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Camera Comparison: XOOM, iPad 2 and Galaxy Tab

Here is an article from PC World that compares the rear facing cameras (both still shots and video) on the XOOM, iPad 2 and the Galaxy tab. Images and videos are all there.
XOOM comes out ahead on just about every one of them. The ability to use the LED flash for low light videos is a boon for the XOOM.

good read!

as a photographer enthusiastic i would never picked any camera that sub par. although no one would ever use a tablet as their main camera, you'll never know when that moment will come when your tablet is your only option.

inspiron41 said:
as a photographer enthusiastic i would never picked any camera that sub par. although no one would ever use a tablet as their main camera, you'll never know when that moment will come when your tablet is your only option.
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Yea, but they had to save money somewhere to hit that price point, and it certainly wasn't on their SoC or display.

[Q] Will SAMSUNG disqualify GTab10.1 (Google Version\the more powerful version)?

So, as many others out there i didn't like the New 10.1 like i loved the old one (MWC2011 Announcement). But will SAMSUNG Replace it with the new 10.1?
i still want the old one..

As stated by Engadget:
"... way more polished than the original 10.1 that Samsung introduced back at MWC. Speaking of which, Samsung says it has no plans to bring that original version out in the US, but it will still hit Vodafone overseas. "
Sorry.
Why exactly don't you like the newer one? The cameras? That seems to be the only thing that got downgraded. Other than that, it is definitely an improvement.

Eclair~ said:
As stated by Engadget:
Why exactly don't you like the newer one? The cameras? That seems to be the only thing that got downgraded. Other than that, it is definitely an improvement..
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Yes the camera was a major downgrade. To go from a 8mp camera to a 3 mp camera just for the sake of saying you have the thinnest tablet by a 10th of an inch? Really? People don't buy tablets because it is a less than a 10th of an inch thinner. They buy them for the specs and what they have to offer. To me, to lose the 8MP has now gotten me and I'm sure others looking at the other tablets as viable solutions.
Plus losing the 8mp camera has made the Gtab lose the 1080P full HD video recording. Would have been great to have this.
So what you have is a tablet that shoots the crappiest pictures (every tablet maker, except for Ipad2, is loving this). Even every smartphone coming out will shoot in 5MP; how could a potentially good tablet shoot less than a cellphone?
Oh and they shaved off only 4g from the original model? Just 4g? They were better off releasing the old version that was the same weight but spec heavy. Would have been better if they kept the 10.1 as it was and just released the 8.9 in the new format. Let that one battle the ipad2. Also leave the 10.1 with the original Honeycomb, not TouchWiz. Give the people variety and they will gobble it up.
To me, Samsung is looking into Apple's corner too much.
"What is Apple doing now? What a thinner tablet? We can do one better? What they have a 1MP camera? Well we can reduce our camera but make it better than theirs". Stop caring what Apple does and be you own individual (or company for that matter)!!

They did take sacrifices to make it "thinner than the iPad". They wanted to be able to do this to get consumers to say "wow", whether it was a good idea or not.
But who the F cares if the rear camera is 3MP? Seriously, I couldn't care less if my tablet has a great camera on the back or does 1080P video recording. Are you kidding me? What 1080P video are you recording with a 10" tablet? Even with the 3MP you can take quick snap shots, and if you need anything better you always have your phone with you. the 2MP front for video calls is the only thing that matters.
3MP rear/2MP front is wayyyyy higher quality than the iPad 2's cameras anyways. The iPad 2's cameras are utter garbage, and Samsung beat em on it.
If you can give me a cheaper product and cut costs by dropping the camera from 8MP to 3MP, I'm 10000% okay with that.

