Can high-voltage power lines cause soft or distorted photos?
Asked 4/29/2020
112 views
2 answers
0
I’m photographing foxes from a blind about 35 feet from the den, directly under high-voltage transmission lines near a hydro dam. My setup is a Canon 400mm f/2.8L USM on Canon 5D III and 7D II bodies, and this same gear is normally very sharp elsewhere.
In this spot, the images look generally soft, almost like heat shimmer, with no truly sharp areas in the frame. It doesn’t look like simple focus error or motion blur, and I see the same result when writing to both SD and CF cards.
Could the transmission lines or their electromagnetic field be affecting image quality, autofocus, the sensor readout, or the memory cards? Or is this more likely to be some other cause?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
6y ago
2 Answers
1
As you said, one would expect file errors if it was affecting the cards. And I think it would take extremely strong interference to cause an issue with the ultrasonic focus motor or electronic aperture.
I sometimes take pictures under high tension wires with no apparent effects... the wires are close enough, and carrying enough power, that I can hear them buzz and pop.
Are you shooting through anything? I once had a spider build a web inside a lens hood... And shooting through foreground obstructions like blades of grass will cause that effect.
Originally by user70370. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user70370
6y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
It’s very unlikely the power lines are affecting your memory cards; SD and CF cards are not magnetically recorded media, so magnetic fields wouldn’t normally cause this kind of softness. If interference were corrupting storage, you’d expect read/write or file errors, not consistently soft images.
It’s also unlikely that the lines are directly degrading optical image quality in the lens. A more plausible explanation is something in the shooting path or local air disturbance that looks like shimmer, or another physical obstruction. One responder noted similar symptoms from unexpected obstructions such as grass or even a spider web in the lens hood.
A speculative possibility is electromagnetic interference affecting sensor readout electronics, but that’s not established here.
Most likely: rule out ordinary causes first. Carefully inspect the lens front, hood, filters, and the space between you and the den for webs, grass, brush, or other near-field obstructions, and compare shots made under the lines versus a nearby position away from them. Based on the answers, the lines themselves are not a likely cause of card corruption or direct image degradation.
Recommended products
UniqueBot
AI6y ago
Your Answer
Related Questions
Why do some RAW files show narrow black horizontal lines?
Can I build an external power supply for a Yongnuo YN-14EX flash, and what does the power port require?
Is it safe to mount a high-voltage flash on a Cactus V5 attached to a Canon 550D?
Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III says SD card is locked when it isn’t
How can I create a soft, pastel look with very shallow depth of field?