Green orb in iPhone camera

This has been happening in random videos and photos of mine the past couple months as well. At first thought it was a weird reflection, but I just took a video of my bed in the dark last night and there’s a green orb floating around just above where I sleep, moving, while the camera is totally still. Can’t figure out anything technological that could explain it..

Well, then we are both confused. I don't know what you were speaking about with iOS got cracked twice and how it's terrifying to watch the video back. I understand that has nothing to with the flares captured in photos, but you seem to have issues with your phone completely unrelated to the flares. So my question is what did Apple say about the issues you are having with your phone otherwise?

They're not random. They are also on your iPhone screen before you take the photo. And changing the angle of the camera relative to the subject, can eliminate them.

Watch this video, which may help you --> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTGn9LAZ_3M&feature=youtu.be

There was a technical information posted in this thread which you apparently didn’t read. To save you the trouble of going back a page here it is again→https://photographylife.com/what-is-ghosting-and-flare/amp

But the key takeaway is that this is not an iPhone issue. Every camera ever made will have this issue when you have a light source in the picture, whether it’s a $10 disposable camera or a $100,000 cinematographic camera, or anything in between, if you have a light source in the picture.

Unless you have the phone on a tripod you can’t possibly hold it completely steady. Each photo of the live photo sequence will mean a slight shift in position of the camera. The lens is essentially the fulcrum of a lever; the light source is at the end of the long arm of the lever, and the CCD is at the short arm of the lever, so even a tiny movement of the lens will move the reflection in the lens. If you want to do a better experiment mount the phone on a tripod, and use a Bluetooth shutter release so tapping the button doesn’t nudge the camera. The fuzziness confirms that the camera was moving when that frame was taken.

I don’t think you understand. In the three second live shot the blue dot is in focus, out of focus, in focus again moves in four directions and in and out of the frame. In three seconds. While nothing else in the photo moved. There is NO WAY that was the phone moving. Software updated, phone checked at Apple, no smears, smuges or case covering the lens.

Look, I’m not looking for some supernatural explanation. I’d like an explanation that actually makes sense - these aren’t just blobs of reflected dust. Not an insect. What kind of light is being reflected that is making a blue/green moving dot or light? How would lens flare make such erratic movements in a 3 second Live photo? I know it’s a tiny photo, but you can see how much it moves in the live frames below.

The OP had the same issue - no one could really answer his question. Lens flare may make sense for a still photo, but I’m confused how it explains the movement. It is NOT the phone moving. I’m not trying to tell you it’s ghosts, and please don’t try to tell me it’s a problem with the phone/software/hardware/user. Thanks.

Love it - you don’t like our explanation, tough luck. Your explanation doesn’t make sense with the movement I see. I believe it, I understand the science. I’m done - the OP had his phone cracked and couldn’t take videos anymore....

I'm glad you're a biomedical engineer. That has nothing whatsoever to with photography. But I'm sure you're very intelligent and what you do I hope helps the world greatly.

I'm not going to provide any equations of any kind. Camera lenses capture lens flare. That is one the "physics" of photography. And good photographers, who practice the physics of photography know how to avoid taking photos with lens flare and if they are unavoidable, they use post editing processing software (such as PhotoShop) to fix their photos.

Thanks for the reminder on the forum goals and rules. Having been on this forum for more than a decade, I'm more than aware. If you think ANYONE can bring you more helpful information than to avoid photographing bright lights directly, you're going to be disappointed.

Thanks and take care.

To clarify, I have an iPhone 8, and have had it for years. I meant it has all of a sudden started happening to me, specifically, not in general society. Why would my phone all of a sudden create this effect? I mentioned before, it is basically impossible to reproduce. The scientific process is based on reproducibility, so I'm not convinced that's completely what's going on here. I have a disability so I use a shock-proof stand to record my pictures and videos; yes not completely still, but even in a vacuum, it could never be completely still. Matter doesn't act that way. Another part of the question is why some o the people experiencing this, were also able to see it (albeit momentarily) with the naked eye.

I've attempted to reangle the camera and it does not eliminate the flare. Could you clarify if there is a specific way to ensure that you eliminate the flare? Does it work 100% of the time?

It is a photography endeavor for me actually. I was one of the lead investigators on a device that uses high-throughput camera technology to detect cancerous cells. (Your assumptions are not helping...) If you will, could you direct me to a link where I could learn more about the type of photography you're referencing? I'd really like to learn.

VioletM wrote:

To clarify, I have an iPhone 8, and have had it for years. I meant it has all of a sudden started happening to me, specifically, not in general society. Why would my phone all of a sudden create this effect?

Because you haven’t taken photos with a light source either in the photo or just off to the side of the camera in the past. Or if you have you haven’t noticed it. Since you are a scientist here is a scientific explanation of lens flare from an expert in that field. I’m sure he doesn’t know as much as you do about biomedical engineering, but he clearly knows just about all there is to know about the optics of cameras→https://photographylife.com/what-is-ghosting-and-flare/amp

Any iPhone is very capable of capturing lens flare. iPhone 8, X, Xr, Xs, 11, 12, doesn't matter. Camera lenses when confronted with bright lens reflecting against the lens can cause flare. If you take a photo of the sun directly for example, lens flare is inevitable. Bright lights at night, the same.

You ask how to avoid flare 100%? Honestly, there is no way to avoid flare 100%. What you need to train yourself to do is to look at the screen and see what your phone sees before you take the photo. Lens flare will be seen before you take the picture. You can then reangle the camera to reduce or eliminate the flare. The photos I posted demonstrate this. But to tell you there is a way to eliminate flare 100% simply doesn't exist. Not in a cell phone camera. Not in a camera and lens system costing well over $100,000.

I can guarantee I've taken hundreds of pictures with a light source, especially the sun and the moon, and just off to the side. So that does not explain it either, unfortunately. I have tried to reangle it, turning 180 degs and different angles off the horizon, it doesn't go away- it's freaky. I know what you're saying, I understand. It just isn't what I have experienced. I wish it was that simple. It just isn't. I think the issue of whether you're a scientist or not should not be part of this conversation as it disregards those who are "scientists." Thank you for the link, I've read this article already. I still have unanswered questions, however. Thank you for your input. Take good care.