4.1.1 -> 4.1.2 = exactly 400% the brightness, WOW!!! - Galaxy Note II General

For the test, I used some professional light measuring equipment (my DSLR).
I captured an image at F/2.8, ISO 400, at 0 EV. Maxed out brightness on the Note 2, with Auto adjust screen tone off (important). I used a completely white picture shot at the same distance.
Before update:
Shutter speed 1/125s
After update:
Shutter speed 1/500s!
That is exactly 2 full stops. Or 4 times the original brightness.
Now, 400% sounds like a lot, like it would blind you. I don't want to create an over-expectation. It's seems adequately bright in a well lit room, where previously in that same room, the phone maybe seemed kinda dim.
I previously posted when I first got my original Galaxy Note II, that I was a little disappointed because people kept saying it is the brightest screen they ever had, and mine was far from that. But maybe those people saying that had something like this originally, but I just got it now. And it is beautiful.
Model: SHV-E250L (Korean Galaxy Note II, received OTA update today)

Very interesting mate,
thanks for sharing
Vatis

:what:
i have 2 notes here one of them have 4.1.1 and one with latest Poland rom
brightness is 100% the same on white page
its something wrong with ur camera :laugh:

yahyoh said:
:what:
i have 2 notes here one of them have 4.1.1 and one with latest Poland rom
brightness is 100% the same on white page
its something wrong with ur camera :laugh:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Camera is just fine. It is a precision instrument and I have definitive proof with 2 JPG and CR2 files with EXIF information. But maybe the Korean Note 2 was configured to be dimmer than the Note 2 that you have.
Funny thing is iPhone 5 was just released this week, and that screen is cranked up to super bright when put next to the Note 2. It is a shocking comparison, but now the Note 2 can hold it's own. But maybe they didn't want the negative press and decided to enable the brighter mode for the Korean customers as well.
If your thought your screen was never that dim in bright settings, maybe it will not impact your screen at all. On the other hand, if you were disappointed with the screen's brightness bright rooms or show rooms, then you may be very surprised when the update is applied. No promises. I heard through the grapevine from another XDA member I should expect a big boost in brightness, and I did want to confirm it so I prepared my camera to do testing before I hit update, and after. The improvement has exceeded my expectations.

Lucidmike said:
Camera is just fine. It is a precision instrument and I have definitive proof with 2 JPG and CR2 files with EXIF information. But maybe the Korean Note 2 was configured to be dimmer than the Note 2 that you have.
Funny thing is iPhone 5 was just released this week, and that screen is cranked up to super bright when put next to the Note 2. It is a shocking comparison, but now the Note 2 can hold it's own. But maybe they didn't want the negative press and decided to enable the brighter mode for the Korean customers as well.
If your thought your screen was never that dim in bright settings, maybe it will not impact your screen at all. On the other hand, if you were disappointed with the screen's brightness bright rooms or show rooms, then you may be very surprised when the update is applied. No promises. I heard through the grapevine from another XDA member I should expect a big boost in brightness, and I did want to confirm it so I prepared my camera to do testing before I hit update, and after. The improvement has exceeded my expectations.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
are you sure u shot the photos in the same conditions ? same lightning / sun in the room? totall darkness room ?
but if its 400% brighter you should see difference by ur bare eyes.
4.1.1 to 4.1.2 made no difference in brightness here.
the only thing i seems to notice is that my screen has become sharper. since 4.1.2
also making pictures with the phones cam has improved 200% in dark places also the flash timing and photo taking has improved. i noticed

SKeijmel said:
are you sure u shot the photos in the same conditions ? same lightning / sun in the room? totall darkness room ?
but if its 400% brighter you should see difference by ur bare eyes.
4.1.1 to 4.1.2 made no difference in brightness here.
the only thing i seems to notice is that my screen has become sharper. since 4.1.2
also making pictures with the phones cam has improved 200% in dark places also the flash timing and photo taking has improved. i noticed
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I did it in a controlled lighted environment. It was a scientific test. I understand light, and how to measure it very accurately because of my years studying photography.
With that said, my model is a Korean SHV-E250L Galaxy Note 2. I got it OTA from my carrier yesterday. The maximum brightness when I got the phone, originally was not as bright as I had hoped. And I just didn't understand how people were saying it was the brightest screen they had. I thought it was just some fake reviews of people trying to promote their haphazardly written reviews that was written with rumors than actual time with the device.
But now I know that some people got really bright Note 2's out of the box, and some didn't. I'm just hoping that people who wished that their Note 2 was a lot brighter, because they think it is dim, may experience the same effect with an update when it arrives.

Yeah just saw your video on the daily note II youtube channel (btw im a subscriber!)

Austin3161337 said:
Yeah just saw your video on the daily note II youtube channel (btw im a subscriber!)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here, like your videos very much. I recommended your channel for a "new to android" friend of mine who recently bought his note 2.
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda premium

Hmmm it is definitely brighter, I thought I was the only one who saw it, whites are alot nicer for some reason.

Link
NumairRana said:
Hmmm it is definitely brighter, I thought I was the only one who saw it, whites are alot nicer for some reason.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please let us have the link so that we also can relish a good feature in our phone

