Database Users

First full day with my Moto-x and Iphone pic comparision

I purchased a moto-x yesterday out of contract to give it a "road test" and If I liked it I would return it and order 32gb as my Iphone 5 replacement. I had to make a trip to NYC today. My train ride into Penn station is typically 1 hr 10 minutes and today I waited another 10 at the platform. I started out at 100% and started streaming Spotify over LTE and sat on reddit and google chrome for most of the way along with a few games of solitaire and burnt it down to 65%. I fared about the same with my Iphone 5 while making the same run pre-IOS7 however expect worse performance after the update. I was in battery park for the most of the day and lost another ~10% in the subway roaming/intermittent streaming. By the time I got on the train 7 hours later I was at 35%, I used the navigation for about 10 minutes to get some food (awesome btw).
Things I like about the phone.
The screen size is nicer than the Iphone 5 however may not be "as bright" I assume this has to do with the OLED screen.
The Active notifications has to be my favorite feature. It really is quite nice and I dread going back to my Iphone 5 without it.
The active feature while driving is nice however I haven't given it the full test yet.
Google Hangouts is amazing, it really is and I am going to force my girlfriend to use it on her iphone.
Android feels like a smart phone that wants to "help you". I'm sure that doesn't make sense. It just has some mystical google type power IMO.
Things I don't like.
I was hoping battery life would be a little better based on reviews, however I find it good enough.
The camera however this is an AT&T phone without the latest update. The camera will make or break this phone for me as I have a room full of fishing pictures, most are really good and taken with smartphone camera's (Iphone's.)
Also I tried to scan a barcode and it was just NOT happening while on the train, something the iphone did no problem (using myfitnesspal)
It also doesn't charge as fast as my iphone, however that may be because of the larger battery?
Also, when I return this phone this weekend, is there A way I can have everything backed up, so when I get my new phone I won't have to set everything up again and download all these apps over?
Here is the pic comparison, done side by side. http://imgur.com/a/tywmw

I'm actually having trouble making my picture look as bad off as you did and I am not able to reproduce it.
The color in my photos is spectacular, way better than my HTC One. I just took this of my salt water fish tank and it's way more than close... It's impeccably accurate.
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Doing photo comparisons at this point is a waste of time. Att is going to have the update out very soon so why bother. The camera is great after the fix.
Compare then.
To answer your question you have the option to back up ur apps through your Google account. They redownload as soon as you log in on the next phone

osiris355 said:
Doing photo comparisons at this point is a waste of time. Att is going to have the update out very soon so why bother. The camera is great after the fix.
Compare then.
To answer your question you have the option to back up ur apps through your Google account. They redownload as soon as you log in on the next phone
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yesterday... i have just flash the tmo firmware on my unlock bootloader rogers version... and update ! my wife now want the white moto x ! pictures quality is just like the day and night... equal or better to the iphone 5... equal to the sg4 ...
... mmm i have say the tmobile firmware is excellent ... no brand no bloat ( retail en us on the about ) ...

Would you say the battery life is pretty similar for both phones? also how much thicker is the moto x?

mhsbrian said:
I'm actually having trouble making my picture look as bad off as you did and I am not able to reproduce it.
The color in my photos is spectacular, way better than my HTC One. I just took this of my salt water fish tank and it's way more than close... It's impeccably accurate.
Sent from my XT1056 using Tapatalk 2
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Don't think i'm dissing the phone, I like it more than the iphone5
I'm just waiting for the update.

People tend to like the over saturated photos that the iPhone and Samsung produces... The Moto X creates pictures closer to real life colors.
Its the same with DSLR's, Canon processes photos with colors close to real life but the Nikon gives it more saturation - newcomers tend to go Nikon for this reason.
I prefer the real life colors, and I'll add saturation if needed later on.
Edited.

rman18 said:
People tend to like the over saturated photos that the iPhone and Samsung produces... The Moto X creates pictures closer to real life colors.
Its the same with DSLR's, Canon processes photos with colors close to real life but the Nokia gives it more saturation - newcomers tend to go Nokia for this reason.
I prefer the real life colors, and I'll add saturation if needed later on.
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Agree 100 percent, iPhone photos always bleed colors and it's especially seen in very detailed things.
In terms of Nikon and canon, I shoot with a Canon and only would buy an older Nokia if I was to but one myself.
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mhsbrian said:
Agree 100 percent, iPhone photos always bleed colors and it's especially seen in very detailed things.
In terms of Nokia and canon, I shoot with a Canon and only would buy an older Nokia if I was to but one myself.
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-_- Nokia? I think you mean Nikon.

mentose457 said:
-_- Nokia? I think you mean Nikon.
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SwiftKey filled it in for me lol
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rman18 said:
People tend to like the over saturated photos that the iPhone and Samsung produces... The Moto X creates pictures closer to real life colors.
Its the same with DSLR's, Canon processes photos with colors close to real life but the Nokia gives it more saturation - newcomers tend to go Nokia for this reason.
I prefer the real life colors, and I'll add saturation if needed later on.
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Click to collapse
Again I think you mean NIKON. I never experienced excessive saturation on any of Nikon DSLRs. I never used retard mode or full retard mode on them though. If you are using those modes on your Canon, well, congratulations.

mentose457 said:
Again I think you mean NIKON. I never experienced excessive saturation on any of Nikon DSLRs. I never used retard mode or full retard mode on them though. If you are using those modes on your Canon, well, congratulations.
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NIKON, as you say.. Makes great cameras I don't see what your point here is besides starting a war that's been waged since the dawn of personal photography.
On another note, my main camera is a pentax k-5, that doesn't mean it shoots way better photos. But it's weather resistant and takes the best night pictures of any camera I've ever owned.
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mhsbrian said:
NIKON, as you say.. Makes great cameras I don't see what your point here is besides starting a war that's been waged since the dawn of personal photography.
On another note, my main camera is a pentax k-5, that doesn't mean it shoots way better photos. But it's weather resistant and takes the best night pictures of any camera I've ever owned.
Sent from my XT1056 using Tapatalk 2
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Just pointing out that any camera that has manual control can be adjusted to take life like colors. IMO comparing auto modes on manual cameras is stupid.
My boss shoots a k-5, its an attractive camera. I like that the image stabilization is in the camera not the lens.

mentose457 said:
Just pointing out that any camera that has manual control can be adjusted to take life like colors. IMO comparing auto modes on manual cameras is stupid.
My boss shoots a k-5, its an attractive camera. I like that the image stabilization is in the camera not the lens.
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Yeah, it's a fantastic camera... The biggest turn on for me was the Iso noise is tremendously low even at very high Iso ranges.
Sent from my XT1056 using Tapatalk 2

Absolutely disappointed with the camera

is anyone else? i came from a G2 hoping for a much better camera, as I preferred the GS4 camera to my G2...yeah, well I get my GS5, and i'm sitting here looking at the pics i've taken, and good god they're awful. they just look horrible compared to what the G2 shoots.
and low light? FORGET IT. if you can even get it to focus without the flash on (which it won't, at all, after numerous attempts of me trying with even lights on behind me) it's going to look like garbage anyway.
now i'm sitting here wondering if I should return it or not. I spent full price on the damn thing (after selling a GS4 and a Gnex) and i'm really wondering if it's even worth it to keep because i was honestly expecting a good camera, especially from all of the raving about it i've seen.

Camera looks great here
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terrible. it can't even focus on something with lighting in the room...and the outdoors pic? is this phone for real?

There were some reviews about the galaxy s 5 camera, the reviewers seemed to not like the camera.
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Maybe stating the obvious, but did you remove the plastic film over the lens?
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JBeXX said:
Maybe stating the obvious, but did you remove the plastic film over the lens?
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yep, first thing i did. if ya notice, the plastic doesn't cover the sensor itself..only the outer portion.
oh well, i gave up on the S5. on top of build quality issues (the creaking/shifting body that Samsung is known for..) and that crappy camera, I just went and returned it tonight. had to pay a $35 restocking fee, but whatever. got my $600 back.
wish you guys the best!

jayochs said:
yep, first thing i did. if ya notice, the plastic doesn't cover the sensor itself..only the outer portion.
oh well, i gave up on the S5. on top of build quality issues (the creaking/shifting body that Samsung is known for..) and that crappy camera, I just went and returned it tonight. had to pay a $35 restocking fee, but whatever. got my $600 back.
wish you guys the best!
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You got a dud. That's too bad. it happens. My pictures are nothing like yours.
Untitled by Mechatricity, on Flickr
Untitled by Mechatricity, on Flickr
Untitled by Mechatricity, on Flickr

S5 has abandoned Sony sensors right? That would explain OP. Maybe new Samsung sensors are just not as good as Sony's. We all know megapixel is secondary anyway....

My cam is fine...I posted a pic in other thread. You got a bad phone. Exchange it. Those pics you posted aren't good.

I'm happy with the cam as well. Haven't tried any outdoor shots yet but it looks at least as good as my s4 so far. I like the new options and cleaner access. Just snapped this on a whim...
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I'll second this. Not near as bad as Jayochs, but not any better than the S4, and worse, IMHO, in bright outdoor shots where the S4 was incredible. Medium to low-light is improved only because you can see the images more - but if you don't use stabilization mode, they're horribly noisy. If you do use stabilization mode, they look better, but then a LOT of your indoor shots, even if they're not low light, will end up asking you to hold still for 3-4 seconds.
And I don't know about y'all, but my camera is relatively slow to load. Keeping in mind I'm comparing to a 5S and M8. So far the laggier camera experience and not-as-great-as-they-said-it-would-be images have me liking the M8's camera more... it's just so darn fast, and consistent and focusable and can take medium-lit shots quickly.
Edit: full disclaimer... I'm a nitpicky phone camera snob!

