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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ooops, error.

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

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

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

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

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

Great pics! :good:

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

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

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

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

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

Using the camera: best practices

Would be great if we had a thread with some tips how to get the best photos with the Z1.
Any tips? Please share. I for one would love to dive in the magical world of digital photography. Think the Z1 is a great starting point.
Maybe we could even use this knowledge to create an awesome camera app for our z1.

I dont have a Z1 yet (planning to get one soon as my contract expires) but from what I have reading, Manual mode + Iso 50-200 seems to get the best result.

appelflap said:
Would be great if we had a thread with some tips how to get the best photos with the Z1.
Any tips? Please share. I for one would love to dive in the magical world of digital photography. Think the Z1 is a great starting point.
Maybe we could even use this knowledge to create an awesome camera app for our z1.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, here's a couple of tips to start you off:-
1. Noise is an issue with the current camera firmware.
The best way to address this is to shoot in Manual mode where you will have a greater control over the shot.
Look at the ISO value and where possible change it to ISO 50. This will give the clearest noise free image possible.
2. Don't use Digital Zoom. Frame correctly and crop your images.
Often I hear of owners looking to zoom in as much as possible before taking the shot.
Whilst that is fine and dandy on cameras which have lens that support optical zoom, never ever use digital zoom.
Instead, take the shot using the full coverage of the shot (no zoom). This will then allow you to 'crop' the image to whatever zoom you wish and you can perform as many crops as you wish from one shot (top, bottom, left, right, centre of a shot)
---------- Post added at 09:13 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:10 AM ----------
Morlock O said:
I dont have a Z1 yet (planning to get one soon as my contract expires) but from what I have reading, Manual mode + Iso 50-200 seems to get the best result.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Apologies..... You posted this whilst I was compiling my post above.

Morlock O said:
I dont have a Z1 yet (planning to get one soon as my contract expires) but from what I have reading, Manual mode + Iso 50-200 seems to get the best result.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Beards said:
Well, here's a couple of tips to start you off:-
1. Noise is an issue with the current camera firmware.
The best way to address this is to shoot in Manual mode where you will have a greater control over the shot.
Look at the ISO value and where possible change it to ISO 50. This will give the clearest noise free image possible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Aha! And which resolution do you advice in this mode? The full 20 MP resolution?
Beards said:
2. Don't use Digital Zoom. Frame correctly and crop your images.
Often I hear of owners looking to zoom in as much as possible before taking the shot.
Whilst that is fine and dandy on cameras which have lens that support optical zoom, never ever use digital zoom.
Instead, take the shot using the full coverage of the shot (no zoom). This will then allow you to 'crop' the image to whatever zoom you wish and you can perform as many crops as you wish from one shot (top, bottom, left, right, centre of a shot)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I saw an ad off Sony in which they suggested that one could do a 3x digital zoom without a compromise in quality. But I agree, why not take a full frame shot and zoom afterwards.
Btw nice to see you here Beards. How is your HD2

appelflap said:
Aha! And which resolution do you advice in this mode? The full 20 MP resolution?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Depends on the shot...
If I still want to use Image Stabiizer or HDR I will change from 20MP to 8MP as 20MP does not support either of these features.
Further, for night shots the camera lens is not looking for stacks of detail. As such often for night shooting you can get away with a lower pixel shot.
I saw an ad off Sony in which they suggested that one could do a 3x digital zoom without a compromise in quality. But I agree, why not take a full frame shot and zoom afterwards.
Btw nice to see you here Beards. How is your HD2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you can do the 3x digital but once you have done it this can lead to the next shot being over zoomed, that and it's always better to crop as you know.
P.S. Yes mate..... Nice to see you too.
And yes, I still have the HD2. Kept it for sentimental reasons

If Sony fixes the camera software, we'll all see a enormous difference in quality! Setting everything to manual will give you much better results. Now I tried the "Focal" camera app from the Playstore, and the low light shots are really, really awesome! The app itself is very minimalistic, but produces stunning results with the Z1! Give it a go, I'll try to upload some shots I took when I'm home!

