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Galaxy S ~ Camera Spec

Has anyone else noticed the F Stop/Aperature on the i9000.
It's a super low f2.6
As anyone who understands photography, the lower the number the more light is let in and as such means you can work and shoot better in poor/dim lit conditions.
The trade off is a Low Depth of Field.
I have quite a few cameras and at f2 they produce some stunning night photography.
Granted the sensor is not up to the same standards as that found in class camera lens but to have an f2.6 in this camera should still be great for shots that either require a bit of speed or for low lit situations.
Seeing as the i9000 does not have an LED Flash this is certainly going to help.

interesting piece of news thank you. sounds good!

i know quite a bit of photography, and in theory your right.
The only thing is that most phone cams have 'super big aperature', but since the lenses are very small and the sensors are also, it doesn't say anything about the quality.
Also the aperature doesn't say anything about the number of lumens the lens can catch.
it's just a calculation number.
aperature with your zoom factor make your depth of field and actually it stops there.
I have seen 4.5 lensen (on my dSLR) that can make perfect pics with no light at all, but also i've seen 2.8 lensens that suck totaly. simply because if the small lens opening.
On the other hand. Though it's still a calcuating number, it does give a good indication if you compare it to other phone cams.

Thanks for the input... appreciated.
I fully understand and agree in what you are saying.
If we look at the Nokia N97 which although not the best phone camera on the market it is known for taking surprisingly good low light photography.
Apart from the fact it has a dual LED for flash photography it's construction and lens is quite similar.
Taking aside the similarities, if you look at it's F-Stop it is slightly higher at f2.8 against an f2.6 on the i9000.
It's not much different I agree but even if it were one would expect low light or fast shooting to be on par with the N97.
I've seen shots taken with the N97 and was quite impressed at it's low light attitude.
Rarely during the day/night was the flash required.
I'm exceptionally pleased at the i9000's aperture/F-Stop and Focal range.
I for one am now not as concerned it does not have a dedicated Flash.

I'm quite excited about the camera as well. I almost never use the flash on my Omina I because I get much better results by playing around with the camera settings. The only problem is that the camera seems to have trouble focusing in low light/low contrast situations. With flash, the photos look washed out and are still out of focus. Hopefully the manual focus option and "fast auto focus" the gsmarena review mentions mean that it is possible to get good low light photos with the Galaxy S even without flash.
That said, I'm put off by the reports about video recording being choppy/crashing and the camera failing to load.

latraviata said:
That said, I'm put off by the reports about video recording being choppy/crashing and the camera failing to load.
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Same here a bit... I saw videos of the Samsung Wave camera 720p video and they look better than the samples of the Galaxy S
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHQs_DpFFoI <-- Samsung Wave.. very very nice especially the plants.

Purplish hue on the camera.

I've seen varying degrees of the purple hue on people's cameras (the 5mp one, not the VGA), including my own. It seems worse when I'm inside. Is this a problem with the camera itself, or a software problem?

the atrix camera is really bad. all reviewers have shown the same quality in their pictures. i am reminded of the nokia e71, they promised they would fix it in software but they couldn't.
my guess is that it's the camera sensor itself, and it may be reduced (but not completely eliminated) with a software patch.
it would be a good idea to post this in the motorola forums. probably many people have done so already

I'm definitely going to be posting in the Moto forums. This is unacceptable. They had the power to have on the best smartphones on the market, but are going to start losing if they keep this up.

Any progress Here
Has anyone seen any movement or heard any news with regard to this issue? The camera is lame with this color issue. I was with a buddy and his Iphone camera beat the pants of this thing. I kind of felt jaded and jealous.

I had the same concerns but after some serious experimentaion I learned a few things...
1: The default camera app is 75% of the problem. The pupleish hue comes from a chronicaly bad auto white balance setting. This can easily be fixed in photoshop. The other solution is to download an app like camera360 which gives you control over white balance. This is not a hardware issue but is just too bad of an implementation to excuse. Camera360 has a free trial which will let you play with white balance so you can see what I mean.
2: the remaining 25% is that this camera is noisy in all situations. Even moderate daylight shots as a bit grainy. Don't expect the camera to get quite to the level of iPhone 4 which uses a higher quality backlit sensor. I have both phones and have compared. Noise issues are greater on the atrix no question. This isn't fixable except in post processing.
That being said. I carry the atrix on a daily basis and don't miss the iPhone 4 camera that much. Basically when you use camera360 or one of the several other very good camera apps you can fix most problems. Make sure you have the maximum lighting the shooting situation allows.
Other than that photoshop helps. Even my high end cameras (lumix LX3 and canon 5d) get the photoshop treatment. it offers white balance correction and serviceable noise reduction.

