Hi,
Something I've tried to to find the answer to, but so far have been unable to do so - the camera performance has always been terrible on my tytn2. I've tried a range of different roms, but none have made any difference to the camera.
My understanding is that it is important to have a radio that works with the rom you are using, but can I get better camera performance by using a different radio?
Currently I am using "07/10[Super Ram][CHOME][Manilla] Josh's Kaiser Roms+Kitchen "21929 Hybrid Light" - a great rom, and my radio is 1.65.16.25.
I would really appreciate it if anyone can give me any pointers with this or otherwise help me get better camera performance (the tytn2 is an amazing phone, the camera is the only problem I have with it).
Cheers
Moved as not ROM Development...
The camera is just whack anyway unless in ideal light situations.
Typically the camera will either work or not work at all depending on the Radio, unfortunately the Kaiser's camera (and all cellphone cameras in general) is not the greatest in low light so you are pretty much stuck with what you got.
Thanks for the responses. It's not so much the camera performance in terms of picture quality, but the terrible lag when taking pictures - there is a two second or more delay between pressing the camera button and the picture taking. This always results in pictures that are extremely blurred.
Turn off the full press and also the shutter noise...
I tried everything possible with my tytn to improve camera , however it was all pointless since it could not be done.
Well not quite. In my frustration with a few things which aren't perfect in Shifu's latest ROM (hey, it's pretty darn nice for the most part, even M2D is running well for the first time in my experience of over 20 WM6.5 ROM versions, mostly on the Elfin, 3 on this Kaiser), I did some searching for a camera video frame rate solution. Found one. I've already forgotten the link (since reading it this afternoon), but it's so simple there's no need to go looking. Here's the procedure. Works in any lower light situation, as in not broad daylight. Haven't test it it outside in daylight yet, but it might even work there, will find out tomorrow.
1) Open camera application.
2) Put hand over lens to create a black screen.
3) Turn off power. (This part is a bit of a stumbling block for those with slide to unlock or a password active - have to have those turned off for this to work.)
4) Keep the hand (or whatever, doesn't matter so long as it blocks light) over the lens for at least a second.
5) Take off the hand.
6) Press the power button again.
7) Start shooting when you like.
8) Enjoy what looks like 30fps video, much improved autofocus and shutter response times, and unfortunately, darker images. So still not a great low-light camera, but indoors in average conditions or even somewhat dim light it's not bad at all for a phone camera. Took me a few tries to nail down the procedure and be able to reproduce the effect every time, but five minute's practice at most.
Apparently the vast improvement in frame rate and general responsiveness globally in the camera's operation and settings dialogues is over-ridden if one points the camera at a light source or brighter reflective objects. I find it stays stable during a session even if I point it directly at a 20W halogen light from 6 feet away, but your mileage may vary.
Another tip would be to avoid the double-take of the autofocus algorithm. Bloody thing focuses on a half-press, then focuses all over again, blurring out then returning to sharpness, on full shutter press. So either go to half-press shooting, or use the D-pad centre button to shoot pictures and videos, as this is a single-stage switch.
In my case, running Shifu's latest ROM from December and his recommended radio, and just this evening flashing Kaiser-HardSPL-3.56, I find the video frame rate to be about 2 to 3 frames per second without this trick, and well above 20fps with the trick. Awesome. A little bit irritating too, having to do this silly little button sequence thing, but it's better than having to go hunting for my 'real' camera when a video opportunity presents itself and the Kaiser will take less than 10 seconds to get ready, and getting the proper camera will take over a minute of walking and digging and powering on... As has so often been said in web discussions of phone cameras, it's not so much the quality of your best camera that's important in everyday use, it's whether you have a working camera with you that counts. And this little trick makes the camera I ALWAYS have with me a whole lot more usable.
Now, if only there were a way to get Resco Audio Recorder to make clear 2-sided recordings of my calls. Worked like a dream on the HTC Touch Elfin. All I hear is remote, static-distorted voices with this Kaiser. Seems from discussions that this is a hardware limitation. Hope not. And it'd be nice too if the device weren't cranky about my 8GB microSD. Seems a tad unstable at times. Same for considerable numbers of other users, so maybe another hardware limitation? Hope it's drivers, and that some genius presents an update.
GerardSamija,
Yeah that's an old trick but not perfect as tends to dim the light and when hit by a large light flips back to the slow fps another one is to remove the plastic cover on case covering lens.
I gave up using camera unless outside & it's the same issue on Touch Pro even with the built in flash "well light really"
2 Side Voice Recording on Kaiser **WORKS**
Thank you very much for that stylez. I'm reading through the pages of that thread, and while so far the latest CAB there hasn't quite made decent quality two-way recording for my Kaiser, it's considerably improved from what it was yesterday. Nice.
