Database Users

3.0 MP Camera? I have my doubts

Sure the camera doesn't have much of a lens, and the zoom is really interpolated; but I really have my doubts that the camera is actually a 3.0MP.
Have there been any in depth tests to prove the camera's resolution???
How big a file should it be with the 3.0M super fine photos?
I take photos at the highest resolution and there is still pixel 'blocking'. I know HTC is new to this, but it is a let down. My old Sony 2.0MP takes better photos.

Clearly u have mistaken abt the relationship between MP and picture quality.
Higher MP does not necessarily mean better images taken.
If u compare a logitech quickcam IM's photo to that of the microsoft 2MP one. u will realise that althought the IM only supports VGA but
picture quality is much better......

The 4 most important factors in photography: Skill, Lens quality, lens quality, lens quality.
And you did realize that when you use the 3 MP mode, there is no zoom available?
A typical 3 MP "Super fine" image will be around 900-1400 KB depending on colors and detail of the object/situation you photograph. A "Fine" photo will land around 450-750 KB.
There is no noticeable difference between "Fine" and "Super fine" modes except in close up, high contrast photos.
I have attached 2 photos for your comparison. Yes, the camera is of poor quality as seen by these 2 images.
http://bayimg.com/DAEKGaABO
http://bayimg.com/DaEkHAABO
Oh, and to double check the resolution, just take a picture, save it to your PC and open it up with any image editing program and see for yourself.

keithwwalker said:
Sure the camera doesn't have much of a lens, and the zoom is really interpolated; but I really have my doubts that the camera is actually a 3.0MP.
Have there been any in depth tests to prove the camera's resolution???
How big a file should it be with the 3.0M super fine photos?
I take photos at the highest resolution and there is still pixel 'blocking'. I know HTC is new to this, but it is a let down. My old Sony 2.0MP takes better photos.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you really expect super great pictures on the data centric device? Sure SE Phones do a better job of this, but what else can they do?
If you want a high quality camera or anything else techy, always buy a dedicated device for the job. Simple.
Personally speaking I find the camera quality more than acceptable for a PPC/Phone, as a matter of fact I would go as far to say that it is the best in class out of all PPC Phones. Just MHO though.

mackaby007 said:
Personally speaking I find the camera quality more than acceptable for a PPC/Phone, as a matter of fact I would go as far to say that it is the best in class out of all PPC Phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've got the same impression about the cam,
at least compared to my old HTC Magician

Camera
The quality of the camera is probably the only reason why I have not let the X7501 fully replace my N95 as a phone!

thetruth1983 said:
The quality of the camera is probably the only reason why I have not let the X7501 fully replace my N95 as a phone!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lmao, scnr

mojo2000 said:
lmao, scnr
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've got an N95 and its camera isn't much better in my opinion, though it copes with moving subjects slightly better and video is VASTLY superior. I prefer B&W shots on the Ameo though. The flash on the Ameo is much brighter too - I still don't understand why HTC don't provide an automated flash function though - very annoying!

Sorry if I gave the impression that I was expecting a first rate camera with the 7501.
I purchased this for the following reasons, ranking in importance:
PDA
Phone
GPS
Media Player
Camera
With that said, there is another component to a good photo beside: Skill, Lens quality.
That is the software that puts all the image together.
My old Sony 2.0MP had a Carl Zeiss lens and the end product was still crap compared to the Canon's of the day. The internal software was the let down. So too the HTC.
keithwwalker said:
Sure the camera doesn't have much of a lens, and the zoom is really interpolated; but I really have my doubts that the camera is actually a 3.0MP.
Have there been any in depth tests to prove the camera's resolution???
How big a file should it be with the 3.0M super fine photos?
I take photos at the highest resolution and there is still pixel 'blocking'. I know HTC is new to this, but it is a let down. My old Sony 2.0MP takes better photos.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Calavaro said:
The 4 most important factors in photography: Skill, Lens quality, lens quality, lens quality.
And you did realize that when you use the 3 MP mode, there is no zoom available?
A typical 3 MP "Super fine" image will be around 900-1400 KB depending on colors and detail of the object/situation you photograph. A "Fine" photo will land around 450-750 KB.
There is no noticeable difference between "Fine" and "Super fine" modes except in close up, high contrast photos.
I have attached 2 photos for your comparison. Yes, the camera is of poor quality as seen by these 2 images.
http://bayimg.com/DAEKGaABO
http://bayimg.com/DaEkHAABO
Oh, and to double check the resolution, just take a picture, save it to your PC and open it up with any image editing program and see for yourself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dude, when was the last time you really cleaned?

another big factor of picture quality is the sensor size...
most people down know this but the bigger teh sensor the better the picture quality...
that is why a dslr with a big sensor though it may have a 3 MP pixel size will alwasy be better than a point and shoot thats 8 MP
this gets into photography .. but basicly craming more pixels into a same sized sensor will seldom yield better results ... just maybe allow you to blow up the picture a bit more thats it...
having said that i think the camera on the athena is excellent compared to other phones of the nature

