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Dealbreaker?

Hey guys, I've had my Moto X for a week now and I might return to my Note 3. I really like this phone overall, but man the camera really is that bad. I read all the stories but hoped the update would be good enough for me. Unfortunately it hasn't been.
I can't even imagine how bad the camera must have been before the update. The camera is simply dreadful. Do I have a defective Moto X or is it really this bad?
If I'm not outside on a sunny day or in a really well lit room, it's the worst camera I've ever had on any smartphone that I've ever owned. And that includes phones from over 4 years ago. Is it really this bad?
Here are some sample shots. I took these same shots with my Note 3, and those shots blew these away. I will try to post those later.
Sent from my XT1058 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Yes, It is that bad. Coming from a S4 and I know what you mean. But I still love being free with a unlocked bootlaoder and would not go back.

Ughh, I was afraid of that. I really like the phone, but not sure I can deal with this. Thanks bro.
Sent from my XT1058 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

I don't think the camera is bad at all. I didn't get to experience how it was before any of the updates though.
So far color representation looks to be spot on. I was even impressed by the low light quality. I took a picture last night in a dimly lit room and was astounded at how good the picture came out. It's way better than my last phone (EVO 3D).

ahhh ya i came from an iPhone 4 which is 3.5 yrs old and the camera on that was better in every category except low light performance.

Are you using HDR?
I also see that your flash seems to be firing. I have Auto Flash OFF because the pictures to look very washed out with the bright white flash. I find that the camera works much better and has much better saturation in lower light with the flash off.
If I'm just taking a picture of a list or piece of paper and I only need to be able to see/read it, I use the flash, otherwise I keep the flash off for "nice" photos.

Have you tried using any camera apps. I would recommend the following two apps :"a Better Camera "almost fully functional in the free version and FV-5, a paid app and I don't believe there is a trial version. I have been experimenting with both apps and have been quiet successful getting some really decent low light shots. Both apps allow you to set the ISO level and "a Better Camera" allows you to set the amount of noise reduction for low light shots (the options are None, Minor & Hard). Worth trying out either app in my opinion.
Sent from my XT1060 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

I've got pics of the kids inside at night, with flash on... And the pics are easy better than my s2 was. I find background light can make the pic taking tricky tho. I have to move slightly one easy or the other and when I get it right the pics are just fine. Maybe other phones handle background light easier.... But with a little practise, I find this camera pretty good.
That's just me.
Sent from my XT1058 using Tapatalk
---------- Post added at 12:10 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:08 PM ----------
And yes... Sometimes you think you need a flash inside... When you don't. And the pics are easy better with no flash. Again... I had to play around and get to know how and where the best pics turn out.
But again.... I'm one of those, it's just a phone camera guys... I'm maybe not as picky. I'm not trying to sell my pics, so I'm happy. If I know I want to take very good pics somewhere... In advance... I bring my camera.
Sent from my XT1058 using Tapatalk

Right about now it would be nice to see 4.4.2 with camera update. Noise/quality are un-exeptable for a $500+ phone. Yes S4 is night and day difference with Moto X in camera.
S4 was the FIRST camera in phone that I used and I took many pictures, most came out usable and some pretty impressive. With MX, most pictures indoors I cant even look at.....I delete all of them right away.

The only place I find camera quality to be bad is in low light, but it's not the hardware, it's the software. The camera software just sets the ISO higher than it should and overexposes everything in low light. I use FV-5 to manually set a lower ISO and manually set the metering point so that it doesn't overexpose the shot, and then I can get great shots in low light. If you don't know a little about cameras or aren't willing to take the time to manually adjust low light shots though, you'll be disappointed. In decent lighting I can get some great shots even with the stock camera app though, especially with HDR.

