I took some shots with a 70-300 the other day and they came out looking like water colors when viewed at 100%. I came back and tried to replicate it again but wasn't able to do it. I did some searching and I think it might be heat haze but maybe an extreme case? Am I seeing it correctly?
It was shot with an XSI, Canon 70-300mm IS at 300mm IS in 90 degree weather last weekend. Is there anyway to get around it i.e. are different lens's more susceptible to it than others at the same focal lengths?
I have had several times that I come home thinking I got great shots and found similar results to yours - even with expensive L glass on a 1Ds2. In the end I have put it down to atmospheric conditions because I could go back next day and get perfect shots. It's a bummer when it happens, but there seems to be nothing that you can do about it.
Definitely looks like it. The desert location is a good sign that it is. The dirt just absorbs all of the heat and radiates it right back into the atmosphere, causing the heat haze.
Nope, nothing to do with the lens as far as I know. Shooting from a top down vantage point isn't ideal either as it's almost like you are shooting through a blanket. I often shoot military jets and the heat haze from the engines play havoc with the shots. Usually I focus on the nose/cockpit to avoid trying to focus through the haze but sometimes it is unavoidable, sometimes the results through the haze come out very nicely, mostly not though!