I disagree with the fact that len quality is the most important factor.... Len is very important but tt is when you r using something with a gd sensor.... the image processor and sensor.... b it cmos or ccd will
b the one that makes the most difference when it comes to image quality.......
Calavaro said:
The 4 most important factors in photography: Skill, Lens quality, lens quality, lens quality.
And you did realize that when you use the 3 MP mode, there is no zoom available?
A typical 3 MP "Super fine" image will be around 900-1400 KB depending on colors and detail of the object/situation you photograph. A "Fine" photo will land around 450-750 KB.
There is no noticeable difference between "Fine" and "Super fine" modes except in close up, high contrast photos.
I have attached 2 photos for your comparison. Yes, the camera is of poor quality as seen by these 2 images.
http://bayimg.com/DAEKGaABO
http://bayimg.com/DaEkHAABO
Oh, and to double check the resolution, just take a picture, save it to your PC and open it up with any image editing program and see for yourself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

bLiTz^ said:
I disagree with the fact that len quality is the most important factor.... Len is very important but tt is when you r using something with a gd sensor.... the image processor and sensor.... b it cmos or ccd will
b the one that makes the most difference when it comes to image quality.......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sensor is imp ... but like i said its sensor size...
and being how most cell phones are small... you cant fit a big sensor in it... so image quality willbe sub par always...

you made me laugh out loud with that comment....you're right!!
for gods sake calavaro if you dont want to dust, just blow that dust away.......sneeze or something!!
of course you wanted it there for effect!?!?
in keeping w/ the thread though, i have a trion w/ a 2 mp and it is the best i've had in all my pda/phones...how does the advantage compare to that camera? anyone??
dan

[email protected] said:
you made me laugh out loud with that comment....you're right!!
for gods sake calavaro if you dont want to dust, just blow that dust away.......sneeze or something!!
of course you wanted it there for effect!?!?
in keeping w/ the thread though, i have a trion w/ a 2 mp and it is the best i've had in all my pda/phones...how does the advantage compare to that camera? anyone??
dan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can't remember if the Trion is the same as the Hermes?! If it is, I had a Hermes and loved the camera...for a PPC, but I rate the Athena camera slightly ahead in every way.

i do find the athena camera superior to every other camera phone i have seen...
i especially like the focus... it definately makes the picture quite al ot sharper
any other camera with a fixed focal length produces far inferior results...
the reason is because it is fixed at infinity ... so it doesnt have to focus necessarily ...
basicly becaused of a fixed focal length at infinity you get a much softer picture...
and it is a common known fact among photographers the infinity focal length produces sub par results ...
for example they dont use the infinity focal length to take landscape pictures... it really depends per lens but they use a dif formula to calculate the best length...
the long and the short a variable focal lens will top a fixed focal length always...
in short if you cant focus ur lens like most pda phones athenas is better...

Haha. I do dust. I live in a 3rd world country with massive traffic in the center of a big-ass city. I even have maids helping out. That's the best that can be done on a day to day basis. So how about, you know, focus on the issue at hand?
No matter how you look at it, a camera on a phone will never be as good as even the simplest point-and-shoot camera. Yes, quality has improved, but it's still way behind.
So what's up with those red lines at the top left corner? about half the pictures I take has this "effect". Seems to happen mostly in high light conditions.

leoni1980 said:
I've got an N95 and its camera isn't much better in my opinion, though it copes with moving subjects slightly better and video is VASTLY superior. I prefer B&W shots on the Ameo though. The flash on the Ameo is much brighter too - I still don't understand why HTC don't provide an automated flash function though - very annoying!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The N95 indeed has a poor quality STILL capture, however the VIDEO capability is amazing.

Calavaro said:
Haha. I do dust. I live in a 3rd world country with massive traffic in the center of a big-ass city. I even have maids helping out. That's the best that can be done on a day to day basis. So how about, you know, focus on the issue at hand?
No matter how you look at it, a camera on a phone will never be as good as even the simplest point-and-shoot camera. Yes, quality has improved, but it's still way behind.
So what's up with those red lines at the top left corner? about half the pictures I take has this "effect". Seems to happen mostly in high light conditions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is becaues of teh sensor size i mentioned before ..
its just not possible unless you want to carry a huge phone... (thickness)
and though the athena is big its really not that thick...

i really don't get it. most of the comments posted praise the Athena camera. Personally i think the camera is pretty good and sharp and the fact it can produce a 3mp photo is excellent.. BUT.. after using it for 2 months.. it is only great for outdoor and scenery shots (or if your subject does not move too much). in a NORMAL (and i say normal as in if you are in doors and the lighting condition is considered very good) indoor situation, if your subject just moves a little.. the whole picture becomes blur.. try this.. take a shot outdoor while u shake ur camera.. (result.. decent picture)... go indoor and move your camera.. (result.. sucks)..
i for one bought the phone to also take pictures of my kid especially when we go out shopping.. but the camera feature simply cannot make it..
question: when indoors.. the camera is like perpetually in night mode (i mean everything is like in slow motion.. jerky..) weird?!?!? even if i am using my old xda ii, it does not do this.. why oh why?
i do understand what most of u guys are saying about a weak sensor.. but i for one is a disappointed customer.. a phone with such a powerful cpu yet the picture and video quality is terrible.. sigh...

