One of my biggest gripes with this phone is that they gave it this great camera but with no image stabilization. Has anyone come across any good camera apps? Preferably something that allows you to take a picture via the touch screen (like you can in 2.1 but not 2.2) or provides some image stabilization. I tried camera 360, which seems decent, but FC's a lot.
PS. I tried a thread search to see if this topic is around but due to the numerous threads on camera related issues pre-2.2 OTA leak, they're hard to find.
Thanks in advance for any help.
If you place your finger on the screen and hold it there, it will take the picture.
To be more precise it'll focus where you put the finger and take a picture.
The best camera app I've tried is Vignette. The "normal" processing for the app makes much better pictures than the default camera, and it's got some excellent effects as well. It also has a "steady shot" option where it waits until the camera is still before taking the shot. The demo is low-res but you can use it to see the basic results you'll get. The full version was worth it for me.
Tried a few apps and I do like some features of Vignette but will say the stock camera app does the best in my opinion with settings at (8mp fine bright -1 contrast +1) can hold on screen and it will auto focus then snap pic
here are some untouched samples of mine of just misc things the other day
http://picasaweb.google.com/dearls70/VignettePhotoAppPics?feat=directlink
and
http://picasaweb.google.com/dearls70/DroidIncrediblePics?feat=directlink
Guys, I didn't find the macro mode inside camera setting and the auto focus simply can't focus when I try to shoot an object near the camera, differently from Note I and Note II. Even on Galaxy S II the focus of near objects is better.
It's like impossible to take detailed near pictures, I always need a minimal distance of about 20 centimeters.
Any workaround except from installing a third-party camera app?
Edit: The minimum distance needed to focus to work is about 20 centimeters. Less than this the camera simply can't focus!
viniciusrsouza said:
Guys, I didn't find the macro mode inside camera setting and the auto focus simply can't focus when I try to shoot an object near the camera, differently from Note I and Note II. Even on Galaxy S II the focus of near objects is better.
It's like impossible to take detailed near pictures, I always need a minimal distance of about 20 centimeters.
Any workaround except from installing a third-party camera app?
Edit: The minimum distance needed to focus to work is about 20 centimeters. Less than this the camera simply can't focus!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i have the same problem
I just tried and I must admit, that you are probably right.
Also there is no macro setting in the advanced options.
Is this software or hardware related ?
Edit:
Looks like its only software related as these guys are reporting to use another camera app
Sheeezy said:
I just tried and I must admit, that you are probably right.
Also there is no macro setting in the advanced options.
Is this software or hardware related ?
Edit:
Looks like its only software related as these guys are reporting to use another camera app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I already heard before that this was a software related issue. It's shamefully incredible that a powerful device comes with a basic feature messed up like on this case!
I used to have the same problem. but i found solution which is downloading alternative application for macro mode
i am now using FV-5 camera application which has macro mode. and it works pretty good as note 2 which i used before note 3
i recommend this app for whomever has been suffering from this issue.
in my opinion there is no problem in terms of soft or hard ware. i dare assume that samsung didn't add this function for some reason.
Dear All S5 Users,
Hope you are enjoying S5 and exploring it's everything. While doing the same, I faced some complexity especially in Selective focus option. It's a really good option to have the same in mobile camera. I tried to shot some pictures through Selective focus option. But it seems to me that it's not guaranteed that picture will be shot as expected. For instance, I shot a picture of mine friend. I noticed when there's multiple object in viewfinder, picture not captured in Selective focus mode (I also tapped to focus and also locked the focus). Picture will be captured but a message will be appear mentioning that "Picture saved but unable to apply focus contrast effect, Subject not detected.". After having lots of try I managed to shot only 3 pictures in selective focus mode.
I might be doing wrong that's why picture is not capturing in selective focus mode. If anyone knows how to successfully capture shot in selective focus, please let me know. I am really interested to know how to use it.
You need an object within 50 cm and background should be 150cm behind the object for the best results. I think the results are best when you have only 1 object close (or a cluster of objects close - but nothing fragmented all over the place).
I actually had the same problem today. But it suddenly worked when I tryed to take a photo with the phone "standing".. Then it worked!
So I ran some tests - by comparing the Idol3 camera with my 4 year old Panasonic ZS7 P&S camera . What I have noticed that at low ISO - keeping both cameras stationary - the results are pretty close. For indoor pictures, what I have noticed is that the Idol3 flash does not come on easily. But this appears to be a general smartphone thing, because my Galaxy Exhibit camera is doing the same thing. Instead of turning the flash on , the Idol3 is bumping up the ISO to over 2000 ! This results in very grainy pictures.