gtg465x said:
The only place I find camera quality to be bad is in low light, but it's not the hardware, it's the software. The camera software just sets the ISO higher than it should and overexposes everything in low light. I use FV-5 to manually set a lower ISO and manually set the metering point so that it doesn't overexpose the shot, and then I can get great shots in low light. If you don't know a little about cameras or aren't willing to take the time to manually adjust low light shots though, you'll be disappointed. In decent lighting I can get some great shots even with the stock camera app though, especially with HDR.
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Perhaps you are right. But how hard is it for a TEAM of developers at Motorola/Google to figure this out ? We are on 2nd camera update here its still ****
PS. on S4 I used only 2 modes and didnt even touch settings, Auto and Night Mode......thats all I needed to take excellent photos.
few night/low light shots from S4, last one was taken in almost complete darkness, camera just picked up light from night club flashing lights

I agree. I love this phone but the camera sucks. Snoop Dogg came to my Christmas party and I was so excited to get some shots.
They all came out blurry all my buddies with S4s got killer shots. I don't know, maybe I'll blame it on the alcohol....
That ticked me off a bit.
Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk

gtg465x said:
The only place I find camera quality to be bad is in low light, but it's not the hardware, it's the software. The camera software just sets the ISO higher than it should and overexposes everything in low light. I use FV-5 to manually set a lower ISO and manually set the metering point so that it doesn't overexpose the shot, and then I can get great shots in low light. If you don't know a little about cameras or aren't willing to take the time to manually adjust low light shots though, you'll be disappointed. In decent lighting I can get some great shots even with the stock camera app though, especially with HDR.
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This. For low light shots, I either use fv5 or take the photos with the stock camera and run them through Perfectly clear. I've gotten a lot of fantastic shots with my X. Low-light is the only setting in which I need to kind of finagle anything.

WizeGuyDezignz said:
Hey guys, I've had my Moto X for a week now and I might return to my Note 3. I really like this phone overall, but man the camera really is that bad. I read all the stories but hoped the update would be good enough for me. Unfortunately it hasn't been.
I can't even imagine how bad the camera must have been before the update. The camera is simply dreadful. Do I have a defective Moto X or is it really this bad?
If I'm not outside on a sunny day or in a really well lit room, it's the worst camera I've ever had on any smartphone that I've ever owned. And that includes phones from over 4 years ago. Is it really this bad?
Here are some sample shots. I took these same shots with my Note 3, and those shots blew these away. I will try to post those later.
Sent from my XT1058 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
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if you take a pic of your tree with an SLR with the same exposure settings and you'll get an equally awful pic.
honestly i think the camera on the X is fine. i think it could be better but i think overall its a pretty good camera, on par with some point and shoots i've used. it all comes down to lighting, plus the HDR mode really helps.

Been using Camera FV-5 for whenever I need low light shots. First one is the stock camera app and the second shot is via Camera FV-5. These were shot in very low light conditions.

il buono said:
Been using Camera FV-5 for whenever I need low light shots. First one is the stock camera app and the second shot is via Camera FV-5. These were shot in very low light conditions.
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Gonna give it a try. Big difference there

kolyan said:
Gonna give it a try. Big difference there
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CameraZoomFX lets you pick the ISO setting too, which could increase the exposure.

640k said:
if you take a pic of your tree with an SLR with the same exposure settings and you'll get an equally awful pic.
honestly i think the camera on the X is fine. i think it could be better but i think overall its a pretty good camera, on par with some point and shoots i've used. it all comes down to lighting, plus the HDR mode really helps.
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I am curious if these photos were taken with the stock camera app or a 3rd party app?
Sent from my XT1060 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

telefoner said:
I am curious if these photos were taken with the stock camera app or a 3rd party app?
Sent from my XT1060 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
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Stock. You can tell from the image properties.
EDIT: I take it back. There's no specific information that says what app took the pic, only what device. Technically we're talking about the inability of the Moto X's sensor to perform adequately. Different apps can force different settings/processing techniques, but you're still limited to the sensor/lens capability of the device.
Here's a CameraZoomFX photo taken with a DROID4:
It's all about lighting.