Lucidmike said:
For the test, I used some professional light measuring equipment (my DSLR).
I captured an image at F/2.8, ISO 400, at 0 EV. Maxed out brightness on the Note 2, with Auto adjust screen tone off (important). I used a completely white picture shot at the same distance.
Before update:
Shutter speed 1/125s
After update:
Shutter speed 1/500s!
That is exactly 2 full stops. Or 4 times the original brightness.
Now, 400% sounds like a lot, like it would blind you. I don't want to create an over-expectation. It's seems adequately bright in a well lit room, where previously in that same room, the phone maybe seemed kinda dim.
I previously posted when I first got my original Galaxy Note II, that I was a little disappointed because people kept saying it is the brightest screen they ever had, and mine was far from that. But maybe those people saying that had something like this originally, but I just got it now. And it is beautiful.
Model: SHV-E250L (Korean Galaxy Note II, received OTA update today)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the data, if you could post the CR2's I would be interested in taking a look

androidizen said:
Thanks for the data, if you could post the CR2's I would be interested in taking a look
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here are the JPEG and CR2's. These pics are not glamour product shots. They are for the purposes of measurements off a highly calibrated light measuring device. You have to look at the EXIF information. The whole point is to take the same picture with the same level of brightness, by only exposing the sensor to 1/4 of the original open shutter time. The shutter speed indicates change in brightness because trying to evaluate a picture being brighter with people's eyes is always subjective.
Here's additional test information.
Camera: Canon 20D
Lens: Canon 60mm Macro F2.8
Light Metering: Center Weighed
ISO: 400
F-stop: F/2.8
0 EV
Phone settings:
100% Brightness
Auto Brightness off
Auto adjust screen tone off
Model: SHV-E250L
The Test:
Before update:
Shutter speed 1/125s - 1/160s
After update:
Shutter speed 1/500s - 1/640s
If you know a bit of photography, you will see that it was a good test with all the right settings. It was done in a room with a very dim controlled light source. It would be impossible to do a test like this with a point & shoot.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/520h0j18tqni5l4/brightnesschange.zip
Again, sounds like not everyone will get this boost, but some people have gotten it. Some people didn't. I just wanted some concrete numbers, hearing that I may notice this. I wanted more definite proof than say something like "yeah, it definitely kinda seems brighter."
So I did this right before and after the update. And I'm glad I did because even with these concrete numbers, people seem to not believe. I can only provide the facts for my device.

I have also noticed higher brightness. Now my eyes becomes tired faster than before

EdgaBimbam said:
I have also noticed higher brightness. Now my eyes becomes tired faster than before
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sorry but brightness is 1000% the same with 4.1.1
i compered note2 running 4.1.1 with my note with 4.1.2 it its same :cyclops:

yahyoh said:
sorry but brightness is 1000% the same with 4.1.1
i compered note2 running 4.1.1 with my note with 4.1.2 it its same :cyclops:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dunno but for me lowest brigthness is higher than before. Was darker with 4.1.1 and with first leak 4.1.2

The Brightness is better in 4.1.2
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda app-developers app

If it would be 400% brighter then it would exceed at least 800 candela, making it brighter than even the most powerful LCD screens by quite the margin.
Sorry but somebody clearly DOESN'T understand light. Deducting brightness from a camera's shutter speed is failure at logic because they are not directly correlated. The camera can have a logarithmic response to light output in the shutter response.
The scientific method is to use a photometer and nothing else.

Let's try to figure this out.
Gsm arena puts Galaxy Note II at 402cm/2, they put iPhone 5 at 640cm/2.
So these are the possible scenarios:
1. Your Note II is now brighter than iPhone 5.
2. Before the update, your Note II model was dimmer than all others and now it's comparable.
3. You really have no idea what you are talking about.
So what we need is a comparison with iPhone and other Notes!
I myself just flashed a 4.1.2 Rom with matching kernel I did not notice any brightness difference.
I also studied the kernel source for your model "update 1", there were some differences in values for the display driver. But I'm not 100% what they do.
Sent from my GT-N7105 using XDA Premium HD app

hatcyl said:
Let's try to figure this out.
Gsm arena puts Galaxy Note II at 402cm/2, they put iPhone 5 at 640cm/2.
So these are the possible scenarios:
1. Your Note II is now brighter than iPhone 5.
2. Before the update, your Note II model was dimmer than all others and now it's comparable.
3. You really have no idea what you are talking about.
So what we need is a comparison with iPhone and other Notes!
I myself just flashed a 4.1.2 Rom with matching kernel I did not notice any brightness difference.
I also studied the kernel source for your model "update 1", there were some differences in values for the display driver. But I'm not 100% what they do.
Sent from my GT-N7105 using XDA Premium HD app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my GT-N7105 using XDA Premium HD app

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2008197
Here is a 16% real increase in brightness. Or from your point of view, 169%.
Sent from my Note II using Tapatalk