Beards said:
And yes, I still have the HD2. Kept it for sentimental reasons
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
kept and still using mine hehe, anyway shouldnt we zoom in 3x losless(?) first then crop the photo? any further zoom than 3x is going to substantially lose the quality then?
im hoping to get my Z1 tmorrow so i can try out my theory hehe

Anadinolin said:
kept and still using mine hehe, anyway shouldnt we zoom in 3x losless(?) first then crop the photo? any further zoom than 3x is going to substantially lose the quality then?
im hoping to get my Z1 tmorrow so i can try out my theory hehe
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ahh a fellow HD2 user. We are but a dying breed...
Re the 3x lossless digital zoom.
There are two issues here:-
1. All the 3x lossless zoom does is do what cropping does . It just restricts it to 3x to avoid over zooming where the shot would then look too pixelated.
2. Once you apply 3x zoom on any image that is it, you can't go back and say "blast! I should have zoomed in a bit less".
At least with the full frame you can make as many different crops as you like and apply it to any part of the image.
In other words where digital shooting is concerned shoot full then crop. 9 times out of 10 the software PP will handle it better anyway.

I would advice to download a more capable camera app for the moment until Sony fixes the severa problems they are having.
Otherwise I would NOT recommend using the Auto mode because right now it's seriously underperforming choosing the Manual setting would allow you for more options of course.
Turn off stabilization when capturing videos if you value the field of view because it's not OIS, this is Digital meaning it is cropping the picture instead otherwise the Steayshot feature is pretty solid

8 MP Superior Auto vs 15 MP Superior Auto

Hi everyone,
As i have rooted my Z2, i was able to install Xposed Framework. In Xposed Modes i found a mode which 'force' camera to use full 20 mp (or 15 mp in wide shot) in Superior Auto Mode. I have taken some pics to compare quality but couldn't understand anything. As i know, many of you guys are very interested in photography and know a lot about it, i decided to share some pics with you and let you decide which is better. Here's the link of 4 pics, 2 of them in 8 mp and 2 with 15 mp. (The names of the files indicate 'MP'): https://www.dropbox.com/sh/vvpghc7w187b1ia/_uUAk9NFry
Can provide more shots if needed.

Mano1982 said:
Hi everyone,
As i have rooted my Z2, i was able to install Xposed Framework. In Xposed Modes i found a mode which 'force' camera to use full 20 mp (or 15 mp in wide shot) in Superior Auto Mode. I have taken some pics to compare quality but couldn't understand anything. As i know, many of you guys are very interested in photography and know a lot about it, i decided to share some pics with you and let you decide which is better. Here's the link of 4 pics, 2 of them in 8 mp and 2 with 15 mp. (The names of the files indicate 'MP'): https://www.dropbox.com/sh/vvpghc7w187b1ia/_uUAk9NFry
Can provide more shots if needed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great effort. Somehow I noticed the 15 mp has a wider angle. Generally they look very close and still very good quality for both, maybe different lighting conditions and in daylight too maybe easier to distinguish which is best.

There is a great discussion on quality 8MP and 20MP. Many say 8Mp is better than 20MP, which contain more vivid colors. This video explains a little about!
We could try posting pictures!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFP3Un1mRmY

ASD007 said:
Great effort. Somehow I noticed the 15 mp has a wider angle. Generally they look very close and still very good quality for both, maybe different lighting conditions and in daylight too maybe easier to distinguish which is best.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your feedback, mate Check the folder again, just poster some more shots. As it's night in Norway now, i couldn't take daylight photos. Will do it tomorrow..
BR4DOKYBrazil said:
There is a great discussion on quality 8MP and 20MP. Many say 8Mp is better than 20MP, which contain more vivid colors. This video explains a little about!
We could try posting pictures!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFP3Un1mRmY
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your feedback, mate I will take more pictures in daylight tomorrow. Problem is that whenever you enable or disable mod, you have to reboot the phone

