Why do I see these little 'bubbles' on some pictures which use flash?

burgertime · Mar 20, 2014

I'm using a canon Powershot A2500 - this years model. I notice that on many pictures in which the flash flashes, I get all these little bubbles everywhere. I can't figure it out. I know this camera is far from high end but I've always used Canon point and shoot cameras and I don't recall ever having this problem.

Thoughts?

KmH · Mar 20, 2014

The bubbles are out-of-focus debris/dust/spots on your lens the flash is lighting up.

Designer · Mar 20, 2014

Clean your lens carefully and properly. Do not drop any liquid lens cleaner directly onto the lens. Gently blow or brush any loose dust off first, then apply one or two drops of lens cleaning liquid to a soft, lint-free cloth. After working the drops into the cloth, gently wipe stuck dust off. Check under bright light for any more stuck dust or grease spots.

CdTSnap · Mar 20, 2014

GHOSTS!

Light Guru · Mar 20, 2014

It looks like your talking a photo inside a wood shop of sorts. There is going to be sawdust all over the place there, it's not really a good environment to photograph in.

vimwiz · Mar 20, 2014

Dust in your lens and/or sensor.

manaheim · Mar 20, 2014

CdTSnap said:
GHOSTS!

Some person I was connected with on facebook spent AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGES arguing that these things were ghosts.

I'm not connected with her on facebook anymore.

manaheim · Mar 20, 2014

vimwiz said:
Dust in your lens and/or sensor.

errr... no. Dust in the lens would be invisible. Dust on the sensor would be a dark spot.

CdTSnap · Mar 20, 2014

manaheim said:
CdTSnap said:

GHOSTS!

Click to expand...

Some person I was connected with on facebook spent AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGES arguing that these things were ghosts.

I'm not connected with her on facebook anymore.

lol yea... Thats what I was told when i took some photos in dark cave in Devonports, North Head.

PropilotBW · Mar 20, 2014

manaheim said:
vimwiz said:

Dust in your lens and/or sensor.

Click to expand...

errr... no. Dust in the lens would be invisible. Dust on the sensor would be a dark.

. I had a bad habit of putting my point and shoot straight in my pocket without a soft case. Over time, the lint from my pants got inside the camera body, and is now sitting on the inside of the lens, clearly visible. ...not worth the cost of cleaning it. I attempted taking apart the P&S to clean the lens, but was turning out to be a lot lengthier of a dismantle than I had hoped. It looked exactly like this photo.

Derrel · Mar 20, 2014

KmH said:
The bubbles are out-of-focus debris/dust/spots on your lens the flash is lighting up.

You oughtta see some of the cool orbs the NASA astronauts have captured when taking photos in outer space! Against the dark blackness of space, minute, out of focus debris can appear to be HUGE alien spacecraft or even fleets' worth of space craft! I was watching NASA's Unexplained Footage a few nights ago, and there were multiple cases of amazing "orbs" like yours....but, again, they were seen and photographed with a dark outer space field, instead of an interior, the orbs they got looked immense to the eye when seen against the space station's outer structures. With sunlight coming in at nifty angles, the out of focus debris looked very orb-y and other-worldly!

But yeah... "orbs" like this are airborn stuff being lighted by the flash's direct beam.

petrochemist · Mar 21, 2014

Derrel said:
But yeah... "orbs" like this are airborn stuff being lighted by the flash's direct beam.

Finally an accurate answer!
Muck on the lens will decrease contrast but that's about it, on the sensor it causes shadows. To produce bright spots with flash (only) it needs to be in the path of the flash!

Gavjenks · Mar 21, 2014

Ghosts are lots of things:
* CAN be stuff on the lens. Rarely. But if you are focusing very closely at f/22 or something, it can be that. Probably not here since he is focusing many feet away.
* Can be dust in the air reflecting light and out of focus but not as out of focus as stuff on the lens and therefore more visible. Also bugs cotton tree seeds etc.
* Peobably most often, strange circles are internal lens reflections. Strong lights bouncing in from weird angles that ricochet inside the lens in unintended ways and then essentially project images of the (round) glass onto the sensor. Indoors, there are lots of near surfaces to reflect from, and I'm guessing you didn't use a lens hood did you? (Helps let in weird angles if not)

Could be any combination. Or actual ghosts of course.

mmaria · Mar 21, 2014

no no those are ghosts and period

but if we are serious, actual ghosts in circles look a bit different... believe me... I know...:twisted:

burgertime · Mar 21, 2014

Thanks for the many replies!

But alas, I am confused now. It may help to state that this camera is just a couple of months old. It HAS been put inside my pocket many times though. I noticed this problem one of the first pictures I took with this camera. I was getting some 'after' photos of antique chest I had just refinished. I was taking the pictures inside their dining room so, that having been said, I'm going to cautiously assume that dust in the air is a non-issue. Yes, this is my wood shop. A lens hood? don't have one and I don't know that you can get them for a rinky-dink point and shoot like this, can you? Would my hand over the camera suffice? Sort of when you are blocking the sun from your eyes watching something outdoors? Maybe try it? This is a seriously annoying issue!

Thanks again for all of you weighing in on this. Oh, if it turns out that it IS ghosts, what do you suggest?