The original version (The old one) samsung galaxy tab 10.1 still selling...but only for euro market, the new one is US version..

unknown_owner said:
Yes the camera was a major downgrade. To go from a 8mp camera to a 3 mp camera just for the sake of saying you have the thinnest tablet by a 10th of an inch? Really? People don't buy tablets because it is a less than a 10th of an inch thinner. They buy them for the specs and what they have to offer. To me, to lose the 8MP has now gotten me and I'm sure others looking at the other tablets as viable solutions.
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Somehow I think to most, or at least the media, being the thinnest tablet in the world is more important factor/selling point?
Full HD recording on the camera would be cool, I do actually prefer the 'old' SGT 10.1 too... :|

Actually i don't care about cameras .. i want the "OLD" design which really looked awesome and not plasticy... AND IT DIDN'T TouchJunk (aka: TouchWiz) which is a deal breaker... they skinned EVERYTHING to white and with 2 year old kid navigation buttons... that was DUMB... the original honeycomb navigation buttons and skin were really cool and make the devices looks HIGH TECH when you power it on

I enjoy both designs, but the newer one seems more "clean", and in my opinion looks much less cheap, or obviously made of plastic. On the older version, it appears that much too much is going on. Giant silver logo, giant silver camera, giant "presses" for the FCC info and Google branding. Samsung polished it over, flattened it and went with simplicity. Which I love.
I definitely could care less about camera quality. I honestly don't see my self taking quick little shots with a tablet. I mean, it just isn't practical. My phone or real digital camera will definitely suffice. I don't take many pictures~

martonikaj said:
They did take sacrifices to make it "thinner than the iPad". They wanted to be able to do this to get consumers to say "wow", whether it was a good idea or not.
But who the F cares if the rear camera is 3MP? Seriously, I couldn't care less if my tablet has a great camera on the back or does 1080P video recording. Are you kidding me? What 1080P video are you recording with a 10" tablet? Even with the 3MP you can take quick snap shots, and if you need anything better you always have your phone with you. the 2MP front for video calls is the only thing that matters.
3MP rear/2MP front is wayyyyy higher quality than the iPad 2's cameras anyways. The iPad 2's cameras are utter garbage, and Samsung beat em on it.
If you can give me a cheaper product and cut costs by dropping the camera from 8MP to 3MP, I'm 10000% okay with that.
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Agree. And the thinner new Tab 10.1 has a better screen with the Super PLS display,which was not there, I think on the old one. 8 or 3 MP camera doesn't matter to me. Its a sleek tablet with better display for a cheaper price. My money is with this one

Basically the old Tab has an 8MP camera and no micro SD slot.
The new TAB has a 3MP camera and a micro SD slot.
I'll take a crappy camera with SD in a heart beat.
Plus, I really love the new look MUCH more. I'm in love with the new Galaxy Tab 10.1

Ravynmagi said:
Basically the old Tab has an 8MP camera and no micro SD slot.
The new TAB has a 3MP camera and a micro SD slot.
I'll take a crappy camera with SD in a heart beat.
Plus, I really love the new look MUCH more. I'm in love with the new Galaxy Tab 10.1
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Also the new one has a better screen than the oldie.

I personally like the new one better because it seems like it will have a better feel then the old one.
As for the camera - 3MP camera is more then enough for me. I mean I mostly use my phone to take pics anyway. Only take pics with my Tab to mostly show people I can...
As for Touchwiz UX - I actually am kind of a Touchwiz fan and can't wait to see what Touchwiz UX will bring to the tablet.

I always thought rear cameras on tablets are a joke anyway. I can't imagine ever not being totally embarrassed holding a giant tablet and aiming it at stuff. But to each his own. SD slot and confirmation of good display make this a likely winner for me, desire for wi-fi xoom died with reading these new details.

According to anandtech.com...
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4238/...2x-htc-flyer-hd7s-evo3d-galaxy-tab-10-1-8-9/4
"If you're wondering what will happen to the old, thicker Galaxy Tab 10.1 announced at MWC - it's going to Vodafone as an exclusive. All other carriers will get the new 10.1 as early as June 8th."

johnchad14 said:
I always thought rear cameras on tablets are a joke anyway. I can't imagine ever not being totally embarrassed holding a giant tablet and aiming it at stuff. But to each his own. SD slot and confirmation of good display make this a likely winner for me, desire for wi-fi xoom died with reading these new details.
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This...
Seriously, who the hell is gonna take more than a few random pics with a tablet anyways? Most times it'll be for goofing around. Higher Pixels = More $$ for production & Sammy wanted to truly compete with iPad, unlike the overpriced Xoom. I think it was smart personally. And please, show me a professional photographer that WOULD use a tablet for their daily snappage...not gonna happen.

