Chromatic Aberration – and How to Fix It in Lightroom
In this picture, chromatic aberration is present, seen as a purple area where the highlights are strong at the edge of the cap.
Even the finest lenses—yes, even those crafted by Leica—aren’t immune to chromatic aberration.
This optical imperfection, often seen as purple or green fringes around high-contrast edges, can be frustrating for photographers who expect perfection from premium gear. But why does it happen, and how can we fix it?
What Is Chromatic Aberration?
Chromatic aberration occurs when a lens fails to focus all wavelengths of light onto the same point. Since different colours of light bend differently when passing through glass, this can result in colour fringing—typically purple or green—around edges in your image, especially in areas of high contrast like tree branches against a bright sky.
On the right side of the Lightroom Classic panel, under the “Lens Corrections” tab, there are tools to adjust purple fringe.
There are two main types:
- Longitudinal chromatic aberration: Colours blur in front of or behind the focus plane.
- Lateral chromatic aberration: Colours shift sideways, causing fringing at the edges.
Why Even Leica Lenses Show Aberration
Leica lenses are renowned for their precision engineering and optical quality. However, no lens is perfect. Chromatic aberration is a physical limitation of lens design, especially at wide apertures, with complex glass elements, and in compact form factors. Leica often prioritises rendering, micro-contrast, and character—sometimes accepting minor aberrations as part of the lens’s unique signature.
Fixing Chromatic Aberration in Lightroom
Thankfully, Lightroom offers powerful tools to correct chromatic aberration, whether you’re working globally or locally.
Start with the Automatic Fix
- Go to the Lens Corrections panel.
- Check the box labelled “Remove Chromatic Aberration.” This often removes most fringing automatically using lens profile data.
Manual Defringe for Persistent Fringing
- Switch to the Manual tab in the Lens Corrections panel.
- Use the Defringe eyedropper tool to click directly on the fringe colour in your image.
- Fine-tune using the Purple Amount and Green Amount sliders to reduce the fringe intensity.
Localised Defringe with Adjustment Tools
For more targeted corrections:
- Use the Brush, Radial Filter, or Graduated Filter.
- Scroll down to the Defringe sliders in the local adjustment settings.
- Adjust the Purple and Green sliders to clean up specific areas without affecting the whole image.
Watch and Learn
A short video tutorial shows the easy steps.