Apple says purple fringing on iPhone 5 camera is normal

The purple flare that appears on some iPhone 5 camera shots is perfectly normal, according to Apple.

A Gizmodo reader complained to Apple about the purple fringing that was appearing on his shots, and received a response from AppleCare representative 'Debby', who told him it was perfectly normal behaviour.

"Dear Matt," the response reads. "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 behaviour for the iPhone 5's camera."

Debby then gave her contact details if Matt wanted to follow up the matter.

Replacement handsets

But Apple hasn't been consistent on the matter. One user complaining in a thread on Apple's Support Communities webpage was offered a new handset in return for his old one. Though it's not known if Apple will make good on this promise for all affected.

This purple fringing was suspected to be caused by the new sapphire lens cover found in the iPhone 5. But it's more likely a normal distortion of light caused by a chromatic aberration. This skews towards shorter wavelength violet light, which is tricky to correct with larger prime lenses, let alone the smaller ones found in the iPhone 5.

Apple marketing supremo Phil Schiller previously responded personally to another iPhone 5 owner who complained of scuffing on his black handset. Schiller replied that the marks were to be expected.

"Any aluminium product may scratch or chip with use, exposing its natural silver colour," he wrote. "That is normal."

Via Apple Insider

Sigma set to enable AF adjustments

Sigma's recently announced USB dock is intended to enable Sigma lens owners to adjust the accuracy of the autofocusing and upgrade the firmware of your lenses via a computer, but it could also enable you to customise the focus distance and how the optical stabiliser (OS) operates.

Speaking to TechRadar at Photokina 2012, Sigma CEO Kazuto Yamaki explained that the details of the USB dock have yet to be finalised, but it may enable Sigma lens users to choose whether the OS operates full-time to create a steadier view through the viewfinder, or at the point of capture to enable maximum correction.

Using your computer, you may also be able to specify the distance range that the AF system operates within. This could prove useful in a wide range of circumstances.

Macro photographers could set the lens to only focus very closely, while sports photographers could specify a fairly restricted, but more distant range. This would reduce the chance of the lens focusing on the wrong subject when something passes across the frame and having to refocus on the subject again. It should also reduce the amount of lens hunting with close subjects.

Size matters

Using the USB dock enables Sigma to give its lenses extra functionality without the need to add switches on the barrel, and thus keep the optic's size and weight down.

According to Yamaki, front and back focusing - when a camera and lens combination results in the focus being just in front or behind the intended target - is a significant issue for manufactures.

This is something that needs to be corrected for individual lenses and camera bodies, and it's why some cameras such as the Canon EOS 6D and Canon EOS 5D Mark III enable AF micro adjustment.

The new Sigma USB dock will enable you to adjust the lens to correct any focusing inaccuracy experienced with your camera. However, since the adjustment is made to the lens, photographers with two camera bodies may find that you need to correct the focusing each time you swap cameras, which is hardly ideal.

Perhaps in the future the lens firmware will be capable of storing two or more sets of adjustments, and will recognise which to use depending on the camera that the lens is mounted on.

As yet the price of the dock hasn't been set, but Yamaki says it will be kept low and is considering including it in the box with some of the more expensive lenses. The availability date has not been decided yet either.

Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-W690 review

The Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-W690 was announced in February as part of a trio of stylish and slim compact cameras.

Although it's not quite as slim as the Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-WX100, the Sony W690 is no porker, cramming in a 10x optical zoom lens in its 21.7mm deep body. Not only that, it also has a 16 million pixel 1/2.3-inch CCD sensor.

That lens starts at an equivalent focal length of 25mm and rises up to 250mm at the telephoto lens. Unlike some of Sony's other compact cameras, it doesn't feature Clear Zoom technology to digitally boost the zoom capability of the camera.

Other features on this tiny camera include a Bionz processor, face detection, smile shutter and an in-built guide to using the camera.

Pretty squarely targeted at casual users, a number of creative options have been included to attract the Instagram crowd.

First up we have four digital filters, or 'Picture Effects', to use Sony's parlance, such as Toy Camera, Pop Colour and Partial Colour.

Secondly, Sony's Sweep Panorama enables super-wide images to be captured by sweeping the camera across a scene and then stitching the resulting images together in one picture.

There's not a great deal of manual control available on the Sony Cyber-Shot WC90, though a Program mode does give some flexibility.

HD video recording at 720p is available, with minimal control over recording settings. Videos can also be shot in VGA mode, which is more suitable for uploading quick videos straight to the web.

A 230k dot resolution, 3-inch TFT Clear Photo screen can be found on the back of the camera, on which you can watch slideshows of your images accompanied by music that you load into the camera.

Scene Modes including High Sensitivity, Night Scene, Night Portrait, Landscape, Soft Snap and Pet Mode are also available, as is Intelligent Auto for automatically detecting the optimum shooting settings.

The Sony W690 has a full retail price of £149 in the UK or $179.99 in the US, putting it in the same price bracket as the Nikon Coolpix S6200, Canon IXUS 220HS and the Panasonic SZ1.

Sigma to refresh whole lens line

Over the next four or five years Sigma plans to refresh its entire lens range, according to CEO Kazuto Yamaki.

Speaking exclusively to TechRadar at Photokina 2012, he explained that the new design philosophy and new categorisation, which is intended to make it clearer what each lens is best suited for, will be rolled out across the lens lineup.

• Photography tips

He went on to explain that the company has developed a new MTF testing machine that uses a 46 megapixel Foveon sensor, and this will be used to measure the sharpness and resolving power of every new lens that Sigma manufactures.

This machine has a much higher resolution than the two older machines that Sigma uses, and it therefore enables Sigma to better assess the quality of its optics. Some of Sigma's current lens lineup already out-resolve the existing machines, so they don't test the lenses fully.

Yamaki believes that the new machine is the highest (or one of the highest) resolution MTF measurement machines in the industry.

Launch trio

Sigma's new design philosophy was unveiled at Photokina 2012 with three new lenses from each of its new categories, Contemporary, Art and Sport.

As a Contemporary lens, the Sigma 17-70 f/2.8-4 DC Macro OS HSM is designed for general purpose photography and gives the equivalent focal length range of 25.5-105mm on a 35mm camera.

• Sigma introduces new lens lineup

The first lens in the Art category, the Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM, has a very wide maximum aperture for extensive control over depth of field. And the Sports category's Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8 DG OSM lens is dust and moisture-resistant, and covers what Sigma has found to be a popular focal length range for sports photographers.

All three lenses have a high quality feel and a more minimalist black and white livery than Sigma's earlier optics.