Fuzzy green line

[dugarner]

Photo pros,

I've read about fuzzy purple lines that can sometimes be seen around the edges of a cheap long lens at max. focal length.

There is a green fuzzy line outlining the tail and backside of my cardinal that is not related to the scrapbooking or post processing. It's visible on the original picture, too.

Is that caused by the DOF with my cheap lens, or is that just what happens when there is so much contrast between the target and the background? There might be something chromatic going on between the red of the bird and the green of the background, too. Is it the same effect as the purple lines?

Any ideas? Input? Can that type of thing be avoided, or do I just live with it?

Thanks!

[hguenthe]

I have no idea sorry but had to say, what a gorgeous photo and layout!

[iUma]

You made a fantastic shot and the page is perfect. What I want to know is how you got the texture on the background only.....erase or extract? Or is there another trick. LOVE this page.

[KerryMac]

Funny, but it looks like it belongs there because of the way you used the texture! Anyway, I've never heard of green chromatic messiness going on; you're right, it's usually purple.
It could have to do with your lens. Are you shooting jpg or RAW? If jpg, is your camera doing any auto sharpening?
If you haven't seen this on any other images, it's prob just something funky with the light and DOF.

[KerryMac]

You know...I just thought of something. It could be a reflection from a tree or leaf that was near him. Could that be it?

[dugarner]

Let's see, I opened the RAW file and I can see it there, too.

I realized after I used the texture that it looked a little more blended, it's not as disconcerting as it is on the original.

I have seen this type of thing, though not as noticeable, on other narrow DOF shots with this lens. It's a cheap lens, not a great one, and it starts having all kinds of trouble around 160mm, this was taken at 230mm, so I was really pushing the envelope of its performance.

It could very well be something in the background, but the funny thing is, he was about 15 feet from the closest tree or plant. The green behind him is from the foliage across two sidewalks.

I dunno---I'll have to experiment with some other pictures. This is the highest-contrast shot I've taken at this focal length. I've only recently been able to get this lens to focus at all.

Thanks for the brainstorming!

[patriciaz]

Beautiful photo!
I am not a pro or expert by any means, but... I think it is chromatic aberration.
We were talking about this in my photography class. It doesn't matter if is a cheap lens or not (of course more expensive lenses perform better, but even a very good lens can produce Chromatic aberration under some light conditions ) this is a light phenomenon caused by the inability of the lens to focus all the colors in the same way. And isn't always purple, it can be green, red or blue too.
It gets worse when your subject is lit from behind, so try to avoid that. The best solution to correct it is to shot in RAW. If your file is not RAW, you can correct it in PS using "adjust hue/saturation' or in LR using the "chromatic aberration" option.

[dugarner]

Originally Posted by patriciaz

Beautiful photo!
I am not a pro or expert by any means, but... I think it is chromatic aberration.
We were talking about this in my photography class. It doesn't matter if is a cheap lens or not (of course more expensive lenses perform better, but even a very good lens can produce Chromatic aberration under some light conditions ) this is a light phenomenon caused by the inability of the lens to focus all the colors in the same way. And isn't always purple, it can be green, red or blue too.
It gets worse when your subject is lit from behind, so try to avoid that. The best solution to correct it is to shot in RAW. If your file is not RAW, you can correct it in PS using "adjust hue/saturation' or in LR using the "chromatic aberration" option.

Patricia,

Thanks! Well, this is a pretty poorly-constructed lens (not cheap, but I got it cheap, thank goodness, because I'm about ready to drop it in the bayou!). But to its credit, I haven't seen this problem yet. The bird was in the shade, it wasn't classic backlighting, but the camera would have perceived him to be backlit because of the angle, where the bird was, and where the light started. I can see why it would have had trouble.

This was shot in RAW. I never shoot in JPEG anymore, for reasons like this. I have too many shots that were not fixable in JPEG (because I'm not a great photographer) so I just shoot RAW all the time. Then I know I can possibly fix it.

[Lizzerd]

You could always try one of the newer versions of PaintShop Pro which has a "defringe" tool ... they refer to a purple cast around foliage, but it would work the same on your green line!

[Jacqueline]

I agree with Sarah - it is the chromatic aberration. Often happens when you use the lens at the most end or beginning of the zoom, shoot against light, be in a certain angle against the light...

What I often try, is using the Sponge Tool (Desaturation option) and go over these coloured lines. By desatrating those intense colours, the image still remains whole and the colours don't scream out so loud anymore.

Jacqueline