mszargar
Established
I have noticed that a7 shows severely flawed flares at night when pointed to a strong light source. First I thought that it was due to unhealthy interactions with the coatings of my older rangefinder lenses. But now that I have the native Zeiss lenses, it seems that the issue is still the same. Is this a design flaw? Should we forget about night shots with this camera?
Cron 50 v4:
Sony/Zeiss Sonnar 35mm f/2.8
Cron 50 v4:
Sony/Zeiss Sonnar 35mm f/2.8
hausen
Well-known
Really like the effect of the first one. I would embrace it.
mszargar
Established
The first one, actually, is the non-native lens...
hausen
Well-known
I noticed it was a summicron, looks pretty cool to me though.
Dez
Bodger Extraordinaire
I really like the starburst effect, but not so much the blodge that sometimes appears beside it.
This is a very stringent test of lens and sensor; do you not see something similar using film with the same Summicron?
Cheers,
Dez
This is a very stringent test of lens and sensor; do you not see something similar using film with the same Summicron?
Cheers,
Dez
Brian Atherton
Well-known
Would the multiple flares in Summicron 50mm v4 shots perhaps be caused by the new multiple LED street lamps that are becoming more common place?
How stopped down are you.
Ranchu
Veteran
I've never seen two rows like that, peculiar.
YYV_146
Well-known
Do you have a UV filter on the lens? I haven't seen anything like it from my A7, but sometimes you get extra flare from vented lens hoods too.
mszargar
Established
The problem is exactly those extra mini-flares. Of course the sunstar that summicron makes is just perfect. But then those repeating spots on the side, I find very disturbing. In the summicron shot the camera was pretty much stopped down. f/8 if I remember correctly. The Sonnar shot was handheld, probably at f/2.8. The longer the exposure the more I get these spots.
In both shots I used filters, in the first one a Leica UVa and in the second one a B+W MRC. But I doubt this can be the filter. First because I have tried with many filters and I always get the same thing. Second, because there are just too many glasses between the filter and the sensor, and they bend the light trajectory. If there is a reflection from the filter, it should appear somewhere else on the image and not right beside the original lightsource.
I did not use any hood for the shots.
And no, these are definitely not LED lamps, that I am sure.
And no, no such effect on film from the Summicron. No such effect with the same Summicron on X-T1 either, but I don't have a sample shot to show you.
I am not sure how much of a stringent test this is, but all I am trying to do is a normal night shot in the street with some ordinary urban light sources. I am really not trying to push the camera to its extremes and see what happens. I noticed these just by accident as I was trying to find a "good" version of my shots and I kept bumping into these spots. Note that the second shot is taken with the camera's native prime lens, and is no ad-hoc combination. One imagines that it should work with no issue.
In both shots I used filters, in the first one a Leica UVa and in the second one a B+W MRC. But I doubt this can be the filter. First because I have tried with many filters and I always get the same thing. Second, because there are just too many glasses between the filter and the sensor, and they bend the light trajectory. If there is a reflection from the filter, it should appear somewhere else on the image and not right beside the original lightsource.
I did not use any hood for the shots.
And no, these are definitely not LED lamps, that I am sure.
And no, no such effect on film from the Summicron. No such effect with the same Summicron on X-T1 either, but I don't have a sample shot to show you.
I am not sure how much of a stringent test this is, but all I am trying to do is a normal night shot in the street with some ordinary urban light sources. I am really not trying to push the camera to its extremes and see what happens. I noticed these just by accident as I was trying to find a "good" version of my shots and I kept bumping into these spots. Note that the second shot is taken with the camera's native prime lens, and is no ad-hoc combination. One imagines that it should work with no issue.
Harry Caul
Well-known
Looks similar to small aperture, long exposure shots I've taken with other cameras. Do you have comparison shots with other cameras that do not exhibit this behavior?
Mark Schretlen
mostly harmless
The sensor of the A7 is highly reflective. The multiple flare enlarges and radiates out from the center of the image from the original source of light. It could be a multiple reflection from the sensor to the Summicron rear element and back to the sensor (and then repeating). I'm not sure there is a remedy.
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albertospa
Established
This is a problem because much of the sensor. The problem is visible with any kind of lens, even with the Sony-Zeiss. To avoid this you have to use large apertures (IMHO)
Sparrow
Veteran
... filter?
whited3
Well-known
Since the flare is silhouetting the aperture blades, and shifts in hue & luminance & (linear) scaling, I'm blaming:
origination on the lens (silhouette)
repetition on sensor filter reflections (hue, decreasing luminance)
That's my guess.
Oops this is an old thread... I've been away for a while.
origination on the lens (silhouette)
repetition on sensor filter reflections (hue, decreasing luminance)
That's my guess.
Oops this is an old thread... I've been away for a while.
j.scooter
Veteran
This is a known issue with the a7/r.
Google a7 sensor reflection
Google a7 sensor reflection
mszargar
Established
I have just seen a thread on the Facebook page of a7/a7r users about the same issue on a7r. I also do think this is a lens issue combined with the reflectivity of the sensor. The effect was much more limited with summicrons.