Trying the 'old' camera trick (sorry for re-publishing ancient news - I've only had this Kaiser a few days, so just getting caught up. On testing it this morning I found a number of tries didn't work at all. Not sure why. Then just now I tried it again and it worked fine, though delivering only about 15 to 20fps, not quite smooth. I did back to back tests without and then with the trick, and there was about a tripling of framerate from A to B. Guess I'll just have to keep practicing to get it down solid.
And I probably will remove part of the shielding over the camera lens, carefully. The lens in the body itself has a flat glass cover so no real risk of damage there, as it's recessed behind the battery cover. Occasional cleaning of dust is necessary anyway with a pocketable camera, so this just adds the step of slipping off the battery cover to do that. The phone I have was used for a few months, then left in an office drawer for over a year. Not a lot of wear, but obviously some fine scratching of the coating on the camera lens protective filter. Removing it will improve imaging, and the glass lens cover beneath is about the same as on my old HTC Elfin. That one has held up very well.
I hear windex helps.
ChumleyEX said:
I hear windex helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol ya i gave up using the camera really, i know im just caring around a big brick, with the advantage that its touch screen and has a keyboard... otherwise its not used much for anything else, unfortunately there are a million other phones that would meet this basic need, though im not getting burned by HTC again or any other phone maker...
I'm getting better at the timing with tricking the camera into responding quickly for stills, and getting 15fps and better almost all the time. This afternoon was fairly sunny here, and I shot a few videos of my son at the playground. Checking them later on my Asus 901 they look quite good. And contrary to many comments saying pointing at bright light kills the effect, I was able to shoot almost directly into the sun without losing frame rate.
Oddly, VLC gives an audio codec cannot be found error. Guess I'm off for yet another codec hunt. Windows 7 has mostly been pretty solid in supporting things like that, but I guess VLC stands apart from the OS in terms of codecs.
Windex? Nah, bit of a rub with a shirt end is fine. It's not a camera for making museum grade images. It's convenient, when I don't want to carry a bulky HD camera with proper optics around with me.
Related
Hello,
I am having another annoyance with my Tilt. The camera is damn slow. First the on-screen rate is stop-motion like, then the auto focus button takes 2-3 seconds to focus, and finally the photo takes a few seconds more to capture. B that time, the photo opportunity is gone, or I just have a blurry picture.
The 8525 was much faster...
Any ideas? Thanks!
I'm sure it's the new autofocus function that is responsible for the speed. It's not something you find in many cell phone cameras, and gives much better photos for many situations. But yes, the slow speed is a shame.
Well if the picture is blurry, but has great focus....what's the point? lol
Honestly, after spending a few hours tinkering with this phone, the 8125 --> 8525 was a much larger, more needed upgrade. The 8525 did have some caveats, which I was hoping they would fix, but they seemed to just get worse. For example, screen rotation is simply slower on WM6 than it was on WM5. I want a PDA that has Windows capabilities, but without the hiccups that Mobile exhibits. I was hoping the 8925 would be the solution, but I guess I will have to wait another year for a true converged device. Such a shame that a very well made device has to be crippled by a poor operating system. Not saying it's horrific, but definitely could be a lot better.
i've notice the blurry thing...but once you get use to holding it steady the pics come out amazing.
One thing I have found that helps is to use the Camera button to take pictures - You can press the Camera button half way down and let it focus, then press it the rest of the way down to actually take the picture when you want to snap. Doesn't help the whole 'catch it right then' situation, but it does help some...
Thats one of the bugbears with this new phone is the time it takes to snap a pic I know its more a phone than a digital camera but why put a 3mpix camera in there if its not meant to at least equal old digital cameras (casio, olympus, fuji etc etc). I like the extra features of it but not at the expense of it taking 5-6 seconds for people or things to stand perfectly still in order to get that pic
Russ
I have found that the greater the amount of light the quicker it takes pictures.
maryjos said:
I'm sure it's the new autofocus function that is responsible for the speed. It's not something you find in many cell phone cameras, and gives much better photos for many situations. But yes, the slow speed is a shame.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My 2 megapixel SE K750i from YEARS ago (I had it two years ago as an import phone) had no issues with it's autofocus lens. It also took much better photos.
The camera app is pitifully slow. I've tried shooting a lower res or lower quality and that doesn't change the on-screen display, and yeah the autofocus is crazy slow. I guess we should look to HTC for advice, as it's their camera app.
Yah it's a bummer that it's not that fast, but the phone really is a powerhouse of applications. If this thing was running WM2003 on this processor it would be blindingly fast, but with any power loss, the data would be gone. So far speed is the price we pay to have a device that you can pull the battery out of and not lose any data... When I use my HP hx4700 VGA PPC running 2003, it still blows me away how fast they used to be before this new "persistant storage" feature. I don't know if this would help the camera specifically, but I wonder.
Well, it's damn annoying. I would rather the speed and flashlight than an autofocus lens or 3MP.
