Apple: Shield Your iPhone 5’s Camera to Avoid Lens Flare
In a Support document posted online over the weekend, Apple acknowledges the widely-reported lens flare issue experienced by numerous iPhone 5 users in the wild. The article includes a few explanations about this type of camera behavior, as well as potential resolutions.
The Cupertino giant not only hasn’t denied the purple haze problem, but it has told customers that lens flare is a normal situation incurred by all cameras.
Last week, a customer was told by AppleCare Support to “angle the camera away from the bright light source when taking pictures.”
“The purple flare in the image provided is considered normal behavior for iPhone 5’s camera,” said the AppleCare representative.
Apple’s stance on this non-issue hasn’t changed, but the iPhone maker feels that customers need more guidance in using their new iPhone 5s.
Support document TS4436, titled “iPhone: Camera image effects,” acknowledges that “A purplish or other colored flare, haze, or spot is imaged from out-of-scene bright light sources during still image or video capture.”
The documentation continues with Apple noting that “Most small cameras, including those in every generation of iPhone, may exhibit some form of flare at the edge of the frame when capturing an image with out-of-scene light sources.”
“This can happen when a light source is positioned at an angle (usually just outside the field of view) so that it causes a reflection off the surfaces inside the camera module and onto the camera sensor,” according to the computer company.
As such, users can either move the phone about until the flare goes away, or prevent such interference with their hands.
“Moving the camera slightly to change the position at which the bright light is entering the lens, or shielding the lens with your hand, should minimize or eliminate the effect,” says Apple.
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