[Q] So about the camera... - Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

We all know the the N4 camera is not the best, so i was just wondering if y'all have made any modifications to make the camera better? If you have can you please share. Thanks.

There are a few popular paid cameras that are supposed to be quite good. I've always been content with CM's camera (not Focal). Seems to take pictures MUCH quicker

its a camera phone, of course its not the best camera. but if you know how to use a camera, the nexus 4 does really well, using the stock camera app. check out the post your photos thread in the general section. but if you have only the basic knowledge of how to get around a camera, then i can see someone calling it inadequate. the n4 cam just needs a little more knowledge to adjust it how you need it for that certain photo, using all the settings.

simms22 said:
its a camera phone, of course its not the best camera. but if you know how to use a camera, the nexus 4 does really well, using the stock camera app. check out the post your photos thread in the general section. but if you have only the basic knowledge of how to get around a camera, then i can see someone calling it inadequate. the n4 cam just needs a little more knowledge to adjust it how you need it for that certain photo, using all the settings.
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Heh, chill. I agree that if used the right way it can take good photos. All I was asking for is if there was a way to make the process faster and up to standard of the other "Camera phones"as you put it.

rockstarindian1 said:
Heh, chill.
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lol
i was just saying that i like really the camera. and that it gets put down without a real reason, because its being compared it to cameras from phones that cost $600+. its actually a decent camera, especially for the price of the phone. someones got to stick up for it :angel:

ziddey said:
There are a few popular paid cameras that are supposed to be quite good. I've always been content with CM's camera (not Focal). Seems to take pictures MUCH quicker
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Honestly I tried focal today and I was not impressed by it in its early stages. The focus is very hard to adjust and takes forever to focus correctly... The exposure bubble also has to move around to achieve maximum results. Overall it might be a good camera with a lot of options, but you have to be very professional in order to use all of them and know exactly which ones to use at certain times. The stock camera was made for an average consumer but focal was made for a photographer. Here I will show you some tests I did with stock vs focal...
First is stock then Focal.
In the first two pictures the Focal picture has a much lower resolution than stock (I didn't notice that until now) they were both taken in automatic mode with no adjustments. You can tell how much more saturation Focal has but it just can't seem to focus as good as stock.
The second two pictures were taken with flash and in night mode at the same resolution. Once again you can see how much more saturated the colors are on Focal. While stock is a much more sharper image without any blur
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

simms22 said:
lol
i was just saying that i like really the camera. and that it gets put down without a real reason, because its being compared it to cameras from phones that cost $600+. its actually a decent camera, especially for the price of the phone. someones got to stick up for it :angel:
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No it definitely gets more flak than it deserves.

aanonymoushuman said:
Honestly I tried focal today and I was not impressed by it in its early stages. The focus is very hard to adjust and takes forever to focus correctly... The exposure bubble also has to move around to achieve maximum results. Overall it might be a good camera with a lot of options, but you have to be very professional in order to use all of them and know exactly which ones to use at certain times. The stock camera was made for an average consumer but focal was made for a photographer. Here I will show you some tests I did with stock vs focal...
First is stock then Focal.
In the first two pictures the Focal picture has a much lower resolution than stock (I didn't notice that until now) they were both taken in automatic mode with no adjustments. You can tell how much more saturation Focal has but it just can't seem to focus as good as stock.
The second two pictures were taken with flash and in night mode at the same resolution. Once again you can see how much more saturated the colors are on Focal. While stock is a much more sharper image without any blur
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
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Yeah, i've tried a few 3rd party camera apps too. Most either tend to result in very unnatural looking pics or they are pretty much stock with a different UI :I

I've never had overall success with any camera app besides stock. It does everything pretty good.

@aanonymoushuman.
Dem toes...
I bet you can hang from a tree branch by your feet with those bad boys.

simms22 said:
its a camera phone, of course its not the best camera. but if you know how to use a camera, the nexus 4 does really well, using the stock camera app. check out the post your photos thread in the general section. but if you have only the basic knowledge of how to get around a camera, then i can see someone calling it inadequate. the n4 cam just needs a little more knowledge to adjust it how you need it for that certain photo, using all the settings.
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i am one of those people that knows next to nothing. i've tried asking in the past but never got much of a solution. it seems to me that every picture i take with it is very blue or purplish. are there any simple tips on how to easily correct this?

estallings15 said:
@aanonymoushuman.
Dem toes...
I bet you can hang from a tree branch by your feet with those bad boys.
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Click to collapse
+1

Related

Camera is pathetic!

