Essential Phone front camera video capture. - Essential Phone Questions & Answers

Has anyone else noticed the Essential phone front camera captures at a low fps? I was doing a video chat with my friend and he said he could see the frames moving across his screen from my camera recording video. I went into to the camera app (google modded version found here https://forum.xda-developers.com/essential-phone/themes/google-camera-port-t3665197) and the regular one and saw the slow video frames as they traveled across my screen is there a software fix for this/later release or is this a flaw in the phones front camera?

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record video with front facing camera?

As far as I can tell, the built-in camera app only lets you use the front facing camera to take still photos, and not to record videos. (Seems odd since the front facing camera is presumably designed to support video for video real time video calls...) Anyone know how you can record video with the front facing camera?
you'll probably need a 3rd party software to use that camera for Self video blogging.
Unless they add it later down the track.
Fring allows you to use that camera for video calls. But yes, Its just a matter of someone developing a app.
has anyone found or made a app for this yet?
I wouldnt bother to be honest it is a pile of wank. But anyways there is an app ive seen before that can record via the normal camera and records you through the front camera as you record.
Emexrulsier said:
I wouldnt bother to be honest it is a pile of wank. But anyways there is an app ive seen before that can record via the normal camera and records you through the front camera as you record.
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Do you remember what the app is called, because I have a Galaxy Tab and my theory is: if it works for Galaxy S, it will work for the Tab.
is called quick video mail

[Q] Camera framerate issue. Is it by design?

I've had my G2 for about a week now and love it so far.
But there is one issue which irritates me, the camera. It does take a good picture and I like the 60fps 1080p. But these work best outside or in really good light.
I tried to take a video of my 11 month old son with the camera indoor and I noticed that even at 60fps, the framerate on the screen could not be more than about 20. The picture quality was not good either, lacking detail, blurry.
This translates to pictures too and perhaps the most annoying feature. When taking pictures the camera just takes ages to snap that picture. I tried to capture a moment of my son and after pressing the shutter button, I counted to 5 before the shot was taken. No good for those moments you want to capture.
Any ideas to any of this? Is it by design? Or is my phone faulty?