Hey can you also let us know what you lost from rooting? DRM etc?

robt772000 said:
Hey can you also let us know what you lost from rooting? DRM etc?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Or that could stay in one of the other threads about rooting and bootloader and drm and this one could be about pictures. This thread has potential.
Sent from my D6503 using Tapatalk

jiggyb21 said:
Or that could stay in one of the other threads about rooting and bootloader and drm and this one could be about pictures. This thread has potential.
Sent from my D6503 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been here a lot longer than you son. Don't go telling me what to do.
Its still relevant.

robt772000 said:
I've been here a lot longer than you son. Don't go telling me what to do.
Its still relevant.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Somehow I knew you were going to say that.
The reason I felt brash enough to say something is because half of all my posts since I've been here have been on that exact topic in other threads that explain in detail what is lost and what isn't. I know for a fact there's info available to answer your question without changing the topic of this thread. I'd link them for you but I'm about to watch Game of Thrones.... And don't get so bent out shape, I'm sure you've scolded more than one person in your long tenure here.
Sent from my D6503 using Tapatalk

jiggyb21 said:
Somehow I knew you were going to say that.
The reason I felt brash enough to say something is because half of all my posts since I've been here have been on that exact topic in other threads that explain in detail what is lost and what isn't. I know for a fact there's info available to answer your question without changing the topic of this thread. I'd link them for you but I'm about to watch Game of Thrones.... And don't get so bent out shape, I'm sure you've scolded more than one person in your long tenure here.
Sent from my D6503 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep no worries. I'm just a fiery biker.
I heard the camera can break from unlocking.

I haven't lost anything that I'm aware of...

robt772000 said:
Yep no worries. I'm just a fiery biker.
I heard the camera can break from unlocking.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You motivated me to finally put up an avatar.

From my tests and I've done a lot of them since I got the phone last month.
8mp in manual mode with my own settings produced the best results in all lighting conditions. Focusing for me is the z2's greatest problem and one which gets worse the more you increase the resolution.
From the watch photo the OP posted, you can clearly see that the 8mp sample is better focused. At 8mp, everything is better, detail preservation, focus, contrast and dynamic range. Yes you can't zoom in as far as you can with the 15 and 20.7mp snaps but the quality is noticeably better.
Sent from my D6503 using XDA Free mobile app

Thanks, very interesting!
Quality is comparable, actually at certain shots SA at 8MP is maybe a more consistently detailed, 15MP is sometimes a little noisier and I don't see much quality edge.
Where this can be very useful however is shooting large resolution full 4:3 frame SA images, as on stock we're limited to 8MP @16:9. It makes sense to give the full 4:3 option, and I'd love to see some 8MP vs. 20MP SA comparisons, if you have the time. :good:

robt772000 said:
I've been here a lot longer than you son. Don't go telling me what to do.
Its still relevant.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are lots of us who have been here longer than you son :silly:

Haha. Internet's is fun.

Photographer's perspective on the LG G3

These topics have been widely discussed, I just find this funny. I do professional photography, and I thought this phone would be great for me. Not only could I show off my photos on a glorious 2k screen, but it was supposed to have a great off-duty camera as well. Ironically, it's instead hitting some photographer pet peeves real bad.
1) The screen sharpening is bad. I see amateur photographers get over enthusiastic on sharpening, cause the sharper the better, right? No, you make ugly artifacts like halos. Now my entire phone does it nonstop. It hurts! This goes beyond the font issue that's widely been talked about. I love viewing photos through my Nexus 7 or HTC M7 because it's like looking through a window. Photos on the G3 just look artifical.
2) Another is the camera noise reduction. Noise is bad, so let's crank the noise reduction. No, some grain and more detail is much preferable to pics that look like watercolors.
3) I knew this one going in, but as the Andantech review pointed out, the color accuracy is bad. I can spend time editing a photo on my phone and paste it to Facebook, just to realize once I'm viewing on a pc that the pic looks nothing like my meticulous edit. Great.
I know I'm hypersensitive to these issues because of my profession. My wife didn't notice the sharpening. But it's funny that what I thought would be my ideal phone is such the opposite.

