Database Users

Photographer's perspective on the LG G3

These topics have been widely discussed, I just find this funny. I do professional photography, and I thought this phone would be great for me. Not only could I show off my photos on a glorious 2k screen, but it was supposed to have a great off-duty camera as well. Ironically, it's instead hitting some photographer pet peeves real bad.
1) The screen sharpening is bad. I see amateur photographers get over enthusiastic on sharpening, cause the sharper the better, right? No, you make ugly artifacts like halos. Now my entire phone does it nonstop. It hurts! This goes beyond the font issue that's widely been talked about. I love viewing photos through my Nexus 7 or HTC M7 because it's like looking through a window. Photos on the G3 just look artifical.
2) Another is the camera noise reduction. Noise is bad, so let's crank the noise reduction. No, some grain and more detail is much preferable to pics that look like watercolors.
3) I knew this one going in, but as the Andantech review pointed out, the color accuracy is bad. I can spend time editing a photo on my phone and paste it to Facebook, just to realize once I'm viewing on a pc that the pic looks nothing like my meticulous edit. Great.
I know I'm hypersensitive to these issues because of my profession. My wife didn't notice the sharpening. But it's funny that what I thought would be my ideal phone is such the opposite.

supposedmonster said:
3) I knew this one going in, but as the Andantech review pointed out, the color accuracy is bad. I can spend time editing a photo on my phone and paste it to Facebook, just to realize once I'm viewing on a pc that the pic looks nothing like my meticulously edit. Great.
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How long ago was last time you calibrated your PC monitor? Does your monitor have sRGB mode? And, BTW, maybe you even use some notebook with cheap junky TN panel in the first place? :laugh:

I use an ASUS PA246 wide gamut monitor regularly calibrated with a Colormunki Display, so yes, I have a good benchmark.
Sent from my LG-D851 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

supposedmonster said:
so yes, I have a good benchmark.
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Glad for you, well then did you try to compare pix from the net to view both on monitor and on G3 and compare colors? Like I did
Check that topic also, maybe you bought G3 with blueish panel

Man this was not an easy shot to pull off. It's hard to tell from the pic, but LG is on the left and Nexus 7 is on the bottom. The LG would equate to quite a few notches of saturation boost in Lightroom.
This photo doesn't quite show it well, but the Nexus is actually slightly less saturated than the calibrated monitor.
The colors aren't that bad in either devices (I mean you can only expect so much, I get these aren't meant to be crazy calibrated panels), but I'd rather edit on the Nexus and find them slightly more vibrant on other devices than on the LG and find it decidedly dull.
Sent from my LG-D851 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

supposedmonster said:
These topics have been widely discussed, I just find this funny. I do professional photography, and I thought this phone would be great for me. Not only could I show off my photos on a glorious 2k screen, but it was supposed to have a great off-duty camera as well. Ironically, it's instead hitting some photographer pet peeves real bad.
1) The screen sharpening is bad. I see amateur photographers get over enthusiastic on sharpening, cause the sharper the better, right? No, you make ugly artifacts like halos. Now my entire phone does it nonstop. It hurts! This goes beyond the font issue that's widely been talked about. I love viewing photos through my Nexus 7 or HTC M7 because it's like looking through a window. Photos on the G3 just look artifical.
2) Another is the camera noise reduction. Noise is bad, so let's crank the noise reduction. No, some grain and more detail is much preferable to pics that look like watercolors.
3) I knew this one going in, but as the Andantech review pointed out, the color accuracy is bad. I can spend time editing a photo on my phone and paste it to Facebook, just to realize once I'm viewing on a pc that the pic looks nothing like my meticulous edit. Great.
I know I'm hypersensitive to these issues because of my profession. My wife didn't notice the sharpening. But it's funny that what I thought would be my ideal phone is such the opposite.
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Click to collapse
I'm just curious about number 3 up there, and I'm not trying to be an ass, but why would any professional photographer spend time editing a photo on a phone meticulously, instead of putting the photo on the PC and editing it with PS? I mean, if you edit it with the PC, its a lot easier, and you also get a WYSIWYG.

Haha, well my camera has WiFi. When in on vacation it's fun being able to post professional quality pics to social media from my phone.
Sent from my LG-D851 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

The G3 display can be somewhat manually adjusted in color contrast, did you tweak it a bit? Maybe it'll improve.

