'Ghosting' with the Nikon 105mm

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WhiteLight

Senior Member
piperbarb said:
Try it on the 5100 and see if you get the same image issue.

Are you using a remote shutter release? Sounds like a dumb question but considering you are using a slow shutter speed, even the slightest vibration or movement can cause problems.
Click to expand...

I do have one.. but not used on this shot...
This probably was a wrong example cos the shutter speed is very high.. but the average number of pics which seems to have this ghosting effect is extremely high..
say 1 in 5..

Like Bill said, i think it could also be due to the flash..
though i have no idea why that should happen, or how to avoid it... Bill??
 
B

Bill16

Senior Member
Your asking meeeeee? Well considering the magnification on the 105mm. It might be a combination of the closeness to the focal object, and the flash timming. If it happens more often when close up to shiny leaves, or bugs, you might try retarding the flash timing. that way the flash doesn't have time to bounce back before the shutter closes, creating the ghost image.
Rear-curtian sync I believe might work for those extremely close up shots. :)

​Just a guess mind you. :D
 
K

Kodiak

Senior Member
Hard ball case!

Hello "whitelight"

To investigate such a problem is not always easy. What I observe is that the leaf,
as well as the caterpillar, is affected. I suspect camera/lens movement to be the
cause of the ghosting here. It is clear that at such close range, movements may
occur and may be not perceptible for both, amplitude and duration, are punctual
at shutter release.

Try these possible solutions that may be combined should you see it proper:

• Mirror up operation would be the simplest place to start.

• Balance your gear with a rail. The camera has its weight right over the attachment
screw on the tripod head. The lens weight is all in the front of the anchoring point
thus creating proper condition for accentuated camera shake upon shutter release.

To properly balance your gear, set both camera and lens on a rail, making sure that
the lens is supported. Then, use a pencil under the rail to find the balance point.
Once found, you know where the rig should be anchored. Note that this anchoring
point is valid as long as you use the rig in the horizontal plane (that is how you found
it in the first place). Should you tilt the rig, some correction will be considered.


View attachment 46076 This is the way we all do it normally.

View attachment 46077 Even correctly attached, a movement is observable.

View attachment 46078 This the rail I design and made for my purpose.

View attachment 46079 Once mounted securely, the lens is supported as well.

View attachment 46081 Try to find the balance point.

View attachment 46080 Now, the whole thing has a neutral stress.

View attachment 46082 Should you need to tilt the rail, re-balance the rig.
 
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W

WhiteLight

Senior Member
Kodiak said:
Hard ball case!

Hello "whitelight"

To investigate such a problem is not always easy. What I observe is that the leaf,
as well as the caterpillar, is affected. I suspect camera/lens movement to be the
cause of the ghosting here. It is clear that at such close range, movements may
occur and may be not perceptible for both, amplitude and duration, are punctual
at shutter release.
Click to expand...

Aaah.. Like i said i knew the problem had to be with my technique ;)

Try these possible solutions that may be combined should you see it proper:

• Mirror up operation would be the simplest place to start.

• Balance your gear with a rail. The camera has its weight right over the attachment
screw on the tripod head. The lens weight is all in the front of the anchoring point
thus creating proper condition for accentuated camera shake upon shutter release.
Click to expand...

Thanks for all that Kodiak..
That rail looks neat.. i picked one up recently..
very cheap around $25 but works fantastically..
very sturdy, no movement at all..
​it's much better than my ball head for sure :)
 
K

Kodiak

Senior Member
Nevertheless, don't get carried away!

This whole post is based on the assumption of mine that a setup movement MAY be
a reasonable cause of your problem. I remember saying stupid things before!

Your ball head is in no way responsible of your problem but the inadequate repartition
of the weights on it.

Anyways, I tried,
 
W

WhiteLight

Senior Member
Kodiak said:
Nevertheless, don't get carried away! This whole post is based on the assumption of mine that a setup movement MAY be a reasonable cause of your problem. I remember saying stupid things before! Your ball head is in no way responsible of your problem but the inadequate repartition of the weights on it. Anyways, I tried,
Click to expand...

Makes a lot of sense Kodiak, appreciate it.
​
 
W

WhiteLight

Senior Member
Ok.. a quick update..
i did a rather long test with respect to this ghosting issue...

This is all that i tried-
with UV filter/ without UV filter
D5100 / D7000
with flash / without flash
with 105mm / with 35mm

So the resutls were quite consistent...
the UV filter did not effect the image (more on this at the end)
results were duplicated on both cameras at same settings
even with the flash there were instances that this occured, you'll see the reason why
this was seen as a 'ghost' artifact only on the 105mm & on the 35mm just looked like a blur...

so from the above tests, it was quite evident that the ghosting effect was caused only due to a slow shutter speed.
most of the images that had this effect were shot at 1/6 sec or 1/4 sec...

interestingly, due to the 1:1 magnification & the superior quality of this lens, it was captured as a reflection than just a blur.
a blur was produced as well, but at further lower shu8tter speeds.

with the UV filter though, if you do pixel peep, there seemed to be a slightly greater ghosting effect.. ever so slightly more, it would be hard to recognise with the naked eye, but it does exist.
(or could be attributed to human error as well)
 
R

Rick M

Senior Member
Great to hear your results! Thanks for sharing and that is an interesting aside with the filter. I won't get us started on that debate :).
 
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