While im disappointed with the lower grade cameras, its not realky a big deal because it still has a 2mp ffc.
I only use webcams on my pc, not real cameras lol.
Its a computer....its not meant for quick pix. Its meant for self shots and video chat lol
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA Premium App

Poor Video Quality?

So I have defiantly noticed poor video quality I've tried a 720p video h.264 lord of the rings encode quality looks decent but gets so pixilatee all the time no matter what video player I use, also tried normal 480p no lag or pixilation, but quality looks sorta poor. And the grid touch is very noticiable.
Am I the only one? Or are there others seeing this... I love this tablet so much over other android and for the price its awesome. But no ips display messes with me lol.
Sent from my A500 using XDA Premium App

I have noticed the quality isn't as good as say my Iphone 3GS, Macbook Pro ( non ips screen).Apparantly it uses an AUO panel which aren't too bad; they're used in some Samsung panels but aren't as good as the one sony/samsung make.
Maybe someone with some technical knowledge here could answer it better.I am just agreeing with you. The a500 is a 6bit panel, bit disappointed in that, I was expecting 8bit.

The screen is the only disappointment I have
Sent from my A500 using XDA Premium App

I have to agree with the screen issues. Video looks completely washed out. I tested streaming through my wife's iPad and my Acer. Needless to say, for $450, it's not worth it.
I've done the whole "the screen is not so bad" thing with the gTablet but that was a much cheaper investment. This thing is $50 from the Samsung 10.1, the Toshiba Regaza 10.1 inch, and an iPad 2.
I abhor the Apple iOS but I'm hoping they open things up a bit in June. I think I'll take this Acer back next week and just wait until then all these new June tablets are released. I don't think Acer can release an update to improve the quality of the screen ala Toshiba's Resolution + tech in their tablet.
Word of advice...take micro and SD cards with video on them to the store with you so you can test these things out. Maybe a flash drive too. I spent hours looking at videos and researching to make sure this tablet would be a nice purchase. Even after owning the tablet a full day, I was happy...until I played some video with it. I'm not talking high def content. I tried watching wrestling and some soccer videos on there but the quality saddens me. Why not stick a better screen on and charge me more?

Although I see what you do when I look at mine... the pictures I look at are almost as good as my Epic SuperAMOLED phone and I thought my phone was great... so, if the pictures are great/really good and the video not so much... I think tweaking will be done to deliver better quality... this thing was rushed out and so was honeycomb... I'll give it time because I know it can only get better... besides if all you're doing is video then maybe you just need a dvd player or an archos 70 250gig I heard those screens are nice... good luck.

I wish it was that easy. I blog on my tablet which is why I was leaning towards the Asus. I game on there and that's a mixed bag on here. I do like the cameras and the flash on here.
I'd just like a tablet to do everything well. Perhaps they can fix the video quality. I'm just wondering if we'll ever get that. I've heard from 3 people on this forum that Acer's customer support sucks. They've tried to charge them each time they've called.
Hopefully we'll get some answers soon. I'm trying to hold onto it until after Google's I/O conference next week which could shed some light on any problems Honeycomb may be causing.

Just glad I kept my receipt had for about 1 week and few days but will wait and see, hopefully they will shed some light.
Sent from my A500 using XDA Premium App

