DSLR Photography Forum

I'm pretty new in SLR world, I own EOS 300D and this Sigma lens (18-55 2.8).. Generally, the lens performs very well except for one thing - the lens flare in night photos.

Generally in all my night photos (where there are street lights) I have a LOT of lens flare, and I keep the hood on the lens all the time.

Since I'm new at this, could someone tell me is this lens supposed to be having this much flare (my previous point and shoot KONICA MINOLTA did not have almost any flare and it was cheaper than this lens) or should I return (and change) the lens ?

I will post a pic to show you as soon as i get home, don't have an example here (at the office)

thanx for any reply

p.s. my english may not be that good, sorry bout that.

Hi RM, how about posting a couple of the photos, make sure you reduce the size to less than 800xXXX and less than 150kb. Are the shots overexposed, underexposed?

Cheers.

PeteD

Ok, will do so in a couple of hours (when I get home - in the office at the moment)... thanx for a quick reply. I will surely reduce their size.

The truth is that on overexposed shots there is more lens flare than on underxposed ones but flare is everywhere.. stay tuned. Thanx again.

A list of settings would also be good. Cheers.

Where I am in the world it is almost 11PM so I am off to bed, will catch you in my morning.

Also, if you are using a UV filter, let us know which type.

I get very little flare on my copy of this lens when using the hood, unless the sun is in the frame.

I'm not using any filter. Yes, the sun makes some flare when in the frame, but that's acceptable, the real problem is on street lights in evening shots..

aargh, can't wait to post an example (still in the office)

examples.. tought the scene is dark and the light is bright.. but even from a distance the lens flare appears (example 3)...

ok, so is this ok or not?

1st pic - f/10, 1/2 sec
2nd pic - f/10, 1/5 sec
3rd pic - f/10, 1 sec

real world example..

Certainly looks awful, my cheap 18-50mm Sigma does not do that, these sort of shots come out nice and sharp like this one.




I am wondering if your coating is scratched or has a defect. Not sure how to test for it and having never seen this before would only be guessing, perhaps one of the more experenced photographers could comment?

That does look bad. I've pointed my lens directly at street lights and bare lightbulbs for test shots, and I'm sure I haven't seen anything like that.

I just read all the reviews at FredMiranda, and while some mention modest lens flare, I don't think anyone is seeing the extremes shown here. Those folks are picky about their gear and this lens gets great reviews from people who know lenses!

I see you used f/10 for all of those samples. Does this happen at other apertures (wide open vs. stopped down)?

How old is your lens? Is it too late to return it?

Oh, just to make sure - you said 18-55mm. You meant the Sigma 18-50mm lens, right?

Also have you taken shots with other lenses under similar conditions, I think it is the lens but may be something else.

what else can it be?

yes, I meant sigma 18-50 .. sorry

the lens is a one month old, should not be a problem.. but .. it is good if it's lens, could it be that 300D makes this flare somehow??

You need to have a close, really close look at the lens, there may be something as simple as a greasy finger mark on the lens.

Interesting problem... especially if slejhamer's model isn't showing the same behaviour.

I found a tutorial on lens flare:
http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutoria...-flare.htm

But not much there that is of help to your particular situation, I'm afraid...

Peted Wrote:You need to have a close, really close look at the lens, there may be something as simple as a greasy finger mark on the lens.

no, it's clean.. i clean it with special lens cleaning paper.. besides, I noticed the flare first evening I tried it..

I will try to take some pics in similar circumstances soon. But in the meantime I think you should try to return it and get another. Sigma goes out of their way to advertise this lens as having very low flare sensitivity (see their website).

If you take a look at this site: http://www.pbase.com/joemama/sigma_1850__28
you can see his thoughts on the lens and then visit his flare test page here:
http://www.pbase.com/joemama/flare_test

His comparison with the very expensive Canon 35mm f/1.4 was one of the reasons I bought the Sigma. His flare test looks very favorable too.

Oh, to answer your question: it is highly unlikely that the camera is the cause, unless the light is reflecting off of the sensor and bouncing onto a lens optic. But if that were the case, I would have expected to see flare in joemama's sunset images.

Sjehhammer, thanx. I posted the same questioin on fredmiranda and they told me that it is normal lens behaviour.

On the examples you showed me the sun is almost gone so on my similar pics there is no lens flare..

If you want to do test please do the following.

Try to go out and find VERY BRIGHT light source (small but bright). Try aperture 8 for example, try using wide angle, and position yourself fairly close to light source and put it in the frame. Light source best to be street light, strong, and much dark around..


so, thanx for trying...

p.s. flare does not appear in the room with light bulb turned on.. but somehow only outside on very bright street light... also , only when the sun is still pretty much up (not really sunset)..