[PHOTOS] Trip to Japan with the HTC One Camera - Pushing the Limits of the Camera

Hi all,
TL;DR - Pretty pictures taken with the HTC One here: Click
I've been very interested in the HTC One's camera ever since it was announced, as I believe that the philosophy behind the trade-offs made in its design are a step forward for the mobile phone camera industry.
I've recently returned from a trip to Japan and as an experiment, used the HTC One as my only camera (clearly not because my P&S was stolen two years ago!). I have taken nearly 8,000 shots over the 14 days I was in Japan and after nearly a hundred (if not more) hours spent in post-processing, I think I have a decent set of pictures.
I have annotated some of the pictures in a travel-journalistic manner. If you are a experienced traveller, I am probably not saying anything you do not already know. If you have never been to Japan, I hope they provide you with some insights.
A few observations I've made in the process of shooting said pictures:
The wide angle lens on the HTC One is wonderfully versatile, especially for landscape and architecture shots. Framing the shot is effortless and as it turns out, of utmost importance.
The most controversial aspect of the One's camera, the 4MP resolution does come with a very real drawback. You have little room in post-production to recover a badly framed shot. Cropping in post-production is often an unhappy compromise as you are left with less room to compensate for noise and blur. I would hazard to say that shooting with only the One for an extended period of time may be a great way to improve your composition skills.
The HTC One's camera software and auto-focus is fast and responsive, you can compose, re-focus/expose and shoot in a blink of an eye, which is something I took advantage of to take the multiple exposures required for the HDR pictures.
While no aspect of the HTC One's camera is exceptional, the package of a very fast f2.0 lens, optical image stabilization and above average sensor sensitivity means that vis-a-vis other mobile phone cameras, you will nail shot after shot in daylight and have a decent chance of grabbing something usable in low-light.
Will I do something like this again? Unlikely. The next time I can afford to travel, I will almost certainly be packing a decent camera. Do I regret the experience? Definitely not. Shooting with a camera like the One forces you to learn to frame your shots well. I like to think that technically, I am a decent photographer, but as far as composing a picture well, I have a long way to go.
Links to the various albums below. Sorry if you dislike Google+, but its easy to upload and annotate and it has a really clean interface. The albums are all public, so there is technically no need to sign in, but Google+ prompts you to login if you happen to be signed into another Google service. If you really want to avoid signing in, simply open the links in a incognito window.
If you are impatient, Kyoto and the Highlight albums are probably the best.
Comments, feedback and questions welcome. Wasn't sure if I should have created a new thread, if not, please merge into the photograph thread, thanks moderators.
Highlights
Tokyo (東京)
Odaiba (お台場)
Sensoji Shrine (浅草寺)
Meiji Shrine (明治神宮)
Tsukiji Fish Market (築地市場)
Hama-Rikyu Gardens (浜離宮恩賜庭園)
Osaka (大阪)
Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan (海遊館)
Nara (奈良市)
Himeji (姫路市)
Kyoto (京都)
Kanazawa (金沢)
Shibuya Scramble Crossing (Youtube Video)
---
Photomatix Presets
edit: converted text to links
edit2: added link to timelapse of Shibuya scramble crossing
edit3: link to the photomatix presets I've used

Wow! Those are some very nice photos! Just goes to show how much power is behind our phone. It makes me want to go out and use my camera now.

Excellent shots! You clearly have a lot of talent! And that is some good post-processing too.
It would be great to know if you touched up the HDRs in post-production in anyway or are they mostly untouched?

ankanb said:
Excellent shots! You clearly have a lot of talent! And that is some good post-processing too.
It would be great to know if you touched up the HDRs in post-production in anyway or are they mostly untouched?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most of the HDR shots are not in-camera HDR shots, they are multiple pictures of the same shot combined in post.
Every picture has been touched up in post. The natural looking ones are probably just simple lighting/contrast adjustments, the surreal looking ones took more effort.

Love Japan. Absolutely love Kyoto. You took some really good shots
One thing I am a bit disappointed with is the amount of noise the camera has. (still love it hough)
Some of your shots (especially the HDR) are way too noisy for my liking, but that's a matter of taste or sometimes plain nitpicking.
Which settings did you mainly use?
Did you leave the phone in charge of most of the settings or did you do it manually?

I agree, you took some beautiful shots!
Makes me want to travel. Lol.

MartinS13X said:
Love Japan. Absolutely love Kyoto. You took some really good shots
One thing I am a bit disappointed with is the amount of noise the camera has. (still love it hough)
Some of your shots (especially the HDR) are way too noisy for my liking, but that's a matter of taste or sometimes plain nitpicking.
Which settings did you mainly use?
Did you leave the phone in charge of most of the settings or did you do it manually?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With respect to the noise, agreed. In most cases, with some work, as its only really bad for the uniform areas of the picture, the noise is entirely cleanable in post. But in most cases, I've chosen not to for effect. And the HDR process does tend to accentuate the noise and would typically not be visible if I had processed it for a natural look.
Still, it doesn't surprise me that much. I picked up a Fujifilm f100fd, a P&S as my last camera. It was supposed to be really good with low-light photography due to its excellent noise control. While clearly better then the HTC One, I found myself running into the same problems when post-processing the f100fd's shots vis the HTC One's shots. I think if you really want clean, low light shot, a DSLR/interchangeable lens camera with a fast prime lens is the only way to go, that or a tripod, depending on the picture you want.
Sharpness at -2 for virtually all the shots. Occasionally exposure at -1 is very useful, when you are sure that you can capture enough detail in a darker picture. You're essentially telling the camera, hey, I'm OK with a dark picture, take the next shot as fast as a shutter speed as you can. For that reason, almost all the aquarium shots are with exposure -1, as you don't really care about the walls of aquarium being properly exposed, you just want the fish exposed.
For the multiple shots needed for the HDR pictures, tapping at a bright spot, taking a picture, then quickly tapping at a dark spot, then taking another picture... The problem is that sometimes having the camera focus at a bright/dark spot means you screw up focus entirely.
The HTC One's backlight mode is incredibly useful when you want to take portrait shots with something bright in the background. I've used the landscape and HDR modes a few times, but I'm still not entirely sure what landscape mode gets me.
So... Long story short, normal mode, with sharpness at -2, with lots of tapping on the screen.
edit: oh, also, I manually flashed to 4.2.2, which meant that I had access to AF/AE lock. That came useful for the epic panorama of Himeji castle's surroundings.

