Correct vignetting with Nikon lenses? at DVinfo.net

Charles W. Hull · March 14th, 2009, 01:06 PM

I'm not using Nikon lenses yet and I'm questioning whether vignetting can be corrected in-camera with non EF lenses. I don't see a way to do this with the EOS utility, although I may be missing something. Or is there an easy way to do this with post processing? Photoshop would be really slow for this.

Many like the vignett look but for most of my work I prefer full brightness in the corners and I use the 5DII DSLR peripheral correction function.

Ray Bell · March 14th, 2009, 09:43 PM

Its very easy to batch correct in Lightroom....

Charles W. Hull · March 14th, 2009, 11:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ray Bell

Its very easy to batch correct in Lightroom....

I don't think you can edit video with Lightroom, can you do that? I use Photoshop Extended but it's pretty tedious for video color correction. To be clear, I use PPro CS4 for video editing and I don't see a way to correct vignetting with that editor.

Olof Ekbergh · March 15th, 2009, 07:46 AM

Prime lenses have very little or no vignetting, especially at low F-stops.

I use a 50mm 1.4 AIS and I see no evidence of vignetting yet, I am mostly shooting at f1.4-f4 with that lens.

Now zooms are a different story.

Olof Ekbergh · March 15th, 2009, 07:56 AM

Another thought is use AE to correct vignetting, it may take a while to configure just right, but add a second layer of video and apply a levels correction to brighten so edges match brightness of original layer (or maybe a little to bright), then apply a feathered mask to only affect outside edges (a circle should be right), then play with the opacity of new layer until you get desired effect.

I use this technique in reverse (darken layer) a lot to get the vignette effect.

Ray Bell · March 15th, 2009, 08:05 AM

yes, lightroom is for stills.... for video edit using PPro or AE you can create a mask layer and overlay the layer with the edges of the mask as white... then adjust the layers opacity until you get the results you would like.... I think it could be done with LOOKS also

Olof Ekbergh · March 15th, 2009, 08:26 AM

Don't use white on the top layer use a second layer of the video, with a levels adjustment to brighten it, it usually works best if you brighten to much then play with opacity and feather amount until you get desired effect.

You may even be able to do it in PPro, I know you can in FCP. Though AE is the best for this.

Charles W. Hull · March 15th, 2009, 11:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Olof Ekbergh

Prime lenses have very little or no vignetting, especially at low F-stops.

I use a 50mm 1.4 AIS and I see no evidence of vignetting yet, I am mostly shooting at f1.4-f4 with that lens.

Now zooms are a different story.

Thanks for the tips on vignetting compensation. Spent some time on this and I'm back to Photoshop as the most practical tool.

Unfortunately primes aren't immune from vignetting, and low F-stops show the most effect. I suspect you just haven't shot any video yet where it would be evident. Here's a review for the Nikkor 50mm f/1.4, Nikon AF-Nikkor 50mm F1.4D Lens Review: 5. Test results (FX): Digital Photography Review , look at the vignetting example near the bottom of page 5. All primes do this, some are a little better than others, with the effect more for shorter focal length lens.

The 5DII is programmed with all the EF lenses and with Peripheral Illumination Correction enabled the lens in use is detected and the corner exposure is compensated for vignetting; and this doesn't work for non-Canon lenses. But my guess is that with most video there is enough going on in a scene that vignetting is seldom noticed. So I'm probably off to get a Nikon prime.

Thane Brooker · March 17th, 2009, 04:09 AM

The amount of vignetting often changes significantly as you alter focus. Many lens reviews show a picture of vignetting but don't mention whether it was taken near or far, and they don't show vignetting at the opposite focal distance. This makes comparing lenses difficult.

I notice my 35mm 1.4 AIS lens gets worse at the opposite end to my new 50mm 1.8 AF lens.

If I'm picking a wide angle lens for low-light work, I want to make sure vignetting is least at the hyper-focal end. Unfortunately, the 35mm 1.4 AIS is worst at hyper-focal end. In case anybody is considering this lens, here are my notes on vignetting:

35mm 1.4 AIS
Aperture, near, far
1.4, unusable, unusable
2, slight, a lot
2.8, very slight, slight
4 gone, gone

My new 50mm 1.8 AF is best at hyper-focal end.

50mm 1.8 AF
Aperture, near, far
1.8, bad, slight
2, bad, very very slight
2.8, very slight, none
4, none, none

I apologise that "bad", "a lot", "slight" and "very slight" probably won't mean much to you without pictures, but consider this for low-light filming at the hyper-focal end:

50mm f1.8 costs £90 brand new and is usable for low-light work at f1.8, almost perfect at f2 and perfect by f2.8.
35mm f1.4 costs £350 on ebay and is only usable (in my opinion) for low-light work at f2.8, perfect by f4.

