light room

BillN_33 said:
on cold winter days i take quite a few images through the glass of a closed sitting room window ..... if you are looking for the best that you can achieve with your expensive gear such a method does cause image degradation

I have never used a UV filter on the front ...... some of my lens are worth quite a lot of £'s ...... why would I want to put a £30 piece of glass in front of them and also - some longer lens do have a UV filter as part of their design, the Nikon 600mm f4 for example ..... but it is placed at the other end of the lens ....... it is not there to protect anything
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OK, since the subject wont die! Firstly, I don't think anyone is suggesting putting a filter made of domestic window glass on the front of a pro-quality lens, so for obvious reasons taking photos through the living room window (even if freshly cleaned!) isn't a relevant comparison. Nowhere did I suggest adding a cheap/low quality UV filter onto a pro-quality lens. I use my SLR lenses (including Canon L series) on both full-frame digital and 35mm film cameras, so I opt for a UV filter, however, if it's purely a degree of additional protection/weather-proofing that's required then there are clear 'protector filters' available. A review of some of these protector filters is available on the following link, together with some hi-res comparison photos: https://www.ephotozine.com/article/hoya-hd-protector-filter-review-27554

A similar review of some UV filters of various price is available here: https://www.ephotozine.com/article/hoya-hd-uv-filter-review-27788

I think it should be born in mind that the test photos in these reviews have been deliberately taken into strong sunlight to accentuate any effects; and I believe, in all likelihood, taking shots with a lens fitted with a good-quality filter and a lens hood in most normal situations (unless you normally take your photos contre-jour) will result in an imperceptible drop (if any) in image quality. My belief appears to be echoed in one of the reviews. Unfortunately, it appears that a specific comparison shot using an unfiltered lens with a slightly dusty/smeary and/or microscopically 'cleaning-swirled', unprotected front lens element was not included in the test photos! :whistle:

Anyway, pertinent banter aside, I hope these reviews (albeit somewhat brief) are useful and will help people to make up their own mind. (y) Now back to Lightroom? :)
 
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Mr Badger said:
I hope these reviews (albeit somewhat brief) are useful and will help people to make up their own mind.
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I suggest you buy filters which have brass/metal threads rather than those with plastic threads.
 
new attempt
PAS_5153.jpg
 
An improvement but maybe your screen is calibrated differently to mine. These images are too dark, due I suggest, to trying to shoot too late in the day. You've missed the "golden Hour". Just my opinion.
 
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BrynBoru said:
An improvement but maybe your screen is calibrated differently to mine. These images are too dark, due I suggest, to trying to shoot too late in the day. You've missed the "golden Hour". Just my opinion.
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yes was just after 4pm yesterday i took them but was only chance i had due to work :(
 
Ganton Gunner said:
yes was just after 4pm yesterday i took them but was only chance i had due to work :(
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Still useful practice though; you can see that vapour trails from planes can look a bit distracting in some situations (I had one of my shots spoilt by them the other week - I should have noticed and waited for them to drift away!), and a sky with 'moody' clouds would look better in that first photo, or perhaps try a shot with more foreground and less sky from a slightly lower perspective if the sky is a bit bland (unless you are tying for a magazine cover type photo, where they need some 'bare' space to put the text on)? You can also see in the second shot that flying birds can look like spots on the sensor (or film) if the shutter speed is slow. Two good lessons there, as well as the one on the limitations of light, so time well spent. (y) (and it's a lot more than I did yesterday too!).
 
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Both are underexposed and it looks as though you have a very dirty sensor there.

Try exposure bracketing if the light meter's being fooled by lots of sky (as is the case here) or spot metering.
 
Why do you think I have a dirty sensor? I'm still new to this and not sure how to tell I have pressed clean sensor when I got the camera and maybe a week ago
 
I thought it was a small flock of birds in the sky in the second photo, blurred by a slow shutter speed... they aren't on the 1st photo? If you didn't take the lens off the camera in-between taking the two photos I think it's unlikely to be dirt on the sensor. Are those blobs and dots on any photos you took after photo 2?
 
