Original | Veiling glare
 

Stray light, also known as flare, is any light that reaches the detector (i.e., the image sensor) other than through the designed optical path. It can be caused by reflections, scattering, and diffraction within the camera. Depending on the mechanism causing the stray light, it can produce phantom objects within the scene (i.e., ghosts/ghosting), reduce contrast over portions of the image (e.g., veiling glare), and effectually reduce system dynamic range. Veiling glare and ghosting are specific forms of stray light, or ways that it can be manifested in an image. 

There are two main methods to test for stray light in a camera system:

An image of a small, bright light source revealing various forms of stray light, captured with a Google Pixel 6 Pro camera. 

 

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