iPhone 12 Are the Lens Flares + Reflections really that bad on the iPhone 12 cameras?

[Pilot Jones]

Thinking of upgrading, but I’m a heavy camera user, so depending on the severity of these issues the entire 12 line up might be a no-go for me.

Some people apparently get flares and/or reflections in almost every nighttime shot they take and some say they see these very rarely.

I’ve heard various opinions and seen both, some truly amazing & truly terrible shots from the 12.

Thoughts from current 12 / 12 Pro owners?

 

[1rottenapple]

I don’t notice them on the 12 mini but it was bad on the 12 pro max. It was so annoying every time in low light

 

[loybond]

They've always been there, but there's just more now. But they come with improved picture quality, stabilization etc. So it doesn't matter that much.

 

[robes1]

I hope they resolve this with the 13. The flare on the 11 I had for a bit was pretty annoying.

 

[Pilot Jones]

I don’t notice them on the 12 mini but it was bad on the 12 pro max. It was so annoying every time in low light

That’s interesting. The only difference between the Mini and Pro Max primary cameras is a slightly larger sensor on the latter. Wonder if it’s just that.

 

[Pilot Jones]

I hope they resolve this with the 13. The flare on the 11 I had for a bit was pretty annoying.

Didn’t hear about it at all when the 11 was out. Only thought it was a new issue that started cropping up with the 12

 

[primarycolors]

They really are obnoxious on my 12 mini, particularly when you're on a street with a bright light source. I never had them on my SE 2.

That said! They are very small and easy to edit out with Photos blemish removal on Mac.

 

[1rottenapple]

They really are obnoxious on my 12 mini, particularly when you're on a street with a bright light source. I never had them on my SE 2.

That said! They are very small and easy to edit out with Photos blemish removal on Mac.

really I don't notice them on my mini. that's weird. let me shoot some challenging shots on the mini.

 

[Pilot Jones]

really I don't notice them on my mini. that's weird. let me shoot some challenging shots on the mini.

That's why I made this thread LOL. It occurs way too often for some people and not at all for others. Very confusing.

Would love to see some shots when you get around to doing that 👍

 

[Cayden]

For me they’ve been around forever, it’s just the nature of light moving through the lens. While I haven’t noticed them occurring more on the 12 PM, I also haven’t noticed them occurring any less. I’ve had every phone since the 5S and haven’t noticed any change in lens flares in any of these devices. I don’t think it will really make any difference with the new phones compared to the older ones. If you generally don’t seem them in your current use cases, then you likely won’t with the 12. I attached a picture from 2017 on the day I got the 8+ and went out and took some pictures. This one had the worst lens flare of the bunch, but also shows it’s not something new to the 12