supposedmonster said:
3) I knew this one going in, but as the Andantech review pointed out, the color accuracy is bad. I can spend time editing a photo on my phone and paste it to Facebook, just to realize once I'm viewing on a pc that the pic looks nothing like my meticulously edit. Great.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How long ago was last time you calibrated your PC monitor? Does your monitor have sRGB mode? And, BTW, maybe you even use some notebook with cheap junky TN panel in the first place? :laugh:

I use an ASUS PA246 wide gamut monitor regularly calibrated with a Colormunki Display, so yes, I have a good benchmark.
Sent from my LG-D851 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

supposedmonster said:
so yes, I have a good benchmark.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad for you, well then did you try to compare pix from the net to view both on monitor and on G3 and compare colors? Like I did
Check that topic also, maybe you bought G3 with blueish panel

Man this was not an easy shot to pull off. It's hard to tell from the pic, but LG is on the left and Nexus 7 is on the bottom. The LG would equate to quite a few notches of saturation boost in Lightroom.
This photo doesn't quite show it well, but the Nexus is actually slightly less saturated than the calibrated monitor.
The colors aren't that bad in either devices (I mean you can only expect so much, I get these aren't meant to be crazy calibrated panels), but I'd rather edit on the Nexus and find them slightly more vibrant on other devices than on the LG and find it decidedly dull.
Sent from my LG-D851 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

supposedmonster said:
These topics have been widely discussed, I just find this funny. I do professional photography, and I thought this phone would be great for me. Not only could I show off my photos on a glorious 2k screen, but it was supposed to have a great off-duty camera as well. Ironically, it's instead hitting some photographer pet peeves real bad.
1) The screen sharpening is bad. I see amateur photographers get over enthusiastic on sharpening, cause the sharper the better, right? No, you make ugly artifacts like halos. Now my entire phone does it nonstop. It hurts! This goes beyond the font issue that's widely been talked about. I love viewing photos through my Nexus 7 or HTC M7 because it's like looking through a window. Photos on the G3 just look artifical.
2) Another is the camera noise reduction. Noise is bad, so let's crank the noise reduction. No, some grain and more detail is much preferable to pics that look like watercolors.
3) I knew this one going in, but as the Andantech review pointed out, the color accuracy is bad. I can spend time editing a photo on my phone and paste it to Facebook, just to realize once I'm viewing on a pc that the pic looks nothing like my meticulous edit. Great.
I know I'm hypersensitive to these issues because of my profession. My wife didn't notice the sharpening. But it's funny that what I thought would be my ideal phone is such the opposite.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm just curious about number 3 up there, and I'm not trying to be an ass, but why would any professional photographer spend time editing a photo on a phone meticulously, instead of putting the photo on the PC and editing it with PS? I mean, if you edit it with the PC, its a lot easier, and you also get a WYSIWYG.

Haha, well my camera has WiFi. When in on vacation it's fun being able to post professional quality pics to social media from my phone.
Sent from my LG-D851 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

The G3 display can be somewhat manually adjusted in color contrast, did you tweak it a bit? Maybe it'll improve.

