Camera Zoom - PDA2, XDA IIi, 2020i General

OK, somone tell me if I'm missing something here , but the standard camera app only goes to 2x zoom, whereas the Video MMS app goes to 4x ... how can I get the normal camera app to do 4x zoom??

It's only a fake software zoom.
To gain more zoom you have to decrease camera resolution. But it's a ****in fake. It's not an optical zoom.
s

shaice said:
It's only a fake software zoom.
To gain more zoom you have to decrease camera resolution. But it's a ****in fake. It's not an optical zoom.
s
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So you're not impressed then?? Perhaps you could elucidate further instead of dropping into the vernacular?
... just a thought!

software zoom
What he means is that the Zoom is exactly the same as if you took the picture and increased it's size in photoshop, or did a "zoom in" with any other software on your PDA. It's the same as just stretching it. All digital zooms are like that. Optical zooms are the only way to go for a decent zoom, or you'll only get "bigger pixels", instead of a closer view.
I hope that was clear enough.

@ Karbono - thanks for the clarification even though I am aware of the difference between optical and digital zoom.
I thnik you may have missed my point, as I suspect others will have.
Did shaice really need to swear to enforce the fact he wasn't impressed with the zoom facility?

Cheers for the replies guys. Is there any software for the XDA that can take the pics with digi zoom applied??

You're lucky you can zoom mate, I've never been able to!!!!
My wife has the same model and the same version of ROM and she's never been able to zoom either!!!!
Oh yeah and O2 are rubbish - as soon as my contract expires I'm off to someone else - the XDA is fine though, I just thought I'd use this as an excuse to slate my provider!
Any views expressed are mine - if you agree fine, if you don't - that's you're perogative

sorry TAY for my language
s
ps: as you said: "Any views expressed are mine - if you agree fine, if you don't - that's you're perogative"

Well, funny you should mention O2!
I've was a customer of O2's back in the analogue days when they were Cellnet (early 90's) and was for quite a few years, then I binned them about 4 years ago in favour of Orange, as O2's customer services left a little to be desired.
After a couple of years with Orange, I went to Vodafone, then back to O2 a few months ago because of its better network coverage.
Now I am beginning to realise why I left them in the first place! It took me an hour to get through to them when I moved, just so I could change my address!
But hey, at least my phone works in 99.9% of the places I want it to! As for accident insurance, I'm just glad I get free new for old coverage with my bank, as O2 are crap at that aswell!
*steps off his soapbox and draws breath!*

Related

Videocall, fullscreen?

Hello
Is it possible to see the person you are having a video-conversation with in fullscreen?
With that sharp high resolution VGA screen of ours, do you really need full screen? You can clearly see the detail of both video windows the way it is.
Well, yeah, but would still be nice if it is possible...
Psh, wish I had that problem. Here, stateside, AT&T has the only video calling feature available, "Video share". $4.99 for 4 minutes or $9.99 for 16 minutes per month, and it only streams one way, they can't see you if you're giving them a video stream. Stupid. And yet they'll probably remove the front facing camera on the Touch Pro, because who wants to talk to each other face to face anyways?
Black93300ZX said:
Psh, wish I had that problem. Here, stateside, AT&T has the only video calling feature available, "Video share". $4.99 for 4 minutes or $9.99 for 16 minutes per month, and it only streams one way, they can't see you if you're giving them a video stream. Stupid. And yet they'll probably remove the front facing camera on the Touch Pro, because who wants to talk to each other face to face anyways?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
and you got to the moon...hmmm i begin to believe the "moon on a tv studio" theory
we do gave here full 3g and 3.5 now (don't know and don't care what's that).
video calls are taken as granted here but not many ppl are using it.
lot of pranks but that's another story..
I probably wouldn't use it that much, maybe to talk to my girlfriend who's stuck in Texas for a few weeks but that's about it... I just don't understand why it's not available. I mean, not to say you're not ahead of us, but it's not like Europe blows us away in technological ability... We have 3G pretty much nation wide here, and the phones we have certainly have the capability for a front mounted camera... But they get removed (ie Tilt).
KukurikU said:
and you got to the moon...hmmm i begin to believe the "moon on a tv studio" theory
we do gave here full 3g and 3.5 now (don't know and don't care what's that).
video calls are taken as granted here but not many ppl are using it.
lot of pranks but that's another story..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hear what your saying - Same problem in the UK, its available but not used all that much. I remember those 3g news articles many years ago touting one of the main features of 3g being video calling!
Considering you can video conference over 64k isdn im not sure why it couldn't have been done with Edge!
Full screen would be nice tho!
it's really useful for internet which is not soo painfully slow as gprs
I think the problem is a lack of applications to drive the use of Video calling. Here in Dubai, we have 3G and 3.5G everywhere (KuKuriKu: 3.5 gives you data speeds of up to 7.2 mbps on your mobile if configured properly on the network). The service is available everywhere and most phones on the market come with two cameras and the service itself is very inexpensive yet usage is still quite low. I'm a heavy user and I find that the only time I use the front camera is for MMS- only used video call in the beginning when it was a novelty (apart from the occasional need to tease someone when you're at the pub and they're stuck at the office when only live video will suffice )
Sooo, no one has a suggestion how its done? full screen videocall? :s
well, I'm interested too, in Kaiser videocall settings you are able to set fullscreen videocall, but in our Diamond there are only two options: both pictures (large or small). I was looking for a registry key or something else... anyone?? Thanks.