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Dave70D said:
Set your camera on Aperture 22 and put it in manual focus then take a shot of something blue like the sky, and then it will show up.
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this picture was about 20 seconds apart from the 1 you say i have dirt on the sensor
PAS_5223.jpg
 
Mr Badger said:
I thought it was a small flock of birds in the sky in the second photo, blurred by a slow shutter speed... they aren't on the 1st photo? If you didn't take the lens off the camera in-between taking the two photos I think it's unlikely to be dirt on the sensor. Are those blobs and dots on any photos you took after photo 2?
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the pic in previous post was about 20-30 seconds apart
 
have just had a clean with my blower thing etc. just in case better safe than sorry going to clean lenses etc. ready for tomorrow im going to Sewerby Hall :D
 
and just cos i had to today cos i got sick of sitting outside in the cold and they would not come near took this with uv filter on and through a not very clean double glazed window :eek::LOL:
PAS_5248.jpg
 
Ganton Gunner said:
have just had a clean with my blower thing etc. just in case better safe than sorry going to clean lenses etc. ready for tomorrow im going to Sewerby Hall
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Try this:-
If your camera has dust on its sensor, you can spot it by doing the following:
  1. Set your camera on Aperture Priority Mode.
  2. Set your metering mode to Matrix/Evaluative Metering.
  3. Set your camera ISO to the lowest number such as ISO 100 or 200.
  4. Turn off Auto ISO.
  5. Turn off autofocus and set your lens on manual focus.
  6. Set your aperture to the largest number available for your lens by rotating the camera dial. For example, the minimum aperture on the Nikon 50mm f/1.4G is f/16, so if you were shooting with this lens, set your aperture to f/16.
  7. If you are outside, point your camera up at the clear blue sky and take a picture. If you are indoors, find plain white paper, zoom in all the way so that the paper fits the whole frame, then make sure that the lens is completely out of focus and take a picture. If you are in front of a computer, open up a text editor such as Notepad, maximize it to the screen and then get as close to the monitor as possible so that only the white color is visible in the frame. Make sure that your focus is way off (completely out of focus) – that way only dust particles will be visible.
  8. Zoom in on the image (rear camera LCD), scroll from left to right and top to bottom all over the image and see if you can find any dark spots.
  9. If you cannot see any, your sensor is clean. If you see dark spots, then your sensor has dust on it. (Or I prefer to search the image in Lightroom, which has a feature specifically to highlight dust spots.)
Anyway, they are very easy to remove using LR, so no need to panic. There are plenty of (professional) cameras around with absolutely filthy sensors, but it depends on the type of lens and aperture setting as to just how much they will show up.
You can clean the sensor, but be careful. Turn the camera upside down and blow gently. Don't want to spread any oil around! You can buy a cleaning kit and fluids, but I don't think its worth it at this stage.
Hope that helps.
 
BrynBoru said:
Try this:-
If your camera has dust on its sensor, you can spot it by doing the following:
  1. Set your camera on Aperture Priority Mode.
  2. Set your metering mode to Matrix/Evaluative Metering.
  3. Set your camera ISO to the lowest number such as ISO 100 or 200.
  4. Turn off Auto ISO.
  5. Turn off autofocus and set your lens on manual focus.
  6. Set your aperture to the largest number available for your lens by rotating the camera dial. For example, the minimum aperture on the Nikon 50mm f/1.4G is f/16, so if you were shooting with this lens, set your aperture to f/16.
  7. If you are outside, point your camera up at the clear blue sky and take a picture. If you are indoors, find plain white paper, zoom in all the way so that the paper fits the whole frame, then make sure that the lens is completely out of focus and take a picture. If you are in front of a computer, open up a text editor such as Notepad, maximize it to the screen and then get as close to the monitor as possible so that only the white color is visible in the frame. Make sure that your focus is way off (completely out of focus) – that way only dust particles will be visible.
  8. Zoom in on the image (rear camera LCD), scroll from left to right and top to bottom all over the image and see if you can find any dark spots.
  9. If you cannot see any, your sensor is clean. If you see dark spots, then your sensor has dust on it. (Or I prefer to search the image in Lightroom, which has a feature specifically to highlight dust spots.)
Anyway, they are very easy to remove using LR, so no need to panic. There are plenty of (professional) cameras around with absolutely filthy sensors, but it depends on the type of lens and aperture setting as to just how much they will show up.
You can clean the sensor, but be careful. Turn the camera upside down and blow gently. Don't want to spread any oil around! You can buy a cleaning kit and fluids, but I don't think its worth it at this stage.
Hope that helps.
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i have a dirty sensor the spots have reappeared on some pictures today same place
i have done the air blower no help :(
 
