Mountain-Light
CHROMATIC ABERRATION
What is it? Can it be corrected?
Chromatic aberration is present in most 8 bit images but we cannot see it. So, why should photographers bother with it. Because as soon as you enlarge the picture to a medium size, it can be seen. However, the important reason is that chromatic aberration not only affects the contrast but also makes an image appear unsharp, even without much enlargement.
Normally, when we enlarge a photograph chromatic aberration can clearly be seen. A coloured line surrounding the subject will be seen. This happens when light and dark areas in an image intersect.
Chromatic aberration can be caused by the camera sensor and the camera lens. Low priced lenses can make this problem more pronounced. There are no perfect optics but good quality lenses produce minimal chromatic aberration.
Off course the other side of the coin is that the sensor can also be responsible for chromatic aberration - we cannot do anything about that without damaging the image further. Ignore the facility that some cameras have to reduce chromatic aberration, they will smooth the chromatic aberration at the expense of maintaining fine detail. Detail is more important to keep.
How to Correct Chromatic Aberration?
Using Adobe LightRoom software or similar type software the task is simple. Zoom in sufficiently to be able to see the changes as you work on the picture. Subtlety is the name of the game, no matter how good the software may be there will be a trade off by loss of detail.
What is it? Can it be corrected?
Chromatic aberration is present in most 8 bit images but we cannot see it. So, why should photographers bother with it. Because as soon as you enlarge the picture to a medium size, it can be seen. However, the important reason is that chromatic aberration not only affects the contrast but also makes an image appear unsharp, even without much enlargement.
Normally, when we enlarge a photograph chromatic aberration can clearly be seen. A coloured line surrounding the subject will be seen. This happens when light and dark areas in an image intersect.
Chromatic aberration can be caused by the camera sensor and the camera lens. Low priced lenses can make this problem more pronounced. There are no perfect optics but good quality lenses produce minimal chromatic aberration.
Off course the other side of the coin is that the sensor can also be responsible for chromatic aberration - we cannot do anything about that without damaging the image further. Ignore the facility that some cameras have to reduce chromatic aberration, they will smooth the chromatic aberration at the expense of maintaining fine detail. Detail is more important to keep.
How to Correct Chromatic Aberration?
Using Adobe LightRoom software or similar type software the task is simple. Zoom in sufficiently to be able to see the changes as you work on the picture. Subtlety is the name of the game, no matter how good the software may be there will be a trade off by loss of detail.
Landscape and Wildlife Photography