Camera

Hey there!
Has anyobe found a qualified report about the camera?
Are pictures good? Maybe comparison to XZ or S3?
Thank you!
can't understant well! but if u mean aboutcamera quality or pics taken whit one camera u can search web or gsm-arena hands-on theres a lot! here's link
AW: Camera
Thanks for the quick reply! In the link you posted the camera is only described, there are no details about pictures taken with it. I want to know if pictures are really that good, or if it's just another marketing-thing...
there doesnt seem to be any official reviews yet with actual pictures taken on the phone, all that is said is that its only 4mp camera but the resolution is meant to be much better and lets a lot more light in than previous htc phones
HTC camera's are usually decent, can't wait for a real review!
sturmtruppler said:
Hey there!
Has anyobe found a qualified report about the camera?
Are pictures good? Maybe comparison to XZ or S3?
Thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
neowin.net/news/cameras-htc-one-vs-nokia-lumia-920?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
(XDA won't let me put down url's )
Here are some photo sample between the Lumia 920 vs Htc One.
If you look in the general thread, i've linked one where it is vs the iphone 5 but it shows you image quality, click on the article link and it'll tell you more.
Hello guys first of all may I just say I don't expect anyone to trust me especially without my own evidence (I would have had some if this crap bb didn't die on me while I was down oxford street).
However though after seeing those images vs the iphone btw I thought the images on the one were better than the iphone but inferior to the lumia 920. I decided to hunt the one down again to do some camera tests.
On tuesday on the launch of the one, i went to phones 4 u oxford street (bond street) played with the one for about 3 mins and decided it was better than the z, had better audio, camera/video which is the main things i use on the phone. however that was without side by side comparison.
after seeing the images online posted by the one, i was thinking to myself when i played with it the images looked better than that, so i headed down the whole of oxford street from tottenham court road to bond street in and out of carphone warehouse, three stores and phones 4 u and vodafone like a mad man. finally I went back to the phones 4 u that did the launch and as I walked in i saw they had the one on display however it is bolted down, with both cameras and headset jack covered, so i was disappointed as i though i wouldnt be able to do camera tests. Absolutely gutted i walked out and futher up the road to the three store (opposite selfriges).
walked in and saw they had a dummy of the black version of the one, i asked the staff to they have the real phone one said the rep came earlier and will be back tomorrow about 9am, i thought damn man then one of the staff said hold on ill check if we have the demo phone in the back. She said by the way it is a pre production unit and not final retail unit, anyway she went in the back and came back an there in her hand was a silver one, totally deprived of any restrictions what so ever, so i got a feel of the phone its far better to hold in the hand than the z due to it being smooth (the egdes of the z are rough), also feels and looks smaller than it is and it looks thinner than 9.3mm aswell.
I know audio is better than the z so i got straight to work in comparing front and rear cameras on both phones side by side. I got the staff in the three store to judge which has the better camera aswell.
these are our findings and truthful findings. z was on superior auto setting and one was on its normal auto focus setting i didn't tamper with anything else.
sharpness, colour accuracy (more natural colours), auto focusing and camera speed all favoured the one not to say the camera on the z is rubbish but The z tended to lose focus on objects (same issues that plagued the xperia s/t last year that annoyed me so much) and also letters looked more blurry on the z (i got one of the booklets and was focusing on the letters, the one was far sharper than the z and even just on general objects the one had the sharper camera.
Video (both phones were in 1080p mode on auto focus setting) again was the same story the z was struggling to focus at times, while the one always maintained focus and showed the sharper image and better colour accuracy also better audio aswell.
Even the front camera had clearer more detailed images and videos than the xperia zs front camera, also i tried zooming on the rear camera of the one again it showed more detail on zoom than any other phone I have seen bar the Nokia N8, 808, Lumia 920.
Personally in my opinion and the guys in the three store the camera on the HTC one is remarkable the staff in the three store didn't even know the one only had a 4mp camera they thought it was 13mp it was so good.
This is one of the reasons I rather go hands on with things myself than look on the internet or at reviews and I am urging people to do the same.
You will be surprised about this ultra pixel 4mp camera thing today really showed me and the three staff that its really not all about the megapixels because the ones 4.3mp camera was overall better than the xperia z's 13.1mp camera.
Hey Guys everyone keeps asking about the HTC ONE Ultrapixel camera, so while I was at the London launch I took a couple photographs!
To see more http://www.flickr.com/photos/symbolizm/8499082590/
Lastly if you are looking to buy one of these great phones why not join us at the HTC ONE Users Group over at Flickr to share your photos and discuss all things 'ONE'! http://www.flickr.com/groups/htc-one/
Radiognome said:
Hey Guys everyone keeps asking about the HTC ONE Ultrapixel camera, so while I was at the London launch I took a couple photographs!
To see more http://www.flickr.com/photos/symbolizm/8499082590/
Lastly if you are looking to buy one of these great phones why not join us at the HTC ONE Users Group over at Flickr to share your photos and discuss all things 'ONE'! http://www.flickr.com/groups/htc-one/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not now, hahahahaha. Needs a better model
I went to three store at oxford street and pretending to know nothing about HTC one and a black sales person told me it comes with 16 gb and I disagree but still he keep saying its 16 gb but when I denied he went backdoor and come after 7 min. (dumbo) after some quick research on the net or ask senior employee and confirm its a 32 GB
never ask for any advice or technical stuff to people working in store, they can advice you on only one thing how many model of certain phone they sold and how many and which brands models they got in for repair as faulty full stop

[Q] is this how this camera behaves? is this what is to be expected from it??