Put me down as another who is disappointed in the camera. Outdoor shots are great for me, but indoor shots are extremely lackluster. Even with stability on, they're disappointing. The indoor capabilities of the iPhone 5S blow this one out of the water. Given the pixel size, I didn't expect it to be better at indoor shots than the 5S or the M8, but I was definitely hoping that it would be better than it is.
I'm going to give it a few more days, but this is potentially a deal breaker for me. That's very disappointing, especially since there's very little else that I dislike about the phone.

bsweetness said:
Put me down as another who is disappointed in the camera. Outdoor shots are great for me, but indoor shots are extremely lackluster. Even with stability on, they're disappointing. The indoor capabilities of the iPhone 5S blow this one out of the water. Given the pixel size, I didn't expect it to be better at indoor shots than the 5S or the M8, but I was definitely hoping that it would be better than it is.
I'm going to give it a few more days, but this is potentially a deal breaker for me. That's very disappointing, especially since there's very little else that I dislike about the phone.
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Yep, same here. Though others have said their camera loads up quite fast - my experience is it's pretty laggy moving in and out of it. But I also love just about everything else about it, so if I can get used to the camera, or maybe figure out what I'm missing (if anything??), it'll be good. If not, it'll be the M8 for me likely... though I don't like how slippery / heavy it is.
I hate to say it (ok I don't really hate it), but after all of the devices I've used, I still feel like the 5S is still the best all around mobile camera experience when you combine the usability with image quality. The M8 is on par when it comes to speed and usability - heck it might even be faster. But image quality is still better on the 5S.
And good to see you b! I've been pretty forum-inactive for awhile...

jntdroid said:
Yep, same here. Though others have said their camera loads up quite fast - my experience is it's pretty laggy moving in and out of it. But I also love just about everything else about it, so if I can get used to the camera, or maybe figure out what I'm missing (if anything??), it'll be good. If not, it'll be the M8 for me likely... though I don't like how slippery / heavy it is.
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I doubt you're missing anything. I've gone through every setting and tried a host of things to get better pictures out of it to no avail. I spent quite a bit of time yesterday taking the exact same shots with the S5, Note 3, and iPhone 5S. Outdoors during the day, the S5 reigned supreme, with both the Note 3 and 5S close behind. Outdoors at night, the 5S was the clear winner with the S5 and the Note 3 providing similar results (with the S5 coming out slightly ahead between the two). Indoors, the 5S came out on top again in every lighting situation, both without a flash and with a flash. The S5 was slightly better than the Note 3 indoors, but really not by much.
Given that the overall image quality between the S5 and the Note 3 isn't a huge difference, I'm leaning towards returning the S5 and just keeping the Note 3 for now.
jntdroid said:
I hate to say it (ok I don't really hate it), but after all of the devices I've used, I still feel like the 5S is still the best all around mobile camera experience when you combine the usability with image quality. The M8 is on par when it comes to speed and usability - heck it might even be faster. But image quality is still better on the 5S.
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Agreed. The 5S that I use for work is just solid all around when it comes to the camera, providing really great shots in almost all lighting conditions. The only phone I've used that's better is the Lumia 1040, but it doesn't have the speed that the 5S does. Apple really nailed the camera for the 5S.
The S5 has officially been approved as a device we can use for work, so I was hoping to replace both my Note 3 and my 5S with it and only have to carry one device for personal and business use. But so far, the camera on the S5 makes that impossible.
jntdroid said:
And good to see you b! I've been pretty forum-inactive for awhile...
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Yeah. I've been out of the country for work for an extended period, often in places with little to no internet service. I'm back in the States for a little bit, so I'll be popping up a little more often.

Anyone know why it's so bad? I don't understand how some are getting great pics and others are getting not so good. I'm in the not so good group. Some pics I feel like my rezound takes just as good. Lol
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jagrave said:
Anyone know why it's so bad? I don't understand how some are getting great pics and others are getting not so good. I'm in the not so good group. Some pics I feel like my rezound takes just as good. Lol
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It can take great pics, don't get me wrong - though even when it's great, I'm not convinced it's better than the S4.
I think it's a combination of a new sensor, a new "style" of auto-focus, and post-processing issues.

jntdroid said:
It can take great pics, don't get me wrong - though even when it's great, I'm not convinced it's better than the S4.
I think it's a combination of a new sensor, a new "style" of auto-focus, and post-processing issues.
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I think that's one of the biggest problems. Even in well-lit situations, sometimes things - like people and animals - can come out looking like an oil painting. That's one of the biggest problems with indoor shots as well. Turning off the stabilization helps a little with that, but not as much as one would think. I've tried all of the major third-party camera apps, and none of them give much better results. For indoor shots, the sensor just isn't big enough to let in the amount of light that's needed to take an above average picture.
I think some of the discrepancies in what various people are reporting with the quality comes down to photo quality preferences, what different people are used to with the phones in their cameras, and at times a more discerning eye for quality. The S5 camera is certainly no slouch, and I'd place it above pretty much all other Android phones right now as far as being an all around shooter (there are others that do certain things better, but not everything), but it's not the big step forward that I really wanted it to be.
I'm going to be returning it and going back to my Note 3 for the time being.

bsweetness said:
I think that's one of the biggest problems. Even in well-lit situations, sometimes things - like people and animals - can come out looking like an oil painting. That's one of the biggest problems with indoor shots as well. Turning off the stabilization helps a little with that, but not as much as one would think. I've tried all of the major third-party camera apps, and none of them give much better results. For indoor shots, the sensor just isn't big enough to let in the amount of light that's needed to take an above average picture.
I think some of the discrepancies in what various people are reporting with the quality comes down to photo quality preferences, what different people are used to with the phones in their cameras, and at times a more discerning eye for quality. The S5 camera is certainly no slouch, and I'd place it above pretty much all other Android phones right now as far as being an all around shooter (there are others that do certain things better, but not everything), but it's not the big step forward that I really wanted it to be.
I'm going to be returning it and going back to my Note 3 for the time being.
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What about the note 3 do you like better? And how does the note 3 camera compare?
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jagrave said:
What about the note 3 do you like better? And how does the note 3 camera compare?
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I typed up a little summary of the comparison I did between the cameras a few posts up.
bsweetness said:
I doubt you're missing anything. I've gone through every setting and tried a host of things to get better pictures out of it to no avail. I spent quite a bit of time yesterday taking the exact same shots with the S5, Note 3, and iPhone 5S. Outdoors during the day, the S5 reigned supreme, with both the Note 3 and 5S close behind. Outdoors at night, the 5S was the clear winner with the S5 and the Note 3 providing similar results (with the S5 coming out slightly ahead between the two). Indoors, the 5S came out on top again in every lighting situation, both without a flash and with a flash. The S5 was slightly better than the Note 3 indoors, but really not by much.
Given that the overall image quality between the S5 and the Note 3 isn't a huge difference, I'm leaning towards returning the S5 and just keeping the Note 3 for now.
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In short, the S5 is an improvement, but not a big one. The differences were pretty marginal in most cases.
As for what I like better about the Note 3 it really comes down to two things - the size of the screen and the S-Pen.

jayochs said:
if ya notice, the plastic doesn't cover the sensor itself..only the outer portion.
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Ahem.....it most certainly DOES cover the entire lense.
Best find a girl with a sharp fingernail and pay her to scrape it off for you.
!edit!
BTW, mine is fast, and sharp, and works nearly as well as my Canon camera.

HTC One M9 Camera discussion (not for photo samples)

Albert Poon said:
May I ask you guys with M9 to take pics using manual mode? A tripod, phone holder, low ISO, long explosure to take some night views?
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This was missing in the flickr album. Long exposure 1/4, 1/2 or 1s shots. And please use flickr so we can see exifs easily. board attachments and imgur strip exifs out. I notice the phonearena samples have no exifs in them at all.
Though i have to say i like this one. Just enough silhouette to set the mood.
ISO 80 and 1/40 WHAT!!! for late afternoon Seattle in winter. I can't tell if its HDR or not.
---------- Post added at 09:17 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:43 PM ----------
xxquicksh0txx said:
https://plus.google.com/10388377056...6126393456474303042&oid=103883770561517758752 Link to the beetle picture on his Google+ with a resolution of 1108 x 625. Definitely cropped/compressed
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Taken with VSCO cam, ISO 50, 1/268. So ample light.
Also used flash. Sharpness is set to soft.
A nice photo.
---------- Post added at 09:22 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:17 PM ----------
vegetaleb said:
Here a comparison of crop between M9 and Note 4 in not very low light conditions taken by the Tweakers review, you can clearly see the superiority of the Note 4 in the details like the logos of Goodyear and the wheel:
I know it's not final software but this M9 camera is giving the same results the SE C905 could give 6 years ago
M9
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Note 4
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Note 4 is ISO 400, 1/10
M9 is ISO 640, 1/14
About half a f-stop difference.
What if the M9 tried to get that with ISO 300 ie ISO 200 +0.3 at 1/7 ? or go slower still ISO100+0.3 at 1/3 ? can't do these tricks with the note, slowest it will get is 1/8 and then its auto night mode kicks in which did not happen in this picture. S5 & note 4 have improved their low light capability over their predecessors in auto but i bet you can come close to matching it if not exceeding it with manual on m9.
Light in this shot is quite low btw.

