Vignetting: Is it a dirty word?

[Godfrey]

Vignetting and corner fall-off (these are two different things) are lens characteristics that good lens designers try to minimize.

• Vignetting is physical shading of the projected image by some obstruction in the light path. Generally speaking, this is always considered a bad thing. You can almost always see a semi-hard edge to it.
• Corner fall-off is the more typical case of what modern lenses do where the corner illumination is down by some measure compared to the center illumination.

True vignetting as in the first bullet is nearly always a problem that is hard to use, although creatively applied vignettes (like the round, heart shaped, etc, masks you sometimes see in various post cards) can be appealing once in a while. Soft vignetting or corner fall-off is often an aesthetic plus, it can lend some dimensionality to a photograph if it is done subtly and not over-worked.

 

[MIkhail]

Will have to have a serious conversation with this guy...
Tell him to cut it out...
http://www.agencevu.com/photographers/photographer.php?id=1

 

[FujiLove]

I like how my XA3 vignettes...has nice corner fall-off, or whatever.

 

[das]

I like how some vignetting can draw your eyes into the center of the frame. While not particularly great for architecture and landscapes and farther away subjects, it can be used to lovely effect with close-up, centered subjects.

 

[Godfrey]

Does vignetting annoy you? Is there any place for a lens that vignettes? Any other thoughts about vignetting?

Vignetting is a shading or a shadow cast by a part of the lens, as differentiated from corner/edge darkening caused by light falloff in the lens design. The distinction is significant: vignetting is nearly always undesirable, where light falloff is a natural attribute of most lenses' rendering.

Does an attribute of a lens's rendering annoy me? Silly question. It is what it is. The question is whether I want it in my photo. That depends on the photo. If I want it, fine–for some photos I might pick a lens or processing action that accentuates it. If I don't, I pick a lens where falloff is minimized.

G

 

[oftheherd]

i think it can sometimes frame/focus an image nicely...

Well, that's it, really, isn't it? Not much more to say. Sometimes, it's OK; sometimes distracting.

I think it is like many other things in photography. If it enhances the photograph for a majority of viewers, or even only the photographer who took the photo, it is good to great.

I used to have a Yashikor 28mm lens. It unbelievable flared. I just used to look first in the viewfinder as to where I could put the flare. If I couldn't and wanted the photo for some reason I just shot anyway. Sometimes I could actually get a better photo than I had anticipated, especially if it was a spot from the light source.

I don't want flare in all my photographs, but if I really want the photo, or can use it to increase the esthetic value, why not?

 

[kangaroo2012]

I remember reading in one of Ansel Adams books that he always burned in the corners of his prints. Effectively vignetting. But he said it should not be obvious.

I have an original "Moonrise over Half Dome" print of his and I must say I cannot see any burning in.
Cheers
Philip

 

[pvdhaar]

Vignetting is a shading or a shadow cast by a part of the lens, as differentiated from corner/edge darkening caused by light falloff in the lens design. The distinction is significant: vignetting is nearly always undesirable, where light falloff is a natural attribute of most lenses' rendering.

Depending on the chosen aperture, the vignetting may have more or less of a hard edge. Agreed, a hard edge is not desirable, but when the edge is soft, it can sometimes help frame a shot..