Strange glow in pictures

[rob_hanssen]

<p>Hi everyone,<br>

I was taking some christmas decoration pix in my neighborhood and found strange glowing reflections in my photos. Any idea where these come from?<br>

examples:<br>

/> (this one is even an inverted projection)<br>

Taken by Canon 30D/Canon EF 50mm f/1.4/800ISO<br>

Thanks,<br /> Rob</p>

[Matt Laur]

<p>Do you have a filter on that lens? Is it multi-coated?</p>

[rob_hanssen]

<p>I have a UV filter on this lens. Could that be it? I never saw this effect before (although I never took pix like these before)</p>

[Matt Laur]

<p>It's a reflection - off of a glass element somewhere in between those lighted decorations and the sensor in your camera. Cheaper UV filters are a piece of glass in that picture, and with lower quality coatings they can really contribute to the bouncing around of some light. Just like the diagonal flare disc patters you see when shooting into the sun. If you have another chance, it might be interesting to reproduce those exact same exposures, but to do so without the filter on.</p>

[mauro_acchione]

<p>Christmas Pixies?  That or reflections as described above ;-)</p>

[alex_lofquist]

<p>These are "ghosts" caused by reflections from the sensor and surface of a front mounted  filter. (This phenomenon has been covered at length before.)  If you must use a filter, be sure that it is a multicoated one. However it is best to remove the filter entirely when highlights are present.</p>

[graham_thompson1]

<p>Now a Leica has glow.</p>