About to buy this phone. Need Help ASAP. - 8525, TyTN, MDA Vario II, JasJam General

Hey, I heard good reviews about this phone.
I'm about to commit to it and read that its good as a PPC.
But i almost forgot the most important part. How is this device as a Phone?
Also I heard this phone does have GPS but needs an external attennae. True?
Oh also hows the camera? I'l be playing around with it a lot.
Hows video?
Macro shots?
LandscapeShots?

As a phone, not bad, but remember a multifunction device doesn't do any job perfectly. However, the upgrade to WM6 is a definite improvement to the dialer & phone functions. You'll need to do some reading on the Wiki and use MrVanx's guides... MS VC1.6 works pretty well with a few hacks and modifications, pretty simple to do.
Yes it needs an external GPS, BT or USB (there is also an external jack for an antannae, but...)
Camera is pretty good in WELL lit situations, poor in other situations. The video is pretty decent given the above limitations.

I'm pretty happy with it, the camera is not so good for photos, video recording is quite good, if you search a little you'll find some videos taken with it on youtube.
It doesn't have a built-in GPS, if you need one, you'll need to buy a bluetooth device for it.
It's a very good PPC.
The calls are very clear, strong signal, good speaker (this is my case, I heard about people complaining about call quality)
Hope it helps.

Related

Poor camera quality pictures, looking for solutions

I am pretty much dissapointed with the pictures I have obtained with my Universal's built in camera.
Sometimes - most of the times - dont really beleive it is a 1.3 MPixels cam.
So,
1. Do you think using another software to take pictures would improve performance/quality?
2. It is possible to use another software to manage the camera?
3. Maybe, it's just me not being able to use it properly. Any advice to get good quality pictures?
have you checked the pictures on your pc?
i thought this until i looked on the pc and they were actually pretty impressive, dont be fooled my the on screen preview after youve taken a pic
yes... checked them out on a PC.. but no good quality. The problem is that if you're taking good quality pictures.. the it must be me.. :?
Anyway I recon that good pictures can be obtained under good conditions (light, etc.), but indoors... no way, at least for me.
i've seen on my HTC wizard that in the registery the camera can be edited things like bitrate too, havent tried it yet.
Ive gone from a D500 to this. Both 1.3 megapixel cameras, but the images from the samsung are far larger and far better quality. The images I get from my XDA are terrible.
maybe -hope so - it's just the software.
Could the camera be used with another soft? maybe from another WM5 device.
HTC has used extremely cheap and low quality camera sensors :-( Theres not much you can expect from its camera....so i guess its wise to accept the fact and move on :S
There are tons of dead pixels, and fails to reproduce the colors accurately...its just a "i have a cam on my phone too" feature, and nothing of any practical use!
cheerio
s
its enough to get the point across say car accident , for insurance or the poice, it would be enough to convince surlly.
Took some pictures yesterday for first time on Universal, on top of a hospital roof, sun shining.
