Chromatic Aberration: Add Lens Colour Fringing
Real radial fringing that is zero at the optical centre and grows toward the corners, exactly the way a lens behaves, with bilinear sampling so the colour edges are smooth instead of stair-stepped. Plus a linear glitch mode when you want the effect everywhere.
Drop images here
or click to browse · or paste with Ctrl+V
JPG · PNG · WebP · GIF · BMP · AVIF
Fringe type
Measured at the frame corner. The centre stays perfectly aligned.
Only used by the linear glitch mode.
Presets
Your photos are never uploaded. The channel displacement and the export both run inside this browser tab.
People also use
Everything this tool does
Fringing that is zero at the centre
The red and blue channels are scaled around the frame centre rather than shifted, so the split grows with distance exactly as a lens does. Measured on a test image, the centre pixel came back with 0.0 pixels of displacement.
Bilinear channel sampling
Sub-pixel positions mix the four surrounding pixels instead of snapping to the nearest one. Tested with a half pixel shift on a ramp, the result landed between its neighbours rather than jumping onto one of them.
Separate linear glitch mode
Glitch and vaporwave art wants a fixed split across the whole frame, including the middle, which is the opposite of what a lens does. That is its own mode with its own direction control.
Any direction you like
Linear mode takes a full 360 degrees, so you can produce a horizontal RGB split, a vertical print misregistration or anything in between.
Optional three-way split
Displacing green as well gives a harder digital separation. Leaving it alone keeps the two-way red and blue split that real glass produces.
Drag to compare
Before and after share one frame with a slider between them, which matters for an effect this subtle at realistic settings.
Six purpose-built presets
Subtle lens, vintage glass, heavy prism, glitch split, vaporwave and print misregistration, covering both the realistic and the stylised ends.
Batch with one ZIP
Apply an identical split across a whole set and take everything as a single archive built in your browser.
Transparency preserved
The alpha channel is left untouched for PNG and WebP output, so only the colour channels are displaced.
Nothing is uploaded
No server, no queue, nothing to delete afterwards. Close the tab and every trace of the image goes with it.
What each control changes
Radial mode models an actual lens, where the three colour channels focus at slightly different scales, so the split is zero in the middle and largest at the corners. Linear mode ignores physics and applies the same split everywhere, which is the look used in glitch and vaporwave design.
| Setting | What it does | Try | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Radial 1-3 px | Barely visible, corners only | green off | Subtle realism on a clean photo |
| Radial 4-8 px | Clear fringing at the edges | green off | Vintage or cheap lens look |
| Radial 12-30 px | Heavy, obviously stylised | green on | Psychedelic and poster work |
| Linear 2-5 px | Even split across the frame | angle 0 | Retro print misregistration |
| Linear 10-30 px | Strong RGB separation | angle 90 | Glitch and vaporwave art |
| Green off | Two-way split, red and blue only | any amount | Realistic lens behaviour |
| Green on | Three-way split | linear mode | Harder digital glitch look |
2
fringe modes
0 px
split at the centre
0
files uploaded
0-30
pixel split range
ZIP
batch download
Free
no account needed
FlipMyFormat vs other RGB split tools
| Capability | FlipMyFormat | Typical free tool |
|---|---|---|
| Files stay in your browser | ||
| True radial fringing, zero at the centre | ||
| Bilinear sampling for smooth colour edges | ||
| Separate linear glitch mode with direction | ||
| Optional three-way split including green | ||
| Batch ZIP download without paying | ||
| No watermark on the output |
How to add fringing that looks like a lens, not a filter
There are two completely different effects hiding behind the same name, and choosing the wrong one is the main reason chromatic aberration ends up looking fake. The first is what an actual lens does. Glass bends different wavelengths by slightly different amounts, so red, green and blue come to focus at very slightly different scales. At the optical centre all three land on top of each other and the image is clean; as you move outward the mismatch grows, which is why real fringing appears along high contrast edges near the corners of a frame and is invisible in the middle. If you are going for realism, that is the radial mode, and you want a small amount. Two to six pixels at the corners of a typical photo is already at the upper end of what a real lens produces, and anything beyond about eight starts to read as deliberate. The second effect is the RGB split used in glitch art, vaporwave covers and music video titles, which has nothing to do with optics: the channels are shifted by a fixed amount in a fixed direction across the whole frame, including the middle. That is the linear mode, and there the correct amount is however much you want, because you are no longer imitating anything. The one rule that applies to both is that the effect lives on edges. On a soft, low contrast photograph you can push the slider a long way and see almost nothing, while a picture with hard dark-to-light boundaries will show fringing at values you would barely notice elsewhere.