Thanks, I have read about that. Without being able to use a preview image to calibrate I think it'd drive me crazy. Plus I doubt it'll help because it seems to only adjust color and contrast, not saturation, which is the bigger issue.
What bugs me more though is the sharpening, but I have faith that'll be fixed either by LG or the community since enough people have raised a hallaboo.
Sent from my LG-D851 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

I can live with the screen sharpening (since it's all software and don't affect the photos themselves). I can also live with so-so color reproduction. But gawd, that NR pisses me off. What's the point of having a good sensor when you're gonna mess up the photos with mediocre processing. That being said... photos still look pretty decent in good lighting ;P

supposedmonster said:
These topics have been widely discussed, I just find this funny. I do professional photography, and I thought this phone would be great for me. Not only could I show off my photos on a glorious 2k screen, but it was supposed to have a great off-duty camera as well. Ironically, it's instead hitting some photographer pet peeves real bad.
1) The screen sharpening is bad. I see amateur photographers get over enthusiastic on sharpening, cause the sharper the better, right? No, you make ugly artifacts like halos. Now my entire phone does it nonstop. It hurts! This goes beyond the font issue that's widely been talked about. I love viewing photos through my Nexus 7 or HTC M7 because it's like looking through a window. Photos on the G3 just look artifical.
2) Another is the camera noise reduction. Noise is bad, so let's crank the noise reduction. No, some grain and more detail is much preferable to pics that look like watercolors.
3) I knew this one going in, but as the Andantech review pointed out, the color accuracy is bad. I can spend time editing a photo on my phone and paste it to Facebook, just to realize once I'm viewing on a pc that the pic looks nothing like my meticulous edit. Great.
I know I'm hypersensitive to these issues because of my profession. My wife didn't notice the sharpening. But it's funny that what I thought would be my ideal phone is such the opposite.
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Click to collapse
I am sorry but you have me totally confused.......
I agree the G3 does have over sharpening which depending on how and what you shoot can have detrimental effects on the scene shot.
However, why on earth are you getting so annoyed with what is in effect simply a smartphone camera sensor?
Although I do not take photos as a profession I have however owned a camera since... Hang on a second......1963. Throughout time I learned many various methods and art in photography, travelling the world shooting all manner of photos with compacts and SLR's to the more recent DSLR and smartphone.
Yet, there is no way on earth would I take a professional shot with a smartphone nor would I expect it to achieve something which could be of use in a professional manner.
I do apologies but it does annoy me when I hear from someone first stating they are a 'professional' and use this word as their basis for a debate.
If you have an issue with the G3, fine I can live with that as you are very much correct, certain aspects of the software could be improved but let us not forget.
1. It is a smartphone.
2. It is software which means if you do not like the camera app that controls the shooting then use a different camera app.
I personally use the app 'A Better Camera' which is excellent.
I am sure as a professional photographer you must have heard of this app and learned the author is not just another coder but does have an understanding of photography.
With 'A Better Camera' as your tool you will find first it gives you back the manual controls and second it then allows you to be as creative as a smartphone will allow you.
Having said all this I have never ever ever been happy letting the camera dictate the shot but the G3 is the first type of camera that I am happy shooting 'casual photography' in auto mode.

Beards said:
I am sorry but you have me totally confused.......
I agree the G3 does have over sharpening which depending on how and what you shoot can have detrimental effects on the scene shot.
However, why on earth are you getting so annoyed with what is in effect simply a smartphone camera sensor?
Although I do not take photos as a profession I have however owned a camera since... Hang on a second......1963. Throughout time I learned many various methods and art in photography, travelling the world shooting all manner of photos with compacts and SLR's to the more recent DSLR and smartphone.
Yet, there is no way on earth would I take a professional shot with a smartphone nor would I expect it to achieve something which could be of use in a professional manner.
I do apologies but it does annoy me when I hear from someone first stating they are a 'professional' and use this word as their basis for a debate.
If you have an issue with the G3, fine I can live with that as you are very much correct, certain aspects of the software could be improved but let us not forget.
1. It is a smartphone.
2. It is software which means if you do not like the camera app that controls the shooting then use a different camera app.
I personally use the app 'A Better Camera' which is excellent.
I am sure as a professional photographer you must have heard of this app and learned the author is not just another coder but does have an understanding of photography.
With 'A Better Camera' as your tool you will find first it gives you back the manual controls and second it then allows you to be as creative as a smartphone will allow you.
Having said all this I have never ever ever been happy letting the camera dictate the shot but the G3 is the first type of camera that I am happy shooting 'casual photography' in auto mode.
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Speaking of which, is it possible to set long exposure (for night shots with a tripod, for example) with A Better Camera? Other than the automatic "Night Shot"...

fabripav said:
Speaking of which, is it possible to set long exposure (for night shots with a tripod, for example) with A Better Camera? Other than the automatic "Night Shot"...
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Not presently...... But note, this is not the problem with the G3 or A Better Camera.
It is Android or should I say Google who limited the speed to just under 1sec.
However, under Android L all will change as among the 400+ camera api's introduced camera speed is one of them. So 'hopefully' developers will raise to the challenge and add this vital missing setting.

