iPhone 5 beset by ‘purple haze’ camera woes
First it was an underwhelming apps feature but now iPhone 5 users have found a fresh reason to carp about their shiny new gadgets, a mysterious ‘purple haze’ in their camera photos.
The lens aberration was first noted in the iPhone 4S but is much more pronounced in the latest device, which results in a ring of light appearing around strong light sources – which leaves a residual purple tint when the camera is moved on.
To counter this unwanted effect Apple’s top boffins have come up with a surprisingly low-tech solution… move powerful light sources out of view of the camera or shield them with your hand.
Detailing the problem in a blog post Apple Support said: “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."