You know how sometimes you get that annoying flare when taking a photo? I mean yeah, sometimes it's artsy, but other times it's just annoying. Don't you wish there was an easy way to get rid of that flare? It's an achievement that would change photography forever. Apple leads the way in pioneering new ways of thinking, as yesterday they solved this issue. Photographers rejoice!
In case you missed the original story, Gizmodo reported a particularly intelligent response from Apple tech support (probably a Genius) when the unsettling purple flare that occurred on the new iPhone 5 was inquired about.
"Dear Matt,
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. The purple flare in the image provided is considered normal behavior for iPhone 5's camera. If you wish to reach me regarding this case number *********, please contact me at 1-877-***-**** ext. *******. I currently work Thursday-Monday: 7:00am - 3:30pm Mountain Time. If you reach my voicemail, please leave your name, phone number, case number and the best time to reach you. Email is ***********@apple.com.
Sincerely,
Debby
AppleCare Support"
You can read the whole of Gizmodo's article here. Below are some examples of the purple flaring that has some people upset about their recent purchase. But that's not what's important. What is important is Apple's world-changing response.
"we recommend that you angle the camera away from the bright light source when taking pictures."
Apple's answer is brilliant, and continues to solve the problems of industries far beyond the original scope of the company. I don't think the tech support person realized what they have done to the photo industry: they've revolutionized it. Apple does this continually, and that's what makes them such a wonderful and popular company. Their solution doesn't just work for the iPhone 5, it works for every camera ever made. Tired of that flare? Well not to worry, just point the lens away from the bright light source, and voila! No more flaring! I tried this myself, and the results were spectacular! I can't believe it took someone this long to come up with the solution. Once you have tried it yourself, you'll understand what I mean.
Apple, I don't know what I would do without you.
[Images Via iJailbreak]
I enjoyed it. Hilarious
Also, the controversy is over the purple tint of the flare, not the flare itself. *smacks the back of people's heads*
Dear FStoppers....it's time to take away the comments section. As you guys have grown in popularity, your followers have grown in stupidity. Why everything ever written has to be serious and a life lesson to them, I don't know but I find the comment section to be the most annoying part of your site.
Sincerely,
A guy who doesn't take life as seriously as many people here
I think the accentuation of purple in the flaring may be due to the sapphire glass' spectral characteristics. I was reading that sapphire glass does not absorb purple or blue light like regular glass does, it has a flat absorption curve of the visible light spectrum. This is where I read about it: http://www.springerimages.com/Images/Biomedicine/1-10.1007_s10895-007-02...
I'm not apologizing for Apple, I just think the designers picked sapphire glass for its strength but maybe did not look into its optical characteristics. It's just a guess, I'm not an optical engineer so I can't know for sure if that single sapphire glass element could contribute to this amount coloration of the flare. My 28-70/2.8 Nikkor loses contrast and shows bad flaring when strong backlight is present, but otherwise it renders beautiful photos. It's not that hard to work around this shortfall.
I had the same issue with my flip phone...lol
Some of you guys are just tooooo serious. 1st of all, it was educational b/c SOME people dont know what lens flare is and how to avoid it. 3rd, it was meant to be funny.