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as a serious amateur photographer, i find the stock camera app a bit basic for my taste so have been looking at alternatives. so far i've tried the free versions of "camera fv-5" and proCapture but settled in the end for "Camera ZOOM FX" @ £1.79
this lets me control ISO, provides steadyshot functions, voice-activated shooting, custom hard buttons, touch-focus, advance metering options, burst-mode and much more, including an amazing range of filters and image-processing options.
no stability etc. problems with my N4 as yet.
what's everybody else using?
"Serious amateur photographer" if you were really serious you'd buy a dslr
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
rockneo said:
"Serious amateur photographer" if you were really serious you'd buy a dslr
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
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Click to collapse
I own numerous digital (and film) SLRs and other cameras
but the phone is the one that is always on my person.
The picture quality is pretty crappy to be honest. Just saying. I envy my friend's Galaxy S3.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
scream4cheese said:
The picture quality is pretty crappy to be honest. Just saying. I envy my friend's Galaxy S3.
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why's that? the h/w spec seems almost identical between the 2 phones.
i haven't found a camera so crappy that i couldn't get decent pics out of it somehow. the zoom fx app makes this easier than with the stock software.
theabsurdman said:
why's that? the h/w spec seems almost identical between the 2 phones.
i haven't found a camera so crappy that i couldn't get decent pics out of it somehow. the zoom fx app makes this easier than with the stock software.
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That may be so but you have to try out the Galaxy S3 camera first. It shoots faster. The quality is better. It has video focus. The sensor is better. I even read reviews between the two phones and the Galaxy S3's camera was the victor. I had to try it out myself to see and evidently they were right.
I rarely use my phone's camera and I should start. Lol. I have used zoom fx and it's pretty good.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
theabsurdman said:
what's everybody else using?
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My Pentax K-5
But on my phone, I use either Camera360 if I'm lazy, or actually I do use the stock camera. It's just so smooth and easy to access everywhere, such as from lockscreen or from gallery or app drawer.
Random tip: I find that if you tap the place you want to focus and then quickly tap the shutter button (I generally use 2 hands for this), you will take the pic immediately upon focus lock, kind of like focus-trapping. I find that this method generally gives better focus, because if you hold the shutter button, it'll focus-lock and then because hands tend to be shaking/moving, proper focus is lost.
Have you tried the stock image editor? I was pleasantly surprised to find out it lets you adjust exposure, vignetting, contrast, B&W filters, tonal curves, saturation, etc! To be perfectly honest with you, since finding out about those settings, I haven't really used Camera360 unless it's for those special filters like "big-head mode" or "dreamlike" or whatever.
Camera360 lets you adjust everything you've described, but it's free
There's a camera app called "Perfectly Clear"
that I saw many people were impressed with, check it out in the play store!
Or is mine bad?!? Seriously, is no one else getting this problem with blown highlights and over-exposure, or are y'all accepting it? I bought this phone for its "superior camera" and while yes it can take pictures in low light I was not willing to give up taking good pictures in good lighting >8(
I installed Android Revolution 8, then 9, to get the "updated" camera- stock kernel, Dev. Ed.
Attached photo taken with stock camera with auto settings, no custom settings, no hdr (though that has been disappointing as well). Oh and white balance was about 5-800 Kelvin too yellow as well... (sigh)
So do I send it back to get cameras as good as everyone else's or start watching the Sony rumors again? Because my 18 month old Galaxy Note could get this picture right...
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2
The camera is awesome, its just you have to play around with the settings. Cange the sharpness to -1 and contrast to +1 for day light pictures. Also focus manually before taking pics.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using XDA Premium HD app
What were u expecting from a phone camera?
If you want realy good pictures you need to buy a good standalone camera..
The time isnt still there (and will be for along time) before phone cameras can compete with good standalone cameras...
I also find the camera disappointing. I love the software features like Zoe, but I personally can't rely on this camera to quickly capture a good picture. And I don't think the low light performance is very good either.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
Those pictures do not look nearly as good as pictures I have taken with mine,using stock settings. Here's a couple for example. The pictures look a lot better in original format as well in full resolution.
Sent from my HTC One using xda premium
I love this camera, it lacks the raw specs but it manages to capture those special moments very well, better than even a camera.
The camera has impressed me so far, especially the speed and the amazing colours.
Completely stock trickdroid settings for camera here
@jeeptrash love your cat
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 4 Beta
My camera is working fine too
it's not perfect but it works
john291 said:
What were u expecting from a phone camera?
If you want realy good pictures you need to buy a good standalone camera..
