Unusual Problem
Jun 23, 2015 01:12:00 #
We were out on a marine tour out of Seward, Ak, the other day, looking for whales and other marine critters to photograph. I took my Panasonic Lumix FZ200, and encountered a unique problem that surfaced, especially at full optical zoom. Almost all of those photos came out with a rather milky appearance. Can't figure that one out.
Second question--When attempting to shoot the whales at a distance, the camera had a horrible time focusing. Could that be due to lack of contrast across the water? I was shooting in full auto mode, as any other mode didn't seem to make much difference, other than I was able to successfully overexpose a few, to the extent that they were immediately deleted. I would appreciate any constructive comments and suggestions.
Here are a couple examples of the milky appearance. And no, I wasn't shooting into the sun.
Second question--When attempting to shoot the whales at a distance, the camera had a horrible time focusing. Could that be due to lack of contrast across the water? I was shooting in full auto mode, as any other mode didn't seem to make much difference, other than I was able to successfully overexpose a few, to the extent that they were immediately deleted. I would appreciate any constructive comments and suggestions.
Here are a couple examples of the milky appearance. And no, I wasn't shooting into the sun.
Jun 23, 2015 01:25:53 #
Were you shooting through a window?
Can you post a few 'non-telephoto' shots, too?
From these, I'll 'guess' that you're seeing atmospheric haze.
Can you post a few 'non-telephoto' shots, too?
From these, I'll 'guess' that you're seeing atmospheric haze.
Jun 23, 2015 01:25:53 #
Jun 23, 2015 02:19:36 #
Jun 23, 2015 02:20:19 #
far north, depending on when you were there it might have been smoke from the fires that gave the milky look. we were in Seward Tuesday thru Thursday camping and there was smoke in the air from the fire in Soldatna.
as far as the focusing point and shoots tend to be slow focusing, and again the smoke would have made it harder to focus.
as far as the focusing point and shoots tend to be slow focusing, and again the smoke would have made it harder to focus.
Jun 23, 2015 03:11:20 #
Rendezvous
Loc: New Zealand
Possibly lens flare of some kind. Sunlight shining in from a side angle. That can often make things look washed out and milky.
Jun 23, 2015 03:17:59 #
stableduck wrote:
far north, depending on when you were there it might have been smoke from the fires that gave the milky look. we were in Seward Tuesday thru Thursday camping and there was smoke in the air from the fire in Soldatna.
as far as the focusing point and shoots tend to be slow focusing, and again the smoke would have made it harder to focus.
as far as the focusing point and shoots tend to be slow focusing, and again the smoke would have made it harder to focus.
That makes a lot of sense. There was a lot of smoky haze that day. It was last Wednesday.
On another note, while playing around in the menu on my A6000, I found that there is a manual focus mode, and both my lenses for that cameras have manual focus rings. I may just use that camera exclusively and just deal with the fact that I won't have a long telephoto lens. I have the 55--210. That way I can use that feature when I need to.
I was requested to post a couple shots that weren't milky looking. Here are two. The third one I thought was just interesting as a fog began coming in.
On looking at #3, it appears that it was also affected by the haze.
My wife and grandson onboard the boat.
Adds a bit of the mysterious with the fog
Jun 23, 2015 04:37:42 #
Try using a circular polarizing filter for water scenes or on reflective surfaces.
Jun 23, 2015 04:53:56 #
Jun 23, 2015 06:21:44 #
Far North wrote:
We were out on a marine tour out of Seward, Ak, th... (show quote)
Is this what you were after?
The haze is fairly typical, and much more intense than what can be handled with a simple UV filter. In haze, there are several correctable components - loss of contrast, loss of saturation, an abundance of blue, and loss of detail. I address all of the above in the image below.
When using a jpeg image, as you can see, there is a limit to what you can do with it. Also, small sensor cameras tend to "clump" detail, especially when you are taking shots at a long distance. Since your camera has a raw recording option, I would suggest you get acquainted with it and learn how to post process your images.
Jun 23, 2015 11:09:42 #
Gene51 wrote:
Is this what you were after? br br The haze is fa... (show quote)
That cleaned it up. Thanks. Yes, I suppose I should get used to shooting in raw.
Jun 23, 2015 12:42:14 #
Far North wrote:
That cleaned it up. Thanks. Yes, I suppose I should get used to shooting in raw.
Good. My version could use a little more work - reduce the contrast a bit on the building and lighten up the shadows, but you get the idea.
I would suggest downloading the trial for Lightroom and Photoshop.
Jun 23, 2015 13:18:18 #
Are you sure you didn't get condensation on the lens? Internally or externally? Had the camera been in an air conditioned environment then brought out into the moist air on the boat? If the condensation was internal, caused by drawing moist air inside the camera when zooming out, then it could take some time to dissipate. Did it get better as the day went on?
Jun 23, 2015 13:34:08 #
Off hand I'd say it was condensation on the lens.
The last one you showed was a fog bank or something of that nature.
The last one you showed was a fog bank or something of that nature.
I wiped you lens off
Fog penetrating lens
Jun 23, 2015 14:05:53 #
Hmm, I wasn't aware of any lens fogging. No air conditioning, by the way. And it was a warm day.
The shot of the fog over the island was taken as a fog bank was drifting in from the open ocean, and that is how it appeared. Everything just appeared gauzy, even outside the camera.
To answer the question, no, there wasn't any improvement. In fact, the shot of the foggy island was taken near the end of the cruise. Some photos I took after that, of my wife and grandson came out just fine. I think, in the end, I was the victim of all the smoky haze from the forest fires going on. Even the sky, itself, wasn't very blue, if that sheds any light on the matter. (no pun intended there)
The shot of the fog over the island was taken as a fog bank was drifting in from the open ocean, and that is how it appeared. Everything just appeared gauzy, even outside the camera.
To answer the question, no, there wasn't any improvement. In fact, the shot of the foggy island was taken near the end of the cruise. Some photos I took after that, of my wife and grandson came out just fine. I think, in the end, I was the victim of all the smoky haze from the forest fires going on. Even the sky, itself, wasn't very blue, if that sheds any light on the matter. (no pun intended there)
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