JBHorne said:
Well, it's damn annoying. I would rather the speed and flashlight than an autofocus lens or 3MP.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agree completely, I had high hopes, the 3MP autofocus sure looked good on paper, but now I just miss the flashlight
i heard that it's because of the software, i think paul from modacco said that cameraware is much better (and i THINK he said that it was faster to take pictures).
Can anyone test this out?
...nice tip
As mentioned in another post. If you turn off the "shutter sound" it seems to respond faster. I've tested and it seems to work form me.
I have also noticed that when I push the OFF button and then turn it back on the camera is much much better.
..........
I've tried all of the previously suggested options and the pics are still blurry.
I have a Nokia 6300 2MP camera phone and it's pics are sharper and better with no blurriness whatsoever.
Even the old Wizard I have is better
This isn't an issue of me having an unsteady hand either, I've been an amateur photographer for many years and have no probs using my old ancient SLRs or new DSLRs, even when snapping with a camera in each hand.
Aeroadster said:
I've tried all of the previously suggested options and the pics are still blurry.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The lens protector on the battery cover may be scratched or worn (mine is). I get much clearer photos when I take the battery cover off. Other posts describe using certain polishes to restore a clear lens protector.
That's what I get for keeping the phone in my pocket.
I remember reading a post about the fps when taking video. I use the fix when taking regular pictures too, because it appears to speed up the viewfinder as well.
fix:
1. Cover the top half of the phone (where the lens is) with your hand, to decrease the light available.
2. Press the power button to put your device into sleep mode, or whatever it is that they call it.
3. Without moving your hand, press the power button again to wake up the device. This appears to cause the camera software to reinitialize with decreased light settings.
Yeah, it sucks, and yeah, I miss my Tytn camera and led light. Hope this helps!
Hello guys!
I have the phone for 3-4 months now, and I used the camera only 3 times.
I noticed that the white color is very bright, and the photo becomes bad (please look at the photos attached). Can you tell me if your camera is having the same problem, or it's only me ?
If it's only me - do you have idea how can I try to fix it ?
Notes:
I changed the ROM 3 times /No difference
I changed the brightness/contrast in the settings, but there is no big difference ( the photo becomes better if I use brightness+contrast = max, but still the white is very bright)
both of these images are backlit... this is very hard for the camera to do, because the foreground is a low light situation... try to adjust the angle of the shot to avoid this situation. In the attached photos I have demonstrated what I am trying to say. These are pics of my 20 year old Cocker Spaniel, Sheeba. Notice in pic 01.jpg, her face is blown out. But in the second it is actually better, and in the third (as I move further around her) her face is now clearly visible.
Remember this is a Pocket PC, with a camera chip. Not a camera with a Pocket PC attached. With that in mind, this camera does a phenomenal job!
Hope this helps!
Also it looks like your lens is dirty, and make sure that the blue plastic is pulled off inside the battery cover...
For the picture of the child tilting the camera down more would have helped the light metering compensate better, see all of the area above his head, that is where most of the metering is taking place.
here is another example
You can also try lowering the brightness down to -1.5 or to your liking. It might help a little bit (it does to me)
Thanks a lot for the tips guys!
From what I'm seeing here the Tilt has just bad camera...
My wife has Samsung U600(with 3MP camera) and the pictures are way better than the Tilt ones.I guess I'll just use her phone.
Thanks again for your help!
You should try the camera outside in the daylight with a front-lit subject before you condemn it.... post some pics from your wifes Samsung for us to view then
Here is how the camera would have metered it (photoshop profile) had you not included the area where all of the light was.
The camera does work pretty awesome with the proper lighting...
Notice in the first two, pointing the camera down, so that the car is the majority of the picture, the camera meters for the car, overexposing the sky. Put pointing the camera up underexposes the car, but the sky is brilliant blue, instead of white....
Now I am not saying that this camera doesn't have problems... on the contrary, this camera has a light leak.. which is clearly obvious when every picture taken has the same Spike in photoshop's histogram. But an ounce of prevention, in this case is truly worth a pound of cure! Play with the camera, experiment with all of the settings, find out what you like best. But most important, just pay attention to the screen and move the camera up, or down, left, or right ever so slightly and watch how the exposure changes... It won't take long before you can take great pictures with it!
Oh yeah, and clean that lens every time you use it!
ive tried all types of focus, but even the slightest movement makes it blurry.. anyone hae a fix to this??
Xperia has one of the worst cameras i've ever used in a mobile phone. My 5 year old $150 camera phone with lower pixel count outperforms this one on Xperia. The only use i have is for the light LED which i occasionaly use as a torch. I think the lens quality is so downright pathetic that it takes quite a bit of shutter lag to capture anything. This makes it prone to camera shake. There might be a way to reduce the shutter lag but then the exposure quality would suffer.
all SE phones i had (t610, k700i, k750i ans X1i) were fine in outdoor conditians. the pictures were nice. but its normal if you are moving the phone while taking a picture that the picture wount be sharp. As I said in outdoor conditions everithing was fine.