So as normally happens in those situations you can not see what you are taking properly due to the screen contrast etc. in the sun. ( same on all camera phones I have had )
Just used the standard settings, didnt change anything, have just downloaded them onto the PC and I am quite impressed with the quality.
On par if not better than some of the camera phones I have had in the past.
Just checked settings and I was on 640 x 480 capture size and ambience auto.
So for me a thumbs up to the quality from a camera phone.
share one of those beautiful pics...
wanna check if it's just me..
Perhaps a silly question - but have you made sure your camera settings are at 2M (1200x1600) to take your photos. The exec defaults to a much smaller size.
cheers
hehe, yes.. thanks.
I'm just saying that quality doesnt fit in in a 1.3 Mpixels camera, my POV.
The camera is useless imho. sometimes its good to catch stupid pics of people who have parked terribly or funny signs on petrol station doors but all in all they would have been best just leaving it out.
The only solution is to get a decent camera.
JAmes
I'm an amateur photographer (with the lovely Nikon D50), and no doubt the Universal's picture quality is not very good. However, I see it as a bonus add-on for the Universal rather than a proper feature. Say, I don't carry the Nikon D50 into my lessons at school all the time (until recently, when we had our very last lessons at school for the rest of my life!); with the Universal I was able to quickly take pictures of my classmates sleeping in our maths lessons or film our chemistry teacher burning jelly babies (they literally scream and burn when they react with some solution!).
Anyway, my conclusion is that the camera on the Universal is good for quick snaps, but not good for family portraits. :wink:
PS: HTC, come on, you call yourselves "High Tech Computer Corporation" and you can't even manage a tiny camera?
Whilst on the topic, yesterday I tried to take pictures of a beautiful wheat field in the sun, but the picture I got was just a very dark image, no matter where the sun was relative to the lens. Changing the settings to "Sunlight" or "Automatic" did not help either.
Very disappointed, and you don't often get this lovely weather in the UK!
To the OP, there's no easy way to say it: the camera is crap, like 99.99% of all mobile phone cameras. The CCD they use are cheap as dirt, and unless you're experiencing optimum conditions (such as bright, bright sunshine outdoors), there's no way you'll ever take any decent pic with this phone regardless of the software.
Glad I could clear that up! :twisted:
It does not seem that bad to me,
settings = 2M(1600x1280) and daylight
I have not resized the pic , so sorry if it runs off screen :wink:
This is just before my ride to Turkey and back from UK
Stu..
Bagmanstu:
Nice outfit!
mdaexecfan said:
there's no way you'll ever take any decent pic with this phone regardless of the software.
Glad I could clear that up! :twisted:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly - it's a phone/PDA with a free camera, not a camera with a phone/PDA... Miracles you will not get!
The quality is acceptable to me but getting the best result is sometimes difficult. My major problem the handling, choosing the right settings for the occasion is a bit awkward.
@Bagmanstu: Cool

