Lens Vignetting: what is it and how to overcome it?
“Lens vignetting”, “Light Fall-off” or simply “Vignetting” is a problem that is associated with the darkening of the frame at its corners. This is typically most common with fast lenses such as f/2 or even faster when shot using its widest aperture. For those who have experience shooting with old film cameras and are now changing to digital SLRs, they may identify with this problem a little more as these older film SLRs had this typical problem more often. Today’s professional DSLR cameras often correct this problem internally, but technically vignetting is a problem that remains and it is very difficult and expensive to manufacture super fast lenses which has absolutely no vignetting at all.
Lens Vignette Example
Vignetting is a problem that affects more of the full frame cameras than the cropped cameras. Say if you are using something like an EOS 5D Mark III, you are bound to get affected by vignetting when shooting with a fast EF lens. Lenses which has a wide aperture such as f/2 or anything above that is bound to get affected with the problem of vignetting. However mount the same lens on to a cropped body say a 7000D and magically vignetting is gone! Why this happens? This is rather simple actually. The cropped sensor only uses the central part of the image when compared to the full frame bodies. As such the corners which mostly gets affected by vignetting are avoided in the frame..
Having said that vignetting can be worked around and for some users a slight bit of vignetting is not going to be a problem most of them times. Some people even like it to have in their picture. For professional photographers however, who want absolutely nothing but the best, vignetting is not at all tolerable. So, how to get rid of vignetting on a fast lens without having to necessarily shift to a more expensive piece of glass? Many photographers have used ingenious methods to counter vignetting on their full frame bodies. Circular polarizers have been one of the many accessories that have been used with some success. Circular polarizers (and not the linear ones) are a bit pricey but they do the job of allowing the light to enter through the lens in a particular angle. That in itself reduces the problem of vignetting to some extent.
Graduated neutral density filters can also suppress the problem of vignetting to some extent. Graduated neutral density filters (also known as Grad ND filters) are suitable when you want to suppress the brightness of the sky or the Sun against a foreground that is not so bright. They also serve the purpose of providing a good suppression for the problem of vignetting as they suppress the top or the bottom part of the frame (as per the direction you hold the filter over the lens). However Grad ND filters cannot compensate the problems in all four corners of the frame. A circular polarizer may be more suitable for that purpose. There are many colored Grad ND filters available that are used to put a bit of color to the otherwise bland frame, say if you want to warm up the sky in the final frame. These is also suitable for the purpose of warding off vignetting.
Graduated Neutral Density Filters: How to Use them
Even if you’re using a DSLR, the lighting of your foreground and your background are not always perfect. Using optical filters like graduated neutral density filters can help you balance the contrast between your foreground and your background. Usually, this is used to tone down a background that is too light, or a foreground that is too dark. The key is to use a graduated ND filter properly that the photo still looks natural. If you’re a landscape photographer, graduated ND filters should be staples in your accessories kit.
Neutral Density (L) vs Graduated Neutral Density (R) Filters
What they are essentially
If you’ve never seen a graduated ND filter before, the simplest way to describe them would be darker pieces of glass which you put over your lenses so that the distribution of light is more evenly done. There are also neutral density filters which are of just one tone, and these are usually used to tone down the general brightness of a scene. However, graduated neutral density filter is darker on one end, and it gradually goes lighter as the glass reaches the other end of the rim. It is best for you to purchase graduated density filters from your camera’s manufacturer so that you can be sure it’s the perfect fit.
Types of graduated neutral density filters
You can choose from a variety of “grades” when it comes to these filters, but the main categorizations are soft edged and hard edged filters. Basically, soft edged filters have softer transitions from light to dark and vice versa. Hard edged filters have graduations which are more abrupt. Your choice between soft edged and hard edged filters is totally up to your artistic photographic taste. Some photographers like to minimize the polarization of their scenes because they want a more natural effect on their photos. However, others purposefully use hard edged graduated neutral density filters to create an unnatural but beautiful effect on their photographs. It’s really a toss between realistic and expressionistic aesthetics—rendered in photography.
How to use filters properly
If you want a more realistic neutralization of your foreground and background, you should put the darker side of your graduated neutral density filter on the part you would like to “dim”. Some photographers use filter holders which are attached to lenses, while others prefer hand-held filters for better control. It’s really up to you. Just make sure that you’re placing the filter correctly so the graduation is not too obvious, and there is no line which could go against the horizon of your photograph.
Canon 5D III & Cokin Z Pro Graduated Neutral Density Filter
Again, it was stressed that graduated ND filters are not always used to dim or tone down the background. Sometimes, it’s used to increase the polarization of contrast of the photos. If you want this unnatural but definitely artistic effect on your photograph, all you have to do is to put the darker part of the filter over the darker parts of your photograph to emphasize the brightness of the light source. When done right, filtered photos like this can create stunning sunset and sunrise photographs. You may use a soft edged filter if you want a subtler polarization which is still unnatural and artistic but perhaps not over-the-top. Again, placement is the key.
Creative Use of Slow Shutter Speed in Long Exposure Photography
Shutter Speed is not only a mechanical term, it is a great creative tool as well. Below are few examples to demonstrate, the ways we can use slow shutter speed creatively.
Moving vehicles
Light trails of passing vehicles make for an interesting subject for night photography. Needless to say one needs a longer exposure time for correctly capturing red or yellow trails of passing vehicles.
Photo: Mikel
Start at 8-10 seconds of exposure time to allow several vehicles to pass by. As always adjust the exposure time according to get the best effect.
Streams and brooks
Often streams and brooks are an ideal setting for an effect that is best described with the word “dreamy”. It is a milky white effect of the water that one can see in a lot of professionally taken photographs, captured by creatively using the slow shutter speed.