With any of the 2.1 roms out my camera is just either slow or takes blurry pictures. 5 PIXELS MY ASS. WTF!
Sent from my HERO200 using the XDA mobile application powered by Tapatalk
I have issues even with my 1.5 stock, slow to shoot, slow to record, just overall slow.
marcusva79 said:
With any of the 2.1 roms out my camera is just either slow or takes blurry pictures. 5 PIXELS MY ASS. WTF!
Sent from my HERO200 using the XDA mobile application powered by Tapatalk
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I don't have any issues. Perhaps you have a hardware problem?
No issues here either. My pictures come out crystal clear. Lay off the cocaine and your hands wont shake so much
mine is the same, has a white haze in any pic i take. i think it has something to do with the 2.1 builds.
Sent from my HTC Heroc using the XDA mobile application powered by Tapatalk
The HTC hero definitely has a poor quality camera. It is because the light sensor has trouble working too well in dark environments. Also, the shutter speed is very very slow, the slowest shutter speed of any digital camera i've ever used on any phone.
On 2.1(any rom) it seems the shutter speed is even slower. This is probably due to a bug in the 2.1 camera driver.
Take a picture on your HTC hero with 2.1 of something that's moving. I guarantee you it will be VERY blurry. Take it with 1.5, it will still be blurry, but not nearly so much.
Now take it with, for example, the droid. It will come out perfectly on the motorola droid running 2.1 with it's 5MP camera.
Megapixels don't equal quality level >> http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/mpmyth.htm
Pro tip: In camera, under settings, manually set ISO to 800. You'll get much better pictures. under 1.5 or 2.x the auto iso is crap.
If you still get lousy pics, check your lighting, and clean the camera lens cover.
If you STILL get lousy pics, take the phone back and get a refurb replacement.
hahah the camera is just lousy. tried doing a fix and yadda yadda. everything is blurry. maybe it is cocsine hands haha
Sent from my HERO200 using the XDA mobile application powered by Tapatalk
smw6180 said:
Pro tip: In camera, under settings, manually set ISO to 800. You'll get much better pictures. under 1.5 or 2.x the auto iso is crap.
If you still get lousy pics, check your lighting, and clean the camera lens cover.
If you STILL get lousy pics, take the phone back and get a refurb replacement.
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What he said. I was almost as disappointed with the Hero camera as I was with the Moment. However if you set it to 800 and make sure you change the lighting manually too you can take pretty good pics. Not as good as we would all like, but still good.
ok hate to break it to ya but you are talking about a camera on a cell phone.
first just becuase it has 5 MP doesnt mean a dam thing I can get the same quality photo from a 2mp point and shoot as I can from my 24.5mp DSLR all the MP really mean is that you can enlarge the photo more without degredation.
second follow the instructions above they will gain you a few stops of shutter speed since being on auto probably keeps it at around 200-400 as that is normal native ISO.
after that go into settings and unless you are taking a bunch of photos of landscapes change your metering mode to center or spot if you are mainly taking photos of people then this is going to give you a better exposure of the person.
in my opinion this is why cell phones dont need these kinds of cameras on them. they give a more functional and customizable camera and instead of trying to understand basic camera functions people are just going to say "this camera is crap"
ok hate to break it to ya but you are talking about a camera on a cell phone.
first just becuase it has 5 MP doesnt mean a dam thing I can get the same quality photo from a 2mp point and shoot as I can from my 24.5mp DSLR all the MP really mean is that you can enlarge the photo more without degredation.
second follow the instructions above they will gain you a few stops of shutter speed since being on auto probably keeps it at around 200-400 as that is normal native ISO.
after that go into settings and unless you are taking a bunch of photos of landscapes change your metering mode to center or spot if you are mainly taking photos of people then this is going to give you a better exposure of the person.
in my opinion this is why cell phones dont need these kinds of cameras on them. they give a more functional and customizable camera and instead of trying to understand basic camera functions people are just going to say "this camera is crap"[/QUOTE
pretty soon cameras will be just as good on a cell phone as without. technology is getting better. my bro has the droid and the camera is 5x better than the hero. haha
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Pro tip: In camera, under settings, manually set ISO to 800. You'll get much better pictures. under 1.5 or 2.x the auto iso is crap.
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Uh...I don't have an ISO option under settings.
ramiss said:
Uh...I don't have an ISO option under settings.
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Then your camera app is busted.
You started the camera, pulled out the tab, then tapped on the 'gears' (for settings) right?
No issues here either. My pictures come out crystal clear. Lay off the cocaine and your hands wont shake so much
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Damn I really thought it was the camera!
Sent from my HERO200 using the XDA mobile application powered by Tapatalk
marcusva79 said:
ok hate to break it to ya but you are talking about a camera on a cell phone.
first just becuase it has 5 MP doesnt mean a dam thing I can get the same quality photo from a 2mp point and shoot as I can from my 24.5mp DSLR all the MP really mean is that you can enlarge the photo more without degredation.
second follow the instructions above they will gain you a few stops of shutter speed since being on auto probably keeps it at around 200-400 as that is normal native ISO.
after that go into settings and unless you are taking a bunch of photos of landscapes change your metering mode to center or spot if you are mainly taking photos of people then this is going to give you a better exposure of the person.
in my opinion this is why cell phones dont need these kinds of cameras on them. they give a more functional and customizable camera and instead of trying to understand basic camera functions people are just going to say "this camera is crap"[/QUOTE
pretty soon cameras will be just as good on a cell phone as without. technology is getting better. my bro has the droid and the camera is 5x better than the hero. haha
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Sent via the XDA Tapatalk App
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ummmm no they wont....... they cant be the laws of physics wont allow a lens that is the size of a thumb tack to reproduce and image as well as an optically aligned lens no amount of software can fix opticaly inferiorority.
but im not going to argue with you about it becuase it people like you that think that just because you have a digital camera that your a "photographer" and cheapen the art that many people persuewith passion.
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wtphoto said:
ummmm no they wont....... they cant be the laws of physics wont allow a lens that is the size of a thumb tack to reproduce and image as well as an optically aligned lens no amount of software can fix opticaly inferiorority.
but im not going to argue with you about it becuase it people like you that think that just because you have a digital camera that your a "photographer" and cheapen the art that many people persuewith passion.
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I agree. Not every idiot with a camera is a photographer. Mostly they're just idiots.
There's just no way around it, the Hero's camera is rather disappointing hardware wise, however it is on par with most other (lower end) cell phone cameras. It works for quick snapshots like it was designed, so I don't really complain.
noobmodder said:
There's just no way around it, the Hero's camera is rather disappointing hardware wise, however it is on par with most other (lower end) cell phone cameras. It works for quick snapshots like it was designed, so I don't really complain.
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Exactly. It is what it IS. It's not MEANT to take professional grade wedding photos...or photos that you plan to keep forever. It's meant for pictures to be shared on facebook, or flickr. More for social networking than 'hey, let's take all our vacation photos with the phone!'.
smw6180 said:
I agree. Not every idiot with a camera is a photographer. Mostly they're just idiots.
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That is ridiculous. So what if i'm not a "professional" photographer. I STILL WANT high quality images when I DO decide to take a photo.
And guess what, the Motorola Droid, which is a cellphone if I am not mistaken..., can take pictures that are FAR higher quality than the HTC Hero.
The reason the hero's camera is so terrible is because of
1. The light sensor
2. Shutter speed
Now maybe I am wrong and the Droid really is a digital camera and that's why it is higher quality, but I have a feeling that HTC just put a ****ty camera on this phone...