U11 video recording nitpicking

I've been using the Galaxy S8 Plus until I received my solar red U11 yesterday (glad I waited, it's very nice looking). Anyway, I am very impressed with the photo image quality of the phone (it is very comparable to the S8), but I have a few nitpicks about the video recording:
1) No 1080p/60 mode. I really don't understand why it doesn't have a 60fps mode when even phones from 2016 had it? It has 1080p/30 and 1080p/120 (for slow motion), so why no 1080/60? Is it overheating concern?
2) No way to turn of EIS in 1080p video recording mode? While 1080p is very stable due to its combined OIS and EIS, it also crops the view significantly when recording video in this mode (compare it to 4k, which is quite a bit wider but has no EIS). Anyway, the EIS is nice if you want that, but I think there needs to be a toggle or option to turn off EIS and have the wide recording mode in 1080p that is like the 4k mode. As it stands, there does not appear to be a way to change this.
3) 6 minute recording limit in 4k. I guess it's also due to overheating concerns, but why not just make it unlimited and have the phone's temperature monitoring stop recording automatically if it gets to a certain temp? Some people are reporting overheating stoppages even before the 6 minutes, but in cooler environments, we may be able to record indefinitely in 4k.
Things I DO like about the U11's camera though...
1) Photo app and quality are excellent. Nice Pro mode too.
2) Glad I can lock exposure and focus during video recording very easily.
3) Focusing pulling with the touch screen is very nice on the U11 (it doesn't rock back and forth when focusing like many other phone cameras).
4) Audio recording options are very nice (3d audio vs hi-res, and acoustic focus)
https://www.xda-developers.com/htc-u11-updates-srgb-1080p60/
Conan1986 said:
https://www.xda-developers.com/htc-u11-updates-srgb-1080p60/
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Thanks! It's good to see that they are working on adding 1080p/60, though it appears to be a ways off.
Another thing that bothers me (when compared to the S8 or iPhone 7) is that I can't seem to take a photo while recording in 4k. I'm not sure if that's a software or hardware limitation, but I used that all the time on those phones. I really like using the squeeze to open the camera, take a photo, and switch between front and rear cameras though!
Travisimo said:
Thanks! It's good to see that they are working on adding 1080p/60, though it appears to be a ways off.
Another thing that bothers me (when compared to the S8 or iPhone 7) is that I can't seem to take a photo while recording in 4k. I'm not sure if that's a software or hardware limitation, but I used that all the time on those phones. I really like using the squeeze to open the camera, take a photo, and switch between front and rear cameras though!
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Try Open Camera on XDA, it works shooting 1080P without EIS and no time length limitation on 4K.
I've also see the same issue on the HTC 10 in regards to the 4k and taking a photo while recording if you can call it an issue. I suppose no one had complained about it and they left it unchanged
TheEndHK said:
Try Open Camera on XDA, it works shooting 1080P without EIS and no time length limitation on 4K.
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It's a nice camera app, thanks. Tried various settings in the app for video recording. Looks like no matter what framerate you choose, it can't go above 30fps. I thought maybe it would let me shoot 1080p/60, but nope (even when setting it to 60fps, it still records at 30). Also doesn't seem to be a way to take a photo while shooting video in this app? Nice that you can shoot longer than 6 minutes in 4k though (I didn't try it yet, but I assume it works).
wilpang said:
I've also see the same issue on the HTC 10 in regards to the 4k and taking a photo while recording if you can call it an issue. I suppose no one had complained about it and they left it unchanged
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I call it an "issue" only because I have come to expect it when shooting video now. In fact, I used it quite frequently on my iPhone and Galaxy S8. Being able to take a photo without interrupting the video recording is a pretty important feature, in my opinion. I suppose one could load up the video in software and capture a frame manually, but it's a feature that other flagships have, so I miss it.
Travisimo said:
It's a nice camera app, thanks. Tried various settings in the app for video recording. Looks like no matter what framerate you choose, it can't go above 30fps. I thought maybe it would let me shoot 1080p/60, but nope (even when setting it to 60fps, it still records at 30). Also doesn't seem to be a way to take a photo while shooting video in this app? Nice that you can shoot longer than 6 minutes in 4k though (I didn't try it yet, but I assume it works).
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60fps will come with one of the next OTA updates.
Sent from my htc_pmeuhl using XDA Labs
Travisimo said:
I call it an "issue" only because I have come to expect it when shooting video now. In fact, I used it quite frequently on my iPhone and Galaxy S8. Being able to take a photo without interrupting the video recording is a pretty important feature, in my opinion. I suppose one could load up the video in software and capture a frame manually, but it's a feature that other flagships have, so I miss it.
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Indeed, my old year 2012 HTC One S supported shooting FHD video and taking a real photo at the same time and I owned a Galaxy S6 support that feature too. However, I think during 4K recording that no phone could take a real photo, all they do is just capture a frame from video clip and pretend that is a photo.
TheEndHK said:
Indeed, my old year 2012 HTC One S supported shooting FHD video and taking a real photo at the same time and I owned a Galaxy S6 support that feature too. However, I think during 4K recording that no phone could take a real photo, all they do is just capture a frame from video clip and pretend that is a photo.
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Click to collapse
Right, I understand it's not an actual "photo" at the highest resolution, but I would still like the convenience of capturing a frame during 4k video recording like I can on all of the other flagships phones.
Wow I'm glad I found this post, I thought I was going crazy with the issues you mentioned, especially the cropped 1080p video! I hope they can fix that with the 60fps update, because it is really annoying.
Hi, 60fps still not possible?
vojta20vt said:
Hi, 60fps still not possible?
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1080p60 is being introduced in stock ROMs with versions 1.26 and higher.
Do you know if EIS for 4k video is planned? Thinking about buying the U11 instead of the much too expensive Pixel 2, but the lack of EIS in this case is a bit of a bummer.

[Q] EIS Video Stabilization Sucks?

