Is there a way to remove these dark bands from my shots?

[KampfHase]

Hey guys,

I now have more then 2000 pics online here, but never used the Forum before. I now registered because I need some help on editing some shots which have been destroyed by my camera. There are about 20 pictures which have dark underexposed horizontal bands through the whole frame. I suppose they were created because the battery was low. I once also had this when it was low.

Anyway, I now cannot revert it and need help, if its possible to remove or reduce them in Photoshop or Lightroom. I still have the RAW files.

I attach 3 of them with exaggerated contrast to make them visible. If you don't know they are there, you cant see them in the original pic.

Thanks in advance for any ideas

[coke]

I suppose it would be difficult to do so with the clouds, but you could use the Heal tool, which in Photoshop 7, is the tool that looks like a bandage. Or you could also try selecting the band with the Magic Wand tool, and edit that area such that it looks like the rest of the photo.

If you post an original photo with normal contrast, maybe i can help you.

Jerry

[brianw999]

The Clone tool is the one to use here. You will need to work at at least +800 zoom and it will be a laborious process ensuring that you get smooth transition with no "blobs" of colour.

[seahawk]

Clone tool won´t do, as there is too much detail in those areas, at least on the 757. You could select the lines, try to match the exposure and contrast to the "normal" areas and then clone out any borders left. But there is a huge risk to get a rejection for manipulation while doing so, because that won´t be an easy editing.

[KampfHase]

Thanks for the ideas guys. I may try editing them with the clone and heal tools, but I wished there was an easier or automated way to do this. I found a too called "Verlaufsfilter" in German Lightroom CS3. I lets you brighten up a selected area above or beyond a staight line. But I could not heal it with that.

[Hinkelbein]

Too bad, because the photos look great.
You sure must find out for certain what causes this, so it can be avoided in the future.

[KampfHase]

I certainly will buy a new camera the next weeks. My 400D is now 5 years old and needs a replacement. Probably the new 650D (Rebel T4i) will do the job.

I see some great progress editing my faulty pics and will upload them as soon as my bunch of rejections allows new uploads

Thanks to all for the help and the heads up!

[Felipe Garcia]

That is something that I have never seen before. On the 7D the low battery usually leads to the stabilizer in bigger lenses going crazy, happened to my friend's 7D and 100-400L and to my 7D with the Sigma 80-400 (never happened with my 28-135, that's why I assume it's limited to bigger and heavier lenses). When it happened to him we suspected it was the batt but couldn't reach any conclusions, but it happened to mine later with the Sigma, so I have concluded that's what happens.

[Hinkelbein]

You say you use the 400D. I use the 400D as well.
Yet, I have never seen anything strange as soon as my battery gets low. It takes all pictures the way it always does, and when it's too low, it just shuts completely down, mine doesn't take faulty pictures.
If there are ever faulty pictures, I blame it on myself

[KampfHase]

Originally Posted by Hinkelbein

You say you use the 400D. I use the 400D as well.
Yet, I have never seen anything strange as soon as my battery gets low. It takes all pictures the way it always does, and when it's too low, it just shuts completely down, mine doesn't take faulty pictures.
If there are ever faulty pictures, I blame it on myself

It does not happen all the time when the battery is low. But when it happens, it must have been shortly before the battery shut the camera down. This was just the second time in 5 years I use this cam. So I don't blame it on the camera. Maybe its just a certain aperture or so when this happens, who knows.

BTW does anyone also see my sig twice? When I try to edit it, the frame is empty...

[Felipe Garcia]

Yep, it's there twice