Exposure -1 is indeed good in some cases. I've used that too.
I also want to try setting the ISO manually in dark photos as I believe there is room for lower ISO in some cases and the camera just increases it a lot.
I'm also not a fan of noisy, instagram-y photos like some of yours but you have some very nice shots.
I saw a link with a timelapse video. What's the deal with that? Is it yours?

Ooops, error.

Corduroy-21 said:
Exposure -1 is indeed good in some cases. I've used that too.
I also want to try setting the ISO manually in dark photos as I believe there is room for lower ISO in some cases and the camera just increases it a lot.
I'm also not a fan of noisy, instagram-y photos like some of yours but you have some very nice shots.
I saw a link with a timelapse video. What's the deal with that? Is it yours?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The timelapse video is mine yes. If it helps, the noise is inherent in the picture, and not added for "authenticity"
edit: I think the One generally makes good decisions when it comes to ISO, it priorities shutter speed over anything else, which I think, given the fact that in any low-light shot, you are going to get unhappy amounts of noise, is a good choice. A blurred shot is usually totally unusable.

shasderias said:
The timelapse video is mine yes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How did you do it?
Did you use the One?

Corduroy-21 said:
How did you do it?
Did you use the One?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup. Sideloaded the stock android camera, used the timelapse function. Waited...

The pictures you have posted are just amazing.
Although I have a HTC One but I don't take much pictures. You have motivated me to take more pictures from this phone now.
The filters you have used in this are given ones or some other application for that?

Wow. I just went through every album. Those all turned out amazing.

Great pics! :good:

rahulwadhwani said:
The pictures you have posted are just amazing.
Although I have a HTC One but I don't take much pictures. You have motivated me to take more pictures from this phone now.
The filters you have used in this are given ones or some other application for that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No filters used, photos are all taken normally and edited in post. Photoshop for all editing, Photomatix for most of the HDR pictures.

shasderias said:
Yup. Sideloaded the stock android camera, used the timelapse function. Waited...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
which timelapse function did you use? How come my phone doesnt have it?

aceonetwothree said:
which timelapse function did you use? How come my phone doesnt have it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't use the HTC One's camera app, I sideloaded the camera app from stock android (the one with photosphere) to do the timelapse.
Incidentally, the photospheres for some reason, turned out super low-res.

How do you manage to take photos with the phone using 3 exposure values, going into the menu and changing the value after each photo while keeping the phone perfectly still?

Love these! The Shibuya Scramble pictures gave me to flashbacks to The World Ends With You.

I give up on this camera...

No matter what I do I can't seem to get a clear picture. Everything is blurry. I can't figure out if my expectations are just too high.....I came from an LG G4 but still. How are you guys getting good pictures? I'm talking 5% of the pictures I take are passable. Maybe I have a faulty camera? Anyone else find the camera to be garbage? I've looked through the camera threads and people seem happy overall. It can't just be me.
Sent from my XT1575 using XDA Free mobile app

Moto camera app sucks...did you try a different app?
Sent from my XT1572 using XDA Free mobile app

I tried Open Camera and am using Google camera currently. And I'm no Ansel Adams but I takes lot of pictures and have always been able to figure out how to take a decent shot on every device I've owned until this one.
Sent from my XT1575 using XDA Free mobile app

Are the pictures blurry or noisy?

They're blurry. That the thing, that's new to me. Good lighting with as steady a hand as I can muster still results in a blurry shot. I'll take one now and post if I can.
Sent from my XT1575 using XDA Free mobile app

This is probably a stupid suggestion, but have you tried just wiping the lens and making sure it's clean and clear? Honestly I've had that problem before where it's been smudged without my noticing and it obviously makes every picture screwed up. I know it's not likely, but something that's worth a shot I've found! Other than that I know nothing about cameras and coming from an HTC One I know nothing of a quality photo...

No, I agree with @jiggyb21, I just bought the Moxo X and came from the Galaxy S6. The camera on the Moto seems like pure garbage to me, and I think it's because we are coming from phones with superior cameras. People who came from phones with worse cameras will obviously think the Moto X camera is great right?

I don't have the steadiest of hands, but I haven't run into a problem like what you are describing. Have you given some thought that you might have a faulty device? It uses phase detection for focus, so if every picture is blurry you may have an issue with the actual camera module.

