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So I've been taking a few pictures on my phone, and I have noticed that the Galaxy S2 is very very inconsistent in taking quality photos. I can have a great clear shot of some mid-ranged photos, but far distanced photos have horrible quality. I understand if you take pictures of something really far, obviously it won't be that good, but when I compared to my friends iPhone 4, the 8MP is barely on par with it. Do any of you know what might be the problem? I've tried using auto focus and manual focus, but it is always blurry.
It seems to be an hardware problem. I find the sgsw camera pretty good, especially the dynamic range. My only concern is with indoor pictures, a bit noisy and cold.
Can you upload and provide some shots samples?
Everything on auto? It might help to know which ROM/mod you are using.
I'm not an expert in mobile digital photography but if I can see your blurry distant shots it might be able to tell if I get better result with my device.
The S2 tends to like low shutter speeds (1/4s - 1/20s) ALL the frigging time.
It will select this slow shutter speed even when it should raise the ISO and get a faster shutter speed.
This is why the S2 often takes blurry photos, because even 1/15 or 1/19sec is not fast enough to take a photo sharply with a 28mm lens (effectively what the S2 is).
The slowest shutter speed the S2 should use is 1/30sec to ensure the photos aren't blurred by *camera* vibration/shake. (But, if the *subject* is moving, like a child, then 1/60s or 1/80s are the minimum that are needed to freeze the subject).
This is why the photos are so often blurry as soon as the light gets slightly low - cloud day, in shade, etc. I don't have a solution sorry!
Proof: check the EXIF data of the blurry photos you take. Most will have a stupidly low ISO (like ISO25, ISO50) and a stupid low shutter speed.
Yes I have noticed that the shutter speeds are quite low...now I'm assured that its not just me
I can take SOME really good photos, but almost every other pictures are very blurry even at a close distance.
Everything is on default, except I have enabled Anti-Shake or something like that, and I am using CheckROM 3.1.1 (KJ3)
The first 2 are taken at a considerably good range, with no zoom or any effects, just a normal shot, but then the outcome was very weird.
The last one was a closer shot, but in a darker area, and that one was a little bit more clear
I don't want to be captain obvious, and I am sure you are a better photographer than me but can you check if the focus mode is set to macro if it is then change to auto focus.
Since this happened to me once i set to macro and forgot and all the photos were blurry.
I just felt that might be the reason.
I am guessing that what you're doing is pressing on the "Capture" button without focusing on the subject yet?
I do find that it's best to press to focus on the area you want to take and then press the main capture button to capture it. It seems like the focus hasn't focused on what you want to take.
It's quite annoying because then that means I have to press in the middle and then press the capture button to take a decent shot. I wish I could just hold down the capture button to focus, then release to shoot.. which works sometimes but not as good as what I said above.
Here you have 2 images, far and close focus. You can see the great quality of the camera. Take a look at the focus settings: better in auto mode if you don't want to manage it in all photos. Maybe you have some problem in the camera hardware... so warranty is the best option here.
There are at least 2 types of camera modules in SGS II.
Check this:http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1098834
Mine also had this problem (blury at far objects), the soultion is set the metering to matrix in camera menu.It works for me.
iocar said:
Yes I have noticed that the shutter speeds are quite low...now I'm assured that its not just me
I can take SOME really good photos, but almost every other pictures are very blurry even at a close distance.
Everything is on default, except I have enabled Anti-Shake or something like that, and I am using CheckROM 3.1.1 (KJ3)
The first 2 are taken at a considerably good range, with no zoom or any effects, just a normal shot, but then the outcome was very weird.
The last one was a closer shot, but in a darker area, and that one was a little bit more clear
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are you using macro mode to take farer objects ?
thats why it is more clear when you are taking photo of the specimen (3rd one)
or the camera firmware is broken , if not ,it may be the hardware issue
I always touch the place where I want to focus, and that is why I am confused
Yes I was using Macro, but only because it had the best quality...Auto-Focus doesn't really help as it never focus properly, as in when I press the "Capture" button, most of the time it goes to red and doesn't turn green. I am holding the phone still and don't know why
The camera firmware is also up to date
What I don't get is that my old HTC Desire can take photos that are much more crisp than my Galaxy S2
Try resetting the camera settings see if that works,try a third party HDR camera app or Camera 360,if quility is still bad in the 3rd party app then it could be a hardware fault
Sichroteph said:
My only concern is with indoor pictures, a bit noisy and cold.
