Toward Flare-Free Images: A Survey
Yousef Kotp Marwan Torki
Lens flare is a common image artifact that can significantly degrade image
quality and affect the performance of computer vision systems due to a strong
light source pointing at the camera. This survey provides a comprehensive
overview of the multifaceted domain of lens flare, encompassing its underlying
physics, influencing factors, types, and characteristics. It delves into the
complex optics of flare formation, arising from factors like internal
reflection, scattering, diffraction, and dispersion within the camera lens
system. The diverse categories of flare are explored, including scattering,
reflective, glare, orb, and starburst types. Key properties such as shape,
color, and localization are analyzed. The numerous factors impacting flare
appearance are discussed, spanning light source attributes, lens features,
camera settings, and scene content. The survey extensively covers the wide
range of methods proposed for flare removal, including hardware optimization
strategies, classical image processing techniques, and learning-based methods
using deep learning. It not only describes pioneering flare datasets created
for training and evaluation purposes but also how they were created. Commonly
employed performance metrics such as PSNR, SSIM, and LPIPS are explored.
Challenges posed by flare's complex and data-dependent characteristics are
highlighted. The survey provides insights into best practices, limitations, and
promising future directions for flare removal research. Reviewing the
state-of-the-art enables an in-depth understanding of the inherent complexities
of the flare phenomenon and the capabilities of existing solutions. This can
inform and inspire new innovations for handling lens flare artifacts and
improving visual quality across various applications.