Is THIS really all the camera is capable of?!?

Or is mine bad?!? Seriously, is no one else getting this problem with blown highlights and over-exposure, or are y'all accepting it? I bought this phone for its "superior camera" and while yes it can take pictures in low light I was not willing to give up taking good pictures in good lighting >8(
I installed Android Revolution 8, then 9, to get the "updated" camera- stock kernel, Dev. Ed.
Attached photo taken with stock camera with auto settings, no custom settings, no hdr (though that has been disappointing as well). Oh and white balance was about 5-800 Kelvin too yellow as well... (sigh)
So do I send it back to get cameras as good as everyone else's or start watching the Sony rumors again? Because my 18 month old Galaxy Note could get this picture right...
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2
The camera is awesome, its just you have to play around with the settings. Cange the sharpness to -1 and contrast to +1 for day light pictures. Also focus manually before taking pics.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using XDA Premium HD app
What were u expecting from a phone camera?
If you want realy good pictures you need to buy a good standalone camera..
The time isnt still there (and will be for along time) before phone cameras can compete with good standalone cameras...
I also find the camera disappointing. I love the software features like Zoe, but I personally can't rely on this camera to quickly capture a good picture. And I don't think the low light performance is very good either.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
Those pictures do not look nearly as good as pictures I have taken with mine,using stock settings. Here's a couple for example. The pictures look a lot better in original format as well in full resolution.
Sent from my HTC One using xda premium
I love this camera, it lacks the raw specs but it manages to capture those special moments very well, better than even a camera.
The camera has impressed me so far, especially the speed and the amazing colours.
Completely stock trickdroid settings for camera here
@jeeptrash love your cat
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 4 Beta
My camera is working fine too
it's not perfect but it works
john291 said:
What were u expecting from a phone camera?
If you want realy good pictures you need to buy a good standalone camera..
The time isnt still there (and will be for along time) before phone cameras can compete with good standalone cameras...
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John, my expectations are to not move BACKWARD in quality. Trust me I carry my X100 half the time, but the other half this phone was supposed to fill in and it doesn't cut it.
It's your phone also blowing highlights and having white balance problems? I'm trying to understand if this behavior is typical or not.
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2
The overexposure thing is a little annoying it's true. HDR mode seems to recover lost shadow detail but doesn't seem to help with blown-out highlights.
Setting contrast to +1 is definitely *not* going to help it.
When you know there will be difficult highlights, setting exposure to -1 in normal non-HDR mode seems like the only response. Not ideal I know. Especially when making such a simple, temporary adjustment requires a lot of fiddling around with menus.
Yep, been playin with my camera all day, had no work in. Found the adjustment settings werent fine enough - swung too much one way or the other on +/- 1.
And indoor pictures where theres any daylight showing (doors/windows etc) caused the images to be washed out, even when focused on the lightest part first.
I think the hardware is fine, just some software improvements are needed. So its not all bad.
davedigerati said:
John, my expectations are to not move BACKWARD in quality. Trust me I carry my X100 half the time, but the other half this phone was supposed to fill in and it doesn't cut it.
It's your phone also blowing highlights and having white balance problems? I'm trying to understand if this behavior is typical or not.
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2
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Hello yes it have the white balance problems sometimes..
I think they need to finetune the software better..
But it can also make some nice pictures too...
But a fine tuned software would be great..
---------- Post added at 10:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:07 PM ----------
davedigerati said:
John, my expectations are to not move BACKWARD in quality. Trust me I carry my X100 half the time, but the other half this phone was supposed to fill in and it doesn't cut it.
It's your phone also blowing highlights and having white balance problems? I'm trying to understand if this behavior is typical or not.
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2
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By the way this was a simple picture i took out of my window..
Here i like the shadow detail and the natural look of it..
The camera does over expose yes. If you want an easy to use camera. Get the S4/iPhone 5.
Can you control, ISO, shutter speed, Exposure compensation?
Turn ISO off automatic and set it to like 50
Terrorantula said:
Can you control, ISO, shutter speed, Exposure compensation?
Turn ISO off automatic and set it to like 50
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You can control iso but you cant get below 100..
The shutter speed cant be controlled manual..
The exposure can be set.
Terrorantula said:
Can you control, ISO, shutter speed, Exposure compensation?
Turn ISO off automatic and set it to like 50
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Click to collapse
ISO & exposure yes, you can, and even better if you want to monkey with settings for every shot I recommend FV-5 which I use frequently
https://play.google.com/store/apps/...NvbS5mbGF2aW9uZXQuYW5kcm9pZC5jYW1lcmEucHJvIl0.
The point of my post though is not to find workarounds but to see if this is COMMON, or my camera chip has issues.
I'm puzzled by the lack of complaints out there and feel like the photo I posted was a good example of average sunny day conditions, done badly. Indoors, low light, we're fine, it's the sunny days that are the issue.
Everyone quiet means either
a) everyone is accepting poor quality sunny day photos
b) my camera has issues and everyone else's is fine
c) everyone is feeling a little bit bad that the camera they were promised would offer 'a great leap in the quality of point-and-shoot photos and video' (http://www.htc.com/www/zoe/) frankly isn't, and reluctant to say so, or
d) other?
So everyone shooting sunny day pics please chime, in I appreciate your input- if your pics are coming out great without clipping I'll start the RMA process, or if yours are getting blown I'll fire up the angry fan-boi machine and pester every HTC channel I can hit with requests for a camera update.
Cheers,
Dave
The latter option.
I second, go for the latter
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app
davedigerati said:
ISO & exposure yes, you can, and even better if you want to monkey with settings for every shot I recommend FV-5 which I use frequently
https://play.google.com/store/apps/...NvbS5mbGF2aW9uZXQuYW5kcm9pZC5jYW1lcmEucHJvIl0.
The point of my post though is not to find workarounds but to see if this is COMMON, or my camera chip has issues.
I'm puzzled by the lack of complaints out there and feel like the photo I posted was a good example of average sunny day conditions, done badly. Indoors, low light, we're fine, it's the sunny days that are the issue.
Everyone quiet means either
a) everyone is accepting poor quality sunny day photos
b) my camera has issues and everyone else's is fine
c) everyone is feeling a little bit bad that the camera they were promised would offer 'a great leap in the quality of point-and-shoot photos and video' (http://www.htc.com/www/zoe/) frankly isn't, and reluctant to say so, or
d) other?
So everyone shooting sunny day pics please chime, in I appreciate your input- if your pics are coming out great without clipping I'll start the RMA process, or if yours are getting blown I'll fire up the angry fan-boi machine and pester every HTC channel I can hit with requests for a camera update.
Cheers,
Dave
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I have posted few times in this forum about disappointing camera or my expectation is too high. Maybe the next HTC software update would fix them. I like the speakers though which is undeniable to be the best.
Camera is superb.
But it's not all things to all men. If you prepared to fanny around with lighting, settings, angles etc for a photo, and expect a high res masterpiece, this isn't your bag. If you want a point and shoot camera which takes nr unbeatable pictures quickly, then this is it.
Mega bright lights will screw any photo up. Your picture is remarkable given the phone was able to cope at all.
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2