Photo: third i blind
One needs to compensate for any highlights or overexposed part of the photograph by metering for the light (matrix metering would be ideal here) and then using a filter if required to suppress the overexposed areas. Usually a 3-4 second exposure time is required depending upon the lighting conditions and also the kind of effect that one needs. Use of both regular and graduated neutral density filter is often required. Read more on how to take waterfall photos here
Motion blur in everyday life
Public places such as parks, train stations and streets are great places to try your hand at some motion blur. Try setting up your equipment from a height so that you can capture a big depth of field while also capturing a lot of motion blur.
Photo: Joe Penniston
Set your camera to f/11 or a bit narrower and then set an exposure time of 5-6 seconds. Adjust the settings depending on the results achieved. You will be surprised at the amount of movement you can capture at such locations.
Night shots with long exposure
When shooting subjects during night especially during twilight a longer exposure time is required. First rule is never to use a higher ISO unless you have used up all other options. Most semi professional and professional DSLR bodies have a noise correction feature, but to be honest anything above 800 in low light is unusable, unless you mean to use that as a thumbnail image.
Photo: David Yu
Lower ISO will also help when it comes to the right exposure as the camera will compensate for the lowers sensor sensitivity and allow for a longer exposure time. Handholding for lower ISO when shooting at night may be difficult and as such a tripod is required. We shall discuss about tripods in more detail later on.
Some Important tips
Using tripods for keeping the camera steady
Handholding a camera while using long shutter speeds can be difficult. While photographers love to capture motion blur, camera shake should be best avoided. As such tripod is an essential accessory to have when using lower shutter speeds.
Shutter Priority Mode
Every DSLR (and currently even some point & shoots) have a shutter priority mode on them. DSLR users can find that on the main dial on their camera. Look for the letter “S” which means shutter priority. When you set the camera on a shutter priority mode you can play around with the exposure time and create some beautiful shots using your camera.
Use of neutral density filters in long exposures
If light intensity is too high, when shooting with long exposures, especially when shooting in bright daylight, one will need to use a neutral density filter to keep out the glaring light.
Switch on/off VR (IS)?
VR stands for Vibration reduction where as IS stands for Image Stabilization. They do the same thing that is counter for camera shake. Switch them on when handholding the camera for using with slower shutter speeds. However when shooting with a tripod, they are advised to be switched off.
Read more on Shutter Speed here
Equipments for Macro Photography: Macro Lens, Extension tubes, Close-Up lens & Tele converters – What’s the difference?
Macro Lens vs Extension tubes vs Close up lens vs Tele extender/converters
For starters in macro photography, there are plenty of accessories to shoot great quality larger than life shots of small subjects. One need not to get submerged by the tsunami of terms and terminology to do that. This article looks to answer some of the accessories that a photographer starting out on macro photography could use.
Let’s look at some of the accessories that one can use to shoot macro photographs. If you are a Canon user you would not have problems understanding the term macro as Canon’s macro lenses are all termed as such. However for some peculiar reason Nikon chose to address its lenses (for shooting pictures of small objects at life-like or larger than life-like proportions) as Micro lenses. To avoid confusion, this article uses the term macro to refer to lenses designed to shoot pictures of small objects.
Macro lenses
The best option for a budding photographer for shooting macro. The specially designed macro lenses allow a shorter focusing distance and higher magnification for creating a life-like image. A life like image is anything that has a magnification of 1:1. That means the image is projected on to the sensor at the same size as it is in real life. If one were to shoot a bee with a standard telephoto or standard zoom lens, the image will never fill the sensor.
Micro-NIKKOR 40mm f/2.8G DX (Photo: Cary and Kacey)
Macro lenses have space between the back of the lens and the sensor, which allows it to focus more closely and project a life-like image. Image magnification is the term that one may come across quite a lot in macro photography. Say an image is projected on the sensor which is 1/2 the actual size. The magnification will then be termed as 0.5x.
Extension tubes
One of the most popular and cheaper alternative is to use an extension tube. Both Canon and Nikon makes extension tubes that allows the lens to be moved further away from the sensor and thus allow for closer focusing.
Photo: Guy Sie
They sit directly between the lens and the camera lens mount. So there are threads on either side; one to be used to screw on to the lens mount of the camera body and the other one for mounting the lens on to the front of the extension tube.
Photo: John Gateley
Extension tubes don’t increase he focal length of the lens (unlike popular believe). They simply project the image bigger than normal on to the sensor. As such they affect the image magnification aspect by increasing it in the process.
Close-up lenses
Close up lenses allow a simple and effective way to reduce the minimum focusing distance of any lens. They can be mounted on to the front of any lens using the same threads which are used for mounting filters and reduces the minimum focusing distance. The glass element in them can be compared to the same prescription glasses that are used by people with farsightedness to correct their focusing ability to a shorter distance.
Photo: Alice the Photo Ninja
These close-up lenses are very thin and their strength is referred to by the term dioptre. They are available in several dioptres. They are very cheap and can be used with normal (non-macro) lenses for shooting macro images.
Extender/tele converters
These are similar in look to an extension tube but they are used for a different purpose. They are basically focal length multipliers. Both Nikon and Canon manufactures teleconverters for their lenses. They are available in 1.4x 1.7x (for Nikon) and 2x from both of them. These can extend the focal length and make a 200mm lens extend to 280mm, 340mm and 400mm depending on the teleconverter selected. However they are not suitable for using wider apertures as they effectively slow down the lens. Image blur is also a constraint as they tend to get tighter and at slower apertures often get affected by the movement of the subject. They are however magnify the image, but they don’t improve on the minimum focusing distance of the lens.
Further reading: A beginner’s guide to macro photography
Understanding Dynamic Range in Photography
This is a topic that even illustrious professional photographers find hard to handle and correct for. Dynamic range in a simple explanation can be expressed as the difference between the light and dark tones in the picture. So if you have a picture of a landscape, the amount of darkest dark color that you can see on one hand to the lightest of light colors on the other gives you the whole spectrum of dynamic range of the picture. As we know there is a whole band of colors that fall outside the visible spectrum and when these colors are unable to be picked up by the camera the frame appears unusually dark or white. When this happens, the dark appears too dark and the areas affected become underexposed. Conversely the highlights represented by white areas appear washed out.
