iPhone 13 pro lens flare

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:

Read this link --> https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-250004327

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.

Bobolinho wrote:

Every camera has lens flare. New iPhones have he worst lens flare.

Thank you. That’s what I said. The more elements in the lens system the more chances there will be for internal reflections that can cause lens flare. Professional photographers know not to include light sources in the images in their photographs, unless it is part of the artistic experience they want to achieve. Older iPhones had very simple lens systems that offered fewer reflecting surfaces, so lens flare wouldn’t be as noticeable. But the tradeoff was that they produced lower quality images or had a narrower range of lighting conditions where they could take acceptable photos. The latest iPhones have lenses that rival professional cameras, so they need to be used the way a professional photographer would use them.

I know it has been seen on other iPhones because I have examples of it on other iPhones in the link I’ve included, and because every camera ever made over the past 150 years will exhibit lens flare when there is a bright light source in the image, or just outside of the image. Please click on this link and see examples of it on other iPhones, Android phones, and $50,000 professional cameras→iPhone Camera Lens Flare and Reflections - Apple Community. PLEASE review this; you will see examples from the following iPhones: 6, 7, 7+, 8+, X, XS, 11 Pro Max, then Samsung Galaxy S21, DJI Drone, Pixel 3, Pixel 5, Pixel 6, Panasonic video camera, Samsung Galaxy Note, Samsung Galaxy S20, Canon DSLR, ARRI Alexa Mini ($50,000 cinema digital camera with $10,000+ lens).

But please click on the link and review it before saying it doesn’t happen on other iPhones.

If you haven’t noticed it perhaps you didn’t take photos with bright light sources in them in the past, or you just didn’t notice.

It's completely normal.

You can say it's not all you want, but every digital camera at every price range does the same, whether a phone or a $50,000 cinema digital camera with a $10,000 lens.

Here's a photo from a Galaxy S10+ for you:

Also:

Krikor89 wrote:

I just purchased my iPhone 13 Max Pro one week prior, and of course, I am experiencing the same issue and all of my photos are horrendous. I have no idea how people are getting physics involved. Some of these replies are extremely ludicrous. So all of this flare is now normal?! This is absolutely ridiculous and due to this absurd and continued issue, I will no longer remain an Apple customer. I've had enough of this nonsense.

I guess you didn’t read any of the thread, which has examples from several dozen different makes and models of phones, with every example showing lens flare similar to the iPhone 13. THAT is why we say it is normal; every camera ever made exhibits lens flare when there is a light source in or near the image.

Please read the thread you posted to starting with looking at examples on this very page. Then come back here and explain why it is only your iPhone 13, when every example on this page for other model phones shows the same effects.

Here are more examples→iPhone Camera Lens Flare and Reflections - Apple Community

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.

When Apple learns how to bend the laws of physics as it relates to digital images, that would be mind blowing.

If I take a photo that is important to me and there are flares, I have an Adobe Cloud membership, which gives me access to Photoshop applications. I use post processing software to fix things if its important.

Otherwise, you do the best you can in angling your camera better. Apple can't fix something that no one else on the planet has fixed either. And this is true with cameras and lenses costing far more than an iPhone costs. The expectation Apple can fix something they simply cannot is what is unrealistic. Whether you want to hear that or not.

And yes, I saw the image with the sign. Had I had the same camera in my hands, I could have taken the photo without the reverse flare. I've done it successfully multiple times. One has to learn how to use the camera. Real photographers NEVER blame the camera. They blame themselves for not using the equipment properly.

Question for you. How many camera systems do you now or have you owned previously that have the ability to take photos of bright lights in low lit situations, without requiring you to place the camera on a tripod? I'm going to guess the answer is none. You how have a system which can take photos and videos in low light like you've never had the ability to do on other systems. These flares are normal. Some can be avoided. Some not so easily. Invest in some good post processing software.

I have a 13 Pro Max, and an 11. There is far more apparent lens flare AND glare with the 13 vs the 11 as the cameras and lenses are more prominent. I shot a short film for my cinematography class at Harvard over the weekend, and as an exercise to show how far smartphones have come, were were instructed to only use our phones. I shot with both phones, and the 13 Pro Max had MUCH more lens flare. BUT the shots taken with the 13 were FANTASTIC and very clear (when I changed the angle to remove the lens flare). 

Reduce some of the glare & reflected light, and you'll get the shots you want. My film professor recommended a LENS HOOD. That is what professionals use to help solve the problem. And yes they do sell iPhone lens hoods - you can Google it. I tried to post some lens hoods with good reviews but it won’t let me as it’s flagged as advertising.

Also - here is a link to 60 seconds of the short that I shot with my iPhone 13 Pro Max at WaterFire Providence. I think the low light shots came out GREAT - check it out for yourself! 

Link to short - shot with 13 Pro Max: 

https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/625422537

Good luck! 

-Frank G

But you are not correct. It has happened on previous iPhone's just as Dogcow-Moof has demonstrated. I know he has more imgages as well, because he has posted them in other threads. Perhaps you didn't notice flares, but be assured they have existed through many generations of iPhone, Samsung Phones, Google Pixel Phones, and just about any good camera phone in-between.

And has been explained, it is optical physics when photographing bright lights directly. If you can find a way to eliminate these artifacts without having to be more careful and angle the camera differently to avoid capturing flares, be prepared to become very rich. Because no camera maker, whether it be cell phone or higher end (Nikon, Cannon, etc.) has figured out how to alter optical physics. NONE.

It is completely normal and as I stated has been present on every iPhone back to at least the 6:

iPhone Camera Lens Flare and Reflections - Apple Community

Still, if you feel your phone is not performing properly, contacting Apple is the proper action to take:

Contact - Official Apple Support

I’m a pro photographer and I think there’s being a bit if a misunderstanding here. Flares are unavoidable on any camera because of the light bouncing around the glass of the lens. Also, flares are beautiful (you’ll even find filters that accentuate the flares). What bothers me about iPhone 13 images are not the flares. It’s the full blown reflections. Every time I see them I ask the photographer “were you behind a window? In your car?” Because they look like the kinds of reflections you would get if you shot at night through a window or any kind of glass panel. With my mirrorless cameras, I would get them if I kept the UV or Polarizer filter on at while shooting at night.

No, I get it, and it is caused in part by the multiple element lenses now used on most smartphone and digital cameras.

Some smartphone vendors have worked with lens manufacturers to try to eliminate it, but their efforts actually made the effect somewhat worse on those devices (there's always a tradeoff.)

All you can do today is try to minimize the issue by selecting your angle better, or divert the reflection to an area of the frame that is unimportant or that will make it easy to remove in a photo editor.

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