I've tried a few camera apps, and though pics come out good, man do I really have to keep a steady hand. Move it a hair and any text blurs. Why not lean it up against something to take your handling out of equation and voice command take pic and see what comes up.
Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk 2

It would be nice if you could post some samples. I'm not in love with the camera but I have consistently been able to snap photos that are good enough quickly

I don't even know if I uploaded the pics correctly and if not I'll fix it later while I'm watching the Giants beat on the Eagles. Something interesting happened while taking these pictures. I am in 100% optimal lighting conditions and these are basically the best 4 shots I could possibly get out of this camera. I asked around to the people here on the jobsite with me and everyone thought the pictures were just fine. Yes, they aren't blurry to the point of being unreadable by any means but they are quite blurry. I guess it could just be me but I would still argue it's not. Before anyone says anything about how this is just a smartphone and it's only a $400 smartphone at that and it's good enough, I know that and maybe people who haven't used a good smartphone camera don't know what they're missing. If that's the case, fine, and that's why I started this thread was to find out. My last 4 phones were Xperia ZL, Z2, Z3 and LG G4. We all know the G4 and S6, to name two, have incredible cameras and have OIS. The first 3 I named weren't and don't. They were all rated as average cameras and they don't have OIS. I have hundreds of pictures taken in similar conditions with the Sonys and they didn't suffer from blur. Like I said these 4 pictures were surprisingly good IMO. Most I take are MUCH more blurred and most of the pictures I take aren't in this perfect a light. So I'll have to post more pictures from my collection at home to really show off the bad ones.
If you zoom in a little on the pics its almost a 3D art poster kind of eye strain. Again, I'm not talking about level of detail, just the blurriness.

I think part of the pictures of blurry because of shallow depth of field due to lower aperture setting in the software algorithm. It seems the software is trying to compress too much noise. Although I have not personally used it, try the following link for the alternative camera and report back the results. Hope this works out for you:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-g/themes-apps/app-camera-galery-t3216944

trace1er said:
No, I agree with @jiggyb21, I just bought the Moxo X and came from the Galaxy S6. The camera on the Moto seems like pure garbage to me, and I think it's because we are coming from phones with superior cameras. People who came from phones with worse cameras will obviously think the Moto X camera is great right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not really. I have a DSLR so that's my standard on PQ. In daylight, nothing should be blurry at 100% zoom on even a $200 phone. You don't need flagship to take a good photo at 1/125 second shutter speed. It's either defective camera unit or something is wrong with the setting. Just look at all the photos people have posted on this forum.
---------- Post added at 10:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:25 PM ----------
jiggyb21 said:
I don't even know if I uploaded the pics correctly and if not I'll fix it later while I'm watching the Giants beat on the Eagles. Something interesting happened while taking these pictures. I am in 100% optimal lighting conditions and these are basically the best 4 shots I could possibly get out of this camera. I asked around to the people here on the jobsite with me and everyone thought the pictures were just fine. Yes, they aren't blurry to the point of being unreadable by any means but they are quite blurry. I guess it could just be me but I would still argue it's not. Before anyone says anything about how this is just a smartphone and it's only a $400 smartphone at that and it's good enough, I know that and maybe people who haven't used a good smartphone camera don't know what they're missing. If that's the case, fine, and that's why I started this thread was to find out. My last 4 phones were Xperia ZL, Z2, Z3 and LG G4. We all know the G4 and S6, to name two, have incredible cameras and have OIS. The first 3 I named weren't and don't. They were all rated as average cameras and they don't have OIS. I have hundreds of pictures taken in similar conditions with the Sonys and they didn't suffer from blur. Like I said these 4 pictures were surprisingly good IMO. Most I take are MUCH more blurred and most of the pictures I take aren't in this perfect a light. So I'll have to post more pictures from my collection at home to really show off the bad ones.
If you zoom in a little on the pics its almost a 3D art poster kind of eye strain. Again, I'm not talking about level of detail, just the blurriness.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's a f 2.0 lens. You gonna have blurriness around the edge of photo if you are taking it that close. It has nothing to do with OIS.
In any case, you can read the professional review of the XPE here.
http://www.dxomark.com/Mobiles/Moto-X-Style-Mobile-review-Style-and-Substance

If you're in good light, this is arguably one of the best phone cameras out there. Your pictures should be nice and crisp. Try this: take your camera outside during the day and take a few shots of the horizon or something. Then post the pictures here and we'll tell you (hopefully) if you've got a faulty unit. It sounds like your phone is not performing as mine is. I'm even satisfied with some indoor shots with this camera. I have done professional photography, so I am well-versed in cameras (color, WB, ISO, exposure, f-stop, etc.).
Even from reading reviews and comparisons from the web and tech reviewers, this camera performs with, and sometimes beats the other current flagship models out there. I happen to agree with them. From reading this thread though, maybe your camera isn't the only one with this problem.
Anyway, try to post a couple of pictures up. A link to an external host like photobucket or something like that would probably be better than uploading straight to XDA, due to compression and size limits.
---------- Post added at 04:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:42 PM ----------
Edit: looks like I missed a page
Those photos don't look that bad. What sort of blurriness are you talking about? The bokeh from taking close up pictures? Bokeh is a natural blurring effect you get from a larger aperature lens not being able to capture the entire depth of field. That's normal. The focused part of those pictures don't look blurry to me.
As an aside, any indoor shot will not be optimal lighting, unless you have a lighting kit or something to really brighten up the scene. Optimal lighting would be outside, and when the sun is not directly overhead. This is a very quick summation of optimal light, but you get the point.