Picnova - you the man
That makes a huge difference. thanks for the recommendation

seriously this is a phone camera with two little led's for 'flash' and lights; clearly the cameras white balance settings are off; it appears to me that they are easily fooled (yet very sensitive to) differences in color temperatures, especially around MVL/fluorescent lamps. that is normally where your hue issue comes up. try it under some halogen lights and it does just fine. i think the AWB programming could benefit from a tweak; actually it is very sensitive to changes in color temperature, it just exaggerates the difference versus what your brain processes from your eyes; we automatically make a 'white' object appear 'white' in our minds; with any sensor/camera it is all software and it is not as dynamic and not intelligent. this indicates that the hardware is capable, but the software is lacking. for me the video mode is more useful really; i am loathe to drag around an video SLR or one of my HD cameras on random nights out etc. i would LOVE a hack/mod/app that let one manipulate the AWB settings, focus settings, and ISO settings manually for video. i dont use this camera other than for random stuff like friends or goings out without a real camera, which is very VERY rare. i own a media studio; i almost ALWAYS have at least a MagicLantern hacked T2i kit or XF305 in my trunk.
the sensor itself is tiny and not very good in the noise reduction department. if your lighting is good, the pictures will be good. 99% of people test and complain about low light situations when technically the real problem is they do not understand how to expose properly for the environment they are in. this is where camera360 helps, but could be improved with shutter speed and direct iso control. yes the iphone 4 has a backlit sensor, but still suffers from CMOS jello badly too. for what it is its fine.
day to day i work in a studio shooting a web series or tele adverts; i have 10 halogen fresnels and spots, diffused and direct lighting, aimed on set at any given time, and i guarantee you 99% of people that visit take HORRID shots by NOT knowing how or what they are doing, or how the camera works. a lot of this has to do with metering, which again the phone/camera system does not easily allow access to and i have found no apps to work with this.
but as a person intimately involved in the photo/video field, i must say for the price and the capabilities the camera is ok. actually i would like to see an android phone with an optical 1.2x zoom (for lens and sensor size this would be best for minimal distortion and maximum sharpness)/digital 2x (still technically at 720P resolution that way), 1080P backlit CMOS 1/16 single chip sensor with a glass 28mm-35mm equivalent perspective lens which is NOT coverage area (with a damn lens cover!), and image processing by nikon canon etc with some manual controls over basic functions; replace the useless point and shoot!
i would HAPPILY pay $1000 USD for such a device; double the thickness, double the weight, whatever. just give me the same image quality of a circa 2004 nikon D50 or canon digital rebel; the technology exists. the market exists. the software exists and now the hardware is MORE than capable of processing it properly. i have no point and shoot cameras; i have 7 digital SLR's (5 with HD video recording) and 4 1/3" 3CCD as well as 2 1/3" CMOS HD camcorders that i am used to full manual controls. I would leave the SLRs at home if there was any decent alternative in a mobile device.

emoose said:
I had the same concerns but after some serious experimentaion I learned a few things...
1: The default camera app is 75% of the problem. The pupleish hue comes from a chronicaly bad auto white balance setting. This can easily be fixed in photoshop. The other solution is to download an app like camera360 which gives you control over white balance. This is not a hardware issue but is just too bad of an implementation to excuse. Camera360 has a free trial which will let you play with white balance so you can see what I mean.
2: the remaining 25% is that this camera is noisy in all situations. Even moderate daylight shots as a bit grainy. Don't expect the camera to get quite to the level of iPhone 4 which uses a higher quality backlit sensor. I have both phones and have compared. Noise issues are greater on the atrix no question. This isn't fixable except in post processing.
That being said. I carry the atrix on a daily basis and don't miss the iPhone 4 camera that much. Basically when you use camera360 or one of the several other very good camera apps you can fix most problems. Make sure you have the maximum lighting the shooting situation allows.
Other than that photoshop helps. Even my high end cameras (lumix LX3 and canon 5d) get the photoshop treatment. it offers white balance correction and serviceable noise reduction.
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Great info regarding Camera360...totally makes a world of difference (so far - just compared a couple of pics indoors between default camera app and camera 360).
What other options does the paid version add?