Related

S3 Camera Quality

Hi everyone. I had the one X but returned it in anticipation for the galaxy s3. I was wondering if anyone that had both phones can comment on the camera quality of both. I've read reviews and it seems like the one X has a better camera with a better aperture of f/2.0, so it has better low light photos.
I wanted to test it out in stores but they are not there yet, so i was wondering if anyone can give impressions of the quality of the s3 camera (and can compare it to the one x shots). I'm still deciding between the 2 phones...
thanks!
I too had the one X but returned and pre-ordered the S3 and got it yesterday.
The two things that I liked better on One X are the camera and the display. IMO camera is noticeably better on One X, especially in low light. Also the camera app on One X is a little bit faster which might be due to the imagesense chip that One X has.
But overall Im happier with S3. Couldnt bare with One X's retarded multi tasking.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda premium
S3 vs iPhone
here are 5 comparison shots of the iPhone 4 vs the Galaxy S3. To my eye the samsung lets in more light and it actually sometimes makes the photos contrast too white. But the color reproduction on the samsung is closer to what I see with my eye
Now keep in mind, Samsung/android gives you much greater control over ISO/exposure/etc. These pictures are taken on the default "auto" settings. I think people could make them look a lot better by actually adjusting the iso/exposure/contrast. I'll probably come back on later and compare the iPhone 4, iPhone 4s and the Samsung with adjusted settings later.
robamacaf said:
here are 5 comparison shots of the iPhone 4 vs the Galaxy S3. To my eye the samsung lets in more light and it actually sometimes makes the photos contrast too white. But the color reproduction on the samsung is closer to what I see with my eye
Now keep in mind, Samsung/android gives you much greater control over ISO/exposure/etc. These pictures are taken on the default "auto" settings. I think people could make them look a lot better by actually adjusting the iso/exposure/contrast. I'll probably come back on later and compare the iPhone 4, iPhone 4s and the Samsung with adjusted settings later.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It almost looks like the all the iPhone photos were artificially saturated, because it's supposedly better to err on the side of too saturated than "washed out reality", for the average joe.
robamacaf said:
here are 5 comparison shots of the iPhone 4 vs the Galaxy S3. To my eye the samsung lets in more light and it actually sometimes makes the photos contrast too white. But the color reproduction on the samsung is closer to what I see with my eye
Now keep in mind, Samsung/android gives you much greater control over ISO/exposure/etc. These pictures are taken on the default "auto" settings. I think people could make them look a lot better by actually adjusting the iso/exposure/contrast. I'll probably come back on later and compare the iPhone 4, iPhone 4s and the Samsung with adjusted settings later.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm really interested in your results after the settings. Currently the only thing holding me back from jumping on the galaxy s3 is the camera. But if adjusting the settings can make the camera photos appear better, then i think i'm sold. Please do post them when you do get a chance!
thanks!
Those shots are very helpful... iPhone pics definitely look better on first glance, but the colors are artificial/over-saturated and I think the S3 provides more detail in the shadow. I had a One X, and thought that camera was terrible; everything was overexposed and washed out and if I dropped exposure by one tick it went to far. Definitely more optimistic about trying the camera on my S3 when it comes tomorrow.
Here are some updated shots. I played with the S3 and got the settings I liked. One thing I didn't point out in the first set of pictures is if you zoom in on the pictures you'll notice more detail in the S3 shots, mainly because of the higher pixel count.
I think personally, the s3 camera is quite better. It has more tweaking you can do to get the shots you want. I really love the "Smile Shot" that takes a photo when it detects a smile or the fact you can say "Cheese" and it have take photos.
those are really nice pics
S3 is same sensor as S2 from what I have read. One X is brand new backlit sensor, which is why it does so well in low light conditions. One X camera is best out there right now. And yes the f2.0 wider angle lens is pretty sweet also.
Sent from my HTC One X using XDA
Kind of weird, samsung has a photo relationship with pentax for their SLR's and these comparison pics look a lot like those between pentax and canikon SLR's. On auto settings the pentax/samsung favor darker and less saturated compared to brighter/punchier exposures on auto settings with canon or nikon. All a matter of preference just weird to see the same sort of thing happening here.
Will be fun to play with when I finally upgrade from this cracked captivate
c5satellite2 said:
S3 is same sensor as S2 from what I have read. One X is brand new backlit sensor, which is why it does so well in low light conditions. One X camera is best out there right now. And yes the f2.0 wider angle lens is pretty sweet also.
Sent from my HTC One X using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The sensor is an upgraded iphone 4s sensor
Are you sure about the camera sensor. I read a review last week that it was same sensor design as s2 but upgraded software. Not saying you aren't correct, just want to figure out which one it has.
Sent from my HTC One X using XDA
c5satellite2 said:
Are you sure about the camera sensor. I read a review last week that it was same sensor design as s2 but upgraded software. Not saying you aren't correct, just want to figure out which one it has.
Sent from my HTC One X using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From the tear down videos/sites that I have seen they have said improved iphone 4s, try to Google it and see what they say, I might be wrong too but I'm going off the info I've seen on my rss feeds and Google searches
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-19736_...era-versus-htc-one-x-iphone-4s/?tag=cnetRiver
read this camera comparison article for s3 and others.
Sent from my BlackBerry Runtime for Android Apps using Tapatalk 2
Voelker45 said:
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-19736_...era-versus-htc-one-x-iphone-4s/?tag=cnetRiver
read this camera comparison article for s3 and others.
Sent from my BlackBerry Runtime for Android Apps using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think that comparison is pretty spot on. You can tell from the comparisons that no phone holds the win every time. They are all great phones with great cameras.
zmore said:
It almost looks like the all the iPhone photos were artificially saturated, because it's supposedly better to err on the side of too saturated than "washed out reality", for the average joe.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's a review of the phone that mentioned that the HDR mode was the only good shots and those are really nice.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747
robamacaf said:
Here are some updated shots. I played with the S3 and got the settings I liked. One thing I didn't point out in the first set of pictures is if you zoom in on the pictures you'll notice more detail in the S3 shots, mainly because of the higher pixel count.
I think personally, the s3 camera is quite better. It has more tweaking you can do to get the shots you want. I really love the "Smile Shot" that takes a photo when it detects a smile or the fact you can say "Cheese" and it have take photos.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
wow i love your shots. THanks so much for doing this. I think in normal conditions from all the reviews and shots i've seen, the galaxy s3's photos look washed out, but it seems like with some settings it can be adjusted for. Does this affect the low light shots? (make them worse?)
I was pretty happy with this one.
Pics from my One X
Sent from my HTC One X using XDA
Sent from my HTC One X using XDA

Best setting for indoor lowlight moving dog!