Gr8man001 said:
I think part of the pictures of blurry because of shallow depth of field due to lower aperture setting in the software algorithm. It seems the software is trying to compress too much noise. Although I have not personally used it, try the following link for the alternative camera and report back the results. Hope this works out for you:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-g/themes-apps/app-camera-galery-t3216944
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, thanks, that camera works great, I always enjoy having the face detection feature it makes focusing on faces much faster.

Gr8man001 said:
I think part of the pictures of blurry because of shallow depth of field due to lower aperture setting in the software algorithm. It seems the software is trying to compress too much noise. Although I have not personally used it, try the following link for the alternative camera and report back the results. Hope this works out for you:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-g/themes-apps/app-camera-galery-t3216944
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your tip. After turning off NR in advanced setting, I tried a couple of indoor shots of some writings on my note book. Please excuse the terrible lighting and my bad handwriting, but it's very easy to tell which shot had the NR off. Yes the one with NR off has a dirtier background, but the pen strokes has much better contrast from the paper. That's probably one of the reasons why the default setting produces blurry photos.

Yea when taking photos of dogs in low light I only managed to have 1 or 2 come out bad and that was from me moving the phone. But then again I am used to shooting 50asa film freehand.

lack of optical image stabilization rearing it's ugly head.. who knows why the hell they couldn't use a sensor with it, but it's quite disappointing. but turning off nr helps a lot.. we need a dev to come in and work on a true camera mod for this phone only. I tried to get my bud xdabbeb to make a mod (as anyone who had the g2 knows his xcam mod was killer!) but he isn't planning on buying this phone. ugh.
Sent from my Moto X Pure Edition

jonathanbailie said:
If you're in good light, this is arguably one of the best phone cameras out there. Your pictures should be nice and crisp. Try this: take your camera outside during the day and take a few shots of the horizon or something. Then post the pictures here and we'll tell you (hopefully) if you've got a faulty unit. It sounds like your phone is not performing as mine is. I'm even satisfied with some indoor shots with this camera. I have done professional photography, so I am well-versed in cameras (color, WB, ISO, exposure, f-stop, etc.).
Even from reading reviews and comparisons from the web and tech reviewers, this camera performs with, and sometimes beats the other current flagship models out there. I happen to agree with them. From reading this thread though, maybe your camera isn't the only one with this problem.
Anyway, try to post a couple of pictures up. A link to an external host like photobucket or something like that would probably be better than uploading straight to XDA, due to compression and size limits.
---------- Post added at 04:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:42 PM ----------
Edit: looks like I missed a page
Those photos don't look that bad. What sort of blurriness are you talking about? The bokeh from taking close up pictures? Bokeh is a natural blurring effect you get from a larger aperature lens not being able to capture the entire depth of field. That's normal. The focused part of those pictures don't look blurry to me.
As an aside, any indoor shot will not be optimal lighting, unless you have a lighting kit or something to really brighten up the scene. Optimal lighting would be outside, and when the sun is not directly overhead. This is a very quick summation of optimal light, but you get the point.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you and this is why I wanted feedback. I posted the pictures I did (close-up), because, to me, they were the most objectifiable shots I could take while at work. The text just isn't as clear as other shots I've taken with other phones. I called it optimal lighting because I was in a 6x6 room with three windows and a skylight on a sunny day with no direct sunlight. The lighting felt like the kind any decent camera would take advantage of. To me, that's optimal..but I understand that's a strong word and not scientific. The fact that it scores so highly in professional reviews is what has me frustrated. The only thing I can deduce is that a professional, lab environment is more controlled and repeatable than my layman's point and shoot approach. They must be using a tripod, right? This phone has everything else I want and I just want to like the camera. So believe me, I want to figure out how to enjoy the camera. I will take more shots tomorrow and post them and I hope you and others with knowledge will chime in. I just know that with the other smartphone cameras I mentioned earlier, 8 out of 10 shots were keepers and with this one it's more like 1 out of 10 and that's not jiving with everyone else. Thanks again.
Sent from my XT1575 using XDA Free mobile app

looking at the pictures, they seem just fine to me. the blurred part (glue) at the bottom of the bottle is just from it using a wide aperture. the images are not tack sharp but this is a cellphone camera and small dof. I dont see motion blur.
problem with auto cameras is that you dont know what priority it has. to use a wide aperture to get a decent shutter speed and not have to use high iso or the opposite.
for proper exposure you have to adjust and juggle the 3 parameters (iso/aperture/shutter) to get a proper image.
wish the phone had controls like the LG G4 which has aperture iso shutter WB and EC.

Photo quality

Say "cheese", then rate this thread to express how photos taken with the Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact come out. A higher rating indicates that photos offer rich color (without over-saturating), sharp detail (with all subjects in-focus), and appropriate exposure (with even lighting).
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!

Hey. Does anyone else have this problem? See attached files. That green streak at the bottom of the screen.

nope!
picture quality is great, daylight pictures are wonderful, low light pictures are good with a lot of details if the subject is not moving.. if moving they kinda sucks but because acquisition time is long so it is difficult to catch a steady image... but in general in very happy and much better of previous Sony phones i had!

Pics are great
At least the daylight pics are great. I don't know about night pics yet, but seem great too.

Talbred said:
Hey. Does anyone else have this problem? See attached files. That green streak at the bottom of the screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It looks like the effects from the sunlight? But i guess you also tried it when there's no sun shining? If so, it might be a defect camera. Mine takes excellent pictures.