I am really considering pulling the trigger on buying this phone. The photo quality seems to be okay now but the video stabilization just sucks.
Is this really how bad and jerky the video is?
Here are a few youtube links.
https://youtu.be/DhohsgddVQg
https://youtu.be/wzvvijuACvU?t=5m19s
and
1080p seems a bit better but the focus doesn't work quickly.
https://youtu.be/cZLClyWcGe4
choder said:
I am really considering pulling the trigger on buying this phone. The photo quality seems to be okay now but the video stabilization just sucks.
Is this really how bad and jerky the video is?
Here are a few youtube links.
https://youtu.be/DhohsgddVQg
and
1080p seems a bit better but the focus doesn't work quickly.
https://youtu.be/cZLClyWcGe4
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Click to collapse
Yes, the stock camera app has horrible EIS
Some say opencamera has better software for video stabilization, but have not tried it myself
Can anyone confirm if the Google camera port makes the video stabilization usable?
If anyone has video from another app besides the stock camera I would like to see EIS actually working.
From the lack of responses, the video stability is just terrible. That's just too bad, I really wanted to purchase this phone, but I can't justify purchasing it with this poor video. I thought about the option of always uploading to YouTube and stabilizing it, but that's just too much of a hassle.
Maybe in the next software update it will fix the stability problems.
I guess using google photos app to stabilize the video might be a solution. https://goo.gl/Lt5oRu
I tried three camera apps--the stock (v 0.1.082), Google's camera app from the app store and Google's stock camera app posted here. The highest acuity was achieved with the stock Essential phone app. The two Google apps were about the same.
I'm not a camera guy so I won't recommend on app over the other for color or vibrancy or bokeh. I checked hand-held stability by photographing pictures on a wall 10' away, framed together with objects 2 to 7 feet away. I selected the framed art 10' away for focus. Later, for photos taken with each of the three apps, I zoomed in on the wall-hanging pictures. The three apps all had some artifacting of the framed images.
But in the photo taken with the Essential app I noticed a light switch below the paintings. Clear above that switch holding it to the wall was a screw, bisected by a dark groove that was angled about 10 degrees off horizontal.
Although the switch and screw was noticeable in shots of all three apps, only in the photo taken with the Essential stock app was the screwdriver groove so clear.
roebling said:
I tried three camera apps--the stock (v 0.1.082), Google's camera app from the app store and Google's stock camera app posted here. The highest acuity was achieved with the stock Essential phone app. The two Google apps were about the same.
I'm not a camera guy so I won't recommend on app over the other for color or vibrancy or bokeh. I checked hand-held stability by photographing pictures on a wall 10' away, framed together with objects 2 to 7 feet away. I selected the framed art 10' away for focus. Later, for photos taken with each of the three apps, I zoomed in on the wall-hanging pictures. The three apps all had some artifacting of the framed images.
But in the photo taken with the Essential app I noticed a light switch below the paintings. Clear above that switch holding it to the wall was a screw, bisected by a dark groove that was angled about 10 degrees off horizontal.
Although the switch and screw was noticeable in shots of all three apps, only in the photo taken with the Essential stock app was the screwdriver groove so clear.
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I am interested in the EIS of the video and if the google camera port improves the terrible shaky video. Its hard to believe the video from this phone is so bad.
I understand but I can't help much. It may be that stock Google camera apps and/or Essential's latest camera app includes EIS but my 'testing' wasn't structured to reveal anything except its adequacy for my uses--recording mechanical details of projects, before and after, and the occasional happy grandchild.

What's happening to my camera?

