Bad glass is... bad glass.

[NorthernFocus]

We had some interesting light on the mountains a few days ago so I just grabbed my travel camera, the Sony a6000, which already had the 55-210mm kit lens on it. I was pretty disappointed at the halo (or whatever you want to call it). Never had such a thing happen with Nikon glass

[Mike Buckley]

I would be willing to bet that it also would have occurred using Nikon glass. That's because I think it's a double rainbow.

[Shadowman]

I only see a bit of the halo, more of a reddish tinge in the clouds directly behind the peaks. Looks acceptable from a distance.

[NorthernFocus]

I would be willing to bet that it also would have occurred using Nikon glass. That's because I think it's a double rainbow.

It would that it were. Unfortunately not.

[Tronhard]

Actually I think the main issue is that there is giant writing all over the photo! LOL!!

[pnodrog]

Well it has certainly come out well enough that we understand why you grabbed a camera.

[NorthernFocus]

Actually I think the main issue is that there is giant writing all over the photo! LOL!!

That's weird. Wasn't there when I first posted it. And not supposed to be watermarks in the gallery the photo is in. Thanks for pointing it out. Must be something wonky going on with my hosting site.

[Mike Buckley]

Wasn't there when I first posted it.

Also not any time I viewed the photo.

[NorthernFocus]

OK, fixed

I may have to fire my site manager...

[Black Pearl]

Is that SOOC or have you applied processing? If the latter is the 'halo' there in the direct output?

[IzzieK]

Everything looks good from here no halo, not even the watermark I saw last night...It is very beautiful, Dan...If this is your backyard view, I wonder what else can be found around the 360° view from your house, apart from your pet moose...if only you don't live in cold Alaska...nevermind...

[DickyOZ]

Simply beautiful scene. Could you see the halo with the naked eye? Ice crystals in the sky?

[marlunn]

do you see it in other photos or only this weather / light shot, to me it does look like rainbow on ice crystals in the air

[DanK]

Hmm. Hard to tell at this resolution. However, I agree with Mike: it certainly looks like a double rainbow to me. Look at the top left, above the first band of clouds. However, I assume that could be an artifact. As kids, lots of us created rainbows with prisms. There also appears to be a lot of color noise in the image, which is particularly apparent between the mountains on the left and the innermost rainbow, if that's what it is. That amount of color noise makes me a bit more suspicious about the rainbows.

[Mike Buckley]

I still maintain that it's probably a double rainbow because of the spectrum that is displayed.

[NorthernFocus]

Is that SOOC or have you applied processing? If the latter is the 'halo' there in the direct output?

I shoot RAW and process in LR so there basically isn't any SOOC. However, I did go back and look at my files. I had not yet deleted extraneous frames and interestingly the effect isn't evident in every frame. Now you've done it. The technical OCD in me will have to get to the bottom of this one.

For those suggesting atmospheric prism effects, if you notice in future, they only occur when the source of light is either directly behind you (e.g.rainbows) or directly in front of you (e.g.moon halo). This shot is at nearly a right angle to the sun. Shot at noon, by the way, on December 22. Which goes to show that it's not a waste of time shooting at mid day Well with good glass anyway...

[Mike Buckley]

For those suggesting atmospheric prism effects, if you notice in future, they only occur when the source of light is either directly behind you (e.g.rainbows)

I have images of a rainbow when the light was coming strongly from the left.

[NorthernFocus]

I have images of a rainbow when the light was coming strongly from the left.

Yes but you live in DC where they've repealed the laws of physics

[DanK]

For those suggesting atmospheric prism effects, if you notice in future, they only occur when the source of light is either directly behind you (e.g.rainbows) or directly in front of you (e.g.moon halo). This shot is at nearly a right angle to the sun.

Hmm. Not my recollection, so I looked it up. What I found was that rainbows occur at a deviation of 40-42 degrees from the angle of the sunlight. Given the shadows, that doesn't look implausible. And, of course, for the lens to be creating an artifactual rainbow, the light would have to hit one of the elements at the correct angle produce it.

Not that I claim any expertise in optics.

I have been doing photography for a long time, using all manner of both cheap and good glass, and I have never had an artifactual rainbow in any shot that I can recall.

[Black Pearl]

I shoot RAW and process in LR so there basically isn't any SOOC. However, I did go back and look at my files. I had not yet deleted extraneous frames and interestingly the effect isn't evident in every frame. Now you've done it. The technical OCD in me will have to get to the bottom of this one.

It does look like a processing introduced issue, I had the same a couple of days ago when I pushed a sky a little too far thing to add a bit more drama and the colour transitions broke down producing something very similar.