What causes horizontal banding near the sun in a RAW image from a Sony A77 II?
Asked 11/8/2015
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2 answers
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I shot into a setting sun with a Sony A77 II at ISO 100, f/5, 1/20s, using TTL fill flash. In the darker areas near the sun, the RAW file shows a series of faint horizontal bright bands after processing in Lightroom. Increasing contrast makes the pattern much easier to see.
What is the likely cause of these horizontal bands? Is this a sensor-related readout artifact rather than lens flare, and is there anything worth testing in-camera, such as the electronic first-curtain shutter?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
10y ago
2 Answers
1
There horizontal lines are some kind of noise problem setting/reading the horizontal addresses in the camera array. So if it is a 10 bit address then bit 4 in the address is always set or never set. This would show up more clearly on the raw image. The compressed image would average out the problem to some extent.
Originally by user47300. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user47300
10y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
This looks more like a sensor/readout artifact than lens flare.
Based on the community replies, the bands are likely related to horizontal row addressing or readout in the sensor, rather than an optical reflection in the lens. In other words, some rows may be getting read slightly differently, and the pattern becomes visible in difficult conditions like bright sun with deep nearby shadows and heavy contrast adjustments.
One answer specifically suggests a horizontal address/read noise issue in the sensor array. Another notes seeing similar behavior on the Sony A77 II and suggests testing with the electronic first-curtain shutter turned off, since that may be involved.
So the best practical conclusion is:
- it is probably a camera sensor/readout banding artifact,
- not classic lens flare,
- and a useful test is to repeat the shot with electronic first-curtain shutter disabled to see whether the pattern changes or disappears.
If it happens consistently under similar conditions, it may indicate a camera-specific issue rather than normal image behavior.
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