Solution of Old lenses Color problem

[mdmosta319]

I have brought an old lens Tamron Af 90-300 f/4.5-5.6

And using this Nikon D5200. My problem is color. Color isn't vivid at all. Some photos are good with extreme sunlight. But whenever, sky is cloudy or foggy or in low light situation - color production is poor. For example.

Captured this on Noon, cloudy sky. Color is not vivid and real isn't visible.
.
Is it lens fault or what?
Is there any solution?

 

[OldCam]

it looks to me like you took the picture through a window. maybe a thin uv-filter like something is stuck on it? last Saturday i bought an old(ish) second hand Minolta AF 75-300 and took a pic through the window.. looked something like that. See my pictures.. a cat showed up and sat perfectly Or try to reset your cam from within the menu.. maybe the setting for compensating light and contrast is wrong.

-----
i looked it up for you, you are not the only one and my assumption was like this guys answer:
D90+tamron 17-50/2.8=strange results
https://www.photo.net/discuss/threads/d90-tamron-17-50-2-8-strange-results.347797/
maybe shoot raw and see.

 

[Derrel]

Internal elements could be covered with haze from a number of sources: lubricant evaporation, foams or wood drawer fumes, off-gassing from various synthetics, etc..etc.. Looks low in contrast, for sure, if that was noon-time. Hold the lens up to good, strong light, and look through it. There could be a lot of fungus growth too.

Perhaps it could be just the front and or rear elements outer surfaces that are hazed; try an external cleaning with a nice,soft,clean cloth and some breath.

 

[petrochemist]

In my book that's not an old lens at all. Nothing with AF is 'old'.

It certainly looks like a very hazy optical system - hopefully just a mucky UV filter but careful inspection of the glass as @Derrel suggested is worthwhile. I find keeping the light to a grazing angle makes problems easier to spot.

 

[480sparky]

I'm with Derrel.... there's something internal on the glass. Fungus would be my first suspect.

 

[Designer]

Some photos are good with extreme sunlight. But whenever, sky is cloudy or foggy or in low light situation - color production is poor.

The color rendition and contrast could be influenced in part by the aperture. Close down, better color. Open up, poor color and contrast.

More investigation is needed. Open the aperture, and play a light in one end, look into the other end. If you see anything at all out of the ordinary, then there is your culprit.

Some lenses are just better at color rendition than others, but this is beyond marginal performance.

 

[espresso2x]

FastStone Image Viewer, 'Auto-Adjust Colors'

Link:
Download FastStone Image Viewer

 

[Light Guru]

Take a photo of the same thing with the lens in question and with another lens for comparison.

 

[ac12]

Watch the background.
In my experience, contrary to what Nikon marketing and others may say, matrix metering has limitations.
When the background is light or dark, the subject may be under or over exposed.

Second,
Cloudy skies reduces the lighting contrast so you will have less contrast in your photos.

CLEAN the lens.
I concur with others. Check the filter, front and rear elements. They need to be CLEAN. Any haze or film on the filter or elements will lower the contrast in the photo, much like dirty glasses do.
BUT you need to be very careful when cleaning optics. Use the proper cleaning fluid and tissue/cloth. A dirty T-shirt will scratch the lens and do more damage than cleaning. And clean using proper method/procedure.

 

[TCampbell]

That’s more of a severe loss of contrast than a color problem (unless you have unbelievable smog issues where that photo was taken).

Derrel’s hypothesis that the lens elements are probably covered with a haze is probably a pretty likely accurate.

You may be able to send the lens out to have it cleaned. When I was much younger, I had a Vivator lens that had a similar problem, but they “glued” the lens groups together... so it wasn’t possible to take them apart for cleaning.

Tamron is certainly a higher end lens than Vivitar... but be aware that some lenses aren’t able to be cleaned (at least not easily ... and not worth it).

I’d look for a photographic service that cleans lenses (this requires some disassembly of the lens and isn’t something you would normally try to do yourself.)

 

[ac12]

I would not consider a lens disassembly for internal cleaning.
I had a discussion with a camera tech, and he told me that disassembling a Nikon 80-200 f/4 manual focus zoom will require collimating the lens, to get the elements in the correct places. That would significantly add to the repair cost and make it not worth it, in his opinion, to do the repair. IOW he was talking me out of the repair.
Today you add the complexity of the AF mechanism to the issue.
It may be cheaper and affordable to do this in India, but not in the SF Bay Area of the US.

 

[ac12]

Tim
I believe there was REALLY BAD smog in some cities in India.
It may not not have cleared.
But unless the smog was REALLY BAD, I think the subject is too close to be significantly affected by it.
So we are back to a dirty/hazy lens.

mdmosta,
How far were you from the subject, and was it badly smoggy or clear?

 

[mdmosta319]

This is the condition of front element.

And this is photo of middle glass, I don't know which one.
And look like some vapor stuck on glass or lot of dust on lens. And I think two glasses affected like this.
I think, this is haze like you guessed.
And back element is fresh.

 

[mdmosta319]

Is it the reason of colorless photo?

 

[mdmosta319]

Internal elements could be covered with haze from a number of sources: lubricant evaporation, foams or wood drawer fumes, off-gassing from various synthetics, etc..etc.. Looks low in contrast, for sure, if that was noon-time. Hold the lens up to good, strong light, and look through it. There could be a lot of fungus growth too.

Perhaps it could be just the front and or rear elements outer surfaces that are hazed; try an external cleaning with a nice,soft,clean cloth and some breath.

Solution of Old lenses Color problem
Solution of Old lenses Color problem

This is the condition of lens.