Love the cameras. But horrible lens flares.
And it seems it’s defective:
One the right, above the window. Green flares from tube lights to the left.
In the middle of the picture:
On the TV screen:
Will try out during the day and post
I've had only Samsung phones for the last 10 years or so...I have never had these camera issues on any of them.
Decided to switch from an s10 to a 12 mini because I’m tired of huge phones...but it looks like I’ll be returning it because the lens flare issue is so bad in low light. These are expensive phones, this shouldn’t be a problem.
Your “if you don’t like it, leave it” mentality is pathetic. We all like the iPhone here and just want to make it better. What’s your problem with that? You remind me of the legions of fanboys losing their minds when the first rMBP ghosting issues surfaced or the dropped calls on the iPhone 4.
Tomorrow I’ll send you two videos of the exact same location and time, one filmed with the 12PM and one filmed with a two year old android device. You’ll tell me which has acceptable flare.
Florian Wardell wrote:
You contact Apple support, post on discussions.Apple.com and hopefully if enough people complain Apple will devise a fix, or at least improve the next generation.
You specifically do not post here, unless you have a technical issue other users can give you a solution for.
You can contact Apple Support here:
Contact - Official Apple Support
You may provide feedback here:
If you have a solution for this issue, you may want to contact Huawei, because they haven't been able to solve it despite their collaboration with Leica.
LG and Samsung would also likely pay you seven figures or more for a fix.
Florian Wardell wrote:
Tomorrow I’ll send you two videos of the exact same location and time, one filmed with the 12PM and one filmed with a two year old android device. You’ll tell me which has acceptable flare.
Please don't, as that won't prove a thing.
It's not a "If you don't like it, leave" mentality, it's a very reasonable "If this annoys you, get a refund now because it won't be changing, and because it's a limitation of optics, it likely won't be changing on future devices, either issue." It's not a fanboy thing, it's that posting more and more photos of an artifact we all know can be generated on any premium smartphone camera on the market does what, precisely? If you won't return it for a refund, it gives you what, the right to complain about it and post more flare photos for the next year or two? If so, feel free, it won't change anything.
If you manage to not get those effects on your Android, good for you. As I said, you should visit Android boards and tell users how to avoid it, because they certainly see it using the same device.
Once again:
You can contact Apple Support here if you feel it is a sample defect:
Contact - Official Apple Support
You may provide feedback here if you think it's something Apple devices "shouldn't do":
If you can't stand to live with it, you can return your device within 14 days of purchase for a full refund (and actually, as of right now for US purchases (policies vary worldwide):
Items purchased at the Apple Online Store that are received between 10 November and 25 December 2020 may be returned up to 8 January 2021.
Posting here accomplishes nothing constructive as Apple does not officially read these forums to gain feedback on current or future products, they only do via the Feedback link mentioned above.
We came to this discussion looking for assistance with an obvious defect. I personally was immediately flamed by a condescending post that suggested I should return my camera, as if I was too stupid or incompetent to use it. I'm sorry if looking for help with a problem is considered rude. And we still have received no real advice on what to do about the problem, despite it having been confirmed by several photographers, some of them professional, all of them with many years' experience. Yet we are told we don't know what we are talking about. I think that is sad and it is completely unreasonable for a couple of posters to be allowed to treat other peoples' real problems so disrespectfully.
The camera has an obvious design flaw, not seen in similar cameras. I'm sorry, but that is the way it is. Yes, we are all good enough to know how to work around it. The point is, we shouldn't have to. I didn't come here to be talked down to. I came here for advice about the problem and information on whether Apple was going to deal with it. Apparently this is the wrong place to come for that sort of information.
No one on this forum can fix anything for you. You can continue to complain over and over but that get's you nothing. If you're not happy with your phone, take it to Apple for evaluation. What do you honestly think we users can do for you other than to try to give you suggestion on ways to minimize naturally occurring photographic artifacts.
The cameras on the phones are not flawed. Even if they were, incessantly complaining to other users here is pointless.
You say you came to see what Apple is going to do about your complaints. NO ONE HERE WORKS FOR APPLE. NO ONE HERE CAN SPEAK FOR APPLE. APPLE DOESN'T PARTICIPATE IN THIS FORUM.
Take your complaints to Apple.
cjcampbell wrote:
The camera has an obvious design flaw, not seen in similar cameras. I'm sorry, but that is the way it is. Yes, we are all good enough to know how to work around it. The point is, we shouldn't have to. I didn't come here to be talked down to. I came here for advice about the problem and information on whether Apple was going to deal with it. Apparently this is the wrong place to come for that sort of information.
