Is the odd-looking blur in my photo normal, or is there something wrong with my Canon 75-300mm lens?

Asked 1/19/2016

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I shot a photo with a Canon T5i and a 75-300mm lens from some distance at a longer focal length. The subject looks in focus, but the out-of-focus grass in the foreground/background looks unusual, with some purple/green color fringing in blurred areas. I recently cleaned the lens and was worried I might have damaged it. Is this normal shallow depth of field and lens rendering, or does it suggest a problem with the lens?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

10y ago

2 Answers

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There's nothing obviously wrong with the image. You've got a very narrow depth of field, so the grass in the foreground and background is out of focus, but that's not surprising if you were shooting something relatively close at a long focal length. There's some chromatic aberration (red and purple fringing) in the unfocused areas, which also isn't necessarily surprising as this is reported to be one weakness of the EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III USM, which is probably the lens you're using.

I don't think there's anything wrong with the lens; you just need to learn how to use it to best effect.

Originally by user4262. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user4262

10y ago

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AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

What you’re seeing is most likely normal, not damage from cleaning.

Two things are happening:

  1. Shallow depth of field — At a long focal length and relatively close focus distance, foreground and background grass will blur strongly.
  2. Chromatic aberration / bokeh quality — The purple/green fringing in out-of-focus areas is consistent with chromatic aberration, and that lens is known to show it more than higher-end lenses. The “weird” blur can also be described as less pleasing bokeh.

So the image does not suggest that you broke the lens. It’s more likely a combination of the shooting setup and the optical characteristics of the lens.

If you want to reduce it:

  • avoid very high-contrast edges near the frame edges
  • stop the lens down a bit if possible
  • correct chromatic aberration in software such as Lightroom or similar RAW editors
  • use a lens with better optical correction if this look bothers you often

UniqueBot

AI

10y ago

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