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iPhone 4S camera flash issue!

Shanewilliams said:
I just noticed the same problem on my 4S tonight. I took pictures of the kids on the porch carving their pumpkins and I thought maybe it was just the flash causing the issue, but after seeing your pictures I am second guessing myself.

OP: If I am understanding you correctly the Apple store offered to replace it for you, but it would be a service replacement correct? I'd think it'd still be a new 4s just minus the packaging. Could be wrong though, I'll post back after going to genius bar tomorrow.
Click to expand...

They indeed give you a new one but I didn't want a service replacement. Maybe it's just me but if my phone is defective out of the box, I want a full replacement, not a phone made specifically to be a replacement. (if that makes any sense)

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futch said:
Are your pictures in completely dark rooms hit or miss in terms of clarity? I feel like every 2nd, 3rd, or 4th photo is clear and the rest are blurry.
Click to expand...

I've tested my camera out multiple times and it's constantly blurry. I took it to Apple and they confirmed the issue when they took it into the back to test it out. No go.

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drew0020 said:
This makes no sense to me. If the replacement phone is new and you get a chance to inspect it first, this is the best of both worlds. Now you run the risk of getting a new phone in box with another problem. You could already have a new perfectly working phone in your hands. And if it did not meet your expectations then you could have turned it down??
Click to expand...

I've personally had bad experiences with this service replacement phones. Whenever I got a service replacement, a new issue will appear weeks or months later. When I had my 3GS, I kept coming back for a new one where they eventually gave me one from a brand new retail box. Issue free since then.
 
I've personally had bad experiences with this service replacement phones. Whenever I got a service replacement, a new issue will appear weeks or months later. When I had my 3GS, I kept coming back for a new one where they eventually gave me one from a brand new retail box. Issue free since then.
Click to expand...

Sounds like you haven't had luck with new in box units either :). I feel like the quality control is equally bad for new and replacements.

Also I can take pictures from a close distance with the flash. The camera looks washed out when shooting from 5-6 ft and greater. Friends iPhone 4 doesn't exhibit this problem.
 
drew0020 said:
Sounds like you haven't had luck with new in box units either :). I feel like the quality control is equally bad for new and replacements.

Also I can take pictures from a close distance with the flash. The camera looks washed out when shooting from 5-6 ft and greater. Friends iPhone 4 doesn't exhibit this problem.
Click to expand...

=( Legit the worst luck because I wasted a whole sgp body protector on it too...

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Alaerian said:
The service replacements are brand. New. Units. They are in a different box. This isn't hard to understand.
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Who said it is hard to understand? I clearly stated that I know they are new but I PERSONALLY want a FULL replacement. It's my personal choice.
 
futch said:
Are your pictures in completely dark rooms hit or miss in terms of clarity? I feel like every 2nd, 3rd, or 4th photo is clear and the rest are blurry.
Click to expand...

Sorry, been out of the loop for a day or so there. No, I'm not taking pictures in a completely dark room. For example one that I took was of my daughter under the kitchen table and then a few of my older daughters on the front porch with the porch lights on. Here is the one of my daughter and its not every picture that does like this. About 3 out of 5 are like this. I have no case or screen protector of any sort on either.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/34872575/demo pic.jpg
 
Shanewilliams said:
Sorry, been out of the loop for a day or so there. No, I'm not taking pictures in a completely dark room. For example one that I took was of my daughter under the kitchen table and then a few of my older daughters on the front porch with the porch lights on. Here is the one of my daughter and its not every picture that does like this. About 3 out of 5 are like this. I have no case or screen protector of any sort on either.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/34872575/demo pic.jpg
Click to expand...

That's exactly what my white iPhone 4S pictures look like from a distance of 5-6ft or more. At closer range the flash seems to function properly.
 
jekyoo said:
Who said it is hard to understand? I clearly stated that I know they are new but I PERSONALLY want a FULL replacement. It's my personal choice.
Click to expand...
And it's a silly choice. It's a different box without the accessories.

It's still a brand new unit.

At this point in time, you're throwing a temper tantrum. You DO have a valid complaint and I completely agree that you should ask for a replacement. But, there is nothing wrong with a replacement unit - it's brand new, never used, not a refurb.
 
I am having the same issue with my iPhone 4S. It seems as if theres not enough time between the pre-flash and the full-flash for the camera to focus.

I tried two different iPhone 4S w iOS 5 and an iPhone 4 without iOS 5.
What I noticed was that the iPhone 4 without iOS 5 had a little more time between those two flashes which made a huge difference for the camera to focus and take better pictures.

I did this testing in a pitch black room. Both of the iPhone 4S were white and iPhone 4 was black. It would be nice if someone could test on a black iPhone 4S.
 
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futch said:
Are your pictures in completely dark rooms hit or miss in terms of clarity? I feel like every 2nd, 3rd, or 4th photo is clear and the rest are blurry.
Click to expand...

I don't think anyone's iPhone 4S is able to produce fully focused images every single time the shutter button is hit in a dark room. All devices, even Apple devices, have their limits.

I myself experience a complete lack of focus on half or a bit over half of my shots made in complete darkness (no blue hue the others experiencing though). If I take shot after shot in the dark, I eventually get a fairly focused image maybe every 3rd shot or so. Depending on the object being photographed, the level of focus I can achieve varies.

Here is an example of me photographing a portion of my wife's duchess in darkness:

First shot - blurry as hell
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1608349/IMG_0068.JPG

Second shot - clear(-ish)
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1608349/IMG_0069.JPG

The first shot is a total crap unusable mess, while the second looks pretty good considering the conditions it was shot in.

