Haze, what is the impact on image quality

[kirbinster]

I went out today to take some bird pictures with my Nikon D300 and Tamron 200-500mm lens. I had taken some absolutely stunning shots the other day (If I don't say so myself), but today every single picture looked like crap. Same equipment, same me, so what went wrong? It was kind of hazy with a high sky. Even though I have a good haze filter B+W UV-Haze filter, everything just looked flat and washed out. What might be causing this?

[candleman]

hmm.. humidity/dirt in tha air?
same thing goes for moon shots.. after rain on a cold night (cold front) the sky is so much clearer.
it could be just particles in the air.
had it rained just before your last outing when you got the good shots?
could just be the cleaner air.

OR,
the high cloud on that day was diffusing to light so much it was too filled in and tthere wasnt much contrast?

not sure, just clutching at straws here.

[jdepould]

Was there haze between you and your subject, or was it overcast? Examples? If it's just flat, you can punch it up in post. Some photographers go so far as to dodging and burning to get the contrast they want.

[kirbinster]

Everything just looked dull from the haze. I posted these else where, but here are the only decent shots I got:

[Digidave]

Those are some nice shots you've got there. Problem is though, we need to see the bad shots in order to make suggestions on how to fix them or avoid them in the first place.

[kencaleno]

Probably your UV filter causing it,this is why I am so against them,they cause more problems than they solve,mainly lack of contrast.What time of day were you shooting? Haze usually lasts until around ten am, then gradually disperses.Here's a photoshop defog recipe:

Ctrl+J
Filter> sharpen> Unsharp Mask
Amount 10
Radius 50 pixels
Threshold 0
Flatten and save

Regards Ken

[kirbinster]

Dave - thanks These are not really "Bad" they just seem flat to me.

Ken: I don't think it is the UV filter as below is a shot I took the day before with the same lens. It was probably about 2pm when I took the above set, but the air was "thick" and the lighting was just flat. I know its not the best time of day to shoot.

[navcom]

I'm with Ken on this one...UV filters cause more harm than good. I've stopped using them altogether as I isolated them as the cause of a myriad of image quality problems when I used to use them for "lens protection".

UV filters will not remove the effects of haze...only attempt to lessen it...and most do a poor job at that...with the end result being that they cause more harm than they correct.

[Chip]

Not another "UV filters are useless, no they aren't" thread!!

Wondering out loud here: could a circular polarizer be a better solution than a UV-haze filter?

[navcom]

Originally Posted by Chip

Not another "UV filters are useless, no they aren't" thread!!

Wondering out loud here: could a circular polarizer be a better solution than a UV-haze filter?

OK, ok...you are right...we shouldn't start another UV thread...it's been beaten around enough.

I agree with you. I think a CP might be a better choice.