HELP shooting bright lights.

[ByeTheWay]

hi all, ive only had my nikon d3200 for a couple of weeks now and im starting to get some nice pictures. my problem is when i take a picture of a sunset or bright lights i get what appears to be like refraction rainbow marks.

obviously this is a really pronunced one but i even get it with bright lights too. it looks good on the camera then when i get them on the big screen there they are. now ive tried with and without the uv filter which didnt make any difference that i could see, and ive tried the lens hood still to no avail.
would a polarized filter stop this?

 

[480sparky41 40]

It's called flare. Shooting directly into bright lights is the biggest cause. You can mitigate it by NOT using unnecessary filters. A polarizer would not help.

All lenses will create flare under certain circumstances. Not much you can do in those cases 'cept live with it, and maybe learn how to eliminate it in post.

 

[KmH]

Or more specifically it's known as lens flare. Lens flare - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lens flare is caused by air gap reflections inside the lens. Adding a filter, of any kind, to the front of the lens adds an additional air gap(s) which also promote lens flare.

Bright light sources in, or near, the image frame are the source of the reflections. One of the jobs a lens hood does is to keep light from bright light sources that are just outside the image frame from causing lens flare.

 

[MLeeK]

Use a hood. Don't shoot directly straight on into the light.

 

[KmH]

Sometimes you want a bright light source in the shot.
When you do, expect some amount of lens flare.

No doubt, use a lens hood whenever possible, even when you do have bright light sources in the image frame.

The higher the quality of the lens, the less lens flare you will see.