Beards said:
Not presently...... But note, this is not the problem with the G3 or A Better Camera.
It is Android or should I say Google who limited the speed to just under 1sec.
However, under Android L all will change as among the 400+ camera api's introduced camera speed is one of them. So 'hopefully' developers will raise to the challenge and add this vital missing setting.
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Yeah, can't wait for that update for many reasons, camera included.
It's weird though that the Oppo Find 7 camera (for example) has a shutter speed that goes up to 32 seconds. How did they manage to make it avalaible? The sensor is a simple Sony IMX214.
I wonder if all the features of Camera FV-5 work on the G3, anyone tried it yet? (my G3 has yet to arrive)

fabripav said:
Yeah, can't wait for that update for many reasons, camera included.
It's weird though that the Oppo Find 7 camera (for example) has a shutter speed that goes up to 32 seconds. How did they manage to make it avalaible? The sensor is a simple Sony IMX214.
I wonder if all the features of Camera FV-5 work on the G3, anyone tried it yet? (my G3 has yet to arrive)
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The Oppo Find 7's camera doesn't actually keep the lens open for 32 seconds, it does a trick similar to what Camera FV-5 does in that it takes a series of shots from a thumbnail (hence why it's small and lacks any detail).
Re your query on Camera FV-5 ~ everything with the exception of ISO works. With ISO the dials say it has altered ISO but when you take the shot you find it has altered nothing.
A Better Camera on the other hand does alter the settings and does apply them to the shot.
It's the only app out there which utilises all the manual controls that are open to write permission, this also includes AE and WB Lock which again no other camera app uses.

[/COLOR]
fabripav said:
Yeah, can't wait for that update for many reasons, camera included.
It's weird though that the Oppo Find 7 camera (for example) has a shutter speed that goes up to 32 seconds. How did they manage to make it avalaible? The sensor is a simple Sony IMX214.
I wonder if all the features of Camera FV-5 work on the G3, anyone tried it yet? (my G3 has yet to arrive)
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Click to collapse
Yes it does. I haven't tried the long exposure in FV-5 though.
Beards said:
Re your query on Camera FV-5 ~ everything with the exception of ISO works. With ISO the dials say it has altered ISO but when you take the shot you find it has altered nothing.
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Camera FV-5's ISO setting works fine for me.
ISO 100 1/60 F/2.4
http://i1.minus.com/iMbhMmPuhI3Es.JPG
ISO 1600 1/680 F/2.4
http://i7.minus.com/iNJO0u9CN5xvf.JPG
I'm a photographer (;P). I know what I'm talking about.

You have the D851 which is Tmob.. which doesnt have the sharpening effect.. at least anecdotally. same model i have and theres zero sharpening going on. the colors mind you are off, but its no galaxy S4 or G2.. but as was stated dont plan to edit on your phone and you wont be frustrated by using the wrong tool for the job.
dont bring a 400mm telephoto zoom to a job that requires a 35mm prime or vice versa.

Itaintrite said:
[/COLOR]
Yes it does. I haven't tried the long exposure in FV-5 though.
Camera FV-5's ISO setting works fine for me.
ISO 100 1/60 F/2.4
http://i1.minus.com/iMbhMmPuhI3Es.JPG
ISO 1600 1/680 F/2.4
http://i7.minus.com/iNJO0u9CN5xvf.JPG
I'm a photographer (;P). I know what I'm talking about.
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Really...... Thank you.
When was the App last updated?

Beards said:
Really...... Thank you.
When was the App last updated?
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I'm using v1.7.3. Updated June 27th.

Itaintrite said:
I'm using v1.7.3. Updated June 27th.
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Great... I'll give it another go against A Better Camera; although ABC does have many more controls.

Is it just my Z2 or is camera focus a problem.

