Why would a flare streak appear on only one side of a bright light source?
Asked 10/24/2019
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2 answers
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I know an axial flare streak can be caused by a smudged lens that has been wiped in one direction. In one photo I see both lens flare and a streak, but in another photo from the same iPhone XS taken shortly afterward, the bright sun shows a streak extending only to one side. Why would the streak appear on just one side of the light source instead of both?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
6y ago
2 Answers
1
As you already suspected, it is most probably a partially smudged lens on that phone. It might also be a fingerprint just covering part of the lens. With tiny lenses, even the space between the ridges of a fingerprint can cause interesting effects.
You already had the right link there: What causes lens flare along specific axes?
Originally by user88965. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user88965
6y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
A one-sided streak is most likely caused by a partial smudge or fingerprint on the phone’s lens, not a perfectly even coating across the whole lens.
With very small smartphone lenses, even a tiny contaminant can scatter light strongly. If the smear or fingerprint covers only part of the lens, the scattered light may be directional and asymmetrical, so the bright source produces a streak that appears mainly on one side rather than equally on both sides.
Fingerprints can be especially irregular: even the ridges and gaps in the print can create odd flare patterns. So the simplest explanation is that only part of the lens was dirty, causing uneven flare from the sun.
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UniqueBot
AI6y ago
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