Camera Question

Ive read in the research that the S4 takes beautiful pictures, but that a challenge for more casual "snapshot" usage is that it blurs pretty easily if not held very steady.
I use my phone camera mostly for things like whipping out my phone and snapping a quick pic of the kids running around, or a friend skiing by over a jump, etc.
So while I know the PQ is awesome on the S4, Im worried that maybe for my needs the camera wont be great as it may not be well suited to snapping those pictures in situations where you dont have time to really position yourself, be still, frame the pic, etc.
Can anyone share with me whether this has been your experience?

lirong said:
Ive read in the research that the S4 takes beautiful pictures, but that a challenge for more casual "snapshot" usage is that it blurs pretty easily if not held very steady.
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I also own a high-end full frame camera, but have been amazed by the S4 camera. I certainly would not say that it "blurs pretty easily if not held very steady." S4 pictures are sharper than the iphone 5 or galaxy s3, both of which I used at lot.
That said, if your primary concern is minimizing blur from fast moving objects, you might be better off with the HTC One, especially if pics are taken in low light. I say that not having tried the HTC, but just based on its specs.
If you are you are taking pictures of the kids running around or someone skiing, whether or not you are holding the camera steady doesn't matter that much. The motion of the subject will outweigh camera shake (unless you have very shaky hands). For minimizing the blur from moving objects you want a fast lens and sensor with low noise at high ISO. The specs of the HTC One camera are better in both those respects.
If your concern is motion blur from the camera itself shaking (but again, this is typically not a consideration when taking pictures of fast moving objects), the HTC One has optical image stabilization which reduces motion blur from camera shake. The S4 does not have this.

One camera is better in low light (bigger pixels, OIS) than GS4, but 4MP is usually a dealbreaker for the average joe. Overall i think the One has a better camera than the S4 (which is WAY oversharpened and oversaturated). I actually like the flatter images out of the iPhone 5, but i dont use my phone as a camera unless its a random shot and i dont have a real camera with me.
Typically i shoot Nikon D4 and GF shoots Canon 5D Mk III, but for parties or random stuff, cell pic is ok.

What I found is that you either need to switch to sports mode or lower the exposure to -1.5. This essentially raised the shutter to 1/30 instead of 1/15 which is way too slow.
The annoying part is that the camera doesn't retain the settings...

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The one is oversharpened. Its 4 megapixels the s4 tends to look sharp until you zoom it in on the phone because of so many pixels crammed in. Please know what you're saying before you go out and say it. I also do photography but that isn't relevant to this
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2

I don't understand your post. Please improve the grammar in what you're saying before you go out and say it.

GeorgeP said:
I don't understand your post. Please improve the grammar in what you're saying before you go out and say it.
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Let me reiterate, One, I wasn't talking to you I was talking to the poster below you. And also what I stated was that the HTC One has 4 ultrapixels and such so it tends to let in more light because less pixels mean bigger pixels in the same size sensor, so more light can be let in. As well as a wider aperture that the One has over the S4.
The pictures are good in low light but in normal lighting conditions the HTC one is extremely oversharpened to compensate for the low quality the images it produces. The images aren't bad because it's 4 megapixels it's just bad because the software and optics are subpar in anything but low light.
The S4 uses a sensor even superior to the iPhone 5. Look at gsmareana for comparisons.
The HTC one got a 6 overall, the iPhone 5 an 8 and the Galaxy S4 a 9.

So the S7 camera performs better than the Z5/Z5P ? I can't stop laughing...

Ok I'm Kinda mad here... There are things I don't understand and I will probably never....
How on earth, would every review on the internet including youtube videos give the upper hand to the S7 camera which has SONY IMX260 R EXMOR that has 7.18 mm sensor size and a 1.4 μm x 1.4 μm unit cell size while the Z5/Premium has the "exclusive cutting edge" RS EXMOR IMX300 with 7.87 mm sensor size and 1.1 μm x 1.1 μm pixel size ?
And please don't tell me about image processing ? Why on earth a giant Japanese corporation such as SONY specialized and leader in photography, videography, pictures and music Entertainment without forgetting their BIONZ image processor that compete or even wins over Nikon EXPEED and
Canon DIGIC can't do image processing right on a freaking CMOS sensor ?
Now yeah the Z5/P pictures are decent and although very good on a very sunny day.... I'll remain quiet for the low light part....
So to sum it up... a Samsung with an IMX260 12MP sensor is on par or outperforms a Sony IMX300 23MP ( 25MP ) sensor...
Funny isn't it ?

It's not funny at all.
Still,I find that Z5 camera is best on market atm.
Xperia Z5 via Tapatalk

Very easy good hardware and bad software.
Sony can't compete software wise with who had nexus phones.
Samsung LG know better about android and how to create a better software cause they took lot of info from Google while they have Nexus phones.