Dealbreaker?

Hey guys, I've had my Moto X for a week now and I might return to my Note 3. I really like this phone overall, but man the camera really is that bad. I read all the stories but hoped the update would be good enough for me. Unfortunately it hasn't been.
I can't even imagine how bad the camera must have been before the update. The camera is simply dreadful. Do I have a defective Moto X or is it really this bad?
If I'm not outside on a sunny day or in a really well lit room, it's the worst camera I've ever had on any smartphone that I've ever owned. And that includes phones from over 4 years ago. Is it really this bad?
Here are some sample shots. I took these same shots with my Note 3, and those shots blew these away. I will try to post those later.
Sent from my XT1058 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Yes, It is that bad. Coming from a S4 and I know what you mean. But I still love being free with a unlocked bootlaoder and would not go back.
Ughh, I was afraid of that. I really like the phone, but not sure I can deal with this. Thanks bro.
Sent from my XT1058 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
I don't think the camera is bad at all. I didn't get to experience how it was before any of the updates though.
So far color representation looks to be spot on. I was even impressed by the low light quality. I took a picture last night in a dimly lit room and was astounded at how good the picture came out. It's way better than my last phone (EVO 3D).
ahhh ya i came from an iPhone 4 which is 3.5 yrs old and the camera on that was better in every category except low light performance.
Are you using HDR?
I also see that your flash seems to be firing. I have Auto Flash OFF because the pictures to look very washed out with the bright white flash. I find that the camera works much better and has much better saturation in lower light with the flash off.
If I'm just taking a picture of a list or piece of paper and I only need to be able to see/read it, I use the flash, otherwise I keep the flash off for "nice" photos.
Have you tried using any camera apps. I would recommend the following two apps :"a Better Camera "almost fully functional in the free version and FV-5, a paid app and I don't believe there is a trial version. I have been experimenting with both apps and have been quiet successful getting some really decent low light shots. Both apps allow you to set the ISO level and "a Better Camera" allows you to set the amount of noise reduction for low light shots (the options are None, Minor & Hard). Worth trying out either app in my opinion.
Sent from my XT1060 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
I've got pics of the kids inside at night, with flash on... And the pics are easy better than my s2 was. I find background light can make the pic taking tricky tho. I have to move slightly one easy or the other and when I get it right the pics are just fine. Maybe other phones handle background light easier.... But with a little practise, I find this camera pretty good.
That's just me.
Sent from my XT1058 using Tapatalk
---------- Post added at 12:10 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:08 PM ----------
And yes... Sometimes you think you need a flash inside... When you don't. And the pics are easy better with no flash. Again... I had to play around and get to know how and where the best pics turn out.
But again.... I'm one of those, it's just a phone camera guys... I'm maybe not as picky. I'm not trying to sell my pics, so I'm happy. If I know I want to take very good pics somewhere... In advance... I bring my camera.
Sent from my XT1058 using Tapatalk
Right about now it would be nice to see 4.4.2 with camera update. Noise/quality are un-exeptable for a $500+ phone. Yes S4 is night and day difference with Moto X in camera.
S4 was the FIRST camera in phone that I used and I took many pictures, most came out usable and some pretty impressive. With MX, most pictures indoors I cant even look at.....I delete all of them right away.
The only place I find camera quality to be bad is in low light, but it's not the hardware, it's the software. The camera software just sets the ISO higher than it should and overexposes everything in low light. I use FV-5 to manually set a lower ISO and manually set the metering point so that it doesn't overexpose the shot, and then I can get great shots in low light. If you don't know a little about cameras or aren't willing to take the time to manually adjust low light shots though, you'll be disappointed. In decent lighting I can get some great shots even with the stock camera app though, especially with HDR.
gtg465x said:
The only place I find camera quality to be bad is in low light, but it's not the hardware, it's the software. The camera software just sets the ISO higher than it should and overexposes everything in low light. I use FV-5 to manually set a lower ISO and manually set the metering point so that it doesn't overexpose the shot, and then I can get great shots in low light. If you don't know a little about cameras or aren't willing to take the time to manually adjust low light shots though, you'll be disappointed. In decent lighting I can get some great shots even with the stock camera app though, especially with HDR.
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Perhaps you are right. But how hard is it for a TEAM of developers at Motorola/Google to figure this out ? We are on 2nd camera update here its still ****
PS. on S4 I used only 2 modes and didnt even touch settings, Auto and Night Mode......thats all I needed to take excellent photos.