Yet there is photo after photo in this thread of the same artifact on smartphones from other manufacturers along with support links from Huawei and Samsung noting that these artifacts are normal for their devices.
So if you want to demand something common to all high end smart phones is a defect and Apple needs to "do something" to correct something all phone cameras do… you're not going to have much luck.
Once again, if you think it is a defect with your phone, contact Apple Support directly:
Contact - Official Apple Support
If it's that Apple needs to "improve this in the future":
We are all just users here.
No one works for Apple, and none of us can tell Apple to do anything.
I have at home a Huawei P20 Pro, iPhone 7, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone XR and an iPhone 12 Pro Max. The latter is the only one that makes terrifying flares, like no other. One thing is flares and another that the whole photo is full of spots. I am a professional photographer, I have Nikon and Sony cameras, lenses of all kinds and no, a photograph of streetlights does not show spots like the iPhone 12 Pro Max does. The photographs that I have seen of Huawei, Xiaomi or Samsung are not as exaggerated as those generated by the iPhone. They certainly have a serious problem with the lenses. Some say here that a professional photographer would know how to avoid them. No, those flares on a mirrorless or DSRL camera don't appear. A photograph of streetlights, as some people have shown, does not make those spots.
One thing are flares and others are stains. For those who speak of professional photography, indeed, professional lenses solve this by adding internal layers that avoid these problems.
I have opened a support case with Apple and they ask me to take the phone to an official repair site so they can see what happens themselves. I have shown them several photographs and they understand that this is not how it should work.
It is curious that Apple has an open folder for me to send photos and videos with the problem because they are studying it and they have told me that it is a serious problem and some of you here are defending it.
The flares are normal, the reflections caused by the bouncing of the light inside the lenses are not. Not because it is corrected by incorporating anti-reflective layers, the iPhone 12 clearly does not have them.
I'm watching videos from Samsung, Huawei ... and they have normal flares, but not this. As if that weren't enough, the green dots are further enhanced by photo processing, as can be seen when switching from Live to the final photo.
APPLE should explain to us in advance on their sales website that the IPHONE 12 PRO MAX has been accompanied by ghost flares. I wouldn't buy such an expensive one if it was written that way. And I rushed to the APPLE store twice and asked to help that, but the clerks just claimed that the camera was perfectly fine and gave me no support. What can i do to get solved?
If you feel your phone is not operating properly, contact Apple Support directly.
Contact - Official Apple Support
However, as you note, Apple has already told you the behavior is normal, so you may want to return your phone for a full refund if you are within the applicable return window.
miguelfeal wrote:
It is curious that Apple has an open folder for me to send photos and videos with the problem because they are studying it and they have told me that it is a serious problem and some of you here are defending it.
Of course processing will enhance the dots as they are seen as part of the source photo.
There are more than enough posts here and on the Internet showing the same issue with past iPhones as well as every other phone camera, so I won't argue it with you further.
Let us all know what Apple Support says, as ultimately they are the final arbiter.
Apple is being nice to you, essentially appeasing you on this subject. iPhone 11 did this. iPhone X did this, almost all iPhones have done this. In iPhone 11 and iPhone 12, the camera system is extremely close to each and the Flare threads on the iPhone 11 just as loud and active as this thread. If Apple truly believe there was an issue with iPhone 12, something would have been changed on iPhone 12. So why didn't it? The answer is simple, Apple cannot bend the physics of optics.
Anyone however is welcome to open a ticket with Apple and send all kinds of photos. Apple can't do anything to fix this.
I thought you might enjoy this video of a blind shootout between iPhone 12 Pro Max, Samsung and Pixel 5.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pb6Qq-56LJQ
Spoiler alert: iPhone won! Photos all taken by a professional photographer. And judged by professionals, who all know how to frame subjects correctly.
I saw that video last week when it was posted by them. Not really a smoking gun to prove your points. Then clearly mention personal preference over what they recognize was better photos for various personal reasons to them. And some they mentioned were nearly equal but they preferred something minimal like white balance.
My 12 Pro Max and Note 20 Ultra photos don’t both display the same issues. My Note doesn’t show the same green dots in the exact same photos, so clearly it’s not user error both are framed in multiple different angles and the green dots always show up on the iPhone and do not on the Note. I can’t say it’s defective but it’s a iPhone issue more than laws of physics. To be fair I do the same exact Christmas photo every year and a couple years back I had the dot issues with whatever current gen iPhone that was back then and last year I did not get it on my 11 Pro Max. So it’s a hardware produced issue with whatever process they use with the lenses or coating.
IPhone 12 Pro Max Lens flare
