Tiago Pimentel Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 Hi guys, Not sure if this is a question for the lighting forum, but here goes. When shooting directly into the sun (thinking mostly of Malick/Lubezki approach), while filming a face in between the sun and the camera (covering and uncovering the sun), I usually run into a problem of contrast and lack of sharpness and detail in the face. Almost as if the sun creates this glare which affects the contrast of the subject I'm filming. Is this just a matter of having the right lens and lens coating or are there any other cinematography techniques I should be using? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Drysdale Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 On one of the Malick films they used Zeiss Master Prime and Ultra Prime Lenses, which are pretty flare resistant What lenses are you shooting with? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiago Pimentel Posted September 21, 2017 Author Share Posted September 21, 2017 Yeah, those were the lenses used on the Tree of Life. Since I don't have the money for those, I'm using a Sigma 18-35mm for this effect. I will try with my Zeiss 1.4 Planar 50mm. Maybe the results will be better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Drysdale Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 A zoom will usually flare more than a prime lens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiago Pimentel Posted September 21, 2017 Author Share Posted September 21, 2017 Thanks Brian. So the loss in contrast is attributed to lens flaring? I have a tokina 28-70 based on an old angenieux formula that i absolutely love but flares like hell. I once tried to use it for this kind of shot and it looked terrible. I will try my zeiss. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Mawson Posted September 23, 2017 Share Posted September 23, 2017 The fewer elements you have and the better they are coated, the less flare. (But lens elements are there for a reason.) Reflection off the inside of the lens barrel is also a factor. Obviously, zooms tend to have more lens elements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiago Pimentel Posted September 26, 2017 Author Share Posted September 26, 2017 I've noticed a similar problem when shooting against light coming through lots of haze. I don't even have to shoot directly against a light. If there's haze in there, it all turns into a big white blur. If i close down the lens or include nd filters, all I get is underexposed footage. It goes from white blur to underexposed in a single stop. Is this normal? Maybe it's the IR filter I'm using that might be bouncing light and creating this weird effect? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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