Apple publicly addresses iPhone 5 purple halo issue

The iPhone 5 in white. / Apple

After privately telling an iPhone 5 user that the purple halo sometimes produced by the device's camera is due to how users are framing photos, Apple has gone public with suggestions for preventing the flare on images.

Soon after the device went on sale last month, owners began complaining of a purple color showing up on the edges of photos, an issue that typically occurs when a light source is immediately nearby, though it can occur even when the light is off frame. It can also affect both photos and videos.

Earlier this month, an AppleCare support representative responding to an iPhone 5 owner's complaint about the issue said the purple flare was "considered normal behavior" for the device's camera and suggested: "Our engineering team just gave me this information and we recommend that you angle the camera away from the bright light source when taking pictures."

Now the iPhone maker has followed up by posting a public support document that recommends similar action to combat the issue:

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. 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.

Below is an example of the purple flare appearing on photos:

Purple flare seen at left edge of image.

/ CNET

This article originally appeared on CNET.

[Scimajor]

This is an obvious design flaw. Lens flares occur with ANY type of camera regardless of size or expense but the flare exhibited by the iPhone 5 is objectionable as compared with that of the camera on early models.

I love Apple products (I own an iPhone 4S) but Apple needs to fess up when there's a design flaw. The iPhone 5 seems to have been rushed to market what with the awful lens flare and the extremely poor "Maps" app.

[gregsjanes]

I think Jobs and Hendrix are messing with people from above

[californiadreaming1]

At least they didn't tell people to put their finger over then lens when shooting a photo!

[JackEnnett]

I stopped using Apple products back in the late '90's, just before the introduction of the 'i' product line. I don't think the lack of my businss hurt the company's bottom line, tho.
I've always thunk people standing in line for the 'latest, greatest', iphone offering is stupid.
My Adroid device has had 4G for over two years, but Apple fanboiz think Apple just invented it, hence it's offered in the 'latest and greatest' product!!
Apple didn't bother to incorporate 'NFC' functionality because Apple doesn't feel that 'NFC' is gonna catch on.
That's what they thunk about 4G, 4 years ago.

[HRPuffinstuff]

You're holding it wrong!

[mrfreetruth]

I returned my iphone5. This purple haze is a joke. Apple is finished without jobs. I will never buy another crapple product.