Google Pixel - Night Video Test - 1080p60FPS - Google Pixel Guides, News, & Discussion

Hey everyone,
Here's my night time video test using the Google Pixel: https://youtu.be/8Jw9FUB28a0
It's not great when there isn't lighting. With bright artificial lighting the night looks much better. The camera seems to repeatedly focus which can be annoying. Maybe that's because of the fast moving objects?
Let me know what you think.

Wunzero said:
Hey everyone,
Here's my night time video test using the Google Pixel: https://youtu.be/8Jw9FUB28a0
It's not great when there isn't lighting. With bright artificial lighting the night looks much better. The camera seems to repeatedly focus which can be annoying. Maybe that's because of the fast moving objects?
Let me know what you think.
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Click to collapse
This is my main and only complaint about the pixel, low light video recording. It is horrible. I'm hoping it is a software issue that can be fixed, but I'm lead to believe it's most likely a hardware issue. The camera can't keep focused for more than a few seconds, everything is always blurry and extremely noisy. It makes no sense because the camera takes amazing pictures and is top notch so why should the video recording quality not be the same???

I have to agree. My Pixel XL is awful in low light, with lots of noise. But the daytime shots are incredible.

Related

[Q] Camera Quality

Hey guys,
Got a M2 recently...my camera quality is always grainy for some reason...I've tried to change settings but it's still grainy. Using stock camera app and I've tried in many different lighting conditions and still same result. Any ideas?
Not only your M2 takes grainy pictures, mine too. I think it's a common thing for our phones.
[email protected] said:
Not only your M2 takes grainy pictures, mine too. I think it's a common thing for our phones.
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Click to collapse
not exactly. what i observed from my experience of using smart phones (moto milestone 2, dell streak, xperia x1), these phones take pretty amazing outdoor shots where there is sufficient light.
the reason ur getting grainy pictures is because the pictures ur taking is probably taken indoors or where lighting is limited.
try taking a shot where u have ample sunlight and be amazed
agent008my said:
not exactly. what i observed from my experience of using smart phones (moto milestone 2, dell streak, xperia x1), these phones take pretty amazing outdoor shots where there is sufficient light.
the reason ur getting grainy pictures is because the pictures ur taking is probably taken indoors or where lighting is limited.
try taking a shot where u have ample sunlight and be amazed
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is true. Just indoors is terrible quality. Outdoors it is.
MegaBubbletea said:
That is true. Just indoors is terrible quality. Outdoors it is.
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Click to collapse
u could improve the lighting indoors; ie use brighter lights, or adjust the angle of the capture to minimize the effects of shadows. buts thats the best u can do. at the end of the day, its a monster of a smart phone, not a digital cam. i suppose its picture quality is good enough. ive seen worse on a HTC Mozart with a supposedly better cam
I see. That is pretty true.
Does anyone know if this could be "repaired" with a software update, because the outside picture really look great and I might think, that the bad-light-pictures do just look so bad because of wrong calibration or so.
Not really a software issue, while they could try and improve the denoise filter the image gets passed through, all digital cameras suffer the same issue.
All CCD/CMOS sensors suffer from grainy pictures when there is insufficient light unless you have control over shutter/iso settings which can alleviate it somewhat. (eg, digital cameras).
I think for what it does, it does it very well and more than sufficient for a phone! As stated in previous posts, if your indoor shots are grainy, try adding some more light to the subject.
One thing I did note with the camera was that, if you have your 'scene' set to 'Steady Shot' it greatly increases noise and other issues when indoors.
Shellite said:
Not really a software issue, while they could try and improve the denoise filter the image gets passed through, all digital cameras suffer the same issue.
All CCD/CMOS sensors suffer from grainy pictures when there is insufficient light unless you have control over shutter/iso settings which can alleviate it somewhat. (eg, digital cameras).
I think for what it does, it does it very well and more than sufficient for a phone! As stated in previous posts, if your indoor shots are grainy, try adding some more light to the subject.
One thing I did note with the camera was that, if you have your 'scene' set to 'Steady Shot' it greatly increases noise and other issues when indoors.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok cool. That's handy to know.