Well money talks. S7 just cant match Z1+ line. Take a look at original S7 full resolution photos. Photo IQ is awfull on the S7. Over-sharpening that creates awfull halos and contrast, to much texture detail, texture extraction that gives a gritty look and to much noise reduction that makes for a blurry image with lost detail and plastic look. S7 has borderline the bad CRT chromatic aberration look and reminds me of old cheap digital cameras.
I'll quote one of my other posts wher one can see that even in an unfair comparision that favors the S7 my Z1 just performs much better. Much better and if making things more even by choosing 2048x1536 for my Z1 photos and same or similar for S7 my Z1 just walks all over the S7. Z5 does no worse unless in SA or the NR goes wonky.
When I look at S7 photos in good and low light it just reminds me of the bad CRT "chromatic aberration" look. Great artistic value but the persons S7 destroys IQ beyond reparation. https://www.flickr.com/photos/gavinfabl100/
I mean even the Z1 blows it out and Z5 even more. Look at this comparision which favors the S7 as the images are shown at 100% size which means my Z1 is showing a far bigger image aswell as in worse lighting conditions with far less photons in the ambient to capture (see shutter speed difference) yet it performs better. Would I scale it down to same size as the S7 it would be a brutal comparision leaving the S7 in the dust. One can choose 2048 pixel width to see this in the links.
Stock original photos, default camera apps.
S7 buildings.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/gavinfabl100/25743187832/sizes/o/
Z1 buildings.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/csls/25516883060/sizes/o/
S7 forest.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/gavinfabl100/25837956126/sizes/o/
Z1 forest.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/csls/25019022984/sizes/o/
Might take some time some day with the Z5c and capture photos in same locations once the sun is about same (wild weather over here).
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And here are more S7 samples.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/gavinfabl100/25837956126/sizes/o/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/gavinfabl100/25208922064/sizes/o/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/gavinfabl100/25404249180/sizes/o/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/gavinfabl100/25021532094/sizes/o/
And here is low light.
Will check files once released here and compare CRC to see if they changed algorithms. As for the S7 I agree, it does moderately good but far worse than Sonys Xperia Z1+ line. The biggest issue on the S7 besides tending to go overboard with sharpening and noise reduction which smoothes out to much and gives a bad fake plastic look (often easily visible around fine-grain detail like branches and leaves) is that it also when post-processing brightens up the image by tweaking curves. Most software does this but should be catiously used to extract detail from low contrast areas. Samsung goes overboard often giving it the 'fake ISO' look where black turns grey. Xperia Z1+ phones give quite a bit better low light photos same ISO for ISO and shutter speed while not even having to resort to major curve tweaking just minor or barely any and it does it selectively in a often excellent way. I assume the BIONZ is really a power beast for such dedicated tasks but sensors in Sonys phones are just better even though older and they are coupled with great optics.
It's just now that Samsung is starting use similar tech that Sony already employed in their mobiles years ago. I think Iphone 6s also got a bit of it but it relies mostly on multi-frame photo composition to create higher ISO like the Nexus 6p HDR+ does. Xperia Z1+ also does this but only when doing ISO 6400 (atleast the Z1) else not. Problem is you need to keep scene static else you get ghosting and bluriness. Haven't checked it fully out for the Z5c though but it should do better.
I guess you could say the S6 gives more detail and less blur but it also has way to much curve tweaking as the S7 but just much worse for same low light situations. S6 just turns to a mess at ISO 1000+ and low light while S7 does better. Both S6 and S7 also automatically (atleast in auto mode) if stable does multi-frame capture in low light to create improved noise reduction. Why some S6/S7 photos at say ISO 1000 looks bad and others much cleaner. Scene has to be static though and mobile firm. Same concept you can find in ProCapture camera app and their noise reduction mode.
Photo example of the S7 post-processing and curves.
Without HDR enabled.
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With HDR enabled.
Sony avoids this in most cases and dont go overboard like that keeping blacks deep and rich aswell as colors punchy and representation of captured scene is far better.
And a Z1 sample from manual mode 8MP, 1/8 ISO 3200. Little and smart use of brightening via the changing curves despite high ISO of 3200 keeping the blacks quite well, global contrast and colors punchy despite heavy tungsten lighting!
Manual mode, 1/8 ISO 1600 of same scene two days apart around same time.
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The sensor is just one part of the camera, there are so many other elements that can make it better or worse.
That's like saying one restaurant has better steak and complaining as somewhere else uses better cows - it's all about the cooking of the meat and the accompaniments that go with it.
In photography's case it's about the lens system, the image stabilisation and the post-processing. As posters above have said, the software controlling the Sony sensor in the S7 is great, no doubt.
Answer me this: if you give an amazing camera to a bad photographer will you get a better photo than giving a bad camera to a good photographer?