Ganton Gunner said:
i have a dirty sensor the spots have reappeared on some pictures today same place
i have done the air blower no help :(
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Go to the Develop mode in Lightroom, select the spot removal tool, (or press Q), set it to "Heal" with opacity and Feather at 100. Adjust the Size so that the tool tip covers the spot. If you're not happy with LR's selection of the sample area, click on the sample circle and drag it to a more suitable area. Also there is a handy tool to help you find dust spots. In the options under the image, checkmark visualise spots. Play around with the slider until the spots are visible. You can zoom in by pressing Control -+ (or Command-+ if have a Mac).
Press return and (hopefully) hey presto spot gone!
Hope that helps.
 
Ganton Gunner said:
i have a dirty sensor the spots have reappeared on some pictures today same place
i have done the air blower no help :(
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If you're nervous about trying a further clean with a kit, I'm sure your local professional camera shop will provide the service for a fee.
 
BrynBoru said:
If you're nervous about trying a further clean with a kit, I'm sure your local professional camera shop will provide the service for a fee.
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may have a look for a kit then don't fancy cleaning 8 spots off every pic lol
 
Ganton Gunner said:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6pcs-Sens...782720?hash=item2cb5ed3500:g:YgMAAOSw5cNYLsHc

is that any good ?
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These seem to be a bit on the cheap side, but I can't say, as I've never used them.
I use
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Photographic-Solutions-Eclipse-Cleaning-Fluid/dp/B004WBR8C6
and
https://www.calphoto.co.uk/product/...UxlZ2JgchjS--2l38DbJFKqKesZKdKDtBxlZ2JiTT65I=
+ other swabs etc.
If you are going to do heart surgery on your camera sensor, then don't skimp on the cost! Better to stick to professional products rather than risk ruining the sensor. Don't rub the sensor but clean across in a single stroke and then reverse the swab for another pass in the same direction.
Having said all that, it's not too difficult, if you use good products and don't rush it!
Plenty of advice on the web as to how to actually use these swabs etc. Google it and good luck.
 
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Ganton Gunner said:
may have a look for a kit then don't fancy cleaning 8 spots off every pic lol
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Forgot to warn you that when working at the sensor, you must lock-up the mirror. I don't know what model of camera you have, but in your set-up menu there should be a function to permit you to clean the sensor without having the mirror move back. If you have a swab stick in the camera and the mirror moves, it may damage the mechanism. Also make sure the battery is fully charged.
 
dust spots all sorted got a mate to do it for me today :D
also did some lens testing all i can say is WOW there really is some difference with lenses
 
Ganton Gunner said:
dust spots all sorted got a mate to do it for me today :D
also did some lens testing all i can say is WOW there really is some difference with lenses
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Do you mean you cleaned the camera or you cleaned up the image in LR?
 
BrynBoru said:
Do you mean you cleaned the camera or you cleaned up the image in LR?
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cleaned the sensor he has done it quite a few times to his camera's he said :)
did a check with a white screen after and all clear :D
 
bovey9 said:
The amount of times I see people with their lens hood on the camera but reversed in the stowed position is amazing. I takes seconds to turn it around
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+1

Just lazy I guess...
 
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