Database Users

Camera quality is bad

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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Click to collapse
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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Click to collapse
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
Click to expand...
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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's exactly why your pictures are blurry at a distance.
Macro focus is for close-up pictures, use auto focus for longer distances

[CAMERA] Post best photos taken by your Note 2 here.

as seen in all other forums, i thought it was about time we had our photo-posting thread ready. *rubs hands*
i just got my note a while ago and found out its camera is A.W.E.S.O.M.E
i guess i should start with my pics
so.....feel free to post your masterpieces

amazing!
3rd picture is very beautiful place! where is it?

DubelBoom said:
amazing!
3rd picture is very beautiful place! where is it?
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Click to collapse
its my university

Hmmm...are you post processing on the phone or shooting with in a particular mode?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Check out my huge collection of 64GB Samsung Galaxy Note 2 Videos (Demos, Accessory Reviews)

Lucidmike said:
Hmmm...are you post processing on the phone or shooting with in a particular mode?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
shooting with my own settings :3
im a hobbyist photographer

i'm wondering, perhaps you(or someone) could do a well set up test of the camera of the note 2? i'm curious about the performance as mine is yet to arrive.(eta 1 week)
test setup example:
a full size(detail) daylight, shimmer, shimmer with flash, night and night with flash, macro and distant would be nice to see a comparison of, and if you have one, a reference card (i.e. contrast and color range) ISO range test (noise) and is the white balance with flash alright?
all this information would be nice to have available (perhaps post results to wiki)

Anyone else notice pictures and videos coming out dark?
Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 2

I can't see any pictures in this thread. Please post some again so i can see what this device is capable of.
/ Magnus

Performance
Could you also comment on the performance of the camera in terms of shutter lag and speed of camera app launched from lock screen?

Here's a HDR mode shot
And a lil standard pic

Thanks for these, although they are downsized quite a bit from the fullres originals they look very good with sharpness and few if any visible artifacts common to cellphonecameras. Except for the second image which has a blown out sky and a bit strong contrast on the chrome parts.
Keep the pics coming, i wanna see more!
/ Magnus

A few more randoms from work i just snapped

Thanks for the photos guys, please post more...I can't wait to get stuck into my GN2!

Wow those are crisp and sharp! it seems to expose pretty well. This is exciting news!
I see some colornoise in some images, but it's not bad at all..
/ Magnus

More images please... I'll be posting a few as soon as I have the phone.

In the shade
In the sun

Looking good Twistedchild420, thanks.

Thanks guys^^^^^^
Here is a gem from earlier

seems like the Note II's cam firmware tend to overexpose and wash out the colours a bit by default.
unless u do some further tweaking in settings like what OP did, then u should be able to get good photos. I think a cam fw update is required to improve the image quality. I will judge again when there's more sample pictures (shot in default auto settings).

Not mine, but from Note 2.
Here you can find many Note 2 vs Galaxy S3 and some Note 2 photos.

Best setting for indoor lowlight moving dog!

Okay to elaborate, with my Note2 I can take indoor lowlight pics pretty well of my dog wagging his tail.
If I try and take pics of him same setting in low light with my Note3, usually there is blur and the shots are useless.
I'm just a point and click guy, usually on auto my Note2 gives ok to great shots. Is there a secret to getting them with the Note 3 in low light? Ois would help as well Samsung.

Have you tried with a cat?
Or turkeys. I've had amazing luck with turkeys.
All joking aside... I am not impressed with the Note 3 camera at all! I NEVER thought I would use Camera Zoom FX on a Touchwiz ROM, but that's where I'm at right now. The camera on the Note 2 is MUCH better to me. Maybe I just need to practice more and play with settings.
You have the auto stabilization enabled, right? Because the "night" mode is kind of baked into that now.