Camera sucks without flash.

Why does my s5's camera suck without flash? It gets so grainy! And the front camera is also ****, my S3 takes way better pictures! Anyone else have this problem?
The S5 flash seems close to half the power of the S3 so obviously that makes a huge difference in low light, So this more than cancels out the S5s improved low light ability in the sensor.
Your camera has a problem. Clean the lens carefully and if it does not help, try to compare with another S5.
Cleaned it, Still same.. It doesn't focus as much too..
Low light shots without flash are terrible, well lit shots are very good though. I think your camera is normal.
homer285 said:
Low light shots without flash are terrible, well lit shots are very good though. I think your camera is normal.
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I think so too. But what really annoys me is when the camera is on auto mode, you snap a picture in "sort of" low light, and the freakin "hold the camera stable until picture is takenÉ message stays on screen for like 15-20 seconds, How annoying is that? Other S phones never had that.
That second pic is normal for the S5 camera unfortunately in low light it not very good, you need to have a very steady hand and turn on image stabilization to get any kind of decent shot, or just use the flash if you intend to do any close up shots in low light.
As for the front camera I've seen worst, the best I've seen to date is from the iPhone 5S, no matter what lighting conditions are like it always gives a great image from the front camera.
Tbh i do find the S5 camera abit hit & miss in both picture and video, if the conditions are right then images are some of the best you see from a smartphone, with only the Nokia 1020 being the exception , but as soon as the light becomes slightly less than ideal it's starts to struggle, where the other's will do a better job.
I think Samsung have finally realized this, so when the Note 4 arrives it will come with a now rumoured new 12mp Sony Sensor with OIS & a F2.0 lens which should in theory give it much better performance in low light, and that being the case I will buy the Note 4 on launch come September.
try to turn on stabilization and hdr
After having used a Lumia Icon for two weeks, and having returned it during my "upgrade" window, it's hard to not compare the camera quality. My S5 performs very well outside in well lit scenarios, but most cameras do. I too have noticed the low light/indoor lightning suckage, especially compared to the Icon. I don't mind a photo being a little dark (that can be auto fixed with image software), but it's incredibly frustrating getting out of focus shots more often than not just because of a little less than optimal lighting situation (not talking about night shots). I leave HDR mode on full time now, and it has improved the quality/consistency some. I only use image stabilization in low light situations when I know there won't be a lot of movement involved. All of the pictures I take are through the built in camera app. I haven't ventured to other camera apps yet, but I figure it wouldn't make a huge difference.
Ultimately, I decided on functionality (android) over camera quality as I don't take pictures on a day to day basis to justify the lack of apps on the 8 ecosystem. I still enjoy my phone's use in my day to day though.
The camera is not the best, it takes several seconds to take a pic sometimes, which easily becomes blurry and out of focus... I wanna take pic not a movie, this hold still thing really annoy you after a while..
polish_pat said:
I think so too. But what really annoys me is when the camera is on auto mode, you snap a picture in "sort of" low light, and the freakin "hold the camera stable until picture is takenÉ message stays on screen for like 15-20 seconds, How annoying is that? Other S phones never had that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Turn off image stabilisation if you don't need it and that problem will be fixed. It's the image stabilisation waiting for you to stop moving the phone that is causing the delays.
Also, back on main topic... try manually changing the
ISO settings to see if high value is causing your issues. High ISO = noisy low light pic.
kgyirhj said:
The camera is not the best, it takes several seconds to take a pic sometimes, which easily becomes blurry and out of focus... I wanna take pic not a movie, this hold still thing really annoy you after a while..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Annoying Camera!

