shots look smoggy?

[kevin99989]

I was at 200mm zoom, and took this around sunset in cold weather. The air seemed clear to my eye (no smog) when I took this shot of the city about 8km away. Yet i had to increase the contrast somewhat (already done in this image) to remove the smoggy appearance.

Has anyone else experienced this kind of thing, especially when taking shots over a distance, where the image capture by your camera is more hazy than what you see.

I used my UV filter in this shot too, even though the sun was setting.

[Mad Aussie]

You weren't getting condensation between the filter and the front element of the lens were you? I've had that happen in cold weather.

Apart from that the only thing I can think of is you had a bit of overexposure.

[Iguanasan]

I've had this happen to me on a few shots. I would suggest that even though it wasn't smoggy it may have been "foggy". 8KM of open, moist air between you and your subject can have a huge distortion effect. At least that's been my experience here on the East Coast of Canada. Also 1/20 second at 200mm can be a problem if your tripod is not rock steady. I would think that any wind at all might have an effect on a shot like this. (someone please correct me if I am wrong)

[Marko]

Nice catch Iggy - 1/20 is too slow at 200 mm. On a non VR lens you are looking at 1/200 min. Old school you'd have been at 1/250 min. This likely contributes to the foggy effect.
Iggy also makes a good point about the moist air...sometimes it's hard to see.