th3 said:
This obsession is what makes every product better in every field, than its predecessor.
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That pair is not as important as you think it is and that applies for all with good light.
Where this 'trounces' occurs is in low light. I've already said what needs to be done.
Without this obsession, there can be no better or worse product, and you'll still be saying "good enough" to the HTC Desire camera
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with macros yeah i would because there is no difference there. I've seen three year old devices do excellent macros. Hint: macros are not a good demonstration of what the latest camera can do.
The only real innovation we've had in sensors is BSI over the last two years. More sensitive in low light. You couldn't do that with 2013 devices, m7 was the sole exception. The rest is processing, how much of it or lack thereof.
On a more general level the trick with these devices is to know when to compromise and when to be maximalist. There is no perfect device so what you end up with is what you can tolerate over what you cannot do without. Every device has this trade off. Unfortunately you are alone with making this decision. Unless you are lucky to find others whose requirements match yours closely. Now do you see why i said minor. its minor in a larger context.
What you're saying... 'Moving the goalpost' it's called. Common trick.
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no tricks. calling it straight.
i don't trust auto.That on some devices its always flawless is a myth. auto goes wrong even on dslrs. what will you do then ? blame the device or your own ignorance. better to understand why and what went wrong and then fix it. and you can.
What i'm sensing here is an unwillingness to do so. That is something else.
Your opinion is not supported by the data we all have.
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That does not make what i said wrong. Its up to people here to provide that data. particularly low light with manual.
Its right because i've seen the same done with numerous devices already. This is how cameras work. They need light.
Give them that and you get a good shot. simple.
---------- Post added at 10:19 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:14 AM ----------
tryfound said:
No, your whole post is invalid. I'm testing AUTO, feel free to grace us all with your superior photography skills when you get your M9.
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actually i should have said your tests were pointless and it was a waste of my time to go through them. test the note 4 in low light with manual in m9 that's what you should have done.
I wanted to see manual being used in the low light. You've got no excuses when the camera provides it. If you can't do that then its your problem not the m9.
bad auto does not mean bad camera. bad auto will be fixed. The Z1 took 3 months to get it right. What did people do, the lamers whined whereas the rest got busy with manual and got good shots from day 1.
make up your mind or sell.
---------- Post added at 10:45 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:19 AM ----------
vegetaleb said:
At last a camera comparison between M9 and Note4 http://www.phonearena.com/reviews/HTC-One-M9-vs-Samsung-Galaxy-Note-4_id3963/page/3
In daylight the Note 4 is significantly better, the M9 will smudge
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Show me smudge in daylight, i want to see how much. actually link the shots.
In low light even resized to 640x480 the M9 is very blurry and smudgy, the Note 4 is millions years ahead.
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All the low light shots have the m9 using high iso in guess what auto. The reviewer did not even try manual and blurred one of the shots because he could not hold a 1/7.
Conclusion: unless you want to use your photos only from daylight situations and only resized to Facebook and other social medias (of course no crop at all) . you should consider the Note 4 as a very good choice of camera phone in every situations.
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Do you realise that to display on a HD device you only need 1MP or on a full HD it only takes 2MP. Anything more than that gets resampled.
You don't let facebook or anybody else resize it you do it yourself then upload wherever.

tryfound said:
You're so full of yourself. How dare I waste your precious time.
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Look, you're not helping me, i'm helping you to help yourself as well as others in this thread.
Make up my mind or sell? Sell what? Some people here asked to see comparisons with the Note 4 and I gave them.
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And i'm pointing out why there were inadequate. They do not add anything above what reviews are saying.
I did not bother going through the imgur stuff since there are no exifs to see there. Assessing image quality let alone commenting without exifs is pointless.
To suggest that I should be tweaking manual settings on an M9 to achieve the quality of the Note 4's auto shots is beyond comprehension.
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auto shots are average x average, is this what people base their opinions on ?
manual means you take a test auto shot then see whether you can improve it in manual. That is how you will exceed what the reviews have shown and we get to see the best this camera can do. This is what any owner that wants to improve and exploit manual is going to do over time.
Why someone would not want to improve his shots is beyond my comprehension.

tryfound said:
Some more shots with the M9, large res then small res second. Had to use imgur because of filesize so these are compressed images, don't bother zooming for details, some of the higher res images I took have been reduced to a size smaller than the 'small' res images due to their original filesize, I guess that's imgur's way of compressing.
http://imgur.com/PeWfBMx
http://imgur.com/CNrpmW7
http://imgur.com/fOi00v3
http://imgur.com/dMQ1yXV
http://imgur.com/JmvdebB
http://imgur.com/MnF3Fue
http://imgur.com/2AtDjvr (HDR)
http://imgur.com/mP0g0aP (HDR)
http://imgur.com/NApwPvt
http://imgur.com/U8yHyuV
http://imgur.com/i04j8vr
http://imgur.com/1FPUAw7
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Click to collapse
I just looked at images and they look really good. I am surprised M9 managed to capture that pristine detail I never seen before. White balance too looks so great not like previously green tint that was all over images.
One thing I am not able to find is camera data in adobe bridge and also colour space is untagged. That usually happens when photo being stripped of exif data. Have you by any chance gave some editing to them?
Thanks

I agree with a pack that camera should perform to the best on auto. If it doesn't , software has to be optimised if it's not then it's engineers faults Or hardware limitations.
it applies to the majority of the smartphone photographers . People want point and shoot.Even being enthusiast photographer and love digging my camera and phone camera I hate when auto underperforms when I simply want to take my phone out of the pocket and shoot.Every enthusiast can tweak but that defeats AUTO purpose .
There are average performers good and very good. Unfortunately M9 is not very good.Good ? Maybe....if light is favourable...at the moment it is consistently weak in certain situations. The usual wash out reminded me of the spill that when lets say camera lens gets in the studio shot or outside and for this purpose hood is used . This is one of the speculations I come up with. Somehow HTC phones consistently suffer from that. Could be they have same team of engineers that can't find the key to successful Software optimization or not so decent hardware just guessing here. Being visualphile that particular trade off with HTC devices just kills me.

nebulaoperator said:
I agree with a pack that camera should perform to the best on auto. If it doesn't , software has to be optimised if it's not then it's engineers faults Or hardware limitations.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
.
I've seen this issue with other devices. xperias camera software was never quite ready at launch. Lots of bashing. Took them a few months to get it right. Mostly auto. Then shots come out with lower ISO which you could have got yourself if you tried. Image quality is better now. why ? iso is lower. So if auto is taking high iso then low iso will get you a better shot.
So when people say camera is not working its auto. No other issues i can see so far. They will fix it but in the mean time if manual settings are tweaked you will get the results you want today. Most do not know how to do that or worse do not want to.
it applies to the majority of the smartphone photographers . People want point and shoot.Even being enthusiast photographer and love digging my camera and phone camera I hate when auto underperforms when I simply want to take my phone out of the pocket and shoot.Every enthusiast can tweak but that defeats AUTO purpose .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
General advice i give to people who cant take photos is go with the koreans or apple. if you want more then look at others.
First time i came across an iphone camera after seeing the usual controls in nokias and android was wtf do i do with this. Some shots can't be got with auto. when there is no access to manual then you are stuck. take it or leave it. its only a phone camera, you're not supposed to do anything more. Who said so ?
Many people take shots and figuring out who is at fault is a tricky business. Of course the tendency is to blame the device but the person taking the shot is the most responsible, always.
There are average performers good and very good. Unfortunately M9 is not very good.Good ? Maybe....if light is favourable...at the moment it is consistently weak in certain situations.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Low light with auto. From what i've seen consistently boosts auto up. There are even night modes which to date i've not seen anybody even try. HELLO!
So auto is not picking these modes for some reason. Its a bug. But if you set it yourself then what is the result. Much better i bet.
The usual wash out reminded me of the spill that when lets say camera lens gets in the studio shot or outside and for this purpose hood is used .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A lens hood decreases lens flare and saturates colours. Take a shot in shade of a sunny area. If you're getting lens flare then its clearly user error. Not just with this device but with any. I would just use my hand out of camera to block some of the light or avoid unwanted reflections. Here is a good example
https://www.flickr.com/photos/palmsolo/sets/72157651089646798/with/16274675233/
cloudy day, massive light box in the sky. Colours are all rich. Which is best. i cannot tell
interestingly enough the low end devices suffer less from this problem because the sensors are not as sensitive. They can take good shots in awful bright light which would be washed out with more capable sensors. Not much use indoors though.
This is one of the speculations I come up with. Somehow HTC phones consistently suffer from that. Could be they have same team of engineers that can't find the key to successful Software optimization or not so decent hardware just guessing here. Being visualphile that particular trade off with HTC devices just kills me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The ones typically from what i've seen blow out the sky. They are a little more quirky in getting those blue skies. Overexposed. HDR is one way to do it but it can be tricked also. i remember this work around from the m8 forum where this guy pointed close to the sun to lock exposure and then recomposed back on the scene. The picture was remarkably better. You don't have to do this all the time only in certain situations.