Hi, I don't know how but it is happening something weird with my camera.
Yesterday it was recording a video in 4K at 60fps and I zoomed to focus on a specific object which was on the table.
After having recorded video I watched it again and noticed that in moment of the video when I focused on the object, this object was out of sight, out of the shooting of the video.
To be specific I could only see part of this object. It seems absurd to me because when I took the video, the object was in the center of the screen
Sneakdovi said:
Hi, I don't know how but it is happening something weird with my camera.
Yesterday it was recording a video in 4K at 60fps and I zoomed to focus on a specific object which was on the table.
After having recorded video I watched it again and noticed that in moment of the video when I focused on the object, this object was out of sight, out of the shooting of the video.
To be specific I could only see part of this object. It seems absurd to me because when I took the video, the object was in the center of the screen
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Click to collapse
Hello, I just read you and I was very surprised, the exact same problem happens to me, when I record a video at 60 FPS in 4k with the zoom at maximum, when viewing the video you do not see what I have recorded.
The worst and most curious thing is that they have already changed my device 2 times and in all of them the same problem occurs, I have only found 2 more people who have the same problem.
The first phone that they changed me was in Amazon which is where I originally bought it, later, since they no longer wanted to change it, I contacted OnePlus directly where they changed the camera module 2 times and since the problem was not solved they gave me another new phone but my surprise is that the same problem keeps happening which leads me to think that it is a general problem in all or a series of devices.
I returned to claim oneplus and they asked me for tests, I sent several videos where the problem is clearly seen and they say that the technicians do not see anything strange which is false.
The problem happens with or without zoom but with zoom it is more evident, I have recorded things in motion such as a helicopter, a boat or cars among other things and then they are not seen in the recording, it is as if the camera that records the video does not is the one that shows the image on the screen when recording the video.
Try it but if the problem you have is the same as mine, it will also happen to you in the photos if you pay attention.
I already opened a thread on xda but was surprised no one seems to have this problem, only one here and one on the official OnePlus forum.
I am thinking of suing OnePlus because it does not want to recognize the failure of a device that in my case cost me € 1000.
I hope we can find a solution but I am afraid that the problem is not software and is a more serious failure.
Make sure the lens are clean and the case if any doesn't interfere. Do not use 3rd party lense protectors.
Try clearing system cache.
Try clearing cam data.
A hard reset is a waste of time but a hard reboot might help.
Hard reboots shouldn't be needed and indicate a potential software/firmware/hardware issue.
Make them resolve this issue or refund your money... or live with the limitations.
I noticed the same thing when the camera is filming at 60fps. I read about it somewhere on xda as well, but I don't remember where.
It's as though the viewfinder is showing the image pre-stabilize, but the capture is stabilized and therefore is at a slightly different angle.
I figured it's really only an issue if i zoom in a lot, since what I'm filming can get completely out of frame. for those kind of shots i switch to 30fps, where the viewfinder shows exactly what is being captured.
I found the issue to be present in both 1080p and 4k 60fps.
Edit:
I didn't notice the post by @vrg3030 when i posted this lol
In this video you can clearly see what my problem is, when I record the letters on the screen then the image is shifted towards the center and when you are recording something in motion it is impossible to capture something like a car for example.
When I record the car centered on the screen then I see a small part of the car even not seen.
For me it is a serious problem sincerely because it limits a lot the possibilities of the camera and it is clear that it is a manufacturing fault.
To be able to record something in motion, you have to do it without focusing on what you want to record and that should not be the case and less on a € 1000 smartphone in my case.
I also have to say that when I updated to Android 11 it happened the opposite, in the video the letters are seen in the center and in Android 11 the letters disappear because they go up ..... incredible but true
So strange looks like it's being cropped.
Could this be a stabilization technique used similar to Google photos and YouTube which matches on screen content and shifts the frames to eliminate shake?
Then the resulting video capture crops the video as the edges which would have been uneven and changing edges?
Just a theory but would make sense.
A test for this would be to make a video in the same way but use a tripod to Trotsky eliminate shake, use a delay.
Obviously I'm not suggesting using a tripod all the time but it may result in the proposed video you see through the viewfinder
dladz said:
So strange looks like it's being cropped.
Could this be a stabilization technique used similar to Google photos and YouTube which matches on screen content and shifts the frames to eliminate shake?
Then the resulting video capture crops the video as the edges which would have been uneven and changing edges?
Just a theory but would make sense.
A test for this would be to make a video in the same way but use a tripod to Trotsky eliminate shake, use a delay.
Obviously I'm not suggesting using a tripod all the time but it may result in the proposed video you see through the viewfinder
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In the recording it is seen that I am using a tripod on the OnePlus 8 at the time I perform the test.
Obviously the one with which I record the video is not on a tripod, anyway although the OnePlus 8 worked well with a tripod it cannot be that it has to be used to record videos at 4k 60fps with zoom.
And as I said before, if what I am trying to record is in motion, it would not be seen on the screen as the letters appear on the video.
The letters are visible because they are static and that video is before updating to Android 11, after updating it happens the opposite, the letters disappear from the screen because they go up, it's crazy
