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JamesPuckett · Dec 9, 2004, 11:58 AM

I am shooting images with a Sony DSC-P92. It works great for far off shots of landscapes and buildings, but when shooting anything nearby I get curved warping around the edges, sort of like something seen through a fisheye lens.

To see what I'm talking about, look at the curved edges on the picture frame in the following image:

I've looked over the manual, some message boards, and FAQs, but I can't find an explanation. Would someone please help me with this?

calr · Dec 9, 2004, 12:11 PM

That is called barrel distortion and is present in many/most inexpensive lenses. To avoid barrel distortion, avoid the extreme ends of the zoom range of your lens. In other words, don't use the maximum telephoto or maximum wide-angle settings of your zoom lens. Stay in the middle.

If you must use the full range of the zoom lens, the distortion can be corrected in post processing. PSP(version 8 & 9) have a barrel distortion filter. I think PS also has one.

To completely avoid barrel distortion, you need a SLR camera with some fairly expensive ($500-1000) lenses.

Cal Rasmussen

BillDrew · Dec 9, 2004, 2:40 PM

I think you are seeing an exageration of any barrel distorion by the perspective distortion. It is hard to see any barrel distortion in that small an image - looks like one pixel at most.

Do your shots with the plane of the rectangular subject as exactly parallel to the sensor plane as you can. A tripod with a good level and contrasting paper taped to the wall is a good start.

JamesPuckett · Dec 9, 2004, 10:24 PM

Thanks for the help! This information should take care of everything, at least as best as it can be taken care of with a cheap camera.

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Dec 9, 2004, 11:58 AM	#1
JamesPuckett Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 2	I am shooting images with a Sony DSC-P92. It works great for far off shots of landscapes and buildings, but when shooting anything nearby I get curved warping around the edges, sort of like something seen through a fisheye lens. To see what I'm talking about, look at the curved edges on the picture frame in the following image: I've looked over the manual, some message boards, and FAQs, but I can't find an explanation. Would someone please help me with this?

Dec 9, 2004, 12:11 PM	#2
calr Moderator Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Beaverton, OR Posts: 8,466	That is called barrel distortion and is present in many/most inexpensive lenses. To avoid barrel distortion, avoid the extreme ends of the zoom range of your lens. In other words, don't use the maximum telephoto or maximum wide-angle settings of your zoom lens. Stay in the middle. If you must use the full range of the zoom lens, the distortion can be corrected in post processing. PSP(version 8 & 9) have a barrel distortion filter. I think PS also has one. To completely avoid barrel distortion, you need a SLR camera with some fairly expensive ($500-1000) lenses. Cal Rasmussen

Dec 9, 2004, 2:40 PM	#3
BillDrew Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Hay River Township, WI Posts: 2,512	I think you are seeing an exageration of any barrel distorion by the perspective distortion. It is hard to see any barrel distortion in that small an image - looks like one pixel at most. Do your shots with the plane of the rectangular subject as exactly parallel to the sensor plane as you can. A tripod with a good level and contrasting paper taped to the wall is a good start.

Dec 9, 2004, 10:24 PM	#4
JamesPuckett Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 2	Thanks for the help! This information should take care of everything, at least as best as it can be taken care of with a cheap camera.