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auto contrast I find helps take better indoors
Cant say I've had any problems with the camera. Love the macro focussing.
It seems obvious that your device doesn't behave like it should and have focus problems. I can have the exact same results with macro mode activated (and not shooting close objects)
I would suggest :
- trying another camera app (like TheiPhoneKiller suggested)
- trying a totally stock rom
- trying a rom like CM7 or MIUI
If you still got totally unfocused shots, you may very well have an faulty device. Try to get a replacement unit if you can.
(And did you try the fix kisstom suggested?)
Well... my shots is certainly much more grainy, since i upgraded to 2.3.5 - even if shot outside in bright sunshine. And many of the pictures is becoming more yellow than before - especially when using the flash-LED, so something has happened when i upgraded... this is one of my big complaints about the new upgrade. My old W800i 2Mpx beats the SGS2 in pure quality of the pictures now (but that was also, and still is, a VERY good camera for a phone)...
When comparing the newest pictures to some of the old pictures i have shot in the past, it's clear to me that i have a loss of quality since upgrading. How do i check manually, if there's a new camera-software version available - as i can't seem to find any in the Samsung apps, even if i have read somewhere that there's a newer one, comparing to my version of the camera-software???
But a least it's still not as crappy as my old HTC's camera - THAT was lousy...
Frankly speaking, 'Camera quality is bad' makes no sense. If you've said it's bad than this or that then I'd take it. Have used all the SE phones as I loved their image quality and I'll say after playing with the Satio, C905 I don't think this one would beat them. We are talking about a small image sensor here. So the main job is how good the post image processing is, some part still depends on the lens though.
The thing is I didn't buy this one for camera, believe me or not, after purchase, that is almost six months now, I've shot barely 10 pics with it. For normal usage and as a professional can't go without 350D, and for short tours and holidays I still shoot with my C905 , but not GSII.
But still this Camera is capable of taking some great pics, posting some of them here, after seeing them you certainly can't say Camera quality is bad.
The very bests I've found,
-> ithehappy
Well - i used to have that image quality too, but it has become somewhat impossible to shot such good pictures, since upgrading... i suspect that it's because my camera firmware still is TBEC28 (but of course not sure of it)
iocar said:
I always touch the place where I want to focus, and that is why I am confused
Yes I was using Macro, but only because it had the best quality...Auto-Focus doesn't really help as it never focus properly, as in when I press the "Capture" button, most of the time it goes to red and doesn't turn green. I am holding the phone still and don't know why
The camera firmware is also up to date
What I don't get is that my old HTC Desire can take photos that are much more crisp than my Galaxy S2
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Click to collapse
Confused!!! Are you saying that you always have macro focus on?
If so then turn it off. My cousin complained about the exact same thing, blurry and red box when trying to focus. Went through his settings, turned macro off and everything was good again.
Also auto focus will not work correctly if macro is on, unless your taking really close range pics, which is what macro focus is for.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium
well i am on 2.3.5 Images are really Perfect for me am seriously impressed the Quality iam on kI8 here is one example
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/708/20111118205552.jpg
iocar said:
Yes I was using Macro, but only because it had the best quality
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That's exactly why your pictures are blurry at a distance.
Macro focus is for close-up pictures, use auto focus for longer distances
I love everything about the Nexus 4 except the camera. The autofocus is having serious trouble unless you have a LOT of light. Compared to other smartphones, it seems to be broken. Does anyone else have this problem? Also, I've used 2 Nexus 4's, so I'm sure this is a software issue. Have any past Nexus devices had similar issues and been fixed?
Thanks!
I don't have that problem. Both with normal and HDR mode. In HDR mode it can be blurry, but not because out-of-focus but rather because my hands move while the phone still taking the picture (it takes more than one picture to create a HDR picture)
Also, I do notice that even in normal mode the camera actually takes longer to take the picture than one would expect, so usually holds your hand steady for a few extra seconds do the trick.
I hope that helps.
whittikins said:
I love everything about the Nexus 4 except the camera. The autofocus is having serious trouble unless you have a LOT of light. Compared to other smartphones, it seems to be broken. Does anyone else have this problem? Also, I've used 2 Nexus 4's, so I'm sure this is a software issue. Have any past Nexus devices had similar issues and been fixed?
Thanks!