Thanks, I have read about that. Without being able to use a preview image to calibrate I think it'd drive me crazy. Plus I doubt it'll help because it seems to only adjust color and contrast, not saturation, which is the bigger issue.
What bugs me more though is the sharpening, but I have faith that'll be fixed either by LG or the community since enough people have raised a hallaboo.
Sent from my LG-D851 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

I can live with the screen sharpening (since it's all software and don't affect the photos themselves). I can also live with so-so color reproduction. But gawd, that NR pisses me off. What's the point of having a good sensor when you're gonna mess up the photos with mediocre processing. That being said... photos still look pretty decent in good lighting ;P

supposedmonster said:
These topics have been widely discussed, I just find this funny. I do professional photography, and I thought this phone would be great for me. Not only could I show off my photos on a glorious 2k screen, but it was supposed to have a great off-duty camera as well. Ironically, it's instead hitting some photographer pet peeves real bad.
1) The screen sharpening is bad. I see amateur photographers get over enthusiastic on sharpening, cause the sharper the better, right? No, you make ugly artifacts like halos. Now my entire phone does it nonstop. It hurts! This goes beyond the font issue that's widely been talked about. I love viewing photos through my Nexus 7 or HTC M7 because it's like looking through a window. Photos on the G3 just look artifical.
2) Another is the camera noise reduction. Noise is bad, so let's crank the noise reduction. No, some grain and more detail is much preferable to pics that look like watercolors.
3) I knew this one going in, but as the Andantech review pointed out, the color accuracy is bad. I can spend time editing a photo on my phone and paste it to Facebook, just to realize once I'm viewing on a pc that the pic looks nothing like my meticulous edit. Great.
I know I'm hypersensitive to these issues because of my profession. My wife didn't notice the sharpening. But it's funny that what I thought would be my ideal phone is such the opposite.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am sorry but you have me totally confused.......
I agree the G3 does have over sharpening which depending on how and what you shoot can have detrimental effects on the scene shot.
However, why on earth are you getting so annoyed with what is in effect simply a smartphone camera sensor?
Although I do not take photos as a profession I have however owned a camera since... Hang on a second......1963. Throughout time I learned many various methods and art in photography, travelling the world shooting all manner of photos with compacts and SLR's to the more recent DSLR and smartphone.
Yet, there is no way on earth would I take a professional shot with a smartphone nor would I expect it to achieve something which could be of use in a professional manner.
I do apologies but it does annoy me when I hear from someone first stating they are a 'professional' and use this word as their basis for a debate.
If you have an issue with the G3, fine I can live with that as you are very much correct, certain aspects of the software could be improved but let us not forget.
1. It is a smartphone.
2. It is software which means if you do not like the camera app that controls the shooting then use a different camera app.
I personally use the app 'A Better Camera' which is excellent.
I am sure as a professional photographer you must have heard of this app and learned the author is not just another coder but does have an understanding of photography.
With 'A Better Camera' as your tool you will find first it gives you back the manual controls and second it then allows you to be as creative as a smartphone will allow you.
Having said all this I have never ever ever been happy letting the camera dictate the shot but the G3 is the first type of camera that I am happy shooting 'casual photography' in auto mode.

Beards said:
I am sorry but you have me totally confused.......
I agree the G3 does have over sharpening which depending on how and what you shoot can have detrimental effects on the scene shot.
However, why on earth are you getting so annoyed with what is in effect simply a smartphone camera sensor?
Although I do not take photos as a profession I have however owned a camera since... Hang on a second......1963. Throughout time I learned many various methods and art in photography, travelling the world shooting all manner of photos with compacts and SLR's to the more recent DSLR and smartphone.
Yet, there is no way on earth would I take a professional shot with a smartphone nor would I expect it to achieve something which could be of use in a professional manner.
I do apologies but it does annoy me when I hear from someone first stating they are a 'professional' and use this word as their basis for a debate.
If you have an issue with the G3, fine I can live with that as you are very much correct, certain aspects of the software could be improved but let us not forget.
1. It is a smartphone.
2. It is software which means if you do not like the camera app that controls the shooting then use a different camera app.
I personally use the app 'A Better Camera' which is excellent.
I am sure as a professional photographer you must have heard of this app and learned the author is not just another coder but does have an understanding of photography.
With 'A Better Camera' as your tool you will find first it gives you back the manual controls and second it then allows you to be as creative as a smartphone will allow you.
Having said all this I have never ever ever been happy letting the camera dictate the shot but the G3 is the first type of camera that I am happy shooting 'casual photography' in auto mode.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Speaking of which, is it possible to set long exposure (for night shots with a tripod, for example) with A Better Camera? Other than the automatic "Night Shot"...