Hey, i have a lg g2 since last christmas and the camera is very good in some situations but in others is just hideous. Outside when it's sunny or "clear" weather the camera does a great job with details etc, in low light the focus is so so slow and and the camera itself is laggy as hell and the photo comes out ****. But my main problem is video recording, altought it records with high quality the constant focus and unfocus of the camera is anoying and when i save it and go to watch it the video is stuttering , it just isnt smooth or soft if u know what i mean, i have a ipod 5 who records better that this phone because the video comes out pretty smooth, can somebody help me fix it or it's the same for you?
I have installed XCam Lg v5.1.2 but i didnt notice any difference
I just want to be able to record with smoothness because i need to record my soccer games, thank you
I don't record video much so not much of experiences but totally agree with you on taking pictures. In good, bright condition, the iq is great but in other conditions, images look not so good, especially selfie in low-light, just horrible. I've tried all modes, HDR, Intelligent, Night, .... not much better.
My friend has an old iPhone 5, and we took a few shots at the same spot under the same "not ideal" condition, the iPhone 5 beats this 13MP, OIS-ready hand down.
I felt bad though.
votinh said:
I don't record video much so not much of experiences but totally agree with you on taking pictures. In good, bright condition, the iq is great but in other conditions, images look not so good, especially selfie in low-light, just horrible. I've tried all modes, HDR, Intelligent, Night, .... not much better.
My friend has an old iPhone 5, and we took a few shots at the same spot under the same "not ideal" condition, the iPhone 5 beats this 13MP, OIS-ready hand down.
I felt bad though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes the camera is horrible for this phone, for a 13 MP is really really bad, we cant take selfies unless its outside with good weather but the video recording makes me crazy
Front facing camera is only 2.1 mp anyway.