Photographers use different methods to ensure that the pictures that they shoot have a reasonable dynamic range. Often the best method that they use is shooting three or more different images of the same frame exposing for the foreground, the background and the subject and then mixing them together using layers and masking methods in Photoshop to create a single high dynamic range (HDR) image. The images that they shoot are evidently RAW and they individually often don’t have the desired quality until they are mixed together to create the desired effect.
Simple methods such as additional lighting or using the built in flash becomes necessary when the live view histogram suggests that there is not really a decent dynamic range in the frame. In case there is no way to increase the amount of light, one can use the exposure compensation process or use a ND filter (discussed in details later).
Another tip to ensure a reasonably good dynamic range in the photographs (without using RAW or depending on post production to create HDR images) is to expose for the area that has comparatively a bit more light. Say if you have a challenging lighting condition shooting landscape. The mountains are dark and the sky is overexposed. You could try exposing for the sky by stopping down the exposure compensation. An extension of the same approach would be to use a neutral density filter. In this case a graduated neutral density filter would be more suitable. This will compensate for the brightness of the sky and thus make the information available from the shadow area more discernable.
Post production using specialized software is one of the preferred methods to salvage images which have been shot in RAW and lacked the right amount of dynamic range. Using these software one can recover to a large extent the highlights in the image and the information from the shadow areas.
The existence of a high dynamic range in the pictures is not always desirable though. This is true when you’re shooting black and white. Your pictures will have a lot more shades of gray and if you review the histogram the extreme left and right sides are bound to have more of the clustered skyscrapers. But it is a good thing and only means that you were able to shoot the picture the way you intended to in the first place.
Understanding Lens Diffraction
Landscape photographers prefer to stop down to f/22 or even narrower to keep everything in focus on the frame. But this narrowing down of aperture comes at a price; which is lens diffraction. Lens diffraction is the dispersion of light that happens due to the light hitting the blades of the diaphragm of the aperture. The sensor of the camera is no longer receiving the light straight at a perpendicular angle. Instead the light is bouncing off the edge of the aperture diaphragm blades and then hitting the sensor at different angles. As a result the resulting image is not sharp but soft. A blurry image circle is what can be noticed when one crops to 100% and inspects the sharpness of the image up close.
Though both the Diffraction & DOF are related to aperture, but not the same thing. Diffraction is a sharpness term & DOF is related to Focus.
Diffusion of light and its impact
Light hitting the sensor at an angle can cause diffusion. The light rays fall on different pixels overlapping and creating a blurry image that is not sharp when cropped really tight. Lens diffraction is thus the primary reason why when stopping down too much; there is a loss of sharpness instead of an increase.
Who is affected by it?
Lens diffraction is not a major issue for portrait photographers as they tend to shoot at wider apertures. It affects macro and landscape photographers more who tend to use a narrow aperture and keep the entire frame in focus.
It does not need a trained eye to notice lens diffraction. It can be easily detected by taking pictures of the same subject at different apertures and then comparing the final result. One is bound to notice that sharpness tends to increase as one stops down for a while starting at something f/4. Then as one keeps stopping down even further, sharpness is lost and the final results are fuzzy and soft.
The optical limitations of lenses means diffraction cannot be avoided at narrower f-stops. There cannot simply be a lens that is devoid of this problem. Even lenses from the Canon L series too are not devoid of this problem. As such as one starts to stop down diffraction and the resulting loss of smoothness is common.
Why smaller f-stop is used?
Photographers try shooting at lower f stops to get a bigger depth of field. At f/8 through till f/11 this is really visible when compared with the shots taken at f/5.6 or even wider. Sharpness also increases and so does the depth of field. But round about f/11 and beyond the loss of sharpness becomes prominent while the depth of field does not improve that much. At really narrow apertures such as f/32 and beyond, the pictures may appear they have not been focused properly.
The trade off: Bigger depth of field or sharper images?
There is a trade off between bigger depth of field and sharpness of the image. The best performance of each individual lens varies from f-stop to f-stop. This is why it is best to test the quality of the lens by taking several shots in the same lighting condition but at different f-stops and then checking the sharpness to figure out at what aperture the lens is both sharpest and gives the maximum DOF.
DSLR maintenance tips: How to protect & care your lens?
DSLR maintenance tips: How to protect & care your lens?
A DSLR lens is prone to dust and dirt. Lenses are exposed to the elements when they are in use. If you are a landscape photographer, or a wild life photographer, your camera lenses are prone to catching dirt and dust. Even though some high end DSLR lenses comes with anti-dust coating, it is best to keep them cleaned and covered when not in use. Being a photographer and having spent a fortune on your photography gear, this is an advice that should be more than welcome. It is not uncommon to see photographers using gear that are at best shoddy and resembles a barn door that has not been maintained properly. At the end of the day, however, your equipment tells a story both with what they shoot and by how they look. How you keep your gear tells quite a lot about you too.
First tip to keep your lenses clean is to keep them inside their accompanying pouch when not in use. Most lenses from reputed manufacturing companies will come with a lens pouch. If you have decided to go for a second hand lens or purchase one from the gray market insist that it comes with a lens pouch too. Always ensure that the lens cap is on when the lens is not in use, even when the lens is mounted on your camera body. In addition to a lens cap the lens should always have a UV filter on. This is not only to protect the glass at the front end of the lens but also for reducing false coloring when shooting.
Some photographers use cleaning cloth made out of flannel which are both soft and extremely suitable for cleaning delicate surfaces such as lens glass. While it is not always easy to reach the crevices on the body of the lens with a cloth, there are clever ways to do it. Imagine you are polishing a shoe with a piece of cloth held with two hands. You can mount the lens on the camera body and then set it up on a tripod. Now place the piece of flannel cloth on the lens barrel and in a slow left to right motion clean the lens. The crevices can be reached if you slide the cloth by gently pressing it against the lens body.
