Iphone 11 Pro Extreme lens flare

The most common response is that “we” don’t know how to use the camera. Kinda funny that the photos found on Apple’s website are similar lighting conditions that a lot of users have had major ghosting issues—especially with lighted signs or bright lights in general. So are all of the photos that Apple uses edited to remove ghosting or flare? Are their photos even possible with the iPhone 11 & PRO models unedited?

https://support.apple.com/library/content/dam/edam/applecare/images/en_US/iphone/ios13-iphone-11pro-camera-capture-outside-frame.jpg

https://support.apple.com/library/content/dam/edam/applecare/images/en_US/iphone/ios13-iphone-11pro-camera-night-mode.jpg

Whether it cuts it or nor, Apple isn't going to make a statement about this. They only comment on something which they believe is truly wrong and that's not very often. If you have used the feedback link, Apple will at least read your feedback. They won't from this forum, however. If you haven't used the feedback link, here it is --> https://www.apple.com/feedback/iphone.html

Yes, I have seen your posts and I know you have said the phone can take really good pictures.

I'll state it again: Step up to the plate Apple. Be honest with your legions of users and loyal fans who have been sold phones with a camera system that is both brilliant and broken. Let us know that you are more than sympathetic: Let us know you are working on fixing the iPhone 11 Pro's "Lens Flare & Floating Artifacts" issues.

Do the right thing.

Please.

You can say this 1,000 times here, but Apple isn't here, isn't reading and won't do anything because you posted this here. This forum is user to user only. Provide feedback the ONLY way Apple will hear you, which is via this link --> Feedback - iPhone - Apple

Hello kcbacon,

Save yourself time and aggravation by going to the following link and submit feedback to Apple:

https://www.apple.com/feedback/iphone.html

The only responses you’ll find here will be:

1.) you don’t know how to use the camera or

2.) it’s normal given the limitations of the larger lens.

Personally, I think it’s screwed-up but what do I know.

Good-luck! Sorry to hear another user is disappointed with their camera.

Hi ph0b14. First of all, hope you guys are doing OK with the fires.

Sorry to see you are one of the Global Many who have been let down by Apple regarding the lens flare/floating artifacts imaging issues with the 11Pro. It's disappointing enough that these issues are real, but absolutely mind-blowing that Apple's position on this is to (1) Insist the issue does not exist, (2) Tell concerned users that it's their shooting style that causes (in their word) "normal" lens flare anomalies and (3) Offer NO viable course of action for refunds, credits or compensation – never mind an actual plan to fix the glaring problem.

I personally did get an Apple Support rep (as well as an in-store tech and manager) to acknowledge that indeed, there seems to be excessive "lens flare-like" anomalies. Over the course of 3 weeks I received 3 replacement phones but unfortunately they all produced the same results. The outcome of my month-long Apple odyssey is that I still have an 11 Pro that still produces these undesirable floating artifacts. I no longer have the time and resources to spar with Apple and I can only guess that this is what their game plan is: to just keep denying, to simply tire us all out until our collective calls for help are just a muffled groan under the thick rugs of their outlying call centers.

Once last thing: you may receive suggestions here to send your comments to https://www.apple.com/feedback/iphone.html

Can't hurt (any more than it already does) to try. Good luck.

Perfectly normal.

• Google Pixel 2: https://support.google.com/pixelphone/thread/8704119?hl=en

• Google Pixel 3: https://support.google.com/pixelphone/thread/3909883?hl=en
• Samsung: Why do lines, dots, or lights appear in my photos after using the camera app?

Or, ghosting on a Canon T3i DSLR with a 35mm prime lens: https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3698085

All smartphones with high quality lenses do; those with poor, low resolution plastic lenses often do not.

Also, here's a whole thread on lens flare seen on the iPhone 8:

iPhone 8 Plus horrible lens flare and ref… - Apple Community

JimP_Solvang wrote:

I also wish that Apple would be professional, transparent and fair and not remove my seldomly posted comments about this "Floating Artifacts" concern. My only goal is to work towards a solution.

