kitreyes Posted October 11, 2013 Share #1 Posted October 11, 2013 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hi everyone, I just came back from a trip to Chernobyl in Ukraine. I was looking through my unprocessed pictures and upon closer inspection there was some weird artifacting/moire and I was wondering if this is a camera issue, or is it actually radiation? Note that the building in this picture is next to reactor # 4 (the one that exploded causing the massive nuclear disaster) so I do hope it's radiation and not an issue with my sensor. Does anyone else have this problem? I am attaching the original file (reduced size) and one zoomed into the wall (same photo). These are uncorrected. Thanks, Kit Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/214503-cherynobyl-radiation-photo-artifacts/?do=findComment&comment=2439775'>More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted October 11, 2013 Posted October 11, 2013 Hi kitreyes, Take a look here Cherynobyl radiation + photo artifacts. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
kitreyes Posted October 11, 2013 Author Share #2 Posted October 11, 2013 I forgot to mention, I was using a Leica m9 and a 35mm Summicron. ISO 260, f/5.7 at 1/350 sec. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Geschlecht Posted October 11, 2013 Share #3 Posted October 11, 2013 Hello Kit, Welcome to the Forum. Interesting photos How safe is it to be so close to the failed reactor that you have to be worried about whether you have a defective sensor or you are being exposed to overly high levels of radioactivity? Personnally, I would prefer the problem to be a defective sensor. Best Regards, Michael Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitreyes Posted October 11, 2013 Author Share #4 Posted October 11, 2013 Hello Michael, It's ok for short trips. There are people working there now (rebuilding the new sarcophagus) and the government has allowed licensed visits. We were checked for radiation on our way out and we were fine. The rest of my photos seem to be fine. It's just the photos of this building. Regards, Kit Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted October 11, 2013 Share #5 Posted October 11, 2013 Looks like moire to me Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitreyes Posted October 11, 2013 Author Share #6 Posted October 11, 2013 Wow that's some pretty serious moire then. Any tips on how to remove them in Lightroom, and if it's even possible? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jankap Posted October 11, 2013 Share #7 Posted October 11, 2013 Advertisement (gone after registration) I agree with Andy on moire. The structure of the surface of the building interferes with the sensor array. Do you remember the surface? An interesting wall sculpture on the left building. What have you done there? Jan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerard Posted October 11, 2013 Share #8 Posted October 11, 2013 Run it through capture one 7. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpattison Posted October 11, 2013 Share #9 Posted October 11, 2013 discussion here... http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/leica-m9-forum/222741-help-needed-real-world-m9-moire.html there is no quick and easy answer. I see it on TV news programs all the time, but with single shots it is annoying. There is a moire filter in the Adjustment Brush in LR5. John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tobey bilek Posted October 11, 2013 Share #10 Posted October 11, 2013 It is a sensor defect called moire. Almost all digicams have it to some degree. Most other cameras have a "blurring filter" in front of the sensor and the effect does not show as often. Without the filter, the image is sharper. You can also get it when details in the photo are nearly the same resolution as the computer screen. Makin image bigger or smaller will fix it If later pics do not show it, then no damage was done. Don`t hang around there for the next 10,000 years. So now we had three mile island in USA, Chernobyl, and Fukushima. These are hard lessons Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MirekE Posted October 11, 2013 Share #11 Posted October 11, 2013 I don't understand radiation that well, but if it is safe enough for tourists to stay there for for minutes or hours (and for tourist guides on a daily basis), I doubt it would cause any visible exposure at 1/100s or whatever exposure you used. If it was caused by radioactivity, it would be present on most pictures. Do you have the same effect elsewhere? Also, why would an outer wall be radioactive? There was quite a few rains since 1986 that washed the walls quite thoroughly, I would think. If the wall has some sort of uniform pattern, my guess would be that you have a bad case of moire here. That might be removable in software by blurring the a or b channels in Lab or using moire removal tools in raw developers. It also reminds the effect that can be observed when looking at transparent plastics with tensions through a polarizer. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
250swb Posted October 12, 2013 Share #12 Posted October 12, 2013 Its clearly a case of moiré caused by what looks like tiles on the building. It is something that rarely happens in general photography, unless you specialise in photographing things with close repeating patterns, in which case you're stuffed. So its neither radiation or a sensor fault that can be fixed, it's in the nature of the camera. Software is the answer. Steve Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitreyes Posted October 12, 2013 Author Share #13 Posted October 12, 2013 Thanks for the replies. I do think it is moire because I do not see it in the other shots. Freaked me out though. Unfortunately I could not completely remove it in Photoshop so the pic is basically unusable. Researching now in how to avoid this in the future and unlike with DSLR's I cannot preview with the M9 before taking the shot so it's just trial and error I guess. Cheers! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdk Posted October 25, 2013 Share #14 Posted October 25, 2013 One way to lessen the effect is to shoot at f/11 or f/13 when shooting subjects that might excite moire (cloth, brick buildings, tile roofs and similar objects with repeating patterns reproduced at a small size in the image). Shooting at a small aperture causes diffraction blurring, acting like an anti-aliasing filter. In this compromise, you lose a bit of detail because you are no longer close to the lens’ optimum aperture (usually f/4-f/5.6), but you also lessen the chance of getting moire. You can then add a bit more sharpening than usual in post production to make the image appear to have the same level of detail as other photos. I like the Topaz InFocus deconvolution sharpening plugin for Photoshop better than the sharpening available in Adobe ACR/Lightroom/Photoshop for this. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pgk Posted October 25, 2013 Share #15 Posted October 25, 2013 so I do hope it's radiation and not an issue with my sensor. If you and your camera had received a sufficiently high dose of radiation to cause problems with your sensor you would probably be more worried about yourself by now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sailronin Posted October 26, 2013 Share #16 Posted October 26, 2013 I must agree with Paul, if there was sufficient radiation to cause problems on the sensor, you'd be dead by now! I may be mistaken but thought the background radiation at the site was in the 2,000 microroentgen range. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjornthun Posted October 28, 2013 Share #17 Posted October 28, 2013 It's not radiation that's causing the moire. If it was it would continuously hit the image sensor as long as you were at the site, whether the shutter was open or not. Then it would impact all your pictures or impair the cameras performance. The only likely cause of the moire is a structure or pattern in the wall of the concrete building. Too strong radiation does have the ability to damage semiconductor devices. I would not go to Chernobyl if I didn't have to. It's not just the reactor buildings that are a hazard, but the earth and soil in the entire area is contaminated by radioactivity. Some of the radioactive fallout has decayed by now and some will be there for a very long time. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
satijntje Posted October 29, 2013 Share #18 Posted October 29, 2013 +1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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