The main reason I bought a tablet in the first place was because I'm a producer and I wanted something I could easily tote around as a digital portfolio for pitches -MacBook Pro isn't quite as sexy in a meeting now that the tabs are on the market. The iPad has been extremely popular with commercial agencies, but I wanted something with an HDMI output w/o having to purchase an adapter (an additional $39) and a full size USB port w/o having to purchase a camera "kit" (an additional $29) -yep, I'm cheap like that.
Anyway, imagine how upset I was when I tried to play an mp4 on the A500 and got an error message stating that the video could not be played on "this device".
Here's what I found (search via google -can't post links yet):
"3 Surprising Things About Video On Android Tablets"
And from the Android Developer's site:
"Android Supported Media Formats"
What worked for me:
• Download the latest version of 'Handbrake'
• Go to 'Preferences'>'General' and under 'Output files:' uncheck 'Use iPod /iTunes friendly (.m4v) file extension for MP4'. Close the preferences window.
• Output Settings: Normal (Default) this is the 'Baseline Profile'
• Format: MP4 file this is the container
• Video Codec: H.264 (x264)
• Under 'Quality:', 'Constant quality:' should be selected with an RF Value of 19-20 for SD and 21-22 for HD
• Go to the 'Advanced' tab and under 'Encoding'/'Maximum B-Frames:' select '0' from the dropdown menu
• Leave all other settings as they are (incl. Audio; AAC is fine) for your first attempt
Feel free to play around with the settings as you will, but don't expect a whole lot of freedom.
Hope that helps!

goalweiser said:
I wish it was that easy. I blog on my tablet which is why I was leaning towards the Asus. I game on there and that's a mixed bag on here. I do like the cameras and the flash on here.
I'd just like a tablet to do everything well. Perhaps they can fix the video quality. I'm just wondering if we'll ever get that. I've heard from 3 people on this forum that Acer's customer support sucks. They've tried to charge them each time they've called.
Hopefully we'll get some answers soon. I'm trying to hold onto it until after Google's I/O conference next week which could shed some light on any problems Honeycomb may be causing.
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I'd say just take it back now. If things improve you can always buy it again as it's actually in stock.

Here's what I wrote on the whirlpool forums
So anyway, I've been testing out the screen, comparing it with my macbook pro(non ips screen) with the exact same video.I found that my macbook featured better blacks and less pixelation.One thing I noticed is the blacks on the iconia were too bright.So I checked in settings and I had the brightness on auto.
I turned it all the way down ( turned off auto brightness in settings) and tried the videos again, playing both in sync and let me say there was a huge difference now.Blacks appeared much better, and all that pixelation ( which was highlighted more with the brightness on higher) was gone! It is on par with my macbook!
The image is still fairly bright as well, it doesn't look all dark now that the brightness is turned down which is great!.
Give it a ago.

so im due an upgrade...

I have seen the reviews of the galaxy sii and sensation, i thought i would have a look at the galaxy?
Seems very nice but i was more interested in the camera features than anything.
The guy in the phone shop was game to help me compare the difference in image quality, so we took pictures of the same object at roughly same direction distance etc.
I was shocked!
The default software on both phones showed @ .2-.5mb file size difference, the galaxy image seemed like it had some filter on it to 'smooth' some of the noise, macro shots were lovely on the galaxy but bottom line was galaxy was only slightly better.
I use 360camera app and we tried that in comparison, and WOW! The image quality was far more superior on my DHD.
The couldnt believe it?
The video on the sii was far better full stop.
So i think i might hold out on the upgrade until autum until the new models apear?
As nice as both these phones looked i seriously dont see a big enough improvement to warrent me getting rid of my dhd?
Has any one else tried to physically compare?

In the same boat as you mate. Thought about getting a dual core but it just didn't seem worth it at this time.
Right now I'm going to stick with the Dhd which has held me in good stead and wait to see what comes out in the months to follow.
Basically Gingerbread isn't optimized for dual cores anyway. It's a bit like the situation we had with computers a few years ago where the 64 bit cpu had just come out but it had no value over 32 bit because there wasn't any 64 bit software.
So now I'm going to wait and see for phones to be released with ice cream sandwich, as it's slated to support dual cores.
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Sent from my Cyanogenmod-ified phone.

Its sonething i will sit on for sure, as tempting as it was after seeing no significant improvement in the camera (its the camera thats of interest to me) it would be a waste of time.
No doubt in the next few months we will see a 10-12mp camera on and android phone.

