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Apple Acknowledges iPhone 5 Camera Flaw

Posted by Soulskill on from the it's-not-a-bug-it's-a-feature dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Many iPhone 5 users are complaining that its camera is adding a purple flare to their photos. Speculation is that it's caused by the new sapphire lens cover that Apple touted as 'thinner and more durable than standard glass with the ability to provide crystal clear images.' Apple's response to those who've complained? 'The purple flare in the image provided is considered normal behavior for iPhone 5's camera.'"

30 of 472 comments (clear)

  1. Stupid human! by TheRaven64 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Your colour perception is incorrectly calibrated!

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    1. Re:Stupid human! by Vanderhoth · · Score: 5, Funny

      Purple is the new transparent!

    2. Re:Stupid human! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Your colour perception is incorrectly calibrated!

      Is it odd that I read that in Morbo's voice?

      I guess I'm in the right place.

    3. Re:Stupid human! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      That is not Chromatic abberation, that would merely be a fringing on one side or the other. It is true "Flare".

      Most likely the sapphire window is letting in more UV and IR light and that is bouncing between the elements in the lens to cause the result seen.

    4. Re:Stupid human! by mwvdlee · · Score: 5, Funny

      It's just an analog, hardware-accelerated Instagram filter.

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    5. Re:Stupid human! by mabhatter654 · · Score: 5, Funny

      When will there be a filter for my older iPhone? Surly Instagram or Hipstamatic would add "purple haze" to their lineup... My square pictures NEED this feature.

    6. Re:Stupid human! by NIK282000 · · Score: 5, Informative

      Bingo. I have a camera modified to allow infra-red and that is almost exactly what it looks like before any other filters are used.

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    7. Re:Stupid human! by Zemran · · Score: 5, Funny

      Are you suggesting that Apple have copied Canon's intellectual property?

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    8. Re:Stupid human! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      I can explain this! The directive from Tim Cook to the development team was for "more flair!" but unfortunately, Tim's iPad autocorrected that to "more flare!"

    9. Re:Stupid human! by dinfinity · · Score: 5, Informative

      I think GP meant that we then generally still perceive the wall as being white. At least, I hope he did.
      Best optical illusion that illustrates this I've seen to date: http://www.planetperplex.com/en/item/checker-shadow

    10. Re:Stupid human! by Aqualung812 · · Score: 5, Informative

      Since the hardware hacking crowd has already taken apart the iPhone 5 & discovered that the camera is identical to the iPhone 4S, I'd say you're on to something.

      The only thing that changed was the sapphire cover.

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    11. Re:Stupid human! by wickerprints · · Score: 5, Informative

      I'd like to make a rather pedantic point of clarification here: it is a "chromatic aberration" in the general sense that the system images spurious color, but it is not an aberration caused by dispersion (the variation of refractive index as a function of wavelength), nor is it a Seidel aberration.

      If the purple hue comes from incomplete filtering of wavelengths outside the visible range, then it would be easy to test this theory by simply taking four kinds of photos: one that shows the flare with the unmodified camera, one of the same scene with a UV filter placed in front of the lens, a third with an IR filter placed in front of the lens, and finally, one with both UV + IR filters.

  2. Simple by Erikderzweite · · Score: 5, Funny

    They are holding it wrong.

    1. Re:Simple by Speare · · Score: 5, Insightful

      They are holding it wrong.

      While it's a predictable joke after Antennagate, there is a kernel of truth here. It's a challenge for all cellphone cameras, not just Apple's, to capture the light you want and to weed out the stray light you don't want.

      On a dedicated camera, the lens is typically recessed. This does two things: avoids light from the side to bounce around in the optics, and avoids fingerprints on the lens itself. Light from the side, and finger oils on the lens, are big contributors to lens flare. Combining side light and oils on the optics is a recipe for DIY Instagram photos.

      On a cellphone, especially Apple's, they try hard not to have recessed areas on the case. It makes the whole phone thicker than it needs to be, and it catches pocket lint and sharp objects like keys or pencils. Luckily, a really flush surface is fairly easy to clean.

      So that leaves the side light. If the brightest light sources are behind you, no problem with side-light lens flare. (It may make it harder to see the preview screen though.) If you have a strong light off to your side, and it may be able to fall on the lens, then cupping your hand into a primitive gobo or shield will help a lot.

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    2. Re:Simple by jest3r · · Score: 5, Insightful

      How is it a challenge when this was a non-issue in the iPhone 4 / 4S ??

      Apple shit the bed on quality control this time around. Everyday I read about more problems with my shiny new iPhone5 !!

    3. Re:Simple by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      If you're reading about them instead of experiencing them, you should probably calm the fuck down.