Low light

At the club, at the bar, or just in your mom's basement, nighttime is when you come out to play. Rate this thread to express how the Moto X4's camera performs when no or low light is present. A higher rating indicates that the camera sensor "sees" lots of light in dim conditions, and that the resulting photos have minimal noise. A higher rating also indicates that when the flash fires, the resulting photo is evenly-lit without any bright spots.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!
With flash it's 5 stars. Works pretty good without. Works as good as my S8.
I took some test shots on my phone today, using 3 different camera apps:
- The Stock Moto Camera
- The Stock Google Camera from the Play Store
- Modified Google Camera found Here. MGCB_7.0H_C2API_Full_PXL2_v.1.4_60FPS_noburst_v3
I tested in a large room with the lights off, and sunlight coming in. There are lots of shadows and dark areas, as well as very bright spots. I tested with HDR Off, HDR On, and HDR Auto (if applicable). I also threw in a wide angle, for comparison. (spoiler: Ew).
Some things that surprised me, in no particular order:
- The Stock Moto HDR actually did a decent job at brightening up the dark areas, and giving the shadows a bit of color. Not a ton of extra noise, either. However, the window was still washed out.
- Stock Google Cam didn't offer anything the others didn't, and HDR On/Off didn't seem to do a thing.
- Modified Google Cam definitely helped with the bright spots, as those are the only 2 pictures that you could see out the window, but it also introduced a LOT of noise in the shadows and dark areas. This is a known side effect of HDR in low-light, as I saw the same effect on my 5x when using HDR+ in low light.
I may try a different Modified Gcam, and try to input the settings manually. Hopefully that will result in better pics, as otherwise the Stock Moto camera seems to be our best bet for now.
The stock camera app in normal picture mode is not using good ISO/shutter speed combinations in low light at all. Take some and check the info on your images. It always goes for high ISO and faster shutter speed. It stops on 1/15 A LOT, and seems to adjust ISO from there. Switch to Professional Mode and force a slower shutter speed, lower ISO and now they look much better. HDR on this app is garbage with those auto focus settings too. It works much better with higher quality images with less noise, which the auto focus is incapable of providing in any low light situations.
I did some more tests with the v4.0 AIO modified Gcam, and there wasn't a difference.
I went back to the v1.4, and took some pics at home. These were very low-light, with candles the only light source in the room. I noticed similar trends:
Stock Cam is VERY blochy when you zoom in.
Stock HDR seems to brighten the whole image, but isn't very, you know, dynamic.
Stock Cam is way less noisy/blochy when you zoom in. It preserves much more detail.
Modified Gcam using HDR+ does a MUCH better job handling the candle light in the pic, as the light source isn't overexposed.
I may do some 100% crops and share them tomorrow, but Stranger Things 2 with the wife is more important atm. #sorrynotsorry.
crazyates said:
I did some more tests with the v4.0 AIO modified Gcam, and there wasn't a difference.
I went back to the v1.4, and took some pics at home. These were very low-light, with candles the only light source in the room. I noticed similar trends:
Stock Cam is VERY blochy when you zoom in.
Stock HDR seems to brighten the whole image, but isn't very, you know, dynamic.
Stock Cam is way less noisy/blochy when you zoom in. It preserves much more detail.
Modified Gcam using HDR+ does a MUCH better job handling the candle light in the pic, as the light source isn't overexposed.
I may do some 100% crops and share them tomorrow, but Stranger Things 2 with the wife is more important atm. #sorrynotsorry.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm using the manual Google APK here with HDR+ and it's also using very high ISOs, even in pretty good light. I have a lamp behind me, lights on in the room and both apps are using an ISO2400. If I manually set the ISO to 1200 or lower, I can still take a good photo by manually adjusting the shutter speed to 1/15, 1/10, or even 1/8 (anything lower and it's blurred). This HW should be capable of blazing fast auto focus so there is zero reason it's setting the ISOs so high. High ISO = more noise, less detail. Fast auto focus should mean that lowering the ISO in low light will focus better, faster, with less blur from the slower shutter speed. Something ain't right here.
HDR+ will clean up the noise from the high ISO setting some.
FrozenOx said:
I'm using the manual Google APK here with HDR+ and it's also using very high ISOs, even in pretty good light. I have a lamp behind me, lights on in the room and both apps are using an ISO2400. If I manually set the ISO to 1200 or lower, I can still take a good photo by manually adjusting the shutter speed to 1/15, 1/10, or even 1/8 (anything lower and it's blurred). This HW should be capable of blazing fast auto focus so there is zero reason it's setting the ISOs so high. High ISO = more noise, less detail. Fast auto focus should mean that lowering the ISO in low light will focus better, faster, with less blur from the slower shutter speed. Something ain't right here.
HDR+ will clean up the noise from the high ISO setting some.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's odd. Is this an issue you've been experiencing on the optimum configs (manual version) or with both modded apps?
FrozenOx said:
HDR+ will clean up the noise from the high ISO setting some.
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Click to collapse
Yeah, you're right on this. I did some more test last night, and the most consistent seems to be the modified Gcam HDR+. It preserves more detail while keeping the noise down.
Basically, I feel like these are all just playing around with settings and apks that are meant for other phones. I know the Gcam software can work wonders, and I know the sensor/ISP/DSP/CPU can support more than what the stock Moto Cam is doing, but getting a modded Gcam apk that's meant for out phones would be fantastic. Unfortunately, it'll take someone smarter than me to piece it all together.
Coming from a much older S3, the moto x4 camera is WAY ahead.
I have a small laser projector that only outputs 63 lumens.
The S3 camera could never get a photo on the highest setting.
The x4 camera does it easily.
Apples and Oranges possibly, but the camera is not nearly as "bad" as some
reviews stated.
That's Nobody said:
With flash it's 5 stars. Works pretty good without. Works as good as my S8.
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Is it really? I'm choosing between the S7 and the X4, the camera being the only thing making me lean towards the Galaxy.
gaurink said:
Is it really? I'm choosing between the S7 and the X4, the camera being the only thing making me lean towards the Galaxy.
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Click to collapse
I had an S7 for work until recently. Hated it. Battery life is worse than X4, too much bloatware, and the fingerprint sensor on it suuuuucked. Rear camera was about the same as X4 but front was inferior. No contest. Get the X4.
Please think twice believing reviewers.
Most of them hated Moto X4's camera coz it has a sluggish and mediocre quality when it comes to depth (portrait mode).
BUT I can assure you that my Moto X4 performs on par with HTC 10 when it comes to ALL lighting conditions.
I took photos side by side and the quality is the same. I even found that the Moto X4 does NOT need to auto trigger HDR in the lowlight pic I took (HTC did auto trigger HDR).
Both HTC 10 and Moto X4 have minimal noise and really looks almost the same given that they are using a different ISP (SD 820 vs SD 630).
I'll try to upload both pics so you can check them as well.
Quick one from today.
The Galaxy S7 will definitely has a better camera quality BUT the X4 also has a pretty good camera so you won't get disappointed.
BUT I'd rather choose Moto X4 since it is a new device while S7 is already almost 2 generations older (S9 is coming).
forbidden8 said:
Quick one from today.
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Click to collapse
Is this using the stock camera app?
varunbala said:
Is this using the stock camera app?
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Click to collapse
Yes.
Four low light examples. They were taken in hostile lightning codtions by Gcam HDR+. No tripod. The quality and the dynamic range is at the same level as Nexus 5x, Pixel 1.
Can you share a gCam version that you use. And setting ...I try few, but for me quality of stock camera photos is better. Thx.
forbidden8 said:
Can you share a gCam version that you use. And setting ...I try few, but for me quality of stock camera photos is better. Thx.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
GCam5.1.018-Arnova8G2-V1.3-Front-HDR+
Nexus6p, nexus 6p, hdd+ on
tavcsor said:
Four low light examples. They were taken in hostile lightning codtions by Gcam HDR+. No tripod. The quality and the dynamic range is at the same level as Nexus 5x, Pixel 1.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does the portrait mode of gcam work?