Hi, anyone having trouble with macro shots on this phone or is it just me? It seems like the minimum distance between the camera and the object I want to focus on has to be roughly 60-70mm if not more, which is very very far. My friend's s8 can do up less than 30mm without having focusing issues. Is there a setting I don't know about or is it just an inherent flaw of the phone?
Thanks.

PYellow said:
Hi, anyone having trouble with macro shots on this phone or is it just me? It seems like the minimum distance between the camera and the object I want to focus on has to be roughly 60-70mm if not more, which is very very far. My friend's s8 can do up less than 30mm without having focusing issues. Is there a setting I don't know about or is it just an inherent flaw of the phone?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Didn't mean to quote. Thought I'd post a few since no one is. I think the camera can be improved. To me it over sharpens in many cases and in low light the mode is too aggressive.
Retro filter
Sent from my [device_name] using XDA-Developers Legacy app

I'll just leave this here:
https://youtu.be/J-XGOO5J9O8

resol/quality setting lower than 12MP ?
hello
i'm newbee and i wondering if it is possible to set the quality/resol under 12MP ?

no one know how set it lower ?
This is to sent picture with low quality by MMS to people who have "small" mobile

xz2compact said:
hello
i'm newbee and i wondering if it is possible to set the quality/resol under 12MP ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not with the stock camera app. Once gcam becomes available probably yes.
Sent from my [device_name] using XDA-Developers Legacy app
---------- Post added at 02:26 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:23 PM ----------
Couple more. Lake and I need to replace that fence bracket.
Sent from my [device_name] using XDA-Developers Legacy app

Still don't have gcam? Seems odd.
Sent from my ASUS_X00QD using XDA Labs

Hi! I just got my xz2 compact and I noticed that parts on the left side of the images are a bit softer than the right side. Maybe its because the protector glass in the case is not flat compared to the lens? Or maybe because my camera is not calibrated well?
I compared some pictures by making a photo landscape and turn the camera 180 degrees and repeat the photo. See my comparison here: photos.app.goo.gl/bKzgtzV4TZTt2oncA
Would this annoy you? Can anyone try to reproduce this?

have some pretty mixed feelings about those. Is this considered good ?!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/B9v21ygCPkCMSn7M8
Xz2 compact vs Sirocco
N8 is used with Gcam. Both is on Auto mode. Without any bettering.
Here with new Nokia camera update.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/QnkGuvW28xFAnJ6G8

faroit said:
Hi! I just got my xz2 compact and I noticed that parts on the left side of the images are a bit softer than the right side. Maybe its because the protector glass in the case is not flat compared to the lens? Or maybe because my camera is not calibrated well?
I compared some pictures by making a photo landscape and turn the camera 180 degrees and repeat the photo. See my comparison here: photos.app.goo.gl/bKzgtzV4TZTt2oncA
Would this annoy you? Can anyone try to reproduce this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
okay, now I as able to detect the kind of problem. Its actually has something to do with the focus capabilities. If you switch to manual mode and use manual focus, I found that the highest value (the mountain) is not infinity in my phone but quite a bit beyond. That way its already blurry. Is this the same on your phones? Is the infinity focus setting really infinity?

Photo quality in other camera apps
Hey,
I just bought myself a xz2c - coming from a z3c. I used to take pics with camera Apps like "a better camera" or "open camera" because the shots were superior to These from the Stock app.
So i tried the same on my xz2c but the quality is worse than the Stock app - it's more visible on the selfie cam. Why does this happen?
Even the shots through WhatsApp and instagram are strangely Bad. (Yeah i know that these Apps shoot lower res pics but the difference is huge now. Deffo not how it should be)
Clan somebody reproduce this with the front cam on other camera apps aswell?

tyrael11 said:
Hey,
I just bought myself a xz2c - coming from a z3c. I used to take pics with camera Apps like "a better camera" or "open camera" because the shots were superior to These from the Stock app.
So i tried the same on my xz2c but the quality is worse than the Stock app - it's more visible on the selfie cam. Why does this happen?
Even the shots through WhatsApp and instagram are strangely Bad. (Yeah i know that these Apps shoot lower res pics but the difference is huge now. Deffo not how it should be)
Clan somebody reproduce this with the front cam on other camera apps aswell?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think it is generally a hit or miss if a third party app does well with the sensor on the phone, I don't own this phone but have experienced bad quality (not just res) pictures with these apps on other phones. Why not just stick with the stock cam if it's good?

Photo quality

Say "cheese", then rate this thread to express how photos taken with the come out. A higher rating indicates that photos offer rich color (without over-saturating), sharp detail (with all subjects in-focus), and appropriate exposure (with even lighting).
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!

A pretty decent photo quality, however if you do not use the "Vivid colours" your images can appear quite washed out.