few night/low light shots from S4, last one was taken in almost complete darkness, camera just picked up light from night club flashing lights
I agree. I love this phone but the camera sucks. Snoop Dogg came to my Christmas party and I was so excited to get some shots.
They all came out blurry all my buddies with S4s got killer shots. I don't know, maybe I'll blame it on the alcohol....
That ticked me off a bit.
Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk
gtg465x said:
The only place I find camera quality to be bad is in low light, but it's not the hardware, it's the software. The camera software just sets the ISO higher than it should and overexposes everything in low light. I use FV-5 to manually set a lower ISO and manually set the metering point so that it doesn't overexpose the shot, and then I can get great shots in low light. If you don't know a little about cameras or aren't willing to take the time to manually adjust low light shots though, you'll be disappointed. In decent lighting I can get some great shots even with the stock camera app though, especially with HDR.
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This. For low light shots, I either use fv5 or take the photos with the stock camera and run them through Perfectly clear. I've gotten a lot of fantastic shots with my X. Low-light is the only setting in which I need to kind of finagle anything.
WizeGuyDezignz said:
Hey guys, I've had my Moto X for a week now and I might return to my Note 3. I really like this phone overall, but man the camera really is that bad. I read all the stories but hoped the update would be good enough for me. Unfortunately it hasn't been.
I can't even imagine how bad the camera must have been before the update. The camera is simply dreadful. Do I have a defective Moto X or is it really this bad?
If I'm not outside on a sunny day or in a really well lit room, it's the worst camera I've ever had on any smartphone that I've ever owned. And that includes phones from over 4 years ago. Is it really this bad?
Here are some sample shots. I took these same shots with my Note 3, and those shots blew these away. I will try to post those later.
Sent from my XT1058 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
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if you take a pic of your tree with an SLR with the same exposure settings and you'll get an equally awful pic.
honestly i think the camera on the X is fine. i think it could be better but i think overall its a pretty good camera, on par with some point and shoots i've used. it all comes down to lighting, plus the HDR mode really helps.
Been using Camera FV-5 for whenever I need low light shots. First one is the stock camera app and the second shot is via Camera FV-5. These were shot in very low light conditions.
il buono said:
Been using Camera FV-5 for whenever I need low light shots. First one is the stock camera app and the second shot is via Camera FV-5. These were shot in very low light conditions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Gonna give it a try. Big difference there
kolyan said:
Gonna give it a try. Big difference there
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
CameraZoomFX lets you pick the ISO setting too, which could increase the exposure.
640k said:
if you take a pic of your tree with an SLR with the same exposure settings and you'll get an equally awful pic.
honestly i think the camera on the X is fine. i think it could be better but i think overall its a pretty good camera, on par with some point and shoots i've used. it all comes down to lighting, plus the HDR mode really helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am curious if these photos were taken with the stock camera app or a 3rd party app?
Sent from my XT1060 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
telefoner said:
I am curious if these photos were taken with the stock camera app or a 3rd party app?
Sent from my XT1060 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Stock. You can tell from the image properties.
EDIT: I take it back. There's no specific information that says what app took the pic, only what device. Technically we're talking about the inability of the Moto X's sensor to perform adequately. Different apps can force different settings/processing techniques, but you're still limited to the sensor/lens capability of the device.
Here's a CameraZoomFX photo taken with a DROID4:
It's all about lighting.
I'm with you on this one WizeGuy. At first I didn't think the camera was as bad as people said it was. But after using it in the wild and over the course of a week, it really is disappointing. The biggest issue for me is consistency. I CAN get a decent shot if I try to. Low light performance is terrible however and it's really tough to get a good shot most of the time. I was also coming from an S4 and didn't expect it to be on the same level obviously, but now that I've played with it enough, I'm positive even my S3 was better overall. In fact, I've been comparing it with an old iPhone 4S and I couldn't say it's better than that camera (except when there is ample lighting). I take a lot of pictures and it is important to me. Yes it is a camera phone, but downgrading is harder to accept than I thought it would be. I guess I value something that is consistent and easy in auto mode when it comes to my phone. Much sadder is the fact that I really like everything else about this phone, much more than the s4. I prefer the size the moto x by far to anything out there, but the nexus 5 is tempting me right now.