In bad indor conditions its normal I guess for a phone to easily make a fuzzy picture. It helps if you hold the phone as still as you can. But if the conditions are realy bad like a semi-dark room its almost impossible to make a sharp picture.
You can even see on the screen before you press the shoot button if the pisture runs fluidly it will probably be a nice picture but in bad conditions even the camera view isnt fluid it can be laike 5 fps and then youll need to be still to maka a farly decent pic.
You can set the camera on several conditions like Auto, Outdoor, Indoor, Cloudy, Sport and such...
I have my camera alweys set on Sport so its fluid even in the dark. The pics are little darker then on Auto setting but if the pic is made in normal indor conditions that almost isnt noticeble. Sport works for me alot better then Auto.
Dont realy know how some phones (seen on some midle-low class Nokia) can have great visibilitiy and fluid camera view in realy bad conditions and why high end SE phones cant do that.
there is another thread about this. if u put it in macro mode it seems to work better. the camera itself is fine and good quality but its too sensitive to the slightest movement making it blurry.
also install the r3a beta camera software as that is the best (for some reason SE decided not to include the r3 beta camera software in the final r3 rom, even though it is a lot better than the r3 rom camera software they included).
r3a camera software cab link:
http://rapidshare.com/files/314373093/R3A-XperiaCamera.cab
It seems like on a 6.5 ROM (at least the ROMs i tried) the Camera has longer exposure time. It was hard to shoot a clear photo. Yesterday i changed back to R3A stock ROM and it's much better now. I'll try the R3A beta camer app, maybe its even better.
This may help you http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=577364
IMO the X1 is excellent.
But the trick is to:
Set it to unfished focus - ∞
In most conditions I use Sports mode - makes really sharp pictures.
I use Automatic mode only in a very bad light..
All the settings besides Sports raises up the exposure,
compromising the speed.
Note:
Check your camera glass.
I had to wipe off the invisible paint on it which became blurry after half a year.
Now it's perfect.
If you want, look at my blog photos:
www.doministry.blogspot.com
Sports mode plus flash always on is the answer. Good results but dim indoor pictures.
How I wish I could hack into the flash settings to try to make it brighter... I never found any registry settings and I presume the two levels of brightness are hard wired in.
If I had more time I'd make a little sound activated xenon flash that triggers through the 3.5mm jack. It's a Radio Shack project that's not even too difficult. Anyone out there wanna try? EEs?
howw can ii cheeck if i have r3a camera? i installed barebone rom r3.. but i have autoflash init already.. shoukd i still install the r3 camera cab since this one is blurry even on the ssettings u guys rec ommmended?
Thank you Ganondolf for the link for R3A beta camera cab, yay I know have zoom. I still don't get how the infite focus is the best focused, IMO I think macro is the best focus.
Another question came to me, sense we can import things like zoom is their away to import image stabilization red eye removal, face detection from other WM phones?. The one I'm the most intersted in is Image Stablilization.
Camera lens dirt
Would you take a look at where your lens is located? There must be a severe smear. You better peel them off compeletely with your nails and erasers. It's a known problem of X1 lens film's poor quality and not sure that thin film has done any good till now, but now i have a crisp clear quiality back with that fix.
Hello Evrybody;
I need help about the quality of the phtos? I know that the overall quality of the camera from the HD7 is not very good. But at least i think i don't must have blurry photos.
Did you have any experience about the quality of the photos ?
If someone can tell me if the Hd7 camera is so bad that I can't have sharp photo, it will confirms that i make a bad choice.
BR
Be sure that you barely press the button so that it focuses on your picture, and then click to take it. I've noticed if you take the picture without allowing it to focus it's blurry 99% of the time...
Don't shoot photos in dim light, try to go for bright places. You can also use the "sports" mode under "scenes" ...
Hold the phone with two hands while taking photos, and try to keep it in front of your chest rather than holding it with straight arms, to minimize the hand movement.
Hope these helps.
The light button press, wait and stronger press is the correct way.
A short cut if you take more then one photo, after first photo if it is blurry or if what you see on the screen is blurry just move your hand in front of camera fast.
It will detect movement and re-focuss.
Yeah agree with the others I thought the camera was ****ty, untill I fugured out you had to half press the button to focus and then click full way to take the snap.
Still the camera is not the best, as far away subjects still appear blurish and rubbish in dim light as well.. I wish they update the software or something
Please remember that photo quality will always depend on the size of the lens, the aperture, the CCD sensitivity etc. There is a reason why good quality cameras have big lenses. Have a look at the lense on your phone's camera. See how small it is? How much light do you think actually gets through that tiny hole? And that little pinprick of light is supposed to illuminate the entire sensor array and flood it with enough light to create a picture? Exposure times with such small apertures are horrendous, especially in low lighting, and it's no wonder pictures come out blurry because you are moving the camera the whole time it's taking the picture. Even your breathing moves the camera. That's why people use tripods in low light.
