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Dirtydutch

macrumors 6502a
Sep 19, 2015
685
571
Jerseyyy
Pretty amazed myself to see just about every single rear camera did have some sort of dust or debris in the lens housing...kinda just have to hope it doesn't affect photo quality more than anything else.
 

AlunH

macrumors newbie
Nov 23, 2017
4
0
Pretty amazed myself to see just about every single rear camera did have some sort of dust or debris in the lens housing...kinda just have to hope it doesn't affect photo quality more than anything else.

Yes it does affect photos.


I found the same dust issue yesterday, on an iPhoneX received Friday 27th Nov. Small speck about the size of a grain of salt near the edge of the lower camera and multiple tiny specs of dust across the middle of the upper camera.

I found it after noticing unusual lens flare on portrait shots which included a back lit subject or where light was hitting the lens from above and to the side.

The speck of debris appears to be reflecting light back into the lens, causing a bright hazy blur in some shots. I assumed there were finger prints or muck on the outside of the lens area but after a careful wipe with a soft lens cloth I noticed the offending article.

Swap happens tomorrow... fingers crossed.

I have opened a case with apple, recomending a batch recall and am waiting for a response.

I am UK based. Where are other affected users located? Could this be product wide?
 

donster28

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Oct 5, 2006
1,726
811
Great White North
Yes it does affect photos.


I found the same dust issue yesterday, on an iPhoneX received Friday 27th Nov. Small speck about the size of a grain of salt near the edge of the lower camera and multiple tiny specs of dust across the middle of the upper camera.

I found it after noticing unusual lens flare on portrait shots which included a back lit subject or where light was hitting the lens from above and to the side.

The speck of debris appears to be reflecting light back into the lens, causing a bright hazy blur in some shots. I assumed there were finger prints or muck on the outside of the lens area but after a careful wipe with a soft lens cloth I noticed the offending article.

Swap happens tomorrow... fingers crossed.

I have opened a case with apple, recomending a batch recall and am waiting for a response.

I am UK based. Where are other affected users located? Could this be product wide?
Hope your replacement is better. The issue seems to be all over the place...at least here in North America. If you’re in the UK, I would assume it’s not location based but an actual production issue.
 

NM08SRT8

macrumors 6502a
Jan 18, 2010
985
324
Earf
You all are complaining over specks and grains of dust. I have a huge piece of string like dust in mine I just noticed. It hasn’t affected any photos but still, crazy people, to have.
 

donster28

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Oct 5, 2006
1,726
811
Great White North
You all are complaining over specks and grains of dust. I have a huge piece of string like dust in mine I just noticed. It hasn’t affected any photos but still, crazy people, to have.
It’s not about affecting the photos much, it’s about the effectiveness of the seal on your phone. If there is debris in the lens and you are not sure how it got there (even if it’s been there in the beginning), your camera assembly unit might not be sealed properly.
 
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AlunH

macrumors newbie
Nov 23, 2017
4
0
Hope your replacement is better. The issue seems to be all over the place...at least here in North America. If you’re in the UK, I would assume it’s not location based but an actual production issue.

A replacement phone arrived this morning and both camera lenses look to be completely free from any debris. I will keep a beady eye on this and see whether any appears.

I've attached a photo of the old phone for reference. As you can see, the left (lower) lens has the large particle inside. I lit this from the left and you can see a shadow to the right of the particle, on the inside of the ring around the front element. The lens to the right has the scattering of tiny particles inside it, which (without a macro lens) are not visible with the naked eye. It is my guess that it was the larger particle which was causing the ghosting on some shots.

NOTE: I had a bit of a fright when trying to restore the new phone from the back up I made this morning. iTunes said the back up was incompatible and I freaked!.. Especially as the phone i had just backed up, wiped and handed to the courier had contained the only copy of a video of my 8 yr old daughter completing a world record attempt last weekend!!! I then remembered that I had upgraded to 11.1.2... Of course, the new phone was on 11.1.1 and therefore would not accept the more advanced restore file. Panic Over, all working again :)
 

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Lowfi22mac

macrumors newbie
Nov 4, 2017
16
3
You all are complaining over specks and grains of dust. I have a huge piece of string like dust in mine I just noticed. It hasn’t affected any photos but still, crazy people, to have.

Yep! Just noticed a long piece in the telephoto lens today. Gah!
 

Djentleman

macrumors 6502
Mar 8, 2012
374
59
UK
I have a tiny speck just above the lower lens, but I mean TINY. I had to take off my glasses and shove my eye right up against the camera in as much daylight as possible to see it.

And no, zero interference with pictures. Only thought to look because of this thread.
 

fatlardo

macrumors 6502
Mar 15, 2011
333
37
Went to pickup my iphone yesterday and all clear! Phew. But I actually had apple employee check and I opened it on the spot. Sounds like they knew it was a problem. He actually used a flash light and you can see it soo much better than with one. So use a flash light to shine at it. After that, I went to look at all the demos......all of them had something in it!!! This is nuts. I got lucky.
 