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Yes, I have the same exact problem. It's very annoying and makes me feel like my phone is defective.
Stretch3000 said:
Yes, I have the same exact problem. It's very annoying and makes me feel like my phone is defective.
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+1. My N4 16GB refuses to take any macro shots. The auto focus keeps engaging and is extremely annoying. The video recording seems ok, but the picture taking is atrocious.
I think I'm getting the same thing... but then, I started to think maybe it was psychological. You know, the circle showing you constant auto focusing? It moves so much, it makes you feel the "focus bouncing" much more than it would do if all you saw was the picture being focused only.
Well, that's my theory, anyways.
Any 'fix' for this?
Ivan Fuentes Hagar said:
I think I'm getting the same thing... but then, I started to think maybe it was psychological. You know, the circle showing you constant auto focusing? It moves so much, it makes you feel the "focus bouncing" much more than it would do if all you saw was the picture being focused only.
Well, that's my theory, anyways.
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I was trying to take a picture of my old Sensation XE to put on ebay but the N4 just wont focus well enough, it constantly focuses and refocuses. Its hugely frustrating and disappointing for a phone this powerful. Has anybody had any success perhaps with different software? There doesnt seem to be any kind of 'macro mode' built into the JB app?
Yes, I find the camera to be bad too, especially the autofocus that fails to focus on objects that are further away.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
Unless you are using tap to focus... if the camera is refocusing it is because your hands are not steady, which most likely is also the reason your shots are blurry.
I have noticed that the default program tends to set shutter speeds low to get the ISO down, but anything under 1/60th is going to take steady hands or a tripod. Consider using action mode to tell the camera you want it to use higher shutter speeds (but be aware this will cause more noise in low light due to higher ISO settings).
I've noticed this alot, when I try and take a close up photo, say of a phone, with the flash on, I use touch to focus and the flash turns on for a split second, and the green circle comes up saying it's focused, when it's badly out of focus, it seems to be a bit better with the flash off, but I've noticed the best improvement, whilst still not great, is pressing the shutter button before it focuses, so no ring on the screen, then it seems to have more luck focusing.
I honestly haven't had any problem with this. I have noticed the flash turning on briefly when focusing in low-light conditions, but the resulting pictures turn out fine.
Dunno if this will help, but someone on another thread suggested holding down (basically long-pressing) the capture button, waiting for the camera to focus, then releasing when you actually want to take the picture.
I don't have this issue either. Sorry to go a little off-topic but what is 'HDR'?
309041291a said:
what is 'HDR'?
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High dynamic range. The camera uses multiple exposures of the same image to generate more levels from shadows to hilights.
I think the problem lies in the new Camera app in 4.2. I had this same problem with my Galaxy Nexus when I updated to 4.2 so I reverted back to 4.1.
Now with Nexus 4 the problem seems to presist, but only when trying to focus very close.
the issue I have is with PA (so maybe not hardware related), but videos don't focus, only the camera function (unless I've not worked out how).
---------- Post added at 05:24 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:59 PM ----------
Very helpful, was having same issue (no autofocus) with the wonderful PA ROM on the (so far) fun Nexus 4.
Only real issue I've had with it so far, good to be past it (hard to know where to look).
Clearly I have no idea what radio even means, time to read.
Same problem here
nellisere said:
I've noticed this alot, when I try and take a close up photo, say of a phone, with the flash on, I use touch to focus and the flash turns on for a split second, and the green circle comes up saying it's focused, when it's badly out of focus, it seems to be a bit better with the flash off, but I've noticed the best improvement, whilst still not great, is pressing the shutter button before it focuses, so no ring on the screen, then it seems to have more luck focusing.
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I subscribe to you + it makes a noise at focus
---Lg nexus 4 - Android 4.4---
Same Issue w/ my Nexus 3
Must be software related...I have the same issue with my nexus 3. Completely unable to take photos at certain distances...
has anyone been able to find a video camera app that solves the slow stock video camera focusing? on my g2, it takes up to 8 sec for the camera in 1080p 60fps mode to focus. and you have to have the phone be still for the camera to register it's time to focus. if there's any movement and the video is currently blurry, it will stay blurry til the phone has been perfectly still for some seconds. it's very annoying. this was not the case on my gs4 or my lumia 920. both of those would focus regardless if the phone was moving or not.
yeah the video camera is pretty damn awful on this phone. hoping a dev makes a mod that can lock focus like the gs4 does.
Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk 4
Both photo camera and video camera are pretty bad. Pictures don't look nearly as bad though. Videos are just terrible. I'm hoping what the guy above me said.
Just tap where you want to focus. It tracks whatever object you tap.
Sent from my LG-D800 using Tapatalk 4
The only time where I say slow focusing is under low light conditions. Besides that, I just tap where I want to focus and it locks on pretty quick.
Why do I remember a manual focus option on this phone?
Sent from my LG-D800 using xda app-developers app
mrbungle999 said:
Why do I remember a manual focus option on this phone?
Sent from my LG-D800 using xda app-developers app
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because it's there for pics not videos.
also, the framer ate drops even below 30fps when in lower light. I don't mean darkness, i mean room lighting. it's pathetic.
Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk 4
Mine doest do more than 1-3 max to focus in 1080p 60fps...its the F320S k version.
Well, I bought this phone to be a decent pocket cam as well and bought into the 1080p 60fps hype. Disappointed that it is awful for indoor recording at a gym and even in good lighting shows blurriness. Wasn't the 60fps a big selling point for their camera? I'm hoping it's a software or kernel issue but at the moment, LG has gotten me twice with their specs marketing.
@mediumraresteak
Not trying to be flippant here, but are you aware of many other smartphones that can do what you were expecting this one to?
Just thinking that perhaps the combination of fast moving objects and relatively low light without being able to manually compensate is just unrealistic for most smartphones. I've never been much of a sports photographer so if others could help us out that would be great.
Higher the frame rate the greater need for available light this holds true for shutter speed as well. It's just physics at work. Even a high speed film camera needs more light to properly expose at high frame rates or shutter. You can compensate with higher iso but only to a point plus the grainier it will be. Remember light is your friend.
Sent from my LG-D800 using xda app-developers app
xyltha said:
@mediumraresteak
Not trying to be flippant here, but are you aware of many other smartphones that can do what you were expecting this one to?
Just thinking that perhaps the combination of fast moving objects and relatively low light without being able to manually compensate is just unrealistic for most smartphones. I've never been much of a sports photographer so if others could help us out that would be great.
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Yes I can think of a phone. Nokia lumia 1020 or 920 or 925. I have a 1020. Have tested these both side by side and the 1020 in low light video recording doesn't blur half as bad as my g2. That doesn't mean I don't like my g2, it just means the camera for video recording didn't live up to my expectations. For pictures it's nice. In 30 fps mode there is a tap to focus after you start the recording. But in 60 fps mode there is only auto focus and it pretty slow. Why they would not give the best quality mode no focus other than its slow auto focus makes no sense.
Sent from my LG-D800 using xda app-developers app
Anybody else getting this. It's about a 2 second gap. I'm thinking it's only relatively low light but it's annoying and misses photos.
All camera apps seem to have the same delay between pressing the shutter and actually taking the photo so it has to be hardware.
fr4nk1yn said:
Anybody else getting this. It's about a 2 second gap. I'm thinking it's only relatively low light but it's annoying and misses photos.
All camera apps seem to have the same delay between pressing the shutter and actually taking the photo so it has to be hardware.
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hmm that's weird, mine only takes 0.5 secs even when it requires focusing. If I had focused before I pressed the shutter button, it takes the photo almost instantly.
If you have hdr on it has additional processing...if you have IA intelligent autofocus it had a delay to focus when you click shoot. If you just use manual focus and no IA it will fire as expected.
Sent from my VS980 4G using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Try to tap to focus on anyhting you want to focus,it will be faster.
fr4nk1yn said:
Anybody else getting this. It's about a 2 second gap. I'm thinking it's only relatively low light but it's annoying and misses photos.
All camera apps seem to have the same delay between pressing the shutter and actually taking the photo so it has to be hardware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As the others said, be sure to tap to focus first.
Also, you can hold down the shutter button to force a focus and then let go to instantly take the shot. It locks the focus.
Mine does the same in low light situations. If tap to focus it still takes the same amount of time all together as I have to wait for it to focus still when I tap. And when I pan around its really slow. In normal or bright lighting I have no issue.
I think asia cnet's camera comparison just solved this.
They think there's post processing going on under certain low light conditions.
I have'nt checked being I'm still reading the article. If the shutter speed is stripped from the EXIF info we can be almost certain that's our delay.
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?