Kiahnlliya said:
Have you tried with a cat?
Or turkeys. I've had amazing luck with turkeys.
All joking aside... I am not impressed with the Note 3 camera at all! I NEVER thought I would use Camera Zoom FX on a Touchwiz ROM, but that's where I'm at right now. The camera on the Note 2 is MUCH better to me. Maybe I just need to practice more and play with settings.
You have the auto stabilization enabled, right? Because the "night" mode is kind of baked into that now.
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Click to collapse
I hear you. Your reply made me laugh! Thing is, it's even worse with the auto stabilisation enabled , especially on animated objects such as kids playing or the dog lol. There's a shutter lag and the pic becomes a blurred waste of time.
The camera on my Note 3 is next to useless in artifical or low light. My Note 2 blows it away camera and audio wise. Samsung drop the hype sort your sh*t out. Or Note 3 is my last decide.

Mine comes fine with low light n flash.
Sent from Note 3 (The beauty & beast)

sohebq said:
Mine comes fine with low light n flash.
Sent from Note 3 (The beauty & beast)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, with flash and inanimate objects I have no issues with my camera. But for anything moving in low light forget it . At least that's my experience.

I just hope the camera will get better with firmware updates. It's really pretty bad right now. Winter is coming, the days are getting shorter and darker and all my low light photos are going to look terrible.

Kiahnlliya said:
I just hope the camera will get better with firmware updates. It's really pretty bad right now. Winter is coming, the days are getting shorter and darker and all my low light photos are going to look terrible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah . I really like my N3 screen and the brightness , but I think I'm going back to my Note 2 as a daily driver for now. Shall await further knox developments and also see what firmware updates yield. Cos as you say winter is around the corner, many users will be cussing low light performance then and Samsung may listen and update.

I'm curious, but did you try the Sports mode?

KanjiMan's SM-N900W8 Indoor w Low Light Settings:
I find these settings work well when the situation is indoors with low light: (haven't tested on moving objects)
Auto Mode (I find any other mode flash is forced off, you need flash for low light)
Photo size @ 4128x2322 16:9
Face Detection - Off
Metering - Center Weight
ISO - change your Iso to personal taste, 800 or 400 works well, but it depends how dark it is in the shooting area. (The lower the ISO the darker the final photo)
Smart Stabilization OFF (yes OFF)
White Balance - Auto
Exposure Value - 0
Flash - ON

I get blurring on any thing/one that moves slightly. I've tried all settings and get crap pictures with all of them. Appart from the shutter lag on s4 I've never had a galaxy phone with such poor camera. photos of anything but inanimate objects ALWAYS blur in medium/low light, unless up very close.
I'm calling samsung today to file warranty claim for this and the lines/interference when shooting videos.
IncidendIy do you get them too?
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Z3 Compact no focus when close / macro [VIDEO]

Watch video below
The focus when close or macro is perfect with all smartphones (standard, Zenfone 2, Nexus 5, Nexus 6, ...) but with the Z3 Compact... look :
VIDEO:
drive.google.com/file/d/0B_nG40-uFJh7NUk0WTlMWTBjcVU/view?usp=sharing
Am I alone with this issue ?
Is it normal ?
Software or hardware ?
Can you try and tell me?
Thanks

I do not have any issues with close up or macro photos, they work perfectly fine, in fact, i find it working better then on any iphone or samsung ive tried so far...

bubimir13 said:
I do not have any issues with close up or macro photos, they work perfectly fine, in fact, i find it working better then on any iphone or samsung ive tried so far...
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Click to collapse
Really???
Can you post a close macro sample of a key on your keyboard please. Like in my video.
Thanks

you cannot have the lens has close, but with the amount of details you'll still have a better macro than the older camera
this is because of the f2.2 lens
the z3 tends to indeed take better macro shots than the competition (yay! one thing the camera does sort of decent).. but yeah you cant stick the camera too close like you would with another phone. i know, it feels "unnatural" but try 1 more centimer away and compare the resulting picture instead
quick demo:
lens too close: https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-...AAAOJA/qfnJKKFHX6Q/w1525-h858-no/DSC_1097.JPG
lens 1 cm away: https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-...AAAOJQ/3eElMevMZ3g/w1525-h858-no/DSC_1098.JPG
/me goes clean this keyboard now