fabripav said:
Speaking of which, is it possible to set long exposure (for night shots with a tripod, for example) with A Better Camera? Other than the automatic "Night Shot"...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not presently...... But note, this is not the problem with the G3 or A Better Camera.
It is Android or should I say Google who limited the speed to just under 1sec.
However, under Android L all will change as among the 400+ camera api's introduced camera speed is one of them. So 'hopefully' developers will raise to the challenge and add this vital missing setting.

Beards said:
Not presently...... But note, this is not the problem with the G3 or A Better Camera.
It is Android or should I say Google who limited the speed to just under 1sec.
However, under Android L all will change as among the 400+ camera api's introduced camera speed is one of them. So 'hopefully' developers will raise to the challenge and add this vital missing setting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, can't wait for that update for many reasons, camera included.
It's weird though that the Oppo Find 7 camera (for example) has a shutter speed that goes up to 32 seconds. How did they manage to make it avalaible? The sensor is a simple Sony IMX214.
I wonder if all the features of Camera FV-5 work on the G3, anyone tried it yet? (my G3 has yet to arrive)

fabripav said:
Yeah, can't wait for that update for many reasons, camera included.
It's weird though that the Oppo Find 7 camera (for example) has a shutter speed that goes up to 32 seconds. How did they manage to make it avalaible? The sensor is a simple Sony IMX214.
I wonder if all the features of Camera FV-5 work on the G3, anyone tried it yet? (my G3 has yet to arrive)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Oppo Find 7's camera doesn't actually keep the lens open for 32 seconds, it does a trick similar to what Camera FV-5 does in that it takes a series of shots from a thumbnail (hence why it's small and lacks any detail).
Re your query on Camera FV-5 ~ everything with the exception of ISO works. With ISO the dials say it has altered ISO but when you take the shot you find it has altered nothing.
A Better Camera on the other hand does alter the settings and does apply them to the shot.
It's the only app out there which utilises all the manual controls that are open to write permission, this also includes AE and WB Lock which again no other camera app uses.

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fabripav said:
Yeah, can't wait for that update for many reasons, camera included.
It's weird though that the Oppo Find 7 camera (for example) has a shutter speed that goes up to 32 seconds. How did they manage to make it avalaible? The sensor is a simple Sony IMX214.
I wonder if all the features of Camera FV-5 work on the G3, anyone tried it yet? (my G3 has yet to arrive)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes it does. I haven't tried the long exposure in FV-5 though.
Beards said:
Re your query on Camera FV-5 ~ everything with the exception of ISO works. With ISO the dials say it has altered ISO but when you take the shot you find it has altered nothing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Camera FV-5's ISO setting works fine for me.
ISO 100 1/60 F/2.4
http://i1.minus.com/iMbhMmPuhI3Es.JPG
ISO 1600 1/680 F/2.4
http://i7.minus.com/iNJO0u9CN5xvf.JPG
I'm a photographer (;P). I know what I'm talking about.

You have the D851 which is Tmob.. which doesnt have the sharpening effect.. at least anecdotally. same model i have and theres zero sharpening going on. the colors mind you are off, but its no galaxy S4 or G2.. but as was stated dont plan to edit on your phone and you wont be frustrated by using the wrong tool for the job.
dont bring a 400mm telephoto zoom to a job that requires a 35mm prime or vice versa.

