Potential camera problem?

pascalhos

Hi,

I just joined and I'm trying to find the subforum to use for fielding questions regarding possible camera problems.
I own a Canon 300D and I recently started seeing a light ring on my pictures when taken in bright sunlight. I've checked the lens, even put another one on and the ring is still there so I'm assuming it is dust or particles in the body?
Before uploading a picture I want to make sure I'm posting in the right forum.

Cheers,

Pascal

David_S85

pascalhos wrote:

Hi,

I just joined and I'm trying to find the subforum to use for fielding questions regarding possible camera problems.
I own a Canon 300D and I recently started seeing a light ring on my pictures when taken in bright sunlight. I've checked the lens, even put another one on and the ring is still there so I'm assuming it is dust or particles in the body?
Before uploading a picture I want to make sure I'm posting in the right forum.

Cheers,

Pascal

Gear > Cameras Forum would be a great place for this type of question. I'm moving it there right now.... You could simply add the photos onto this thread, or start another.

...and Pascal, welcome to Dgrin!

pascalhos

Thanks for the quick reply.



This is an example picture. I'm refering to the light ring to the right of center, not the dirt on the lens besides that .

Is this somethign I can fix myself or should I send my camera in for a cleaning? And is this easy to touch up with photoshop?

Cheers,

Pascal

Giphsub

Dust or something on your sensor.

Yes, you can fix it yourself. If it is just sitting on the sensor then a blower may remove it. If not, then you might need a sensor cleaning kit. Do a search. There are quite a few threads covering this.

Yes, it is easy to fix in Photoshop. Go to the filter menu, choose noise (I think) and then dust & scratches. Hi-light the area and fiddle with the settings to blend it out of the picture. Pretty easy.

z_28

Yup - just a spot on sensor, easy job - don't worry

BTW - take a shot of clear sky at f22 and you will see it clearly.
[probably some more too]

gus

Giphsub wrote:

Dust or something on your sensor.

Yes, you can fix it yourself. If it is just sitting on the sensor then a blower may remove it. If not, then you might need a sensor cleaning kit. Do a search. There are quite a few threads covering this.

Yes, it is easy to fix in Photoshop. Go to the filter menu, choose noise (I think) and then dust & scratches. Hi-light the area and fiddle with the settings to blend it out of the picture. Pretty easy.

About 15mm (on my screen anyway) to the left of that dust spot which pascalhos is aware of....is a mark going from the top of the photo to the bottom of it.

If you get back several feet from your monitor & use your peripheral vision whilst looking at the bridge tower ...you can see it cutting right across from top to bottom of the entire photo ...looks like a faint rainbow running verticle.

Giphsub

so there is! Ever so faint. And not perfectly straight.

Richard

Giphsub wrote:

Dust or something on your sensor.

Yes, you can fix it yourself. If it is just sitting on the sensor then a blower may remove it. If not, then you might need a sensor cleaning kit. Do a search. There are quite a few threads covering this.

Yes, it is easy to fix in Photoshop. Go to the filter menu, choose noise (I think) and then dust & scratches. Hi-light the area and fiddle with the settings to blend it out of the picture. Pretty easy.

There is a dust spot in the pic, but that's not what Pascal is asking about. I don't think the ring is related to dust. Dust makes things darker, not lighter. More likely, it comes from shooting in bright light without a hood or it's a reflection coming from a filter. Do you get the ring when the light source is behind you? Does it always appear in your pics regardless of light source? Tell us more.

Cheers,

Giphsub

ah! Yep, Sorry , my mistake!

z_28

I'm sorry too

Anyway - do you see this "vertical rainbow" on every picture ?
You must provide much more info for online help.

pascalhos

Sorry for the confusion. I am talking about the faint "rainbow of light" in the picture. The attached photo is taken more recently and shows it much better. I've only really noticed it recently. I've now started looking back through my library and noticed it more and more. It does only happen when I'm shooting against the sun so it must just be the result of shooting without a hood. However, I'm too inexperienced to be able to know these things, hence my post in this forum.

claudermilk

"...shooting without a hood..."

That could be your problem. Put a hood on & see if it's still there.

ziggy53

rsinmadrid wrote:

... More likely, it comes from shooting in bright light without a hood or it's a reflection coming from a filter. ...

gus

I use the elcheapo 17-55 kit lens a lot & also in extreamly bright conditions & in many other tortuous ways ...i have never seen this. I photograph straight into the sun..just off the sun etc etc. Which lens is it ?

pascalhos

gus wrote:

I use the elcheapo 17-55 kit lens a lot & also in extreamly bright conditions & in many other tortuous ways ...i have never seen this. I photograph straight into the sun..just off the sun etc etc. Which lens is it ?

This happens with both the 28-105mm lens that came with the camera and the zoom lens EF 75-300mm 1:4-5:6 II.

The first picture was taken with full auto settings (shutter: 1/250, ap f/11, ISO 100) while the second picture was taken on sports setting (1/1250, f/7.1, ISO 400).

Both lenses do have UV (no polarizer) filters on them so I guess it could be a reflection from the filter ring.

darkdragon

pascalhos wrote:

This happens with both the 28-105mm lens that came with the camera and the zoom lens EF 75-300mm 1:4-5:6 II.

The first picture was taken with full auto settings (shutter: 1/250, ap f/11, ISO 100) while the second picture was taken on sports setting (1/1250, f/7.1, ISO 400).