OK... first of all I would just like to clarify that though I, as a normal human being when distraught, have to express my disappointment, I am not here to whine and complain just for the sake of complaining. I am not here to just bash down this camera. But I am merely explaining my experience with it so far hoping that you would help me reach some sort of peace-of-mind... So please bare with me, and share with me your thoughts and experiences.
I've been using different compact point-and-shoot cameras for a fairly long time, I was used to taking shots with cameras even before digital ones were commercially available. and I've owned many different phones with cameras all of different qualities. So I know what to expect. I have some sort of a broad sense of what outcome I should remotely expect and what limits I have to stop my hopes at.
Having said that, I have to sadly say that the Samsung Galaxy Camera has been THE WORST camera I have ever owned, probably even one of the devices that caused me the most disappointment.
But I keep asking myself... is this how this camera really is? is this how it's supposed to behave? is this the limits of its abilities?
I wonder because of this little story:
When I bought the camera, I bought it from a "reseller"... meaning that they are not the official dealer in the country for Samsung products nor do they even have direct contact with them. I say and assume this because they're selling the camera with NO WARRANTY. Any other retailer sells it with some sort of guarantee.
I know it was a mistake to go for something without guarantee, especially since I was on a very tight budget. But I still bought it because I REALLY wanted the camera, and they sold it for a price a lot lower than anybody else.
When I first bought, and on the very first use.. after I set up the device, and then started testing the camera, a few minutes later it suddenly shut down completely! Black screen, no response whatsoever. I did a battery pull, and the device would reboot then just as it is supposed to start again, it shut down again, sometimes even with the lens open and stretched out just like that. The only way to restart the camera would be to attach the charger usb to it then reboot it.
The same thing kept happening over and over again, so I took it back to them to change it for me or give me my money back. They tried to get away with it saying that "We told you there's no guarantee". Anyway after a long discussion I forced them to take it and fix it.
A week later, they gave it back.. the problem is gone. But that incidence alone kept me always skeptic... especially that now I'm EXTREMELY disappointed with the outcome of this camera.
Let me show you... and please do tell me, is this how the Galaxy Camera behaves? are these the kind of pictures it can take?
I'm comparing pics to those taken by a Sony HX20V, not for the shear purpose of comparing, but to show that I have no problem holding my hands "normally" stable, and there is no serious problem with the lighting of the place.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/o1sxni5t9sw44x3/20130409_080009.JPG
now compare it to this:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/guh9p21t7yydq99/DSC08308.JPG
Can you see the GREAT difference?? and there's just enough light to capture an at least "decent" image..!
Now look at this one..
https://www.dropbox.com/s/qz1pxtzvybkxi7x/20130409_080040.JPG
Compare it to what the Sony took
https://www.dropbox.com/s/dbgxksjp0om81cz/DSC08310.JPG
Yes the image isn't super sharp and clear but it's extremely acceptable and useable!
Check this one out
https://www.dropbox.com/s/cwivq3mklltq0by/2013-04-09 00.44.00.JPG
notice how it's obvious there's a bright chandelier lit on in the room..
https://www.dropbox.com/s/7key32wi9kvyy2d/DSC08294.JPG
Taken by the cybershot even AFTER the bright light was turned off!!
Now this one was taken outside a couple of hours before sunset.. there was enough light
https://www.dropbox.com/s/kbr9c5wpndqox3p/2013-04-08 18.35.38.JPG
I expected the lousy Galaxy Camera to take something at least remotely similar to what the Sony took
https://www.dropbox.com/s/3bs940xqmssnhy4/DSC08288.JPG
See the great difference?!
Don't miss this one
https://www.dropbox.com/s/9u13ducrbgkghoj/20130410_204801.JPG
Here I'm comparing it to what I captured right at the same place, a couple of minutes apart, with a Galaxy Note N7000!!
https://www.dropbox.com/s/wxyzb5t1o5you9i/2013-04-10 20.49.50.jpg
Do you see now what I'm talking about??
This hideous, annoying, extremely distorting BLUR! Why is it there??
Does this camera have no capability of stabilizing the shots whatsoever??? Why would Samsung release a product that takes pictures worse than a cheap phone camera?!
Then again I have to ask, is this how this camera really takes shots??
I mean look at this:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/fld1vqvjzw2mjrr/2013-04-14 09.49.47.JPG
What is this?? seriously wtf is this?!
and it's only because I zoomed in the lens for only x2.8!! You can see in the background how the sun is glaring and there's more than enough light.. I mean I swear even in extremely well lit conditions like this, zooming is like the picture is writing it's own suicide note!
