White, round glare spots or orbs sometimes appear in a recorded image when using the flash

What are "orbs"?

If specs of dust particles are floating in the air when you're taking a picture, they can be illuminated by the light of the flash and sometimes appear in the image as white, round glare spots, also known as "orbs". This symptom tends to occur in low-light environments when using a compact digital camera because of the proximity of the flash to the lens assembly. It is not a malfunction.

How to prevent glare spots from appearing in photos

To avoid this phenomenon, we recommend turning off the flash. With the flash off, you might need to either raise ISO (if your camera has this setting) or use a tripod to avoid camera shake. If using an external flash, bouncing the flash towards the ceiling or using the flash off-camera can also help prevent this effect.