I love the camera on the Z2... when it focuses properly.
I've never had such a bad phone at focussing!
I also get the odd shot that's over processed into a mush but that's another story and something all mobile cameras can do on occasions.
Went to my eldest's first nativity play today and tried to film it, end result the back of people's heads in front of us were in focus but the kids on stage?
Nah they were a blurry mess.
It's not just the constant focus seeking for no reason in videos that annoys me either.
With stills, generally it's 50/50 if I get a focussed shot or not.
When I do the results are fantastic (as long as you use manual white balance)
Half the time the camera doesn't focus properly with touch focus or doesn't focus where you want it.
If I just try infinity focus and let the camera sort itself out I get a few pictures that the camera focuses on nothing, the entire shot is out of focus.
Never had these problems with the M8, Note2, GS2 that preceded my Z2 so I don't think it's me.
I know that the Z2 has focus problems in less than brilliant light which doesn't help (unlike the M8) but it's making my mobile photography pretty hit and miss.
Unfortunately the shot often looks fine on the phone but when viewed on a large PC monitor it's obvious the shot is useless.
It's seriously making me consider leaving the Sony stable in the next generation next year which would be a real shame because the phone itself is the best Android out there for me at the moment.
Sony really have to sort out their camera processing, if Apple can do it with a Sony lens there should be no excuse for Sony.
Either it's just a Sony thing or my phone is faulty but like I said some of the pictures I take have stellar focus and colour balance but on the whole... not.
Sorry just needed to vent some frustration!

First of all this must be moved to Q & A threat,second - After the 4.4.4 update the Superior auto mode is even crappier then 4.4.2,so if you make your photos that way...its normal.Try playing with the Manual mode with 20mpxls and if you want a full focused picture - go with Multifocus mode and Multi metering,and ofcourse this is just the beginning.If you still experience those kind of focus problems see if ur camera glass antireflection coating is not removed. / scratched/ (the glass itself is not scratched.) If so - give it to sony centre for repair. You can check when putting the glass on bright light.

effective said:
First of all this must be moved to Q & A threat,second - After the 4.4.4 update the Superior auto mode is even crappier then 4.4.2,so if you make your photos that way...its normal.Try playing with the Manual mode with 20mpxls and if you want a full focused picture - go with Multifocus mode and Multi metering,and ofcourse this is just the beginning.If you still experience those kind of focus problems see if ur camera glass antireflection coating is not removed. / scratched/ (the glass itself is not scratched.) If so - give it to sony centre for repair. You can check when putting the glass on bright light.
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Thanks, for the advice.
I must admit I have started using Manual mode more often than Auto now because under artificial light all the auto shots turn out orange and over processed.
I'll try Multifocus and metering now.

kibbster said:
Thanks, for the advice.
I must admit I have started using Manual mode more often than Auto now because under artificial light all the auto shots turn out orange and over processed.
I'll try Multifocus and metering now.
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Try to configure the focus tô touch or center,may solve you problems .

FrosteezBR said:
Try to configure the focus tô touch or center,may solve you problems .
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No, touch focus is ropy as hell on this phone, often it won't actually focus where I want it to, and if it does often it'll focus on a pin point area and blur everything else.

kibbster said:
I love the camera on the Z2... when it focuses properly.
I've never had such a bad phone at focussing!
I also get the odd shot that's over processed into a mush but that's another story and something all mobile cameras can do on occasions.
Went to my eldest's first nativity play today and tried to film it, end result the back of people's heads in front of us were in focus but the kids on stage?
Nah they were a blurry mess.
It's not just the constant focus seeking for no reason in videos that annoys me either.
With stills, generally it's 50/50 if I get a focussed shot or not.
When I do the results are fantastic (as long as you use manual white balance)
Half the time the camera doesn't focus properly with touch focus or doesn't focus where you want it.
If I just try infinity focus and let the camera sort itself out I get a few pictures that the camera focuses on nothing, the entire shot is out of focus.
Never had these problems with the M8, Note2, GS2 that preceded my Z2 so I don't think it's me.
I know that the Z2 has focus problems in less than brilliant light which doesn't help (unlike the M8) but it's making my mobile photography pretty hit and miss.
Unfortunately the shot often looks fine on the phone but when viewed on a large PC monitor it's obvious the shot is useless.
It's seriously making me consider leaving the Sony stable in the next generation next year which would be a real shame because the phone itself is the best Android out there for me at the moment.
Sony really have to sort out their camera processing, if Apple can do it with a Sony lens there should be no excuse for Sony.
Either it's just a Sony thing or my phone is faulty but like I said some of the pictures I take have stellar focus and colour balance but on the whole... not.
Sorry just needed to vent some frustration!
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Click to collapse
I have the same issue. Touch focus for video is useless and it takes forever to track into focus even when looking at sharp edges and keeping still. Google Camera does MUCH better but no 4K video or 60 fps.

sam_conrad said:
I have the same issue. Touch focus for video is useless and it takes forever to track into focus even when looking at sharp edges and keeping still. Google Camera does MUCH better but no 4K video or 60 fps.
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I may try a different camera then.
I don't use 4k or 60fps usually so probably no loss there.
Thanks.