I'm with you on this one WizeGuy. At first I didn't think the camera was as bad as people said it was. But after using it in the wild and over the course of a week, it really is disappointing. The biggest issue for me is consistency. I CAN get a decent shot if I try to. Low light performance is terrible however and it's really tough to get a good shot most of the time. I was also coming from an S4 and didn't expect it to be on the same level obviously, but now that I've played with it enough, I'm positive even my S3 was better overall. In fact, I've been comparing it with an old iPhone 4S and I couldn't say it's better than that camera (except when there is ample lighting). I take a lot of pictures and it is important to me. Yes it is a camera phone, but downgrading is harder to accept than I thought it would be. I guess I value something that is consistent and easy in auto mode when it comes to my phone. Much sadder is the fact that I really like everything else about this phone, much more than the s4. I prefer the size the moto x by far to anything out there, but the nexus 5 is tempting me right now.

I give up on this camera...

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

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

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

Are the pictures blurry or noisy?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

LG G5 Camera discussion thread - Post your pictures here !

The LG G4 was one of last year's best camera phone. Let's see what the G5 has in the guts with its dual rear cameras:
- 16 MP F/1.8 - 75° field of view - laser autofocus, OIS
- 8 MP F/2..4 - 135° field of view (ultra wide angle) - fixed autofocus
Here is video link describing some of the camera features:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFD8qkzpJCs
Some reviews of the camera:
GSM arena: http://www.gsmarena.com/lg_g5-review-1416p7.php
Phone arena: http://www.phonearena.com/reviews/LG-G5-Review_id4181/page/3

I will get some shots up soon.

Just 2 quick pictures I took ill take some more tomorrow

dino1342 said:
Just 2 quick pictures I took ill take some more tomorrow
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Are the manual controls fun to use?

same as using a G4

Here are pictures taken today unedited. Camera seems more than capable enough, if you want legit photos buy a dslr and call it a day.

Can someone who already has the device post couple of JPEG + associated DNG files both for the regular and wide angle cameras (big files can be shared via Google Drive, Dropbox or OneDrive) ?
I would like to know whether LG included a flat field correction in the DNG this time (it wasn't the case at the G4 launch and was addressed months later during the marshmallow release). I had to create one in the mean time but it wasn't addressing perfectly the issues.
More background on the G4 DNG issue here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=61360315&postcount=314
Envoyé de mon SM-G928F en utilisant Tapatalk

If anyone is interested, I posted on Reddit yesterday a comparison (totally amateur) of the G4 G5 and S7E.
LG G4 vs LG G5 vs Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge picture shootout (informal)

Here are some pics testing out the manual settings

vincent2167 said:
Can someone who already has the device post couple of JPEG + associated DNG files both for the regular and wide angle cameras (big files can be shared via Google Drive, Dropbox or OneDrive) ?
I would like to know whether LG included a flat field correction in the DNG this time (it wasn't the case at the G4 launch and was addressed months later during the marshmallow release). I had to create one in the mean time but it wasn't addressing perfectly the issues.
More background on the G4 DNG issue here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=61360315&postcount=314
Envoyé de mon SM-G928F en utilisant Tapatalk
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Anyone?

vincent2167 said:
Anyone?
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I've seen your posts but no longer have the pre production model which is not the same as the retail version. In the UK, the retail launch has got delayed a lot. However, I should get a raw file very soon (in 24 hours). I'll DM link to dropbox when done.

Here's a couple taken of two frogs on my trip to Point Reyes. Unedited, straight from my camera roll.