Yeah, I'd agree very much. My friend has a Galaxy S2, I wanted to see how much of an improvement the camera was. I have a really messed up camera, due to dropping it on a sharp edge on the gym equipment in my room, the camera cover smashed and my autofocus doesn't work as well as it used to. Either ways, I decided to compare pictures, but with a tree, and from a little distance as it would be easy to see which camera captured more definition on some leaves. Ok, stock to stock, Galaxy S2 won hands down. Stock camera on the Desire HD produced an image with weird sharpness and a bloom effect of sorts, so the yellows were a little strong. The whole image as a whole seemed to have a dream effect applied (in comparison to the Galaxy S2's stock image).
Anyways I then decided to try Camera360 AND Vignette on my phone. WOW big difference! My image was around 9-10mb in file size, and was MUCH sharper. Not only sharper, but it caught the detail around the leaves and on the leaves. Scaling in 100% to the relative image size on my HD monitor, there was no real loss in quality, and details could easily be seen. Next, tried the Camera360 on his, wasn't much difference from the stock camera, even with settings to 100% JPEG quality. So i'd say, stock to stock, Galaxy S2 wins. Camera360 wise, Desire HD wins hands down, although not by a massive difference. Images were a little clearer. Now, when I tried out HD recording using stock to stock, 720p test of course, the Galaxy S2 owned the Desire HD D: But using lgCamera, and raising bitrate to 20mbps (The Desire HD actually recorded it in 26.5mbps) Desire HD was quite good, almost on par with the Galaxy S2. Galaxy S2 recorded in 12mbps, so double the bitrate on the Desire HD but less than double increase in quality (obviously). I changed encoding settings to h264 on Desire HD, file size was around 150mb a minute at 720p. Didn't have a chance to try out 1080p with lgCamera and high bitrate, although I think it'll have a high bitrate as standard. Stock 1080p on Galaxy S2 was visually STUNNING, to say the least very cool. Wish I could record in 1080p on the Desire HD I like to compare new things. So although the Galaxy S2 has a nicer screen, and dual core, it's not really that much faster in day to day apps (excluding games since I don't game on my phones much) and only other benefit is 1080p! I'd rather get a dedicated camera/camcorder for that then spend that much for that facility in a phone. So for me, I don't feel as though it's such a big upgrade. I'll wait to see what else comes out...bleh i'm poor atm anyways

jamiee6610 said:
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No doubt in the next few months we will see a 10-12mp camera on and android phone.
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Yup, i'm sure we will. Bound to happen.
They should've put the sensor in the Desire HD to better use when it comes to HD recording...the pictures turn out good!

Elemental_Fire said:
Yup, i'm sure we will. Bound to happen.
They should've put the sensor in the Desire HD to better use when it comes to HD recording...the pictures turn out good!
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If you are referring to 1080p recording its not possible due to the processor limitations. The only 1080p phones are dual cores.
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Sent from my Cyanogenmod-ified phone.

Nope, I meant they could have used a better sharpening algorithm while the video is being recorded. And yeah, I know it's very unlikely for a single core to record in 1080p

jamiee6610 said:
No doubt in the next few months we will see a 10-12mp camera on and android phone.
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But whats the use of 10-12mp if they don't put in a bigger sensor?

neandertaler19 said:
But whats the use of 10-12mp if they don't put in a bigger sensor?
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nothing.. absolutely nothing . it is a way to trick customers
even a sony cyber shot 6mp camera which was available 2 years before .. click better picture then our 8mp camera..due to larger light sensor.
but yea you should remember its a phone .. not a camera.. you cannot have best of the two worlds.

How's the camera on the Galaxy Note?

I think for the most part the reviews have said the camera is pretty decent, but how does it compare to the iPhone 4S? I think the iPhone 4S may have one of the best if not the best camera on a smartphone. Does anyone here know of a detailed comparison between the two phones? Since the Galaxy Note have essentially the same camera as the Galaxy S2, a comparison like that would be fine as well.