sam_conrad said:
I have the same issue. Touch focus for video is useless and it takes forever to track into focus even when looking at sharp edges and keeping still. Google Camera does MUCH better but no 4K video or 60 fps.
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Thanks for the tip!
Been playing with Google camera today and I've got to say it's far more accurate for focus than the stock app!
HDR in Google camera works better than stock as well, although it's slow.
Shame I can't override the default camera button behaviour because the hardware button is a handy way to get into the camera quickly.

kibbster said:
Thanks for the tip!
Been playing with Google camera today and I've got to say it's far more accurate for focus than the stock app!
HDR in Google camera works better than stock as well, although it's slow.
Shame I can't override the default camera button behaviour because the hardware button is a handy way to get into the camera quickly.
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Click to collapse
HDR in Google Camera used to be exclusive to Nexus devices but Google opened it up in the last few updates. It also does HDR at 20.7 MP but Google Camera lacks extended options like ISO speed control and such.
I switch between manual mode in the Sony app and Google Camera depending on the situation. For videos, the Google Camera app definitely wins in focus speed and accuracy. The software developers and engineers at Sony really need to get on the same page!

sam_conrad said:
HDR in Google Camera used to be exclusive to Nexus devices but Google opened it up in the last few updates. It also does HDR at 20.7 MP but Google Camera lacks extended options like ISO speed control and such.
I switch between manual mode in the Sony app and Google Camera depending on the situation. For videos, the Google Camera app definitely wins in focus speed and accuracy. The software developers and engineers at Sony really need to get on the same page!
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The only shame with Google cam video is it doesn't have the steady shot that Sony camera does.
I guess the lack of constant focus shifting makes up for that though.
Oh and there's no doubt Sony's software engineers are the cause of most of the camera issues and need to sort it out!

Which camera app?

Just got the phone today and I'm really enjoying it. Camera seems to take pretty decent photos, I'm just not liking the UI of the stock app itself. What are you guys using?

cas239 said:
Just got the phone today and I'm really enjoying it. Camera seems to take pretty decent photos, I'm just not liking the UI of the stock app itself. What are you guys using?
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Stock.
If you use another camera, it won't work with the Moto wrist flick action.

Darnell_Chat_TN said:
Stock.
If you use another camera, it won't work with the Moto wrist flick action.
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Yea, I figured as much. I can almost live without that though. Coming from a Note 4 and i'm used to touch to focus.

cas239 said:
Yea, I figured as much. I can almost live without that though. Coming from a Note 4 and i'm used to touch to focus.
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The Moto camera app has touch to focus. You just have to turn off the auto focus..

I'm trying to live with the Moto camera app....I also like it for the barcode scanner...... But, I found the HTC One camera app here on XDA. I've used that app for the last 3 years and have always wished it was available for other phones. It's in the Android apps and games section (here's the link to the thread): http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s4/themes-apps/mod-htc-one-m9-camera-gallery-t3143538 I like the gallery too.
I've also tried MANY other cameras and the one I like the best so far, and it's new, is: ProShot
I also like Camera FV-5..... I just purchased it today. The 3.0 update that's coming out looks pretty good, that's why I got it now. I don't like the 21mp ratio aspect and if you change it, it takes off 5mp, but we'll see what happens?
Also like: A Better Camera - pretty good, but don't like the UI
AZ Camera - Manual Pro Cam - Just tried it this week, seems ok for a freebie
Open Camera - This one really impressed me for a free camera
Snap Camera - Looks like an upgrade to Open Camera, but I have some "touch" issues with it from time to time
Cameringo+ Effects camera - It has great reviews and 4.6 stars, but I just didn't like the UI either.
CameraMX - Pretty good for a freebie too
Google Camera - It's Google Camera Not much more to say
I plan on messing around with Camera FV-5 tonight to get a better feel for it......But I'll probably always use the Moto camera for the ease of access to it.

Thanks for the suggestions. Do any one of the cemera apps you mentioned allow users to manually set e.g. ISO? (I don't own a MXPE yet so I can't test this myself)
tele_jas said:
I'm trying to live with the Moto camera app....I also like it for the barcode scanner...... But, I found the HTC One camera app here on XDA. I've used that app for the last 3 years and have always wished it was available for other phones. It's in the Android apps and games section (here's the link to the thread): http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s4/themes-apps/mod-htc-one-m9-camera-gallery-t3143538 I like the gallery too.
I've also tried MANY other cameras and the one I like the best so far, and it's new, is: ProShot
I also like Camera FV-5..... I just purchased it today. The 3.0 update that's coming out looks pretty good, that's why I got it now. I don't like the 21mp ratio aspect and if you change it, it takes off 5mp, but we'll see what happens?
Also like: A Better Camera - pretty good, but don't like the UI
AZ Camera - Manual Pro Cam - Just tried it this week, seems ok for a freebie
Open Camera - This one really impressed me for a free camera
Snap Camera - Looks like an upgrade to Open Camera, but I have some "touch" issues with it from time to time
Cameringo+ Effects camera - It has great reviews and 4.6 stars, but I just didn't like the UI either.
CameraMX - Pretty good for a freebie too
Google Camera - It's Google Camera Not much more to say
I plan on messing around with Camera FV-5 tonight to get a better feel for it......But I'll probably always use the Moto camera for the ease of access to it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

