Quantaray 70-300 purplish hue

[gary_hamilton3]

OK, I know it's not Nikkor glass, but I need as long lense for my son's outdoor soccer & I picked up a used one for $30.

 

So, I have heard this about the lense, that it tends to have a purplish hue to it. Is there anything I can do (filter, etc) to take

the hue out?

 

My next longer lense is my Nikkor 55-200VR, but it just doesn't have the reach.

 

Any help would be appreciated.

[liljuddakalilknyttphotogra]

Gary,

 

if you shot RAW you can change that in NX or probably in Photoshop as well. I find that different lenses have different color schemes. Also camera brands. As for filter - - -a warming one might help. But do tests.

 

I remember seeing some shots taken with teh Sigmonster before I bought it which got me a tad concerned - - they were so purple/blue I had second thoughts. But I also had a NEF file from a friend taken with the Sigmonster with the D300 & it did not have that color cast. I checked more & more places & realized that the purplish shots were taken with a Sigma camera. From that I determined that it was a combination of camera & lens which created that color cast.

 

Try in post if you shot RAW...

 

Lil :-)

[lex_jenkins]

If you prefer to shoot JPEGs for convenience you should be able to white balance through the lens to eliminate the color cast. Check your camera's instruction manual.

 

I do this with a couple of older manual focus lenses for use on my D2H. The Vivitar Series 1 70-210/2.8-4 tends to run blue and a Tamron Adaptall 24/2.5 runs a bit warm. TTL WB fixes the problem. I almost always shoot JPEGs and NEFs simultaneously so I want 'em ready to print out of the camera.

[ronald_moravec1]

Some companies are more meticulous than others in keeping color consistent across all the lenses. This is some of what you pay for when you do not buy third party lenses.

 

Who does an independent balance for? They are certainly not made differently for different brands.

[lester_hawksby1]

You say you've heard about this colour cast... but have you experienced it, and is it really so severe?

 

Test! And if it's so strong that you really have a problem, I agree entirely with Lex - try a custom white balance first. It usually compensates for colour differences between lenses. If that doesn't do the trick, see if you can correct it on computer, then save your settings so you can do it automatically in future. Trying to fix colour casts with glass filters tends to be frustrating, cheap ones damage quality, and really good glass filters are quite expensive - so I wouldn't recommend that route. (Also, think about it: you're worried that your piece of cheap glass may have a problem... is screwing yet another piece to the front to try to correct it really a good plan?).

 

There can be other sources of colour problems too. If your computer screen is not calibrated, it could very easily give you an inaccurate sense of colour which will swamp the relatively small differences between lenses. A basic hardware calibrator isn't too expensive now, but it's still an extra expense and level of seriousness - up to you whether it's justified, really.

[gary_hamilton3]

I have seen it from some landscapes I shot already. My shots will be primarily outdors, hopefully with bright sunshine.

 

All I have at the moment for processing i spicture perfect, a very basic program.

 

Any suggestions for a easy to use reasonably or free software package for basic cropping, color, brightness & contrast adjustment?

 

Thanks.

 

p.s. no purplish tinge with any of my Nikkor glass.

[lex_jenkins]

Good free software includes Irfanview, Picasa and FastStone, all of which can handle raw files tho' without the sophistication of Nikon's own raw converter. Of the three I prefer Irfanview. It's not much of a photo editor but it's very resource efficient and quick for batch processing. Picasa is handy for simple editing but doesn't always get the colors right; it uses a non-standard file folder hierarchy; and it saves only to JPEG. FastStone is capable but I find it awkward.

 

Some of the best for-fee software for making simple corrections easily and effectively is the iCorrect stuff from PictoColor Corp.

 

For more extensive editing at a reasonable price, check Photoshop Elements and Corel Paint Shop Pro X. Comparable prices and features.

 

Almost all of the better photo editing packages and utilities are available as trialware. Some offer 30 days with access to all features. Some offer unlimited use with output watermarked or at only low resolution. Others, such as SkinTune and 20/20, offer a limited number of trials at full resolution, high quality output so you can evaluate the results in large prints. So try 'em all, see what you like.

[lester_hawksby1]

I quite like The Gimp as a free (and really free - open source everything) editor - awful name, slightly clunky interface, but actually pretty powerful. I often pull down a copy when I'm using borrowed machines with no Photoshop, as it can do a surprising amount of basic PS jobs and keeps getting better all the time. I'm not sure about RAW in it as I've never tried - I believe it can be done through a free plugin but not in the core program.

 

If you're in consistently bright sunshine, the custom white balance method has a great chance of working. If there is fast-moving patchy cloud and the light level keeps changing you have more problems - the light colour changes with it and you taking new WB readings is a bit of an interruption. That would be a good time to be shooting RAW, where you can just get it right later.