In all seriousness, people need to be more realistic with their expectations of phone cameras. While they remain so small, they will always yield awful pictures, and will only ever be a poor substitute for when you don't have your proper camera to hand.
The best you can do to mitigate the problems is as follows;
1) You're going to have to use the flash in low light
2) Try to get as much ambient lighting on the subject as possible
3) If you can steady the phone on any surface to help keep it stable, do so
4) Remember that half-press to focus on your subject before the full-press to take the photo
5) Try your hardest to keep the phone ABSOLUTELY STILL while taking the photo. Breath out very slowly while depressing the button as softly and imperceptibly as you can
6) Don't use the zoom. It's a digital zoom rather than optical, so all it does is crop the picture, giving you a lower resolution
Remember with a phone you have no control over ISO, Aperture or Shutter Speed so your options are, well, non-existent.
If you really care about taking good photos, try to have your proper camera handy as much as possible.
Crappy Camera
First of all I have an HTC-HD2 and recently bought an HTC-HD7.
I don't know if it is a software issue but the photos taken by the HD7 camera are really crap. I have a HD2 running android and the photos taken now are really sharp and beautiful. Even under WM 6.5 the photos turned up really nice. I think the HD7 hardware is similar to the HD2 so it must be a software issue. Anyway the resulting photos in the HD7 are pure crap, no matter if you use 3 hands to hold the camera or lightning conditions. This issue makes the HD7 experience a dissapointing one.
gustavoa said:
First of all I have an HTC-HD2 and recently bought an HTC-HD7.
I don't know if it is a software issue but the photos taken by the HD7 camera are really crap. I have a HD2 running android and the photos taken now are really sharp and beautiful. Even under WM 6.5 the photos turned up really nice. I think the HD7 hardware is similar to the HD2 so it must be a software issue. Anyway the resulting photos in the HD7 are pure crap, no matter if you use 3 hands to hold the camera or lightning conditions. This issue makes the HD7 experience a dissapointing one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you half-depressing the camera button to get focus lock first? Then pressing it all the way to take the photo? If not, it's no wonder your photos are blurry. If you are, see my previous post, above.
many thanks
Hello everybody
first I will thank you all for your help
for conclusion I will say that HTC must rework this part from the software. Wonder if they know all the problems that we have.
We will see in the next month if they change something.
bye bye
Noobs...learn about your phone, then complain...
My pictures come out fine just gotta focus, change the settings for appropriate lighting. It would be easier if there was an on-screen button to take the pic
NOT DONE YET but here's my pretty long review of the Samsung Focus S and comparing it to the original Samsung Focus. I tried to go over every single thing I could possibly think of and hopefully someone appreciates it! Post any questions you have and I hope others will post their experiences as well.
Still in progress: CPU benchmarks, 4G speed tests, camera review and examples, battery life, some videos.
Performance
CPU - Still working on this!
With the faster processor loading times are definitely shorter on apps and games. You'll notice that XBOX Live and Marketplace both open a second quicker. Also you will see better performance within apps, with less lagging and faster scrolling. Runs great and I'm loving the performance boost.
(Benchmarks coming soon)
GPU
The upgraded GPU is great! I tested Super Mario Bros 3 on an NES emulator and was getting 48-55 fps WITH sound and 60 fps without! Plays near perfectly.
(Video coming soon)
4G - Still working on this!
So far I haven't noticed much of a speed increase. I live in a 4G covered area and I get 5 bars at home. I will do some more studying and speed testing and get back to this.
Internet sharing is listed on the settings page but when attempting to turn it on you get a message about signing up for an appropriate tethering plan. If you reload internet sharing through provision xml it will get rid of the message.
RAM
A few apps report it as having 354MB of RAM. They report the Focus as having 481mb. Both have 512MB and the 'missing' RAM is not useable because it's dedicated to the GPU. You won't even know it's gone though and the GPU's increased performance is worth it. I tried a test where I launched Fruit Ninja, Hydro Thunder GO, Sonic The Hedgehog Episode 1, and Twin Blades and checked the RAM usage. All games were in the middle of gameplay (not at the start screen) and dehydrate on pause was disabled allowing them to all stay where they were at in the game. My peak RAM usage reported as only 31MB.
GPS & WiFi
I tried them and they work just as they should. Still unable to connect to hidden WiFi networks though.
Battery - Still working on this!
I still need to go through a few more power cycles to know what it's like for sure. I'm a heavy user and I'm on my phone all day long so it does not last me the whole day. I'll post more info once I have a better idea.
Keyboard
Right now there is an issue with the keyboard. Many people think the keyboard is lagging. However I think it's just the keyboard tap sounds that are delayed. It makes it really annoying to type because you THINK it's lagging. To me the letters come up just as fast as I type them and when you turn off the sound it doesn't seem delayed in the slightest. It should only take a simple update to fix that.