case-sensitive said:
Thanks for the suggestions. Do any one of the cemera apps you mentioned allow users to manually set e.g. ISO? (I don't own a MXPE yet so I can't test this myself)
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Click to collapse
Yeah, most of those do.
The Camera FV-5 and Cameringo+ are capable of being almost fully manual. The ProShot has several of those too and the HTC camera even has several manual settings. Not sure about the others, I didn't explore them that much? Pretty sure they'll say in the description? If you get it narrowed down or need more specific info, I can *try* to help by downloading (one I own) and trying something with it? I'm a little restricted on time later this week, headed to St Louis for a business meeting (and Cardinal's game).

Are any of these apps able to shoot 720p in 120 fps? In the other cameras I have tried, I get a pop-up saying fps over thirty isn't supported even on 720p

tele_jas said:
Yeah, most of those do.
The Camera FV-5 and Cameringo+ are capable of being almost fully manual. The ProShot has several of those too and the HTC camera even has several manual settings. Not sure about the others, I didn't explore them that much? Pretty sure they'll say in the description? If you get it narrowed down or need more specific info, I can *try* to help by downloading (one I own) and trying something with it? I'm a little restricted on time later this week, headed to St Louis for a business meeting (and Cardinal's game).
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Click to collapse
Thanks! When you get a chance, could you use one of these apps to take a couple of photos in low light setting, and see if manually setting the ISO and/or (probably and?!) extending the exposure time would improve the camera's low light performance (without flash)? You probably need a (very?) steady hand
THANKS!

case-sensitive said:
Thanks! When you get a chance, could you use one of these apps to take a couple of photos in low light setting, and see if manually setting the ISO and/or (probably and?!) extending the exposure time would improve the camera's low light performance (without flash)? You probably need a (very?) steady hand
THANKS!
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Well, I had a few minuted today, so here's the setup..... I play in a band (just a weekend thing), so I went into my music room (aka, my bedroom) and turned off the light, but left the door half-way open and the hall light on... I then took some pics of my gear.
I snapped several pictures using 4 different apps.... There was almost no difference with any of the apps vs the Moto camera as far as quality goes. One disappointing thing, when I tried to change the ISO, 3 of the 4 apps crashed and the 4th didn't allow me to click on the different speeds?? It's almost like the ISO is locked to auto? They all offered a "night mode" which made it brighter, but added quite a bit of noise. There was also an exposure compensation that brightened up the image, but basically did the same thing as night mode and added noise.
I didn't post any of the images, since there was no difference and it wasn't the best of settings. I'll try to get some better testing this evening and see if I get anything worth posting?

The stock camera sucks, because it doesn't have different pic sizes. Only 16m for 4:3 or 21m on 16:9. Witch results in huge file sizes. I take a lot of pics for work and 2m is big enough. The lack of options is weird.

I have tried a bunch of camera apps with this phone.
Stock camera .....very poor quality compared to other apps.
These are the best (not in order):
Snap camera ...takes great pictures, probably the best of the three with the right settings ..... but currently buggy though with this phone ...auto-focus is not that sharp in low light, touch to capture works great and takes sharp focused pictures but is buggy (you often have to double tap to capture, but if you can live with that until it's fixed..) and also the video mode doesn't currently work
Camera FV-5 ....very good quality pics, sharp, detailed, on par with snap, no bugs found
Open Camera ....Very good quality pics, auto focus works best of all the apps, or on par with Camera FV-5 ...no bugs found ....video mode works ....and it's free

Does this app like snap camera or open camera drain more battery than stock caméra ?

Took this one last night at the St Louis Cardinals game.. The post game fireworks.. Not too bad for stock, set on automatic.

Darnell_Chat_TN said:
Stock.
If you use another camera, it won't work with the Moto wrist flick action.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Stock is ok but wow does the files really have to be so large. Kinda stupid. You don't have enough control to change picture size before taking a pic. Most of the time I am just emailing and texting pics you don't need a 7MB pic for that.