Yes the camera did take some okay shots here and there.. but without zoom, with my hands leaning against something to help stabilize it further, and after several tries, and waiting for seconds before finally fully pressing the button to take the shot.. so what's the use?? if this is how more than most of the pictures turn out like??
How is this considered a point-and-shoot camera? it's more like point-and-hold-your-breath-completely-and-pray-for-the-best-and-shoot-then-get-disappointed camera!
The way the pictures turn out renders this camera useless! I wanted this to be my primary carry around camera in my travels, in holidays and so... but when it behaves like this, then I will be able to take almost NO decent pictures ever... and this is very very sad because it has great functionalities what with it being based on an android system and all.. I really had very high expectations and they have not been remotely met..
Dear fellow Galaxy Cam owners... please tell me what is wrong? IS there something wrong anyway with the device I have? Did I get some sort of pre-mass-production prototype? Is there a way I can tell if that's so? Because I also noticed that everything in and around the camera is French and nothing but French. We don't bring models made exclusively for the French market here in this country...
So tell me... is this the kind of pictures your cameras are capturing? Are you facing the same problem? Do you suffer from the same UGLY blurring problem??
I'm awaiting your answers, hoping I'd finally be able to reach a resting point from where I can decide what to do..
Thank you for your time...
Hi,
Sorry to hear your camera is dissapointing. But if it seriously takes these kind of pictures, the camera is broken, or you might have a serious case of parkinsons. My camera makes perfect pictures, with all settings. Okay, it's not as perfect as a DSLR camera, but that is to be expected. Even when I'm a bit shakey, it doesn't blur like on your pictures. So I think it's safe to assume you've bought a broken camera.
If the store where you bought it is giving you trouble, try contacting Samsung directly for a solution, it might take a bit longer, but they're probably a bit more friendly.
good luck solving your problems.
Incanity said:
Hi,
Sorry to hear your camera is dissapointing. But if it seriously takes these kind of pictures, the camera is broken, or you might have a serious case of parkinsons. My camera makes perfect pictures, with all settings. Okay, it's not as perfect as a DSLR camera, but that is to be expected. Even when I'm a bit shakey, it doesn't blur like on your pictures. So I think it's safe to assume you've bought a broken camera.
If the store where you bought it is giving you trouble, try contacting Samsung directly for a solution, it might take a bit longer, but they're probably a bit more friendly.
good luck solving your problems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you so much for your reply! I assure you parkinsonism is one thing I'm sure I don't suffer from, lol! XD
so you're saying that even in normal, not extremely brightly lit conditions, the camera manages to normally process and stabilize the image, as should any decent camera? Good, very good to know..
Thanks again, and I still want to hear more from all other users
I can't even make such horrible photos from a moving car with my galaxy camera.
I can even do decent night-shots without a tripod, and those are incredibly sensitive to movement.
unless your camera is set to a night, light, or water flow mode(slow shutter speed) it really shouldn't make pictures like that, and is most likely broken.
thedicemaster said:
I can't even make such horrible photos from a moving car with my galaxy camera.
I can even do decent night-shots without a tripod, and those are incredibly sensitive to movement.
unless your camera is set to a night, light, or water flow mode(slow shutter speed) it really shouldn't make pictures like that, and is most likely broken.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow so the camera is supposed to be THAT good??
All those photos were taken with the "Auto" mode. Sometimes it even shows "hold still while camera takes shots" which I'm not sure if it's supposed to happen on auto mode but it does. Anyway as you can see.. If there's no bright shiny sun light, it's such a pain taking a close-to-decent photo with the cam I have...
Thank you so much for your reply!
the auto mode in the galaxy camera is a bit smarter than most cameras as it will actually use things like night-shot(which is what gives the "hold still" message) while other cameras only slightly tweak some settings.
thedicemaster said:
the auto mode in the galaxy camera is a bit smarter than most cameras as it will actually use things like night-shot(which is what gives the "hold still" message) while other cameras only slightly tweak some settings.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I figured so. Thanks for the clarification