Alternatively a stiff bristle brush is a simple tool to have for cleaning your lenses. The crevices, edges and narrow passes on the lens body which are normally difficult to reach can be easily reached with a stiff brush.
The lens cap also needs to be kept clean. So before putting it back on use the stiff brush to clean it properly. You can also swipe it with a piece of clean flannel cloth and then put it back on. Now let’s move on to the lens and the lens filter. We had a UV lens filter on the lens. Let’s clean it up now. There are special lens cleaning tissue papers available at camera stores which are great for cleaning filters, polarizers, and of course the lens glass. Simply breathe out on the surface of the filter and then wipe it with the lens cleaning tissue.
Finally we come to the actual surface of the lens. Do not use the same stiff brush which you use for the lens body. Use a specialized brush that is made for cleaning the lens glass. Very gently wipe clean the surface and then if the lens glass is really dirty use a specialized lens cleaning solution and lens cleaning tissue to wipe clean the surface.
Remember if you are a professional photographer making your living out of your camera gear, you need to spend some time to maintain them.
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Canon Lens Date Codes – Find out your canon lens’s age
Canon Lens Date Codes
Are you thinking about purchasing a Canon Lens? You might want to look at the date code at the back. Take note that this date code can only tell you the date that the lens was manufactured, and where the lens was manufactured in Japan. While it’s still helpful if you’re purchasing a second hand lens, this code won’t tell you how long and how frequently this lens has been used.
Location of the codes
It’s usually located at the back surface of the the lens. For example: “UW0606”
The first letter
The first letter on your Canon lens date code indicated the site where your Canon lens was manufactured. These are all in Japan. The standard is U for Utsunomiya, Japan; F for Fukushima; and O for Oita. The most common lens manufacturer for lenses distributed to the USA is Utsunomiya.
The second letter
The second letter of your Canon lens code is very important because it indicated the year it was manufactured. This is a bit tricky, though, because there are two possible years of manufacture. For this, you might have to research a bit on when the lens was released. Most likely, if you’ve bought the lens first hand, this will be the later date.
| A – 2012,1986 & 1960
B – 1987 and 1961 C – 1988 and 1962 D – 1989 and 1963 E – 1990 and 1964 F – 1991 and 1965 G – 1992 and 1966 H – 1993 and 1967 I – 1994 and 1968 |
I – 1994 and 1968
J – 1995 and 1969 K – 1996 and 1970 L – 1997 and 1971 M – 1998 and 1972 N – 1999 and 1973 O – 2000 and 1974 P – 2001 and 1975 Q – 2002 and 1976 |
S – 2004 and 1978
T – 2005 and 1979 U – 2006 and 1980 V – 2007 and 1981 W – 2008 and 1982 X – 2009 and 1983 Y – 2010 and 1984 Z – 2011 and 1985 so on.. |
First two numbers
They represent the year of manufacture of the lens.
The third and fourth digits are not as important, at least for consumers. These are internal Canon codes which only the company would understand.
Why it’s important?
First of all it’s always interesting to know…how old is that lens? At least it will help you to find out how long that lens has been stuck in the shelves. However, the date code could be of little use to you if you’re purchasing your lenses second hand. A two year old lens, for example, based on the date code alone, could be more worn out than a three year old lens, depending on the first user. You need to fully inspect the goods you’re purchasing if you’re purchasing them second hand. You won’t be able to claim manufacturer warranties for these lenses. It’s really still advisable to always buy first hand lenses.
Neutral density filters
Neutral density filters help a photographer to use a longer exposure. They are used to block the amount of light that is coming through the lens and reaching the sensor of the camera. Think of them as sunglasses for your DSLR. They are known as neutral density because they stop all colors of light irrespective of their wavelengths equally and have no effect whatsoever on the white balance of the picture. They appear grey or very dark gray or even opaque and come in different strengths of stopping power. A photographic store show you ND filters in 2, 3 10 or even 20 f/stops of light stopping power. These denote their ability to block light. Hoya’s NDx2 filters for example have an effect of providing 1 stop shutter speed reduction. The NDx4 has a 2 stops of shutter speed decrease and the NDx8 has 3 stops. The brighter the light available the more is the stopping power required if all other conditions are the same. Photographers shooting with a single neutral density filter in variable light conditions can often compensate for the lack of (or excess) stopping power by adjusting the aperture and the shutter speed in manual mode.
Neutral Density (L) vs Graduated Neutral Density (R) Filters
Applications of ND filters and graduated ND filters: creating motion blur, water trails and using long exposures for creative photography
Neutral density filters are also available in Graduated & Variable variants. Graduated means the density of filter or the amount of light that they stop decreases gradually from the edge of the filter towards the center. They are used to partially block out light from a frame. A small example will make this easier to understand. Say you’re shooting a landscape but without a ND filter on. If the sun is up you’re bound to see the sky blow out. If you expose for the landscape the washed out sky will render the picture unusable. At the same time if you expose for the sky the landscape will look dark. This is a classic situation where you can use a graduated Neutral Density filter to block out the bright sky and take a perfect picture.
Again when you want to capture water trail or motion blur in broad daylight, longer exposure time is warranted which also runs the risk of complete washing out your images. A neutral density filter will allow you to substantially increase the exposure time capturing water trails or motion blur without overexposing the shot.
Neutral density filters are mostly used to capture landscape shots or increase the shutter speed, but one use of them is to increase the aperture to capture bokeh in broad daylight. Usually if your camera metering systems says that the light is too bright (giving you a shutter speed of 1/2000th or even 1/4000th of a second) you will need a narrow aperture of something like f/5.6 or even f/8 to capture a shot. The result is most of the frame appears in sharp focus. It is nearly impossible to capture bokeh for a wide angle shot as such without risking blowing away the frame. The answer is yet again using a neutral density filter. Screw it on and let it compensate for the amount of light coming in. Set it to a wider aperture and then re-take the shot. You will have achieved the desired soft bokeh.