U11 video recording nitpicking

I've been using the Galaxy S8 Plus until I received my solar red U11 yesterday (glad I waited, it's very nice looking). Anyway, I am very impressed with the photo image quality of the phone (it is very comparable to the S8), but I have a few nitpicks about the video recording:
1) No 1080p/60 mode. I really don't understand why it doesn't have a 60fps mode when even phones from 2016 had it? It has 1080p/30 and 1080p/120 (for slow motion), so why no 1080/60? Is it overheating concern?
2) No way to turn of EIS in 1080p video recording mode? While 1080p is very stable due to its combined OIS and EIS, it also crops the view significantly when recording video in this mode (compare it to 4k, which is quite a bit wider but has no EIS). Anyway, the EIS is nice if you want that, but I think there needs to be a toggle or option to turn off EIS and have the wide recording mode in 1080p that is like the 4k mode. As it stands, there does not appear to be a way to change this.
3) 6 minute recording limit in 4k. I guess it's also due to overheating concerns, but why not just make it unlimited and have the phone's temperature monitoring stop recording automatically if it gets to a certain temp? Some people are reporting overheating stoppages even before the 6 minutes, but in cooler environments, we may be able to record indefinitely in 4k.
Things I DO like about the U11's camera though...
1) Photo app and quality are excellent. Nice Pro mode too.
2) Glad I can lock exposure and focus during video recording very easily.
3) Focusing pulling with the touch screen is very nice on the U11 (it doesn't rock back and forth when focusing like many other phone cameras).
4) Audio recording options are very nice (3d audio vs hi-res, and acoustic focus)

https://www.xda-developers.com/htc-u11-updates-srgb-1080p60/

Conan1986 said:
https://www.xda-developers.com/htc-u11-updates-srgb-1080p60/
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Click to collapse
Thanks! It's good to see that they are working on adding 1080p/60, though it appears to be a ways off.
Another thing that bothers me (when compared to the S8 or iPhone 7) is that I can't seem to take a photo while recording in 4k. I'm not sure if that's a software or hardware limitation, but I used that all the time on those phones. I really like using the squeeze to open the camera, take a photo, and switch between front and rear cameras though!

Travisimo said:
Thanks! It's good to see that they are working on adding 1080p/60, though it appears to be a ways off.
Another thing that bothers me (when compared to the S8 or iPhone 7) is that I can't seem to take a photo while recording in 4k. I'm not sure if that's a software or hardware limitation, but I used that all the time on those phones. I really like using the squeeze to open the camera, take a photo, and switch between front and rear cameras though!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try Open Camera on XDA, it works shooting 1080P without EIS and no time length limitation on 4K.

I've also see the same issue on the HTC 10 in regards to the 4k and taking a photo while recording if you can call it an issue. I suppose no one had complained about it and they left it unchanged

TheEndHK said:
Try Open Camera on XDA, it works shooting 1080P without EIS and no time length limitation on 4K.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's a nice camera app, thanks. Tried various settings in the app for video recording. Looks like no matter what framerate you choose, it can't go above 30fps. I thought maybe it would let me shoot 1080p/60, but nope (even when setting it to 60fps, it still records at 30). Also doesn't seem to be a way to take a photo while shooting video in this app? Nice that you can shoot longer than 6 minutes in 4k though (I didn't try it yet, but I assume it works).

wilpang said:
I've also see the same issue on the HTC 10 in regards to the 4k and taking a photo while recording if you can call it an issue. I suppose no one had complained about it and they left it unchanged
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I call it an "issue" only because I have come to expect it when shooting video now. In fact, I used it quite frequently on my iPhone and Galaxy S8. Being able to take a photo without interrupting the video recording is a pretty important feature, in my opinion. I suppose one could load up the video in software and capture a frame manually, but it's a feature that other flagships have, so I miss it.

Travisimo said:
It's a nice camera app, thanks. Tried various settings in the app for video recording. Looks like no matter what framerate you choose, it can't go above 30fps. I thought maybe it would let me shoot 1080p/60, but nope (even when setting it to 60fps, it still records at 30). Also doesn't seem to be a way to take a photo while shooting video in this app? Nice that you can shoot longer than 6 minutes in 4k though (I didn't try it yet, but I assume it works).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
60fps will come with one of the next OTA updates.
Sent from my htc_pmeuhl using XDA Labs

Travisimo said:
I call it an "issue" only because I have come to expect it when shooting video now. In fact, I used it quite frequently on my iPhone and Galaxy S8. Being able to take a photo without interrupting the video recording is a pretty important feature, in my opinion. I suppose one could load up the video in software and capture a frame manually, but it's a feature that other flagships have, so I miss it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Indeed, my old year 2012 HTC One S supported shooting FHD video and taking a real photo at the same time and I owned a Galaxy S6 support that feature too. However, I think during 4K recording that no phone could take a real photo, all they do is just capture a frame from video clip and pretend that is a photo.