Thanks man, your pictures have the same "problem" of mine. So it's not a problem with my Z3C but it's normal for all models.
But I am a little sad about that because YES the pictures are good but when I see the PERFECT focus at 2cm with a 200$ phone... and my Z3C completly blur at the same distance... I don't understand.
I'm not here for know if the Z3C is a good phone or not... but only for know if when you watch my video (1sr post) and ou try to take the same picture thad me in the video, you have the same blur result ?
But anyway I saw your sample and you have same pictures than me. Thanks for help and taking pictures for me man
EDIT:
Look! That AWESOME focus of my chinese basic phone vs. Z3 Compact at the SAME distance :'(
uprapide.com/images/invite/img-20150604-051342.jpg
uprapide.com/images/invite/dsc-0031_11.jpg
If someone can try the same with money at the same distance and post result, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!
Sorry for links
(XDA: To prevent spam on the XDA forums, ALL new users prevented from posting outside links in their messages. After approximately 10 posts, you will be able to post outside links. Thank you for understanding!)

you cant at same distance, other phone prolly has a f2.0 lens
since its higher mp it doesnt matter if u go back a centimer tho

bilboa1 said:
you cant at same distance, other phone prolly has a f2.0 lens
since its higher mp it doesnt matter if u go back a centimer tho
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So when you see my two pictures, the difference, you have (and all Z3C) the same thing ?
Nobody can with Z3C take a picture of money at the same distance than me in my sample?
other phone prolly has a f2.0 lens ? So the Z3C doesn't ?

Z3 has a f2.2 Lens
And nope cant take picture that close but if i take it further away and zoom it looks the same
I can take that pic on my z1c (f2.0 lens) hehe

Thank you

Photos Taken with the OnePlus Pro 8 Camera

Just got the OnePlus 8 Pro today. Here's some real world photos with the phone. Everyone else post up what you got. I guess XDA compresses them down file sizes were 2.5 to 5.5 MB in size each. Any suggestions where else to upload them too?

Taken in normal mode

Normal mode

U can get great day shots with any phone from 2020...

Linuxkek said:
U can get great day shots with any phone from 2020...
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Click to collapse
Went in my garage with one dim light on and then my patio with no lights on other than the pool lights...

Thanks for taking the time to do that. Those pictures look great!

Thanks for taking the time to show how better your car at house is compared to mine ??

nathlynn22 said:
Thanks for taking the time to show how better your car at house is compared to mine ??
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Click to collapse
"Social distancing" where else would you like me to try and take photos at? :laugh: Cars are my other hobby and I take tons of pictures of them. Only other thing I take tons of photos of is my baby but that's not getting posted publicly.

Nice how the Ultramarine phone match the R8.

what about close objets?
or text photos
are they crisp ?
I am on s20 ultra , I cannot do close objets focused photos

nowy57 said:
what about close objets?
or text photos
are they crisp ?
I am on s20 ultra , I cannot do close objets focused photos
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay check the 4 photos below...I did them in low light conditions as well.
I took first photo of the dining room from a distance. The phone applied some correction to see better detail (aka brighter than the room really was). I then shot the same area much closer up to try and get the camera to give an idea what the true darkness was of the room. That's the second photo. It gives you an idea how dark the room really looked. I then took a picture of the chic-fil-a packet auto mode (no nightscape) and then switched to the super macro mode and got up close. That's with the light off in that room in the dark. Did a solid job in my opinion. I circled the chic-fil-a thing on the distant shot.
NO FLASH full auto mode on camera (except for activating super macro for the real close up shot).

Nice shots.... I am coming from a pixel 4XL ... The night scape shots are lacking... Has anybody used gcam?

Nosferatu. said:
Okay check the 4 photos below...I did them in low light conditions as well.
I took first photo of the dining room from a distance. The phone applied some correction to see better detail (aka brighter than the room really was). I then shot the same area much closer up to try and get the camera to give an idea what the true darkness was of the room. That's the second photo. It gives you an idea how dark the room really looked. I then took a picture of the chic-fil-a packet auto mode (no nightscape) and then switched to the super macro mode and got up close. That's with the light off in that room in the dark. Did a solid job in my opinion. I circled the chic-fil-a thing on the distant shot.
NO FLASH full auto mode on camera (except for activating super macro for the real close up shot).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The OP8 camera tends to produce red images in low light, which is evident from your 3rd image

No need to use GCam. The GCam is better only for selfies.