Lens Flare (n.) The effect produced when light enters your lens and scatters or reflects internally before hitting the sensor, creating bright streaks, circles, or haze across the frame. On phones and action cameras, lens flare is usually an unintended artifact; on mirrorless and DSLR cameras with larger lenses and more glass elements, it can be a deliberate creative tool.
Every lens flares. The question is whether you want it to. Flare happens when a bright light source (sun, street lamp, headlight) hits your lens at an angle and bounces between the glass elements. Cheaper lenses with fewer anti-reflective coatings flare more visibly. Modern smartphone lenses use sapphire glass and multi-layer coatings to minimize it, but you still see it on bright days when shooting toward the sun.
Why Phones and Action Cams Handle Flare Differently
Smartphones and action cameras are wider-angle by default (24-26mm equivalent on phones, 12-20mm on action cams), which means the sun is more likely to be in frame and at a sharper angle. Flare on a phone usually shows as a bright streak or haze across the image, reducing contrast and washing out colours. The iPhone 16 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra use computational photography to actively detect and suppress lens flare in real time, but it is not perfect.
Action cameras are worse for flare because of their ultra-wide lenses and exposed glass. The GoPro Hero13 Black and DJI Osmo Action 4 Pro both show noticeable flare when shooting toward bright light sources. The lens covers on action cameras also pick up scratches and dust that make flare worse over time. Keeping the lens cover clean is the single biggest thing you can do to reduce unwanted flare on an action cam.
Drones are somewhere in between. The DJI Mavic 3 Pro has a 24mm main camera with a relatively fast aperture (f/2.8) and decent coatings. Flare appears mostly when the sun is at a low angle and in frame. Shooting at dawn or dusk toward the horizon is the most common trigger.
When Flare Is Your Friend
Flare is a storytelling tool. A sun streak cutting across a landscape adds atmosphere and direction. A warm haze over a street scene makes it feel like a specific time of day. Some photographers deliberately use the sun as a framing element to get controlled flare.
On phones, achieving intentional flare is harder because the software often suppresses it automatically. Switching to Pro Mode or a third-party camera app (Halide, Moment, VSCO) gives you manual control and lets flare happen. On the iPhone 16 Pro, shooting in RAW and editing afterward also lets you bring back contrast that computational suppression removed.
Pro Tip
On action cameras, a simple trick: cup your hand around the lens to block the sun from hitting the glass at an angle while keeping your subject in frame. On a GoPro mounted on a helmet or handlebars, lean your body between the sun and the camera. This eliminates the angle that causes internal reflections without adding accessories. It takes a second and it works every time.