Itaintrite said:
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Yes it does. I haven't tried the long exposure in FV-5 though.
Camera FV-5's ISO setting works fine for me.
ISO 100 1/60 F/2.4
http://i1.minus.com/iMbhMmPuhI3Es.JPG
ISO 1600 1/680 F/2.4
http://i7.minus.com/iNJO0u9CN5xvf.JPG
I'm a photographer (;P). I know what I'm talking about.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really...... Thank you.
When was the App last updated?

Beards said:
Really...... Thank you.
When was the App last updated?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm using v1.7.3. Updated June 27th.

Itaintrite said:
I'm using v1.7.3. Updated June 27th.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great... I'll give it another go against A Better Camera; although ABC does have many more controls.

My LG G4 Photography

Hey everyone,
I'm lucky to have had the G4 for a few weeks now and I think the camera is amazing... really great in low light and always sharp (thanks to the OIS). You can see my photos on my Flickr page: https://flic.kr/s/aHsk8MDaG2
If you have any questions I'll be happy to answer them
Alex

Fantastic!!! looking awesome, make me feel even better with my G4 cam
Look at mine, still noob to photography though https://imgur.com/a/tqbEJ

Cool shots! Have you played with the manual mode much?

Brilliant photos! I think it's a brilliant camera...I do think the colour is slightly flushed out in some of the 'nature' shots...more vibrant on the S6 camera...but when you consider ALL phones features, the G4 craps on the S6 overall.

alexfoxy said:
Hey everyone,
I'm lucky to have had the G4 for a few weeks now and I think the camera is amazing... really great in low light and always sharp (thanks to the OIS). You can see my photos on my Flickr page: https://flic.kr/s/aHsk8MDaG2
If you have any questions I'll be happy to answer them
Alex
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
These pics are amazing! Good work men. I'm pretty good with camera's as press photographer, but I could learn from you ^^
---------- Post added at 07:30 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:27 AM ----------
roosta said:
Brilliant photos! I think it's a brilliant camera...I do think the colour is slightly flushed out in some of the 'nature' shots...more vibrant on the S6 camera...but when you consider ALL phones features, the G4 craps on the S6 overall.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Best option is to shoot in DNG and edit those images in a program like Photoshop or Lightroom. A standard DNG file will look like **** untill you play around with the settings, you will get great contrast, colours

I'm planning to go to Japan in October. I'm a photography noob, any tip for me for taking quick quality pictures? Will probably do a lot of urban, nature and landscape photos.

I love this Cam, i have not played much with it, here are some fast Shots:
https://goo.gl/photos/tS5MbVFfTF4WRvyK8
especially this one has amazed me, i shot this while it was very breezy outside and the Flower was fast moving in the Wind ....
https://goo.gl/photos/9sDi89uvFoESdVrm7
great shot's from alexfoxy & roosta !!!

Best option is to shoot in DNG and edit those images in a program like Photoshop or Lightroom. A standard DNG file will look like **** untill you play around with the settings, you will get great contrast, colours
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wish something like snapseed could open DNGs.. I like to be able to do everything on my phone. I know you can get Light Room but I don't wanna pay $10 a month subscription really.. are there any other options?
roosta said:
Brilliant photos! I think it's a brilliant camera...I do think the colour is slightly flushed out in some of the 'nature' shots...more vibrant on the S6 camera...but when you consider ALL phones features, the G4 craps on the S6 overall.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! I agree sometimes they are a bit over saturated when shot in JPEG. DNG is much more natural but they require a bit more work to edit!

VERY nice mate! SImply, fantastic! I've ordered a tripod with telescopic lens... looking forward to taking some landscape pictures
---------- Post added at 10:59 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:51 AM ----------
Guys, how to to set up the camera if I want to shot fast-moving objects, like motorcycles or cars...? Sorry, I know it's off-topic, but I really am curious!

#london #city #skyline by alex fox, on Flickr
Not seen a 5:4 aspect in a while but it works well here.
What are your major uses for snapseed ? i can see it was used for cropping, adding filters here & there. anything else.