Next I'll take some shots of a random part of my game collection in darkness:

First shot - not completely focused
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1608349/IMG_0100.JPG

Second shot - omitted (quality is in between these)

Third shot - completely focused
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1608349/IMG_0102.JPG

The progression of shots here displays relative clarity from the get go, in the same room and conditions. Which is baffling because the first shot above is a blurry out of focus mess.

In short, shooting in the darkness is pretty hit and miss really.

PS. I have a black Otterbox 4S Defender case on my phone.
 
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ToddH said:
I took some shots and the flash is awesome. It throws far and lights up subjects very well. The problem you may be having should not be a sensor issue, but more of a glare issue from the glass. It appears that the flash is spilling over to the camera lens and causing glare. If it was a sensor issue, your normal non flash shots would be milky as well. Looks like the flash LED is misaligned and illuminateing the glass from behind.
Click to expand...

This sounds spot on from what I can see in those problem images. I would hazard a guess that the glass on the back between the lens and the flash is not 100% sealed and there is light spill happening.
 
jivemaster said:
I don't think anyone's iPhone 4S is able to produce fully focused images every single time the shutter button is hit in a dark room. All devices, even Apple devices, have their limits.

I myself experience a complete lack of focus on half or a bit over half of my shots made in complete darkness (no blue hue the others experiencing though). If I take shot after shot in the dark, I eventually get a fairly focused image maybe every 3rd shot or so. Depending on the object being photographed, the level of focus I can achieve varies.

Here is an example of me photographing a portion of my wife's duchess in darkness:

First shot - blurry as hell
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1608349/IMG_0068.JPG

Second shot - clear(-ish)
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1608349/IMG_0069.JPG

The first shot is a total crap unusable mess, while the second looks pretty good considering the conditions it was shot in.

Next I'll take some shots of a random part of my game collection in darkness:

First shot - not completely focused
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1608349/IMG_0100.JPG

Second shot - omitted (quality is in between these)

Third shot - completely focused
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1608349/IMG_0102.JPG

The progression of shots here displays relative clarity from the get go, in the same room and conditions. Which is baffling because the first shot above is a blurry out of focus mess.

In short, shooting in the darkness is pretty hit and miss really.

PS. I have a black Otterbox 4S Defender case on my phone.
Click to expand...

W0W, my 4S was complete crap compared to yours! Thanks for the pics. Hopefully my next 4S is perfectly fine.
 
I had this same issue and took my white 4s back to apple and got a new one, well new phone, but not in the box, they have extra units just for replacements that are brand new.

My pics looked just like yours, so Apple will have no problem switching it out. My new white 4s looks way better so it's not all white iphones.
 
update

So I took my White iPhone 4S to apple store. They did find the pics to be out of focus in a dark setting and offered me a replacement.
But since they were going to give me another white one I went ahead and just returned it and bought a black one. Did the testing on Black iPhone 4S and so far its great.
 
Same problem here - my 4S takes terrible pictures with the flash on, they are just milky white. iPhone 4 is fine, takes a much better picture when ambient light is low.
 
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Called Apple Support, they said it was a hardware fault, taking it to be replaced on Friday. This is iPhone 4S black.
 
same issue

I have a white iphone 4S and I'm experienceing the same issue with my flash. I took the case off and the problem went away so it must be my case. I've read the above comments and I hear many people have taken the case off and they're still having the same problem...so I'm lost!
 
I've asked for recommendations of a good case with wide opening on the Accessories thread.

I have the incase clear case and it does not seem to work. But the hazy- washed out issue is gone when I take the case off.
 
I had the same exact problem. Figured out it was my Magpul Executive Field case. It is unfortunate since I love the case but it really makes the pictures taken with flash in the dark look like crap. Currently looking for another slim protective case that doesn't have this issue.
 
To quote Mr Spooner, I am a Job Knockey ! Had a middle of the night biblical moment - before I put the case on my brand new iphone 4S I forgot to take off the thin clear plastic film that covers the back of the phone AND the camera lense. How stupid am I - only thing that makes me feel better is that Apple Support missed it too.

If I had kept quiet I might have got away with it, but I'm too honest for my own good ! :)
 
I had the same problem with washed-out flash photos and it went away when I took off the case. Any recommendations for a protective case that doesn't cause flash issues?
 
I'm not using a case and have this problem at >5 feet (say 7-10 ft for arguments sake). Can someone with a white iPhone take a picture in near dark with flash from this distance and see if the picture appears wasted out.

At close ranges my flash seems to be working properly. My friends 4 takes better flash pictures at distance >5 feet.
 
Not sure if it's happening on black Iphone 4/4s.

But the same problem was happening for me as I had a clear case on so whenever the flash light went off it would bleed through the phone, so I swapped out my clear case for a black case and didn't get the problem or bleeding led light issue. You can also try the sharpie method, but then your clear/white case now looks ghetto. Now all the shots look fine like I didn't have a case on.

Try a black case.
 
Hi everyone..

Ok I have a white iPhone 4 and I had a case on it I got from Home goods. The case is pick but the protection around the lenses is white.

I just took the case off and the photos are clear as bells. I also set something on the phone called HDR? I have no idea what that is. But it seems to save two copies of your photo an HDR and a regular one and the HDR seems to be clearer. I have no idea how to upload a photo here.. :(
 
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