D7000 - blue/purple highlights problems on 2 seperate D7000's

Hi guys, am new to this site but I am at my wits end!!!
Have used Nikons for years without a single issue...loved my D70 which took flawless photogrpahs. A couple of months ago I upgraded to a D7000 and was horrified with the pictures, most which were unusable. There were major blown highlight problems to the extent the photos were useless but the biggest issue [and strangest] was the deep blue/purple colour of the highlights especially around windows with light coming through broken glass [I photograph abandoned buildings]. Additionally, in many photos I was getting duplicate light reflections which would end up looking like square blocks of blue light or huge swathes of blue light on the photogrpahs. These simply had to be deleted.
I am an experienced photographer and know my settings to a tee....Googling this issue returns no results.
It becomes more bizarre.....I sold that camera out of frustration and bough a new one, a D7000 again. To my horror exactly the same thing occured. I have ruled out the obvious things. I changed cameras and took the same photos and with the D70 flawless pictures. I used multiple lenses so it isn't a lens issue either. How can I have 2 different D7000's throwing up the same major problem when noone else seems to have this problem???? It is bizarre.....am I jinxed? In all my years of photography I have never seen anything like this so please guys....any help. ideas. suggestions??????? i have attached a sample showing the weird block of blue light.....

Cheers
james

I'm not just seeing blown highlights, I'm seeing details in there. It looks like the details that would likely be viewable outside the overlit window are reflecting off the lens and onto a UV filter and then getting picked up by the sensor. Over the front of the chest it definitely looks like there are details from somewhere else. It's not a camera issue, it's a user issue. Filters will give you all sorts of ghosting when shooting between very dark and very bright subjects. Take off the filter, try it again and see what you get.

Or are you shooting through glass? If so, the reflections are against the glass you're shooting through. Same problem, different source.

Hi there, thanks for the reply. The filter issue is not relevant as I took them off to test that! I wasn't shooting through glass either just a straight picture of that scene...thing is it happens everywhere that's just a quick sample photo......this photo dpesnt actually show the streams of blue light coming n the window as is the case on many photos........I litterally have tried everything and had no luck to correct it and it's so odd to happen on 2 seperate cameras with the same settings as my D70 which is perfect with the same lenses and with filters attached!....appreciate the feedback though, thanks

And you're not shooting on a tripod, right? If so, perhaps it's light filtering in thru the viewfinder. I'm just trying to eliminate things.

Is this happening on ever photo or just in extreme lighting situations?

It's difficult to say what is causing it, but it's not normal for sure. What's up with the drapes on the left? Seems to be some kind of double exposure going on there...

For the blue, it does look like a flare of some kind but I wouldn't bet on it.

When you say this happened with another D7000, are you talking about the same scene or another picture all together? Could you post other pictures (maybe the one you say you took with the D70) so we can compare. How do the pics turn out when using normal lighting situation?

I've got too many questions and not enough answers to give you I'm afraid...

Hi, sometimes on a tripod and sometimes not, would this be an issue?? The ones I took last night weren't as i just took quicj snaps in my lounge and met the same ghastly problem...i always shoot A priority and have either spot metering or matrix and it happens on both.....as for extreme situations, the blue light in the highlights problem occurs mainly around windows where light is coming through and if you can imagine is like a smoke effect filtering in through the window around the frame...weird!! These blue blocks appear in any situation, I'd say 30% of the time. I can take a photo as I did last night, all ok then the next one will have it....one after won't etc...so it's not consistent with the same settings either which adds to the confusion!!!

Give me few mins and i'll stick up a couple more to show you......

The tripod would be an issue if you are not covering the viewfinder since it is a hole that lets light in, and if there's a bright light behind it then it will reach the sensor as well. It can be intermittent if you happen to block any direct light hitting the viewfinder when you shoot.

So does it happen only when you're using backlight situations? Is D-Lighting set "ON"?

Are you shooting using live view? Could you be getting strange reflections through the view finder, like can happen with a tripod? Also, what is your white balance set at? Try auto white balance & see what happens. Does it happen with any and all lenses, or just a particular one? I don't have my D7000 with me, but isn't there a double/multiple exposure setting?

This first one shows a definite reflection in blue of a nearby window




This show the blue light spilling into the window - being a low qual jpeg it isn't blatantly obvious but in raw with the NEF file it is very obvious and has to be cloned out.....

The last one - again - is a reflection of the window but upside down! wasn't using a filter, was using a tripod.....was going slightly crazy!

I used the same tripod with the D70 for 5 years and never had this issue, the multiple exposure setting isn't activated so can't be that.....white balance is what I thought for the blue light around windows but I take accurate readings before shooting and programme them in also i tried auto and all the others as a test and although results vary the problem is still there.......
You know, the only thing I havent tried is a different memory card...I use San Disc Ultyra Pro 95kbs...supposed to be the best consumer one.......could it be this? afaulty card or even a counterfeit? That's the only consistent thing in this, the card.....happens on different lenses so can't be a lens issue.......and they are fine on the D70 after all. I have ordered a new card but I'd be surised if it was that.......really is perterbing me! Apprciate your feedback so far though...it is good to eliminate all possibilities after all.....

Have never used live view amd prob never will.......

D Lighting is off.....I use very few settings on it, most are not needed shooting raw, the only things i change are the obvious things for exposure and focusing.......I keep my cameras very simple really!........It has also happened many times with a fast SS hand held....

NakedEye said:

This first one shows a definite reflection in blue of a nearby window

This show the blue light spilling into the window - being a low qual jpeg it isn't blatantly obvious but in raw with the NEF file it is very obvious and has to be cloned out.....

View attachment 30410

Click to expand...

What I find real strange is that on one picture it's on the right and on the other it's on the left...

What lens were you using for these?

Very weird indeed. Instead of racking your brains about this, i suggest you just take the camera back to the store. Bring along the pictures you have shown us here as proof of a defect. Let them test it out for themselves. I had one thought of perhaps one of your old lenses interfeering with the movement of the mirror, but it is a wild guess.

This looks like light reflecting back through your lens, hence the reason it's upside down. This will occur when you use lenses that have lost their internal blackening or have been modified, or are very old. I looked through the thread to see if you listed your lens but couldn't find it. What lens are you shooting this images with?

one lens was a brand new 50mm 1.8g, the other an 18-200 3.5-5.6VR.....fairly new....but these lenses dont give the same problem on the D70....the whole thing is puzzling me....appreciate your help bud....