View through the viewfinder
When using a ND filter, photographers will notice that the view through the viewfinder looks darker than usual. This is because the image bounced off the mirror is actually coming through the filter. The intensity of the light is thus substantially diminished. T may be an issue so if you find the view too dark for your comfort, take the filter off, compose the shot and then put the filter back on before taking the picture. Modern DSLR camera systems have a metering system that can automatically adjust for the stopping power of a ND filter mounted on the lens.
Buying a neutral density filter: things to know
There are mainly two types of ND density filters, one that you can screw on to the front of the lens via the thread provided in both and the second one is a square or somewhat rectangular filter which one can mount using a filter holder. While the first one may sound a bit easy to operate there are noticeable problems of vignetting when the round corners of the ND filter obstruct the light. Comparatively the “cokin” type square or rectangular filter is suitable for 35mm bodies which normally suffer from a problem of vignetting and thus want to avoid additional issues by using a screw in filter. However such filters may be more difficult to set up and use and also take up more space in the kitbag because of the holder ring.
Camera body and effect of vignetting
Vignetting is a problem that is going to effect once you screw on a ND filter on the top of your lens; i.e.; if you use a 35mm sensor. The corners of the image are going to have significant vignetting. If your lens is something that is not designed with the best quality optics this problem can be aggravated. As such it is advised to use a filter that is not too thick.
Filter thread
Filter thread specification allows you to correctly match a lens with its filter. Look for a sign at the front of the lens like this Φ and then followed by a number. This is the size of the filter that you need for your lens. Even if you don’t have a filter of the same specification as your lens, step-up/down rings can help you to attach a bigger or smaller filter on to your lens. You will need to screw on the step-up/down ring at the front of the lens and then screw the filter on top of the ring. But this is not recommended as there can be degradation of the image quality when the filters are placed further away from the lens.
Further reading Variable Neutral Density Filters
How to Photograph the Moon or Super Moon – Tips & Settings In Moon Photography For Beginners
How to shoot moon
Capturing the beauty of moon in photographs is not as difficult as many people believe. Moon photography doesn’t require expensive equipment, and with the right approach it’s easy to take stunning pictures with a fairly basic camera equipments. Understanding the right shooting techniques and camera settings should allow any photographer to take pictures of the moon.
Camera or exposure settings to photograph Moon
Shooting the moon and stars involves a lot of trial and error, and being able to manually focus and expose shots is essential. However, Some modern DSLR can handle both exposure & Auto focusing quite efficiently. Spot metering is perfect for photographing the moon. Sunny 16 rule states, all you need to expose the moon is to set you camera settings to ISO 100, 1/125 sec Sutter @ F/11, but you will still need to take some shots at different exposures to ensure you get the exposure right.
Shooting moon in manual mode
- Turn off your flash (obviously)
- Set your camera to full Manual Mode.
- ISO: Choose a base ISO (100 or 200). For most brands it is 100 (For Canon base ISO is 100 and for Nikon 200). In case of a point and shoot set it to lowest ISO you can find from menu setting. Never use Auto ISO.
- Aperture: Set your aperture to f/11. Don’t get confused here with bigger f-stop (smaller aperture). Remember, you are not shooting the dark, instead you are shooting bright Moon against a dark sky and a larger f number (smaller aperture) will help you to keep your moon in sharp focus. If you use
- Shutter Speed: For ISO setting 100, set your shutter speed to 1/125 and for ISO 200 setting 1/250. Yes, it is possible to photograph the moon handheld.
Shooting moon in Auto mode
- Turn off Flash.
- Select Spot meting mode
- Turn off “Auto ISO” mode & choose a base ISO (100 to 200)
- Set your camera to Aperture priority & select aperture @ f/11. In this mode you set the aperture & camera automatically sets an appropriate shutter speed for you.
These numbers are just a GUIDELINE. It is not necessarily the settings that matters, but rather the getting the correct exposure depending on that particular situation.
Focus
You can choose to focus both in Auto or manual mode. Latest DSLRs have a nice feature called “contrast detect autofocus” in live view mode, it is slow but can focus distant objects quite accurately and serves great in situation like this. Traditional AF mode also works most of the time. When focus is achieved switch off the the AF. To focus manually, set your lens to manual focus mode through AF switch of the lens or the camera and set your focus to infinity. You can also try to focus using autofocus confirmation or live view mode. Some lenses go beyond infinity focusing, so be careful while setting the focus to infinity. It is a good practice, after taking pictures, to check focusing & sharpness by reviewing & zooming in the rear LCD of the camera.
Preparation
Scouting a location is an important first step before an astrophotography shoot. You should visit in the daylight to look for good places to shoot from and how to get there. Visiting the location when it’s dark allows you to check the amount of light pollution from streetlights and buildings. If there’s too much light from man-made sources, you may need to find another location. Checking the weather forecast is another important step, as you need a clear night with little or no cloud. If you plan to take shots of the moon, it’s worth checking what phase it’s at before going out. you can check current moon phase here
Equipments
A digital SLR is the perfect camera for astrophotography, but a modern compact system camera will work very well. You must be able to manually focus the camera, and be able to set exposures manually. Wide-angle lenses are great for shots of the night sky, and if you want to take photographs of the moon you will also need a telephoto zoom. A sturdy tripod is essential for Moon photography. This is important if you want to eliminate the chance of blur. When using telephoto lenses any camera shake is accentuated manifold and completely renders the photo unusable. The slightest movements of the camera can ruin a great shot, so it’s worth investing in a heavy tripod. You often need to experiment with exposures, so having spare memory cards is always a good idea when shooting at night. Finally, a torch can be very useful when working in the dark.