The time isnt still there (and will be for along time) before phone cameras can compete with good standalone cameras...
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John, my expectations are to not move BACKWARD in quality. Trust me I carry my X100 half the time, but the other half this phone was supposed to fill in and it doesn't cut it.
It's your phone also blowing highlights and having white balance problems? I'm trying to understand if this behavior is typical or not.
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2
The overexposure thing is a little annoying it's true. HDR mode seems to recover lost shadow detail but doesn't seem to help with blown-out highlights.
Setting contrast to +1 is definitely *not* going to help it.
When you know there will be difficult highlights, setting exposure to -1 in normal non-HDR mode seems like the only response. Not ideal I know. Especially when making such a simple, temporary adjustment requires a lot of fiddling around with menus.
Yep, been playin with my camera all day, had no work in. Found the adjustment settings werent fine enough - swung too much one way or the other on +/- 1.
And indoor pictures where theres any daylight showing (doors/windows etc) caused the images to be washed out, even when focused on the lightest part first.
I think the hardware is fine, just some software improvements are needed. So its not all bad.
davedigerati said:
John, my expectations are to not move BACKWARD in quality. Trust me I carry my X100 half the time, but the other half this phone was supposed to fill in and it doesn't cut it.
It's your phone also blowing highlights and having white balance problems? I'm trying to understand if this behavior is typical or not.
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2
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Hello yes it have the white balance problems sometimes..
I think they need to finetune the software better..
But it can also make some nice pictures too...
But a fine tuned software would be great..
---------- Post added at 10:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:07 PM ----------
davedigerati said:
John, my expectations are to not move BACKWARD in quality. Trust me I carry my X100 half the time, but the other half this phone was supposed to fill in and it doesn't cut it.
It's your phone also blowing highlights and having white balance problems? I'm trying to understand if this behavior is typical or not.
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2
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By the way this was a simple picture i took out of my window..
Here i like the shadow detail and the natural look of it..
The camera does over expose yes. If you want an easy to use camera. Get the S4/iPhone 5.
Can you control, ISO, shutter speed, Exposure compensation?
Turn ISO off automatic and set it to like 50
Terrorantula said:
Can you control, ISO, shutter speed, Exposure compensation?
Turn ISO off automatic and set it to like 50
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Click to collapse
You can control iso but you cant get below 100..
The shutter speed cant be controlled manual..
The exposure can be set.
Terrorantula said:
Can you control, ISO, shutter speed, Exposure compensation?
Turn ISO off automatic and set it to like 50
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Click to collapse
ISO & exposure yes, you can, and even better if you want to monkey with settings for every shot I recommend FV-5 which I use frequently
https://play.google.com/store/apps/...NvbS5mbGF2aW9uZXQuYW5kcm9pZC5jYW1lcmEucHJvIl0.
The point of my post though is not to find workarounds but to see if this is COMMON, or my camera chip has issues.
I'm puzzled by the lack of complaints out there and feel like the photo I posted was a good example of average sunny day conditions, done badly. Indoors, low light, we're fine, it's the sunny days that are the issue.
Everyone quiet means either
a) everyone is accepting poor quality sunny day photos
b) my camera has issues and everyone else's is fine
c) everyone is feeling a little bit bad that the camera they were promised would offer 'a great leap in the quality of point-and-shoot photos and video' (http://www.htc.com/www/zoe/) frankly isn't, and reluctant to say so, or
d) other?
So everyone shooting sunny day pics please chime, in I appreciate your input- if your pics are coming out great without clipping I'll start the RMA process, or if yours are getting blown I'll fire up the angry fan-boi machine and pester every HTC channel I can hit with requests for a camera update.
Cheers,
Dave
The latter option.
I second, go for the latter
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app
davedigerati said:
ISO & exposure yes, you can, and even better if you want to monkey with settings for every shot I recommend FV-5 which I use frequently
https://play.google.com/store/apps/...NvbS5mbGF2aW9uZXQuYW5kcm9pZC5jYW1lcmEucHJvIl0.
The point of my post though is not to find workarounds but to see if this is COMMON, or my camera chip has issues.
I'm puzzled by the lack of complaints out there and feel like the photo I posted was a good example of average sunny day conditions, done badly. Indoors, low light, we're fine, it's the sunny days that are the issue.
Everyone quiet means either
a) everyone is accepting poor quality sunny day photos
b) my camera has issues and everyone else's is fine
c) everyone is feeling a little bit bad that the camera they were promised would offer 'a great leap in the quality of point-and-shoot photos and video' (http://www.htc.com/www/zoe/) frankly isn't, and reluctant to say so, or
d) other?