Here is an auto HDR auto shot with the wide angle sensor. Pretty cool.
Sent from my LG-H820 using XDA-Developers mobile app

The camera on this absolutely smashes my s7

Has anyone noticed or experienced the camera distorting in lower light condition or in conditions where the subject is not perfectly still?
Some of my photos look like they've been run through a really bad water colour filter or like they have been shot through a sheet of plastic (like a protective film over the lens, but it doesn't appear to have one on out of the box), in perfect daylight photos of still subjects (building/scenery) are stunning, with both the wide and normal camera, but if the subject is moving, the wide angel really struggles with the distortion type effect. In low light, the wide angle seems basically unusable if the subject is not perfectly still.

sdmix said:
Has anyone noticed or experienced the camera distorting in lower light condition or in conditions where the subject is not perfectly still?
Some of my photos look like they've been run through a really bad water colour filter or like they have been shot through a sheet of plastic (like a protective film over the lens, but it doesn't appear to have one on out of the box), in perfect daylight photos of still subjects (building/scenery) are stunning, with both the wide and normal camera, but if the subject is moving, the wide angel really struggles with the distortion type effect. In low light, the wide angle seems basically unusable if the subject is not perfectly still.
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Next time try turning HDR off and see if that helps.

gedas5 said:
Next time try turning HDR off and see if that helps.
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I'm going to try and give it a better test this evening, I think HDR was set to auto in that pic. I'm hoping you're right and changing that to off will solve this, it really does look software over hardware though, the Google Camera app seems to handle HDR processing better (although much slower than the camera on the G5, which is pretty instant, whereas my 5X took an age to process after the photo was taken). It's a shame the Google Camera app doesn't support the HDR mode when installed on the G5 and doesn't support the wide angle camera either so can't take a photo with that to do a direct comparison.

sdmix said:
I'm going to try and give it a better test this evening, I think HDR was set to auto in that pic. I'm hoping you're right and changing that to off will solve this, it really does look software over hardware though, the Google Camera app seems to handle HDR processing better (although much slower than the camera on the G5, which is pretty instant, whereas my 5X took an age to process after the photo was taken). It's a shame the Google Camera app doesn't support the HDR mode when installed on the G5 and doesn't support the wide angle camera either so can't take a photo with that to do a direct comparison.
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Nothing to do with HDR. The G5 went into night mode and held the shutter open longer. Go manual and fix the shutter speed.

The camera definitely hasnt been optimised yet in auto mode. Can tell by the way it selects a high iso in night shots. But I'm not worried as LG will sort this out in upcoming updates. I normally shoot in manual mode any way, and the photos are as amazing as I'd expect coming from the lg g4.
Really happy with this phone so far.

sstanton86 said:
The camera definitely hasnt been optimised yet in auto mode. Can tell by the way it selects a high iso in night shots. But I'm not worried as LG will sort this out in upcoming updates. I normally shoot in manual mode any way, and the photos are as amazing as I'd expect coming from the lg g4.
Really happy with this phone so far.
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I use Manual Camera normally for anything other than quick shots (normally on night out, so in low light where I use auto mode for speed), the manual mode in the default camera app though I'm really impressed with, especially coming from Manual Camera, this is my first LG phone so I'm loving that being available out of the box. The photos I've taken where I haven't been in a hurry or in low or challenging light have come out amazingly well. I agree though the look of the weird "shooting though plastic" or almost water colour like effect that appeared on that shot I posted earlier definitely looks like a processing issue, I just wanted to post it to see if anyone else had experienced the same or if it was a possible hardware fault (although I didn't think it was, so was more wondering if anyone had a solution to it software wise).
Hopefully though it is just software and they fix it in later updates. So far I think I'm happy to keep the phone after my few days with it so far, it really is an amazing device, fast, great build quality (fantastic to hold), great sound and what they've done to the OS is nice too, just hoping for root at some point in the future too although I'm getting used to LGs customizations now, so that's not a deal breaker for me yet (it will be more in the future if updates to Android N are slow).

Camera issues?

I'm planning to pick up a G6 this Friday to replace my G5. But I'm slowly becoming aware of the camera issues that are being posted. Is this something you think will get addressed with a software update, or should I wait a few weeks for the S8 even though I'm not a big fan of curved screens?
Sent from my LG-H830 using Tapatalk

What camera issues? Mine has been working great.

