james_martin9 Posted October 17, 2007 Share Posted October 17, 2007 This is a follow up to my 50mm 1.4 question. I had very poor results under very low ambient lighting with spot lights scattered throughout the scenes I was shooting. The photos has alot of flare, ghosting and color fringing, as well as what looked like halos around some of the people in the scenes. First, I admit the lighting was very poor, but I have shot the same types of scene with my 70-200 2.8VR with none of those issues. Some have said that is an inherent trait to super fast lenses wide open and other say I might have a bad copy. Regardless, I am taking it back and possibly trading for an 85 1.8 because that suits my shooting better. Will this lens exhibit similar behavior wide open in very contrasty type situation between focused bright lights and dark rooms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juanjo_viagran Posted October 17, 2007 Share Posted October 17, 2007 ohh man, I had the 85mm 1.8 AFD, what a AWESOME LENS.. I also had the 50mm 1.4AFD and sold it, didn't like it much. on the side note: don't think is fare to compare a $250 lens (50mm 1.4D) with a $1700 lens (70-200mm 2.8) ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stwrtertbsratbs5 Posted October 17, 2007 Share Posted October 17, 2007 The 85mm f/1.8 really is excellent. And an amazing value. I can't comment on the 50/1.4 as I've never owned one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hector Javkin Posted October 17, 2007 Share Posted October 17, 2007 I have both the 50mm f/1.4 and the 85mm f/1.8. I haven't been bothered by the same problem with 50mm. In the DX format, I find the 85mm truly excellent for portraits, and prefer it over the 50mm, but that has more to do with focal length -- in 35mm, I usually selected 105mm or 135mm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
User_502260 Posted October 17, 2007 Share Posted October 17, 2007 Any time you are shooting with a very fast lens directly into light sources you will have flare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james_martin9 Posted October 17, 2007 Author Share Posted October 17, 2007 Jeff, so I am guessing 2.8 is not considered "very fast" because I get no flare with it. I wonder if this is really about my lack of knowledge and experience. Does the longer focal length mean more or less flare or is flare even a function of focal length at all? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graham_line Posted October 17, 2007 Share Posted October 17, 2007 Fast doesn't have so much to do with it; it's easier to exclude direct light sources when shooting with a narrower-angle lens. Coatings and lens shades also enter into the equation, but like Jeff said -- shoot into the light, get flare. Photography is all about managing light. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james_martin9 Posted October 17, 2007 Author Share Posted October 17, 2007 Yea..it was unavoidable in those photos because I was a spectator and bought the 50mm 1.4 as a walk around, but thought being so close, I could get some good shots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jack_l3 Posted October 18, 2007 Share Posted October 18, 2007 How old is the 50mm you're using? Older lenses sometimes develop a haze on internal elements that can cause the types of issues you're describing. Neither of the 50mm f/1.4 lenses I've used (AI and AIS) exhibited this problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lex_jenkins Posted October 18, 2007 Share Posted October 18, 2007 Any lens can be forced to flare under the right (read: wrong) conditions. Especially fast lenses. As Josef noted, lenses with narrower angles of view make it easier to exclude stray light. OTOH, they can also exclude desired subject matter. ;> If you have the luxury of time and space to move around you can sometimes reduce the effect of ghosting. Reorienting the camera relative to the light source can sometimes minimize the ghosting. But it's more difficult to avoid veiling flare if the lens is prone to it. All lens models have different characteristics. The 35-70/2.8D AF is very resistant to veiling flare but prone to ghosting when bright light sources are directly in the frame. They're actually very colorful little buggers. Between the two types of flare, I'll take the ghosting. It can sometimes be retouched, while nothing can rescue a photo from veiling flare with its reduction on contrast and color saturation. My particular sample of the cheap 18-70 DX is surprisingly resistant to all kinds of flare. Beats any midrange zoom I've owned, in that respect. The 50/1.8D AF is reasonably flare resistant. I haven't seen any ghosting but there is some veiling flare when it's used wide open, such as in poorly lit school gyms. Maybe a lens hood would help - I don't normally use one with the 50 because the front element is fairly deeply recessed inside the barrel. Lazy me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nico_. Posted October 18, 2007 Share Posted October 18, 2007 It's been a while, but AFAIR shooting into the sun with my 85/1.8 resulted in very bad flare, dramatically reduced contrast and ghosts. Now it never leaves the house without lens hood. From what I've heard the 85/1.4 is better in this regard but for its price it should be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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