Review on bunch of cameras.
Gizmodo: The Best Smartphone Camera: Samsung Galaxy S6 Edition. http://google.com/newsstand/s/CBIw4ZO08yA

tryfound said:
Some more shots with the M9, large res then small res second. Had to use imgur because of filesize so these are compressed images, don't bother zooming for details, some of the higher res images I took have been reduced to a size smaller than the 'small' res images due to their original filesize, I guess that's imgur's way of compressing.
http://imgur.com/PeWfBMx
http://imgur.com/CNrpmW7
http://imgur.com/fOi00v3
http://imgur.com/dMQ1yXV
http://imgur.com/JmvdebB
http://imgur.com/MnF3Fue
http://imgur.com/2AtDjvr (HDR)
http://imgur.com/mP0g0aP (HDR)
http://imgur.com/NApwPvt
http://imgur.com/U8yHyuV
http://imgur.com/i04j8vr
http://imgur.com/1FPUAw7
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
jauhien said:
Some yesterday snaps here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/we88grvt72bldy8/4PDA_REQUEST.zip?dl=0
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Click to collapse
One Twelve said:
.
Disclaimer: I should learn how to use quotes.
I've seen this issue with other devices. xperias camera software was never quite ready at launch. Lots of bashing. Took them a few months to get it right. Mostly auto. Then shots come out with lower ISO which you could have got yourself if you tried. Image quality is better now. why ? iso is lower. So if auto is taking high iso then low iso will get you a better shot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Whether it's ISO OIS or else it does not stop camera to perform well. Take A look at Iphone 6 it works wonders. Low light is not on the par with M7 m8. The thing you have to understand , strongly camera orientated phone should not come with a sticker on the box " want a better image use manual"
[/QUOTE]So when people say camera is not working its auto. No other issues i can see so far. They will fix it but in the mean time if manual settings are tweaked you will get the results you want today. Most do not know how to do that or worse do not want to.[/QUOTE]
A lot people say because AUTO doesn't work. Why would I have buy "they will fix it" if I pay 500-600 GBP for a phone. It doesn't work like that. And in most cases software improved performance but only to a point .I own M7 and know it's weaknesses.And I don't want to use manual though I know my phone from inside to outside.
[/QUOTE]General advice i give to people who cant take photos is go with the koreans or apple. if you want more then look at others.
First time i came across an iphone camera after seeing the usual controls in nokias and android was wtf do i do with this. Some shots can't be got with auto. when there is no access to manual then you are stuck. take it or leave it. its only a phone camera, you're not supposed to do anything more. Who said so ?
Many people take shots and figuring out who is at fault is a tricky business. Of course the tendency is to blame the device but the person taking the shot is the most responsible, always.[/QUOTE]
I saw ifone users don't even know AE/AF lock exist till I showed. Iphone 6 has the simplest UI that can be invented I also call it Dummy proof. I think you can get an app to have access to tweaks option otherwise it's a bit limited to my taste. I can blame phone camera without long hesitation for two reasons: if hardware sucks or software or both. Then no amount of tweaks can help you. M7 is notorious for washouts, poor dynamic range. I found HDR was never a strong suite of M7 neither M8 or M9. However if you can tweak settings you might get away bringing images to photoshop. That's what I do. On the other hand only minority people are enthusiast like we are and the majority should be at least faulted for what smartphone manufacturer didn't do in the first place. If iphone , nokia, samsung(from 2014) proved there is a lot more that can be done with camera.
[/QUOTE]Low light with auto. From what i've seen consistently boosts auto up. There are even night modes which to date i've not seen anybody even try. HELLO!
So auto is not picking these modes for some reason. Its a bug. But if you set it yourself then what is the result. Much better i bet.[/QUOTE]
Low light was nevera weak spot for HTC One line(until now M9) it was cloudy weather condition with little contrast, also situation when I have half frame window in and the other half room. It would go into extremes overexpose the light in the window or underexposedarks barely visible. Sensor and software is not coping with dynamic range. I kind of like night mode but found it to slow in some situation due to the shutter speed so I just used normal mode it did great though. I wish I could try RAW mode but unfortunately I am selling my phone today ( Not sure if RAW will be brought to lollipop for M7)
[/QUOTE]A lens hood decreases lens flare and saturates colours. Take a shot in shade of a sunny area. If you're getting lens flare then its clearly user error. Not just with this device but with any. I would just use my hand out of camera to block some of the light or avoid unwanted reflections. Here is a good example
https://www.flickr.com/photos/palmsolo/sets/72157651089646798/with/16274675233/
cloudy day, massive light box in the sky. Colours are all rich. Which is best. i cannot tell
interestingly enough the low end devices suffer less from this problem because the sensors are not as sensitive. They can take good shots in awful bright light which would be washed out with more capable sensors. Not much use indoors though.[/QUOTE]
I worked with photographer who used hood for the headshots and it was game changer.
For instance Iphone6 is least prone to that error but most Android camera phones I came across are. I was surprised by Note 4 results and S6 I would never think they can do so well. So it must be bug or hardware or both as I mentioned earlier. Nice photos from M9 but WB is somehow a bit off sometimes on the blue side( couple of weeks before it was to yellow green Funny enough you are the first I came across that used hand to block the light I do that too. I guess we both come from the same/similar trade.
[/QUOTE]
The ones typically from what i've seen blow out the sky. They are a little more quirky in getting those blue skies. Overexposed. HDR is one way to do it but it can be tricked also. i remember this work around from the m8 forum where this guy pointed close to the sun to lock exposure and then recomposed back on the scene. The picture was remarkably better. You don't have to do this all the time only in certain situations.[/QUOTE]
AE/AF is a very handy tool. I am glad smartphones have this simple yet very effective feature.

Quadrider10 said:
Review on bunch of cameras.
Gizmodo: The Best Smartphone Camera: Samsung Galaxy S6 Edition. http://google.com/newsstand/s/CBIw4ZO08yA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't think the M9 looked bad. Need to use a computer instead of my note 4
Sent from a mobile gadget...
---------- Post added at 05:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:52 PM ----------
And guys, chill out. I don't think M9 will have the best camera, but it will hopefully be enough. What I'm worried about is the speed of the camera and SOT. I will probably buy it anyway because I love HTCs mix.
Sent from a mobile gadget...

You're not helping anyone mate. Pig with lipstick is still a pig. No matter how much spin you are putting on it.
Everything you are saying is your subjective opinion not backed by any reviewer or already debunked. No data at all.
I don't see any fruit in continuing this back and forth "I think" or "you can do this in software" discussion with you. I, and 99% of users, only care about how the product performs out of the box. A few may go further, with manual. That's it.
Lame apologist excuses don't hide that. If you can do x with M9, you can also do better with S6/iP6/N4 etc starting from a better base.
I'll have the M9 31st March. Then, we'll see.
One Twelve said:
Look, you're not helping me, i'm helping you to help yourself as well as others in this thread.
And i'm pointing out why there were inadequate. They do not add anything above what reviews are saying.
I did not bother going through the imgur stuff since there are no exifs to see there. Assessing image quality let alone commenting without exifs is pointless.
auto shots are average x average, is this what people base their opinions on ?
manual means you take a test auto shot then see whether you can improve it in manual. That is how you will exceed what the reviews have shown and we get to see the best this camera can do. This is what any owner that wants to improve and exploit manual is going to do over time.
Why someone would not want to improve his shots is beyond my comprehension.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One Twelve said:
That pair is not as important as you think it is and that applies for all with good light.
Where this 'trounces' occurs is in low light. I've already said what needs to be done.
with macros yeah i would because there is no difference there. I've seen three year old devices do excellent macros. Hint: macros are not a good demonstration of what the latest camera can do.
The only real innovation we've had in sensors is BSI over the last two years. More sensitive in low light. You couldn't do that with 2013 devices, m7 was the sole exception. The rest is processing, how much of it or lack thereof.
On a more general level the trick with these devices is to know when to compromise and when to be maximalist. There is no perfect device so what you end up with is what you can tolerate over what you cannot do without. Every device has this trade off. Unfortunately you are alone with making this decision. Unless you are lucky to find others whose requirements match yours closely. Now do you see why i said minor. its minor in a larger context.
no tricks. calling it straight.
i don't trust auto.That on some devices its always flawless is a myth. auto goes wrong even on dslrs. what will you do then ? blame the device or your own ignorance. better to understand why and what went wrong and then fix it. and you can.
What i'm sensing here is an unwillingness to do so. That is something else.
That does not make what i said wrong. Its up to people here to provide that data. particularly low light with manual.
Its right because i've seen the same done with numerous devices already. This is how cameras work. They need light.
Give them that and you get a good shot. simple.
---------- Post added at 10:19 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:14 AM ----------
actually i should have said your tests were pointless and it was a waste of my time to go through them. test the note 4 in low light with manual in m9 that's what you should have done.
I wanted to see manual being used in the low light. You've got no excuses when the camera provides it. If you can't do that then its your problem not the m9.
bad auto does not mean bad camera. bad auto will be fixed. The Z1 took 3 months to get it right. What did people do, the lamers whined whereas the rest got busy with manual and got good shots from day 1.
make up your mind or sell.
---------- Post added at 10:45 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:19 AM ----------
Show me smudge in daylight, i want to see how much. actually link the shots.
All the low light shots have the m9 using high iso in guess what auto. The reviewer did not even try manual and blurred one of the shots because he could not hold a 1/7.
Do you realise that to display on a HD device you only need 1MP or on a full HD it only takes 2MP. Anything more than that gets resampled.
You don't let facebook or anybody else resize it you do it yourself then upload wherever.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent using Tapatalk

th3 said:
You're not helping anyone mate. Pig with lipstick is still a pig. No matter how much spin you are putting on it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Went right to the end for the punchline
I'll have the M9 31st March. Then, we'll see.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hah so despite the s6 camera 'trouncing' the m9, you actually went in for what ? .....<drum roll>....the M9 <applause>
Confirms what i said earlier, the image quality differences weren't enough to deter you.
Lame apologist excuses don't hide that. If you can do x with M9, you can also do better with S6/iP6/N4 etc starting from a better base.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah so why didn't you get one of them then ? riiiiightt. Why the narrow obsessions with image quality somehow don't pan out in the end. Bigger forces at play.
With ip6+ and 3rd party camera with manual controls. you can improve over stock auto. With the same on the iP6 or even iP5x and a steady hand you can come close if not match the plus.
S6 & N4 or even the G3 don't offer shutter speed control so there is no way to tell how effective their OIS is, its just stated and i believe its there but no way to tell like say with the iP6+ that can do a 1/4 handheld. Night mode on the recent samsungs is good. Much improved over earlier versions. They boosting sensor gain and fiddling around. To get a similar shot would require an exposure two times longer with other devices including the m9. So you will have to work at it.
No idea when raw support will come for the above. But i bet you get it on the m9 before them. Your details issues will disappear at that point but you have to process each image yourself.
Everything you are saying is your subjective opinion not backed by any reviewer or already debunked. No data at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So you do not understand that delaying shutter and lowering iso will improve image quality in low light ? This applies only with stationary subjects btw, forget doing it with people or anything that won't sit still.
Sop with any camera that allows manual control, i can show you manual lumia 930 vs note 4 where it gets pretty close and auto did not. When more people post later you'll see what i mean.
I'm most interested in the low light shots and rarely bother with daylight comparisons because they are pretty similar. In fact my problem with smartphone cameras is too much detail strange as that may sound. because it makes isolating subjects harder. Everything is so damn clear. Because its the equivalent of an f11 lens in 35mm speak. Depth of field is deeper. Great for macros but not others.
I don't see any fruit in continuing this back and forth "I think" or "you can do this in software" discussion with you. I, and 99% of users, only care about how the product performs out of the box. A few may go further, with manual. That's it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you want better photos what i said works. 99% or not is meaningless. This is xda, do 99 % care about rooting, custom firmwares, or any number of hacks people share here ? So what 99% are you referring to and why do they matter. If anything i'm more interested in the 1%.
what i've said wrt to manual is no different. In fact its common knowledge to anyone who has a clue.
---------- Post added at 04:32 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:01 AM ----------
*Emix* said:
https://curved.de/news/galaxy-s6-one-m9-iphone-6-im-grossen-kameravergleich-236192
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Why they didn't use iP6+ ?
1. night shots all soft because iso got boosted on m9. 2nd shot wrong wb for m9. 4th shot all have blown lights, cannot do this without blending.
2. again iso got boosted on m9. second selfie, because background is brighter so iso drops and looks normal.
3. is about where you set exposure.
4. macros are similar. contrast can be improved in post.
5. panoramas, heh all not to my liking because of cylindrical projection. no straight horizontals with such a wide fov.
6. food, can be improved in post or use manual. That ISO is maybe close to 600 try to get it at half.

