Iphone 11 Pro Extreme lens flare

Night scene, bright lights, NO flare:

And before anyone says this proves they have a defective camera on their phone, let me assure you that when I composed this photo, there was flare. UNTIL, I moved the angle of the phone, which completely eliminated the flare.

And to whoever suggested maybe the Apple promo photos might not have been or couldn't be duplicated on iPhone, Apple noted the photos were taken by professional photographers with iPhone. They most assuredly weren't limited to just an iPhone. No, they would have likely used Tripods, professional lighting and if necessary post process editing tools like Photoshop, which if anyone here wants, they too can use. I use Photoshop a lot when I take a photo which has issues I want to eliminate, but I really like the composition of the photo I took.

Completely normal and avoidable by slightly shifting composition.

Hi there,

I don’t think this is a real issue. From the moment I noticed the flares on my iPhone 11, I started to notice them in all the pictures and videos taken by the people around me with other iPhones/phones. There’s one trend that I noticed: newer iPhone/phone models have more apparent flares. If you simply take an iPhone 6 or a mid range android phone, you will notice that it barely has any flare because it can barely capture anything from a bright source that it faces. I could only bring the flares out when I manually customised the lightings and found the perfect angle where the camera could actually handle the light properly.

All I’m saying here is that these flares appear because the iPhone 11 has a more sensitive/capable sensor. Perhaps it’s also over exaggerated compared to other flagships since the camera holes are larger and maybe apple’s AI system treats it as a detail and tries to sharpen it. It’s important to point out that other flagships still have it but less exaggerated as you can see in the first posts in here: https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=76&topicid=257319

The theory of a defective coating might sound reasonable but I’ve seen too many examples of flares close to what I’m seeing on relativity new iPhone models such as iPhone XR, 8, and 7 that I can’t simply ignore and assume that it’s a defect.

Take a look at this apple article which points out to flares and other light artifacts.

https://support.apple.com/en-kw/HT203692

Also look how this iPhone 11 camera review has flares in some of the examples but it never gets pointed out as an issue. Take a look at 7:04, 7:45, and 7:11

https://youtu.be/k4bs5rdZy6k

For those who reported a flare-free experience after some kind of repair, it’s quite strange that most of them didn’t provide evidence, or if they did, the before & after comparison wasn’t very consistent or it only included examples of very minor flares. I will only believe if someone reproduces one of the intense flare-examples that they had ( the ones with clear green reflections ) but with dramatic improvement (in term of flare) after the repair without any photoshop tricks.

I recommend you guys to take a look at this reddit post if you feel like it:

https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/da6qft/iphone_11_pros_irritating_lens_flare_problem/?utm_source=amp&utm_medium=&utm_content=comments_view_all

My last words for you guys: Ease-off your minds and enjoy most of the beautiful pictures that you will actually take in normal daylight instead of weird lighting scenarios!

Yes it is completely normal for a sensor this size coupled with these lenses.

It's not "missing coatings" and if you care to read the entirity of this thread you'll see that's been proven time and time again.

Your iPhone XS used an entirely different lens design, so direct comparisons don't apply.

If you really think something is wrong with your particular phone, Apple would be happy to take a look for you:

Contact - Official Apple Support

I see the same problem at night and also in the day. The picture at night is incredible but the lens flare is not acceptable. I am on iOS 13.2 and don’t see how the software is going to help at all. It is the glass cover over the lens that is creating the reflection and flares. Very disappointing. I observed this today as well in the sun. I never had this on my iPhone XS Max or older iPhones.

Not a lie at all; in fact your comparison is flawed.

The S8 had very simple lenses compared to the complex lenses used on the iPhone 11 Pro, and the sensor on the 11 Pro is also higher resolution.

Comparing it to the S8 is rather like comparing a DSLR lens to one on a point-and-shoot camera; as the lenses get more complex, flare is more likely.

Do an Internet search and you'll find very similar complaints about the Galaxy S10 and the new Google Pixel 4.