Answer me this: if you give an amazing camera to a bad photographer will you get a better photo than giving a bad camera to a good photographer?[/QUOTE]
Let me answer :
Are you able to drive faster in a Bentley than in a Renault even if you are a bad driver ?
Yes !!!
Same with photos quality (not photo skills)
I agree that the human factor is there but can not excuse all Sony conservative attitude plus Sony do not want to let 3rd party improve their lack of dev.
But still happy with my Z5 result... It is a phone and we do not have to expect the same quality as a Reflex

NJ72 said:
The sensor is just one part of the camera, there are so many other elements that can make it better or worse.
That's like saying one restaurant has better steak and complaining as somewhere else uses better cows - it's all about the cooking of the meat and the accompaniments that go with it.
In photography's case it's about the lens system, the image stabilisation and the post-processing. As posters above have said, the software controlling the Sony sensor in the S7 is great, no doubt.
Answer me this: if you give an amazing camera to a bad photographer will you get a better photo than giving a bad camera to a good photographer?
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I understand what you're trying to say but is it justified ? Is it possible that SONY can't make a software that control their own sensors ? Is it acceptable that other companies using SONY sensors whether modified or not, can make better use of it ?
SONY that has been in the photography industry since decades can't deal with their own driver and post processors on a mobile phone ?
Again the pictures on the Z5P are good but try going zoom to 100%... most of the details are missing compared to rivals.... not sure if it's lack of sharpness whatsoever but certainly the post processing needs work.
Look at their Z5 camera promotion bragging about the auto-focus speed... I literally had to find one single time I could get a a clear photo of somebody moving.
Don't get me wrong I'm a huge fan of the device but it just puts me on my nerve that we have the best hardware and the " best " brand name yet we always have excuses for the camera behavior.

Xeon said:
I understand what you're trying to say but is it justified ? Is it possible that SONY can't make a software that control their own sensors ? Is it acceptable that other companies using SONY sensors whether modified or not, can make better use of it ?
SONY that has been in the photography industry since decades can't deal with their own driver and post processors on a mobile phone ?
Again the pictures on the Z5P are good but try going zoom to 100%... most of the details are missing compared to rivals.... not sure if it's lack of sharpness whatsoever but certainly the post processing needs work.
Look at their Z5 camera promotion bragging about the auto-focus speed... I literally had to find one single time I could get a a clear photo of somebody moving.
Don't get me wrong I'm a huge fan of the device but it just puts me on my nerve that we have the best hardware and the " best " brand name yet we always have excuses for the camera behavior.
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In my opinion it's quite obvious with the Z5 premium that Sony spent more time focussing on the display than the camera's image processing. Sony could do a lot more with the camera than they do, but there are numerous other factors Sony consider when designing a smartphone. Evidently they either A) do not have the skills, B) don't rate it high enough or C) think they nailed it when it comes to the camera.
I agree that Sony should have done more with it, but I bought the phone knowing that they hadn't and I'd buy it again over Samsung's TouchWiz interface. I prefer my DSLR for photography, for me the rest of the phone is more important.
And, in answer to your first question, yes - what I said is justified. Whether it's what you'd have done if you were part of Sony's dev team, who knows, but what they did is make a very good phone with a camera that could be better.

NJ72 said:
In my opinion it's quite obvious with the Z5 premium that Sony spent more time focussing on the display than the camera's image processing. Sony could do a lot more with the camera than they do, but there are numerous other factors Sony consider when designing a smartphone. Evidently they either A) do not have the skills, B) don't rate it high enough or C) think they nailed it when it comes to the camera.
I agree that Sony should have done more with it, but I bought the phone knowing that they hadn't and I'd buy it again over Samsung's TouchWiz interface. I prefer my DSLR for photography, for me the rest of the phone is more important.
And, in answer to your first question, yes - what I said is justified. Whether it's what you'd have done if you were part of Sony's dev team, who knows, but what they did is make a very good phone with a camera that could be better.
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Well to be honest, SONY only brags about their camera performance in their devices.... This time in September they mentioned nothing but the 4K screen and the IMX300. No major change to the device design, software is close to stock android and the IP68 has been there for ages.
http://www.sonymobile.com/global-en/products/phones/xperia-z5/
See ? They are so proud of their camera that this is the only marketing card in their hands for now. As for lack of expertise, I really doubt but I can nothing but believe that they thought they nailed it when in fact it's still horrible in low light conditions.

The big problem I have with the Z5 is its shutter lag and no burst shooting. So you're left with rapidly tapping the shutter button which only gives you about 3fps. On the S7 you get a burst mode at over 20fps.
It's ridiculous how their ads show an instantaneous shutter but it could be no further from the truth. Even with Marshmallow the shutter lag is still pretty bad. This seagull was standing on the bridge when I pressed the shutter and the camera captured when it already started to fly away.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/j5hcj2jeazzjs77/DSC_0988.JPG?dl=0
Even HTC M9+ Supreme Camera has faster shutter and better manual options than Z5. It uses IMX230 and is a pretty bi

