Reducing the camera flash brightness? - Nexus S General

I'm finding the camera flash a bit too bright. Getting spots in my eyes after just one photo, don't want to imagine what it would be like on a night out after taking a couple in a row.
Is there anyway of adjusting the flash to reduce it's brightness?

Related

Screen Brightness

Anyone else a bit disappointed with the screen brightness?
icons on black background is not only inspirational, it probably makes for better sunlight visibility....put a black wallpaper on Hero, put them side by side on a flat surface, adjust brightness to equal (max or min probably) and shoot again :/
Be happy to do that if we get a sunny day again in the UK.
In that photo, both phones were on Max brightness.
For now, take a look at these photos. No black backgrounds here, and it is the same email on both phones.
Kev

htc touch diamond 2 wobbly cam images

hi to you all.......a few dayz ago i tried to take a couple of pics using my TD2 and notice when i access the cam the image was soo wobbly i could hardly get it to focus properly...........has anyone else noticed this
Is this happening in bright outdoor conditions? It's pretty normal to get a wobbly image in poor light, for example indoors. This is because of both the longer exposure time needed and, I believe, the cmos image sensor which is prone to "image wobble" with longer exposure.
Raising the ISO helps because it means a shorter exposure (but the picture quality gets worse).
You shouldn't get the problem in bright light, though.

Camera Flash

When taking pictures in a dark environment, the camera flash on my EVO darn near blinds whoever I'm taking pictures of, resulting in a bunch of "I just smelled sh*t" faces. Anybody have any idea on how to maybe dim the flash without turning it off altogether?
I would really like to see an answert to this...and also to an issue with the flash that I have experienced. It seems that, with no consistency or reason that I can discern, the flash goes "blue" and results in a picture with an overall blue tint. Any ideas?
most LED flashes do it, i just deal with it
I think a better idea is to have the flash on at a low level so your subject knows where to look, and then the moment you click the flash goes 100%. My old touch pro did that but I don't know why EVO will not?
The light meter on this phone is slow, and it takes a while for the exposure to adjust to the very bright LED lighting. I Also think the WB is off on a lot of pictures as well. Lets hope HTC and Sprint fixes this because the camera and camcorder could be a LOT better than they are.
it would be nice if we could turn off one of the leds as an option which would help with close nite time pictures