Hardware
This phone is much thinner and lighter than the Focus. It does not feel too big in hand and I think it's a perfect size. After only using it for the first few hours, my Focus already felt like a brick compared to it. When pictures of the Focus S first came out I didn't like the aesthetics of the textured backplate but it feels nice in hand and adds some much needed grip. I wished the bezel around the around of the phone was less pronounced and it looked more like the original Focus in that aspect. At first it kinda feels cheapish because it is plastic and extremely light but I've gotten over that and no longer feel that way. The device feels solid. The backplate on it is the thinnest piece of plactic ever and it will bend and can easily break. Not extremely difficult to take off and I actually like it better than the Focus' which I thought was a pain to take off because I felt like I was gonna break the phone while doing so. A nice little added touch is that when you tap on a capacitive button it will dim the button's backlight a little bit.
Screen
The bigger screen size is great but my feelings about this SAMOLED+ display are mixed. I have a huge problem with the display and that is a ghosting/blurring issue. Whenever you are scrolling through lists the texts is blurry and once you stop you can see it 'snap' into focus again. It's also noticeable during animations such as launching XBOX Live. This might not bother some but to me I find it highly annoying! I don't experience it on my Focusat all. May be my biggest issue with the phone.
Another issue with the display is the brightness. I guess Samsung wanted to preserve as much battery life as possible and they made the lowest brightness of the screen extremely LOW. But let me explain, the maximum brightness is plenty bright, the problem is just the minimum brightness level. When comparing the Focus and Focus S both on the highest setting; the Focus S is definitely brighter, and on the lowest setting: the Focus S is way dimmer. The issue is what they have set for the lowest screen brightness, it's just too damn low! You will need to keep your phone on atleast medium brightness, low is pretty much unuseable and that's not even talking about during outside use. This also affects the automatic setting as well and it will be way too low most of the time. I don't think the brightness issue is a big deal though because:
1- It can easily be fixed with an update.
2- I put together a file you can deploy to your unlocked phone that will edit the registry to increase the brightness of the low setting. It will make the low setting similar to the brightness of the Focus' low setting. The only issue is it will NOT fix the automatic setting and that will continue to be way too dim.
Also there is another new setting that will mess up your brightness levels. Samsung added a page to settings called Extra Settings that will bring up the option to turn on/off the following:
Auto Display Intensity
Key Vibration Feedback
Echo Cancellation
Auto Display Intensity needs to be turned OFF. With it on you will notice the brightness constantly flickering, especially on a light background. It's extremely annoying. The problem though is you can turn it off but the setting doesn't want to stick! If you soft reset your phone it will turn back on and you'll need to switch it off again. Trust me you'll want to... I find it horrible. The did release an update for Extra Settings in the marketplace but it did not solve this issue. Atleast we know it's a simple app update through the marketplace though.
I think the Super AMOLED Plus' colors look a little fake and more saturated. I don't think it's too terrible though. The Focus' colors may be more true, but during movie playback I like how the Focus S' colors looked. Daylight use is fine as long as your on atleast medium brightness. Viewing angles are pretty good.
One last thing about the display. I did experience some weird flickering on my device the second day I had it. It hasn't happened since then but I don't think it's a good sign. I did get to take a video of it. It's hard to see it in the video because it kinda looks like distortion from filming but look closely, all those dark flickering bands you see are happening on the screen.
I don't know if it will happen again but if anyone else has experienced it let me know!
Camera - Still working on this!
Well this camera is definitely quicker than the Focus' and when holding each phones in the same spot, the Focus S will give you a greater viewing range and you'll be able to see more in the frame. But other than that I don't think the camera is much of an improvement on the Focus'. I'm still working on taking examples on both phones for a comparison. The camera offers no new settings (such as HTC's burst and panorama modes). I tested the LED on both the Focus S and the Focus in the dark and I think the Focus' LED is slightly brighter but it's pretty close and hard to tell. Overall I'm don't think I'm impressed with the camera.
I haven't taken any videos with the camera yet and will get to that later.
Front Facing Camera
It's there and it works! Quality is not great of course... standard poor webcam-type quality. Tango works great though and hopefully Skype will be released soon. Ability to use your phone as a mirror is nice. Pictures taken with the front facing cam are reversed after being taken, which I think is kinda annoying.
Storage
16GB actually meanings 14.07GB total. After a fresh install Zune will show you that 1GB is used with 12.53GB free. If you go into Zune's setting and lower reserved space to 0% it will give you 335.78MB used and 13.20GB free. It was depressing finding out the Focus S would only have 16GB instead of 32GB and no MicroSD slot. I never used the MicroSD slot in my Focus in fear of a random hard reset so 16GB is still an upgrade for me. I kept some music on my Focus (around 2 or 3GB) but no movies (never had space for them). My Focus was filled completely so it's nice to have some breathing room now. Even though it's not ideal I think 16GB is sufficient enough for now.
