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UltravioletPhotography

Yes, there can be some flare with the EL-80/5.6


Andrea B.

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The other day I caught some center flare with the EL-Nikkor 80/5.6 (metal version). The sunlight was from the side, not quite perpendicular to the lens axis. But the lens was tilted up a few degrees.

 

This is the JPG straight-out-of-the-camera. I was shooting at f/8 or f/11 that day. Compare the center Pansy flowers to the ones on the right and you'll probably see that they have reduced contrast and colour. And what shadows between the center flowers look washed out. The flare is almost hazy in the center of the photo, kind of like there is a soft hotspot.

610_0743.jpg

 

 

 

In this subsequent photo (also sooc JPG), the lens was still at the same angle to the sun but was tilted down a few degrees. No flare this time. (The CC Passport was leaning against the Pansy pot.) This EL-80 haze/flare has been noted before in posts on UVP. I'm just adding my 2-cents that I've seen it too. :) Either a lens hood or a slight change in position cures the problem so it isn't anything we need to be too worried about with this lens.

[This CC Passport photo is purposefully soft for use in making a PN profile.]

ccPassport_d610_visSun_20170418wf_1746.jpg

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One might rather wonder how little flare such a lens exhibits, considering its simplified coatings and intended use in a darkroom with optimal shading all around ...

 

Any lens will benefit from a properly shaped hood.

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Andy Perrin
The haze problems I was having early on were specific to the first EL-Nikkor 80/5.6 I bought. I was using an adequate hood and I wasn't shooting with light to the side like above. The second lens I got behaved more like the one you have here -- I see some flare in extreme situations with no hood, but it's quite manageable under ordinary situations.
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The flare actually caught me by surprise. First time I have induced such a central flare in one of my ELs. I think that is because I use them mostly in close work and thus almost always have the sun behind me, slightly to one side or the other.

 

Andy, did you ever figure out what the problem was with your first EL-80? Was its haze caused by fungus? Or did it somehow leak light? Perhaps it didn't fit its adapter well??

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Andy Perrin
I'm pretty sure it was fungus or something similar (chemical perhaps). The haze was a sort of overall "glow" around any white object, spread pretty evenly throughout the image. If it had been flare or a light leak, I would have expected it to be more localized or have a direction to it, like it does in your example above.
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Lenses stored in a smoker's home may show a deposited greyish film over the lens surfaces after a while. This leads to reduced image contrast and loss of sharpness.

 

I once purchased a used lens that reeked of old tobacco when I opened the shipping package. Images were soft and lack of contrast. I cleaned it and quality improved significantly, but the smell lingered on so in the end, I got rid of the lens.

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  • 1 month later...

If you remember, I often complained about the lack of sharpness and the very bad image quality of the El Nikkor 80mm f/5.6 at high apperture.

Recently I saw Donpilou's great portrait workshop where he used the same lens at f/5.6 with great result. It was clear something was wrong with my lens.

Well I found the problem. When I received the lense it was pretty dirty so I took it apart in order to clean each glass elements. When I reassembled it I put a glass element in the wrong side :rolleyes:

Now I everything is mounted correctly and... wow!!!! Such sharpness at f/5.6!!! It is like I have a brand new UV lens :D

 

Mystery solved!

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  • 3 weeks later...

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