Related
What about a periscope that you can attach at the top of the screen, making the front camera a "rear camera". I'm thinking in google goggles, AR apps, QR Codes, and maybe a photo .
Even the head of the periscope can rotate to change the orientation withot attach and deattach this accessory, I'm thinking in a hangout that you can show something you are looking at, and after you want to go back to your face.
Crazy idea?
Not crazy at all, someone did something similar to make Nexus One rear facing camera have mirror so it is front facing. Love to see it done. Google it, I don't have any links atm.
they could have installed rear camera.....just 3MP to translate text, recognize sudoku.....for GOGGLES and TRANSLATES!!!
wasn't smart
maysider said:
they could have installed rear camera.....just 3MP to translate text, recognize sudoku.....for GOGGLES and TRANSLATES!!!
wasn't smart
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Anyone with an N7 also has a decent phone in their pocket that can do this do it really isn't necessary. If my N7 did everything my OneX does then why have both?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium
Jutt69 said:
Anyone with an N7 also has a decent phone in their pocket that can do this do it really isn't necessary. If my N7 did everything my OneX does then why have both?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
me too (SGS2), but why just for 5$ camera couldnt I do it when I have a tablet in my hands??
taC nayN said:
Not crazy at all, someone did something similar to make Nexus One rear facing camera have mirror so it is front facing. Love to see it done. Google it, I don't have any links atm.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep found a nexus one accessory here.
Picture here
EDIT: removed attached pic(it was huge)
don't know what the dimensions of where the nexus one rear camera is. but this could be made with a tiny amount of tweaking.
Only thing is, the front facing camera isn't exactly good quality.
I had this idea whilst waiting for my nexus to arrive few weeks back, all you need is one mirror to make the camera 'up facing' then You can then hold device flat and lower down like a compass and review / frame stuff up, noting that its flipped so left is right etc.
i Mentioned it here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=29191027
I just need a non scratched little mirror about an inch square as my test one was mucky and meant picture quality was bit lame.
Tbh i think all we really need is a little view finder to aid lining up from behind and clever apps that use the eg. Vol key as a shutter. That would potentially be more useful to make front facing cam work.
Sent from my Nexus 7
All though I found if you install camera app where volume buttons activate shutter, you can blindly snap while pointing nexus with the back facing you in googles and it seems to work.
Hi all, I just want to share my experiences I made today.
I have bought a Wide/Macro Lens like used in the Video (from Amazon, they all seems to be pretty the same) and it is NOT working! The magnets from the lens are not attracting to the magnets in the phone, they are pushing away! Be aware, I don't thing there is a standardized way how the lens manufacturers build in the magnet since it is designed to hold to a metal ring and not to another magnet.
I tried to hold the lens just to take a test picture but the magnet interferes with the OIS, in some positions it caused hard vibrations within the N5's camera lens that was also visible in the camera app preview picture.
I would be careful with this lenses! I think the magnets in the N5 are designed for the OIS and not for some cheap 3rd party lenses. Gladly my OIS still seems to work flawless (This seems also to be why Google is not advertising such feature)
fireproofrev said:
(from Amazon, they all seems to be pretty the same)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's already known that some cheap ones on Amazon have more-or-less random magnetic polarity. The only ones confirmed for being consistent are the ones on Photojojo. As for messing with OIS, I don't have first-hand experience with these lenses, but it seems that that was also confirmed for not happening with the Photojojo lenses.
Unless you got the Photojojo ones through Amazon. Then you might want to post this in those other threads about this too, so people will see this result.
You could always take out the magnet and flip it around
Andypandiiee said:
You could always take out the magnet and flip it around
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried to (with a little flat screwdriver), but it seems to be pressed in, it fits very tight. Maybe I try it tomorrow again (heat up a little??).
attached a picture of the lens
(at the amazon picture a silver one was shown but they delivered this black version)
All of this effort to turn a phone into a camera... Why not just buy an SLR and enjoy real photography? Hell, even a cheap point and shoot blows away any phone camera.