I've got no issues at all. I LOVE the camera. Even in auto mode it's amazing. Really really happy that they got rid of the laser focus. Photo attached is no editing just wide angle and hand held

There's a thread titled "LG G6: Is it worth buying?" where a bunch of people are talking about the bad camera quality.
Sent from my LG-H830 using Tapatalk

There's no camera issue, it's just not as great a camera as it should be. If you take photos in wide angle they are superb, but single lens shots are sub parts. It's digital processing is awful. Hopefully there's an update to fix.
Sent from my LG-H830 using Tapatalk

how's it compare to the GS7? I just pulled the trigger the other day and it's coming tomorrow. I could not find any full review articles or videos on youtube with the final software and hardware version. I wanted to see comparisons to the GS7. I finally got tired of waiting for reviews and went ahead and ordered it. Hope i made the right decision. I'm pretty picky about cameras.

I love the camera one thing I really really love is auto focus is much better than the lg g4 was. Also love that just tapping a a different spot on camera can easily adjust the exposure while maintaining a full frame focus. I'm the pictures at times from the gs7 may appear better but it also depends on what device they are being viewed on. I mean if I watch 1080 videos on my low end barely HD monitor th3 comparisons are useless. Sadly not enough pictures ever get printed. Plus wide angle for the win. Sample quick take from the beach on sunday.

ledvedder said:
There's a thread titled "LG G6: Is it worth buying?" where a bunch of people are talking about the bad camera quality.
Sent from my LG-H830 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
front camera make picture like 60$ phone so did jump to S8 cause not worth vs S8 front camera

mila4me said:
front camera make picture like 60$ phone so did jump to S8 cause not worth vs S8 front camera
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Click to collapse
Reviews already show the S8 selfie camera is awful too. What's the point of auto focus if it still makes you look like a cartoon and "beautify's" everything. Side by side comparisons online with the Pixel and iphone 7 show the S8 (and samsung) is still awful for selfies.

The selfie camera is a little blurry but not that bad. For 5MP it's to be expected. Yes, it's not as versatile as the back camera setup, but I guess if you're not used to having to plan shots to get the composition you want, it can seem crap by today's standards. blurry in darker shots, but does well enough for me. Using the filters that are on by default make it worse too. (Can't guarantee that the image I attached doesn't have any filters added as I don't remember when I took the shot. I think it is slightly filtered)
I was concerned every shot with the back camera would need to be "tweaked", but I'm surprised how well it does with auto. You can modify gamma on the fly too which is nice (and necessary with more difficult shots). Keep in mind though if you're cropping to 16:9, then it will affect perceived image quality. That can affect the blurriness of the non-wide angle lens tbh since it's the lesser of the two. Both take great shots though on automatic.
The wide angle is the best one of all three.
I attached a photo taken with selfie lens. You can judge for yourself. Personally, I think it looks fine. Most shots are going to be viewed on mobile so resolution won't be as important as the back camera. I don't use selfie cam too often though, but if it's your primary camera, then yes you will be disappointed by the step down and will likely want to go for something with a higher res like S8...

This is comparison of night shots of two back lens... wide angle versus non-wide angel camera... as you can see, both have their advantages and disadvantages.
---------- Post added at 04:50 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:21 PM ----------
Here are a bunch of microshots. Does it have it's weaknesses? Oh yes. Is it a bad camera. Not at all.
Pro Tip: Sometimes I notice sometimes you have to "zoom in" just a tad in order to get the autofocus to catch stuff up close but it's rare. My point and shoot does the same thing. (Also there is manual focus)

No issues at all with the cameras here. FWIW, I like them a lot better than the G4.

Just because of this thread, I had to try in near total darkness... It turned out pretty clear. I'm not disappointed at all. I came from S7 Edge, and I can say for a quick low light picture, it is a "little" better, but by no means is this camera a disappointment. But, when there's light, it's better than S7. I'm very happy with the phone.