So camera noise is normal. Can it be fixed or is it a hardware problem?

Isn't this the big Question?
Never have I been so fuzzy about choosing a phone. I have got hold of LG G2 (which got warm, produces antutu scores of louzy 20 000, has aggressive noise reduction on photos and a screen that did not survive a 20 cm droptest after 24 hours - now in repair) and currently a 48 hour old Z1 that produces a little less noise and does not get overly hot dueing captures after the last update, but eats away battery when capturing photos. These new devices. I was actually seriously considering requesting my old xperia S back!
After googling for 12 hours I could not find answers to the following question, so I sent the questions to Sony and are waiting for an answer:
1. Is it a sensor\hardware or a software issue that produces this amount of grain and noize, particulary in the 50% peripheral part of the picture?
I used the perfectly evely lit computer screen matrix to test before and after the update. There is an actual improvement. A macro shot before the update showed marked noize in the periphery. It still does after the latest update, but it is far from as bad! It is still worse than note 3 i suspect.
This makes me inclined to say that the lenses (under macro shots at least) has peripheral distortion. The best optics one always gets when having as few lenses as possible in the objective. I guess there are quite a few in z1 compared to the competition?
2. Some rumour say that different batches of phones are of different quality. Needless to say: this has been the case on some previous massproduced gadgeds, and different fabrics might have different production quality. I have read that low quality items often are sold slightly cheaper on Ebay. So; anyone got some more "evidence" to prove such a suspicion for Z1? If so: what batches should we try to avoid?
krimskram said:
I think this is the big question. Never have I been so fuzzy about choosing a phone. I have got hold of LG G2 (which got warm, produces antutu scores of louzy 20 000, has aggressive noise reduction on photos and a screen that did not survive a 20 cm droptest after 24 hours - now in repair) and currently a 48 hour old Z1 that produces a little less noize after the last update, but eats away battery when capturing photos and occasionally gets so warm that it shuts down the camera app. Crikey! These new devices. I was actually seriously considering requesting my old xperia S back!
After googling for 12 hours I could not find answers to the following, so I sent the questions to Sony and are waiting for an answer:
1. Is it a sensor\hardware or a software issue that produces this amount of grain and noize, particulary in the 50% peripheral part of the picture?
Without uploading any picture: the computer screen matrix is evenly lit and "perfect". A macro shot before the update showed marked noize in the periphery. It still does after the latest update, but it is far from as good. This makes me inclined to say that the lenses (under macro shots at least) has peripheral distortion.
2. Some rumour say that different batches of phones are of different quality. Needless to say: this has been the case on some previous massproduced gadgeds, and different fabrics might have different production quality. I have read that low quality items often are sold slightly cheaper on Ebay. So; anyone got some more "evidence" to prove such a suspicion for Z1? If so: what batches should we try to avoid?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I have used a g2 and the z1 quite a bit. The Z1 seems to have better software. I don't care about benchmarks as they all cheat anyway. But the better software definitely makes the z1 feel snappier. I haven't noticed any major difference in apps though. The lg launcher is slow.
The camera on the g2 is OK. It is decent all round and in good light can be stunning. It takes consistently decent shots. The camera on the z1 feels totally broken even with the latest software update. I suspect there must be a hardware fault. I have yet to take a single picture I am happy with in any light conditions and it is useless in low light.
Does anyone else think we have a hardware issue here with the Z1?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4
The Jones said:
So I have used a g2 and the z1 quite a bit. The Z1 seems to have better software. I don't care about benchmarks as they all cheat anyway. But the better software definitely makes the z1 feel snappier. I haven't noticed any major difference in apps though. The lg launcher is slow.
The camera on the g2 is OK. It is decent all round and in good light can be stunning. It takes consistently decent shots. The camera on the z1 feels totally broken even with the latest software update. I suspect there must be a hardware fault. I have yet to take a single picture I am happy with in any light conditions and it is useless in low light.
Does anyone else think we have a hardware issue here with the Z1?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well not mine, I also used G2 and now z1. My z1 takes better photo in low light.
Maybe its your z1 only...
Sent from my C6903 using xda app-developers app
marc_ecko28 said:
Well not mine, I also used G2 and now z1. My z1 takes better photo in low light.
Maybe its your z1 only...
Sent from my C6903 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe. I do wonder if I have a faulty unit. It is so poor and shots have no detail, a ton of noise, poor focus.
Sent from my LG-D802 using Tapatalk
That's a real issue of viewpoint. In and by itself the Z1 camera isn't "bad" and the 245 firmware update fixed many issues, such as the purple fringing and the oversharpening. It doesn't however, bring the camera into "amazing" land.
Sony's much-touted DxOMark scores aren't all that cut out. While video pulls the device in second place, after the Nokia 808 and before the iPhone 5s, if you look at images alone it's 6th place, after Nokia, iPhone, and the Samsung Galaxy S4. In terms of clarity, if you neglect autofocus, the iPhone 5, non-S, beats it as well.
That's still great for a phone camera, it's just sad that the much hyped November model, running on excellent hardware, gets beat by the June model from Samsung. If you do a lot of video in good light and shoot only manual then you have a decent camera phone. If you want to go out and replace your point and shoot with this thing on a field trip or vacation, there are six or seven older phones that beat the Z1 in picture quality.
Now, I believe that 99% of those issues are software issues. Technically Sony's approach is sound. The BIONZ processor is one of the best IP on the market in this bracket, the Exmor RS backlit sensor used in the Z1 is also used in the iPhone 5s and RX100, and a powerhouse. So that stuff is there. The mini G-lens has great spatial properties and is one of the best when it comes to luminance. What doesn't seem to work so well is all in the software portion of the equation.
I am not giving up on Sony. I have great hardware, I hope firm- and software will catch up.
Software is something they will change, even though Sony have a bad track record in Software you should have seen the Xperia S, I had it for a few days before I had a refund, software was unbearable with the random reboots. There getting better every time.