So one way to ensure better pictures *could* be to follow this rule -- Outdoor - set ISO=100 always . Indoors - set ISO=200 , and set flash to forced.
Also - I noticed that the front camera can go to down to ISO 50 - whereas the back camera only goes down to ISO-100 .
I will do some more tests in the coming weekend. Does anyone know of a camera app that will tell me the shutter speed the camera is going to use *before* taking the picture? That way I can decide whether I need to bump up the ISO to speed up the shutter.
Some samples
Here are some sample pictures - in outdoor sunlit conditions --> https://goo.gl/photos/ckxAPRmKo3PWJTat8
I would like to hear what y'all think.
I have a slight amendment to my earlier suggestion. I noticed that for indoor shots, if I cap ISO to 200, it is slowing down the shutter leading to a shaky, and therefore, blurred picture. A grainy picture is still better than a blurred picture. So I think a better approach would be to force the flash, and then set the shutter to 1/30, and allow it to bump the ISO if it has to. The stock camera app has a manual mode where it allows setting shutter speed.
For outdoor pictures I am using 'A Better Camera' - free version. It allows me to set and save the ISO setting to ISO-100. Also it allows me to pick the auto-focus mode to AF-Lock. I think a lot of blurred pictures are because of focus issues. AF-lock allows you to focus on a specific object, and then lock it so that the phone is not constantly re-focusing. Another trick that can be considered is to use a 2-second timer, to prevent shake due to touching the screen for taking the picture. .
I will try some indoor shots next, as well as the RAW mode and then post when I have them.
Good info
i tried the oppo colorOS camera idk if its a placebo effect but i kinda notices good pictures sadly i cant take 50mp pictures like that phone yet has 13mp camera too using that same sensor it just stitches the best pics zoomed in into one making an illusion of 50mp
stl1859 said:
Here are some sample pictures - in outdoor sunlit conditions --> https://goo.gl/photos/ckxAPRmKo3PWJTat8
I would like to hear what y'all think.
I have a slight amendment to my earlier suggestion. I noticed that for indoor shots, if I cap ISO to 200, it is slowing down the shutter leading to a shaky, and therefore, blurred picture. A grainy picture is still better than a blurred picture. So I think a better approach would be to force the flash, and then set the shutter to 1/30, and allow it to bump the ISO if it has to. The stock camera app has a manual mode where it allows setting shutter speed.
For outdoor pictures I am using 'A Better Camera' - free version. It allows me to set and save the ISO setting to ISO-100. Also it allows me to pick the auto-focus mode to AF-Lock. I think a lot of blurred pictures are because of focus issues. AF-lock allows you to focus on a specific object, and then lock it so that the phone is not constantly re-focusing. Another trick that can be considered is to use a 2-second timer, to prevent shake due to touching the screen for taking the picture. .
I will try some indoor shots next, as well as the RAW mode and then post when I have them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think the photos look great. Nice dynamic range and colors.
Have you tried using the manual mode of the stock camera to change the settings?
vk135 said:
Have you tried using the manual mode of the stock camera to change the settings?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes . The problem with the stock camera app is that it always starts in the auto-mode. It would be nice if it remembered the prior setting, but does not. For someone like me that likes a lot of manual controls ( shutter , aperture, ISO etc. etc. ) , this is a big pain if I have to switch to manual mode every time I take a picture. When in manual mode, it does not save any prior settings. So not only do I have to switch to manual mode, I then have to open another dialog and set the ISO to my liking. That in my opinion is way too cumbersome. In this respect, 'A Better Camera' is slightly better. It allows me to specify which settings it should remember between launches. So I can ask it to always remember the ISO and auto-focus modes. It does appear to have a bug , in that it does not display the modes correctly. So on start-up, it is telling me that it is on ISO-Auto - when I set it to ISO-100 - and when I actually take the picture, I do see that the ISO-100 was picked. Another problem with that app is that it does not allow setting of shutter speed, which the stock camera app does.
So I really haven't found any one camera app that does everything I want . But in doing this research , I am realizing how big of a pain using a smartphone as a camera can be. I really wish Alcatel had a model with no front and back camera and for $50 less ! That would be the perfect device for me
RAW capture
I managed to try out the RAW capture functionality of the camera.