Okay to elaborate, with my Note2 I can take indoor lowlight pics pretty well of my dog wagging his tail.
If I try and take pics of him same setting in low light with my Note3, usually there is blur and the shots are useless.
I'm just a point and click guy, usually on auto my Note2 gives ok to great shots. Is there a secret to getting them with the Note 3 in low light? Ois would help as well Samsung.
Have you tried with a cat?
Or turkeys. I've had amazing luck with turkeys.
All joking aside... I am not impressed with the Note 3 camera at all! I NEVER thought I would use Camera Zoom FX on a Touchwiz ROM, but that's where I'm at right now. The camera on the Note 2 is MUCH better to me. Maybe I just need to practice more and play with settings.
You have the auto stabilization enabled, right? Because the "night" mode is kind of baked into that now.
Kiahnlliya said:
Have you tried with a cat?
Or turkeys. I've had amazing luck with turkeys.
All joking aside... I am not impressed with the Note 3 camera at all! I NEVER thought I would use Camera Zoom FX on a Touchwiz ROM, but that's where I'm at right now. The camera on the Note 2 is MUCH better to me. Maybe I just need to practice more and play with settings.
You have the auto stabilization enabled, right? Because the "night" mode is kind of baked into that now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hear you. Your reply made me laugh! Thing is, it's even worse with the auto stabilisation enabled , especially on animated objects such as kids playing or the dog lol. There's a shutter lag and the pic becomes a blurred waste of time.
The camera on my Note 3 is next to useless in artifical or low light. My Note 2 blows it away camera and audio wise. Samsung drop the hype sort your sh*t out. Or Note 3 is my last decide.
Mine comes fine with low light n flash.
Sent from Note 3 (The beauty & beast)
sohebq said:
Mine comes fine with low light n flash.
Sent from Note 3 (The beauty & beast)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, with flash and inanimate objects I have no issues with my camera. But for anything moving in low light forget it . At least that's my experience.
I just hope the camera will get better with firmware updates. It's really pretty bad right now. Winter is coming, the days are getting shorter and darker and all my low light photos are going to look terrible.
Kiahnlliya said:
I just hope the camera will get better with firmware updates. It's really pretty bad right now. Winter is coming, the days are getting shorter and darker and all my low light photos are going to look terrible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah . I really like my N3 screen and the brightness , but I think I'm going back to my Note 2 as a daily driver for now. Shall await further knox developments and also see what firmware updates yield. Cos as you say winter is around the corner, many users will be cussing low light performance then and Samsung may listen and update.
I'm curious, but did you try the Sports mode?
KanjiMan's SM-N900W8 Indoor w Low Light Settings:
I find these settings work well when the situation is indoors with low light: (haven't tested on moving objects)
Auto Mode (I find any other mode flash is forced off, you need flash for low light)
Photo size @ 4128x2322 16:9
Face Detection - Off
Metering - Center Weight
ISO - change your Iso to personal taste, 800 or 400 works well, but it depends how dark it is in the shooting area. (The lower the ISO the darker the final photo)
Smart Stabilization OFF (yes OFF)
White Balance - Auto
Exposure Value - 0
Flash - ON
I get blurring on any thing/one that moves slightly. I've tried all settings and get crap pictures with all of them. Appart from the shutter lag on s4 I've never had a galaxy phone with such poor camera. photos of anything but inanimate objects ALWAYS blur in medium/low light, unless up very close.
I'm calling samsung today to file warranty claim for this and the lines/interference when shooting videos.
IncidendIy do you get them too?
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Camera Blurry