curiousgeorge1893 said:
Not quite on topic but I've got an M8 coming, I'm ditching my Xperia Z2 for it, is that a good idea do you think?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What is it about the Z2 that you don't like ? You'd be trading fantastic video stabilisation for none.
The scene modes should help in low light if you use them right. However the lack of shutter control can be frustrating. A quick tweak can't be done. More trial & error.
I was put off by the 4MP camera as i admit I like to zoom and crop, however I like a phone that is good in lowlight.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What does 4MP do ? sharpens the mind. You have to think more carefully about what you want to get it right. If you want to zoom & crop then you need to be closer to your subject. if you can't do that then 4MP is out.
Also, I like a phone that offers manual controls and shutter speed, HTC phones are the only ones that do this plus a like a phone that has a good flash and takes photos quickly.
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Click to collapse
m8 is a fast shooter in auto. But this gap has been closed with the S6 and the S5 is fast too. Have you considered them ? No shutter control though. Given what they've done may or may not be that critical. These samsungs are primarily auto shooters. If they get what you want great, if not don't complain because you can't do much.
As for similar manual controls the hybrid zooms had them first and optical zoom is a plus. crop in camera not afterwards. K zoom or wait for the successor. Slower though. And apertures are smaller. 3.1 all the way to 6.3. Working OIS.
I was planning on getting a secondhand M9 later in the year but to be honest I am disappointed as I feel that HTC have go fowards then 2 steps backwards with the M9 camera. Whilst it's great it has a higher resolution, the f/2.0 aperature in the M7 and M8 is now f/2.2 on the M9, in my opinion it should have been f/2.0 or f/1.9, also lack of OIS is disappointing and it seems lowlight on the M9 isn't as good as the M8? Very disappointing if so.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The difference between f2.0 and 2.2 is a quarter a f-stop. That's like getting a shot at ISO 200 instead of 250. Or 1/50 instead of 1/40. Its insignficant as one or the other parameter will compensate anyway so not really as notable as reviewers make out.
However the m9 isn't as fast a camera as its predecessors.See the camera speed benchmark. Almost twice as slow as the m8. And the Z2 is faster than the m9. Does this matter ? only if you're rushed. And if you are you're not going to get very good shots to begin with. Is the choice no shot or passable. In that case look at an advanced compact with a 1 inch sensor. Much more light, faster lens and better quality. For the same money.

BoneXDA said:
I do notice the white balance shifting sometimes on the goldish side around sunlit areas, and the M9 tends to underexpose in such conditions.
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Click to collapse
I've noticed twice that it gets confused with halogen and neon lights, turning cream and red into green. With a yellow i can see how green can happen by wb adding blue, so just need to use a fluorescent wb or more. But cream into green is inexplicable for me. If its a bug then only a firmware update can fix it.
---------- Post added at 08:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:25 PM ----------
curiousgeorge1893 said:
I like the Z2 but not the post processing, it smudges details, I read on here that the Z3 does the same?
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Whenever camera has to produce a jpg and do it fast it has to make a call between preserving detail (ie more noise) or smoothness (less noise). I've seen smudging happen with vegetation, it happens with all jpg outputting devices to varying degrees. To make larger features look good means smaller are going to appear less sharp. Must have the lowest ISO with a longer shutter that means anything that moves is out unless light is good or smudging gets worse.
Only way is raw but you have to process every image yourself, and its a much bigger file so it will be slower than 4mp jpg.
Compare these two from nexus 5. Jpg vs processed RAW. Pull the full resolution and pixel peep all you want.
The originals come from fv5 site.
You control what should be more in detail or not instead of some average one size fits all algorithm with an impossible task that is optimised for speed by trading off image quality. Image quality here isn't file size but a function of how much luminance and chroma noise is preserved or not.
That algorithm and its implementation is the source of lots of heated argument over which is the better camera. Silly really.

SPreston2001 said:
The whole camera comparison may be silly, but 90% of users just want to pick up the phone and snap good pics. Most users don't fiddle around with the camera settings or even know what they do for that matter lol. All they see are which photos look the best when they pick up their phone and take a pic. The M9 camera seems to be alot better than the M8s camera but it still tends to fall behind Apples and Samsungs imaging abilities.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then those people should stick with the brands mentioned. Those brands are for people with no interest in photography. WHAT took the shot is more important than WHO took it. That is the mindset auto everything encourages, what did the owner do, just press a button. Still I would not be surprised to find people even on those boards complaining about something or the other.
Where i'm coming from is what if you don't want those brands for whatever reasons. What then ?
You wait for firmware upgrades and you learn how to get better shots. What went wrong and how to get around it.
My attitude is you are stuck with this thing and you are going to have to make the best of it. Few months later you will find people here doing just that. A review can never match it.

One Twelve said:
Then those people should stick with the brands mentioned. Those brands are for people with no interest in photography. WHAT took the shot is more important than WHO took it. That is the mindset auto everything encourages, what did the owner do, just press a button. Still I would not be surprised to find people even on those boards complaining about something or the other.
Where i'm coming from is what if you don't want those brands for whatever reasons. What then ?
You wait for firmware upgrades and you learn how to get better shots. What went wrong and how to get around it.
My attitude is you are stuck with this thing and you are going to have to make the best of it. Few months later you will find people here doing just that. A review can never match it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So HTC phones are for people who have interest in photography?? Lol they usually have the worst cameras amongst flagship devices yet theyre for photography minded people?? You act as of HTC is the only manufacturer that has the ability to tweak the camera settings. Most "serious" photographers won't use a cellphone to take a pic. The whole idea of cell cams is to capture quick and beautiful everyday life pictures. The ability to tweak the settings is just a added bonus for those who want to get a little more serious with it.
But to each his own I guess. When it comes to cell cams I just wanna pull it, out take a pic, and expect it to look good. If tweaking the settings to get the perfect shot is for you then that's fine. But all I'm saying is those same things can be done with other manufacturers cams too.

gavinfabl said:
This is a photos thread. We need photos! The weather for another day is gales and heavy rain here, so ruined my planned day of shooting again. Using manual settings I have captured some good shots (but private photos of family). Lowering resolution down a fraction helps in lower light. Auto is OK but when I take control even with a single tweak the difference is noticeable. I've used the S6 and S6 Edge and compared it with my Note 4. The S6 has a good auto mode.
This is my S6 and S6 Edge camera shots , and vs Note 4 camera. http://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/03/19...sung-galaxy-s6-and-s6-edge-plus-camera-shots/
I will have more in depth analysis when it's stops raining .....
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Click to collapse
Can't say my experience with the s6 / edge was similar. On the camera front yes the camera is fast. But I found a huge issue with white balance and somewhat heavier than normal post processing (pretty evident when you look at the photos on a camera). The problem is even in pro mode, the camera still struggles with white balance. I am a white balance whore to be honest and when I see a camera struggle, I shudder.
Touchwiz lagged for me. Immensely. I kept flicking through the homescreen, not many widgets above the stock ones, and there were multiple times the device just locked up. Even after rebooting the device quite a few times, there was lag. Off topic, I watched the verge podcast recently and they also affirmed a lot of the lag I experienced with my model.
So far, I'm semi disappointed. The devices are light (like physically, I expected something much heavier). The GS6 felt boxy and somewhat sharper for my tastes while the Edge just "fit" in my hand like a really nice glove. I was stunned that the edge was the more interesting feeling device. Both devices are fingerprint magnets though almost to the point of being disgusting. After 10 minutes of handling, I was in awe with the amount of smudges and oil the back of the device accrued from general handling.
Handling is something that the Edge excels in for the most part. It feels "natural" to swipe at an edge point and get a hamburg menu from Google. And you do in GMAIL, Google Play, and a myriad of other areas. It just feels like touchwiz didn't necessarily provide too many gesture driven tasks that would really take benefit of the edge display. II mean sure you get the call context menus and the light up gimmick, but that's about it sadly. The shame of it all is that above that, the GS6 is a beautiful iphone 5-5s ripoff and the Edge is something of a quagmire begging for a developer to put it to good use. It can be obtrusive but not so much to the point it ruins the user experience.
Overall, I'm left somewhat underwhelmed with the devices. Sure, the screen is gorgeous with marvelous viewing angle fitting for a flagship. But it feels like the GS6 / edge is a iterative step in a unique and bold direction that didn't fully deliver.
Shame actually. Most people will love the GS6 / Edge. Me, I'll be forever disappoint