Here is the unprocessed TIFF file, created from a .DNG using dcraw >> https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B960wOI9V0CfWGpmRUxicVpLZDg/view?usp=sharing
Here is a jpeg - taken using the 'A Better Camera' app , of the same scene, at pretty much the same time >> https://goo.gl/photos/xUcHGp5B9triKSNC8
From what I can tell, the image generated from the RAW capture has better color reproduction.
stl1859 said:
I managed to try out the RAW capture functionality of the camera.
Here is the unprocessed TIFF file, created from a .DNG using dcraw >> https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B960wOI9V0CfWGpmRUxicVpLZDg/view?usp=sharing
Here is a jpeg - taken using the 'A Better Camera' app , of the same scene, at pretty much the same time >> https://goo.gl/photos/xUcHGp5B9triKSNC8
From what I can tell, the image generated from the RAW capture has better color reproduction.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What camera app are you using to get RAW captures?
Borghi said:
What camera app are you using to get RAW captures?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This one --> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=troop.com.freedcam&hl=en
is there any apps that can take 50mp pictures like the oppo camera? it uses a trick that takes and stitches various photos into one now thats awesome
Took this shot of the moon using the default camera in manual mode. iso 100, 1/1000. Strangely the exif says the aperture is 2.5 not 2.0 like the specs say.
Using the camera is probably the last thing I use my phone for. I would think that someone would have created a camera app where you can change all the settings you want and save that profile then make as many profiles as you want for various situations.
I do not use my phone as a camera either . Actually I am surprised ( at myself ) why I spent so much time testing it out ! Anyway, I found an app called 'Open Camera' - which seems to have almost all the features I was looking for. It allows me to set ISO and AF-lock - and actually saves those settings between launches. It also has a mode where if it is running and you lock the phone, hitting the power button again brings the camera right back . I find that useful because now I can lock the screen between shots - and still get the camera back relatively quickly. Without that I had to leave the screen on, and I was getting a lot of accidental shots. The UI isn't that great looking, but it is functional.
Here is the link >> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.sourceforge.opencamera&hl=en
Shodan5150 said:
Using the camera is probably the last thing I use my phone for. I would think that someone would have created a camera app where you can change all the settings you want and save that profile then make as many profiles as you want for various situations.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pretty sure Camera Zoom FX does what you are talking about. I made it the default camera app. It was free on amazon however at some point or another I purchased it on google play for $0.10. A special promo where a bunch of apps were $0.10 each I think. Anyway might want to check it or camera360 out....opencamera is a nice free open source one (If I remember right).
My primary usage for the camera on my phones is to run the paperkarma app so I can submit junkmail to have my name/address removed from their mailing lists. Has helped to thin the junkmail down over time.
I haven't used the camera too much but I am not disappointed in it so far. For the price, I can't complain. It seems to take the pics fairly quickly which is a good thing.
open camera is also good ive tried it and no problems for me
Has anyone found ANY camera app that allows you to save the pics to the SD card? I've tried a bunch yet they all complain that KK(!) doesn't allow saving to SD card YET the stock camera app does allow it.
ItsDon said:
Has anyone found ANY camera app that allows you to save the pics to the SD card? I've tried a bunch yet they all complain that KK(!) doesn't allow saving to SD card YET the stock camera app does allow it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In my case - both 'A Better Camera' and 'Open Camera' were unable to save to the external micro SD. It does not bother me, because it is probably better for the camera to write directly to internal storage , in the interest of speed. I can always move those files using ES File Explorer - or by plugging the phone in.
ISO_HJR
I think I found another trick that can help the picture quality with the Camera. The 'Open Camera' app supports an ISO setting called 'ISO_HJR' - HJR stands for Hand Jitter Reduction, and it is Google's way of bumping up the ISO while keeping the shutter fast, to prevent blur due to shake. I used that to take some picture under overcast conditions today, and I was pleasantly surprised with the results. The exif on the pictures say that the ISO is bumped upwards of 400 - but the picture does not appear to be too grainy . I am not sure what exactly is going on , but this seems like a good option to use.
Also 'Open Camera' allows me to save with a JPEG compression of 100% - This results in 8MB+ files for each picture .
I love the 360 degree panorama mode - I had been thinking about buying a separate camera to take these kinds of pictures, but the inbuilt option on the camera works well enough and only misses a small area of the scene at the top and bottom which is no problem.
The only issue I have with it is that the panoramas come out looking quite dark. Normally this isn't an issue as you can do some quick touch ups in Google Photos but I've found this seems to remove the "pano tag" or whatever it is that allows the phone to recognise its as a spherical photo.
Is there an easy way to edit these photos but have the phone (and Facebook or wherever else you can upload these photos) still recognise that there are 360 degree spheres?
Thanks