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Prospekt

macrumors 6502
Jul 5, 2009
307
185
Returned my dusty one and picked up another one -- dust in the lens again. They also told me that it was normal and I couldn't exchange anymore (this was the 1st exchange).. so I guess I'll live with it. The dust is less than the first one on the top lens, but the bottom lens has a more noticeable piece
 

imaginex20

macrumors 68000
Jun 17, 2009
1,513
721
Thousand dollar Professional DSLR lenses have dust in it yet the pictures are unaffected. Ya making something out of nothing.
 

donster28

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Oct 5, 2006
1,726
811
Great White North
Thousand dollar Professional DSLR lenses have dust in it yet the pictures are unaffected. Ya making something out of nothing.
Affecting the images is not the issue...the issue is weather the seal on the camera units are good or not. The iPhone X is supposed to be sealed from elements.
 
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donster28

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Oct 5, 2006
1,726
811
Great White North
use a flashlight and check it again
Sorry to disappoint but I just didn’t use a flashlight - I used the brightest LED flashlight I can find. And nope, no dust or any kind of debris found...and my eyes are good.

Checked it under high beam ceiling lights (at the Apple Store and at home), my brightest LED desk lamp, under the sun...nothing, nada and I can attest to other people here with flawless, dust/speck-free X cameras.

Believe me, after 5 exchanges to get to the one I have right now, I think I know what I’m looking for. Refer to the my original post on this thread for my complete experience.
 
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44267547

Cancelled
Jul 12, 2016
37,642
42,495
Thousand dollar Professional DSLR lenses have dust in it yet the pictures are unaffected. Ya making something out of nothing.

This is true. And if just goes to show you, manufacturing will not always be perfect in a controlled environment. It's just those who over analyze and look at the smallest details. The majority will never look at the camera lens cover area that closely to see if there's dust underneath it, unless it's affecting the photography. On a tech forum, some are very particular about their devices and then you have others inspecting their iPhones once they read threads like this.
 

donster28

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Oct 5, 2006
1,726
811
Great White North
This is true. And if just goes to show you, manufacturing will not always be perfect in a controlled environment. It's just those who over analyze and look at the smallest details. The majority will never look at the camera lens cover area that closely to see if there's dust underneath it, unless it's affecting the photography. On a tech forum, some are very particular about their devices and then you have others inspecting their iPhones once they read threads like this.
Pro camera lenses are being compared a lot to the X lenses but are we talking about ones that are weather sealed or not?...I never had weather sealed lenses that have dust in them so compare wisely.

Also, keep in mind most telephoto lenses have retractable barrels for zooming and this feature can introduce dust inside the lens barrel due to it pushing air in and out. The iPhone camera lenses are supposed to be sealed inside a non-moving casing.

Lastly, it’s not about image quality we need to worry about here (at least if the speck is not affecting it) but it’s the seal on the camera unit that’s supposed to be part of the X’s dust/water-resistance feature.
 
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44267547

Cancelled
Jul 12, 2016
37,642
42,495
Pro camera lenses are being compared a lot to the X lenses but are we talking about ones that are weather sealed or not?...I never had weather sealed lenses that have dust in them so compare wisely.

Also, keep in mind most telephoto lenses have retractable barrels for zooming and this feature can introduce dust inside the lens barrel due to it pushing air in and out. The iPhone camera lenses are supposed to be sealed inside a non-moving casing.

Lastly, it’s not about image quality we need to worry about here (at least if the speck is not affecting it) but it’s the seal on the camera unit that’s supposed to be part of the X’s dust/water-resistance feature.

You're on an entirely different tangent. Nor do I have any idea why you're talking about pro camera lenses or retractable barrels. I'm simply talking about that during the manufacturing process with the iPhone, dust is inevitable and it will eventually intrude in certain areas. More specifically, behind the camera lens cover of the iPhone. As stated, the majority do not inspect the camera lens area to see if there is dust or not, however some do on a tech forum.

As I previously mentioned, sometimes dust can affect The overall photography of the camera, which has been discussed through multiple threads on here affecting photos were blurry images because of the dust.
 
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donster28

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Oct 5, 2006
1,726
811
Great White North
You're on an entirely different tangent. Nor do I have any idea why you're talking about pro camera lenses or retractable barrels. I'm simply talking about that during the manufacturing process with the iPhone, dust is inevitable and it will eventually intrude in certain areas. More specifically, behind the camera lens cover of the iPhone. As stated, the majority do not inspect the camera lens area to see if there is dust or not, however some do on a tech forum.

As I previously mentioned, sometimes dust can affect The overall photography of the camera, which has been discussed through multiple threads on here affecting photos were blurry images because of the dust.
My reply was not directed to your post (sorry but somehow, I quoted your post instead of the other I was intending to).

I understand what you’re saying about different equipment have different manufacturing processes. And if dust settles in (which is not impossible in the manufacturing process as you said) then it’s up to the customer to either notice it, live with it or not.

And yes, I agree, dust in the lens do somehow affect a shot one way or the other.
 

imaginex20

macrumors 68000
Jun 17, 2009
1,513
721
My reply was not directed to your post (sorry but somehow, I quoted your post instead of the other I was intending to).

I understand what you’re saying about different equipment have different manufacturing processes. And if dust settles in (which is not impossible in the manufacturing process as you said) then it’s up to the customer to either notice it, live with it or not.

And yes, I agree, dust in the lens do somehow affect a shot one way or the other.

********. I want you to show me L lenses without a speck of dust. Professionals are shooting with multi thousand dollar lenses with dust in them everyday.

Be more worried about iOS’s crappy image compression than a speck of dust.

Half you people complaining about dust in a camera then going on social media then applying gaudy looking filter to the picture anyways.

I understand you’re complaining about the seal of the camera but if water isn’t getting in, who cares?
 
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