Both lenses do have UV (no polarizer) filters on them so I guess it could be a reflection from the filter ring.

My opinion (but I'm no expert) is that it is caused by the UV filters. I was just going to ask if you had one on each lens - but you answered already. I had something similar happen with my 50mm and I freaked out - then took the UV filter off. As soon as I took off the filter, in the same position and light I took more photos and there was no light scar.

Try taking some similar photos without the filter and see if it goes away. I bet it will.

pascalhos

Thanks for all the replies. I'll try and shoot without the filters to see if that is the cause.

Does anyone know how I can fix these light scars using photoshop?

Glenn NK

gus wrote:

About 15mm (on my screen anyway) to the left of that dust spot which pascalhos is aware of....is a mark going from the top of the photo to the bottom of it.

If you get back several feet from your monitor & use your peripheral vision whilst looking at the bridge tower ...you can see it cutting right across from top to bottom of the entire photo ...looks like a faint rainbow running verticle.

Before I got to this post, I saw it too, and would have described it as a faint vertical arc of light (I looked carefully because the OP said he wasn't referring to the obvious dust spot).

I was going to ask if a hood was used? And then if a filter was used - in particular a cheap one?

The 17-55 is a cheap kit lens?? - holy crap it cost the same as my 24/105L - I've been taken.

achambers

Glenn NK wrote:

The 17-55 is a cheap kit lens?? - holy crap it cost the same as my 24/105L - I've been taken.

The cheap kit lens is 18-55, and except for being a little soft not bad.

hgernhardtjr

I've seen this issue of the "light-bow" reported on other forums from time to time, and had one acquaintance actually experience it. It happened on all her lenses, no matter size or brand, with or without lens hoods or filters.

Consensus was to send it back to Canon, who fixed it as it was still under warranty at the time.

One site that mentions the problem recently is Steve's Digicams: http://forums.steves-digicams.com/forums/view_topic.php?id=584976&forum_id=37

Tee Why

To me, it looks like the shutter curtain not properly working/closing.
I'd just do a quick check to see if it is the UV filter by taking a pic witout it and if it cont's, to send it in.

IIRC, a 300D has a shutter life expectency of 50,000 shots, so if you are near that mark, my suspicion would increase that it's the shutter.

pascalhos

Rats, I just took a picture without the filter and the results are exactly the same. If it really is the shutter assembly then I'm in trouble. The camera is now almost 3 years old and not under warranty anymore. I'm assuming that getting it fixed is probably cost prohibitive. Does anyone have an idea of the cost for such a repair?

Glenn NK

I just want you to confirm that you either:

1. used a hood and no light was falling on the lens/filter,

OR

2. shot away from the sun with no other light falling on the lens/filter.

I'm not discounting a shutter problem, but one must eliminate all other possibilities.

pascalhos

Glenn NK wrote:

I just want you to confirm that you either:

1. used a hood and no light was falling on the lens/filter,

OR

2. shot away from the sun with no other light falling on the lens/filter.

I'm not discounting a shutter problem, but one must eliminate all other possibilities.

Actually I do not own a hood, and the problem only shows up when I'm shooting into the sun.

Scott_Quier

Glenn NK wrote:

The 17-55 is a cheap kit lens?? - holy crap it cost the same as my 24/105L - I've been taken.

The EF-S 17-55 f/2.8 IS is not a cheap lens by any measure and, to the best of my knowledge, it has not been offered as a kit lens. This lens has a reputation as being, optically, almost "L" quality and are going, new, in the $1K range (IIRC). Definitely not a cheap lens!

In many posts, people will mis-type the lens designation and confuse the 17-55 with the much cheaper EF-S 18-55 f/3.5-5.6 which can be found for less than $100 on the used market.

claudermilk

pascalhos wrote:

Actually I do not own a hood, and the problem only shows up when I'm shooting into the sun.

Then start by visiting this site: http://www.lenshoods.co.uk/

No hood + shooting into the sun should be raising great big red flags for everyone here. It really sounds to me like internal reflections that hoods are designed to minimize.

Glenn NK

Scott_Quier wrote:

The EF-S 17-55 f/2.8 IS is not a cheap lens by any measure and, to the best of my knowledge, it has not been offered as a kit lens. This lens has a reputation as being, optically, almost "L" quality and are going, new, in the $1K range (IIRC). Definitely not a cheap lens!

In many posts, people will mis-type the lens designation and confuse the 17-55 with the much cheaper EF-S 18-55 f/3.5-5.6 which can be found for less than $100 on the used market.

I know - it's probably my sharpest lens, and I well know the cost of it - at my local dealer (where I bought everything but my Tokina), the 17/55 and the 24/105 L were the same price.

My comment was a bit tongue-in-cheek, and I apologize for that.

ON TOPIC:

PASCAL:

Get a hood on your lenses (all of them if you have more than one) as soon as you can.

I never, ever, use a lens without a hood - besides preventing the flare problem you are seeing, it also protects the front element and/or filter. Many's the story on other forums that start out "lens hood saved my lens".

Several things made me suspicious:

1. the intensity of the light arc varied,

2. the curved vertically aligned shape,

3. the colour.

4. I've seen posted images of shutter failures, and they invariably contained dark and light areas that were aligned horizontally (the shutter curtains move in a vertical direction creating a horizontal slit between the first and second curtains), and there are usually areas that are highly over or under exposed.