Iphone 11 Pro Extreme lens flare

With all due respect, a higher resolution sensor has strictly nothing to do with the issue of flare and/or ghosting.

Where did you fetch such science ? What are your references ? Are you improvising by any chance ?

Flare and ghosting are due to the light reflexivity potential of optical elements surfaces, the number of these elements, their shapes, the light intensity, angle and imaging contrast context. The sensor is also considered as an optical element although incident light does not pass through but may be reflected from it if it lacks the appropriate coating. The anti-reflective coating on both sides of each optical element is critical to be able to mitigate the flare & ghosting phenomenons...

Apple phones are more expensive than Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi and Google Pixel to list just the main ones... And we dint look at specs for specs of course as whilst Apple offers the Pro with 64Gb I wonder which other manufacturer proposes its flagship with same...

I’d be very curious to learn your technique to film this light fixture without creating a flare, considering it is present in a myriad of different shots on many different phones. I’d be happy to post the video for your critique of my skill.

It’s the “you’re holding it wrong” mentality — Apple products aren’t infallible, and there’s nothing wrong with pointing out their weaknesses so people can decide if they’ll work for their needs.

I’m sure Apple will fix it and make it “one step” as soon as they determine best how to break existing laws of optics and physics.

Find a friend with a Galaxy 10+ or Pixel 4 and prove that they can take a photo of the same light fixture under the same conditions with no flare.

We tested a Galaxy S10. Like I said, *every* phone I tested produces this reflection in this scenario, but it’s a matter of degree.

i didn’t scientifically measure the brightness of the reflection, but I would say the S10 flare was roughly 50 percent as strong as the iPhone 11 and 11 Pro.

For one, your lights have shades and aren’t as bright. Second, you’ve put them dead center in the frame.

It is what it is —

https://vimeo.com/382442773/f242bf6846

The reflection / flaring is plainly visible in both the wide reveal, and the gimbal zoom shot.

For all I know, this shortcoming is a trade off for other improvements to the camera system. Doesn’t make a lot of sense to blame the issue on the user.

People are noticing on the iPhone 11 because it produces these aberrations more strongly than previous iPhones, and at least some competing Android phones.

I don't know what putting the light fixture dead center in the photo has to do with anything, but if your video is evidence to prove iPhone has an issue, in my humble opinion you have failed, as the video is quite good. In fact, you could have suggested the video was taken on a high end camera system and I would have believed you.

Edit: In the photo I posted, I could have easily taken the same photo with some of the flare people are posting here. I actually saw it clearly before taking the photo. But I changed the angle of the camera and eliminated the flare. So yes, I do think many of the artifacts people are posting here are user error, which with more care could be eliminated. It's not that hard to compose a good photo and when you look at your screen live before taking the photo, you have the opportunity to change the angle.

I’m not arguing that the camera is bad. The angle of the light source determines where the reflection lands—so shooting it dead on can obscure it. That said, as a photographer, shooting every light source dead-on would be absurdly limiting.

For video, it’s not even possible — camera movement necessitates that the angle of the light will change, as seen in the video I shot.

I’m not sharing this information to beat up on Apple — the positive qualities of this camera are the sole reason I upgraded from my XS. I’m sharing it so that people know that this issue is innate to the phone, and to some extent all phones, and that they shouldn’t waste their time trying to get replacements.

But this is camera lens physics and isn't any different on ANY camera. My expensive Nikon DSLR with a nearly $2K lens produces lens flare as easily as a cell phone. People's expectations that Apple has somehow defeated physics on these new phones is honestly bizarre and completely unrealistic to me.

Interesting, I have never ever had such types of lens flare / ghosting whilst using my Canon point & shoot S90 camera nor my Sony A7R2 camera with Zeiss lenses even when taking pictures of illuminated christmas trees, etc...

The issue is more or less prevalent function of the optical system, sensor, light and light angle... What is said here is that the iPhone 11 series are excessively prone to flare and ghosting when compared to most camera systems hence it is very much inferior to average in this respect.

The types of flares produced on DSLRs and larger mirrorless cameras are very different, and are caused by light from outside the frame, bouncing off the side of the lens and onto the sensor. That’s why they can generally be eliminated with use of a lens hood. I can say with certainty that my Panasonic GH5 does not produce these types of aberrations in this scenario, or any other.

These reflections are different — I suspect they’re caused by having the lens cover so close to the sensor. The light is bouncing off the optics, onto the cover, and then back into the camera. That’s why there’s a mirrored effect.

Obviously, smart phones need to have small cameras, and that’s why every one I tested suffers from this issue to some degree. The question is, why are some substantially worse than others?

That could be it. It could also be exaggerated by the increasingly wide apertures in these cameras — they’re letting in more light overall. That would certainly explain why the 6S demonstrated the smallest amount of reflection / flare. That could also explain why I don’t see it in the ultra wide, as it has the narrowest aperture.

Ah, yep ! The wide apertures can exacerbate the flare / ghosting phenomenon.

One question though:

Are the lenses covers treated with anti-reflective coating on both sides ? I am not sure as I cant see any reflected purple / bluish hue similar to camera glass, spectacles, etc...

Good one Apple. This is when you know that these videos are not actually shot on iPhone 11 Pro

https://youtu.be/gsECm0kpLT0?t=60

EDIT: I'll probably go to Apple Store with my iPhone and some sparklers, show them this video, record my own and laugh when they say that this is expected...

Apple what happened?

I can’t take a descent video or photo without battling with the huge flare.

By night or in low light situations I really appreciate the improvements... and I understand and can live with the fact that there is still a lot of work to make it perfect.

But in a "normal" setup, by day, in my living room (for example), I cannot accept such issues... glares, flares and some other aberrations are ruining the experience and pleasure of taking pictures or videos. I know that is the complete opposite of you modo... what happened?

Here is a quick video of the constant glare/flare while shooting:

https://youtu.be/LeRorAdQFyk

any fixes in project?