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iPhone 13 pro lens flare

Are these signs of camera defects with my iPhone 13 Pro Max? I keep getting these lens flares when taking photos and videos with bright sources of light. Happens allot with the sun during day and bright lights during night.

iPhone 13 Pro Max, iOS 15

Posted on Sep 29, 2021 2:11 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Sep 29, 2021 2:38 PM

Yes and they're normal. Before you take the photo, you can easily see the flares on the screen. Alter the angle of the phone relative to the bright lights and you can eliminate the flares.


While these two photos were taken on iPhone 12 Pro Max, you can see what I'm talking about.


This photo show lens flare:



Simply angling the camera differently without moving at all produced this photo:


322 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Sep 29, 2021 2:38 PM in response to Dæniøl

Yes and they're normal. Before you take the photo, you can easily see the flares on the screen. Alter the angle of the phone relative to the bright lights and you can eliminate the flares.


While these two photos were taken on iPhone 12 Pro Max, you can see what I'm talking about.


This photo show lens flare:



Simply angling the camera differently without moving at all produced this photo:


Sep 30, 2021 3:34 PM in response to lobsterghost1

Sorry but you can't always angle your way out of the lense flares, I tried many times but most of the time it's just not possible unless I point it in a different direction, but then I don't get the shot that I want.


See the big reflection from the sign in his image, if I took a picture of this with my compact camera or my DSLR camera, I wouldnt get this kind of reflection at all, so no it's not normal. It's the way they positioned the lenses, and they also need coating to reduce the flares. They just need to do something about it and fix it.

Sep 30, 2021 9:23 PM in response to Fresnogreg

I knew this was where were headed… again, as every year.


Two with one photo; iPhone 12 Pro Max and Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra Lens Flare:



iPhone 11 Pro Max Lens Flare:



iPhone Xs Lens Flare:



iPhone 8 Plus Lens Flare:



iPhone 7 Plus Lens Flare:



iPhone 6 Lens Flare:



Google Pixel 3 Lens Flare:



Google Pixel 5 Lens Flare:



Samsung Galaxy Note Lens Flare:



Samsung Galaxy S20 Lens Flare:



Just for fun, Canon DSLR:



…and on and on and on.


I showed you lens flare as seen on $50,000 professional digital cinema camera/lens combinations here.

Nov 8, 2021 4:47 PM in response to smtips

It's happened on every previous iPhone back to at least the iPhone 6; I've personally posted examples of this:


https://discussions.apple.com/thread/253200214?answerId=255995138022#255995138022


It's normal for this device, it's normal for every premium smartphone camera, digital camera and even professional digital cinema camera and lens combinations as it's optics and Apple can't violate the laws of physics as much as they'd like to.



Since you mentioned $50K, here's a $60K professional digital cinema camera with a $10K+ lens attached:



I give a couple more examples here:


https://discussions.apple.com/thread/253200214?answerId=256173218022#256173218022


Now I see flares like every time I take a photo and have to make adjustments. With or without a protective cover on the lenses, makes no difference.


This is something all photographers have always needed to do, all the time when composing shots or video, digital just makes it more obvious because more photos are taken.

Dec 10, 2021 3:29 PM in response to davidech70

Yes they do.


A brief Internet search will reveal ample examples; I've compiled several here:


iPhone Camera Lens Flare and Reflections - Apple Community


Here's Samsung's take on it.


For fun:


Canon DSLR with a Canon 50mm f1.8 II lens:



Panasonic Digital Video Camera:



Samsung Galaxy S20:



$50,000 ARRI Alexa Mini cinema digital camera with $10,000 Cooke Lens:




Nov 9, 2021 9:26 PM in response to smtips

You may not have seen it, but it was happening.


If you don't want to believe what I say here, you can see for yourself here:


https://discussions.apple.com/thread/253200214?answerId=255995138022#255995138022


If it wasn't on previous iPhones, where did the examples there from the iPhone 6, 7 Plus, 8 Plus, Xs, 11 and 12 Pro Max come from (as well as the examples from the Google Pixel 3 and 5, Galaxy Note, Galaxy S20, Galaxy S21 and Canon DSLR?)


Apple isn't going to acknowledge something that is normal and expected, sorry.


If you buy a phone with a bad camera that uses plastic lenses you won't see it, as it's more obvious the better your optics get.

Nov 10, 2021 2:03 PM in response to kris_milczarek

Since the iPhone 7 the rear lenses on iPhones have been sapphire crystals like those used on high end watches.


Apple unveils iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max — more pro than ever before - Apple


Lenses with coatings have been less than successful in reducing flare and always reduce light transmission, not a good thing when Night Mode is a feature of the device.

Dec 13, 2021 9:13 AM in response to mahatma tom

I would advise playing with it in store - at least the point source flare is readily inducible by aiming at a typical store fixture if it has a point source - and make sure it's not an issue for you.


Though at this time of year, you also have the extended holiday return period for your device if purchased directly from Apple, which at this point may give you an extra week to decide; a similar policy may be in place for items purchased from an Apple retail store:


Items purchased at the Apple Online Store that are received between November 1, 2021 and December 25, 2021, may be returned through January 8, 2022. Please note that all other terms and conditions provided in the Apple Online Store Sales and Refunds Policy are still applicable with respect to such items purchased. All purchases made after December 25, 2021 are subject to the Standard Return Policy.


Full return policies are noted here:


Returns & Refunds - Shopping Help - Apple

Dec 25, 2021 7:03 PM in response to Kovacs7676

Then you didn’t notice it on the other phones, unless they were too old to have a compound lens. Any photo that has a light source in the camera’s field of view will exhibit lens flare. ANY CAMERA, from an iPhone camera to a $50,000 professional camera. Please view this user tip with many examples→iPhone Camera Lens Flare and Reflections - Apple Community

iPhone 13 pro lens flare

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