SPreston2001 said:
So HTC phones are for people who have interest in photography??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What purpose is there to provide manual controls then ? nokia started this btw.
Lol they usually have the worst cameras amongst flagship devices yet theyre for photography minded people??
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Click to collapse
its a mindset that comes naturally to those that are into photography. They are going to try a great deal more before throwing in the towel.
Very obvious when i see Jesse's photos. You make the shot not the camera. newbies whenever they see a nice photo always want to know what camera took the shot. The person, well he just clicked. How hard could it be. They like to hide behind their cameras. Often i see shots that are horribly taken and well it was the camera's fault.
HTC is a bad camera with people who cannot take a photo. I've never bought into the 4MP was bad. A full HD screen can only display 2MP anyway. if you're not zooming or need to then you're focus is on how nice the shot looks rather than whether you can count hairs on somebody's head. I've seen people post nice photos here. if you need to crop your photos then you ain't thinking about your shots or your use case exceeds what 4MP can provide.
You act as of HTC is the only manufacturer that has the ability to tweak the camera settings.
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Click to collapse
lets be clear on what manual settings i'm referring to here. Who else offers shutter speed control ?
apple only woke up to the fact in their latest OS. prior to which you could do squat cos um turtle neck deemed it unecessary. Nokia had them early and the cheapest lumias 635 ? do too. samsungs don't not even in their latest. neither does moto, or LG which went backwards with the G3 or Sony. The Chinese provide some more. So yeah HTC since the m8 was the only android offering on a fixed focal lens that offered shutter control. Makes it easy to fix things if you were so inclined. Samsung's galaxy camera is the only other that can claim to have had it first on android earlier and its a compact.
Most "serious" photographers won't use a cellphone to take a pic. The whole idea of cell cams is to capture quick and beautiful everyday life pictures. The ability to tweak the settings is just a added bonus for those who want to get a little more serious with it.
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Click to collapse
A cam is a cam and you can learn photography with any cam and play more with one that allows manual settings. I don't have a DSLR because i've not got to the point where i need one. I take shots every day and i like to tweak them because auto cant get it right. Its very normal to have access if not always necessary. But i'd rather have them and not need them than the other way around.
If you drive a stick shift you won't enjoy driving a cruiser.
But to each his own I guess. When it comes to cell cams I just wanna pull it, out take a pic, and expect it to look good. If tweaking the settings to get the perfect shot is for you then that's fine. But all I'm saying is those same things can be done with other manufacturers cams too.
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Click to collapse
I never expect it to look good, if it does then conditions were perfect and i was lucky, i will usually take a auto shot and if it fine leave it at that or try to tweak things about and take a couple more. I always try to take more than one. A phone is going to get thrown into so many varied situations that would challenge a pro. To expect to get it right in one take with a phone camera when pointing at anything you can think of isn't realistic.

nebulaoperator said:
Whether it's ISO OIS or else it does not stop camera to perform well. Take A look at Iphone 6 it works wonders. Low light is not on the par with M7 m8. The thing you have to understand , strongly camera orientated phone should not come with a sticker on the box " want a better image use manual"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A tweak here or there will always improve a shot. How many people know that. Then there is the question of will. if its there and you don't use it then its not the camera's fault. It is there for flexibility.
iphone 6 no, but 6+ will get shots at 1/4. Apple thinks slower than 1/12 is not feasible for iP6. To go slower than 1/4 have to use 3rd party soft to tweak things. iphone camera has always been capable but until ios8 there was no way to access camera parameters so low light was never good.
I saw ifone users don't even know AE/AF lock exist till I showed. Iphone 6 has the simplest UI that can be invented I also call it Dummy proof. I think you can get an app to have access to tweaks option otherwise it's a bit limited to my taste.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes its useful there is also a way to do some exposure comp but it changes metering to spot from average or whatever apple equivalent is. A review was comparing 6 & 6+ and saying photos looked better with 6+ until i saw the exifs and pointed out both were using different metering. So of course shots will look different.
With the latest ios you have much more options than before. Curious apple did a u turn there. But not stock just with 3rd party software.
A lot people say because AUTO doesn't work. Why would I have buy "they will fix it" if I pay 500-600 GBP for a phone. It doesn't work like that. And in most cases software improved performance but only to a point .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So wait for a few months then decide. As for firmware improvements. If you take a shot with firmware a at ISO 200 and compare with firmware b at ISO 200, there will be little difference.
What i mean is they can lower ISO for lower light shots so it does not boost it so high. This will improve auto some. But to go further it requires manual. Possible now, if somebody would try.
They can improve white balance with auto but it will get tricked some times so only up to a point.
I can blame phone camera without long hesitation for two reasons: if hardware sucks or software or both. Then no amount of tweaks can help you. M7 is notorious for washouts, poor dynamic range. I found HDR was never a strong suite of M7 neither M8 or M9. However if you can tweak settings you might get away bringing images to photoshop. That's what I do. On the other hand only minority people are enthusiast like we are and the majority should be at least faulted for what smartphone manufacturer didn't do in the first place. If iphone , nokia, samsung(from 2014) proved there is a lot more that can be done with camera.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They are trying to make it easy for the average person in the hope of selling more products. The traditional way is to learn how to use the product. I know the washouts you mean, blown skies etc. But once a person is aware of that you can improve it.
Low light was nevera weak spot for HTC One line(until now M9) it was cloudy weather condition with little contrast, also situation when I have half frame window in and the other half room. It would go into extremes overexpose the light in the window or underexposedarks barely visible. Sensor and software is not coping with dynamic range. I kind of like night mode but found it to slow in some situation due to the shutter speed so I just used normal mode it did great though. I wish I could try RAW mode but unfortunately I am selling my phone today ( Not sure if RAW will be brought to lollipop for M7)
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Click to collapse
So what are you getting ?
freedcam can already output raw on m7 & m8 and by the looks of it m9 too. htc made this easy.
I worked with photographer who used hood for the headshots and it was game changer.
For instance Iphone6 is least prone to that error but most Android camera phones I came across are. I was surprised by Note 4 results and S6 I would never think they can do so well. So it must be bug or hardware or both as I mentioned earlier. Nice photos from M9 but WB is somehow a bit off sometimes on the blue side( couple of weeks before it was to yellow green Funny enough you are the first I came across that used hand to block the light I do that too. I guess we both come from the same/similar trade.
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Click to collapse
It was an accidental discovery. I was taking shot of somebody outside the house from inside with a tab (!) and wondered why the clothes were so saturated.
There is something up with the m9's WB i can see from numerous photos. But nobody is trying manual to fix it.
Was looking at latest world press photo contest. Many with pro dslrs and i saw one person entered an iphone photo and its in the list of winners. Out of 95k entries !!! smartphone photo..Can you believe it

Lol this thread is very entertaining to say the least

twoeleven99 said:
Lol this thread is very entertaining to say the least
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So what's your take on the M9 pictures, if I may ask?
Sent using Tapatalk

Mate 9 camera... AMAAAAZING!!!!

Just got my Mate 9, and I chose it for a number of reasons over the competition (Samsung S8+) and one of those reasons was the camera.
Yes of course the S8+ will have a better camera in many ways but the one thing no smartphone can do properly in moving targets like children (the reason I wanted it) is bokeh.
So of course the first thing I tried when I got it was wide aperture mode to see how good it actually is - is it a gimmick? a novelty? not that good? is the rest of the camera so awful that it negates this?
The answer is it is ABSOLUTELY BLOODY BRILLIANT. I have an expensive DSLR with an expensive lens to get those nice wide aperture shots but oh my God this thing is in a different league! We went down to the lake yesterday with our daughter and I was snapping away in wide aperture mode. Got back home and spent an hour or so with my wife going through all the shots altering the bokeh effect RETROSPECTIVELY. The results are purely STUNNING - like my DLSR if not better. But the real clincher is the fact that you can alter the bokeh effect as you wish, chaneg the amount, change what is in focus... print out two photos of the same scene but with different bokeh focus.... all of this done RETROSPECTIVELY, something I can never do with the DSLR.
I jsut don't see the need to take my big ehavy DSLR out anymore now I have this. AMAZING!
Yes the low light performance of the smallish aperture is not amazing, but then no smartphone I've come across is good enough in this regard anyway for me... and it's a small price to pay really for this amazing effect.
It really should be marketed more!
I'll do a proper review at some point I guess, but it's also worth mentioning that whilst colour reproduction isn't brilliant, the screen is phenomenally crisp and bright and looks sharper and clearer than my quad HD.
And the fingerprint sensor - OH MY GOD this is the quickest most amazing sensor EVER. I soppted usign the sensor on my old phone as too unreliable but this is like some sort of voodoo magic. AMAZING!
The feel - the most premium phone I have EVER had the pleasure of holding. EVER. Beats any Samsung or iPhone hands down. It's like the Bentley of phones in your hand.
Battery - I've not charged it in two days despite having everything on and taking photos and editing them loads. Does it run on magic?
Huawei in my mind have blown the competition out of the water with this phone. NOTHING can come close. I just look forward to the next gen which will hopefully have larger aperture cameras for the low light performance then it will pretty much be the perfect phone (if they sort out the sports GPS issue).
Welcome to the big league Huawei!!!