So everyone shooting sunny day pics please chime, in I appreciate your input- if your pics are coming out great without clipping I'll start the RMA process, or if yours are getting blown I'll fire up the angry fan-boi machine and pester every HTC channel I can hit with requests for a camera update.
Cheers,
Dave
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I have posted few times in this forum about disappointing camera or my expectation is too high. Maybe the next HTC software update would fix them. I like the speakers though which is undeniable to be the best.
Camera is superb.
But it's not all things to all men. If you prepared to fanny around with lighting, settings, angles etc for a photo, and expect a high res masterpiece, this isn't your bag. If you want a point and shoot camera which takes nr unbeatable pictures quickly, then this is it.
Mega bright lights will screw any photo up. Your picture is remarkable given the phone was able to cope at all.
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2
I've seen mixed reviews on the camera of nexus 4. From my experience I observed a few things.
Camera is excellent in well lit scenes as many reviews point. When using it in low light setup like I did in a restaurant a last night with my family. My cousin was having the iPhone. On the display itself, it was all to dark in my nexus 4 while my cousin's display on his iPhone shored even more light. Then I tried 'Camera FV5' app and the display on my nexus immediately overtook the iphone's, which makes me think that an updated stock camera app has lots of scope to take it to a new level. Or has anybody already cracked this.
I could settle for a third party app but the stock camera app's simplicity and some features like photo sphere are too good to miss.
Why is Google not thinking about this? I think the optics ( hardware) is already on par with the other popular flagship phones out there, just a bit of improvising will do the trick. Please share your views and any solutions that may already exists.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
sany said:
I've seen mixed reviews on the camera of nexus 4. From my experience I observed a few things.
Camera is excellent in well lit scenes as many reviews point. When using it in low light setup like I did in a restaurant a last night with my family. My cousin was having the iPhone. On the display itself, it was all to dark in my nexus 4 while my cousin's display on his iPhone shored even more light. Then I tried 'Camera FV5' app and the display on my nexus immediately overtook the iphone's, which makes me think that an updated stock camera app has lots of scope to take it to a new level. Or has anybody already cracked this.
I could settle for a third party app but the stock camera app's simplicity and some features like photo sphere are too good to miss.
Why is Google not thinking about this? I think the optics ( hardware) is already on par with the other popular flagship phones out there, just a bit of improvising will do the trick. Please share your views and any solutions that may already exists.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
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There are some conditions that the camera will take not so good pictures (if you just point and shot), but when you get the hand of it, for me, there's no difference with other 8MP cameras out there, it takes great pictures.
Hi Everyone,
My last phone was a Galaxy Nexus and the camera on it was well known to be ****. Yet I'm finding it nearly impossible to get a decent shot using the GN3's - it's by far the worst camera I've ever used and it's meant to be 13MP. I know Megapixels are largely meaningless but I get blurry shot after blurry shot.
The problem is, I suspect (I hope?) that this is partly due to me being terrible at photogeraphy and not really knowing what to do to get the best results. What I mean is, I've pretty much left all the settings on "auto" and hoped for the best, which from what I've read is actually meant to be pretty reasonable but I've yet to take a single decent pic with this thing. I've narrowed it down, I think, to two separate issues.
Here's a shot I took earlier today, in a brightly lit supermarket:
http://i.imgur.com/Blcjlo5.jpg
This is with image stabilisation ON. Now I'm not the best at taking pictures, certainly, but I can get much, much better results on my crappy GNexus. The above is a pretty typical example of the kinds of pictures I'm getting, incredibly blurry ones. Is there a way to (for example) reduce the shutter speed or something to help with this? I have no idea what I'm talking about.
Now here's a picture of my (slightly disgruntled) cat. This is probably the best picture I've managed to take yet:
http://i.imgur.com/itd9LM9.jpg
But look at the state of it! it's not clear or crisp at all, it seems to have some sort of awful filtering all over it. It kind of reminds me of what you get when you use an Emulator and turn on all of the texture enahncements.
Has anyone got any suggestions? I'm really just looking for some help picking the settings that will give me the best results in most cases. I don't take that many pictures so I don't mind if I lose out in certain specific situations, I just want to be able to pull out the phone, take a pic or two and be done with it.
And before anyone says it, I'll be the first to admit that I'm an utter, utter n00b at this.
Thanks!
