'Ghost' images/reflections - How to Avoid Them?

In the photo below, you can see the 'ghost' image or reflection or whatever you want to call it. This is an all the time deal with this particular car, and none of the racing photographers I have met/talked to have been able to come up with any sort of satisfactory solution. And since this car/driver is one of the best national dirt car drivers, it really can't be avoided trying to shoot his car.

Does anyone have any ideas for eliminating the 'ghosting'?

I use a D70 with a Sigma EF-500 DG ST, lens is about to change as I sort of fell and screwed up what I was using.

Are you using a UV (or some other) filter?

On my own lens I have been using a 1A filter, on the borrowed lens that I took this shot with, it has a UV filter.

As anotherview has implied, it may be a reflection from the front element of the lens caught on the back surface of the filter. I can certainly understand why you use a filter to protect the lens in this environment, but you might try a couple shots without it.
Another thing you could try if this reflection is internal to the lens is using a polarizer filter instead with different orientaions.

A. Reduce the amount of glass between the lens and the subject (no filters)
B. Use a lens with better optical qualities.
C. Shoot the vehicle using more of an angle (to reduce the amount of reflection). This may help the exposure look better.
D. Shoot under better lighting conditions (brighter, mid-day sun)
E. All of the above.

Right - I think the filter is the #1 problem. Trevor has some good suggestions as well.

Lower your flash setting. We had a car in this area that did the same thing due to the relective numbers and so on. Running with 1/8 flash I was able to get the only shot of it that came out right. This is why most tracks, at least around here do not allow reflective material on the cars... it can also cause problems with scorers and timing devices.

Also, use a Hoya UV(0) filter, it will protect your lens and will NOT alter colors.

JS

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Originally Posted by steelerdirtfreak

In the photo below, you can see the 'ghost' image or reflection or whatever you want to call it. This is an all the time deal with this particular car, and none of the racing photographers I have met/talked to have been able to come up with any sort of satisfactory solution. And since this car/driver is one of the best national dirt car drivers, it really can't be avoided trying to shoot his car.

Does anyone have any ideas for eliminating the 'ghosting'?

I use a D70 with a Sigma EF-500 DG ST, lens is about to change as I sort of fell and screwed up what I was using.

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Isn't this a reflection off the shiny digital sensor onto the rear surface of the lens then back onto the sensor? The image is actually inversed. I can't figure out if the situation I descibe would give that.

If it's this sort of reflection then the only thing you can do is to try another lens which reflects less.

Charles

This is reflected left/right and top/bottom around the centre of the image.
So I think it's not a lens rear element to sensor reflection.

Try it without a filter.
If that doesn't help then it's internal reflections and you have to try another lens.

You only notice it because the flash reflection from the car graphics is grossly overexposed. Nothing much you can do about it for this car, except photograph it in daylight.
Or under-expose and lose the car - just get the graphics.
Polarising filter probably won't help, because your flash light isn't polarised.

I suppose you could polaroid filter the flash, and then filter the lens as well.
Taking 4 stops hit in the process, wiht no guarantee of success.
Polaroid filters do not work on glossy surface reflections - and this is probably the equivalent of high gloss.


I had exactly the same exposure problem with the Lister Storm in the BritCar 24hour race.
Black car, white reflective graphics, night race - nightmare.

What about using a polarizer on the flash and another polarizer on the lens? Or a slave flash a few meters away from you, so the reflections won't go straight into the lens?

Finally, do you tested second curtain flash sync?