Problems with Flare

[jeremyteocx]

Hi guys ... need you advice on this. Took some pictures at Fort Canning and realised that there were many green spots (or flares) when I take pictures of bright lights. Example below. Any advice I can go about this? Do I use filters, and are they the only solution? Thanks!

[Galdor]

Did you have any filters on your lens when you take this shot? If yes, the try removing it to see if it helps.

[Legoz]

what lens are u using?
Do u have a hood?

[jeremyteocx]

Nope no filters, no hood and i'm still new and trying out a Kit 18-55 lense ... i was wondering if filters would actually reduce the flare? or is there something wrong with my lense?

[Rashkae]

Originally Posted by Legoz what lens are u using? Do u have a hood?

Hood won't help in this situation.

It's just lens design. There's a good reason why premium lenses, with high-end antireflective coatings, cost a lot.

[estel]

since you are shooting directly into lights, with no filters already, there isn't a lot you can possibly do.

[jeremyteocx]

oh dear, time to buy new and better lense?

[estel]

Originally Posted by jeremyteocx oh dear, time to buy new and better lense?

I suggest that you practice a bit more with the lens. Forget the flare. Even the best lenses will find this kind of shots tricky. Shoot something else

[JoshSiao]

Hmm, send it to SPI, those are ghost orbs! Just kidding, if you really don't like the flare there is a way to minimise it, get a star filter which will make the points of light into stars. It will make the flare also smaller and less obvious.

[Lord Soth]

As an alternative to purchasing an expensive pro zoom lens, you can always consider getting a cheaper prime lens instead.

In general, prime lenses with their simpler designs, have less lens elements/groups and are therefore less likely to suffer from lens flare as compared with zoom lenses.

[jeremyteocx]

okok, thanks all for the suggestions!

[sf_kang]

jeremy, i suspect you are shooting with a wide aperture (like around 5.6 or bigger). Try shooting the shot again with smaller aperture (like 11 or 16). This will mean lower shutter speed (use tripod) or higher ISO.
I expect the flare will be reduced significantly.
try and let me know if this works.
fred

[jeremyteocx]

Originally Posted by sf_kang jeremy, i suspect you are shooting with a wide aperture (like around 5.6 or bigger). Try shooting the shot again with smaller aperture (like 11 or 16). This will mean lower shutter speed (use tripod) or higher ISO. I expect the flare will be reduced significantly. try and let me know if this works. fred

hi fred, thanks for the advice. but i have tried shots at f8, f11 and f16 with tripod already, and they all come up with flare. i dun think higher ISO will be needed here because I used a tripod and don't need faster shots. thanks anyway.