Using the camera and getting good photos

I have done a search but can't really find much on the camera settings. I am struggling to get good photos using the MDA Vario 2. I used to get great ones with my MDA III.
Can anyone advise me on which settings will get me a half decent photo. I am not a camera buff and just want to use it generally a bit more not that my digital camera has died. I just cant seem to get it right?
thanks
Same here - with my Vadafone - picture quality was better on my Nokia 6600 mobile - is there a better application out there that take better qulity photos for the device?
Try CoolCamera 1.15b
What? Hermes camera is alright!! Here check out my pictures, i took them all w/ the hermes. http://flickr.com/photos/sutheep
If you like it leave a comment
sutheep said:
What? Hermes camera is alright!! Here check out my pictures, i took them all w/ the hermes. http://flickr.com/photos/sutheep
If you like it leave a comment
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with you. Good pictures are possible. Some folks like to tweak the brightness and contrast, although I find the base settings ok. But I wouldn't try taking good photos in dark/semi dark conditions - it's not good. The Macro along with flash works ok at night for really close up stuff but the flash is of little use for distance pitures at night.
In good light it's really pretty good at 1 and 2 megapixel setting. Keep in mind the pictures at this definition also appear much better when transferred to your PC. I can get a full 17 inch screen size with little or no pixelation at 2 megapixels and also clearer and brighter than it appears on the Hermes screen.
Mike
@mobilecat
I'm really disappointed with the tytn's camera - i have an Orange M3100 version.
Try changing the sharpness and contrast settings both to 1.
It seems to be a fault that they are factory set at +7 and +6, ruining your chance of getting a good photo. Much better set as 1, especially the sharpness as it will otherwise draw a bold line around the detail. Unfortunately a restart resets to default.
Not sure about the T-Mobile version but the Orange version also will not take pics on the 2M superfine settings in most light conditions, you either get a blank pic or the camera app crashes and needs a restart.
I do love the tytn, just disappointed with the camera app, I have to mess about more with this than I do with my Canon SLR!
I'm not saying this is the case with all tytns, but the 3 I have had and the 2 others I have handled (all orange spv M3100) all suffer from the same issues.
Guest69 said:
@mobilecat
I'm really disappointed with the tytn's camera - i have an Orange M3100 version.
Try changing the sharpness and contrast settings both to 1.
It seems to be a fault that they are factory set at +7 and +6, ruining your chance of getting a good photo. Much better set as 1, but a restart resets to crappy default.
Not sure about the T-Mobile version but the Orange version also will not take pics on the 2M superfine settings in most light conditions, you either get a blank pic or the camera app crashes and needs a restart.
I do love the tytn but very disappointed with the camera app, I have to mess about more with this than I do with my Canon SLR!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree it's annoying it loses the tweaked settings you enter. BUT have you seen Sutheeps examples using his link - they're great!!
As good as a friends off the shelf 8Meg camera!!
Mike
Hi, I just downloaded the CoolCamera app, pushed the settings to max and snapped away; no crashes, no blank pics. Can't test this properly until daylight but this does look hopeful.
Agreed, Mike, I do admit that I have got a handful of very decent pics but I generally stopped using the camera as many more crashes and I'm sure I would have ended up throwing the tytn at the subject!
Fingers crossed, this coolcamera might be the end of the only gripe I have. I'm sure the problem is something to do with the Orange software.
Guest69 said:
Hi, I just downloaded the CoolCamera app, pushed the settings to max and snapped away; no crashes, no blank pics. Can't test this properly until daylight but this does look hopeful.
Agreed, Mike, I do admit that I have got a handful of very decent pics but I generally stopped using the camera as many more crashes and I'm sure I would have ended up throwing the tytn at the subject!
Fingers crossed, this coolcamera might be the end of the only gripe I have. I'm sure the problem is something to do with the Orange software.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hope it works well and the subjects are safe!!!!!
Mike
Agreed again: Sutheep, those pics are great, did you have it on fine or superfine?
Guest69;1078905 said:
Hi, I just downloaded the CoolCamera app, pushed the settings to max and snapped away; no crashes, no blank pics. Can't test this properly until daylight but this does look hopeful.
Agreed, Mike, I do admit that I have got a handful of very decent pics but I generally stopped using the camera as many more crashes and I'm sure I would have ended up throwing the tytn at the subject!
Fingers crossed, this coolcamera might be the end of the only gripe I have. I'm sure the problem is something to do with the Orange software.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How's it been working out for you?