I am having horrible camera pictures. Worse then the last few phones i've had. The panorama has double images and it's wavy. The reviews on youtube says it works good. all the pictures look like the grass and trees was painted with water colors. it's awful. I'm worried about what I"m going to do now. I can't keep my GS7 since I upgraded so there's no turning back unless i exchange my phone but for what model? I don't want a Galaxy with a curved screen so the options are limited at Verizon. I would upload some images but how do i post the images from my computer? The image button wants a url.

railfan-eric said:
I am having horrible camera pictures. Worse then the last few phones i've had. The panorama has double images and it's wavy. The reviews on youtube says it works good. all the pictures look like the grass and trees was painted with water colors. it's awful. I'm worried about what I"m going to do now. I can't keep my GS7 since I upgraded so there's no turning back unless i exchange my phone but for what model? I don't want a Galaxy with a curved screen so the options are limited at Verizon. I would upload some images but how do i post the images from my computer? The image button wants a url.
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Click to collapse
Can you post some of your shots? So we can compare?

Blars1206 said:
Just because of this thread, I had to try in near total darkness... It turned out pretty clear. I'm not disappointed at all. I came from S7 Edge, and I can say for a quick low light picture, it is a "little" better, but by no means is this camera a disappointment. But, when there's light, it's better than S7. I'm very happy with the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you using auto mode and what resolution do you have it at at?
Sent from my LG-H872 using Tapatalk

maruichan said:
Can you post some of your shots? So we can compare?
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Click to collapse
At the bottom of my post I said I wanted to post some shots but I don't know how to upload them to the forum from the computer.
Sent from my VS988 using Tapatalk
---------- Post added at 11:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:09 PM ----------
echto said:
Are you using auto mode and what resolution do you have it at at?
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Click to collapse
I tried auto mode with and without HDR. Btw there's no HDR button so I have to go in the settings every time I want to turn it on our off. Totally unacceptable. I tried manual mode too. I have it at 16:9 at the highest resolution. Is there a quality setting I missed?
Sent from my VS988 using Tapatalk

echto said:
Are you using auto mode and what resolution do you have it at at?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have got a screen shot of my settings. It was done in auto. I used the mode/filter called "1839". Also, if you tap on the object you want it to focus on, you'll see a slider (I circled it in other screen shot) which your can use to make adjustments to make pictures clearer in low light or put your own tweak on a picture.

railfan-eric said:
At the bottom of my post I said I wanted to post some shots but I don't know how to upload them to the forum from the computer.
Sent from my VS988 using Tapatalk
---------- Post added at 11:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:09 PM ----------
I tried auto mode with and without HDR. Btw there's no HDR button so I have to go in the settings every time I want to turn it on our off. Totally unacceptable. I tried manual mode too. I have it at 16:9 at the highest resolution. Is there a quality setting I missed?
Sent from my VS988 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is an attach button under post writing form. You need to be in advanced mode to attach. The button is "Manage Attachments"

maruichan said:
There is an attach button under post writing form. You need to be in advanced mode to attach. The button is "Manage Attachments"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I knew i should have looked there. I'll take a look.

Is anyone have a FIX for camera quality, and Snapchat quality ?

Hey all,
I received my LG G6 today, and I loved it. Until I turn on the camera. OMG. Before I had a Nexus 6P, I do not know if it is the Nexus that was exceptionally good or the LG G6 which is exceptionally bad, but I am overly disappointed.
What the hell is this camera quality on the G6? The only interesting thing is the wide angle. But it looks like all the pictures are smoothed out. And I'm not talking about the front-facing camera ... The 2013 flagship were doing better ...
On snapchat it's even worse. The app uses the ratio 18: 9, is made of 2.1 MPX photos with the front camera. And we can not fix it.
Is anyone now if it's the sensors who are completely ****ting where if it's optimizing and working the photo by software that destroys everything?
What is the best way to fix the snapchat quality?
THX