FYLin21 said:
The big problem I have with the Z5 is its shutter lag and no burst shooting. So you're left with rapidly tapping the shutter button which only gives you about 3fps. On the S7 you get a burst mode at over 20fps.
It's ridiculous how their ads show an instantaneous shutter but it could be no further from the truth. Even with Marshmallow the shutter lag is still pretty bad. This seagull was standing on the bridge when I pressed the shutter and the camera captured when it already started to fly away.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/j5hcj2jeazzjs77/DSC_0988.JPG?dl=0
Even HTC M9+ Supreme Camera has faster shutter and better manual options than Z5. It uses IMX230 and is a pretty bi
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This is what I'm talking about... you see... in your pic nothing looks OK, what was the focus doing ? i can't find any part of the pic clear....
One thing I noticed is that even Whatsapp camera looks awful. I understand that the pic is compressed and the post processing is non existent but on my Xperia Z the difference wasn't noticeable that much.

gm007 said:
Very easy good hardware and bad software.
Sony can't compete software wise with who had nexus phones.
Samsung LG know better about android and how to create a better software cause they took lot of info from Google while they have Nexus phones.
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Sorry but I tend to disagree. I dont think OEM release need google assistance. In fact SONY is very conservative when it comes to camera software. I bet they know how to unlock raw mode and compatibility yet they don't want to.
It's obvious that the post processing has been inconsistent across the Xperia line. A bit of trial and error if you want my opinion....
What you say about bad software is correct however unjustified. I can't accept it from an industry leader such as SONY.
OK the camera is almost perfect in manual mode if you want to go hardcore and adjust every possible value and mode for a snapshot but I don't want to spend 2 minutes for that :
Look at the difference between iPhone 6S and Z5 camera.... this lack of details is what makes me go nuts.

Xeon said:
This is what I'm talking about... you see... in your pic nothing looks OK, what was the focus doing ? i can't find any part of the pic clear....
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This has been zoomed a bit using "clear image zoom" which just oversharpens things. It could be fine if they just use something that rounds off the edges for up sampling, but you see a lot of jagged circular blobs throughout the edges. I had taken a few pictures of this bird standing there but the camera kept overexposing the scene. Then I brought the exposure down and tried taking a photo - the bird a still standing there the moment I pressed the shutter.
The only thing to get around no burst mode is using 4K video. You can capture 8MP stills while you film but sometimes it causes the video to stutter and it takes a long time to save them. The stills also look worse than the video itself - the contrast is lower with washed out colours. It's better to grab frames after filming but you'l need another app to do this and I'm not sure which one as I do it on my computer using Media Player Classic. You can also crop to 1080p which is better than using the digital zoom in the app - unfortunately the bitrate of 4K video is a bit low so you can see some artifacts when cropped to 1080p ...
Is the shutter lag due to software or hardware? it's hard to say. Low resolution photos from Facebook messenger can be taken instantaneously, but all the third party apps I've tried exhibit shutter lag - I think even worse than the stock camera app... and don't forget only 8MP works with third party apps.
If the images were downscaled to 8MP or something, they would be good compared to some other cameras but that defeats the purpose of having 20/23MP.
Imagine seeing the loch ness monster and you took a photo but the shutter lag means your photo doesn't show it because it dove into the water

I will give you a small example why sony is bad software wise,
In lollipop we had fingerprint scanner test in the diagnostic menu and the test was not working.
So instead to fix it in marshmallow they removed the test completely lol.

Xeon said:
Ok I'm Kinda mad here... There are things I don't understand and I will probably never....
How on earth, would every review on the internet including youtube videos give the upper hand to the S7 camera which has SONY IMX260 R EXMOR that has 7.18 mm sensor size and a 1.4 μm x 1.4 μm unit cell size while the Z5/Premium has the "exclusive cutting edge" RS EXMOR IMX300 with 7.87 mm sensor size and 1.1 μm x 1.1 μm pixel size ?
And please don't tell me about image processing ? Why on earth a giant Japanese corporation such as SONY specialized and leader in photography, videography, pictures and music Entertainment without forgetting their BIONZ image processor that compete or even wins over Nikon EXPEED and
Canon DIGIC can't do image processing right on a freaking CMOS sensor ?
Now yeah the Z5/P pictures are decent and although very good on a very sunny day.... I'll remain quiet for the low light part....
So to sum it up... a Samsung with an IMX260 12MP sensor is on par or outperforms a Sony IMX300 23MP ( 25MP ) sensor...
Funny isn't it ?
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No, and it's no surprise, it has been the case forever.
There was never any need for Sony to stupidly try to play the MP race again, seems they didn't learn from the point and shoot and DSLR MP race/nonsense. It's all marketing BS to say hey we've got something that no one else has.
Push the boundaries of the ideal MP for a certain sensor size, then you will always have problems with different types of noise entering your photo, due to sensor heat and the sensors small size and not being able to dissipate that amount of heat effectively, as a result to clean all this up they end up having to have pretty aggressive noise reduction algorithms, this also keeps the jpg photo size down a fair bit, handy for a phone unless you want to run your storage out in no time flat. Approx 25-35MB per photo @ 23MP low light high ISO these could have been even bigger.
Realistically would have just been better off running at 12MP and requiring much less noise reduction because due to less heat build up in the photo sites of the sensor.

