I dunno about you, but when I look towards the sun, I don't see lens flare... but MSFS thinks I should. How do I disable this? I tried adding the old post processing lines from 2020 into my UsrCfg.opt file but it seemed to ignore that - or I've done it incorrectly. If you have figured out a way, please share.

Thanks!
-Chris.

Think this may be tied to Light Shafts in the graphics settings.

3 hours ago, MarcG said:

Think this may be tied to Light Shafts in the graphics settings.

I'm personnaly fine with this visual effect, and just tested, with Light Shafts OFF, still have the Lens Flare effect.

After checking on the official forum, it seems to be impossible: https://forums.flightsimulator.com/t/bloom-and-lensflare-how-to-disable/670110 and you can vote (already 268) : https://forums.flightsimulator.com/t/option-to-disable-bloom-and-lens-flare/670545

4 hours ago, MarcG said:

Think this may be tied to Light Shafts in the graphics settings.

I read that light shafts affected ground lighting and you have to restart the sim for a setting change to take effect.

It's odd they removed the lens flare option, I always turn it off.

Ok yeah that sucks, typical Asobo!

Any hobbyist or professional photographers out there? Photographers spend lots of money on expensive lenses precisely in order to avoid lens flare. Lenses are rated in reviews based on how little lens flare they have. If you come from an environment where people look at lens flare as a nuisance (or as stigma of cheap gear), then it's kind of jarring to see MSFS going to lengths to add it unnecessarily.

Of course, not everyone in the photography community shares that view, and some people even deliberately incorporate lens flare into their creativity. So it's not like there's only one opinion. Still, its widely regarded among pros as something to avoid.

I would love an option to toggle it off in MSFS.

I suppose lens flare is in MSFS as a signifier of realism--it makes the visuals look like they were filmed with a real life (albeit cheap) camera. It reminds me of early iterations of Flight Simulator where you'd hear the tires "chirp" on contact with the runway, even if it were a sound you'd never hear in the actual cockpit (e.g. with airliners). As a realism signifier, tire chirp added "immersion" for some people, or at least Microsoft thought it would, because it was familiar--anyone who has spent time around a GA airport knows the sound. 

 

Edited August 23, 2025Aug 23 by prolixindec

5 hours ago, prolixindec said:

Any hobbyist or professional photographers out there? Photographers spend lots of money on expensive lenses precisely in order to avoid lens flare. Lenses are rated in reviews based on how little lens flare they have. If you come from an environment where people look at lens flare as a nuisance (or as stigma of cheap gear), then it's kind of jarring to see MSFS going to lengths to add it unnecessarily.

Of course, not everyone in the photography community shares that view, and some people even deliberately incorporate lens flare into their creativity. So it's not like there's only one opinion. Still, its widely regarded among pros as something to avoid.

I would love an option to toggle it off in MSFS.

I suppose lens flare is in MSFS as a signifier of realism--it makes the visuals look like they were filmed with a real life (albeit cheap) camera. It reminds me of early iterations of Flight Simulator where you'd hear the tires "chirp" on contact with the runway, even if it were a sound you'd never hear in the actual cockpit (e.g. with airliners). As a realism signifier, tire chirp added "immersion" for some people, or at least Microsoft thought it would, because it was familiar--anyone who has spent time around a GA airport knows the sound. 

 

Exactly. I’d be ok with it, if flare appeared in external or drone camera angles. But when I’m in the cockpit, the “camera” is not a camera… it’s my eyes. And my eyes don’t produce lens flare. 

I'm with Chris.  My understanding is that we're trying to simulate being in an airplane.  If we're not, instead, trying to simulate watching a video of sitting in an airplane, why is there lens flare??  My eyes sure don't do that.  I've asked this more than once on the official forum and no one has ever been able to answer it.  It's just a bizarre effect, given the scenario this software is supposedly trying to represent.

4 hours ago, Virtual-Chris said:

And my eyes don’t produce lens flare. 

 

2 hours ago, Stearmandriver said:

why is there lens flare??  My eyes sure don't do that. 

Are we sure about that? Here's one of many possible links that address flare related issues in the human eye.

https://visionaryeyecentre.com/eye-glare-halos-in-vision-causes-treatment-prevention/

Given what I suspect to be the demographics of the AVSIM community, most of us are susceptible to flare induced by cataracts, for example, something that happens to most all of us as we get older. With regard to the MSFS developers, the real question is how they chose to depict that phenomenon. Unless one provides some sort of flare artifact in the visual representation, how does one want to depict the sun or other bright object in the image? Absent  a "flared" image (wasn't this called "bloom" in the past?) it's just a blown out white disk with sharp edges, something that is also unrealistic relative to human perception.

MSFS must be in a very good place if we're focusing on such fine details for discussion.

I am totally 100% behind making it optional. For anyone who's sim experience is enhanced by lens flare, more power to them. 

For me, I'd like to toggle it off and reclaim the 0.000001 fps.

 

 

Edited August 23, 2025Aug 23 by prolixindec

8 hours ago, jrw4 said:

Are we sure about that?

Very sure.  I've only been seeing the sun from airplanes for 30 years, and in general for 50.  No lens flare lol.  The effect is ridiculous.  It's for people who want to take screenshots, not simulate operating an aircraft.

8 hours ago, jrw4 said:

Are we sure about that?

Very sure about that.  And no cataracts here, maybe catch me in about 20 years.

Asobo removed the ability to turn this off. Why? Because they aren't good at this. 

I checked yesterday and I get no lens flare in VR (thankfully), I changed the Light Shafts setting to see that effect but that actually didn't do anything...!

I've just had surgery to remove my cataracts and I'd rather not not have Asobo putting them back for me as my sight has been improved amazingly. If a surgeon can turn it off why can't Asobo?