A Helpful Lens Flare - Photo of the Moon

DGMPhotography · Jan 1, 2013

Hello! So I tried shooting pictures of the moon and stars again, without much success. I think I need a bigger lens. Anyway, I was just going through deleting all my photos when I came across this one and thought hey.... the lens flare looks more like the moon than the moon! Even at fast shutter speeds I could not get the moon to look right (and it was 28 degrees so I didn't stay out long), but the lens flare looks great! It seems to have the features of the moon. Maybe it was reflected into my lens, or maybe it's just a coincidence. Either way, I like it. What do you think?

christop · Jan 2, 2013

What kind of exposure settings are you using?

The moon is a sunlit landscape, so the "sunny 16" rule of thumb is very helpful for pictures of the moon. The sunny 16 rule states that at f/16, the shutter speed should be set to the reciprocal of the ISO. Using ISO 100, for example, the shutter speed should be about 1/100.

DGMPhotography · Jan 2, 2013

True, afterwards I figured I should I have gone faster. Thanks for the tip! I will look into that rule

DGMPhotography · Jan 2, 2013

But what do you think of the lens flare?

Sw1tchFX · Jan 2, 2013

I don't understand pictures of the moon..

unpopular · Jan 2, 2013

DGMPhotography said:
But what do you think of the lens flare?

I think you need to remove your UV filter.

DGMPhotography · Jan 2, 2013

Yeah, It's not like I love taking pictures of the moon, but it's very trying which lets me practice with all the different settings. UV filter? I have a skylight to protect my lens from scratching. Is that what you're talking about?

unpopular · Jan 2, 2013

yep. skylights are just slightly pink UV filters.

It will cause this kind of flair, and it causes it all the time. You just don't notice it as anything but decreased sharpness.It can make a significant difference.

Much debate has gone on if they protect your lens, but there is evidence that they do more harm in some situations. If the filter breaks, shards of hardened glass come towered your lens capable of scratching the coatings.

DGMPhotography · Jan 2, 2013

Really?? I was wondering why a lot of my images didn't seem sharp. Of course, that could be my own fault, but it could actually be the skylight? Hmm... what do you think about the protection thing?

thetrue · Jan 2, 2013

Since I removed the useless filters from my lenses, I've seen at least a 15% increase in sharpness, even with lower end lenses.

DGMPhotography · Jan 2, 2013

Awesome, I think I may do that. I just read a few threads about it. They say a lens hood is better protection than a filter, unless there's like dust particles and what not flying around. So I suppose now then that maybe I will treat my filter more like a lens cap, and take it off before taking a photo.

unpopular · Jan 2, 2013

DGMPhotography said:
Really?? I was wondering why a lot of my images didn't seem sharp. Of course, that could be my own fault, but it could actually be the skylight? Hmm... what do you think about the protection thing?

I tend to think that there's a lot of people out there who say that their protective lens saved them, but it's unknown how likely their lens would have been damaged if the filter wasn't there. You have to ask yourself, if you dropped your lens face first onto a pointy rock, how much do you think that thin piece of glass will protect? It'll slow it down some, but enough to deflect the weight of the camera? I kind of doubt it. I believe it is more likely that the filter broke but if it weren't there, typically I think it wouldn't have mattered much. Now if you're somewhere where small hard and relatively light objects come hurling towered you while shooting, then it might be worth it, sandstorm-prone? definitely - and I'd suggest you get a good one with good anti reflective coatings and solid construction.

But for your typical risk of dropping the lens, I doubt it and might do more damage. Get a good plastic or metal lens hood instead.