Note 3 camera blur/post processing

Well, hello there,
as you Note 3 owners probably noticed, the Samsung Camera Stock app applies a heavy (!!) blur filter on every picture. Why? Don't know, because it's the Samsung way. My Note 1 made far better and sharper pictures.
But fear not, there is a solution. There is an App called "FV5" in the store which has far less agressive post processing and is much sharper. Here is a comparison.
You should really get rid of the stock-app, I suggest. It's horrible and there is much more in the Note 3 camera when we thought so far. It's pretty ok in combination with the right app.
Stock:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/g1g4kxw65e8gkzf/20140106_092845.jpg
FV5:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/1rb0qp0qzxs09ck/DSC_0089.JPG
I have FV5 and Snap camera, but I rarely use my camera unless it's for a drunken pic of something stupid. - Haven't really tested the differences in any of them either. But I will later today
I've had mine little over a week and have to say I have been far from impressed with the pictures it takes.
descb600f said:
I've had mine little over a week and have to say I have been far from impressed with the pictures it takes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The hardware itself is pretty good. It just needs the right software to drive it. Without the blur of the stock app you can make nice pictures.
Sephi said:
Well, hello there,
as you Note 3 owners probably noticed, the Samsung Camera Stock app applies a heavy (!!) blur filter on every picture. Why? Don't know, because it's the Samsung way. My Note 1 made far better and sharper pictures.
But fear not, there is a solution. There is an App called "FV5" in the store which has far less agressive post processing and is much sharper. Here is a comparison.
You should really get rid of the stock-app, I suggest. It's horrible and there is much more in the Note 3 camera when we thought so far. It's pretty ok in combination with the right app.
Stock:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/g1g4kxw65e8gkzf/20140106_092845.jpg
FV5:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/1rb0qp0qzxs09ck/DSC_0089.JPG
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have noticed that the first image is 9.6 Mp whilst the second is full 13mp
The default setting is 16:9 aspect ratio
Try setting 13mp in standard camera app then repeat your test.
Certainly FV5 has a lot of flexibility if you're familiar with photography settings
Sent from my SM-N9005 using xda app-developers app
I know that was a mistake I made. But fear not, that is not the issue here. In fact it does barely make a difference. It's the Stock-Apps post processing that kills all image quality. FV5 is far superior.
Sephi said:
I know that was a mistake I made. But fear not, that is not the issue here. In fact it does barely make a difference. It's the Stock-Apps post processing that kills all image quality. FV5 is far superior.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've also noticed a slight blur with the AOSP Camera app under CM 11. But at least there is no annoying post-processing. I would say the stock camera app does provide the best image quality results, due to the post-processing, since the hardware by itself is nothing incredible (the sensor is rather small compared to the sensors used in the latest Sony and Nokia phones). A bigger sensor not only enables greater detail, but when combined with OIS (like in the aforementioned phones), minimizes blur as well. I tried the FV app, and while it has a lot of added functionality, I did not like the layout in which they were implemented, and the picture quality was similar to the stock Samsung app. If the Lenovo Super Camera app worked on my ROM, that would probably be the best alternative.
semendemon said:
I've also noticed a slight blur with the AOSP Camera app under CM 11. But at least there is no annoying post-processing. I would say the stock camera app does provide the best image quality results, due to the post-processing, since the hardware by itself is nothing incredible (the sensor is rather small compared to the sensors used in the latest Sony and Nokia phones). A bigger sensor not only enables greater detail, but when combined with OIS (like in the aforementioned phones), minimizes blur as well. I tried the FV app, and while it has a lot of added functionality, I did not like the layout in which they were implemented, and the picture quality was similar to the stock Samsung app. If the Lenovo Super Camera app worked on my ROM, that would probably be the best alternative.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, but the Stock Camera App from Samsung applies HEAVY post processing. It basically blurs the whole image, all sharpness is gone. It's horrible. FV5 does take much better pictures.
Sephi said:
You should really get rid of the stock-app, I suggest. It's horrible and there is much more in the Note 3 camera when we thought so far. It's pretty ok in combination with the right app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good find, seems like a nice app, the stock camera app really is garbage.
Kinda funny, i come from a z1 and i take better pics with my note 3 in low light i just play with ev and iso
Lexrg said:
Kinda funny, i come from a z1 and i take better pics with my note 3 in low light i just play with ev and iso
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You will take even better pictures with FV5. The stock apps noise filter is so heavy that it blurs everything, imo it's impossible to shoot a really sharp picture. It's always kinda blurry.
Take some photos and compare, it's super obvious.

