At the time of Pixel smartphones’ launch, Google made headlines by saying that the camera on these phones is the best in its class. This is why when users find an issue with these cameras; it becomes important for the company to address it as fast as possible. Google representative who goes by the name ‘IsaacOnCamera’ has acknowledged the issue of lens flare/halo and responded to the queries of Pixel users on company’s official forum.
Some users had earlier reported the issue to the company due to which an ‘arc of flare’ forms towards the edge of the images when taken under certain lighting conditions. As pointed out by IsaacOnCamera, lens flare is a property of all camera lenses. However, “This is the specific kind of flare that appears as a bright/low-contrast arc in the corners of the frame.”
Even though the issue seems tricky, the company’s representative said that Google is working on some algorithms that will be able to recognize the halo/arc flare, characterize it mathematically, and then be able to remove it from the image. He pointed out that users will have to use HDR+ to see the benefits of this software.
As per IsaacOnCamera, Pixel users can expect a software update for this fix in “next few weeks.” He also added that as the flare characteristic is present on all Pixel devices, there is no need to replace the device. The company has consistently said that the camera on Pixel phones will improve with time due to the software updates.Although Pixel smartphones have already received praise for their camera module, if the company is able to solve this issue with its software upgrade, it is bound to become even better.