AndroidCity said:
Best option is to shoot in DNG and edit those images in a program like Photoshop or Lightroom. A standard DNG file will look like **** untill you play around with the settings, you will get great contrast, colours
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Spot on...the only issue there is, I dpn't think we have Adobe Lightroom for Andriod yet, lol...and it can take a few minutes of mucking around if you are meticulous with bright, deep contrasting colours...the S6 does this better than the G4, but as you have said, shootingin RAW/DNG format allows you countless possibilities if you have the program and are prepared to learn and/or spend time in Lr fixing it up.
RoOSTA

roosta said:
Spot on...the only issue there is, I dpn't think we have Adobe Lightroom for Andriod yet, lol...and it can take a few minutes of mucking around if you are meticulous with bright, deep contrasting colours...the S6 does this better than the G4, but as you have said, shootingin RAW/DNG format allows you countless possibilities if you have the program and are prepared to learn and/or spend time in Lr fixing it up.
RoOSTA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually there is Lightroom for android Only I use the pc version

roosta said:
Brilliant photos! I think it's a brilliant camera...I do think the colour is slightly flushed out in some of the 'nature' shots...more vibrant on the S6 camera...but when you consider ALL phones features, the G4 craps on the S6 overall.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
laciii1985 said:
VERY nice mate! SImply, fantastic! I've ordered a tripod with telescopic lens... looking forward to taking some landscape pictures
---------- Post added at 10:59 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:51 AM ----------
Guys, how to to set up the camera if I want to shot fast-moving objects, like motorcycles or cars...? Sorry, I know it's off-topic, but I really am curious!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would use manual mode and set the shutter speed to as fast as possible. Or use auto mode with fast shutter to capture multiple shots.. you'll have to do some experimentation

AndroidCity said:
Actually there is Lightroom for android Only I use the pc version
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Holy crap, they do too! I must admit to never having checked...I'll have more fun with mobile photography now...although with my own personal images I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist and go by my MUCH larger UHD monitor on 'how good something looks'.

One Twelve said:
#london #city #skyline by alex fox, on Flickr
Not seen a 5:4 aspect in a while but it works well here.
What are your major uses for snapseed ? i can see it was used for cropping, adding filters here & there. anything else.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! It wasn't intentional.. I Just cropped it until I thought it looked good!
I use it for pulling out some of the shadows with the "Ambience" control. I also like to bring out some details and sharpness depending on the image. I have used it to add blur and do some spot repairing in some images as well as use the brush to increase/reduce saturation in specific areas. I like the fact you can edit your history and even mask out areas of a certain effect, very useful!

alexfoxy said:
I would use manual mode and set the shutter speed to as fast as possible. Or use auto mode with fast shutter to capture multiple shots.. you'll have to do some experimentation
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll try, thanks!!

laciii1985 said:
I'll try, thanks!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I forgot to say, In auto mode just hold down the shutter to capture lots of consecutive shots have fun!

alexfoxy said:
Thanks! It wasn't intentional.. I Just cropped it until I thought it looked good!
I use it for pulling out some of the shadows with the "Ambience" control. I also like to bring out some details and sharpness depending on the image. I have used it to add blur and do some spot repairing in some images as well as use the brush to increase/reduce saturation in specific areas. I like the fact you can edit your history and even mask out areas of a certain effect, very useful!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The one thing i've always wanted was a levels correction but i've not seen any app on mobile that does it as reliably or as simply as on the pc.
Not auto, just let me set markers with a histogram.

alexfoxy said:
I forgot to say, In auto mode just hold down the shutter to capture lots of consecutive shots have fun!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So beautiful I will share in my Facebook

One Twelve said:
The one thing i've always wanted was a levels correction but i've not seen any app on mobile that does it as reliably or as simply as on the pc.
Not auto, just let me set markers with a histogram.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes true, the built in kitkat editor had it i think?