Photographer's perspective on the LG G3

These topics have been widely discussed, I just find this funny. I do professional photography, and I thought this phone would be great for me. Not only could I show off my photos on a glorious 2k screen, but it was supposed to have a great off-duty camera as well. Ironically, it's instead hitting some photographer pet peeves real bad.
1) The screen sharpening is bad. I see amateur photographers get over enthusiastic on sharpening, cause the sharper the better, right? No, you make ugly artifacts like halos. Now my entire phone does it nonstop. It hurts! This goes beyond the font issue that's widely been talked about. I love viewing photos through my Nexus 7 or HTC M7 because it's like looking through a window. Photos on the G3 just look artifical.
2) Another is the camera noise reduction. Noise is bad, so let's crank the noise reduction. No, some grain and more detail is much preferable to pics that look like watercolors.
3) I knew this one going in, but as the Andantech review pointed out, the color accuracy is bad. I can spend time editing a photo on my phone and paste it to Facebook, just to realize once I'm viewing on a pc that the pic looks nothing like my meticulous edit. Great.
I know I'm hypersensitive to these issues because of my profession. My wife didn't notice the sharpening. But it's funny that what I thought would be my ideal phone is such the opposite.
supposedmonster said:
3) I knew this one going in, but as the Andantech review pointed out, the color accuracy is bad. I can spend time editing a photo on my phone and paste it to Facebook, just to realize once I'm viewing on a pc that the pic looks nothing like my meticulously edit. Great.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How long ago was last time you calibrated your PC monitor? Does your monitor have sRGB mode? And, BTW, maybe you even use some notebook with cheap junky TN panel in the first place? :laugh:
I use an ASUS PA246 wide gamut monitor regularly calibrated with a Colormunki Display, so yes, I have a good benchmark.
Sent from my LG-D851 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
supposedmonster said:
so yes, I have a good benchmark.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad for you, well then did you try to compare pix from the net to view both on monitor and on G3 and compare colors? Like I did
Check that topic also, maybe you bought G3 with blueish panel
Man this was not an easy shot to pull off. It's hard to tell from the pic, but LG is on the left and Nexus 7 is on the bottom. The LG would equate to quite a few notches of saturation boost in Lightroom.
This photo doesn't quite show it well, but the Nexus is actually slightly less saturated than the calibrated monitor.
The colors aren't that bad in either devices (I mean you can only expect so much, I get these aren't meant to be crazy calibrated panels), but I'd rather edit on the Nexus and find them slightly more vibrant on other devices than on the LG and find it decidedly dull.
Sent from my LG-D851 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
supposedmonster said:
These topics have been widely discussed, I just find this funny. I do professional photography, and I thought this phone would be great for me. Not only could I show off my photos on a glorious 2k screen, but it was supposed to have a great off-duty camera as well. Ironically, it's instead hitting some photographer pet peeves real bad.
1) The screen sharpening is bad. I see amateur photographers get over enthusiastic on sharpening, cause the sharper the better, right? No, you make ugly artifacts like halos. Now my entire phone does it nonstop. It hurts! This goes beyond the font issue that's widely been talked about. I love viewing photos through my Nexus 7 or HTC M7 because it's like looking through a window. Photos on the G3 just look artifical.
2) Another is the camera noise reduction. Noise is bad, so let's crank the noise reduction. No, some grain and more detail is much preferable to pics that look like watercolors.
3) I knew this one going in, but as the Andantech review pointed out, the color accuracy is bad. I can spend time editing a photo on my phone and paste it to Facebook, just to realize once I'm viewing on a pc that the pic looks nothing like my meticulous edit. Great.
I know I'm hypersensitive to these issues because of my profession. My wife didn't notice the sharpening. But it's funny that what I thought would be my ideal phone is such the opposite.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm just curious about number 3 up there, and I'm not trying to be an ass, but why would any professional photographer spend time editing a photo on a phone meticulously, instead of putting the photo on the PC and editing it with PS? I mean, if you edit it with the PC, its a lot easier, and you also get a WYSIWYG.
Haha, well my camera has WiFi. When in on vacation it's fun being able to post professional quality pics to social media from my phone.
Sent from my LG-D851 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
The G3 display can be somewhat manually adjusted in color contrast, did you tweak it a bit? Maybe it'll improve.
Thanks, I have read about that. Without being able to use a preview image to calibrate I think it'd drive me crazy. Plus I doubt it'll help because it seems to only adjust color and contrast, not saturation, which is the bigger issue.
What bugs me more though is the sharpening, but I have faith that'll be fixed either by LG or the community since enough people have raised a hallaboo.
Sent from my LG-D851 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
I can live with the screen sharpening (since it's all software and don't affect the photos themselves). I can also live with so-so color reproduction. But gawd, that NR pisses me off. What's the point of having a good sensor when you're gonna mess up the photos with mediocre processing. That being said... photos still look pretty decent in good lighting ;P
supposedmonster said:
These topics have been widely discussed, I just find this funny. I do professional photography, and I thought this phone would be great for me. Not only could I show off my photos on a glorious 2k screen, but it was supposed to have a great off-duty camera as well. Ironically, it's instead hitting some photographer pet peeves real bad.
1) The screen sharpening is bad. I see amateur photographers get over enthusiastic on sharpening, cause the sharper the better, right? No, you make ugly artifacts like halos. Now my entire phone does it nonstop. It hurts! This goes beyond the font issue that's widely been talked about. I love viewing photos through my Nexus 7 or HTC M7 because it's like looking through a window. Photos on the G3 just look artifical.
2) Another is the camera noise reduction. Noise is bad, so let's crank the noise reduction. No, some grain and more detail is much preferable to pics that look like watercolors.
3) I knew this one going in, but as the Andantech review pointed out, the color accuracy is bad. I can spend time editing a photo on my phone and paste it to Facebook, just to realize once I'm viewing on a pc that the pic looks nothing like my meticulous edit. Great.
I know I'm hypersensitive to these issues because of my profession. My wife didn't notice the sharpening. But it's funny that what I thought would be my ideal phone is such the opposite.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am sorry but you have me totally confused.......
I agree the G3 does have over sharpening which depending on how and what you shoot can have detrimental effects on the scene shot.
However, why on earth are you getting so annoyed with what is in effect simply a smartphone camera sensor?
Although I do not take photos as a profession I have however owned a camera since... Hang on a second......1963. Throughout time I learned many various methods and art in photography, travelling the world shooting all manner of photos with compacts and SLR's to the more recent DSLR and smartphone.
