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
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:
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.
This thread is so long because people play with their new phone, especially in night mode, and see things they didn't notice before and decide it is the "fault" of the phone, where in reality it's optics due to more complex lens design coming into play.
Meanwhile, here's a photo from a Google Pixel 5 if you don't believe it's across vendors.
A BIG known issue widely evident on the web. I have the 13 Pro Max and it’s major lens flares!
[Link Edited by Moderator]
That’s completely normal for the iPhone and all other premium smartphones and quite frankly cameras in general.
Please reread this thread.
This is normal, examples have been given several times from several cameras.
Apple cannot fix normal; there is nothing they can fix.
It’s completely normal.
Samsung Galaxy S20 photo:
Fresnogreg wrote:
If you watch the link on the iPhone 13 lens flare issue that I posted, you can see that the flare shows up event in Apple's professional movie Director commercial...
of course nothing like on our own phones were literally looks like a laser pointer. baaah!
No surprise there. Even Apple and their professional videographer can't bend the laws of photographic physics.
Well I did start a case with Apple support today. It was like 40 minutes on the phone. They acted like they never heard of anything like this happening. Apparently they opened a federal case that will be working its way through the court systems and whatever bureaucracy they have...
seems like a big waste of time at all they should've said was that it's a known issue that occurs on iPhones... instead it was like the first time they've ever heard of something like this. ridiculous. obviously there's nothing that can be done short of going back to my old phone...
but I had to stumble upon the whole issue as I said it had not occurred in my previous phones. Initially, I did think it was a manufacturing defect! Later I was able to pull up all sorts of information on this issue... it's bittersweet. On the one hand I'm relieved but on the other, you would think with all the trillions of operations per second in the advanced AI, that they would be able to remove that in processing..
Nice to have you here for "Lens Flare 2", the sequel this year!
Like last year, people who are getting their first phone with Night Mode capabilities will be up in arms over flares. They will claim their iPhone (whatever model) never did this and they will be convinced their phone is defective. They don't understand photographic principles, but are convinced their phone is defective, when it's not.
Last year, Dogcow and me took a lot of abuse from users when we tried to help them understand, so your participation is appreciated!
It wasn't very common for people to be taking so many photos of bright lights at night before iPhone 12. Now with these new camera systems in the 12 and 13 phones, people are out shooting far more photos at night, well, because they can get clarity and depth of field they could never get on lesser iPhones. So, people are all of the sudden seeing flares when they didn't before. But be assured, the lesser phones were perfectly capable and indeed as has been demonstrated here, capture lens flare.
Deerpark243 wrote:
I have read the thread and I know a lot about lens flare, from my Nikon's 1985-2021 so don't tell me that with a slight pan you should "deal" with that amount of lens flare.
Then complain to Apple. You are arguing against physics and limitations of cell phone capabilities with only other users and you are wasting your time here. You are not speaking with Apple. There is NO fix for this other than being more careful when you take photos. Like the answer or not, it's fact.
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.
Bobolinho wrote:
It’s much, much, much worse for iPhones on the most recent camera systems. It’s a massive design flaw that Apple won’t admit.
NO, its not a design flaw at all. But when you figure out how to design cameras which don't capture lens flare, be prepared to become extremely wealthy. I'll be first in line to buy your wonder camera. Yes I will.
The "pro iPhone" gurus on this subject will tell you that all cameras have lens flare and that You need to change you angle or you better read up more on photography and learn how to manipulate light better...when it's the overwhelming amount of posts that say the iPhone 13 by far is the worst they have seen. But it is true all cameras can get lens flare.
Completely not true, and I've posted several photos in this thread alone disproving this.
The iPhone 13 family of phones is no worse in this respect than the iPhone 12 family of phones, which was no different from other premium smartphones.
I just posted this on the last page, but I'll post it again, as it directly compares the Samsung Galaxy S21 and the iPhone 12 Pro Max:
iPhone 13 pro lens flare