I was not very happy with camera until last week but I received latest update and I can't be happier
Sent from my C6903 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
I'm still amazed that these threads are popping up. It's like I'm using a completely different product from the rest of you, I swear.
Sure, low-light images can be a little noisy and grainy but guess what; so are ones from my point-and-shoot - there are very few stand-alone cameras in this bracket (around the £150 mark) that are entirely noise free in low light. The noise is far from "terrible" especially with the most recent firmware, and the up-side to it all is that I'm able to take picture in far lower lighting than I've even been able to on a phone before.
Here's the thing: Superior Auto, though now very much improved, still uses an ISO that borders on the insane. In low light, just put the phone on manual (I'd recommend 4:3) and snap away. Less noise and very detailed results. Indeed, the latest firmware means that both 20mp and 8mp manual shots are very respectable in low light.
I was walking around the National Railway Museum in York yesterday, taking pictures with both the QX10 and the Z1 - in many instances, the Z1 was sharper or, at least, just as sharp. And the lighting was poor.
I also did a side-by-side with my old C905 the other day. Until this point, I would've (still) put it up against any smartphone camera on the market (to me, it was Sony's last "great" camera phone). The Z1's 8mp shots were consistently better, with the exception of the Zenon Flash shot.
In response to the OP, however; the G-lens is highly convex. This results in some barreling in the corners of the image and means that the centre will always be ever-so-slightly sharper than the rest of the image (the effect is small, however). Nothing can be done about this - many point and shoot cameras and DSLR's are the same. I've had quite outstanding results from mine.
Sounds like your camera might be better than mine. Maybe what we should to is to compare shots where everyone takes a photo of the same item? I cannot think of anything easier an more available perfectly lit surface than a computer or notepad screen completley white on max luminance.
Anyway, even though my camera has some obvious distortion, it is nothing more or less than what is revealed in the numerous reviews. However - some morons have posted, what seems to be, og DSLR photos on the xperia blog an some other places claiming it to be produced with a Z1. I guess some people live to annoy other people.
Regarding the last awesome cameraphone from Sony I will give xperia S my vote. It did get a lot of pepper but it shined after several updates, and after I realized there was a prefabric screenprotector that were scratched, not my screen. Not using 2 screen protectors did help. The camera on X S excelled i macro shots and were great allround. For most users sony HOWEVER decided to kill the phone with the last update making it slow and less responsive. It lost the premium feel. An obvious sales trix. Sony replied to my question about the slow XS that "It is to be expected as your phone is too slow to effextuvley handle our new update". Well well.
Xperia S had a troublesome birth and death. For most of the time it shined. I hope this is what we are experiencing with the Z1.
krimskram said:
Sounds like your camera might be better than mine. Maybe what we should to is to compare shots where everyone takes a photo of the same item? I cannot think of anything easier an more available perfectly lit surface than a computer or notepad screen completley white on max luminance.
Anyway, even though my camera has some obvious distortion, it is nothing more or less than what is revealed in the numerous reviews. However - some morons have posted, what seems to be, og DSLR photos on the xperia blog an some other places claiming it to be produced with a Z1. I guess some people live to annoy other people.
Regarding the last awesome cameraphone from Sony I will give xperia S my vote. It did get a lot of pepper but it shined after several updates, and after I realized there was a prefabric screenprotector that were scratched, not my screen. Not using 2 screen protectors did help. The camera on X S excelled i macro shots and were great allround. For most users sony HOWEVER decided to kill the phone with the last update making it slow and less responsive. It lost the premium feel. An obvious sales trix. Sony replied to my question about the slow XS that "It is to be expected as your phone is too slow to effextuvley handle our new update". Well well.
Xperia S had a troublesome birth and death. For most of the time it shined. I hope this is what we are experiencing with the Z1.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had an Xperia S and, yes, it did take very detailed shots. It's white balance wasn't always the best, however, and it was fairly terrible in poor lighting. I high contrast shots, though, the C905 would give better results - I did quite a bit of testing between the two
For examples of my work with the Z1, please look here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/sets/72157635983420745/
jluster said:
That's a real issue of viewpoint. In and by itself the Z1 camera isn't "bad" and the 245 firmware update fixed many issues, such as the purple fringing and the oversharpening. It doesn't however, bring the camera into "amazing" land.
Sony's much-touted DxOMark scores aren't all that cut out. While video pulls the device in second place, after the Nokia 808 and before the iPhone 5s, if you look at images alone it's 6th place, after Nokia, iPhone, and the Samsung Galaxy S4. In terms of clarity, if you neglect autofocus, the iPhone 5, non-S, beats it as well.
That's still great for a phone camera, it's just sad that the much hyped November model, running on excellent hardware, gets beat by the June model from Samsung. If you do a lot of video in good light and shoot only manual then you have a decent camera phone. If you want to go out and replace your point and shoot with this thing on a field trip or vacation, there are six or seven older phones that beat the Z1 in picture quality.
Now, I believe that 99% of those issues are software issues. Technically Sony's approach is sound. The BIONZ processor is one of the best IP on the market in this bracket, the Exmor RS backlit sensor used in the Z1 is also used in the iPhone 5s and RX100, and a powerhouse. So that stuff is there. The mini G-lens has great spatial properties and is one of the best when it comes to luminance. What doesn't seem to work so well is all in the software portion of the equation.
I am not giving up on Sony. I have great hardware, I hope firm- and software will catch up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, that is really annoying thing with Sony, they obviously haven't learnt anything from Xperia Z launch, release substandard firmware in the final release to public that everyone uses to review, therefore gets reviews that are not as good as they could have been, which will loose them sales. If they want to reach their goal of Number 2 Android selling phone. They have to wake up, trawl through the main forums, and review sites and make sure the phone they release is top notch, and make tiny tweaks later on.