Speakers
First of all the speaker on the back is at the bottom of the phone. I think this is a poor position for it. While holding the phone your hand will tend to cover it and distort the sound. The loudspeaker is also not as loud as the Focus and doesn't sound as good. The sound with headphones plugged in was disappointing. Compared to the Focus it sounded very flat. The Focus has more bass and music sounds much better on it. Samsung doesn't offer any sort of equalizer app. Headphone volume also doesn't get as loud.
Microphone
I did a test where I recorded myself talking on both the Focus S and the Focus at the same time. The Focus S had a noticeable static in the background while the Focus' recording did not.
MicroUSB
The MicroUSB port is at the bottom now. It seems like it makes more sense to have it at the bottom. No little door covering it but I don't miss it. It's low profile and hassle free. If you keep your phone in a cup holder or so while driving it may be awkward to have it plugged in now. But it is easier to talk on the phone with it plugged in at the bottom. The moved it to the bottom but you know Samsung won't release a dock for this phone, it's a shame.
Buttons
The buttons on the phone feel really good, easy, and very pressable!
Call quality
So far I haven't had any dropped calls. Seems pretty decent in that regard. BUT I've been told there is an obvious decrease in sound quality on the other end since getting my new phone. Multiple times I've been told that the other person couldn't hear me at all. It seems to happen when I have the phone about 4-5 inches from my mouth (for example when I'm laying down and have the phone on pillow). The in-call volume is still too low just like the Focus. I wish I was able to hold the phone more than a few inches away from my head and still hear it. Speakerphone is pretty mediocre and not great. I'm disappointed with the microphone and speakers on this phone.
Homebrew
The current registry editors out there do not work. Only way to edit registry is with using a provisioning xml. I have used this method to enable the instant resume hack and to increase the brightness when on the low setting. I tried to change accent colors using this method but so far have been unsuccessful.
Interop unlock works but doesn't. You are able to install the unlock, removing your sideload limit and getting rid 0x81030120 error when deploying interop apps. BUT the apps you deploy won't work. They will either fail to start or their functions just won't work.
The diagnosis app is installed the same way as before (dialing ##634#). It is version 0923. Not all the codes are the same though! *#77284# (tethering) and *#9908# (GPRS Manager) still work. Some other ones that I tried like Auto SIM Configure do not.
USB tethering is possible! Similar to tethering on the Focus but an extra step is need as discovered by dbrandusa. See instructions here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=19175627&postcount=8
Overall
Pros
New CPU/GPU offers a definite increase in speed and power. App launching, app performance, gaming, HTML5 all benefit from it
Bigger screen size and yet thinner and lighter, perfectly sized device in my opinion
Bigger storage capacity (but no MicroSD)
4G capable (but don't expect a significant speed increase)
Has front facing camera (even though quality is nothing special)
Easy to press buttons
Cons
SAMOLED+ display produces very annoying ghosting/blurring. Also potential flicker issue
Microphone has some static and issues with other people not hearing you during the call
Speakers are not as loud as Focus' and sound flat
Camera is not much of an improvement
Headphone quality is much worse than Focus' (needs more bass)
Headphone cable controls do not work anymore (Unsure if it's an issue with the aux design or a software issue)
Delayed keyboard tap bug *can be fixed with update*
Extremely low brightness when on low or automatic settings. Annoying "auto intensity display" setting that turns itself on after each soft reset *can be fixed with update*
I really want to love this device. Looking at it sitting there I just want to grab it and play with it much more than my Focus. But I think I was happier with it until I starting comparing it side by side with my Focus. At that point I started seeing it's flaws. I love the faster CPU & GPU, dimensions, screen size, storage upgrade, having a front facing camera, but the biggest dealbreakers for me are the ghosting on the display, poor headphone sound quality, and in-call microphone issues. I will definitely be exchanging it for a HTC Titan on the 20th and I'll see how I feel about that device. If I decide it's too big, the pixel density is too low, or some other major issue I will come back to the Focus S. If you have a Focus or other first generation device and debating between upgrading to the Focus S or waiting to see what is coming (from Nokia and such): just ask yourself are you content with your current storage capacity and screen size? Do you really need your apps to load a second earlier? Do you HAVE to have a front facing camera? If you do need those things NOW and the Titan is too big of a device for you than I think it'll be worth the upgrade. If you do get one you'll just have to be patient for the bug fixes though. If it's your first Windows Phone you'll probably be content with it as long as you turn the brightness up.
Does it seem faster?
MartyLK said:
Does it seem faster?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Absolutely, in my opinion.