Normal for the iPhone 11 Pro Max.

If you don't like it, return your phone if within 14 days I'd purchase or you can or sell it as used and buy something else.

It was trivial to induce similar flare on the iPhone XS and X before that.

For me, there's no other phone that can do what the 11 Pro Max can photographically, so I can work around situations that induce flare.

i use the UAG snow case and it has a good about of room between the camera. You can’t tell the camera is dirty til you have direct light. If you have smudges it will cause a white gradient over the image.

First photo looks like the camera has lots of smudges/dirt on top of flare

Second, that is probably the worst part I’ve seen, but your also pointing at the sun, and in that case, the dots are from the reflections in the water.

If you have the patients, get your lens repaired under warranty, but that won’t massively improve it, it slightly improved mine, but I’d say a lot of the issues are also from a dirty lens. I get my lens cover later I’ll let you know if the dots get blocked from this external glass layer

Actually, you’re wrong. I’m a professional photographer in addition to having iPhones and Samsung notes, I’ve never seen something so bad. These lenses don’t have any anti-reflective coating, any light situation small or large there is an intense flailing issue. Some of these examples are extreme but if you really take the phone into low light conditions or sunny conditions, these lenses are hypersensitive and the reason you’re getting the reflection is because of the lenses. I think some of the examples, with a drastic black background and drastic bright light, our worst case examples but even in simple images The flare can’t be avoided.

[Image Edited for Personal Information]

I mentioned it before, but if you call Apple’s customer support and tell them the issue they will offer a replacement new phone for $99, or I can go in and have my lens repaired, I didn’t want to spend more money on a phone that is as expensive as a used car so I brought it into my Best Buy and they repaired it under warranty, and not my AppleCare+ service so it didn’t mark my account.

I don’t use my camera on this phone as much as I thought I would and It’s not the main reason I replaced my Note 10 with this, because the Note 10 had a wonderful camera despite the over processed photos, but the battery of Android phones, Samsung in particular, are horrible compared to what this 11 pro max can offer for me. I go 3-4 days without charges where on my s8 I’d be lucky to get 3 hours of screen on time in a day with the same usage I do now.

Something I have not seen on this thread is comparing to a similar performance Sony DSLR or Mirrorless camera, as Sony is the one that makes the lenses for Apple.

This is the iPhones native camera app at work, for why you see flickering. I’ve been using third parry camera apps that allow you to change ISO as well as shutter speed, this can dramatically remove unwanted flares and allows you to shoot in raw which allows you to edit exposure without loss of detail.

There are also plenty of good photo editing apps such as PSE which allow you to correct flares easily, and you cannot tell that it was ever edited in post

I owned the Note 10 which is the step up from your s10 .If were talking about the smear effect you’re seeing fingerprints and dust. If we’re talking about dots, all phone cameras do it, but the 11 pro has it worse due to design choice. I pointed at the Sun, and unless you have magnesium you don’t have nearly as bright. I got a single dot, no smear, and honestly you can avoid that with a little knowledge on photography.

KeithCHARLES wrote:

There are no pocket sized weatherized cameras that can match the Pro. Which is what I really want. Sooooo...I have to find a way around some of these issues or return it. But then what? I see no other choices.

It's common throughout the industry, and once again is basically due to the constraints of current optics. If you do an Internet search you'll find flare complaints about the Samsung Galaxy 10 family and the just released Google Pixel 4 as well.

Coatings to reduce glare also reduce light transmission, so it's not as easy as introducing an inner lens coating either.

If you think a different iPhone would not do the same, you’d be WRONG. That is NORMAL lens flare, when you are taking a photo with the camera capturing the sun so directly. My $2,000 DSLR with a $1500 lens would do the VERY SAME thing.

Your expectation is unrealistic with such a photo, taken on a cell phone. There really is no camera which wouldn’t produce lens flare like this under the conditions you took this photo.