Hey all, received my Note 4 today and the camera quality isnt great, the pictures look blurry even when keeping the camera perfect still. I have taken the plastic film of the lens. Just wondering if anyone else is having this problem
Can you upload an example? Does this happen in low light, outdoors or both?
They were all taken indoors, some with light from room light and sun light through window and others just with a room light (on ceiling). Obviously one with a flash (flash was on auto for all of them but was only used on one after changing iso and white balance). They all just seem a bit grainy and blurry... or is it just me, ill try get some outside tomorrow
Indoor shots will look worse because the ISO will be higher and there's more chance of blurriness with a slow shutter.
Also make sure that you take a photo soon after a focus lock. When I'm indoors,I tend to use touch to shoot and touch on the part of the image I want the camera to focus on.
Sent from my SM-N910U
indoor the camera sucks. the only mini fix i have found is to take iso off auto and put it on 100 for indoor shots.
Ill use the touch to take pic and try the iso at 100, i dont understand cameras lol
Also i read somewhere to put the metering mode on matrix, its comes on centre weighted so should i leave it on that?
The Note 4 camera isn't very good. For perfectly still shots it's not so bad but any movement at all and the pictures turn into a blur fest. There is something wrong with the software on the phone, there is lag in places there should not be. The note 3 out performs the 4 by a large margin. I think this lag is the reason the camera cannot handle movement. I have tested several Note 4's. Some from TMO and some from Verizon (mine is Verizon) and it affects all the ones I tested except for the demo model I tried at Target. For some reason that one blurred much less and was much quicker when snapping pictures.
I use my camera a lot, this will probably be a deal breaker for me. I was hoping to see a good rom that would fix the lag issues and hopefully the camera problems with it.
Couldnt it be fixed in a firmware update? I have also noticed it to be a bit sluggish in places.
Theres also a hair inside the camera, underneath the glass but luckily its not over the lens,theres a hair inside the heart rate sensor bit as well. So dont know if that will affect anything
Schwuar said:
Couldnt it be fixed in a firmware update? I have also noticed it to be a bit sluggish in places.
Theres also a hair inside the camera, underneath the glass but luckily its not over the lens,theres a hair inside the heart rate sensor bit as well. So dont know if that will affect anything
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That right there would be the ultimate deal breaker for me. Any hair, human or otherwise, in my phone is an automatic return or warranty repair. I can handle some non-uniformity of the screen and stuff like that, but hair? Ick.
I've noticed that the indoor camera sucks pretty bad. Everything's a bit yellowish. Images can be adjusted a bit with the included software, but still not great. Outdoor photos are not so bad. But considering how hyped the camera was on this phone, it's a major letdown.
I think the camera is great considering it's a phone and not a digital camera (people seem to forget that sometimes) Almost all Android camera's perform bad in low light because of shuttertime limitations in de Android camera API (it simply does not provide long opening times) . Not much any Android smartphone manufacturer can do about that. Also if you're using flash indoors it's a LED not Xenon flash. Even the cheapest digital camera is using a real flash and outperforms a LED flash device.
regards
Seems it will get much better possibilities in Android L
http://www.anandtech.com/show/8274/understanding-androids-camera-hal3
marleyb said:
I think the camera is great considering it's a phone and not a digital camera (people seem to forget that sometimes) Almost all Android camera's perform bad in low light because of shutertime limitations in de Android camera API (it simply does not provide long opening times) . Not much any Android smartphone manufacturer can do about that. Also if you're using flash indoors it's a LED not Xenon flash. Even the cheapest digital camera is using a real flash and outperforms a LED flash device.
regards
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All true. They just need to stop hyping these cameras as digital camera replacements and all that. It sets unrealistic expectations.
marleyb said:
I think the camera is great considering it's a phone and not a digital camera (people seem to forget that sometimes) Almost all Android camera's perform bad in low light because of shuttertime limitations in de Android camera API (it simply does not provide long opening times) . Not much any Android smartphone manufacturer can do about that. Also if you're using flash indoors it's a LED not Xenon flash. Even the cheapest digital camera is using a real flash and outperforms a LED flash device.
regards
Seems it will get much better possibilities in Android L
http://www.anandtech.com/show/8274/understanding-androids-camera-hal3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This camera is worse than what it should be. I hate to see apologists come in and make light of something that is obviously very wrong with the note 4.
TIGGAH said:
This camera is worse than what it should be. I hate to see apologists come in and make light of something that is obviously very wrong with the note 4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And your information is based on what? It's no apologize that Android camera API is limited, it's a fact. What you don't understand about that? In other words you can put a professional CCD chip in a Android phone and it can only profit to certain amount of it because of OS limitations to access the hardware. Lucky the Google developers have seen the light and in Android L there will be improvement.
Hell no! Ur camera is ok! Its just ur eyes
Sent from my SM-N910C using XDA Free mobile app
marleyb said:
And your information is based on what? It's no apologize that Android camera API is limited, it's a fact. What you don't understand about that? In other words you can put a professional CCD chip in a Android phone and it can only profit to certain amount of it because of OS limitations to access the hardware. Lucky the Google developers have seen the light and in Android L there will be improvement.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have very realistic expectations of what the camera should/can do and it doesn't do it. Also the in general lag is not right for the processor this thing has.
Like I said the note 3 has it over the 4 performance wise.
I'm hoping it's just simple software fix and things will be in an acceptable state.
TIGGAH said:
I have very realistic expectations of what the camera should/can do and it doesn't do it.
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's your expectation, I can't argue with that. I do know for sure there is no Android Smartphone on the market, which camera performs better then a cheap 60 bucks digital camera . Which is logical because of OS limitations I mentioned.
TIGGAH said:
Also the in general lag is not right for the processor this thing has.
Like I said the note 3 has it over the 4 performance wise.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The lag (if there is any) is mainly caused by TW AFAIK . I can tell you from first hand that the Note 3 does not perform better then the Note 4 as they are laying both in front of me now in my desk. Also you have take in account, that the Note 3 is longer on the market and most bugs (if any) are tackled with software updates, while the Note 4 is just 4 weeks on sale.
TIGGAH said:
I'm hoping it's just simple software fix and things will be in an acceptable state.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're disappointed in your new phone because of your own expectations, if you can't live with it ,trade it in against? Honestly I wouldn't know which phone to choose then myself.
Thanks for this thread. Its convinced me to stick with my note 3 after all. I've been waiting for an honest discussion on medium/low light shots indoors with the note 4.
Funny how no review sites pick up on this issue. Hopefully lollipop will make my note 3 take better shots anyway.
To me there is no good reason now to get a Note 4, especially with lag reports.
A n6 is maybe still a consideration having dual speakers, which is now the only significant upgrade to me. That or pass on upgrading this year.
IMO the lag on the note 4 is no worse than that on any other android phone I've had (I'm on the third plus three different tablet models) and I don't think it's all that bad.
Drop by your local store and give it a try for yourself though from what I've read, there's no compelling reason to upgrade from a note 3.
skibadee said:
Thanks for this thread. Its convinced me to stick with my note 3 after all. I've been waiting for an honest discussion on medium/low light shots indoors with the note 4.
Funny how no review sites pick up on this issue. Hopefully lollipop will make my note 3 take better shots anyway.
To me there is no good reason now to get a Note 4, especially with lag reports.
A n6 is maybe still a consideration having dual speakers, which is now the only significant upgrade to me. That or pass on upgrading this year.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some reports did compare..... and note 4 outperforms note 3 buy a huge margin.
1. Not all cameras have ois, not even the note 3. Note 4 has it and that allows for relatively long shutter speeds like 1/8s (I've seen note 4 do 1/4 once but that's rare). That's a huge upgrade from note 3.
2 . The note 4 uses sony's IMX 240 sensor which is 1/2.6 inch size. The note 3? And older generation sensor is of a smaller 1/3.06 size. Now. Note 3 is 13MP and note 4 is 16MP. So individual pixel size of both cameras is of the same 1.12 um size. However it's a known quantity that IMX 240 's has better iso performance than I'm 135. Thus note 4 should have better low light shots.
3.its been known that the note 3 takes bad low light shots due lack of ois and the old IMX135 sensor.
4. Almost all galaxy series engage in some kind of "image stacking" software to reduce noise in low light shots. Aka night mode. This is probably low light shots EXIF data is eroded .
As for the lag. What lag ? Jerkiness in viewfinder? Lag in auto focus?
From phonearena
" Outdoors at night, the Galaxy Note 4 soaks in quite a bit more light than the Galaxy Note 3, which results in more visible illuminated details at the expense of overexposure. Photos taken by the Galaxy Note 3 look decidedly darker and noisier in comparison. They are also much softer, while the Galaxy Note 4 retains fairly sharp detail. Low-light photography has seen a big improvement in the new phablet, and by dialling down the exposure setting a notch, you will emerge with more usable night photos than before. "
From Engadget
"But low-light performance is what impressed me the most about the Note 4. While ISOCELL helped improve the GS5 over the Note 3, it still wasn't very good. Optical image stabilization has made a tremendous difference here; objects that barely show up at all on other Samsung cameras can be easily seen on the Note 4. In fairness, the images still don't look as natural here as they do on the iPhone 6 Plus, but this is by far the best nighttime imaging performance I've seen on a Samsung phone."
If your note 3 does better low light shots than note 4. Your phone is probably faulty or you picked the wrong settings for the camera.
It's funny how so many people here expect unrealistic results from this camera. Is this camera better than a PnS camera? Nope.
This this camera worse? Not really.
If you're talking about junk market for PNS cameras. They use a 1/2.3 inch sensor which is not all much bigger than note 4.
A lot of them don't have OIS or Sony's newer image sensors ( Sony's sensors are widely used in many brands).Note 4's image quality is probably better
If you're talking about the mid segment. They use approx a 1/1.7 inch sensor which can probably do a little better low light shots. But they are not really cheap anymore. Eg canon s120. Olympus xz2 etc...
Note 4 loses out a bit here. But that's cause these cameras are meant to be an upgrade from smartphone cameras
If you're talking about about the premium segment. Eg canon gx7 gx1 Sony rx100. Most of them have 1 inch sensors which boast relative great low light performance.
(They still suck compared to mirrorless or dslrs though). However they are probably as expensive as your note 4 or even more.