Having image stabilisation on is your problem right there. It slows down the shutter speed considerably. You're supposed to only turn it on in low light conditions in the event that you don't want to use flash.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
MohJee said:
Having image stabilisation on is your problem right there. It slows down the shutter speed considerably. You're supposed to only turn it on in low light conditions in the event that you don't want to use flash.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
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Holy crap, you hit the nail right on the head there. It's a bit backwards that "image stabilization" causes massively blurry pictures, I'm sure I'm not the only person that made such a silly mistake. Thank you, kind sir!
Hey guys, I've had my Moto X for a week now and I might return to my Note 3. I really like this phone overall, but man the camera really is that bad. I read all the stories but hoped the update would be good enough for me. Unfortunately it hasn't been.
I can't even imagine how bad the camera must have been before the update. The camera is simply dreadful. Do I have a defective Moto X or is it really this bad?
If I'm not outside on a sunny day or in a really well lit room, it's the worst camera I've ever had on any smartphone that I've ever owned. And that includes phones from over 4 years ago. Is it really this bad?
Here are some sample shots. I took these same shots with my Note 3, and those shots blew these away. I will try to post those later.
Sent from my XT1058 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Yes, It is that bad. Coming from a S4 and I know what you mean. But I still love being free with a unlocked bootlaoder and would not go back.
Ughh, I was afraid of that. I really like the phone, but not sure I can deal with this. Thanks bro.
Sent from my XT1058 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
I don't think the camera is bad at all. I didn't get to experience how it was before any of the updates though.
So far color representation looks to be spot on. I was even impressed by the low light quality. I took a picture last night in a dimly lit room and was astounded at how good the picture came out. It's way better than my last phone (EVO 3D).
ahhh ya i came from an iPhone 4 which is 3.5 yrs old and the camera on that was better in every category except low light performance.
Are you using HDR?
I also see that your flash seems to be firing. I have Auto Flash OFF because the pictures to look very washed out with the bright white flash. I find that the camera works much better and has much better saturation in lower light with the flash off.
If I'm just taking a picture of a list or piece of paper and I only need to be able to see/read it, I use the flash, otherwise I keep the flash off for "nice" photos.
Have you tried using any camera apps. I would recommend the following two apps :"a Better Camera "almost fully functional in the free version and FV-5, a paid app and I don't believe there is a trial version. I have been experimenting with both apps and have been quiet successful getting some really decent low light shots. Both apps allow you to set the ISO level and "a Better Camera" allows you to set the amount of noise reduction for low light shots (the options are None, Minor & Hard). Worth trying out either app in my opinion.
Sent from my XT1060 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
I've got pics of the kids inside at night, with flash on... And the pics are easy better than my s2 was. I find background light can make the pic taking tricky tho. I have to move slightly one easy or the other and when I get it right the pics are just fine. Maybe other phones handle background light easier.... But with a little practise, I find this camera pretty good.
That's just me.
Sent from my XT1058 using Tapatalk
---------- Post added at 12:10 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:08 PM ----------
And yes... Sometimes you think you need a flash inside... When you don't. And the pics are easy better with no flash. Again... I had to play around and get to know how and where the best pics turn out.
But again.... I'm one of those, it's just a phone camera guys... I'm maybe not as picky. I'm not trying to sell my pics, so I'm happy. If I know I want to take very good pics somewhere... In advance... I bring my camera.
Sent from my XT1058 using Tapatalk
Right about now it would be nice to see 4.4.2 with camera update. Noise/quality are un-exeptable for a $500+ phone. Yes S4 is night and day difference with Moto X in camera.
S4 was the FIRST camera in phone that I used and I took many pictures, most came out usable and some pretty impressive. With MX, most pictures indoors I cant even look at.....I delete all of them right away.
The only place I find camera quality to be bad is in low light, but it's not the hardware, it's the software. The camera software just sets the ISO higher than it should and overexposes everything in low light. I use FV-5 to manually set a lower ISO and manually set the metering point so that it doesn't overexpose the shot, and then I can get great shots in low light. If you don't know a little about cameras or aren't willing to take the time to manually adjust low light shots though, you'll be disappointed. In decent lighting I can get some great shots even with the stock camera app though, especially with HDR.
gtg465x said:
The only place I find camera quality to be bad is in low light, but it's not the hardware, it's the software. The camera software just sets the ISO higher than it should and overexposes everything in low light. I use FV-5 to manually set a lower ISO and manually set the metering point so that it doesn't overexpose the shot, and then I can get great shots in low light. If you don't know a little about cameras or aren't willing to take the time to manually adjust low light shots though, you'll be disappointed. In decent lighting I can get some great shots even with the stock camera app though, especially with HDR.