Thank you for sharing!
Maybe you should make a "the Huawei mate 9 camera and how to use it" tutorial or ebook (ebook if you want to earn some money)
I am not the pro, so a tutorial would be helpful (better a video) how to use the camera up to 100%!
On my Note 3 I have installed 20-25 camera apps and picture apps, here on my new Mate 9 I don't know if any other app works?
I have the feeling that any other app for the camera is just 10 steps backwards!
Again thank you for sharing this story!
Gesendet von meinem MHA-L29 mit Tapatalk

FootSlave said:
Thank you for sharing!
Maybe you should make a "the Huawei mate 9 camera and how to use it" tutorial or ebook (ebook if you want to earn some money)
I am not the pro, so a tutorial would be helpful (better a video) how to use the camera up to 100%!
On my Note 3 I have installed 20-25 camera apps and picture apps, here on my new Mate 9 I don't know if any other app works?
I have the feeling that any other app for the camera is just 10 steps backwards!
Again thank you for sharing this story!
Gesendet von meinem MHA-L29 mit Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks FS and you're very welcome.
I'm the most novice of users when it comes to cameras so I'm in no position to do any tutorials but that raises a good point because if someone as novice as me can use it so well it just further goes to show how incredible this thing is!
Press the aperture button and then all shots you take can be bokeh'd afterwards. So elegant it's unbelievable. Good old German engineering! :good:

Yeah, I'm from Germany and KNOW Leica
Even found a Article (in german) named something like: "Huawei Mate 9: So you get everything out of the Camera"
Link: http://www.giga.de/smartphones/huaw...te-9-so-holst-du-alles-aus-der-kamera-heraus/
I think there should also be a really good one in english to follow it!

https://youtu.be/93_2TbuM6Ew
You may like this OP
Very very comprehensive

It's an excellent phone.
Very heavy in the hand though... like you said... Bentley
Sent from my MHA-L29 using XDA-Developers Legacy app

FootSlave said:
Yeah, I'm from Germany and KNOW Leica
Even found a Article (in german) named something like: "Huawei Mate 9: So you get everything out of the Camera"
Link: http://www.giga.de/smartphones/huaw...te-9-so-holst-du-alles-aus-der-kamera-heraus/
thanks.... and google traslates the article to english ...
I think there should also be a really good one in english to follow it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hanks.... and google translates the article to english ...

Interesting... I bought the mate 9 because of the camera but i am totally disappointed. Horrible photo quality, totally oversharpened and things which are wide away or in the corner of the pic completely blurred.
Before the 700€ mate 9 i had a 350€ allview x2 xtreme (blu pure xl) which had a much much better camera. So for photos i use my old phone again because i just HATE the look of the mate 9 photos, they hurt in my eyes.

Good to hear other viewpoints about that!
In my case I just can say that no other camera impressed me like this one!
Maybe it help you if you also read that article (translated) or search for a tutorial on how to get everything out of that Camera?
Or maybe the "Standard" Settings aren't that good as they say, and you (we) should start to use the PRO Modus?

Hi, looks like you're a professional. Is it possible if you share some of your shots using the Mate 9? I'd like to see the photos from someone who understands photography: D

The camera hw and sw on the Mate 9 is really amazing. It gives perfect control about the exposure, focus and shutter release are fast. Additionally there are some nice filters to choose from. Pictures get sharp and have good dynamic range for a smartphone camera. Bear in mind that this is a 12 MP sensor, I think it has pretty good low light performance but lacks some resolution. I see it as advantage.
If the results are really disappointing, you can try to delete data and cache of the camera app to reset the settings - or contact service.

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The overall look of the photos ist good, but if you zoom in, the photos from my mate 9 are just total ****, like from a normal cheap chinese 200€ phone camera. Really dissapointing.
And i DO understand something about photography. I also set focus manually before every shot because if i just press the camera button the photos are completely trash. But as you see, even with manual focus, it's not very good.

I have attached some shots I made on a walk on Poel Island, Timmendorf harbour.
Edit: As I see now, the images seem to get compressed massively during / after upload so attaching them here results in a hefty loss of quality.
Edit2: I decided not to leave them here, shrinked to 256kb each, as they do no justice to the Mate 9. Sorry.

NikiFue said:
Interesting... I bought the mate 9 because of the camera but i am totally disappointed. Horrible photo quality, totally oversharpened and things which are wide away or in the corner of the pic completely blurred.
Before the 700€ mate 9 i had a 350€ allview x2 xtreme (blu pure xl) which had a much much better camera. So for photos i use my old phone again because i just HATE the look of the mate 9 photos, they hurt in my eyes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess it depends on your expectations. I researched a lot too and realised its low light limitations and how the s7 or s8 would be better in that regard and technically some other cams on phones may take better photos. However I felt the difference in quality between different phones was minimal compared to phones and a real camera. Bit sharper here, better colour there, low light slightly better etc etc. Im not fussed.
But the thing that set this camera apart head and shoulders above any phone camera without any argument is the INCREDIBLE bokeh effect. Unlike other pathetic attempts by other phones this uses its two lenses elegantly and ingeniously. Everyone ive showed picture to has been mesmerised by the quality saying stuff like "this looks professional" "this is like a poster" etc without knowing why. Then i explain bokeh. And the fact that you can adjust bokeh AFTER the shot has been taken, well that's just a dream. Its exactly what i bought this thing for and it's delivered beautifully. To me it doesn't just blast phone competition out the water it beats my DSLR too because of this retrospective editing.
If i was expecting a good standard camera sure i might be a little disappointed but i knew what i wanted this for. The standard cam is id say above average. But the bokeh is simply genius. I've never had soooo many professional phenomenal photos of my baby daughter and ive only haf it 3 days! My wife even said last night "its a shame we didn't have this from when she was born."

applehater00 said:
I guess it depends on your expectations. I researched a lot too and realised its low light limitations and how the s7 or s8 would be better in that regard and technically some other cams on phones may take better photos. However I felt the difference in quality between different phones was minimal compared to phones and a real camera. Bit sharper here, better colour there, low light slightly better etc etc. Im not fussed.
But the thing that set this camera apart head and shoulders above any phone camera without any argument is the INCREDIBLE bokeh effect. Unlike other pathetic attempts by other phones this uses its two lenses elegantly and ingeniously. Everyone ive showed picture to has been mesmerised by the quality saying stuff like "this looks professional" "this is like a poster" etc without knowing why. Then i explain bokeh. And the fact that you can adjust bokeh AFTER the shot has been taken, well that's just a dream. Its exactly what i bought this thing for and it's delivered beautifully. To me it doesn't just blast phone competition out the water it beats my DSLR too because of this retrospective editing.
If i was expecting a good standard camera sure i might be a little disappointed but i knew what i wanted this for. The standard cam is id say above average. But the bokeh is simply genius. I've never had soooo many professional phenomenal photos of my baby daughter and ive only haf it 3 days! My wife even said last night "its a shame we didn't have this from when she was born."
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're right, macro shots and the bokeh effect are great but they are irrelevant for me, i don't use it. I only use my phone camera for normal photos from landscapes, cities, buildings, streets... If i had known that the mate 9 camera is only good for bokeh effect photos and normal photos are only average, i wouldn't have bought that phone and this annoys me now. So much waste of money for a camera which is only specialised on features i do not use anyway.

NikiFue said:
You're right, macro shots and the bokeh effect are great but they are irrelevant for me, i don't use it. I only use my phone camera for normal photos from landscapes, cities, buildings, streets... If i had known that the mate 9 camera is only good for bokeh effect photos and normal photos are only average, i wouldn't have bought that phone and this annoys me now. So much waste of money for a camera which is only specialised on features i do not use anyway.
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Click to collapse
Yeah that makes sense mate.
According to pro reviewers you really need to use pro mode to get the most out of the cam and then you get pretty good results, regardless of bokeh. But I'm not interested in that (yet)

The wide aperture lens pics I get with this phone are unreal. People have also asked me if I am a professional photographer and I laugh. Just as novice as the next guy.
Also in the right lighting it takes outstanding pics on normal settings. Way better than my s7edge.
Now in low light or certain lighting, it's not that good. My s7edge auto adjusts and focuses way faster and produces a better image. Even my note 5 is better. I tend not to take photos during those moments if I can.
Also any camera phone will lose qaility when you zoom way in. Invest in a Dslr if you are worried about that.
Camera is outstanding overall and I was skeptical at 1st, but when in the right lighting.... Just Wow!
Sent from my MHA-L29 using Tapatalk

Just bought mine and fell in love instantly with it. Altough I think Moto X-Force has the best camera EVER, Mate 9 isn't far behind.
Went to a rock concert a few days ago and took excelent photos from the stage (10x zoom) and some videos as well.
Still haven´t tried landscapes or nature, but so far, so good!

ChrisFrenzel said:
Just bought mine and fell in love instantly with it. Altough I think Moto X-Force has the best camera EVER, Mate 9 isn't far behind.
Went to a rock concert a few days ago and took excelent photos from the stage (10x zoom) and some videos as well.
Still haven´t tried landscapes or nature, but so far, so good!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what about sound in video recordings?

Excellent as well...
I had just bought the phone and didnt know the possibilities.´ - there is an 'enhance audio' option, very useful!