Anybody know where to find CoolCamera? www.ateksoft.com isn't a good url now.
@berdinkerdickle
as an update,
I'm still more than happy with the results using CoolCamera, I do occasionally get crossover on my images: the edge of a pic has a thin border on one side of the previous image. I do rarely get blank images when set to maximum quality. The interface, IMO can be a little complicated but once used to it, I like the extended settings options. The standard app on the m3100, for me, is not worth turning on: constant crashes and blank pics every time it's used. I know this is probably a fault with the Orange firmware, or maybe just my handset but the previous 2 units were the same.
I have had some fabulous, impressive results from using coolcamera in half-decent lighting conditions, without it I simply would not use the camera.
I know others are getting good results from the built-in app, which is why I feel it's an Orange firmware issue, but if you're having trouble getting decent results yourself, even after turning the default sharpness and contrast settings down (again and again - reboot resets to silly default), give coolcamera a try.
here's a zip of about 10 recent pics http://www.sendspace.com/file/3ox7rv
If you want to know what settings I use, give me a shout.
@losborn
http://www.ateksoft.com/ seems to be working fine for me
With regard to coolcamera / hermes camera I have a few questions..
1. Does it hold settings after soft reboot usiong coolcamera software?
2. what is the frame rate on the maximum video out of the main camera?
3. is there any white balance or apperture settings in this model?
I've just ordered a Jas Jam and am curious more than anything. I had no intention of using the camera until I saw a few of these shots.
cheers,
sutheep said:
What? Hermes camera is alright!! Here check out my pictures, i took them all w/ the hermes. http://flickr.com/photos/sutheep
If you like it leave a comment
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey man...great photos!!!
What settings did you use on the hermes cam app?
Thanks,
G
Have you tried the newer Camera application? It works well imho and people have reported that settings stick on it (though to be honest, I've not noticed either way).
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=301629
i believe settings stick on any ROM above 2.x, ie 3.x and wm6.
i have always had issues when lighting is less than perfect, ie to bright or to dark.
but in the main, it works overall well. if i want exotic brilliant photos, use a real camera is the theme.
i also use the webcamera function at ateksoft, which is handy. have the cool camera app, but not really tested or used.
i suppose the moral of the story is, if you drive a road and trail motorbike, dont expect to perform as a road bike or a trail bike, when you buy hybrids you get the jack of all trades master of none scenario, same applies to all sorts on the HTC phones, not a good phone, not a good calendar, not a good computer, not a good camera, not a good music player, but capable of doing all of them to mediocrity.
Just Marketing
danieletroiano said:
Try CoolCamera 1.15b
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did some test and I did get the same quality pictures from CoolCamera and HTC Camera. There is no big deal with use other software.
Regards,
Taguapire.
simon_darley said:
i believe settings stick on any ROM above 2.x, ie 3.x and wm6.
i have always had issues when lighting is less than perfect, ie to bright or to dark.
but in the main, it works overall well. if i want exotic brilliant photos, use a real camera is the theme.
i also use the webcamera function at ateksoft, which is handy. have the cool camera app, but not really tested or used.
i suppose the moral of the story is, if you drive a road and trail motorbike, dont expect to perform as a road bike or a trail bike, when you buy hybrids you get the jack of all trades master of none scenario, same applies to all sorts on the HTC phones, not a good phone, not a good calendar, not a good computer, not a good camera, not a good music player, but capable of doing all of them to mediocrity.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe so but I think for a phone it does the calendar/camera/music/running add on programs better then most other phones. As a phone, it's not the best but to be able to go out, not bring a phone, PPC, mp3 player, cheap pocket sized point and shoot camera - it's great! Plus I think my only issue with it as a phone is it's bulk. Call quality for me is pretty darned good. It's the best reception of any phone I've ever had in my house. It's my fav phone I've had since my Motorola StarTac
chymmylt said:
Maybe so but I think for a phone it does the calendar/camera/music/running add on programs better then most other phones. As a phone, it's not the best but to be able to go out, not bring a phone, PPC, mp3 player, cheap pocket sized point and shoot camera - it's great! Plus I think my only issue with it as a phone is it's bulk. Call quality for me is pretty darned good. It's the best reception of any phone I've ever had in my house. It's my fav phone I've had since my Motorola StarTac
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh the StarTac, what a phone!!! The best phone i had (before this) was my Nokia 7110.