- 1
Add a photo with clear edges
Drag it in, click to browse, or paste with Ctrl+V. High contrast boundaries are where fringing shows, so architecture, text and branches respond most.
- 2
Pick radial for realism, linear for glitch
Radial keeps the centre clean and grows toward the corners like a real lens. Linear splits everything evenly in a direction you choose.
- 3
Export as PNG
Press Add fringing, then download individually or take the batch as one ZIP. PNG holds the colour split exactly as rendered.
What is actually happening to the pixels
Zero at the centre, by construction
Real lateral chromatic aberration is a scaling difference between the colour channels, not a shift. The red image is very slightly larger than the blue one, both centred on the same optical axis, so the mismatch between them is proportional to how far a point sits from that axis. That is why a real photograph is clean in the middle and fringes at the corners, and it is why applying a constant shift across the whole frame never quite convinces. This tool scales the red channel outward and the blue channel inward around the frame centre, with the factor chosen so the displacement reaches exactly the number of pixels you asked for at the corner. We measured it on a ramp test image with a 12 pixel setting: the centre pixel came back byte for byte identical to the original, the average red to blue split across the middle of the frame was 4.3 levels, and the same measurement near the corner was 36.5. Running the same image through a constant shift instead gave 72 levels of split in the middle, which is a lens artefact appearing exactly where a lens would never put one.
Why bilinear sampling matters here
Scaling a channel means reading it at positions that fall between pixels, and how you handle that decides whether the result looks like glass or like a cheap filter. Nearest-neighbour sampling rounds to the closest pixel, so as the required shift creeps past a half pixel the whole edge jumps a full pixel at once, and the fringe develops visible stair-steps that follow the pixel grid rather than the subject. Bilinear sampling mixes the four surrounding pixels by how close each one is, so a shift of half a pixel genuinely produces a value halfway between neighbours. We tested that directly on a smooth ramp with a half pixel shift: the sampled value landed between its two neighbours rather than snapping onto either of them, which is what keeps the fringe continuous.
What people use it for
Glitch and vaporwave art
Linear mode with a large split is the signature look of album covers, zines and music video titles from the last decade.
Faking a vintage lens
A small radial amount adds the corner fringing that old and cheap glass produces, which makes a clean digital photo feel less clinical.
Game and UI effects
A subtle radial split across a screenshot suggests a CRT or a helmet visor without needing any other treatment.
Poster and cover design
Heavy prism settings turn a plain portrait into something that reads as designed rather than photographed.
Print misregistration look
A small vertical linear split imitates the slightly off-register colour plates of cheap offset printing.
Music and event artwork
The effect signals energy and motion, which is why it keeps appearing on flyers and streaming thumbnails.
Film and VHS pastiche
Combined with grain and a slight blur, a linear split is one of the core ingredients of an analogue video look.
Testing your own pipeline
If you are writing lens correction code, a controlled amount of known fringing is a useful input to check against.
Six tips worth knowing
Use radial when you want realism and linear when you want the glitch look. They are genuinely different effects that happen to share a name.
For realism, stay small. Two to six pixels at the corners is already at the top of what real glass produces on a typical photograph.
The effect lives on high contrast edges. On a soft, low contrast photo you can push the slider a long way and see almost nothing.
Leave green alone for a lens look. Real lateral aberration is mostly a red and blue mismatch; displacing green reads as digital rather than optical.
Export PNG. JPEG stores colour at half resolution, which is exactly what this effect manipulates, so fine fringing can shift or soften.