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Perhaps you are right. But how hard is it for a TEAM of developers at Motorola/Google to figure this out ? We are on 2nd camera update here its still ****
PS. on S4 I used only 2 modes and didnt even touch settings, Auto and Night Mode......thats all I needed to take excellent photos.
few night/low light shots from S4, last one was taken in almost complete darkness, camera just picked up light from night club flashing lights
I agree. I love this phone but the camera sucks. Snoop Dogg came to my Christmas party and I was so excited to get some shots.
They all came out blurry all my buddies with S4s got killer shots. I don't know, maybe I'll blame it on the alcohol....
That ticked me off a bit.
Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk
gtg465x said:
The only place I find camera quality to be bad is in low light, but it's not the hardware, it's the software. The camera software just sets the ISO higher than it should and overexposes everything in low light. I use FV-5 to manually set a lower ISO and manually set the metering point so that it doesn't overexpose the shot, and then I can get great shots in low light. If you don't know a little about cameras or aren't willing to take the time to manually adjust low light shots though, you'll be disappointed. In decent lighting I can get some great shots even with the stock camera app though, especially with HDR.
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This. For low light shots, I either use fv5 or take the photos with the stock camera and run them through Perfectly clear. I've gotten a lot of fantastic shots with my X. Low-light is the only setting in which I need to kind of finagle anything.
WizeGuyDezignz said:
Hey guys, I've had my Moto X for a week now and I might return to my Note 3. I really like this phone overall, but man the camera really is that bad. I read all the stories but hoped the update would be good enough for me. Unfortunately it hasn't been.
I can't even imagine how bad the camera must have been before the update. The camera is simply dreadful. Do I have a defective Moto X or is it really this bad?
If I'm not outside on a sunny day or in a really well lit room, it's the worst camera I've ever had on any smartphone that I've ever owned. And that includes phones from over 4 years ago. Is it really this bad?
Here are some sample shots. I took these same shots with my Note 3, and those shots blew these away. I will try to post those later.
Sent from my XT1058 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
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Click to collapse
if you take a pic of your tree with an SLR with the same exposure settings and you'll get an equally awful pic.
honestly i think the camera on the X is fine. i think it could be better but i think overall its a pretty good camera, on par with some point and shoots i've used. it all comes down to lighting, plus the HDR mode really helps.
Been using Camera FV-5 for whenever I need low light shots. First one is the stock camera app and the second shot is via Camera FV-5. These were shot in very low light conditions.
il buono said:
Been using Camera FV-5 for whenever I need low light shots. First one is the stock camera app and the second shot is via Camera FV-5. These were shot in very low light conditions.
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Gonna give it a try. Big difference there
kolyan said:
Gonna give it a try. Big difference there
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CameraZoomFX lets you pick the ISO setting too, which could increase the exposure.
640k said:
if you take a pic of your tree with an SLR with the same exposure settings and you'll get an equally awful pic.
honestly i think the camera on the X is fine. i think it could be better but i think overall its a pretty good camera, on par with some point and shoots i've used. it all comes down to lighting, plus the HDR mode really helps.
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I am curious if these photos were taken with the stock camera app or a 3rd party app?
Sent from my XT1060 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
telefoner said:
I am curious if these photos were taken with the stock camera app or a 3rd party app?
Sent from my XT1060 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
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Stock. You can tell from the image properties.
EDIT: I take it back. There's no specific information that says what app took the pic, only what device. Technically we're talking about the inability of the Moto X's sensor to perform adequately. Different apps can force different settings/processing techniques, but you're still limited to the sensor/lens capability of the device.
Here's a CameraZoomFX photo taken with a DROID4:
It's all about lighting.
I'm with you on this one WizeGuy. At first I didn't think the camera was as bad as people said it was. But after using it in the wild and over the course of a week, it really is disappointing. The biggest issue for me is consistency. I CAN get a decent shot if I try to. Low light performance is terrible however and it's really tough to get a good shot most of the time. I was also coming from an S4 and didn't expect it to be on the same level obviously, but now that I've played with it enough, I'm positive even my S3 was better overall. In fact, I've been comparing it with an old iPhone 4S and I couldn't say it's better than that camera (except when there is ample lighting). I take a lot of pictures and it is important to me. Yes it is a camera phone, but downgrading is harder to accept than I thought it would be. I guess I value something that is consistent and easy in auto mode when it comes to my phone. Much sadder is the fact that I really like everything else about this phone, much more than the s4. I prefer the size the moto x by far to anything out there, but the nexus 5 is tempting me right now.