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I just got a Canon 70D off eBay and have been taking night pictures and things were ok. Then, without warning, the lights in my pictures got blurry and hazy, maybe overblown. It's happened with both my lenses. 50mm and 28-135mm. We don't have a good camera store nearby. I have no idea where to start. Please help?

enter image description here

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Is it the lens flare what you talking about? Or is it just overexposure? \$\endgroup\$
    – Zenit
    Commented Feb 1, 2018 at 8:48
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    \$\begingroup\$ Most of the time, the cause for hazy lights is...haze. \$\endgroup\$
    – flolilo
    Commented Feb 1, 2018 at 9:13
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    \$\begingroup\$ I am going to guess that it is over exposure that he is talking about...but he posted no exif data so we really have no way to offer any suggestions... \$\endgroup\$
    – TheXed
    Commented Feb 1, 2018 at 12:52
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    \$\begingroup\$ Atmospheric haze...the photographic equivalent of the earth throwing a middle finger at every would be landscape photographer. \$\endgroup\$
    – OnBreak.
    Commented Feb 1, 2018 at 15:58
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    \$\begingroup\$ I don't see any problem with your photo. some over and under exposure areas and some reflected light that are quite normal in that situation generally. \$\endgroup\$
    – user174174
    Commented Feb 1, 2018 at 16:27

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It might have been slight condensation on the lens if it was perfectly fine and then "without warning" things got hazy. I don't know what the temperature /humidity was like but on clear nights things exposed to the night sky can cool by radiating their heat to said sky. If the temperature falls below the dew point condensation will form. This is a known phenomena for astrophotographers and astronomers. Try it again on a clear night that's relatively warm and dry (or an overcast night) and see if it repeats.

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Dirty lens produces softening effect on bright objects. Just make sure to use a special cloth if you clean it.

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This has to do with your aperture. If you close down your lens to a narrow aperture you will get a sharper crisper edges to the lights and even a star like effect. If you widen your aperture you will get a soft glow like in your picture. Take the same picture at f/16 or f/22 and the softness will go, take it at f/2.8 and your haziness will return.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ I doubt that these are out of focus bokeh balls. Looks more like haze. Have a look on the effect of a mist filter, it is very similar. \$\endgroup\$
    – Kai Mattern
    Commented Apr 8 at 9:22

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