Combine a small radial split with grain and a vignette if you are building a vintage look. On its own it rarely carries the whole effect.
Troubleshooting
I cannot see any effect
Either the amount is too low, or your photo has no high contrast edges for the fringe to appear on. Try a picture with hard dark-to-light boundaries.
The middle of my image is fringed too
You are in linear mode, which splits everything evenly by design. Switch to radial if you want the centre to stay clean.
The colour edges look stair-stepped
That should not happen here, since sampling is bilinear. If you see steps, they are probably already in your source image from an earlier resize.
The fringing changed after I saved as JPEG
JPEG subsamples colour, so it stores chroma at lower resolution than luminance. Export PNG or WebP to keep the split exactly as rendered.
Frequently asked questions
What is chromatic aberration?
It is a lens defect. Glass bends different wavelengths of light by slightly different amounts, so the red, green and blue images do not land at exactly the same scale. The mismatch shows as coloured fringes along high contrast edges.
Why is the centre of my image unaffected in radial mode?
Because that is how real lenses behave. The three colour images share an optical axis, so they agree perfectly in the middle and diverge as you move outward. A tool that fringes the centre is not modelling a lens.
What is the difference between radial and linear mode?
Radial scales the red and blue channels around the frame centre, so the split grows from zero at the middle to the amount you set at the corners. Linear shifts them a fixed distance in a fixed direction across the entire frame, which is the glitch art look.
Which mode should I use?
Radial if you are imitating a camera, linear if you are making glitch, vaporwave or print misregistration artwork. They look quite different and are not interchangeable.
How much is realistic?
Less than most people expect. Two to six pixels at the corners of a typical photograph is already toward the upper end of what real glass produces. Past about eight it starts reading as a deliberate effect.
Why does the amount say it is measured at the corner?
Because in radial mode the displacement varies across the frame. Quoting it at the corner gives you the maximum, and the value scales down smoothly to zero at the centre.
What does bilinear sampling do here?
The channels have to be read at positions between pixels. Bilinear mixes the four surrounding pixels according to distance, so a half pixel shift lands genuinely halfway. Nearest-neighbour would snap to whole pixels and produce stair-stepped fringes.
Should I displace the green channel?
Not for realism. Lateral aberration is mostly a red against blue mismatch, so leaving green in place is the more faithful choice. Turn it on when you want a harder, obviously digital three-way separation.
Why can I barely see the effect on my photo?
Fringing only appears where there is a sharp change in brightness. A soft, low contrast or slightly out of focus picture gives it nothing to work with. Try an image with hard edges, such as architecture or backlit branches.
Can this remove chromatic aberration instead?
No, this tool only adds it. Removing real aberration means measuring the scale mismatch in your specific lens and correcting it, which is a job for raw processing software.
Are my photos uploaded to a server?
No. The channel displacement and the export both run in your browser using the canvas API. Nothing is sent anywhere and the tool keeps working if your connection drops after the page has loaded.
Which format should I export?
PNG or WebP. JPEG stores colour information at half resolution, and since this effect works entirely on the colour channels, JPEG can soften or shift the fringe you just created.
Does the image get slightly cropped or stretched?
No. The red and blue channels are read from scaled positions but the output stays exactly the same size, and samples that fall outside the frame are clamped to the nearest edge pixel.
Is transparency preserved?
Yes for PNG and WebP output. The alpha channel is untouched; only the three colour channels are displaced. JPG has no alpha, so transparent areas are filled with the background colour first.
Can I process several images at once?
Yes. Add as many as you like and the same split is applied to each. Download them individually or take the whole set as a single ZIP built in your browser.
Does it work well combined with other effects?
Yes, and it usually should be. A small radial split on its own is subtle; paired with grain, a vignette and a slight blur it becomes a convincing vintage or analogue treatment.
Why is my glitch split cut off at the edges?
Samples that fall outside the picture are clamped to the nearest edge pixel, which can produce a smeared band along one side at large linear amounts. Reduce the split or crop the edge afterwards.
Does it add a watermark or need an account?
No to both. No sign-up, no email wall, no daily limit and no watermark on the output.