Not sure what the problem is for you guys. I'm very satisfied with the camera quality on my G6. Coming from the G5, I was a bit hesitant after reading reviews, but I have no complaints.

talk to snapchat. their POS software developers are to blame, not the phone. Android snapchat takes a screenshot of your phone as a "picture"

chrisokaly said:
talk to snapchat. their POS software developers are to blame, not the phone. Android snapchat takes a screenshot of your phone as a "picture"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This. Snapchat is a useless pile of do do software which unless you are under 16 you shouldn't even be using lol.
As for normal rear facing photos the quality trumps my S8+ as I now have both phones and the G6 photos are absolutely top drawer.

chrisokaly said:
talk to snapchat. their POS software developers are to blame, not the phone. Android snapchat takes a screenshot of your phone as a "picture"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow I never knew that, that's just terrible. I know the quality isn't great, but I had no idea that was the process the app takes.
Sent from my LG-H870 using Tapatalk

I went into a store today to play a bit with the LG G6's camera and was also very very disappointed. The light wasn't too good, and only artificial light was available, I took a few shots of the label describing the phone from a distance of about 30cm with both the G6's f/1.8 OIS lens and my 4-year-old Xperia ZR. I set both of the phones' cameras to the highest resolution setting available, took a few shots making sure that the focus worked well, and then zoomed in on both to compare the photos side-by-side. The quality of the G6 photos was horrible, when I zoomed in it looked like really bad compression artefacts. I couldn't find any settings for picture quality, and the guy working there was trying to convince me that switching to 16:9 mode would improve quality, because "it's better". Right! (He also tried to convince me that the quality wasn't good, because it was only 13MP instead of 20MP (or more) like in other phones. I thanked him for his advice and left )
Based on the low-light photo comparison available on gsmarena I was very positively surprised by the picture quality of the G6 and was actually going to get it, yet it seems I've drastically changed my mind after this single experience.
Was I doing something wrong? Are there actually some hidden settings where you can adjust the compression quality like in other phones? I'd love to give it yet another try, if it makes any sense at all that is.

Other phones with compression quality settings ?
Which for example ?
---------- Post added at 03:45 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:43 AM ----------
The G6 tends to focus relatively slowly in low light. Also the low light photos tend to be a little noisy and have a white balance shifted a little to the red.

G6 IQ is really nice actually, Sony processing is easily the worst but see here, I think its pretty decent.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-PtwtQFBWg
I made a video on how to increase your snap score. Hope you enjoy it!

Try cleaning the lens first

The biggest issue in my mind is the inconsistency in performance. Under the same conditions of good light, in auto mode, I'll get either a soft dull photo or a sharp and bright one. Manual mode gives a little more consistent results-- my best outdoor shots are taken with -1-1.5 EV, then brightened post processing. Low light photos are pretty crappy overall-- pretty much like snapshots taken on flipphones from 10 years ago.
Its disappointing that I can't dependably get a great photo right "out of the box" (like you can with Samsung's S series) and that I have to fiddle with settings or mess around with modded Gcam software.
I agree that LG could have chosen a better sensor for their flagship phone, or fixed their processing algorithm.
Maybe this is one reason that Samsung has beat LG so badly in sales.

I think we keep coming back for this, but as far as i can say:
LG G6`s camera is pretty good, but tends to have problems with oversharpening, in the dark the pictures tend to looks too noisy, but using google camera app with G6 for low light conditions really does wonders.
About snapchat, as somebody mentioned, snapchat really takes a screen from camera preview, for most the part, the snaps were a so so ok, but after recent updates i also noticed, that front camera in snap has become significantly worse, and also the back cam seems a bit choppy too, so it sure has something to do on their side.