It might be impossible to fix this one Galaxy S20 Ultra autofocus issue

The Galaxy S20 Ultra’s ambitious camera system has been marred by autofocus issues ever since it was released, and while the company has largely addressed this with early firmware updates, one particular issue might not be as easy to fix.
Taking photos of close objects with the Galaxy S20 Ultra can lead to mixed results, and in the worst case scenarios, the camera fails to autofocus, leading to blurry shots. A Samsung moderator on Samsung members recently talked about this problem in a post on the Korean forums and revealed that it might not be possible to fix it with a firmware update.
The focal length is determined by the lens specifications
According to the Samsung moderator, the increased size of the S20 Ultra’s sensor results in a shallow depth of field and longer focal length of 10cm or more, therefore, it may fail to focus when photographing objects up-close. More importantly, because the focal length is determined by the lens specifications, this shortcoming is difficult to correct with software.
In other words, autofocus should no longer be an issue for the Galaxy S20 Ultra in general applications, but loss of focus can still occur at close range due to the focal length being longer than usual (the Galaxy S20 and S20+ have a slightly shorter focal length as they use a different main camera sensor). Basically, it’s a physical characteristic of the Galaxy S20 Ultra’s 108MP camera that owners of the device will have to live with.
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How do you think about this ? :crying:
Bad lens ?? why xiaomi not have this issue ?
Does Samsung call back S20 ultra ?
https://www.sammobile.com/news/impossible-fix-one-galaxy-s20-ultra-autofocus-issue/

Yeah I read it. I'm really disappointed with Samsung now, spent tons of money and we get this "engineering problem".
Will Note 20 have the same issue?!

stygi4n said:
Yeah I read it. I'm really disappointed with Samsung now, spent tons of money and we get this "engineering problem".
Will Note 20 have the same issue?!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
don't be disappoiinted, samsung don't talk about autofocus there, but about shooting close object like macro shot.
why don't people realized that the S20 ultra is not nuild to macro shot?
all devices with special lens for macro have macro mod in the photo software.
the main sensor is bigger than usual on phone device and like DSLR it's hard to make macro shot

Such a misleading title , surprised to see that from sammobile !! the moderator on the sourced forum is clearly talking about macro focus or narrow field of view on closer subjects , and sammobile stupidly understood it for autofocus.

Don’t worry. Samsung will be on fire with massive updates.
And no one is stupid here.
Plz correct if aim wrong. Term Autofocus is it not applicable for macro mode?
On S20/s20+, why Samsung use 12mp as primary camera?
Even on S20 if we use 64mp we have auto focus issue.
Do u see users blaming S20 for auto focus problem?
Defending is not correct. If there is a mistake, let that be pointed out. So at least mistake will not be repeated.
This is flagship device & the most expensive phone as of. Such mistakes are not acceptable.
More over if it could have been fix by software. Why it has not been addressed yet.
bala_gamer said:
Such a misleading title , surprised to see that from sammobile !! the moderator on the sourced forum is clearly talking about macro focus or narrow field of view on closer subjects , and sammobile stupidly understood it for autofocus.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

It's misleading. Yes there is focal length for lens but not sensor.
Mayb there is a translation error there, focal length has nothing to do with sensor.
Sent from my SM-G985F using Tapatalk

Whats misleading?
As an user i dont need to understand the physics. no one is interested. we need end result.
Auto focus can it be fixed or not?

VRaju said:
Whats misleading?
As an user i dont need to understand the physics. no one is interested. we need end result.
Auto focus can it be fixed or not?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Auto focus is not the issue when it comes to macro shooting. Try opening your eyes wide open and place an object up close to them. It will be blurry. That is how the main sensor is set up. There isn't an issue with it. There was a reason the camera on the Ultra is different from the s20 and the plus. Those are geared more toward the average consumer. There are lenses the cost thousands of dollars that do exactly what the Ultra's does. It is the user's job to do some research before purchasing a product. If you like taking macro shots, the Ultra may not be the phone for you.

For a phone that was sold like a camera revolution and situated as the most expensive phone in the market and you can't compare it not even with a phone that cost have of his money ( Google Pixel 4XL is £750) is such dissapointing. I payed so much money ob this phone and I'm forced to take my old Pixel 3XL with me whenever I'm going out .. After the Note7 Saga I'm again dissapointed by Samsung for delivering such a poor professionalism regarding the release of their products.

VRaju said:
Whats misleading?
As an user i dont need to understand the physics. no one is interested. we need end result.
Auto focus can it be fixed or not?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The S20U takes very pleasant pictures, as mentioned the lens is supposed to work like that, since it has a fixed aperture. AF was indeed bad at the beginning but it has improved a lot. I am no Sammy fan, just my honest opinion, people should understand how physics of aperture and minimum focus distance
works.
I am very pleased with my phone and the pictures it takes. I am coming from an Xperia 1 and S8, for me the quality is absolutely amazing with recent updates.

VRaju said:
Whats misleading?
As an user i dont need to understand the physics. no one is interested. we need end result.
Auto focus can it be fixed or not?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no it cant be fixed just with software its a hardware issue 108 mp lense

Is taking a picture of a Check considered a Macro shot? Because if so I don't have any problems direct depositing checks to my bank with the phone camera. If your hands are not steady it will take an out of focus picture. But if you hold the camera still until after the picture is taken it comes out fine for me. But I am on the U.S. Snap Dragon version.

So u mean to say people must study and understand physics before they buy s20u. I dint know there was such criteria to buy phones these days...
All ur saying is don’t judge by the spec given by manufacturers. Users must be educated to buy phone. Haha
Even i like Samsung devices.given choice bw op8 pro and s20p..ill still go for s20p. But I don’t expect Samsung to deceive users with such crabs.
cletusindia said:
The S20U takes very pleasant pictures, as mentioned the lens is supposed to work like that, since it has a fixed aperture. AF was indeed bad at the beginning but it has improved a lot. I am no Sammy fan, just my honest opinion, people should understand how physics of aperture and minimum focus distance
works.
I am very pleased with my phone and the pictures it takes. I am coming from an Xperia 1 and S8, for me the quality is absolutely amazing with recent updates.
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Click to collapse

Here is my take on this situation assuming it really can't be fixed.
I have been a loyal Samsung fan since the very first Galaxy S phone. I remember they had a promotion where i ended up getting the Avatar movie on an SD Card and i have been upgrading every year since then. The way i see it based on personal usuage, the problem is really with Close up pic or Macro shot. Besides that i really dont have an autofocus issue when it comes to taking regular pictures. It did had a focus hunting issue in video at launch but that has been fixed. Having said that this phone is everything i would want with a $1,400 price tag, great battery life, massive screen, crazy good display, smoothness etc. It still has an overall very good camera.
Yes, of course I would be happy if it had no issue whatsoever but i wont be like those we keep complaining about a very situational issue. Unless you have a hobby of taking macro shots like all the time, i really dont see the point of all of the complaints. As for me who dont take macro, i am still happily enjoying my device everyday.

Djapatos said:
Here is my take on this situation assuming it really can't be fixed.
I have been a loyal Samsung fan since the very first Galaxy S phone. I remember they had a promotion where i ended up getting the Avatar movie on an SD Card and i have been upgrading every year since then. The way i see it based on personal usuage, the problem is really with Close up pic or Macro shot. Besides that i really dont have an autofocus issue when it comes to taking regular pictures. It did had a focus hunting issue in video at launch but that has been fixed. Having said that this phone is everything i would want with a $1,400 price tag, great battery life, massive screen, crazy good display, smoothness etc. It still has an overall very good camera.
Yes, of course I would be happy if it had no issue whatsoever but i wont be like those we keep complaining about a very situational issue. Unless you have a hobby of taking macro shots like all the time, i really dont see the point of all of the complaints. As for me who dont take macro, i am still happily enjoying my device everyday.
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Well said, I find using pro mode, setting manual focus all the way down (flower icon) and then moving phone back and forth from subject until it's sharp works best for me. The peaking highlights (green) aren't always spot on so need to do some trial and error to get it where it works best for your case.

First Sorry for my bad English
1 , shoot a near subject (distance 3-10cm) is not marco shot.
Ss need to notify to customer about this feature ( or engineering problems ) before i bought this phone.
Loock at iphone 11 pro,huawei p40 pro, oppo find x2 pro,... it shoot well every distance even day light or low light picture are same quality with s20u.
2. Some people say buy gaming phone for play game .
Look at iphone and other phones again. Many phones do well everthing not like s20u
When i play pubg after 4- 5 round my phone is too hot, the phone very lagging than first round . why 1400$ phone can like that ?
Iphone 11 pro have 4000mah and it has battery onscreen longer than s20u 5000 mah
Samsung has problems and we need to tell samsung fix it and don't do that again. No one have many free time to tell "i have problems" when they don't have problems.
Sorry for my bad English.

Well said.
buy a ferrair car and get it pulled by manual car.
Couz many believe it was meant to be used like that.
Very strange comments & really hard to digest.
cpufrost said:
Well said, I find using pro mode, setting manual focus all the way down (flower icon) and then moving phone back and forth from subject until it's sharp works best for me. The peaking highlights (green) aren't always spot on so need to do some trial and error to get it where it works best for your case.
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truonglam said:
First Sorry for my bad English
1 , shoot a near subject (distance 3-10cm) is not marco shot.
Ss need to notify to customer about this feature ( or engineering problems ) before i bought this phone.
Loock at iphone 11 pro,huawei p40 pro, oppo find x2 pro,... it shoot well every distance even day light or low light picture are same quality with s20u.
2. Some people say buy gaming phone for play game .
Look at iphone and other phones again. Many phones do well everthing not like s20u
When i play pubg after 4- 5 round my phone is too hot, the phone very lagging than first round . why 1400$ phone can like that ?
Iphone 11 pro have 4000mah and it has battery onscreen longer than s20u 5000 mah
Samsung has problems and we need to tell samsung fix it and don't do that again. No one have many free time to tell "i have problems" when they don't have problems.
Sorry for my bad English.
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Please define the distance of a macro shot.
Show us pictures made from 50 mm distance made by iPhone 11 pro,then magnify this picture 10x
I will be very surprised if the results are good.
Attached pics are made from 100,50 and 40 mm.
The only good result is the 100 mm picture,since even after 10x magnification the result is good .
All pics were made under identical conditions,
Phone on small wooden blocks of 40,50 and 100 mm thickness.
I think 100mm distance is the nearest distance you can make high quality photo's with any smartphone.

I don't even see this as an ultra issue. I have the S20 (non ultra, non +) and I swear none of my pictures are ever in focus. They all seem *just* out of focus and makes them all look terrible. It is really disappointing me.

jdubya42 said:
I don't even see this as an ultra issue. I have the S20 (non ultra, non +) and I swear none of my pictures are ever in focus. They all seem *just* out of focus and makes them all look terrible. It is really disappointing me.
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can you try to clean your phone app data and wype cache?