danw_oz said:
No, and it's no surprise, it has been the case forever.
There was never any need for Sony to stupidly try to play the MP race again, seems they didn't learn from the point and shoot and DSLR MP race/nonsense. It's all marketing BS to say hey we've got something that no one else has.
Push the boundaries of the ideal MP for a certain sensor size, then you will always have problems with different types of noise entering your photo, due to sensor heat and the sensors small size and not being able to dissipate that amount of heat effectively, as a result to clean all this up they end up having to have pretty aggressive noise reduction algorithms, this also keeps the jpg photo size down a fair bit, handy for a phone unless you want to run your storage out in no time flat. Approx 25-35MB per photo @ 23MP low light high ISO these could have been even bigger.
Realistically would have just been better off running at 12MP and requiring much less noise reduction because due to less heat build up in the photo sites of the sensor.
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Ironically their sales and marketing strategy is flawed to death and it's chaotic but they wanna do marketing they do it the wrong way.
Seriously they should start recruiting...

hawker_gb said:
It's not funny at all.
Still,I find that Z5 camera is best on market atm.
Xperia Z5 via Tapatalk
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post like this really make me wonder about my specific device.... because i am totally with op here: the camera may be very good (the best?) in sunny/ bright conditions, but is just useless in darker situations (not just pitch black.. darker..). a camera like that can NEVER be called the best on market.. i would say

Barthlon said:
post like this really make me wonder about my specific device.... because i am totally with op here: the camera may be very good (the best?) in sunny/ bright conditions, but is just useless in darker situations (not just pitch black.. darker..). a camera like that can NEVER be called the best on market.. i would say
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They should have less NR in low contrast areas for photos as right now it is quite aggressive. Seems the area noise reduction aint so 'clever'. Previous Z phones perform much better in low contrast areas with no smudged out detail. My Z1 for example outdoes my Z5c easily in detail clarity across all contrast variables while keeping noise as low or even lower and resorts to less post-processing. I assume some can be attributed to not as wide sensor (26mm vs 23mm) and 1,2um vs 1,1um pixel size and perhaps the focus system (less electronical noise). They might heat up differently to. Will be interesting to see how the Xperia X performs since AFAIK it uses same or similar sensor as the Z5. Also seems Z5c uses more NR in superior auto vs manual mode despite same ISO.
But despite that it stands really good against competition and overall it just beats them.
Here is an example of the area noise rduction system it uses akin to BIONZ X algorithms just that it is to aggressive. Look at tree trunk and streetlight pole. High contrast area is sharp but low contrast area is smudged by the NR. The problem is it failed to detect that there are bushes infront smudging them out. This is the area NR not working as intended.

EQ2000 said:
They should have less NR in low contrast areas for photos as right now it is quite aggressive. Seems the area noise reduction aint so 'clever'. Previous Z phones perform much better in low contrast areas with no smudged out detail. My Z1 for example outdoes my Z5c easily in detail clarity across all contrast variables while keeping noise as low or even lower and resorts to less post-processing. I assume some can be attributed to not as wide sensor (26mm vs 23mm) and 1,2um vs 1,1um pixel size and perhaps the focus system (less electronical noise). They might heat up differently to. Will be interesting to see how the Xperia X performs since AFAIK it uses same or similar sensor as the Z5. Also seems Z5c uses more NR in superior auto vs manual mode despite same ISO.
But despite that it stands really good against competition and overall it just beats them.
Here is an example of the area noise rduction system it uses akin to BIONZ X algorithms just that it is to aggressive. Look at tree trunk and streetlight pole. High contrast area is sharp but low contrast area is smudged by the NR. The problem is it failed to detect that there are bushes infront smudging them out. This is the area NR not working as intended.
Well please accept my very subjective opinion... from first look the pic is catchy, nice, really nice colors but then the disaster...... it's certainly not a focus issue.
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Xeon said:
Well please accept my very subjective opinion... from first look the pic is catchy, nice, really nice colors but then the disaster...... it's certainly not a focus issue.
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Kinda hard to make out what you are reffering to but "disaster"? Z5 series applies to aggressive area based NR in low contrast areas, as for the rest the photo is quite good and natural looking. Certainly better than most S7 photos you can find of similar ISO, shutter speed and scenery type. Atleast the NR can be countered partially with texture detail and clarity filters to bring out contrast in smudged areas. S7 you cant do nothing to repair photos as they are beyond reparation.
Click on images to view them in Flickr default display size. Atrocious and beyond reparation. The Z5 IQ despite smudgy NR in low contrast areas is head and shoulders above the S7 IQ. Z5 looks to the DSLR side while S7 looks to the cheap old digital camera side.
S7. Atrocious, the borderline bad CRT chromatic aberration look. Like relief filter applied shifting pixels due to horrible post-processing and subpar sensor.
Z5. The area based NR problem is clearly visible yet it looks much more natural and better despite being taken in much worse lighting conditions as evident by shutter speed and postition of sun and shadows.
As for the highlights you made that is pretty much what I already noted though the left side is from lens problem, that unit has decentered lenses thus blurred sides, right and/or left. You can see that in S7 to depeding on unit. Such a unit should be replaced. And all cameras have to do some detail extraction in low contrast areas (shadowed/non directly lit areas) and thus wont be as detailed as lit areas.
Take a look at S7 photo with shadowed areas, see? Noisy, smudgy with blotches and horrible even though ISO is low. Atleast the Z5 smoothes it out mostly OK. (left and right side)
One more time! You see? (right side trees and bushes)
You still cant see it!? Well some more then!
To the right!
To the left!
To the left!
And all around! :laugh:

Buying G4 Plus for Camera

Hello,
I have read mixed reviews of the G4 Plus camera, while DxoMark gives it a score of 84. Many others consider it average in day light and worst in low light,
can anyone can post unedited/un-cropped images for sample. Is the G4 Plus a good buy as camera phone ?
Thank you.

In my experience it's a very good camera for a phone. Pictures here won't mean probably too much, since you have no reference point and the low resolution imposed by XDA.

Okay, let me tell you my experience. It's a good camera overall. Takes very vivid and sharp images in daylight ie in good conditions. But It has an average to above-average performance in low light conditions but..but..but.. certainly better than many phones that are in its price range. Another thing I wanna mention is that it struggles to snap moving objects. It's 'cause the g4 plus lacks optical image stabilization. I think for many of us It'd be a big deal. For me it's NOT.
I would certainly recommend this phone for phone photography.
Hit like if this post helped you

tobey_onk said:
Okay, let me tell you my experience. It's a good camera overall. Takes very vivid and sharp images in daylight ie in good conditions. But It has an average to above-average performance in low light conditions but..but..but.. certainly better than many phones that are in its price range. Another thing I wanna mention is that it struggles to snap moving objects. It's 'cause the g4 plus lacks optical image stabilization. I think for many of us It'd be a big deal. For me it's NOT.
I would certainly recommend this phone for phone photography.
Hit like if this post helped you
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Does this moving objects lag happens in manual mode as well ? when shutter is set to higher speed or only in auto mode ?
i think the fastest shutter speed is 1/5 in pro mode can you confirm this ?
Thanks

For camera, this phone is goooood.....?
But you should also pay attention to other issues like heating while camera is in use for more time and screen burn and ghosts touch..
( while screen burn and ghost touch is not common in all device, but if your luck is working wrong then you will have to face them )

tobey_onk said:
but..but..but.. certainly better than many phones that are in its price range.
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I seriously doubt that is another phone with a better camera at this price point ($300). In low level light or in daylight. You need to move up to $700 to get a better camera (like added optical zoom and stabilization).
Now, I always say that phones cannot compete with dedicated cameras, therefore they should not be used for planned photo sessions (like when you expect to have great subjects).

Well HTC desire 628 ( my last phone ) gave shutter speed of 1/8000. so i don't want to get anything lower than that. Other option i got is ZTE Nubia Z11 which has an Sony Exmor 298 but not sure if its good enough
https://youtu.be/U8PITTNu7fI?t=179
Thanks

dranzer006 said:
Does this moving objects lag happens in manual mode as well ? when shutter is set to higher speed or only in auto mode ?
i think the fastest shutter speed is 1/5 in pro mode can you confirm this ?
Thanks
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will try it.

The camera is good for the phone price but it has some quirks which make me irritated.
1. Slow focus, 1 in 3 shots would not have got focused, I notice this issue in pics with people, workaround is to wait additional second after it shows as focused, not always practical. This is probably biggest flaw of this phone. DxO remarks this in their review as well.
2. My earlier phone was nexus 5, OIS made the photos 99% of the time sharp and blur free. With G4 I have to keep my hands extremely steady in poor lighting.
3. I also find the images to be bit over sharpened, not a big deal though. Dynamic range is not that great either, has tendency to blow out sky and highlights.
4. Wide angle lens, didn't like this as objects seem to get curved across the edges of pic, this can and should have been fixed via post processing but moto decided to ignore it.
5. Finally the video recording with EIS is great but heats up the phone like crazy if shooting for long time.
For the price of phone I can forgive issue 2 and 3 but 1st one makes me hate the phone camera as I need to always check if it came out alright. Had I known it before I bought I would have skipped it.
Compared to phones in this price range though it's still decent and great when it works well. Most of the phone seems to have similar issues in this price range.