Camera performance under low light

I found this video on youtube showing samsung galaxy s6 Edge under low light, the results are just awesome, The video also shows comparision between samsung galaxy s6 Edge and note 4 and you can clearly see the diffrence inspite of both using same shooter
Link :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mUbgwcmc5s&list=PLrkFw--v_fzN-SgjCZr_f4GdoF0jCxa4m
Note: The Video is not in English
Wow...that's so freaking impressive..
Sent from my Nexus 10 using XDA Free mobile app
wow
wow very nice
Fizuck. That's really impressive. I didn't know what he was saying, but you could hear the wonder and amazement in his voice, especially when comparing to the Note 4.
Amazing
what if the camera he is using to record the youtube video actually making environment seem darker than it actually really is? :silly:
tft said:
what if the camera he is using to record the youtube video actually making environment seem darker than it actually really is? :silly:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very possible but they did post a screenshot after the first picture was taken without the recording phone, and damn does it look good.
FINALLY!
Dude that is f1.9 for you. Huge improvement over f2.2 lens. Means a lot.
Sent from Galaxy Note 3 (The beauty & beast)
Looks great XD
WoW wanna buy it
Not that I like to link to BGR or anything but http://bgr.com/2015/03/06/galaxy-s6-vs-iphone-6-camera-comparison-low-light/ here is a low light shot comparing iPhone 6 Plus to Galaxy S6 and as you can see the iPhone SUCKED.
camera performing is a deal breaker for me; if the camera does the real things I'm all in for the edge
RaptorMD said:
Not that I like to link to BGR or anything but http://bgr.com/2015/03/06/galaxy-s6-vs-iphone-6-camera-comparison-low-light/ here is a low light shot comparing iPhone 6 Plus to Galaxy S6 and as you can see the iPhone SUCKED.
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Click to collapse
In the BGR shot especially s6 camera does not show anything better than note 4 can do currently.
f1.9 might help a faster shutter by 3-5 frames / sec indeed, but the post processing is still off ... same as note 4 i.e. extra softening of the image to reduce noise.
EDIT: In the German article "Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge: Die Kamera bei Low-light auf den Straßen Barcelonas ausprobiert" the bicycle shot between Note 4 and S6 is completely off as both are taken at different angles thus different metering and exposure results along with different set of details too.
However only found one conclusive proof and that was the in restaurant food shot. I detail checked the photos and I can confirm that Samsung has improved the post processing in S6 to a bit. Less softening and slight increase in noise has enhanced the clarity of picture. The new hardware f1.9 can seem to lighten up darker areas as well which is good but the best they have done so far is increasing the clarity by letting in a bit of noise intelligently in the post processing. Exactly this is causing 80% if the goodness here.
As far as Note 4 & iPhone6 goes, only difference that I can see is iphone is allowing much less light absorbed on sensor than note 4 by using a faster shutter by 4-5 frames and also lesser softening of the image with a bit of noise left that helps in a sharper looking picture but a darker one. Note 4 has much much more light absorbed onto the sensor thus illuminated picture but very soft look due to de-noising and then extra sharpening filter applied as well to over come it which in turns produces aliasing on the lines/borders and artifacts here and there
wow!
I got my first Iphone 6 at 3 months ago, before that i always had a Samsung made....and the iphone 6 is so boring and the low light pictures is terrible I don't like it at all!! I am so exited to get a samsung galaxy s6 edge and back to android!
Unbelievable!!!
No need for camera now.I found the curved water line on the wallpaper resembles a dancing woman. has anyone found that too?
Info
Hmmm It s the best performance i v ever seen...
:good:
Spectacular! Is this even possible? Samsung this time impress me.
Wow.. .Bow down to the king of all smart phones ..S6 EDGE
Sent from my D6503 using XDA Free mobile app
Wow...that's so freaking impressive.. amazing
I Think It's Owesome...!

Is the v20 viable upgrade to note 4 on T-Mobile?