If Apple removed your comments it was because you violated the Apple Support Community Terms of Use, which you agreed to follow when setting up an account here.

There is no "work towards a solution" by posting here as aside from monitoring for compliance to the Terms of Use, Apple employees are not here, we're all just users here.

Your best bet is to provide feedback to Apple here:

Product Feedback - Apple

They really do use the input received there to make design decisions for future products, hardware and software.

bobneedham wrote:

They had to realize that people are going to shoot many many sunsets, along with night shots (which is a selling point for them) with bright light sources.

So the sunset photo I posted above that I took with my 11 Pro Max is what, then? A composite? A Photoshop job? Or a careful job of composition to avoid flare?

It's the latter.

Apple has never claimed to be a camera/lens company, but they have been justifiably proud of the cameras on their phones, to the point that unless I have to in order to achieve a particular result, I now leave my DSLR at home for all casual photography.

There's an old saying, "The best camera is the one you have with you."

As of a few releases of the iPhone ago, I no longer feel I am making a huge sacrifice by "having" to take a photo with my phone rather than say my Canon point and shoot, which I haven't felt the need to use in about two years.

With the advent of RAW mode in iOS 14.3, I now have even less reason to ever use the Canon, and the DSLR is used when I need very wide angles or more than 2.5x optical zoom.

“So the sunset photo I posted above that I took with my 11 Pro Max is what, then? A composite? A Photoshop job? Or a careful job of composition to avoid flare?”

I know nothing about the 11. My comparison is the 6+ to the 12.

So what changes did you make in composition that allowed you avoid ghosting in the shot? Have you had shots with ghosting in them? I’ve had pictures without ghosting, even in the same shoot, but none where the sun was in the frame.

As mentioned, the irony is the flare on the 6+ wasn't as noticeable because it's sensor and lens were so much worse.

For flares, hoods only do so much as the B&H post I quoted above mentioned; sometimes you need to move or just shoot at a different time.

Are you going to wish every other camera and phone vendor success since all their devices do the exact same thing?

As I posted earlier, images from a $40,000+ ARRI Alexa cinema camera:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250679985?answerId=254912489022#254912489022

Yes, those hard edged orbs, which are indeed a form of lens flare.

The glitches will not go away without a major discovery in optics or physics.

Once again, for those with an issue with lens flare:

• If it's been less than 14 days since your purchase, return it for a refund.
• If it's been more than 14 days since you purchased it, sell it and buy something that is acceptable to you.

Multiple reviews, users and yes, professional photographers have stated the iPhone 11's cameras are the best ever made available on an iPhone.

It doesn't matter what your last iPhone did; as lenses on iPhones become more complex and more like cameras, lens flare is going to become an issue, especially when you do something that specifically induces lens flare.

Those are conditions that would induce lens flare on any lens, even a $10,000 lens for a DSLR.

Here are some suggestions from third-party sites as to how to avoid it:

• How to Prevent Lens Flare
• Taming the Sun: Lens Flare, and How to Deal with It

I want acknowledgment of the issue as much as the rest of the community, but lots of flare is fixable by fixing exposure levels.

Yes, there is excessive flaring on iPhones, but this isn’t new, iPhones back to the 7 have similar complaints by customers if you do a little nose diving around the internet. The 11 from images I’ve seen looks marginally worse then previous generations.

There are several possibilities for why we are experiencing these issues, including

• Error in manufacturing of missing lens coating
• Faulty design choices by Apple
• Limitations of sensor size and optimizations to allow clear and detail picture quality
• Choice of lens by Apple with components by Sony
• Problems with IOS 13 and image processing

These are a few of the points I’ve seen around the community and from Apple support.

You and I had our lenses swapped out, you claim it eliminated the issue, I claim the counter. A few others have commented and said they got a replacement lens and didn’t see a difference. So far I haven’t seen evidence of similar circumstances and no flare.

To anyone experiencing this issue. Find an area you can come back to, take a before and after image of being repaired, and post the results.