Stay Frosty said:
All of this effort to turn a phone into a camera... Why not just buy an SLR and enjoy real photography? Hell, even a cheap point and shoot blows away any phone camera.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
uhm.. this is totally wrong, I don't want a great picture quality, I want a wide-lens to have a wider angle for party snapshots or being out with some friends. You can increase the visibility range alot and I like the effect, so why not? I definitely DONT want to carry a camera all the time (by the way I have also a canon eos d1000, yeah I know it is just a "cheap" DSLR but it is enough for me).
This is not a "camera has too bad quality" thread (IMO the N5 camera is great) so go away
By the way, the lens is working perfect with the metal ring on my GNex
I can also confirm this. I bought these from Amazon. Received these today and when tried to put them on ... the reverse polarity on the magnet on the lens and the one on the camera itself repel each other. I was only able to hold the lens in place with my hand to try out the macro lens (picture attached). However I didn't experience any vibration or OIS not working. OIS was working fine for me. I used HDR+ mode.
Anyways, lenses are going back. Only lens confirmed to work with N5 are from Photojojo and since those lenses are way overpriced I will not buy them.
zoomed out photo was taken at the closest distance where the on-screen camera focus ring turned green. YMMV.
Excuse the fingers in the macro shot as I was holding the lens with one hand while taking the photo.
enjoy
Here's my post from another thread about this:
Got the photojojo and ehh not impresive at all. Although this one didn't seem to affect the camera like the others. When put up to the camera it didn't flicker like the cheap Amazon ones. Also it required me to have the metal ring attached
You're better off going with a product called Easy Macro. It's a macro lens attached to a band that fits around your phone so no magnets
Overall for $25 it's not worth it IMO. I'm returnng it and sticking with my easy macro.
Here are some images
Here are the full resolution ones taken with my n5 and the fisheye lens. It was an act of god to get it to focus right lol
Picture 1
Picture 2
Picture 3
fullsize of the last 3 images taken with my dslr
picture 1
picture 2
picture 3
I ordered the Photojojo's from Amazon -- FROM Photojojo, and it's no-go jojo for my photo phono circo.
Anyway, the magnet doesn't work at all. Not quite reversed polarity that I can tell, but only one small area wants to attract. Not enough to keep the lens on.
Yea. The magnet on my phone barely holds up a paperclip. I seriously doubt it was designed for lenses. If it was, Google would be all over that with their advertising, especially since they have been flaunting their photo capabilities.
-Cupper- said:
Here's my post from another thread about this:
Got the photojojo and ehh not impresive at all. Although this one didn't seem to affect the camera like the others. When put up to the camera it didn't flicker like the cheap Amazon ones. Also it required me to have the metal ring attached
You're better off going with a product called Easy Macro. It's a macro lens attached to a band that fits around your phone so no magnets
Overall for $25 it's not worth it IMO. I'm returnng it and sticking with my easy macro.
Here are some images
Here are the full resolution ones taken with my n5 and the fisheye lens. It was an act of god to get it to focus right lol
Picture 1
Picture 2
Picture 3
fullsize of the last 3 images taken with my dslr
picture 1
picture 2
picture 3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you enjoying them so far cause I would love to get my hands on some extra lenses for this phone if they work good and yes I have a dslr as well but not always on me
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
dakunclear said:
Are you enjoying them so far cause I would love to get my hands on some extra lenses for this phone if they work good and yes I have a dslr as well but not always on me
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The fisheye lenses that I got were REALLY subpar to me, so I returned it. Since I had to attach a metal ring to the camera lens so that the lens could stick to it, I couldn't really justify it. Like I said in my earlier post I really like the easy macro because it's on a band and I can easily remove it. If I found a fisheye that was on a band like that I might get it, but idk the image quality wasnt that great either and the metal ring was really a turnoff Use amazon, buy it and if you dont like it then return it
fireproofrev said:
I tried to hold the lens just to take a test picture but the magnet interferes with the OIS, in some positions it caused hard vibrations within the N5's camera lens that was also visible in the camera app preview picture.
