Circular Banding with Vignette Lens Correction

[Jake29321023qii4]

Pretty recently I have noticed a few of my images having a circular banding effect after turning on lens corrections. There a few distinct darker circles at the edges of the image.

This doesn't happen whenever the profile corrections are turned off and is only present in certain images.

The pics attached are the regular image plus an image with full contrast to show the banding. If anyone knows a fix, it would be greatly appreciated! Really don't want these images to have this issue.

[GoldingD]

So a very faint (and in all pics presented) circular artifact such as might be a CPL filter issue, or a Lens Hood issue, or a lack of Lens Hood (glare/flare) issue?

If your pairs of screenshots are to indicate with and without the lens profile corrections are on or off, it appears that the correction is not creating the artifact but causing it to be more obvious.

[John R Ellis]

Please upload a couple of the original raw photos showing the problem. If the forum won't let you attach them, then upload them to Dropbox, Google Drive, or similar and post the sharing link here.

[Jake29321023qii4]

The photos attached are the original and with contrast boosted to show the banding more clearly.

I have only noticed this issue recently, and it seems in some photos it is very faint and in others it is pretty noticeable. I have found it also only appears when the vignette control is turned on. 

If it helps, I have a Sigma 150-600mm + UV Filter and Lens Hood. The banding is only visible with this lens and profile corrections, and not my 24-120mm with profile corrections.

[Jake29321023qii4]

Here is the link of the raw files. All photos were taken on the same day with the same lens. I added folders of some where you can and cannot see the banding as well. 

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1trfNq3xVJaSO--ykcHCoSAi_WNy9c5mS?usp=sharing

[GoldingD]

Ok, currently back on my rig. As for these two with banding, brought them into LrC, applied the lens auto lens corrections, hmm, a bit odd. Went into manual mode for lens corrections, played with the vignetting, moving that to the right improves things.Why?? a long lens, would not think a vignetting is occurring.

[John R Ellis]

@GoldingD: "Went into manual mode for lens corrections, played with the vignetting, moving that to the right improves things"

With all five "bad" examples, I get noticeably better results by disabling Lens Corrections > Enable Profile Corrections and adjusting Manual > Vignetting > Amount.

This suggests imperfections with the lens profile.

[John R Ellis]

@GoldingD: "it appears that the correction is not creating the artifact but causing it to be more obvious."

That's what the raw files indicate. When you exaggerate the banding with Exposure = 3.2, Clarity = 100, Dehave = 100, you can clearly see it with and without Lens Corrections enabled.  See this screen recording:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/i31xrdyu8i3y15t/lens-profile-banding.2024.06.27.mp4?dl=0

So the hypotheses are:

- The UV filter and/or lens hood are causing this. You could try some near identical shots with and without them to test that,

- An imperfect lens profile is causing this by exaggerating the effect rather than minimizing it.

[Jake29321023qii4]

I agree. I will take some more shots without those elements today and see if anything changes. What is odd though is you cannot see this banding in other photos I took the same day. Even with dehaze and contrast sliders up, I still am not able to see this banding in certain ones.

In the past I haven't had this issue with the same profile correction for multiple other photos, which is odd. 

I will post the raw files today once I have the photos! Thank you for the insight so far.

[Jake29321023qii4]

Alright, so here are more raw files from today. I removed the UV filter and the banding is still showing. Starting to think this is now a non-lightroom issue and has something to do with the lens itself. I doubt removing the lens hood would fix anything, but I can try that later.

Here's the link if you want to take a look

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1aklz99OPJlL0Vc1Wpvcp9bESri8YKGe_?usp=sharing

[GoldingD]

On my, rig, for those latest RAW files, I do not see the issue. Maybe my old eyes.

[John R Ellis]

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Here are the three latest samples, in groups of four:

Row 1: Original, Lens Profile

Row 2: Enhanced, Lens Profile + Enhanced

In the Original versions, I don't see strong banding, just soft vignetting.

In Lens Profile versions, I see strong banding in the first and second planes.

In the Enhanced versions, I see strong banding in the second plane.

In the Lens Profile + Enhanced versions, I see strong banding in all three planes.

[John R Ellis]

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[Jake29321023qii4]

Hm okay. So with what you sent me, it seems like it is Lightroom that is creating this banding, but not in all circumstances. Most of the original photos just have a vignette on them while the profile corrections ones have that banding.

I went outside and took some photos with the lens of trees and a shed, and no matter how extreme I make the image, I see no trace of this banding. 

First photo is with UV filter and lens hood, second photo is with no lens hood and UV filter, and third photo is with neither on them. If you'd like to take a look again here they are: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1iY2Chqr7u5uQ3EPVDo1HRGIPBE1KbHF1?usp=sharing

I really cannot think of anything else that could be causing this issue.

[John R Ellis]

"So with what you sent me, it seems like it is Lightroom that is creating this banding, but not in all circumstances."

I think it's more accurate to say that the banding is inherent in the original photos but is usually unnoticeable. Only after applying the lens profile doesn't it become noticeable

[John R Ellis]

"I went outside and took some photos with the lens of trees and a shed, and no matter how extreme I make the image, I see no trace of this banding."

I think it would be difficult to see the banding with all the trees and objects. A better comparison would be with blue-sky photos.