About the camera

I watched so many reviews on this device, I bought a 64GB variant. Camera is so average even on daylight, Front camera is straight rubbish in medium - low light conditions. G cam don't fix this either. Is it me or every device has this problem?
Maheshzx said:
I watched so many reviews on this device, I bought a 64GB variant. Camera is so average even on daylight, Front camera is straight rubbish in medium - low light conditions. G cam don't fix this either. Is it me or every device has this problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Probably u , mine camera is pretty good and at night gcam pics are so good and much better idk what's wrong with ur phone.
farhan20 said:
Probably u , mine camera is pretty good and at night gcam pics are so good and much better idk what's wrong with ur phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, camera is bad in low light conditions, take a closer look at details on picture taken at night.
I don't really know about you guys, but mine is just straight up awesome. I was on a 7 day trip in Vienna with a friend of mine, made a bunch of photos, in maximum sun light conditions, medium light conditions, low light conditions, and the photos weren't bad at all. My friend actually picked a photo from my phone to upload on his instagram. (gotta add that he currently owns an iPhone XS Max)
The main camera is top notch, the wide and tele have terrible color depth, lens flares, purple fringing, noise.
GCam fixes those pretty well though.
Maheshzx said:
I watched so many reviews on this device, I bought a 64GB variant. Camera is so average even on daylight, Front camera is straight rubbish in medium - low light conditions. G cam don't fix this either. Is it me or every device has this problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The main camera has a competent sensor on paper, but in real life, even with gcam improvements, the results are far from stellar as the image lacks a little bit on fine detail, maybe due not good quality optics.
Of course, the front camera has difficulties in medium - low light but I think not more or less than many other devices.
This gcam version is specifically suited for low light conditions.
https://www.celsoazevedo.com/files/android/google-camera/f/changelog374/
And for a more general purpose I would try this one:
https://www.celsoazevedo.com/files/android/google-camera/f/changelog661/
piccolo2k2 said:
The main camera has a competent sensor on paper, but in real life, even with gcam improvements, the results are far from stellar as the image lacks a little bit on fine detail, maybe due not good quality optics.
Of course, the front camera has difficulties in medium - low light but I think not more or less than many other devices.
This gcam version is specifically suited for low light conditions.
https://www.celsoazevedo.com/files/android/google-camera/f/changelog374/
And for a more general purpose I would try this one:
https://www.celsoazevedo.com/files/android/google-camera/f/changelog661/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot man. You really saved my day. :fingers-crossed:

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