[Q] Video Camera Mic Sensitivity?

Hi everyone,
I've had my Vibrant with me at a local music festival this weekend, and thought it would be a fantastic time to exercise the HD video capture. Unfortunately, every single video I've taken has had such terrible audio that it's unwatchable. I kept digging around in camera settings but found that there's no way to adjust the mic sensitivity. Anyone else have a similar experience or any idea of a workaround?
In my experience the Vibrant's got excellent mic sensitivity and the sound quality is even quite good. Unfortunately, this means that things like concerts are going to be distorted. I've actually seen very few video cameras that can properly record a live concert, much less ANY cell phone.
I absolutely understand that recording a live concert through a microphone designed around voice for telephony is not going to be in any way, shape or form, ideal. I feel like the Vibrant could do better. I just wonder if it's something that could be corrected for in software, if it's a hardware limitation, or if it's just my particular unit. My dad was also with me at the festival, and recorded the same shows using my old Blackberry 9700. The Blackberry did a markedly better job.. It's not what I would call good by any means, but the video isn't intolerable to watch for memory's sake. I just find it frustrating since the phone takes such incredible video. I agree that it does very well in low volume situations, and I absolutely love the phone overall.
I have a couple of comparison example videos on Youtube from the festival but due to my new user status I can't post a link to them. PM me if you're interested.
I also took my phone to a trance festival, the image is amazing but the sound is rubbish. I was also standing very close to the speakers so I don't really blame the mic since it's not really built to handle such a strong volume input.
If there is a possible way to fix it software wise that would be great, but I'm no that optimistic about the chance it's fixable that way.
I agree, the sound just pops... Same song recorded by the og droid was MUCH BETTER... of course my video LOOKED amazing.
I agree my wife and I recently went to the Honda Civic Tour. I used my Vibrant while a friend used one of those little flip HD cameras. We both got the same picture quality however, her sound was amazing. The thing I find funny is those cameras only cost like $249.
Sent from my Samsung Vibrant using the XDA app.
TGA_Gunnman talks about the same thing here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=734515
Though doesn't say exactly which one of the settings is what adjusts the mic gain.
I too would be very greatful to know how to turn the thing down.
-Greg

extended review

anybody can find an extended review of Dell venue pro? include sound level in db, camera shot sample, video sample. gsmarena usually have reviews include everything, but not for this device.
This is my pt2 review where i discuss the camera with examples.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMhM3InAzwc
(may still be processing , just uploaded it).
microhaxo said:
This is my pt2 review where i discuss the camera with examples.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMhM3InAzwc
(may still be processing , just uploaded it).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for that video, great review and certainly that is a camera that MS should be ashamed to have on a device running their OS after all their promises about having a great photo experience. I can only hope the exchanged unit is better but somehow I doubt it. However I still think I'm going for the Dell for the screen and keyboard, I dont always take pictures but the screen will always be front and center and the HD7 just doesnt cut it in that department. Again, thanks and I hope you can post your feedback with the exchanged unit.
My extended review is as follows: I'm extremely happy with my purchase. The form factor is absolutely perfect.
what about the sound? loundness?
I was looking for a revew like this:
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_i8700_omnia_7-review-522p4.php
can't find one for venue pro.
Youtube vid on sound: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weOg1dzPmU0
what about the call quality?
thanks
Call quality is very good. Takes a little time to get used to where it's placed on your ear (speaker) but the sound is good.
microhaxo said:
Call quality is very good. Takes a little time to get used to where it's placed on your ear (speaker) but the sound is good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for reply, I think I will get one on Jan
Agreed, volume and music quality out of the speakers is pretty exceptional for being a cell phone.
Call quality is good and volume is plenty high enough (possibly highest of any cell ive had).