Often photographers attempting to photograph the moon complain of capturing nothing but a white blob against a dark background. The reason for that is their camera has exposed for the sky in large and the small space occupied by the moon has been overexposed as a result. This is particularly true when a wide angle lens is used for photographing the moon. Lenses which have a focal length of 50mm or less are considered wide angle. These are NOT SUITABLE for the purpose of photographing just the moon alone on a dark night. Ideally, you will require a lens that has a minimum focal length of 200mm or more. Longer focal length lenses will help you to fill the frame with the moon. For a rough estimate, for each 100mm increase in focal length, the image of the moon on frame (24x36mm) will increase 1mm in a 35mm full frame camera. That means, a 2400mm lens is needed to fill the whole frame with the moon. This will also crop out the dark background and enable the camera to meter only the moon and eliminate any chances of overexposure.
Longer focal length lenses are very expensive, as result an alternate solution is to buy one that has a reasonable optical range and is compatible with a teleconverters. A teleconverter will increase the focal length of a lens with minimum loss in the optical quality, and loss of brightness depending on magnification power of teleconverter. For example, if you have a 400mm f/4 lens and use a 2x teleconverter, the resulting focal length will be 800mm and a maximum aperture of f/8.
Photo by Matthew Paulson
Moon photography using telescope
Telescopes are less expensive alternatives (can be very expensive as well). However, with patience, good results can be achieved with an inexpensive telescope. There are two types of Telescope Photography. (a) Afocal – The most inexpensive method. In this method you have to focus the telescope on the object first and then point your camera into the eyepiece to take the photo. A nice option for less heavy point and shoot and cell phones cameras. Sometimes you may need to tape the camera to the telescope to keep the whole system steady. (b) Prime Focus – This is more more expensive, but less complicated than Afocal method. For this you’ll need a TRing and a TAdapter designed specifically to allow you to attach your camera directly to the telescope.
Photo by: Anita Ritenour
Add foreground interest
Shots of the night sky can lack a sense of scale in two-dimensional photographs. Adding foreground interest, such as trees or buildings, introduces scale and creates more satisfying images. It can be difficult to balance exposure between the night sky and foreground objects, and it’s important to take lots of shots at different settings. Shining a torch at foreground objects during exposure can create very effective pictures.
Related Article : Super Moon Video
Influence of Focal Length & Aperture on Depth Of Field
Depth of field (DOF) is also known as the area of the picture that is in sharp focus. Let’s say we are looking at the picture of a landscape. There are snow clad mountains, forests and a river in the background. Everything is in sharp focus meaning there is a big depth of field in the picture. This is achieved by the confluence of three factors, the aperture of the lens, the focal length and also the distance between the subject and the camera. Another factor also influences the DOF and that is the circle of confusion. The circle of confusion is the circle which is out of focus and is easily identified by its lack of sharpness. It is important to note that the shift from soft to sharp does no happen in a visual jerk. Rather it is a transition that happens gradually across the frame.
Aperture and DOF
Aperture is the opening of the lens. It is not a mechanical part of the camera but a number that is assigned to explain the size of the opening of the lens through which light passes then hits the lens glass and converges on the focusing plane. It is expressed as an f/stop where stop is replaced by the number assigned. Wide angle prime lenses normally have a maximum aperture starting with f/1.2. More the aperture smaller is the f/stop number and less is going to be the area of sharp focus on the image and vice versa. Telephoto lenses on the other hand have a maximum aperture of f/2.4 or f/2.8 meaning they have deeper DOF to start off. When shooting landscape photographers prefer to use a higher F number which means they reduce the aperture and let more of the image be in sharp focus (bigger DOF).
Focal length and DOF
Focal length is the distance between the center of the lens or the focusing mechanism and the focusing plane. Focusing plane could be a 35mm film (in a film camera) or a sensor (in a digital camera). Focal length suggests how strongly the camera is focusing on a subject. It also affects the total area of the frame that is in focus and thus the increase or decrease in DOF with increased F number and decreased F number respectively.
Focal length also affects the field of view. Say you’re using an 18-135mm lens with your full frame DSLR. When you zoom in at the longest focal length (135mm) the subject appears larger because the magnification of the image is higher. At the same time the field of view is reduced. On the other hand when you zoom out (18mm), the subject appears smaller and you have a larger field of view.
The distance between the subject and the camera also affects the DOF. Every lens and camera system has a minimum focusing distance from the subject. When this is breached the subject can be out of focus.
Both shallow and deeper DOF are used in photography creatively. Shallow DOF is used creatively for the purpose of creating bokeh; the beautiful blurry backgrounds that isolates the subject and bring it in focus.
Read more on Depth of Field here
Zoom vs Prime: convenience vs purist?
Zoom Or Prime?
There is a subtle difference of opinion between professionals who prefer zoom lenses vs those who prefer prime. Both lenses have their pros and cons and there is really no hard and fast rule that one is better than the other. But we can look into both aspects and make our own judgment over the matter.
Advantages of prime lenses
Prime lenses have less moving parts inside as they don’t need to move around to adjust focal length and focus properly on subjects at varying distances. Usually if you read the specifications there will be less elements and groups. This makes them faster to focus as well as less shaky. Prime lenses are faster compared to zoom lenses because they have wider maximum aperture. Canon’s L series standard prime EF 50mm f/1.2L USM is one example. It has a wide aperture of f/1.2. Comparatively the widest aperture that a zoom lens has is only f/2.8. This is a huge difference and comes handy specially when shooting at low light. One can easily set the lens to shoot at its widest aperture adjust the shutter speed and shoot without a flash. The wide aperture of prime lenses is also extremely handy when one needs to create a soft blur of the background. Additionally prime lenses are comparatively cheaper to build.