Really why can't Sony get their sensor to work as well as Apple? Surely they should be able to get the most out of their sensors than anyone else?
The only substandard part of the hardware that I have noticed moving to Sony is the accelerometer and GPS accuracy, the rest has been robust and fixed with firmware updates.
If you want to get the best from the camera, you must run in manual mode. Because the software makes some pretty bad decisions a lot of the time.
Timaustin2000 said:
I had an Xperia S and, yes, it did take very detailed shots. It's white balance wasn't always the best, however, and it was fairly terrible in poor lighting. I high contrast shots, though, the C905 would give better results - I did quite a bit of testing between the two
For examples of my work with the Z1, please look here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/sets/72157635983420745/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice shots! I've been scratching my head though with one of the shots you had, the one of the food / burger stall.
It seemed REALLY sharp and detailed so I looked in the exif data and saw it was ISO 64 / 100! Shutter speed was just a mere 1/8s so I'm wondering how did that happen with that particular low-light scenario?
The other pictures I can relate to
Here are a couple shots I took (though not as good as yours I am thinking)
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B6YHwWcrqzNhbEtLUGFKNmk1SVU&usp=sharing
All taken in Manual Mode too (plant / garden shots are taken in 153 firmware)
bloodfire1004 said:
Nice shots! I've been scratching my head though with one of the shots you had, the one of the food / burger stall.
It seemed REALLY sharp and detailed so I looked in the exif data and saw it was ISO 64 / 100! Shutter speed was just a mere 1/8s so I'm wondering how did that happen with that particular low-light scenario?
The other pictures I can relate to
Here are a couple shots I took (though not as good as yours I am thinking)
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B6YHwWcrqzNhbEtLUGFKNmk1SVU&usp=sharing
All taken in Manual Mode too (plant / garden shots are taken in 153 firmware)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The burger stall image was actually taken with Superior Auto (I know!). It decided to throw the phone into "Spotlight" shooting mode and that was the result. A very good result.
By the way, I really like your Garden party image. Well exposed, nicely detailed.
I completely agree with the comments, above, about Sony missing a trick by releasing hardware with incomplete software. There was a very distinct feeling of the camera firmware being unfinished on release. It is now firing on all cylinders but the review damage has been done.
You can see the difference when you look at GSM Arena's initial review of the phone and their following camera comparisons, post update. One is "disappointed", the others are full of praise.
And Sony have no-one to blame but themselves, for that.
Timaustin2000 said:
The burger stall image was actually taken with Superior Auto (I know!). It decided to throw the phone into "Spotlight" shooting mode and that was the result. A very good result.
By the way, I really like your Garden party image. Well exposed, nicely detailed.
I completely agree with the comments, above, about Sony missing a trick by releasing hardware with incomplete software. There was a very distinct feeling of the camera firmware being unfinished on release. It is now firing on all cylinders but the review damage has been done.
You can see the difference when you look at GSM Arena's initial review of the phone and their following camera comparisons, post update. One is "disappointed", the others are full of praise.
And Sony have no-one to blame but themselves, for that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, basically everyone so far think it is a software issue.
I took some afternoon shots driving in 80 . The camera performs - now- without noise and got a crisp picture at what must be a really low shutterspeed. WTF?!
A situation Im never likøey to ever use the camera in again. Sigh, at drive by shooting it excels.
At indoor shots, it is agamble. Even with thenew firmware. It i proves markedly by manual exposure.
A total conclusion: it would be interrestimg having raw file possibilties. The camera is markedly better after the firmware update, and having the features in the camera button I am very pleased, however, where Im likley to use the camera most , indoors, it really needs an overhaul. I dont aleays have the time to enter manual mode! It is annoying that it defaults to full auto. Let me diecide!
Any other opinions
krimskram said:
So, basically everyone so far think it is a software issue.
I took some afternoon shots driving in 80 . The camera performs - now- without noise and got a crisp picture at what must be a really low shutterspeed. WTF?!
A situation Im never likøey to ever use the camera in again. Sigh, at drive by shooting it excels.
At indoor shots, it is agamble. Even with thenew firmware. It i proves markedly by manual exposure.
A total conclusion: it would be interrestimg having raw file possibilties. The camera is markedly better after the firmware update, and having the features in the camera button I am very pleased, however, where Im likley to use the camera most , indoors, it really needs an overhaul. I dont aleays have the time to enter manual mode! It is annoying that it defaults to full auto. Let me diecide!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, any other opinions?
krimskram said:
So, any other opinions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One: you can set your camera to launch in Manual from the launcher dock without having to re-set it. Just add a "shortcut" to your homescreen, select camera and select manual. Pop that in the docked section at the bottom of the screen and you'll always have quick access to it.
Just a shame they don't give you the option to launch camera in manual by long-pressing the camera button.
Oh, and to the fella above who says that there are "6 other models" from earlier in the year that will beat the XZ1 in good light? With respect, I'm going to disagree: There's no way that an S4, One or G2 can beat the Z1 in good light - and I'm not sure I could point to any other Android that does. (note: the iPhone 5 isn't as good but the 5s comes darned close,... in good light. Thought it over-saturates light a *****).
The S4 over-saturates, the G2 has even worse post-processing than Sony (it's artifact central on a G2 - FAR too much artificial sharpening) and the One? Well, it's the One, isn't it? Yuck. And the Z1 has better detail and dynamic range than all of the above in good light - it has been remarked on numerous times in a good many reviews.
The only place it really falls down is exposure - sometimes it blows out light objects if left to it's own devices. But you have an exposure toggle to fix that so problem solved.
In all honesty, I don't think I've ever been as happy with a phone camera. In any light.