There are of course many other things to consider, and I really like my 35 1.4 lens, but vignetting is one of the main things I look for in a lens for wide open video work.

If anybody has the following Nikon lenses, can you report if the vignetting is worse as you focus near or far? I'm considering each of these. Thanks.

50mm 1.4 AIS (later model)
85mm 1.8 AIS
85mm 1.8 AF

March 14th, 2009, 01:06 PM	#1
Charles W. Hull Major Player Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Canyon Country, CA Posts: 445	Correct vignetting with Nikon lenses? I'm not using Nikon lenses yet and I'm questioning whether vignetting can be corrected in-camera with non EF lenses. I don't see a way to do this with the EOS utility, although I may be missing something. Or is there an easy way to do this with post processing? Photoshop would be really slow for this. Many like the vignett look but for most of my work I prefer full brightness in the corners and I use the 5DII DSLR peripheral correction function.

March 17th, 2009, 04:09 AM	#9
Thane Brooker Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Manchester, UK Posts: 53	The amount of vignetting often changes significantly as you alter focus. Many lens reviews show a picture of vignetting but don't mention whether it was taken near or far, and they don't show vignetting at the opposite focal distance. This makes comparing lenses difficult. I notice my 35mm 1.4 AIS lens gets worse at the opposite end to my new 50mm 1.8 AF lens. If I'm picking a wide angle lens for low-light work, I want to make sure vignetting is least at the hyper-focal end. Unfortunately, the 35mm 1.4 AIS is worst at hyper-focal end. In case anybody is considering this lens, here are my notes on vignetting: 35mm 1.4 AIS Aperture, near, far 1.4, unusable, unusable 2, slight, a lot 2.8, very slight, slight 4 gone, gone My new 50mm 1.8 AF is best at hyper-focal end. 50mm 1.8 AF Aperture, near, far 1.8, bad, slight 2, bad, very very slight 2.8, very slight, none 4, none, none I apologise that "bad", "a lot", "slight" and "very slight" probably won't mean much to you without pictures, but consider this for low-light filming at the hyper-focal end: 50mm f1.8 costs £90 brand new and is usable for low-light work at f1.8, almost perfect at f2 and perfect by f2.8. 35mm f1.4 costs £350 on ebay and is only usable (in my opinion) for low-light work at f2.8, perfect by f4. There are of course many other things to consider, and I really like my 35 1.4 lens, but vignetting is one of the main things I look for in a lens for wide open video work. If anybody has the following Nikon lenses, can you report if the vignetting is worse as you focus near or far? I'm considering each of these. Thanks. 50mm 1.4 AIS (later model) 85mm 1.8 AIS 85mm 1.8 AF __________________ Thane Brooker 8Networks - IT Specialists

March 14th, 2009, 09:43 PM	#2
Ray Bell Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 1,414	Its very easy to batch correct in Lightroom....

March 15th, 2009, 07:46 AM	#4
Olof Ekbergh Sponsor: Westside AV Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Mount Washington Valley, NH, USA Posts: 1,365	Prime lenses have very little or no vignetting, especially at low F-stops. I use a 50mm 1.4 AIS and I see no evidence of vignetting yet, I am mostly shooting at f1.4-f4 with that lens. Now zooms are a different story.

March 15th, 2009, 07:56 AM	#5
Olof Ekbergh Sponsor: Westside AV Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Mount Washington Valley, NH, USA Posts: 1,365	Another thought is use AE to correct vignetting, it may take a while to configure just right, but add a second layer of video and apply a levels correction to brighten so edges match brightness of original layer (or maybe a little to bright), then apply a feathered mask to only affect outside edges (a circle should be right), then play with the opacity of new layer until you get desired effect. I use this technique in reverse (darken layer) a lot to get the vignette effect.

March 15th, 2009, 08:05 AM	#6
Ray Bell Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 1,414	yes, lightroom is for stills.... for video edit using PPro or AE you can create a mask layer and overlay the layer with the edges of the mask as white... then adjust the layers opacity until you get the results you would like.... I think it could be done with LOOKS also

March 15th, 2009, 08:26 AM	#7
Olof Ekbergh Sponsor: Westside AV Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Mount Washington Valley, NH, USA Posts: 1,365	Don't use white on the top layer use a second layer of the video, with a levels adjustment to brighten it, it usually works best if you brighten to much then play with opacity and feather amount until you get desired effect. You may even be able to do it in PPro, I know you can in FCP. Though AE is the best for this.