How to take good photos on Nexus 4

I don't know anything about photographic. All I have done up to now is using the automatic mode. Well, you know, aim and shoot. But I would like exploit it more, as I have seen great photos from another topic. So can anyone give me little hints on how to adjust the default values in different conditions?
Also, about flash and HDR. When to use flash and when to use HDR? I know they're helpful in low light conditions, but photos with flash seems to be less realistic despite being brighter. On the other hand photos with HDR are easier to be out of shape if we would like to take quick photo (a moment in a party for instance).
Gửi từ Nexus 4 của tôi
Graphics Designer/Photographer here. Depending on what rom you have (stock or custom), you may have different camera options, so I'm going to go off the stock settings in the Nexus 4 camera.
Flash:
I typically leave flash off, sometimes I have it on if I know it's a dark place (indoors, parties, bad lighting). A lot of the times, the flash can create a white-ish haze, or even blow out details in photos. Flash can also produce a lot of glare on reflective surfaces which can be annoying and ruin a photo. If I can shoot a photo without the flash, I'll do so and touch it up later to improve it. Although sometimes just because you don't need the flash doesn't mean you shouldn't use it. Camera have a setting called "ISO" (You can't change this on our phone). Typically in a bright sunny environment, the ISO will be lower, causing a less grainy image. In darker scenes, the ISO automatically kicks up higher and adds grain to the image to help hold details which would otherwise be lost due to the low lighting. (This is also noticeable on old film cameras depending on the ISO speed of film you purchase, 100 being lowest, 400 being typical, 800+ being high grain)
Exposure:
If an image is too dark, flash on, or flash off, you can always try to turn the exposure up by +1, or +2. Same for if an image is a bit too bright, you can turn the exposure down. I use this a bit less on cell phone cameras since it feels a bit more fake than what you'd find on a real camera. It can be helpful though in bright/dark scenes. Play with it yourself to get the hang of it.
White Balance:
This mainly modifies how color is perceived by the camera when a photo is taken. Color temperature (in kelvins) can change how white looks under different lighting. A piece of white paper may look pure white when outdoors in the bright sun, while inside your lamp makes it seem creme/yellowish. Adjust the white balance to the proper lighting condition will better allow you to get more accurate colors in your photos. If you have a florescent light, switch the setting to that. If you have incandescent lighting indoors when trying to snap a photo, switch to that. On this mode, you're better off leaving it on automatic most of the time, but if you have time to make changes based upon the lighting conditions, do it.
HDR:
I wouldn't use this mode if you're trying to capture high speed motion or anything moving. It's best for still shots you know you can capture. HDR quickly takes 2 photos split seconds apart from one another. It adjusts the settings of the camera to capture the most detail in the darkest portions of the scene, and the brightest portions of the scene. Then it combines the photos into one image creating a scene you normally would not have been able to shoot without HDR. For example if I'm outside in a sunny day and I'm shooting a photo of some trees, the camera is going to adjust itself to capture the most detail and color from the trees. Because the sun is so bright, normally the camera would just blow out the sky and make it pure white, or extremely bright. With HDR on, it'll shoot a photo metering the color and values of the trees, then shoot another metering the color and values of the sky, then stitch them into one nice photo.)
I hope I helped some. I'm trying not to use too much photography terminology which might confuse people who aren't too familiar with manual photography.
Wow honestly I didn't expect such a detailed and useful reply. So basically if I'm in good light condition and no need to rush or something like that, HDR always produces better photos?
Gửi từ Nexus 4 của tôi
khanhtrinh said:
Wow honestly I didn't expect such a detailed and useful reply. So basically if I'm in good light condition and no need to rush or something like that, HDR always produces better photos?
Gửi từ Nexus 4 của tôi
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Yes but only if you have very steady hands
Rarscaryfrosty said:
Graphics Designer/Photographer here. Depending on what rom you have (stock or custom), you may have different camera options, so I'm going to go off the stock settings in the Nexus 4 camera.
Flash:
I typically leave flash off, sometimes I have it on if I know it's a dark place (indoors, parties, bad lighting). A lot of the times, the flash can create a white-ish haze, or even blow out details in photos. Flash can also produce a lot of glare on reflective surfaces which can be annoying and ruin a photo. If I can shoot a photo without the flash, I'll do so and touch it up later to improve it. Although sometimes just because you don't need the flash doesn't mean you shouldn't use it. Camera have a setting called "ISO" (You can't change this on our phone). Typically in a bright sunny environment, the ISO will be lower, causing a less grainy image. In darker scenes, the ISO automatically kicks up higher and adds grain to the image to help hold details which would otherwise be lost due to the low lighting. (This is also noticeable on old film cameras depending on the ISO speed of film you purchase, 100 being lowest, 400 being typical, 800+ being high grain)
Exposure:
If an image is too dark, flash on, or flash off, you can always try to turn the exposure up by +1, or +2. Same for if an image is a bit too bright, you can turn the exposure down. I use this a bit less on cell phone cameras since it feels a bit more fake than what you'd find on a real camera. It can be helpful though in bright/dark scenes. Play with it yourself to get the hang of it.
White Balance:
This mainly modifies how color is perceived by the camera when a photo is taken. Color temperature (in kelvins) can change how white looks under different lighting. A piece of white paper may look pure white when outdoors in the bright sun, while inside your lamp makes it seem creme/yellowish. Adjust the white balance to the proper lighting condition will better allow you to get more accurate colors in your photos. If you have a florescent light, switch the setting to that. If you have incandescent lighting indoors when trying to snap a photo, switch to that. On this mode, you're better off leaving it on automatic most of the time, but if you have time to make changes based upon the lighting conditions, do it.
HDR:
I wouldn't use this mode if you're trying to capture high speed motion or anything moving. It's best for still shots you know you can capture. HDR quickly takes 2 photos split seconds apart from one another. It adjusts the settings of the camera to capture the most detail in the darkest portions of the scene, and the brightest portions of the scene. Then it combines the photos into one image creating a scene you normally would not have been able to shoot without HDR. For example if I'm outside in a sunny day and I'm shooting a photo of some trees, the camera is going to adjust itself to capture the most detail and color from the trees. Because the sun is so bright, normally the camera would just blow out the sky and make it pure white, or extremely bright. With HDR on, it'll shoot a photo metering the color and values of the trees, then shoot another metering the color and values of the sky, then stitch them into one nice photo.)
I hope I helped some. I'm trying not to use too much photography terminology which might confuse people who aren't too familiar with manual photography.
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That was quite a detailed explanation u gave there..
I didn't know abt the HDR. Thanx..
khanhtrinh said:
Wow honestly I didn't expect such a detailed and useful reply. So basically if I'm in good light condition and no need to rush or something like that, HDR always produces better photos?
Gửi từ Nexus 4 của tôi
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Click to collapse
I've found indoor museums to be good for HDR. Usually they're so dark except for specific areas where spot lights are shining down upon. If you shoot a normal photo, you'll have a lot of dark spots which hold no detail. With HDR, you'll pick up some detail in those darker areas, though they'll still be a bit dark.
What I'm wondering is how is it that I can remove some of the blue when taking photos on non HDR photos. It always seem to come out bluish
afbengochea said:
What I'm wondering is how is it that I can remove some of the blue when taking photos on non HDR photos. It always seem to come out bluish
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I have noticed the same issue. This is really my only complaint with the N4 camera.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
HDR takes way too long to capture.......anything that can be done about that?
Sent from my Nexus 4
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Devices:
LG Google Nexus 4 16 GB
Samsung Google Nexus 10 32 GB
Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini ST15i (Retired * Sold)
Nokia C7 (Sold)
HTC TyTn II (Sold)
Motorola RAZR v3 (broken)
Sony Ericsson W705 (broken)
------------------------------------
Lower the picture size
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

