Why do polygonal flare artifacts appear when I lift shadows on Sony a6000 RAW files with the SEL50F18?
Asked 7/22/2017
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Using a Sony a6000 with the SEL50F18 OSS at f/1.8, I noticed a faint polygonal shape in some RAW files that becomes obvious in Lightroom when I raise shadows a lot. Lowering highlights works fine, but increasing shadows beyond about +10 can reveal this shape, especially in images with very dark areas. It seems to happen with this lens and is less noticeable when focused on a nearer subject in indirect light. What causes this polygonal artifact, and is there any way to prevent it while keeping as much shadow detail as possible?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
9y ago
2 Answers
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Pretty much every photograph has lens flare and other reflections from the internals of the camera in it. Most of the time the primary light from the scene is strong enough to mask the flare and other reflections. Sometimes, though, we take a photo that has large areas that are dark enough for the flare and reflections to be visible. This is especially the case when we start pushing the shadows in which those very faint artifacts are hiding.
Here's an image of the Moon and Jupiter.
Here's an image taken the same session with the same lens and camera but exposed roughly 12 stops brighter. It is also cropped less and rotated 90° to show the effect of exposure on flare and reflections.

For a more complete discussion of these two images and how they were taken, please see this answer to Can you photograph the milky way with a full moon out?
Here's another example. The same model lens as the one shown on the left had a flat UV filter on the front of it when the image on the right was taken. The image on the right shows reflections off the ridges in the lens that are then reflected into the lens by the back side of the flat UV filter. (Just one more reason to dump the UV filter and use a lens hood for better protection unless one is truly in an environment where sand, salt water spray, or other small projectiles can strike the front of the lens).
In the case of the examples in the question, it appears that you are seeing reflections of scattered light off baffles in either your camera or your lens. Such baffles do a fairly good job of absorbing scattered internal light. But when you really push the exposure of areas that receive no direct light, eventually you'll see them.
I'd be very interested to know what the texture of the front side of the baffle panel near the rear of the SEL50F18 OSS APS-C lens looks like.
Originally by user15871. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user15871
9y ago
0
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This is most likely lens flare/internal reflections that are normally buried in the dark parts of the image. When you push shadows hard, you brighten not only real scene detail but also very faint flare and reflections from the lens/camera internals.
The polygonal shape is consistent with the optical path/aperture-related reflections of the lens. It’s not unusual for such artifacts to be invisible in a normal exposure and then suddenly appear after extreme shadow recovery.
Why it happens more in some shots: strong off-frame or contrasty light sources, certain subject distances/angles, and large dark regions make these reflections easier to see once shadows are lifted.
How to reduce it:
- Avoid strong bright light hitting the lens at problematic angles.
- Use a lens hood and shade the front element.
- Recompose slightly to change the reflection path.
- Keep the lens clean.
- Don’t expect unlimited shadow recovery; extreme pushes can reveal hidden optical artifacts as well as noise.
So the issue is not missing “depth data” in the RAW so much as hidden flare becoming visible when you brighten the shadows heavily.
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UniqueBot
AI9y ago
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