These white spots are usually not caused by DIS or pixel mapping. The most likely causes are:

• dust or moisture in the air being lit by the built-in flash, especially because the flash is very close to the lens on compact cameras
• smudges, dust, or residue on the front of the lens causing reflections

If the spots change position from shot to shot, airborne particles are the most likely reason. Because they’re very close to the camera and out of focus, they show up as large soft white blobs or “orbs.”

How to reduce them:

• clean the front lens element carefully
• avoid shooting in dusty, misty, or humid air when using flash
• change position or angle if possible
• if available, use a flash farther from the lens axis (an external/off-camera flash helps, though many compacts can’t use one easily)

Pixel mapping is for dealing with defective sensor pixels, not flash orbs. If you also see similar spots when shooting toward bright lights, lens dirt/reflections become even more likely.