Camera exposure and response time

I find the camera takes darker pictures, especially in low light, compared to Note 5 (underexposed perhaps? Not a photography buff at all . Also, the snapping pictures in general seems to be slower vs. Note 5.
Any suggestions?
I currently have both 6p and Note 5 and truly find the Note 5 to have an all-around better camera. 6p but bad by any means, but tough comparing to Note 5.
Been comparing to a friend's note 5.
The note seems to overexpose a tad in lower light.
6p seems like it's a tad darker around the edges, but for the most part is a better match to what the eye sees.
Hdr+ balances everything out, and should be used whenever possible - like always.
It works wonders. This coming from an amateur photographer, well, I have been paid for my work, but I still consider myself an amateur - even after 35+ years of playing with cameras.
Phazmos said:
Been comparing to a friend's note 5.
The note seems to overexpose a tad in lower light.
6p seems like it's a tad darker around the edges, but for the most part is a better match to what the eye sees.
Hdr+ balances everything out, and should be used whenever possible - like always.
It works wonders. This coming from an amateur photographer, well, I have been paid for my work, but I still consider myself an amateur - even after 35+ years of playing with cameras.
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Click to collapse
Agree with your assessment. Note 5 can tend to overexpose slightly in low light but overall I find Note 5 pics to be a bit clearer in low light. Even with hdr auto on both. Also agree the 6p tends to be darker around the edges. Biggest concern I have with 6p is length of time to focus/snap picture. Seems far longer than Note 5...
lp1527 said:
Agree with your assessment. Note 5 can tend to overexpose slightly in low light but overall I find Note 5 pics to be a bit clearer in low light. Even with hdr auto on both. Also agree the 6p tends to be darker around the edges. Biggest concern I have with 6p is length of time to focus/snap picture. Seems far longer than Note 5...
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Click to collapse
Only been playing with the new 6p for a couple days, but so far it seems pretty instantaneous.
Point, click, there's a picture - and in focus.
Been very very happy with the camera so far.
With HDR off the shutter is crazy fast, pretty much instantaneous. I keep auto HDR on because the HDR on this phone creates truly amazing results. If your phone is shooting HDR there is a little bit of a lag when taking a photo but not terrible. I'll take the slight lag of the HDR because the increased image quality far outweighs it.
As for underexposing images, I don't think there is any issue there. Keep in mind that the screen on the 6p is calibrated very differently than most devises. I notice images look underexposed on my phone's screen but on a computer screen or another device they look fine. I have adaptive display on so it is dimming the screen making the image look darker than it really is.
Look at the histogram of the photos if you want to see the dynamic range and the actual exposure info. In low light my 6p is very good figuring out the exposure. The histogram is obviously on the darker side if I take a photo in low light but there isn't any clipping at all under reasonable low-light. In extreme situations, like a photo in the middle of the night with only one light source, then the shadows clip but they would with any camera. What is really impressive is the lack of noise!! Usually when you have full black on a cell phone pic you get a ton of noise but the 6p is pretty good at just letting it go black rather than trying to overexpose.
The dynamic range with the HDR on is really impressive. Even extreme contrast like indoor photos with a bright window in the background won't clip in the highlights.
I am having a blast testing the limits of this camera.
nonnasmyladie said:
With HDR off the shutter is crazy fast, pretty much instantaneous. I keep auto HDR on because the HDR on this phone creates truly amazing results. If your phone is shooting HDR there is a little bit of a lag when taking a photo but not terrible. I'll take the slight lag of the HDR because the increased image quality far outweighs it.
As for underexposing images, I don't think there is any issue there. Keep in mind that the screen on the 6p is calibrated very differently than most devises. I notice images look underexposed on my phone's screen but on a computer screen or another device they look fine. I have adaptive display on so it is dimming the screen making the image look darker than it really is.
Look at the histogram of the photos if you want to see the dynamic range and the actual exposure info. In low light my 6p is very good figuring out the exposure. The histogram is obviously on the darker side if I take a photo in low light but there isn't any clipping at all under reasonable low-light. In extreme situations, like a photo in the middle of the night with only one light source, then the shadows clip but they would with any camera. What is really impressive is the lack of noise!! Usually when you have full black on a cell phone pic you get a ton of noise but the 6p is pretty good at just letting it go black rather than trying to overexpose.
The dynamic range with the HDR on is really impressive. Even extreme contrast like indoor photos with a bright window in the background won't clip in the highlights.
I am having a blast testing the limits of this camera.
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Can you please explain to me the slowest shutter time of the nexus 6p with a third party app? Currently I have a Oneplus 2 and I can get up to 30 seconds which is a lot. My Oneplus 1 even had 60 seconds. Can I have these values with the nexus 6p or through a mod?
Thanks

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