Yet, there is no way on earth would I take a professional shot with a smartphone nor would I expect it to achieve something which could be of use in a professional manner.
I do apologies but it does annoy me when I hear from someone first stating they are a 'professional' and use this word as their basis for a debate.
If you have an issue with the G3, fine I can live with that as you are very much correct, certain aspects of the software could be improved but let us not forget.
1. It is a smartphone.
2. It is software which means if you do not like the camera app that controls the shooting then use a different camera app.
I personally use the app 'A Better Camera' which is excellent.
I am sure as a professional photographer you must have heard of this app and learned the author is not just another coder but does have an understanding of photography.
With 'A Better Camera' as your tool you will find first it gives you back the manual controls and second it then allows you to be as creative as a smartphone will allow you.
Having said all this I have never ever ever been happy letting the camera dictate the shot but the G3 is the first type of camera that I am happy shooting 'casual photography' in auto mode.
Beards said:
I am sorry but you have me totally confused.......
I agree the G3 does have over sharpening which depending on how and what you shoot can have detrimental effects on the scene shot.
However, why on earth are you getting so annoyed with what is in effect simply a smartphone camera sensor?
Although I do not take photos as a profession I have however owned a camera since... Hang on a second......1963. Throughout time I learned many various methods and art in photography, travelling the world shooting all manner of photos with compacts and SLR's to the more recent DSLR and smartphone.
Yet, there is no way on earth would I take a professional shot with a smartphone nor would I expect it to achieve something which could be of use in a professional manner.
I do apologies but it does annoy me when I hear from someone first stating they are a 'professional' and use this word as their basis for a debate.
If you have an issue with the G3, fine I can live with that as you are very much correct, certain aspects of the software could be improved but let us not forget.
1. It is a smartphone.
2. It is software which means if you do not like the camera app that controls the shooting then use a different camera app.
I personally use the app 'A Better Camera' which is excellent.
I am sure as a professional photographer you must have heard of this app and learned the author is not just another coder but does have an understanding of photography.
With 'A Better Camera' as your tool you will find first it gives you back the manual controls and second it then allows you to be as creative as a smartphone will allow you.
Having said all this I have never ever ever been happy letting the camera dictate the shot but the G3 is the first type of camera that I am happy shooting 'casual photography' in auto mode.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Speaking of which, is it possible to set long exposure (for night shots with a tripod, for example) with A Better Camera? Other than the automatic "Night Shot"...
fabripav said:
Speaking of which, is it possible to set long exposure (for night shots with a tripod, for example) with A Better Camera? Other than the automatic "Night Shot"...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not presently...... But note, this is not the problem with the G3 or A Better Camera.
It is Android or should I say Google who limited the speed to just under 1sec.
However, under Android L all will change as among the 400+ camera api's introduced camera speed is one of them. So 'hopefully' developers will raise to the challenge and add this vital missing setting.
Beards said:
Not presently...... But note, this is not the problem with the G3 or A Better Camera.
It is Android or should I say Google who limited the speed to just under 1sec.
However, under Android L all will change as among the 400+ camera api's introduced camera speed is one of them. So 'hopefully' developers will raise to the challenge and add this vital missing setting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, can't wait for that update for many reasons, camera included.
It's weird though that the Oppo Find 7 camera (for example) has a shutter speed that goes up to 32 seconds. How did they manage to make it avalaible? The sensor is a simple Sony IMX214.
I wonder if all the features of Camera FV-5 work on the G3, anyone tried it yet? (my G3 has yet to arrive)
fabripav said:
Yeah, can't wait for that update for many reasons, camera included.
It's weird though that the Oppo Find 7 camera (for example) has a shutter speed that goes up to 32 seconds. How did they manage to make it avalaible? The sensor is a simple Sony IMX214.
I wonder if all the features of Camera FV-5 work on the G3, anyone tried it yet? (my G3 has yet to arrive)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Oppo Find 7's camera doesn't actually keep the lens open for 32 seconds, it does a trick similar to what Camera FV-5 does in that it takes a series of shots from a thumbnail (hence why it's small and lacks any detail).
Re your query on Camera FV-5 ~ everything with the exception of ISO works. With ISO the dials say it has altered ISO but when you take the shot you find it has altered nothing.
A Better Camera on the other hand does alter the settings and does apply them to the shot.
It's the only app out there which utilises all the manual controls that are open to write permission, this also includes AE and WB Lock which again no other camera app uses.
[/COLOR]
fabripav said:
Yeah, can't wait for that update for many reasons, camera included.
It's weird though that the Oppo Find 7 camera (for example) has a shutter speed that goes up to 32 seconds. How did they manage to make it avalaible? The sensor is a simple Sony IMX214.
I wonder if all the features of Camera FV-5 work on the G3, anyone tried it yet? (my G3 has yet to arrive)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes it does. I haven't tried the long exposure in FV-5 though.
Beards said:
Re your query on Camera FV-5 ~ everything with the exception of ISO works. With ISO the dials say it has altered ISO but when you take the shot you find it has altered nothing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Camera FV-5's ISO setting works fine for me.
ISO 100 1/60 F/2.4
http://i1.minus.com/iMbhMmPuhI3Es.JPG
ISO 1600 1/680 F/2.4
http://i7.minus.com/iNJO0u9CN5xvf.JPG
I'm a photographer (;P). I know what I'm talking about.
You have the D851 which is Tmob.. which doesnt have the sharpening effect.. at least anecdotally. same model i have and theres zero sharpening going on. the colors mind you are off, but its no galaxy S4 or G2.. but as was stated dont plan to edit on your phone and you wont be frustrated by using the wrong tool for the job.
dont bring a 400mm telephoto zoom to a job that requires a 35mm prime or vice versa.
Itaintrite said:
[/COLOR]
Yes it does. I haven't tried the long exposure in FV-5 though.
Camera FV-5's ISO setting works fine for me.
ISO 100 1/60 F/2.4
http://i1.minus.com/iMbhMmPuhI3Es.JPG
ISO 1600 1/680 F/2.4
http://i7.minus.com/iNJO0u9CN5xvf.JPG
I'm a photographer (;P). I know what I'm talking about.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really...... Thank you.
When was the App last updated?
Beards said:
Really...... Thank you.
When was the App last updated?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm using v1.7.3. Updated June 27th.
Itaintrite said:
I'm using v1.7.3. Updated June 27th.
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Click to collapse
Great... I'll give it another go against A Better Camera; although ABC does have many more controls.

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