Disadvantages of prime lenses
Prime lenses have a fixed focal length. That makes it unsuitable for shooting in situations where you need to make a tighter composition standing at the same place; such as portrait. This is because of their inability to zoom in to get close to the action. Wild life photographers who prefer to carry only a couple of lenses would prefer to at least carry a single zoom lens in order to shoot subjects at varying distances.
Advantages of zoom lenses
A variable focal length is always suitable when shooting subjects at different distances. They are perfect not only for portrait but for photographing wild life, landscape, architecture and even for macro shots. One does not have to change lenses often to accommodate for different shooting needs.
Disadvantages of zoom lenses
Zoom lenses suffer from the lack of a wider aperture. Canon’s zoom lenses, such as the EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM, starts at the maximum aperture of only f/2.8 which is an indication of their lack of speed compared to the faster prime lenses. When shooting at longest focal length one would further have to accommodate for the loss of speed as the available aperture will become even smaller. Zoom lenses have more moving parts inside which means they suffer from more lens shake. When buying a zoom lens it is advisable to go for one that has a built-in image stabilization system. This is important if you intend to use the lens and camera for hand held shots primarily. For image stabilization look for the acronym “IS” in Canon’s EF or EF-S lenses. Comparatively look for the acronym “VR” when buying Nikon’s lenses. Zoom lenses are more expensive to build because they have more moving parts and thus the manufacturers have to keep several things in perspective when creating a good optical quality.
Conclusion
It is hard to tell whether zoom lenses are better than prime or the reverse. Different shooting needs require different lenses. A serious photographer will always want to have 2-3 lenses and one being a faster prime as it is easier to lock focus with and faster.
What is Moiré in Photography & How to avoid it?
When taking pictures of intricate repetitive patterns such as grid lines, embroidery, fine cloth or other geometric shapes (such as when taking pictures of architecture with numerous columns or pillars) one can face the problem of moiré. It is an unintentional pattern of lines and shapes that transposes on the final pictures as a result of the repetitive geometrical patterns that the camera sensor cannot discern perfectly. Moiré effects are caused when the camera sensor adds the second pattern (in addition to the first and the primary pattern which is the subject of the picture). The sensor then confuses between the two patterns and moiré is created.
Moire on parrot feathers © Fir0002/Flagstaffotos
To have a deeper look into why the sensor creates moiré we have to take a look into a camera sensor and its architecture. Modern digital cameras have sensors which have replaced the film camera systems of the yesteryears. The sensor has numerous tiny light sensitive photodiodes. Each photodiode can be compared with a chamber that captures light. However they can capture only a single of the primary three colors (i.e.; red, blue and green). The reason is if the photodiodes are sensitive to all the colors they will not be able to distinguish between each. A filter placed on top of each chamber is what helps in capturing one color and in effect keeping out the remaining colors. Arrays of photodiodes thus capture the three primary colors according to the filter on the top. There are several patterns used to capture light and the most popular is the Bayer Array. It has an alternating array of chambers and filters which is designed to capture 2 green light waves for every red and blue light waves. The reason is that the human eye (and therefore the camera, as it is designed very much on the same principle) is more sensitive to the green color. This overall pattern of red, green and blue is what creates the moiré.
The optical low pass filter (OLPF) is a filter that is used in state of the art camera technology to ensure that moiré (and with that an additional problem of false color) can be eliminated. Nikon uses its OLPF in all of its current DSLR bodies, which is why there are no discernable moiré or false coloring in the pictures produced by the cameras. It is pertinent to note that using the OLPF can sometimes soften the picture. one can identify this with the loss of sharpness in the final pictures. Studio photographers when they are shooting RAW and does not counter the problem of moiré or false color may not like to use the OLPF. They prefer the images to stay sharp even when making a tight crop. A recent set of camera systems can be taken as a final evaluation to explain how the presence and absence of OLPF can affect the pictures.
The D800 and D800E are two camera systems that Nikon has recently launched. The first one has an OLPF and the second one does not use the same. The result is no false coloring and moiré in the D800 but the images are softer compared to the D800E which does not use the same filter.
Photographers who have used both the cameras are however divided with those preferring to exploit the 36 megapixels for tighter cropping and sharper resolution at that levels going for the D800E.
Understanding Histograms
You have probably heard this quite a lot that the picture you have taken is over or under exposed. If you have just started out in digital photography, this is a sort of remark that you could expect to hear a lot. That is not until you have mastered the art and science of proper exposure.
What is over or under exposure and how can that affect your photographs? Overexposure means when your photographs have more highlights. The photo looks washed out. Underexposure is just the opposite of it. The photo has more dark areas or what we call as dark tones. A majority of the picture looks as if it was shot in poor lighting conditions. So how to correct your exposure for avoiding either of these? One good way is to use a live histogram and if you don’t have a live histogram on your DSLR, then using the histogram when reviewing the picture you have taken on the camera’s LCD screen. While pro bodies will always have a live histogram and that makes a lot of sense too, as professionals want their exposure to be right on the money, amateurs should not be left behind either. All DSLRs thus have an option to check the histogram on playback option. Once you have taken a shot, analyze it by pressing the playback button and pulling up the histogram option. If everything is not where it is supposed to be then compensate for the right exposure and retake the shot if you have to.
Histogram is the tool that allows you to understand whether you have more highlights or dark tones or basically how your picture is exposed. The ideal histogram (if there is anything like this at all) is one where the resulting mountains (the vertical spikes that you see on the histogram) are more evenly spread out. That points towards a properly exposed shot which has more of the mid tones, little bit of highlights and of course little bit of dark tones. While shooting outdoors or even indoors what you see from the LCD screen is never a proper judge of the quality of the exposure. What looks great on the LCD screen may actually look washed out or underexposed on the computer. So the histogram is a better evaluative measure of the right exposure.
