iPhone 13 pro lens flare

Lawrence Finch wrote:

No, they are the old normal. Almost as old as photography. Lens flare has been around since the first camera with a compound lens. Early pinhole cameras didn’t have lens flare (no lens).

Much better answer; thanks.

Well then I too must have some rare old iPhones as none of my previous iPhones (and I’ve owned many) have ever had lens flares this extreme.

Three weeks ago I purchased the new iPhone 13Pro and I took a picture of our Christmas tree. This was the first time I have ever seen these flares and I’ve taken a pic of our tree on every phone.

It’s actually a bit comforting to read that my camera on my new phone is not defective but a feature that Apple introduced.

It’s a normal physical phenomenon.

It depends on many things like the optical scheme of lenses, so that, on certain angles, rays of light enter without reaching the sensor directly and green dots and reflection appears. Trying to avoid this, lens hood are used on professional camera. Lens can have also treatment like coating. Or you can try to change angle. Many users have noticed that on iPhone this phenomenon is more evident. You can see it on internet or examples on youtube. I have also experienced this when I moved to iPhone 13 pro max from Note 20 Ultra or using my Fuji X-T3 , which have flares but not so many. Other, on this community, say that iPhone is equal or better than other about camera. Is it true? There are no Apple’s engineers here to solve things can’t be solved. Unfortunately the only choice is to accept your iPhone or return it back. Personally, I have choose to accept it because I love it for other reasons. I wish Happy New Year to all of you. bye

It has nothing to do with being a “know it all,” it’s just a basic fact and with each new iPhone there are many who state it never happened with older phones despite there being threads here for those older phones of people making the exact same complaint.

The bottom line is it happens with devices from camcorders to $50,000 digital cinema cameras with $10,000 lenses because it’s due to basic optics and physics.

In my view it is a design flaw. The reflections are caused by the covering glass of the lens. Maybe some other non-reflecting material would save the problem. I don't think this is "normal" and if the laws of physics cause the design to not work properly, then maybe the design should be changed. Of course post processing can repair much of this, but that is symptom fighting

Yes, there are hundreds of other examples of lens flare that are exactly the same as seen on iPhones. My associate just chose a few for the tip, but there are even others in the thread. the iPhone 13 camera is no different from any other camera ever made in the past almost 200 years.

Sometimes called “ghosting” they are normal as well; I’ve posted examples in this very thread from a Canon DSLR among others.

Here’s Nikon’s explanation:

Nikon Imaging: Why can I see ghost reflections in my image?

That’s a really nice shot showing how lens flare, carefully managed, can enhance an image, especially considering the camera!

Many professional photographers will use lens flare to create specific effects.

Thank you Deerpark243 - agreed. I am no professional photographer or comment. I think the iphone4 had the best camera for the regular iPhone users and it seems like they’ve gone downhill since then for people that just want simplicity and easy to point and shoot pictures. I’m not trying to stop on the go to become a professional photographer haha. Thank you for being responsive and understanding.

[Edited by Moderator]

No, not because it is Apple, we say is is normal because EVERY CAMERA EVER MADE EXHIBITS LENS FLARE WHEN THERE IS A LIGHT SOURCE IN THE PHOTO. EVERY CAMERA EVER MADE. And the thingie in your phone that takes photos is a CAMERA, so like every camera ever made it will have lens flare when there are light sources in the image. As you have so amply demonstrated.

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.

Bobolinho wrote:

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

The worst? No.

Just as much as every other camera with similar capabilities? Yes.

This isn't an "Apple" phenomenon, it's physics and optics, so it's a photography issue.

Here's an explanation from Nikon if you prefer.

That is absolutely lens flare. Those very bright lights have reflected internally in the lens. It is perfectly obvious, as the green images match exactly the pattern of the light source.

If it was a bad sensor you would see those green images in every picture you took in exactly the same location in the picture. Do you see them in every picture?

Some of you say it’s normal physics on lenses and it’s always been there , some say it’s new and we’ve never seen it before. I for one have owned most the iPhones and never seen lens flares like this on a iPhone.

Regardless, it is obvious something new otherwise there wouldn’t be so many people mentioning it and this thread would probably not be this long. Consider that.

Hello ~ I also participate in a thread that at last check had 116 pages of people that have simply forgotten their iPhone passcode so threads may get very long indeed and for many reasons as well. It is a surety that many of us that participate here in our forum everyday do indeed consider many things before just throwing up a post. We are volunteers who dedicate hours of our time to help many, many people with all different types of problems every single day and none of us work for Apple. So just know we are putting out some of the best information that we can to help you…why else would we do this ?

~Katana-San~