I realize this might not be the right forum since I assume people here are going to be pro lg... But I'm seriously considering this on tmobile and I currently have a note 4.
Ive never had a phone this long (22+ months with the note 4) but I'm trying to consider upgrading but when I compare features to features I was hoping for "more"...?
The big thing is the lcd screen vs amoled screen... Just not sure..
Can anyone voice some opinions or comments? I'd appreciate it. Thanks in advance!
sure. note 4 was a great phone, and the v20 looks awesome too. my last phone was a note 4. have an s7 now and tbh, I liked the note a bit better. screen was better on the note imo, but the camera and overall speed is better on the snap 820. overall, the v20 will be so much quicker and less laggy than the note, and the LCD screens aren't bad. I enjoyed my g2 LCD screen when I had it.
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S7 using Tapatalk
jayochs said:
sure. note 4 was a great phone, and the v20 looks awesome too. my last phone was a note 4. have an s7 now and tbh, I liked the note a bit better. screen was better on the note imo, but the camera and overall speed is better on the snap 820. overall, the v20 will be so much quicker and less laggy than the note, and the LCD screens aren't bad. I enjoyed my g2 LCD screen when I had it.
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S7 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the Note 7 for a month and just recently played with the V20. I consider this an upgrade over the Note 7, so yes I would definitely consider it an upgrade over the Note 4, haha.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using XDA-Developers mobile app
I would consider it a worthy upgrade.
You're getting a removable battery
SD card expansion
IR blaster
Great camera
Great video
Better specs (soc)
Overall in keeping with the note line the v20 is more like it then the note 7 minus the stylus.
And that's really what it boils down too.
Sent from my SM-N930F using Tapatalk
Reading and watching the reviews of the v20 are driving me crazy. So many say it's amazing. The only down side I saw was camera. One video (who knows which one?) showed side by side of 4 phone's all shot the same image, the v20 didn't look as good as the others. If I find it again I'll post the link.
I'm sure that's subjective as I'm certain any flagship phone today must have an amazing camera.
Yes my n4 is about to die and I'm preordering the v20 asap
Araltd said:
Reading and watching the reviews of the v20 are driving me crazy. So many say it's amazing. The only down side I saw was camera. One video (who knows which one?) showed side by side of 4 phone's all shot the same image, the v20 didn't look as good as the others. If I find it again I'll post the link.
I'm sure that's subjective as I'm certain any flagship phone today must have an amazing camera.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's crazy to me. The camera seems to be arguably the best around. Playing with it was fun at the store. Amazing manual mode!
Sent from my SCH-I535 using XDA-Developers mobile app
PsiPhiDan said:
That's crazy to me. The camera seems to be arguably the best around. Playing with it was fun at the store. Amazing manual mode!
Sent from my SCH-I535 using XDA-Developers mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Looks like its biggest downfall is it exposes to the right by quite a bit. This causes highlights to blow pretty quickly. I've already decided I'll just dial in a little -ev if that isn't fixed in the final FW. Other than that, it sounds like everything else is just stuff you'd expect from a cellphone camera sensor. (Noise for example but I'd rather have noise than a blurry mess from aggressive noise reduction. Working with noise is pretty easy. Trying to find detail that has been obliterated before the file was written isn't.) After all, A LOT of classic photos weren't shot with massive dynamic range and no noise/grain like a lot of specs chasers want these days.
CHH2 said:
Looks like its biggest downfall is it exposes to the right by quite a bit. This causes highlights to blow pretty quickly. I've already decided I'll just dial in a little -ev if that isn't fixed in the final FW. Other than that, it sounds like everything else is just stuff you'd expect from a cellphone camera sensor. (Noise for example but I'd rather have noise than a blurry mess from aggressive noise reduction. Working with noise is pretty easy. Trying to find detail that has been obliterated before the file was written isn't.) After all, A LOT of classic photos weren't shot with massive dynamic range and no noise/grain like a lot of specs chasers want these days.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What is ev? Im coming from the note 7 and want to get the camera as good as the Note 7s. I think I am going to have to learn to use manual mode to equal the 7.
thegameksk said:
What is ev? Im coming from the note 7 and want to get the camera as good as the Note 7s. I think I am going to have to learn to use manual mode to equal the 7.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Manual is indeed the way to go when you have time to get the very best shot you can.
EV means exposure value. In this case on most cameras, you'll see a button, dial, or menu item that says EV. Once activated, you should see some sort of scale that goes from a "-" value of some sort to a "+" value usually of the same amount. There is usually a 0 in the middle which is where you will most likely find the indicator resting at if the camera hasn't been messed with previously. The 0 value just means the exposure will be shot as metered. If you dial in a "-" value, the shot will be exposed that much darker. (Or with the graph shifted to the left on a histogram.) If you dial in a "+" value, the shot will be exposed brighter by that much. (Or with the graph shifted to the right on a histogram.) In the case of what has been seen in the pre-release FW, a little bit of "-" EV will darken the overall exposure and help save some of the brighter sections (highlights) of the photo from blowing out but it could run the risk of losing the shadows to complete black. (The range of how much highlight to shadow detail that can be kept is your dynamic range. Back in the day, you could easily end up losing both ends. Now modern DSLRs have such massive dynamic range that the photos they generate can be boring without artificially compressing the DR back down.) Camera FW makers tend to have to make a choice on if they want to lean more right or left on the histogram. Looks like the pre-release software was leaning to the right which is brighter and helps reduce noise.
Sorry if that was a bit overboard of an explanation.
Wow, that's a great explanation! I actually understood (most of) that.
When I said above, about the 4 comparisons of camera quality - the v20 looked to bright or washed out, not dark enough, not saturated enough. I guess I know why now.
For those who know better than I would, let me ask this question... Being so late in the year, and with MWC at the end of February in Barcelona, do you think something "significantly" better than the v20 will be available in 4 to 6 months? I'm not sure how long the sd820 has been out? But I know the sd821 claims a 10% performance increase and is available in the Pixel now.
I guess I don't want to get the v20 and regret it soon afterwards. Just kind of talking things out with you all.
Araltd said:
Wow, that's a great explanation! I actually understood (most of) that.
When I said above, about the 4 comparisons of camera quality - the v20 looked to bright or washed out, not dark enough, not saturated enough. I guess I know why now.
