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Is this normal for the SL2? Chromatic Aberration

qfertig
Contributor

Hello! I recently purchased a canon sl2 from an eBay seller. However upon further inspection is appears that any images with direct sunlight have major chromatic aberrations. Pretty sure it's not my lens because I also have another lens and it does the same exact thing. The lenses I am shooting with are the canon 50mm 1.8 STM and the Canon 24MM 2.8 STM. I contacted the eBay seller directly and they had mentioned that my camera came with a two year warrarnty, however they shipped from China and I don't neccesarily want to go through the struggle of shipping it off if this a is a normal thing that happens with this camera. Here is the link that gives a small demonstation I created in lightroom. Note this is not the only instance, this also happens with different scenes. Pretty much any bright sunlight regardless of my aperature and shutter speed settings seem to result in the same artifacting. I have also tried ND filters as well. 

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION

The video was to soley show that no matter what it does not get corrected. Attatched are some more photos, and both my lenses were purchased from canon at different times. My SD card is also a decent brand Sandisk extreme pro sdxc 95 mb/s defining lines.jpg

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16 REPLIES 16

It seems for the price I paid for the body, I cannot find a camcorder that has the same image sensor or set of features.. I was speaking in relevance to the comment "you did not choose the best camera for video". This DSLR far exceeds any camcorder for the same price in terms of video quality and image quality.. 


@qfertig wrote:

This DSLR far exceeds any camcorder for the same price in terms of video quality and image quality.. 


Obviously not, or you wouldn't be here.


@qfertig wrote:

It seems for the price I paid for the body, I cannot find a camcorder that has the same image sensor or set of features.. I was speaking in relevance to the comment "you did not choose the best camera for video". This DSLR far exceeds any camcorder for the same price in terms of video quality and image quality.. 


That rembark was made by someone else, so I am not going to comment on it.

 

You are beginning to sound like you want that $30,000 camera for $300 again.  The Chromatic Aberration is created by the lens, not the recording device.  Using the same lens on a different body will not improve things.

I can relate to wanting to have a “complete” collection of gear.  You feel a sense of urgency.  It leads to poor purchasing decisions.  “Get It Now” is given a priority over “Buy It Right The First Time.”

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"The right mouse button is your friend."


@qfertig wrote:

Thanks for you reply, still a noob about the technicalities of photos. I bought the card off of recommendations when searching around for best performing SD cards for 1080p video and shooting in 60fps. My main purpose is for video, and the card was on sale on Amazon, so if I upgrade in the future it will end up helping me. But yes, the more I do some research the more I am seeing of similar things but not the exact same.  

 


I do not advise buying cards from Amazon.  You will get whata you pay for.  A good online source for memory cards is B&H Photo Video in New York City. 

As for the CA in your images, I do not see much in the areas that are in focus.  It shows up mostly in the areas that are out of focus, which is "normal" for inexpensive lenses due to the physics behind how lenes work. 

 

Better lenses contain additional focusing elements to minimize CA in OOF areas, for clean bokeh.  Much of the CA can be automatically removed with post processing software, too.  Canon's DPP software corrects Canon lenses pretty well.

 

As for shooting video with the SL2, do not expect it to perform like $30,000 professional video camera, or even a $5000 video camera.  You will encounter limits on file size and recording times, all of which are documented in the full instruction manual, which can be downloaded from Canon Support.

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"The right mouse button is your friend."

Thank you for your response. 
In terms of video, I do understand it's limitations, but it's what I could afford while I am in school. This has helped me shoot quite a few music videos, and portraits as it is, will be upgrading once I can afford to pay myself more from my gigs. 

amfoto1
Authority

I do see some CA in the sample image you posted.... but nothing extreme. There is some red CA at the player's hand, where the out of focus music or mic stand crosses.... and there's some purple CA on the out of focus area around one of the adjusting knobs.

 

Neither is unusual or all that extreme, though. They might be pretty easily fixed in a still image like this, in post-processing. Some software has "lens profiles" built in that can automatically correct it... or "sliders" used to tune it out... or it can be retouched away manually using something like the color replacement brush in Photoshop (not sure if Elements has it, too).

 

As stated, CA is lens-related. CA occurs at high contrast transitions, when the different colors of light don't all focus in precisely the same way. Highly reflective surfaces lke chrome also tend to cause it, especially when slightly out of focus. Both the lenses you mention are somewhat "budget" type, which might not be ideal to keep CA to a minimum... but CA can occur even with much more expensive, high quality lenses as well, under extreme lighting conditions.

 

You mention using filters and those can cause or amplify CA.  Only buy and use high quality, multi-coated filters, to keep it to a minimum. Try not using any filters at all, as much as posible. Also get and use a lens hood.

 

When CA is occuring around reflective surfaces, it may help to use a Circular Polarizing filter, which can reduce reflections. Again, for best results only buy and use high quality multi-coated filters (anything you put in front of your lens will have effect on every image).

 

Buying from China off eBay.... you probably got a "gray market" camera. It's no different from a camera officially imported and sold in N. America (or wherever), but will not have a N. American warranty. If any repair is needed, you will have to return it to the point of origin... or pay for the repairs here. That's just the risk you take with gray market items... Most never need any warranty work, but who knows! "Stuff" happens!

 

I don't know why memory cards are being discussed. They have no effect one way or another on CA, that I'm aware of.

 

EDIT:

 

I hope you don't mind, I downloaded your image, opened it in Photoshop to look at it more closely, then did some retouching on the CA (mostly on the mic/music stand, and around the guitar frets, adjusting knobs and logos). I just used Photoshop color replacement brush and clone to reduce or eliminate the CA manually. It was no big deal and only took a few minutes. (Also, couldn't help myself, cloned out some of the knicks in the guitar's finish.) See what you think....

 

defining_lines_edited.jpg

 

I don't shoot video, so don't know how to deal with CA in that.

 

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Alan Myers
San Jose, Calif., USA
"Walk softly and carry a big lens."
GEAR: 5DII, 7DII (x2), 7D(x2) some other cameras, various lenses & accessories
FLICKR & ZENFOLIO 

 

 

Thank you so much! I sense of a lot of toxicity on the Canon forums towards new photographers. 😕 
Than you for all your helpful information that is guiding me in the proper path! I don't think everyone understands what it's like as a college student to shell out your hard earned money for camera gear just starting out and having to support yourself at the same time. (Will not take out a loan for expensive equipment or make payments on a camera) 

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