If you're interested in S2 camera comparison vs IPhone 4S, you may check this out.
Video Quality
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TJxgaZD7Tk
Image Quality
http://www.gsmarena.com/8mp_shootout_2011-review-673p4.php

lsquare said:
I think the iPhone 4S may have one of the best if not the best camera on a smartphone. Does anyone here know of a detailed comparison between the two phones? Since the Galaxy Note have essentially the same camera as the Galaxy S2, a comparison like that would be fine as well.
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The best camera on a smartphone is Nokia N8. Nothing can beat Finnish queen - especially in terms of sound quality in videos, and still pictures.
I have seen a lot of sample footages from Note on youtube, and I have to say - there are some issues with autofocus, and in my opinion there is something wrong with microphone (too sensitive, might be a problem when you decide to record something on windy day). LED does fair job, even in completely dark room. Shooting in poor light conditions is okay - not as good as on N8, but details can be seen. I also noticed, that camera adjust exposition little bit slower compared to SG II. I am still not sure, if both devices (SGN and SGII) are using the same camera.
For me, the biggest problem is a way to hold this device and shoot pictures. I still didn't buy my Note yet (looking for some operators to release Note on contract in Poland), but I played with it in shop. Holding is not a problem, you can even put it into pocket, but shooting a pictures or making video might be tricky. With Nokia's I was able to hold it with one hand, and for example took fancy pictures from ground level, etc.
Question to lucky Note owners - can you take nice pictures from close distance? For example - can you take a picture of a book, and read the letters easily?
With regards
TT.

lsquare said:
I think for the most part the reviews have said the camera is pretty decent, but how does it compare to the iPhone 4S? I think the iPhone 4S may have one of the best if not the best camera on a smartphone. Does anyone here know of a detailed comparison between the two phones? Since the Galaxy Note have essentially the same camera as the Galaxy S2, a comparison like that would be fine as well.
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GOD I HOPE NOT that it's same camera as galaxy s2 .
I have Galaxy s2 and camera is peace of crap . And I just ordered galaxy note online .

TomTomczyk said:
Question to lucky Note owners - can you take nice pictures from close distance? For example - can you take a picture of a book, and read the letters easily?
TT.
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Absolutely. With my Xperia X10 I had to put it into macro mode, with the Note, it just gets on with it and focuses flawlessly.
In response to the OP, I think the 4S and the Note will be pretty even in good light, but the Sony backlit sensor used in the 4S would win in poor light.
Having said that, I took some video last night by the stage at a live concert, and the Note rocks.

TomTomczyk said:
The best camera on a smartphone is Nokia N8. Nothing can beat Finnish queen - especially in terms of sound quality in videos, and still pictures.
I have seen a lot of sample footages from Note on youtube, and I have to say - there are some issues with autofocus, and in my opinion there is something wrong with microphone (too sensitive, might be a problem when you decide to record something on windy day). LED does fair job, even in completely dark room. Shooting in poor light conditions is okay - not as good as on N8, but details can be seen. I also noticed, that camera adjust exposition little bit slower compared to SG II. I am still not sure, if both devices (SGN and SGII) are using the same camera.
For me, the biggest problem is a way to hold this device and shoot pictures. I still didn't buy my Note yet (looking for some operators to release Note on contract in Poland), but I played with it in shop. Holding is not a problem, you can even put it into pocket, but shooting a pictures or making video might be tricky. With Nokia's I was able to hold it with one hand, and for example took fancy pictures from ground level, etc.
Question to lucky Note owners - can you take nice pictures from close distance? For example - can you take a picture of a book, and read the letters easily?
With regards
TT.
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Click to collapse
2 things . The BEST CAMERA ON ANDROID phone is HTC AMAZE !!
That thing takes better pictures than my wife's canon . I played with all settings and then decided to leave it on auto and I have perfect picture EVERY Time !!
Phone is peace of crap . poor battery life , it gets hot after less than 3o minutes of use . Second thing is if you want to take text photos use scan2pdf mobile app . I use it all the time . Don't have the galaxy note yet its in the mail

Note's camera is not good compared to nokia N8, yes its true.
Note's camera is better than, sensation xe, sgII, iphone, se and xl. What else you want more? Note is almost ahead of every other top selling brands. But I am not satisfied with note's camera quality, especially under dim light, but still ahead, you can compare it in gsm arena.