In a histogram each spike that you see points to a particular color tone. The extreme left side is for black and the extreme right is for white. Anything between makes up the mid tones. If you have a washed out picture, the spikes will tend to be more towards the right and if it is underexposed then more towards the left. A correctly exposed shot will have the spikes more towards the middle and evenly spread. Now there would be situations where you will see that is impossible to achieve. Say when you are shooting black and white portraits. You are bound to get more highlights and dark areas and some areas of gray in the histogram. But this cannot be avoided, as that is what you need. Again if you are using side lighting whether in a studio or an outdoor shoot (depending upon any additional source of light) you are going to see more of the darker tones and gradual decrease of the mid tones to nothing on the light tones. So histogram is ok as long as you don’t intentionally want to shoot a special situation. At such circumstances, simply ignore the spikes and follow your intuition.
How to use grey cards to set white balance?
What are these?
Gray cards in photography are an way to improve the color accuracy when you’re shooting stills. It is also helpful when you want an accurate exposure with your camera. these are basically a specialized cards painted with a gray tone to give off 18 % gray shade when metered using a camera or a hand held light meter in average lighting conditions.
Opteka Grey Card Set
Why they are used?
Gray cards are ideal for situations when there is an awful amount of backlight. Backlighting is the condition when the subject is in the dark and the rest of the frame is very bright. This happens when you shoot a picture with the subject facing directly the other way to a light source. Say, the sun behind the subject. It is also suitable when a major part of the frame has a very bright tone say when you’re shooting a picture of a snowy landscape.
How they work?
Well the perfect gray shade is about 18% gray. Although gray as a shade is considered 50% white and 50% black or in other words half way between black and white, but for the right results an average of 18% gray is considered. This is also known as Zone V. Why 18% gray? Because tests have revealed that when we analyze the amount of gray in average shots, it contains about 18% of the gray shade. Every light meter in a camera and that of a film (in the case of film photography) is optimized to read when the 18% gray is achieved. At that point it is going to give you the go ahead to press the shutter release all the way. But there is a small problem. There is no way to let the camera know which is the subject. In a frame which has your friend’s face, a distant mountain, clouds and trees, your camera can be confused. It does not know what the subject is. So the best way to achieve the correct exposure is to measure the incident light and then manually adjust the settings where 18 % gray is achieved.
How to use it properly?
Your camera meter would most probably be thrown haywire with all the dark and bright tones as described in the previous paragraph. So it is best to let the camera know what the right exposure for the scene is. To use it, you will need to hold the gray card against the same backdrop as you would have the subject of the picture or ask your subject to hold it. Now set your cameras White Balance (WB) to nearest lighting condition or set to AUTO if not sure. Have the camera point at the gray card at an angle of 90 degrees, i.e., perpendicularly. Next hold the card at an angle of 45 degrees from the light source. If you tip it down you will let less light to enter the camera and vice versa. At that setting half press the camera shutter (in any program mode) and then allow it to meter the shot. Record the meter reading or lock the exposure if your camera is equipped with that option.
Finalizing the shot
Now remove the gray card and take the shot, if you have exposure lock option. If not, then get into manual mode of your camera. Adjust the shutter speed, aperture and ISO accordingly and then retake the shot. The picture will now be correctly exposed and your subject will not appear as a silhouette.
Lens Flare: What It Is and Ways to Overcome It?
When direct light (sunlight, flash light studio light and anything else that can create flares) falls on the lens it creates white blobs in the photograph, popularly known among photographers as flares. Sometimes even when the camera is pointing to a direction that does not have a strong light source, a stray beam of light may reach the sensor. This can happen if a straight line is established between the front end of the lens and the light source. This light does not get refracted in the usual manner and gets reflected internally which then creates the flare on the image.
So what they do basically? They create less than normal contrasts; they can subdue the whole color saturation of the frame, seriously affecting the quality of the final images. At the same time they also make the picture look dull and flat. They can also make the subject look under exposed (where the reflected light is of larger intensity compared to the refracted light coming through the front elements of the glass.
Lens Flare
Lens flares are however, not always a taboo, unlike popular believe, and some photographers have used them creatively (and intentionally) to recreate some moments through their lenses. However for the larger part they are kind of party poopers and needs to be eliminated when composing your shots.
Lens hoods
Photographers have been using various techniques to reduce lens flares. Some of these techniques are quite simple and straight forward while others take a bit of adjustment. A lens hood immediately comes to the mind as a gear that is quite effective for reducing lens flares. Wide angle lenses have lens hoods that are designed to not obstruct the wide angle of view. As such they cannot afford to extend too much and cut down on the angle of view. Result is they are not as effective when it comes to reducing lens flares. Conversely tele lenses come with a protruding lens hood. They are quite effective as they can obstruct the intrusive sunlight more effectively. Landscape, wild life and architecture photographers using tele lenses rarely shoot without a lens hood on. However apart from lens hoods there are other methods of cutting down on lens flaresZooming
Zooming can sometimes correct the problem. This is of course is more helpful if you are using a compact superzoom camera or a DSLR with a tele-lens. At higher focal lengths the problem of flares is corrected to a large extent.
Using lens coating
On their part lens manufacturing companies have also done a considerable amount of work trying to counter lens flare while also making it possible to shoot directly into the sun. Magnesium fluoride and or silicon monoxide are two types of coating that are used on lenses to reduce reflections. In fact Canon uses a term called light wave interference phenomena to explain how they do it with the coating surface and the lens surface canceling out the light reflected by each one. Cheaper quality lenses are usually coated once or twice; however for correcting reflections from light of different wavelengths, more expensive lenses such as Canon’s L series use multiple coating. Today, it is possible to apply up to ten layers of coating on lenses.
Working around the problem
Some photographers even try to work around the problem and change their compositions slightly to counter lens flare and even make that an integral part of the frame. Artistic compositions such as a slight flare through the leaves of a tree or even a flare just sinning out of the corner of a building has been used in architecture and landscape photography very successfully.