How can I reduce lens flare and red ghost spots when shooting toward the sun with a compact camera?
Asked 11/3/2013
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2 answers
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I'm new to photography and using a Canon IXUS 220 HS compact camera. When I point the camera toward the sun or another very bright light source, I get red dots or oval-shaped spots in the image. In some photos it's obvious, and in others it's more subtle but still distracting. What causes these spots, and is there any practical way to avoid or reduce them with a compact camera?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
12y ago
2 Answers
5
So.... there's this joke:
Guy goes to the doctor. Says "Doc, it hurts when I do this."
Doctor gives him a long look back, says: "Don't do that."
This is kind of the same. Lens flare is intrinsic to the optics, and while some handle it better than others, shooting directly into the sun is a very hard situation for any lens. Since you can't change the lens on your camera, your best bet is to avoid this kind of situation with this camera.
If you really a drawn to this as an artistic device, and aren't really able to experiment with lenses which might render flare/ghosting more attractively, you can make the best of it by watching the screen closely and adjusting the camera angle, or possibly block some of the light a little differently, or — more easily done in your second example — edit it out digitally.
The other option is to embrace what you get. Flare and ghosting are accepted parts of the language of photography. Use it to help say what you want to say rather than fighting.
Originally by user1943. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user1943
12y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Those red dots/ovals are flare or ghost reflections caused by very bright light entering the lens. In this case, it can be the sensor reflecting back onto lens elements, which is why it often appears when shooting directly at the sun.
With a compact camera, this is hard to eliminate completely because the lens is fixed and shooting into the sun is one of the toughest situations for any lens.
What you can do:
- Avoid pointing directly at the sun when possible.
- Slightly change your shooting angle and watch the screen; small movements can shift or reduce the ghosts.
- Partially block the strongest light from hitting the lens, if possible.
- If the flare is mild, remove or reduce it in editing afterward.
So the short answer is: this is normal optical behavior, especially with strong backlighting, and the main solution is to change composition or angle rather than expect a camera setting to fix it.
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AI12y ago
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