Photos show purple fringing or odd colors

Symptoms

• Purple or green edges around bright highlights or branches
• Overall color tint looks off, like too blue or too orange
• Fringing worse at wide apertures or zoomed in
• Colors look fine in some lighting but not others

Likely causes

• CommonChromatic aberration from the lens at certain apertures or focal lengthsA normal optical effect in many lenses, especially at wide apertures.
• CommonWhite balance set incorrectly for the lighting conditionAuto white balance can misjudge tricky lighting like mixed indoor and window light.
• PossibleUsing a colored or damaged lens filterFilters can introduce a color cast or reduce contrast.
• Less commonSensor or image processing issueWould show consistent, unusual color problems across all lenses and settings.
• Less commonSoftware editing settings applied unintentionallyAn accidental picture style or filter setting can shift colors.

What to do

1. Set white balance to match the lighting, like daylight, cloudy, or tungsten, instead of relying only on auto.
2. Remove any lens filters and see if the color issue disappears.
3. Check for and reduce chromatic aberration using in-camera or software correction if the fringing is on high-contrast edges.
4. Try a narrower aperture (higher f-number) to reduce lens-based fringing.
5. Reset any custom picture style or color profile settings to the camera's default.
6. Test the same scene with a different lens to see if fringing follows the lens or the camera body.
7. If color problems persist across all lenses, settings, and lighting, have the camera's sensor and processing checked professionally.

When to call a pro

If unusual color issues persist across different lenses and corrected settings, a camera repair shop can check the sensor and image processor.

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