iPhone X portrait mode depth of field algorithm vs Note 8 - why aren't they similar?

Note8 + iPhoneX both have dual rear cameras however in some portrait photos especially your hair, ears etc is blurred out incorrectly. iPhone X seems to do this job a lot better despite having similar hardware specs.
Is this something a software could fix/enhance?
everybodylovesfebs said:
Note8 + iPhoneX both have dual rear cameras however in some portrait photos especially your hair, ears etc is blurred out incorrectly. iPhone X seems to do this job a lot better despite having similar hardware specs.
Is this something a software could fix/enhance?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. two TOTALLY different devices
2. I've made some "portrait"-pic's: no problems at all
Ah okay, yes agreed that Note is a phablet and other a phone. However I'd assume that in the camera department at least they would both perform similar.
Particularly, portrait modes where Note 8 blurs out lot more than your face where IPhone X does the same lot more accurately.
They are both phones, the ill-term "phablet" is no longer valid, as it was only referring to big screen sized phones in the days of the first Note, now all flagship phones are even bigger than the first galaxy note, the differences that henklbr refers to, are mainly how both OEM design, build and manage their devices
Found the reason. IPhone uses Kinect like 3D imaging for its algorithm. Samsung uses 2D which unfortunately isn't anywhere as accurate as the iPhone for pleasing bike and portrait photos.
Hopefully the next iteration will have something as good or better.
everybodylovesfebs said:
Found the reason. IPhone uses Kinect like 3D imaging for its algorithm. Samsung uses 2D which unfortunately isn't anywhere as accurate as the iPhone for pleasing bike and portrait photos.
Hopefully the next iteration will have something as good or better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The 3D imaging is only for front camera when used to unlock the phone. So no that's not the reason. Its software.
Not according to the internet.
https://www.extremetech.com/mobile/255771-apple-iphone-x-truedepth-camera-works
http://bgr.com/2017/10/02/iphone-vs-android-camera-truedepth-face-id/
What does it really matter.. Ultimately, it's (a camera, any camera), is just a tool.. I've seen terrible (and I mean terrible, terrible) shots with the X, and I've taken some bad ones with my 8 in the learning process. Ultimately, it's up to the user to learn what the camera can and cannot do, and it's shortcomings.
I(and I'm sure many others)don't know why there is always someone "iPhone can do this".. Ok.. and, so what... Go buy an iPhone and see all that it cannot do, that the note can. And then, go post in an isheep (which the op sounds like) forum and see how many sensible responses you get..
We deal with notes.. Not iPhones here.. Who cares what that overpriced and over hyped single task piece of yesterday's hardware can or can't do(which can't, is a massive lot!).. I'll take my note on the worst day and night over that ugly screen and lack of multitasking on that ijunk..
Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
the only thing these two phones have in common is that they both have cameras
WaxysDargle said:
the only thing these two phones have in common is that they both have cameras
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And that both can do voice calls and text messaging :laugh:
rodrigofd said:
And that both can do voice calls and text messaging :laugh:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that is debatable! lol
everybodylovesfebs said:
Not according to the internet.
https://www.extremetech.com/mobile/255771-apple-iphone-x-truedepth-camera-works
http://bgr.com/2017/10/02/iphone-vs-android-camera-truedepth-face-id/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Both of those articles are referring to the front facing camera, not the rear cameras.
Geez I'm not an i sheep I've owned s2,3 4 5, s7e, s8 and now note 8. My close friend is however an apple fanboy and likes to compare both and up until the iPhone x I always had the upper hand in most things.
I spent hours trying to find a camera that takes portrait photos(both front and rear) with bit more accuracy when it comes to blurred background.
The 3D imaging is apparently only for the front camera which explains why the front self portraits are a lot better on the iPhone X where as the rear camera portraits are a lot closer in good lighting.
In dim lighting such as a restaurant, the Note 8 selective focus, live focus doesn't fire up due to "no contrast detected.." error.
I'm pretty happy with the Note and use proper mirrorless cameras (a6500 + 18-105 and Samsung NX500+45/1.8) for photography needs however thought I could ask the question here and see if I'm doing something wrong or get some constructive advice on ways to improve the portrait modes. Thanks
Well, yes, your reason is valid, but, in the end, it is always a matter of balance, even the mere fact of using a cell phone to take pictures ultimately reflects this, if taking pictures is the most important factor, a camera is the choice, but you have to pay a price, as I said, it is all about balance, Samsung tried to adress it with the galaxy cameras, but they abandoned it

Categories

Resources