I am excited about this
https://www.news.com.au/technology/...e/news-story/29aefcf847fb39e2e37a17c4bb3f9510
Okay - article pumps up the phone... but then LOOK at the PHOTO sample v the iphone...... why is it that bad? I don't want to go near this phone, if this is its output. Who do we trust though? All reviewers saying it is amaaaaazing... Reminds my how I got sucked into my last huawei - Nexus 6P
The hundred or so (seemingly that amount) of youtubers who got the free trip top London and the early release, or the mainstream media? Or what?
That image comparison though - can't get past it

s327374 said:
...That image comparison though - can't get past it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Judging from the small images I would assume that the Mate 20 had bokeh-effect on, the flowers seems to be pretty sharp and focussed but the background looks delibarately out of focus.

photo quailty is insane check what i took
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1...?key=d0J2cnRLRWF6MDdqQXVHSHlPUHBRS3pYSVlxMW1R
nice little tip use night mode at day to get crazy HDR pictures like the one of the cars ^^

bloodomen2 said:
photo quailty is insane check what i took
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1...?key=d0J2cnRLRWF6MDdqQXVHSHlPUHBRS3pYSVlxMW1R
nice little tip use night mode at day to get crazy HDR pictures like the one of the cars ^^
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
your photos look lovely - however the photo's ive tried taking so far in my office etc look very poor quality, right now my oneplus3 is better! which firmware are you on? im on 108.. still haven't received tany updates yet

ooMoo said:
your photos look lovely - however the photo's ive tried taking so far in my office etc look very poor quality, right now my oneplus3 is better! which firmware are you on? im on 108.. still haven't received tany updates yet
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm on 122 and there were camera improvements as well as new camera features. I've found night mode to be inconsistent but when it works is glorious!

Coming from the p20 pro to this the seflie camera on the mate is terrible looks like we gone back a few years on the front camera almost makes it unusable for me...

Hi all,
I am on my third day of HM20 Pro.
Love it all and the photos sure, great
Have you guys tried to take photos from the messaging apps? Signal, message, whatsapp?
I cannot believe the... Worst quality ever!! Is there any config I am missing?
Just try it.. Send an MMS via the messaging (not taking the photo before, but actually from within the app) and let me know....
About to pack my new phone and return it....
Thanks for your comment!

The camera is awesome... Maybe not as good as the P20 Pro though at night time

i just stuck a Vodafone sim in for a few seconds to get the 122 update - camera is definitely a bit better! not had a chance to test much yet though, but from the few I have taken shots are appearing less grainy now.

buxz777 said:
The camera is awesome... Maybe not as good as the P20 Pro though at night time
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I feel with software it will beat the p20p. So far I'm satisfied as it's leaps better than my 10p I sold.

Automaticmode by Fog

This phone camera is a complete missery!
I've switched from Samsung Galaxy S7 and completely disappointed. I feel like my S7 did better photos than Mate 20 Pro. Here is a list of issues (aside of Gluegate - which affected my phone).
Front camera:
- overexposes selfies in almost all conditions
- HDR mode is quirky and either doesn't make any difference or renders too flat results
- This silly toast "please hold camera steady whike your photo is sharpening" pops up almost all the time, regardless of light conditions
Rear camera
- HDR mode is just useless
- there is no "auto HDR" settings and switch HDR on is taking too many clicks
- and yet again... toast from hell "please hold camera steady whike your photo is sharpening"... THIS IS RIDICULOUS! Even in super bright conditions, where single lens camera would do perfectly well, Huawei asks me to hold my camera steady for 1 sec? Come on!
I really hope Huawei fixes all of that because it's a complete joke.
Good luck

From what i read it seems that Mate20pro is same as p20pro release and it will need few months before the software is actually as good as the hardware .
P20pro release was a disaster, photos looked like a cartoon .

tomaszupl said:
I've switched from Samsung Galaxy S7 and completely disappointed. I feel like my S7 did better photos than Mate 20 Pro. Here is a list of issues (aside of Gluegate - which affected my phone).
Front camera:
- overexposes selfies in almost all conditions
- HDR mode is quirky and either doesn't make any difference or renders too flat results
- This silly toast "please hold camera steady whike your photo is sharpening" pops up almost all the time, regardless of light conditions
Rear camera
- HDR mode is just useless
- there is no "auto HDR" settings and switch HDR on is taking too many clicks
- and yet again... toast from hell "please hold camera steady whike your photo is sharpening"... THIS IS RIDICULOUS! Even in super bright conditions, where single lens camera would do perfectly well, Huawei asks me to hold my camera steady for 1 sec? Come on!
I really hope Huawei fixes all of that because it's a complete joke.
Good luck
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, I did some test with rear camera, multiframe stacking is always on in photo mode, so you have your auto HDR on all the time and that's probably why it asks to hold steady. I think it's merging 4 pictures.
The camera app is just too complicated, with different modes that do basically the same things.
It ends up being inconsistent when you leave everything on auto.
Sometimes it will be flat and washed out with no vignetting, other times it will have ton of constrast, oversatured colors and vignetting.
So now I did choose one mode and color parameter that consistently give results I like and stick with it.

This video night mode quality
Sent from my LYA-L29 using Tapatalk

Danmike said:
Coming from the p20 pro to this the seflie camera on the mate is terrible looks like we gone back a few years on the front camera almost makes it unusable for me...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Front camera is complete garbage imho

kai84m said:
Front camera is complete garbage imho
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Completly agree with this either the software is ruining it or just poor production ?

One big reason for getting the phone was the camera. I had the LG v30+ previously and I loved it for the ultrawide focal length. I'm glad that mate 20pro added this. I'm really enjoying the big sensor also. The dng files look great so far. The LG v30 always had grain/noise in the raw files at no matter what ISO. I'm not seeing the grain being so intrusive with the mate20pro