Lots of flare?

[agentsim]

Hi Guys,

Still learning my way around my newly acquired M8.2. I was out this evening and noticed all my street shots had lots of flare.

I'm using a CV 40/1.4 with an IR filter. Is this kind of flare normal, or am I doing something wrong?

In the second image, there is a green blob, is this more flare, or the I-thought-it-was-fixed green ghosting issue? There are no green light sources in the image...

 

[chris7521]

I believe it's your filter. The light is reflecting off your front element then back against the filter.

 

[agentsim]

Confirmed, did a few test shots with and without the UV+IR filter and the filter is definitely causing the flare.

I had no idea a quality B+W IR cut filter would cause so many problems.

 

[akk2]

got a hood on it?

 

[Brian Legge]

I usually use filters but almost always take them off at night.

This page compares a bunch of different filters specifically for flare and performance - interesting stuff. http://www.lenstip.com/113.1-article-UV_filters_test.html

 

[agentsim]

got a hood on it?

Yep, tested with/without hood, made no difference for what I was seeing. I'll keep the filter on for day/indoor shots, and off at night I think.

 

[jaapv]

Thanks for the link, Brian, but as these are UV filters, so not very relevant for IR/UV filters as we need for the M8. Those are interference filters and most of the problems are reflections rather than flare, the infamous green spots by bright highlights. Good idea to take them off at night, though for instance theatre photography needs the color correction and is high risk for green spots. I would like to see a similar test for the UV/IR filter group.