I have done the test recording the same with the OnePlus 8 Pro, Samsung note 20 Ultra and Galaxy S20 ultra and the problem is only me, I have sent several videos recording static and moving targets to OnePlus and they say they do not see anything abnormal ..... Seriously?
All the people who see the videos and my friends who test the smartphone clearly see the problem and they do not hahaha anyway ..... I am studying taking legal action
vrg3030 said:
In the recording it is seen that I am using a tripod on the OnePlus 8 at the time I perform the test.
Obviously the one with which I record the video is not on a tripod, anyway although the OnePlus 8 worked well with a tripod it cannot be that it has to be used to record videos at 4k 60fps with zoom.
And as I said before, if what I am trying to record is in motion, it would not be seen on the screen as the letters appear on the video.
The letters are visible because they are static and that video is before updating to Android 11, after updating it happens the opposite, the letters disappear from the screen because they go up, it's crazy
I have done the test recording the same with the OnePlus 8 Pro, Samsung note 20 Ultra and Galaxy S20 ultra and the problem is only me, I have sent several videos recording static and moving targets to OnePlus and they say they do not see anything abnormal ..... Seriously?
All the people who see the videos and my friends who test the smartphone clearly see the problem and they do not hahaha anyway ..... I am studying taking legal action
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Ok so the text on screen, where does that come from??
Is that something you've added?
dladz said:
Ok so the text on screen, where does that come from??
Is that something you've added?
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I am recording a 50 "television where there is a YouTube video paused and I am recording it with the OnePlus 8 Pro on a tripod one meter from the screen and the video you see is recorded with a Realme X2 I do not know if I explain well, i'm not english speaking sorry.
vrg3030 said:
I am recording a 50 "television where there is a YouTube video paused and I am recording it with the OnePlus 8 Pro on a tripod one meter from the screen and the video you see is recorded with a Realme X2 I do not know if I explain well, i'm not english speaking sorry.
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Click to collapse
Lol dw. Ok so the text is on screen that's fine. I'll give it a test later myself . Just watching the football
vrg3030 said:
I am recording a 50 "television where there is a YouTube video paused and I am recording it with the OnePlus 8 Pro on a tripod one meter from the screen and the video you see is recorded with a Realme X2 I do not know if I explain well, i'm not english speaking sorry.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've just turned grid on, then recorded in 4k 60fps with HDR off and put the center point out the grid on a picture on my wall then recorded, zoomed in, zoomed out then played back, my starting lens was the centre one.
Retried with the most zoomed out lens and repeated.
Image in the center remains in the center throughout.
I'm on OOS 11.0.2.2
If it's switching lenses then I'm not seeing it
Edit: also placed a piece of blu tac over the center of the screen to confirm and it does indeed remain central
dladz said:
I've just turned grid on, then recorded in 4k 60fps with HDR off and put the center point out the grid on a picture on my wall then recorded, zoomed in, zoomed out then played back, my starting lens was the centre one.
Retried with the most zoomed out lens and repeated.
Image in the center remains in the center throughout.
I'm on OOS 11.0.2.2
If it's switching lenses then I'm not seeing it
Edit: also placed a piece of blu tac over the center of the screen to confirm and it does indeed remain central
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for doing the test, you have reminded me of something talking about the change between lenses, I think the failure may be related to that although I do not understand much about this topic.
If you don't mind by having time, try to record some moving object such as a car for example that is about 150 meters or so and then check if you see it correctly centered
In this video I recorded a ship that passed in front of me with the zoom and the only moment that I could see entirety in the video is when it passed in front of me because obviously at some point the ship passes in front of all the lenses and they capture it entirely but in the moment that has already overtaken me and I begin to follow it, the problem begins.
It is as if the lens that shows me the image on the screen when recording the video is not the same as the one that records the video, it is recorded by one of the 2 next to it
In the video do not use the zoom to the maximum and you can see clearly what I say, with the zoom to the maximum it would not have been seen and I assure you that when I was recording the video the boat was completely visible
vrg3030 said:
Thanks for doing the test, you have reminded me of something talking about the change between lenses, I think the failure may be related to that although I do not understand much about this topic.
If you don't mind by having time, try to record some moving object such as a car for example that is about 150 meters or so and then check if you see it correctly centered
In this video I recorded a ship that passed in front of me with the zoom and the only moment that I could see entirety in the video is when it passed in front of me because obviously at some point the ship passes in front of all the lenses and they capture it entirely but in the moment that has already overtaken me and I begin to follow it, the problem begins.
It is as if the lens that shows me the image on the screen when recording the video is not the same as the one that records the video, it is recorded by one of the 2 next to it
In the video do not use the zoom to the maximum and you can see clearly what I say, with the zoom to the maximum it would not have been seen and I assure you that when I was recording the video the boat was completely visible
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's when it goes past X3 zoom you can see a small stutter.
Will have a go at it, it's midnight here, sorry probs tomorrow.
I'd be almost certain that this doesn't happen on GCam, unless it alters the lenses.
Has anyone found a solution?

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