TheEndHK said:
Indeed, my old year 2012 HTC One S supported shooting FHD video and taking a real photo at the same time and I owned a Galaxy S6 support that feature too. However, I think during 4K recording that no phone could take a real photo, all they do is just capture a frame from video clip and pretend that is a photo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right, I understand it's not an actual "photo" at the highest resolution, but I would still like the convenience of capturing a frame during 4k video recording like I can on all of the other flagships phones.

Wow I'm glad I found this post, I thought I was going crazy with the issues you mentioned, especially the cropped 1080p video! I hope they can fix that with the 60fps update, because it is really annoying.

Hi, 60fps still not possible?

vojta20vt said:
Hi, 60fps still not possible?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1080p60 is being introduced in stock ROMs with versions 1.26 and higher.

Do you know if EIS for 4k video is planned? Thinking about buying the U11 instead of the much too expensive Pixel 2, but the lack of EIS in this case is a bit of a bummer.

[Q] EIS Video Stabilization Sucks?

I am really considering pulling the trigger on buying this phone. The photo quality seems to be okay now but the video stabilization just sucks.
Is this really how bad and jerky the video is?
Here are a few youtube links.
https://youtu.be/DhohsgddVQg
https://youtu.be/wzvvijuACvU?t=5m19s
and
1080p seems a bit better but the focus doesn't work quickly.
https://youtu.be/cZLClyWcGe4

choder said:
I am really considering pulling the trigger on buying this phone. The photo quality seems to be okay now but the video stabilization just sucks.
Is this really how bad and jerky the video is?
Here are a few youtube links.
https://youtu.be/DhohsgddVQg
and
1080p seems a bit better but the focus doesn't work quickly.
https://youtu.be/cZLClyWcGe4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, the stock camera app has horrible EIS
Some say opencamera has better software for video stabilization, but have not tried it myself

Can anyone confirm if the Google camera port makes the video stabilization usable?
If anyone has video from another app besides the stock camera I would like to see EIS actually working.

From the lack of responses, the video stability is just terrible. That's just too bad, I really wanted to purchase this phone, but I can't justify purchasing it with this poor video. I thought about the option of always uploading to YouTube and stabilizing it, but that's just too much of a hassle.
Maybe in the next software update it will fix the stability problems.
I guess using google photos app to stabilize the video might be a solution. https://goo.gl/Lt5oRu

I tried three camera apps--the stock (v 0.1.082), Google's camera app from the app store and Google's stock camera app posted here. The highest acuity was achieved with the stock Essential phone app. The two Google apps were about the same.
I'm not a camera guy so I won't recommend on app over the other for color or vibrancy or bokeh. I checked hand-held stability by photographing pictures on a wall 10' away, framed together with objects 2 to 7 feet away. I selected the framed art 10' away for focus. Later, for photos taken with each of the three apps, I zoomed in on the wall-hanging pictures. The three apps all had some artifacting of the framed images.
But in the photo taken with the Essential app I noticed a light switch below the paintings. Clear above that switch holding it to the wall was a screw, bisected by a dark groove that was angled about 10 degrees off horizontal.
Although the switch and screw was noticeable in shots of all three apps, only in the photo taken with the Essential stock app was the screwdriver groove so clear.

roebling said:
I tried three camera apps--the stock (v 0.1.082), Google's camera app from the app store and Google's stock camera app posted here. The highest acuity was achieved with the stock Essential phone app. The two Google apps were about the same.
I'm not a camera guy so I won't recommend on app over the other for color or vibrancy or bokeh. I checked hand-held stability by photographing pictures on a wall 10' away, framed together with objects 2 to 7 feet away. I selected the framed art 10' away for focus. Later, for photos taken with each of the three apps, I zoomed in on the wall-hanging pictures. The three apps all had some artifacting of the framed images.
But in the photo taken with the Essential app I noticed a light switch below the paintings. Clear above that switch holding it to the wall was a screw, bisected by a dark groove that was angled about 10 degrees off horizontal.
Although the switch and screw was noticeable in shots of all three apps, only in the photo taken with the Essential stock app was the screwdriver groove so clear.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am interested in the EIS of the video and if the google camera port improves the terrible shaky video. Its hard to believe the video from this phone is so bad.

I understand but I can't help much. It may be that stock Google camera apps and/or Essential's latest camera app includes EIS but my 'testing' wasn't structured to reveal anything except its adequacy for my uses--recording mechanical details of projects, before and after, and the occasional happy grandchild.