What's on my photos?

[Bayla]

Hope this is in the right section....

Took a load of photos the other day and every one of them has this odd curved line more or less dead centre.

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/12LD8f0MUnjxk1nLcy7xFMm2LwQqJ_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=12LD8f0MUnjxk1nLcy7xFMm2LwQqJ)

Can anyone explain what has caused this?

Bayla

[Edmund]

Bayla, looks weird. To me it looks more like some sort of lens flare. I think I would rule out sensor dust as it is not a spot. What kind of camera and lens may help some to pin it down more definitively. Also were you taking all the images with the same relationship to the sun.
Eddie:)

[Whiplash-GT]

ya, really weird with the sun coming from the rear left..
any chance a lot of light was entering the viewfinder?
we're you using a lens hood? or using any kind of filter "off lens" where light could be reflecting back into the lens (Cokin for instance..)?

[Bob_Benner]

Bayla, I have seen this once before on a DLSR and it was a line of light straight across the image. It was a light leak due to a partially detached shutter blade. Is it showing up in all types of lighting or just that particular day under that light?

[robpendragon]

Do you have long hair? It looks like a strand of hair flew in front of the lens.

[TonyW]

Strange one especially as you say it was on all pictures. Looks like some kind of reflection rather that dirt, dust, hairs. What camera and lens were you using? Was there a filter on the lens? Can you repeat it again or was it just that one photo shoot?

Tony

[lexcell]

It's a real puzzler. I think everyone who has posted has good suggestions for things to consider but, the one that strikes me the most is from Bob regarding the shutter blade.
If the UFO is on every photo regardless of camera angle, light, etc and is still there if you take a photo today, I would send your camera in to be checked. If it was a one time incident It was likely something in front of your lens. Not sure what however. It's not like any lens flare I have seen before.
If you get to the bottom of it please share with the rest of us.

[Jeff Perry]

Bayla (http://www.elementsvillage.com/forums/member.php?u=1240)

I haven't seen a response tot he questions asked thus far about repeatability, e.g., is it still happening? Here are some more questions assuming it is still happening.

Does it happen using different lenses? Exactly the same way?
Are you using a zoom lens, and does it happen exactly the same way at all zoom ranges?
Does it happen exactly the same way if you use different f-stops?
Have you checked the surface of both ends of the lens for damage or debris?
Have you looked at the high-pass filter over the sensor for debris?

Usually when something is dirtying up the lens or sensor it makes for darker spots/streaks, but in some instances a smudge of grease or some other foreign substance could cause an effect like this.

Of course, if it is no longer hapening or you can't otherwise duplicate it, then it will likely remain a mystery.

Jeff

[Bayla]

Thanks for all the replies. Sorry for not getting back to everyone....:o

Well, I've just been analysing the photos. I took 131 that day, and not all have this line on them. For all of them I was using a Canon 300D with a Sigma Compact Hyperzoom 28-200mm lens. The first one was fine, and then my 16yr old son took the camera and that seems to be when the trouble started. He has very short hair BTW so I don't think that was the problem. Also, the line is in exactly the same position on every picture - I would have expected something on the lens to have shifted.

On some of the pictures the line is more defined and prominent than on others. It seems to be worse on pictures with a lot of sky in them.

Since that day, not one of the pictures taken with the same lens have shown this problem and I've taken a couple of hundred.

I'm completely mystified.

Bayla

[Tom K]

Hi Bayla,

I don't pretend to be an expert, but I would like to take my guess...
The band on the image is lighter than the rest of the image, that leads
me to believe that that portion is underexposed.. If thats true
then something was probably stuck on the lens and blocking light on that portion of the image... Did the light band disappear at once ?

Hope it's gone for good........ Tom :)

[lexcell]

I agree with Tom, something was stuck to the front of the lens and it became more pronounced when the aperture was closed down. Since it has not shown up on any subsequent images, it must have fallen off and you should be good to go.

[Bayla]

Well I was still intermittently having the same problem, made no difference which lens I used, so I finally took the camera in to my local photographic shop along with a couple of prints.. They were completely baffled, said they had never come across such a thing before, but are convinced the problem is with the camera and not the lens and have sent it off for further investigation.

Watch this space for an update.....

Bayla

[msbrad]

Thanks Bayla, I was wondering. That is the strangest thing.

Just be sure to keep your camera away from bananas!!
m

[Juergen D]

Bayla,
Were you or your son wearing glasses while taking the shots? I am wondering if some stray light reflection may have entered the viewfinder? I know this can affect the exposure, I am not sure, though, if it would show up on the image.

Juergen

[Codebreaker]

Interesting - how about a hair on the sensor?

Colin

[Bayla]

Juergen,

I wear glasses, my son doesn't. I have noticed that most of the photos where this line is present have got some sky in them, it doesn't seem to happen if say I'm photgraphing in a forest surrounded by foliage.

Bayla

[ljameso1]

I would think hair on a sensor would be dark. Maybe a scratch that's more easily seen under certain lighting conditions?

[Codebreaker]

Not necessarily. Because the hair will actually sit above the real parts of the sensor it will appear diffused. It's like a continuous line of dust. Dust is only visible at certain apertures and gets lost if images contain lots of colour changes.

Colin

[Bayla]

Finally got my camera back today. It needed a new shutter unit (£150...ouch :(). Unfortunately they couldn't explain what had happened and why it manifested in such a strange way. The shutter was firing OK so I'm still left in the dark. On the plus side the camera shop said that the whole camera now has a year's warranty on it.

Bayla

[Inspeqtor]

Bayla,

I am glad you got your camera fixed. A years warranty is the general rule of thumb after a manufacturer repair. Let us know how it does now :)

[ljameso1]

Maybe one of the blades was opening too slowly on the shutter and causing the line.

[angelschick6]

No clue what happened but I'd love to see more of your skate park shots. I have done a few and I find the whole lifestyle an art.