Shooting a Documentary with a Galaxy Camera

Hello everyone!
I'm Ragnalt, a content creator and lately a documentary / film maker.
I bought the Samsung Galaxy GC100 months ago, because I figured as a novice wanting to get into audio and video production, I could probably get the most bang for my buck with a Camera that was also a phone ( sort of), and that was built on top of android, a very hackable OS (or so I hear).
Well, I've been running on this fantasy for a while and time has come to put it to the test.
I have a small budged for this documentary and I want to get the best audio and video quality. The camera is solid enough on its own, but there are a few things I need it to do for me that the native Android OS does not seem to support (correct me if I'm wrong?).
I need this camera to:
Record audio from an External USB Mic, probably connecter through an OTG cable, similar to or using this app "USB Audio Recorder PRO" . Currently this does not work under native android, because I need to keep it running while I film and once I switch to the camera app, android kills the recording app, or it just goes to sleep for some reason. Developers of the app told me that "backgrounded apps only get 5% cpu time at maximum (or get killed by Android, it depends), so this won't work unfortunately", please tell me there's a way to get around this in a rooted device?.
Manipulare camera light intake and other advanced features during video filming. It is possible while taking pictures, why not with video? (Optional)
Improve my experience of the GC100 in any other awesome ways that I'm not even aware of.
I admit I am a noob at android rooting and hacking, though I am decently savvy in terms of tech and the workings of the interwebs, software and hardware. A jack of all traits if you will, an expert at none. I'm also a very fast learner.
So assuming people actually roam this very esoteric corner of the epic XDA forums, then I look forward to peppering you with questions, reporting on my progress and in general having fun and learning a lot from other Samsung Galaxy content creators and enthusiasts.
I need to:
Figure out if there's a reasonable path to success down this very custom road.
Root my device, and start modifying it until awesomeness can occur.
Anyways, If anyone reads this and have any suggestions or questions, please shoot. I look forward to meeting people and making this happen.
Cheers!
Ragnalt
I use my GC2 to record video at my two sons' band concerts (where audio is really important) all the time. I also use a Panasonic Lumix FZ200 at the same time so later when I'm editing the footage I can switch back and forth to make it look all fancy (haha). Anyway, I use a knock-off Rode style shotgun mic that just plugs right into the headphone port -- works like a charm. I wouldn't even bother with the USB mic solution when the headphone port supports shotgun mics, boom mikes, even wireless lapel mics.
Frankly, I wouldn't root it. This device doesn't have much (in other words, ANY) support from the developer community , so you're pretty much on your own. Because of that rooting really isn't going to get you any new features/options that you don't already have out to the box. FYI, this is coming from someone who has rooted (and usually flashed custom ROMs) on every single other Android device that my family owns (phones, tablets, eReaders, etc.).
Hey I love hearing about people using this great camera in creative and different ways. I love my Galaxy Camera 1. Like internetpilot said though there really isn't much development action going on for the GC 1. But there are plenty of commercial apps that require root that are beneficial to have for any android device. Getting root isn't too difficult. I used Skipsoft's unified android toolkit found here:
http://www.skipsoft.net/?page_id=1197
As far as your mic issue you should consider using a mic that connects into the headphone jack to record directly with the video. I haven't done it myself but there are a couple of videos on Youtube that show examples of shotgun mics and lapel mics being used with the GC 1. You'd need an adapter for the audio signal like the one found here:
http://www.kvconnection.com/product-p/km-iphone-mic.htm
Hey guys, filming is going well. Any suggestions on apps that can give me more control during video rec?
I remember there one was that was very sophisticated, it was neither filmic pro nor FV-5
Tho FV-5 does work for me. Trying to get a copy of filmic pro to test it on my phone but cant find a free copy, even a trial version anywhere. I've emailed them to see.
Update on testing out apps.
So, some updates. I've been trying out filming apps and to my surprise, there's very few options.
FV-5 is so far the best, but its got a few bugs (free version), such as not recording audio at times. Big problem, it seems the audio monitor works fine with my microphone setup until I hit record.
It works with a headset fine it seems, but not when I use my usual mic setup which includes a custom cable to connect lapel and hand held mics. These work with the default camera app just fine, with the exception of not being able to be compleitely certain that audio is recording. Aka, doing audio monitoring live.
Which is what FV-5 has but is not working properly, and which is what I'm trying to hunt down.
After that I've tried almost every camera app out there and most are for photography only and not for film. Still have a few options to try, so I'll update then.
Filmic pro seems like the best app out there, but they only officially support cameras with camera2 api and running lollipop.
A soon to be released android version by Filmic pro, will support pre camera2 api phones, but it is currently in beta.
They tell me that if I can get lollipop running on my gc100 then they'll let me test out their beta.
So That's what im aiming for now. I made a post in general to discuss that.
Any suggestions for doing audio monitoring while filming?
Thanks!

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