---------- Post added at 07:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:38 PM ----------
On another side note, it's crazy how different the AT&T rep was today compared with last year. Maybe it was just that particular store, but the rep that sold it to me was blown away by it's responsiveness and decided to show it off to 3 other reps before handing it over to me. They only had two in stock (one was on display)...so I got lucky. But, I remember last year...and the rep that sold me the focus had spent some time trying to sell me an Android or iPhone even after he knew I was there for the Focus. So, is it a change in AT&T training for WP7, or that the product speaks for itself?
i went to an at&t store today, and the focus S and focus flash were sitting in a lonely corner the store was packed but not a single other person besides me was looking at it, haha
---------- Post added at 02:03 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:01 AM ----------
could you take some photo samples? I wonder if its the same lens from the GS2, that has pretty high praise for its camera
does your unit overheat when running graphic intensive games? I also noticed that autocontrast is quite poor
have you experienced this?
How does the quality of both the primary camera and front facing camera seem to other phones you've used in the past?
I picked up a Focus S today - like the OP said, it and the Flash were tucked away in the corner of the store. I use an iPhone, but was looking to upgrade an Android phone on our plan and have been interested in trying W7 Phone. The store had exactly one Focus S in stock.
First impression - really light, almost freakishly so. Fairly thin - a little lip at the bottom makes it easier to hold. Screen changes and app loading is very snappy. Screen is terrific.
One nice touch - bloatware, and there is some, is very easily removed. It's much closer to the iPhone where there is zero bloatware as opposed to an Android phone where you literally have to root the thing to remove the nonsense. (An Motorola Android phone on the ATT network might have upwards of two dozen preinstalled, unremovable apps.)
Can't really comment on anything else given that I'm about six hours into this Windows Phone thing.
I just picked up my first windows phone, focus s, i notice that when you lay it on its back, you can possibly scratch up the camera lense/cover over time....why would they design it to stick out like that?
Focus S vs. Focus
Here's some pics I took of Focus S vs Focus. It's hard to get a true feel of the difference b/w the two in regards to the screen, but I think a few of these pics are able to show it.
Samsung Focus S
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Samsung Focus
Wow, The S-Amoled Plus screen makes a big difference in the Eli Manning Photos
bennyj71 said:
Wow, The S-Amoled Plus screen makes a big difference in the Eli Manning Photos
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Focus has a screen protector on it, and that could make a difference.
Seed 2.0 said:
The Focus has a screen protector on it, and that could make a difference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe,but the picture on the Focus is pixalated. Would a screen protector cause that?
bennyj71 said:
Maybe,but the picture on the Focus is pixalated. Would a screen protector cause that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That would be the pen-tile matrix of the Super AMOLED display.. it has fewer sub-pixels than the Super AMOLED Plus display in the Focus S.
Notice how the text is blurrier in the Focus pictures? (look at the marketplace picture in particular)
here's a good comparison (not the focus.. but galaxy S and S II.. which use the same kind of screen as the focus and the focus S respectively)
http://www.phonearena.com/news/Supe...AMOLED-to-the-PenTile-matrix-and-back_id18700
I think thay should made the Focus S a bit more like the original Focus. in my opinion the design of the original Focus is great.
Anyway a good phone
Were there any cases for Focus S in stores? I do not see any listed on AT&T site and I can not buy a phone without a case.
---------- Post added at 08:37 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:36 AM ----------
suua said:
I think thay should made the Focus S a bit more like the original Focus. in my opinion the design of the original Focus is great.
Anyway a good phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only thing that irks me is the location of the USB port. While in car I keep my phone docked and having the car charger plugged in on top makes my phone physically unstable.
None of you has used a SGS2? The Focus S is almost a direct external copy of the international/AT&T version. There's a reason Samsung has sold as many as they have in so short a time. Far superior to the Onmia/Focus/Flash.
No, there were no cases in stock and none listed in the ATT system.
Thought I was on reddit for a second here, with the AMA =D
Sent from my T7575 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App
Trust me, this thing is diesel...reception is ridiculous...im loving how fast 4g is..if u liked ur focus, this is for you, as it's a much bigger upgrade than I had anticipated..i mean, those who have wp7 already know how fluid the os was/is with the 1st generation phones...so it was hard to imagine that they could run noticeably faster....well, they can. And, it's noticeable
Sent from my SGH-i937 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App
Nice!! I took my brother to get a new phone yesterday and after him playing with the iphone, HTC Vivid (which is actually REALLY nice) and the Focus S, he finally settled on the Focus S. He asked a few pointed questions about each and myself and the rep gave him honest answers without much bias (despite both the rep and already owning the HD7 and HD7S). My brother makes up his own mind regardless of input and was really impressed with overall look of the OS and how smooth it was. And the phone was SO thin he said with such a huge screen!! It almost made me switch back to ATT, but figured I'd wait for what I've been waiting on a little longer (the Titan), before I decide. Overall impressions though were it's a really great phone, buttons are perfect in all aspects and it's the lightest and thinnest 4.3 in device out. If you dont want the Titan, get the Focus S for sure.