I know I'm late but I also have a G6 and found out how to fix the problem with the camera quality. Snapchat, however will still be as terrible as it is due to the developers trying to make snapchat compatible with all androids using a single app on the Google Play store (smarter if they broke the apps into different phone types likes Samsung and LG). Open up your camera app, click on the cog/settings icon. Change the photo size to 4:3 (13MP) or (5MP) for both front and back facing camera views. For video resolution, change it to FHD 16:9 (60fps) for the back facing and FHD 16:9 for front facing. Hopefully I wasn't too late.
DiversityHD said:
Hey all,
I received my LG G6 today, and I loved it. Until I turn on the camera. OMG. Before I had a Nexus 6P, I do not know if it is the Nexus that was exceptionally good or the LG G6 which is exceptionally bad, but I am overly disappointed.
What the hell is this camera quality on the G6? The only interesting thing is the wide angle. But it looks like all the pictures are smoothed out. And I'm not talking about the front-facing camera ... The 2013 flagship were doing better ...
On snapchat it's even worse. The app uses the ratio 18: 9, is made of 2.1 MPX photos with the front camera. And we can not fix it.
Is anyone now if it's the sensors who are completely ****ting where if it's optimizing and working the photo by software that destroys everything?
What is the best way to fix the snapchat quality?
THX
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

me the quality on snapchat do not bother me especially against I really would like to have a way to select which camera sensor apps should use, I would like to make a snap wide angle
Sent from my LG G6 using XDA Labs

@SilentDeathKami
Unfortunately, I have resell my G6 for that bug. I bought the S8+, it was better but not good. It's due to 18:9 ratio, who seems uncompatible with snapchat. There is the same problem on One Plus 5T, and on all phone who have a 18:9 ratio.
For this reason, I have resell my S8+ and then buy the Pixel XL.
I didn't find any solution for any concerned device. I think we have to wait Snapchat fix.
Snapchat will normally be full rebuild for android on january. I hope it will fix it.

DiversityHD said:
Hey all,
I received my LG G6 today, and I loved it. Until I turn on the camera. OMG. Before I had a Nexus 6P, I do not know if it is the Nexus that was exceptionally good or the LG G6 which is exceptionally bad, but I am overly disappointed.
What the hell is this camera quality on the G6? The only interesting thing is the wide angle. But it looks like all the pictures are smoothed out. And I'm not talking about the front-facing camera ... The 2013 flagship were doing better ...
On snapchat it's even worse. The app uses the ratio 18: 9, is made of 2.1 MPX photos with the front camera. And we can not fix it.
Is anyone now if it's the sensors who are completely ****ting where if it's optimizing and working the photo by software that destroys everything?
What is the best way to fix the snapchat quality?
THX
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use a ported version of Google camera even tho in my opinion the stock is still very good, and nothing will fix the Snapchat camera til they update it optimised for lg g6

DiversityHD said:
@SilentDeathKami
Unfortunately, I have resell my G6 for that bug. I bought the S8+, it was better but not good. It's due to 18:9 ratio, who seems uncompatible with snapchat. There is the same problem on One Plus 5T, and on all phone who have a 18:9 ratio.
For this reason, I have resell my S8+ and then buy the Pixel XL.
I didn't find any solution for any concerned device. I think we have to wait Snapchat fix.
Snapchat will normally be full rebuild for android on january. I hope it will fix it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you kidding me? You bought and sold 2 phones just to find a 3rd phone that worked better with SNAPCHAT?? SMH.

xphyle1971 said:
Are you kidding me? You bought and sold 2 phones just to find a 3rd phone that worked better with SNAPCHAT?? SMH.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, I did. I'm coming from Nexus 6P, and the LG G6 caméra, except Wide angle, was bad. S8+ camera was good, except the 18:9 ratio who's doing **** on snapchat and all photo apps ( instagram, messenger,etc..).
But I've broken the screen, so I've looked fort the best camera on 16:9 ratio : The Pixel XL. As good as the S8+ for rear, and not ****in zoomed and blurred front facing camera.