Does too thick phone case mess up with camera?

[akmens]

I bought a new case for my phone and it is great looking and offers good protection.

But because of the leather thickness can the hole arround camera lens restrict light going into camera or affect side view?

Should I be worried? I am going on vacation soon and want to take some pictures.



Camera is 16 MP (Sony IMX234), f/2.0 and 1/2.6 sensor if that matters.

I tried with credit card to slowly cover the hole and it seems like it have 1-2mm clearanse before faint shadow start to appear on picture.

What about low light situation? Does it afftect in any way? Better to take cover off before taking pictures?

I also have transparent silicon case which is about 3 times thiner. Should I better use that one for taking photos or is it irrelevant?

Any advice or experience with similar phone cases will be greatly appreciated!

 

[Ocellaris]

Take pictures and see if you can see the edge of the case. No one is going to solve this for you, it sounds like the case is close to causing an issue since you tested with a credit card near the edges of the hole.

 

[akmens]

I took some macro pictures and I didn't see any noticable shadow or blur arround corners and definitely not an edge of the case. I took same picture without the case and it looks the same to me. But eyes cannot see everything, if there is even slightest blur (hard to see with naked eyes) arround corners, I do not want that in my pictures. How to tell for sure? Is there any theory around this?

Am I good or there is still concern, that phone case can mess up in some situations? Maybe a replay from an experienced photographer can help, ofcourse if there is any around this forum?

 

[Ocellaris]

Yes if the case shift or loosen and screw up your photos. You don't need a professional photographer to tell you this. You bought a very thick case that is very close to blocking the edges of your photos. This is one of the reasons people don't buy thick cases. If you are really worried about it, don't use that case when taking photos.

 

[akmens]

Agree with that, but I don't mind thicker cases, because it gives better protection when phone falls down, the edges don't bend so easily and the screen is better protected too.

But you confirmed my concerns, I guess I will have silicon case for tralveling and leave this case at home for everyday use - it gives solid feeling and is comfortable to use.

 

[akmens]

Well, I did some more shooting and found out that the thick leather edge at the hole reflects flashlight and gives a strong yellowish/brownish tint to the pictures, so that's about concludes my final decision which phone cover to use when taking pictures

(Pay attention guys, if your night pictures with flashlight on suddenly have strange tint on it, check out if your lovely red, yellow, blue, or whatever color case you have bought is not doing it!)

 

[cyclone3d]

Well, I did some more shooting and found out that the thick leather edge at the hole reflects flashlight and gives a strong yellowish/brownish tint to the pictures, so that's about concludes my final decision which phone cover to use when taking pictures

(Pay attention guys, if your night pictures with flashlight on suddenly have strange tint on it, check out if your lovely red, yellow, blue, or whatever color case you have bought is not doing it!)

You could always get some flat black paint or dye and dye what is effectively a lens hood. That should take care of any strange hue when you use the flash.

 

[aarcam]

Yup. Even if it does not obscure the lens, the reflected light can disrupt the color and light balance.

cyclone3d has an interesting idea, let us know if you try it!

If my memory serves me, I believe this is at least part of the reason why the White iPhone back too so long. The flash was getting trapped in the white painted glass on the 4/s causing the pics to be washed out.

 

[Johnny78]

I have a lot of experience with family members who've purchased similar type cases and they almost always interfere with photos. Especially with flashes. The light will reflect off the edges and cause a haze effect.

 

[bman212121]

You could always get some flat black paint or dye and dye what is effectively a lens hood. That should take care of any strange hue when you use the flash.

This is the best advice. Photographers put hoods on their lens to block out unwanted light that isn't being picked up by the sensor. Short lens have short hoods because they have a wider FOV, long lens can have longer hoods because with a narrow field of view you're not able to see as much to the sides so anything light you pick up from there isn't helping to create the image anyway. If you see lens flare (sunspots or streaks across the lens) that's usually stray light at an extreme angle that's reflecting off of the front element. Cheap hoods are just matte black plastic, nicer hoods have more like a black velvet in them to further decrease reflectivity. So if you can't actually see the edges of the case in your images, it's not blocking anything and acting as a hood. (Which is a good thing) You just need to make sure that the "hood" isn't reflective so it doesn't cause unwanted light to reflect across the sensor.

 

[Justintoxicated]

Im not saying the case won't be a problem, but lenses don't like light coming in from the sides, hence why photographers use lens hoods on their big boy lenses

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This is the best advice. Photographers put hoods on their lens to block out unwanted light that isn't being picked up by the sensor. Short lens have short hoods because they have a wider FOV, long lens can have longer hoods because with a narrow field of view you're not able to see as much to the sides so anything light you pick up from there isn't helping to create the image anyway. If you see lens flare (sunspots or streaks across the lens) that's usually stray light at an extreme angle that's reflecting off of the front element. Cheap hoods are just matte black plastic, nicer hoods have more like a black velvet in them to further decrease reflectivity. So if you can't actually see the edges of the case in your images, it's not blocking anything and acting as a hood. (Which is a good thing) You just need to make sure that the "hood" isn't reflective so it doesn't cause unwanted light to reflect across the sensor.

Dang you beat me to it.

 

[michalrz]

The term for a defect you're concerned about is vignetting.

Take two shots of the same scene, one with the case and one without and try using photoshop to correct 'vignetting' and see how much of an impact it has.
Any and all material in front of the lens will mess up the picture (both flash and the choice of lens element coatings).
Also, additional cover is more heat. Heat has a negative effect on signal-to-noise ratios of both CCD and CMOS sensors. Probably marginal in your scenario, but you asked!