SP w/serious vignetting -- normal?

[rcoder]

I just scored a lovely-looking SP off eBay, and after putting a test roll through it, have noticed some pretty heavy vignetting on most of the shots. They were taken indoors in decent (EV 7-10) lighting, mostly on full Auto mode, using cheapo Wallgreens store-brand ISO400 color neg. film.

(All of which is a long-winded way of saying that the shots were probably taken more or less wide-open.)

The effect is actually kind of nice, but I thought I'd check to see if other people had noticed a similar effect from other units. Any thoughts?

 

[flashover]

here are 2 test shot from my SPn.

shot with no name dollar store 400. ASA and developed at a grocery store.

didn't notice any in these

 

[Abbazz]

The lens on the SP exhibits a bit of vignetting wide open, as any other large aperture lens, but it is hardly noticeable and certainly not as obvious as yours on color negatives.

Do you have any filter or lens shade mounted?

Cheers,

Abbazz

 

[rcoder]

There was a cheap UV/Haze filter mounted -- good catch, Abbazz. I'll shoot a couple of rolls without it, and report back on what I find.

Glad to be amongst the ranks of SP owners, regardless. Thanks, guys.

 

[Abbazz]

You're welcome.

By the way, welcome to RFF.

The SP is indeed a very nice camera. It is not very sturdily constructed and has a few quirks but the quality of the lens makes you forget about the rest.

Cheers,

Abbazz

 

[zuikologist]

Sometimes a filter/lens hood combination also produces darkening in the corners. I think some of the metal Hoya hoods may be slightly too long for the SP.

 

[Trius]

The 2nd one shows what appears to be vignetting on the left side, but I'm not sure it is that ... from the direction of the light, it might just be partly natural lighting fall-off.

I would do what John has done ... try some outdoor shots or elsewhere where the lighting is even and make some shots at widest aperture, plus other apertures to compare. You'll need slower speed film probably.

Oh, and yes, check tha tyou aren't using a hood or filter that introduces vignetting.

 

[shadowfox]

This is the most vignetting at wide-open aperture that I've seen coming out from my SPn... and I have a Tiffen UV filter attached on the lens always.

 

[rcoder]

Well, after removing the filter and shooting another few rolls, I think that there was a little of both going on: the filter was adding a bit of vignetting, but there is still pretty noticeable falloff in the corners when I'm shooting wide-open.

It isn't particularly bothersome, given the kind of shooting I'm doing with the SP -- the vignetting actually lends a sort of lo-fi charm to my street and candid shots that I rather like. At some point, though, I'll probably try and send it in for a CLA, and see what happens with the exposures after that.

 

[zuikologist]

Shadowfox - I get similar results wide open with a filter.