For those who know better than I would, let me ask this question... Being so late in the year, and with MWC at the end of February in Barcelona, do you think something "significantly" better than the v20 will be available in 4 to 6 months? I'm not sure how long the sd820 has been out? But I know the sd821 claims a 10% performance increase and is available in the Pixel now.
I guess I don't want to get the v20 and regret it soon afterwards. Just kind of talking things out with you all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rumors of the G6 are already coming out. I am split between Samsung being extremely cautious on their next release or pushing their staff hard to get something awesome out as quickly as possible. I could see it go both ways. One being easier, one stressing the heck out of their staff. I do believe Samsung S8 rumors are now flying around. The 821 will probably be the chip in flagships for MWC.
Basically, there's always going to be something new around the corner. There's no avoiding it. It's a matter of finding something you like and can deal with on your personal upgrade window. Just buy accepting the features a phone has now and any upgrades and features added to the phone later should be regarded as bonuses.
CHH2 said:
Manual is indeed the way to go when you have time to get the very best shot you can.
EV means exposure value. In this case on most cameras, you'll see a button, dial, or menu item that says EV. Once activated, you should see some sort of scale that goes from a "-" value of some sort to a "+" value usually of the same amount. There is usually a 0 in the middle which is where you will most likely find the indicator resting at if the camera hasn't been messed with previously. The 0 value just means the exposure will be shot as metered. If you dial in a "-" value, the shot will be exposed that much darker. (Or with the graph shifted to the left on a histogram.) If you dial in a "+" value, the shot will be exposed brighter by that much. (Or with the graph shifted to the right on a histogram.) In the case of what has been seen in the pre-release FW, a little bit of "-" EV will darken the overall exposure and help save some of the brighter sections (highlights) of the photo from blowing out but it could run the risk of losing the shadows to complete black. (The range of how much highlight to shadow detail that can be kept is your dynamic range. Back in the day, you could easily end up losing both ends. Now modern DSLRs have such massive dynamic range that the photos they generate can be boring without artificially compressing the DR back down.) Camera FW makers tend to have to make a choice on if they want to lean more right or left on the histogram. Looks like the pre-release software was leaning to the right which is brighter and helps reduce noise.
Sorry if that was a bit overboard of an explanation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you. Where can I find more info on how best to play with the manual settings? Does such a thing exist?
thegameksk said:
Thank you. Where can I find more info on how best to play with the manual settings? Does such a thing exist?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I could probably find a resource after my meeting here in just a bit but most basic photo explanations should work if you look at a modern one. Just remember that the aperture is stuck at whatever it is for the respective camera. You will only get to change the speed and ISO in the exposure triangle.
thegameksk said:
Thank you. Where can I find more info on how best to play with the manual settings? Does such a thing exist?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seems there's very few resources out there that are concise and cover what one needs to know to get to manual shooting with something like this. I only had a few minutes to play with the V20 (and most of that was with the camera) so I'll try to give it a whack. First thing I'll tell you is to take a deep breath and a sigh of relief. The V20 will make learning manual a breeze!
The V20 seems to adjust the view on the screen to what settings you use. Don't use a long enough shutter speed or high enough ISO? The screen gets dark. Use too much of either or both? Screen starts to blow out. Don't have the right white balance, you'll probably see that too. (White balance can be a little tricky though. It actually wants to change the photo from what you are actually seeing to make sure whites are always white. This ends up being a little bit personal preference and you can end up with some cool effects when you learn it deeper.) What's really awesome is that manual focusing has the aid of focus peaking.
Setting your exposure usually entails the exposure triangle of aperture, shutter speed and ISO. (ISO is its own mess to explain but overly simplified, it's the "strength" but it comes with the downside of noise as it gets stronger.) Your desired exposure would be the geometric area of the triangle for the sake of analogy. You can push and pull on any of the corners of the triangle you want but if you want to keep the same area, you'll have to also push or pull on one of the other corners. On the phone cameras, the aperture is usually locked. In the case of the V20, that's 1.8 for the main camera. So you get shutter speed and ISO to play with. If you use a low ISO number, you will need to pick a slower shutter speed. If you use a higher ISO, you will pick a faster shutter speed. The view on screen will let you know if you're going in the right direction or not as I mentioned earlier.
Faster the shutter speed, the better to freeze motion. The slower shutter speed with blur motion. Lower the ISO number, the cleaner you photo will be from noise. (Shows up as a bunch of speckling, sometimes different colored speckles.) The higher the ISO number, the more noise you will see.
White balance can be set to make sure the colors hit the ideal, so whites are white without a color cast to them. This gets to be a little bit of a mental exercise. A lot of people are completely on board with the idea that if they are shooting indoors in incandescent light, they should set the WB so that the incandescent light gets filtered out and white is white again. The problem is that this isn't what you're actually seeing, you're idealizing the scene. In reality, that incandescent light is part of the "ambiance" of the scene. So the nice thing about manual WB is that you can decide which is more important to the scene, white whites or the feel the light gives to the shot.
Manual focusing can be extremely difficult without a proper aid. The V20 features focus peaking. As areas come into focus, they will light up with a bunch of glowing lines. This helps heaps.
Something else worth noting that I saw when I was playing with the V20 was flash modes. The standard no flash, forced flash and auto flash are there but there's one more denoted by a flash symbol with a "R". I'm assuming this is read curtain sync flash. Normal flash goes off at the beginning of an exposure while rear curtain goes off at the end of the exposure instead. The usual way to demo this is a car driving away at night. (Assuming we're using a flash stronger than the V20 but you'll get the idea.) With regular flash, you will have a photo of a car close to you that has trails of tail lights disappearing off into the distance. Rear curtain fixes this by having lead off to the distance where there is the car. If you use forced flash, I would tend to opt for rear curtain. Auto will use front curtain if you have that in play.
Video is whole different beast that I'm still teaching myself. I know you want to use a shutter speed that is double your frame rate. So a frame rate of 24fps would result in 1/50s shutter speed, 30fps is 1/60s, etc. The slow mo settings like 120fps require a lot of light! But there's a lot more to video that I still have to learn but as far as phones go, the V20 looks like it is way ahead of the game compared to even my DSLR.

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