    4. Re:Simple by mclaincausey · · Score: 5, Informative

      http://thenextweb.com/apple/2012/09/26/the-iphone-5s-camera-suffering-purple-haze-flaw-not-fast/ Look at the comparison shots.

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  3. Boom! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Apple's back, baby! I was worried for a moment with that "our map app sucks use someone else's till ours is better." But here is the perfect Apple response. Oh, don't like the purple flare in your pictures? Hey, bitch, that's what real life looks like. You should thank us for providing you with a way to see the world as it actually is. The only reason you don't see the purple flare normally is because you're a terrible person. Here at Apple we are very concerned with our customer. Noblesse oblige and all that.

  4. And again by MrDoh! · · Score: 5, Funny

    You're holding it wrong, you want to get lost, these pictures should be that colour, wifi connections should use your wireless bandwidth, battery life is supposed to be that poor if you use it (especially for facebook), those scratches are normal out of the case, this new connector is far better than the old one and adapters are the best you can get. best iPhone ever.

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  5. Apple is about to learn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    that returning a defective phone is also considered normal behaviour.

  6. Go read an actual camera site review of the camera by sasparillascott · · Score: 5, Informative

    Camera review site (known for not being slanted in their reviews) to the iPhone 5 for an initial review (longer one comparing to other phones will come later) and dedicated a whole page analyzing the flare issue. http://www.dpreview.com/articles/6867454450/quick-review-apple-iphone-5-camera Here's their analysis of the flare issue: "Really, our advice is not to worry. Just do what you should do anyway, and avoid putting bright lights near the edge of the frame when shooting." Their final conclusion on the 5's camera: "The iPhone 5 is a fine mobile device, with an excellent camera. In qualititative terms it's not the best camera out there, and nor is it the best camera on a smartphone (the Nokia 808 has that honor, for now) but it offers satisfying image quality, some neat functions like auto panorama and HDR mode, and - crucially - it is supremely easy to use. It isn't much better than the iPhone 4S, as far as its photographic performance is concerned, but it isn't any worse (notwithstanding a somewhat more noticeable propensity towards lens flare). When manufacturers employ pixel-binning to achieve higher ISO settings we don't normally celebrate the fact, but in the case of the iPhone 5, it gives you greater flexibility in poor light (i.e., you might actually get a picture now, where you just wouldn't with the iPhone 4S) and the drop in quality is unnoticeable when the images are used for sharing/web display."

  7. Copy THAT, Samsung! by AliasMarlowe · · Score: 5, Funny

    Everyone knows that phones really suck at being cameras.
    The iPhone5 is obviously best, because it sucks the most at taking photos.

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    1. Re:Copy THAT, Samsung! by Dishevel · · Score: 5, Funny

      No.
      They are clicking it wrong. Besides. It is a feature not a bug.

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    2. Re:Copy THAT, Samsung! by idontgno · · Score: 5, Funny

      The Nokia Lumia 900 already had a purple hue bug! Is there nothing Apple won't retroactively innovate?

      FTFY.

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  8. Re:All the other phones do it as we'll by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    http://www.itproportal.com/2012/10/01/purple-flare-test-iphone-5-vs-samsung-galaxy-s-iii-vs-htc-one-s/

    Bottom line: The latest and greatest iPhone 5 was clearly the worst offender of the bunch.

  9. Re:That's more like it! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Yes, we expected excuses from the fanbois. Thing is, how a camera handles bright light sources in or just outside the picture is an item on the checklist for a good camera. Purple flares from the lens coating, lines from saturated CMOS sensors, etc, are things that one might expect from a cheap "has a camera because every phone must have one" cellphone, but not from the flagship product of an expensive brand. These artifacts are pathetic and the excuses even more so.

  10. iPhone 5 signature feature by muon-catalyzed · · Score: 5, Funny

    I am a rich iPhone 5 geared up VIP, my photos have a noble purple sapphire haze you pitiful /. geek.

  11. Re:Other digital cameras manage it fine. by sribe · · Score: 5, Informative

    No, other cameras do not "manage it fine". I've got $3,000 lenses, and if you catch a bright source at the wrong angle, you get flare.

  12. Re:That's more like it! by astrodoom · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You can't make the argument that it's as good as it gets when the previous version didn't have the problem.

  13. Re:That's more like it! by Dishevel · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I am cool with the iPhone 5 not having a top tier camera.
    But maybe they should not have touted the new lens cover as having the ability to deliver crystal clear images.
    Do not advertise that which you can not deliver. If you think that telling people how awesome your camera is and then pointing to a lens cover that will throw a purple flare on images that have some light source in them and telling people it will deliver crystal clear images I have only two questions for you.
    One. Do you think it is ok for HTC to lie to you about their products?
    Two. Taking into account the answer from one. Do you realize that your ability to critically think has been compromised by your love of Apple?

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