos for places like iStockphoto & Shutterstock. They're really anal about quality and there's never been any issues due to filters on my lenses. Some of my smaller filters are as cheap as $30. *shrug* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Argote Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Yea but when I have 300 pound guys crashing into me on the basketball court, I want something to protect my $2000 lens. A $2000 lens is well worth an investment into a top quality filter. A kit lens or even a $300 lens?? Maybe not. HOYA HMC filters are good, check this out: http://www.lenstip.c...troduction.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 How a protection filter would protect your lens from a 300 pound guy is beyond me. :s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Argote Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 How a protection filter would protect your lens from a 300 pound guy is beyond me. :s Yeah that would double as an anti-mugging protector. Now I can go and shoot at night in the bad neighborhoods... haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazzy88ss Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 How a protection filter would protect your lens from a 300 pound guy is beyond me. :s Yeah that would double as an anti-mugging protector. Now I can go and shoot at night in the bad neighborhoods... haha. Did you guys even read the post? Says "on the basketball court" .... Protect the glass while they crash into me/making me drop the lens etc... Either that was a really bad joke... or.... :/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
remus_lupin Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 I also shoot stock photos for places like iStockphoto & Shutterstock. They're really anal about quality and there's never been any issues due to filters on my lenses. Some of my smaller filters are as cheap as $30. *shrug* Have you personally made any significant amount of money taking stock photos for those sites? I am sure it takes time and not all the pics sell, but overall and over the duration of time you have been doing that, have you sold much? As well could you possibly post an example or two of some shots you have done for those sites?... I would actually like to get into that, I am certain I already have everything needed to do decent work (other than a dedicated flash - which I am looking into) and I may enjoy it as a hobby to my hobby. sorry for going a bit off topic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 I did read it, I just don't find it believable that a piece of extra glass would provide any kind of protection, at all. In fact it could only make it worse if the filter bends and gets stuck on your lens (read the stories all over the intrawebs). Front elements are much harder to break than people might think. Compared to thin filters, they are made of thick and tempered glass and are usually curved which gives them even more strength. Front elements are rarely in group with any other glass inside the lens, and for a good reason, they are easier to replace. Surely, the larger the element, the easier it will be to break, but you still will have a hard time doing so. If you drop your lens, don't worry about the glass, worry about the dinky plastic housing that will cost you a fortune to replace. Filters will always break, even those unbreakable Hoya filters will break if struck from a side, which is what happens in most cases when a lens falls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazzy88ss Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 Have you personally made any significant amount of money taking stock photos for those sites? I am sure it takes time and not all the pics sell, but overall and over the duration of time you have been doing that, have you sold much? As well could you possibly post an example or two of some shots you have done for those sites?... I would actually like to get into that, I am certain I already have everything needed to do decent work (other than a dedicated flash - which I am looking into) and I may enjoy it as a hobby to my hobby. sorry for going a bit off topic I made over $1000 last year doing it. A lot of it is for fun/learning. I obviously didn't quite my day job to do it. Also, probably 70% of my sales come from stock video I take w/ my D90. So my D90 paid for itself. I did read it, I just don't find it believable that a piece of extra glass would provide any kind of protection, at all. In fact it could only make it worse if the filter bends and gets stuck on your lens (read the stories all over the intrawebs). Front elements are much harder to break than people might think. Compared to thin filters, they are made of thick and tempered glass and are usually curved which gives them even more strength. Front elements are rarely in group with any other glass inside the lens, and for a good reason, they are easier to replace. Surely, the larger the element, the easier it will be to break, but you still will have a hard time doing so. If you drop your lens, don't worry about the glass, worry about the dinky plastic housing that will cost you a fortune to replace. Filters will always break, even those unbreakable Hoya filters will break if struck from a side, which is what happens in most cases when a lens falls. Eh, I guess. I'd rather not chance/test it. And the other thing is, I have done tests with filter/no filter and cannot tell a difference. There's a few rare circumstances where my first filter on my old 50mm f1.8 D would get the same green reflections, but none of the newer ones I've purchased have had this effect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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