I would be careful with this lenses! I think the magnets in the N5 are designed for the OIS and not for some cheap 3rd party lenses. Gladly my OIS still seems to work flawless (This seems also to be why Google is not advertising such feature)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh boy!!! I can now confirm this. After a long time I couldn't control myself and bought another set of lenses from Amazon and decided to stick the provided ring to the phone lens. Macro lens seemed to work fine however as soon as I mounted the wide angle lens ... OIS started freaking out so bad I can't even begin to describe. You can feel the vibrations and see it on the screen as well. I immediately removed the lens and put it away. OP was right about this little thing ... I won't be using wide angle lens to avoid any permanent damage to OIS in the phone .
Any kind of strong magnet will also disorient the directional sensor while using google maps. I was wondering why the turn by turn navi would randomly tell me to make a U-turn.
Test for yourself. Pop open google maps and locate your position. Then put a magnet near the top half of the phone, you'll see your directional pointer spin away.
Stay Frosty said:
All of this effort to turn a phone into a camera... Why not just buy an SLR and enjoy real photography? Hell, even a cheap point and shoot blows away any phone camera.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah good luck. A dedicated camera like an SLR or a point and shoot won't be there when that spur of the moment photo presents itself to you.
Sent from my Nexus 5
Stay Frosty said:
All of this effort to turn a phone into a camera... Why not just buy an SLR and enjoy real photography? Hell, even a cheap point and shoot blows away any phone camera.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So much NO in this post. "real Photography"? Please. The fact that a photo is taken with a phone vs a DSLR vs medium format vs etc etc is irrelevant. You don't need a (relatively) expensive camera to take good photos. You need creativity and opportunity, that's it.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
I was almost tempted to buy one to play with my N5 camera.. but reading this thread made me worried..
Now I used that little money and bought a wireless charger... should be coming to me tomorrow..
Good to know -- thanks for the warning, you just saved me some time/money no doubt!
Hello!
The LG G2 has an exceptional camera, we all know that. So to take even more advantage of this I've made a makro lens that you can 3D print yourself. I just wanted to share this with you guys, I hope you like it. More sample pictures and files can be found on thingiverse
Because of me being a new user I can't post the link to it, but go on Thingiverse and search for samsve (LG G2 Makro lens)
Best Regards
Sammy
Here is the link
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:343279/#files
I wish I had access to a 3D printer though
Thank you!
To be clear on one point, the case is 3D printed, but the lens is from a "copier laser assembly" but you can find these types of lenses in every laser printer!
Very useful
Great man I could use this for an image proyect right now, massive thanks
samsve said:
Thank you!
To be clear on one point, the case is 3D printed, but the lens is from a "copier laser assembly" but you can find these types of lenses in every laser printer!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the heads up.
Is this really a macro lens (bring far object look [email protected]) or is it micro lens (magnifier for close-up imaging)?
kopter3161 said:
Is this really a macro lens (bring far object look [email protected]) or is it micro lens (magnifier for close-up imaging)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i guess you've messed up the terms...
1st lens you are mentioning in your post is called "zoom" or "tele" lens
2nd one is called "macro" or "close up" lens (not micro)
Any tips where to get nice macro (or micro, whatever) lens? I was using some lens from cheaps ebay lasers along with my old compact camera, the zoom was really huge but on the other side the quality was really poor. I've also got there some camera lens from Smena 8M and Zorki 4 (Industar 50 lens) but since I don't want to destroy them, I can't really use them for macro (or micro, whatever) (even when reverse mounted, not that much zoom).
Zarrick19 said:
Any tips where to get nice macro (or micro, whatever) lens? I was using some lens from cheaps ebay lasers along with my old compact camera, the zoom was really huge but on the other side the quality was really poor. I've also got there some camera lens from Smena 8M and Zorki 4 (Industar 50 lens) but since I don't want to destroy them, I can't really use them for macro (or micro, whatever) (even when reverse mounted, not that much zoom).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
most of the macro add-on lenses (or any add-on lenses) you can find for mobile phones are basically the same, cheap ones - good for fun, but no good for anything serious...
only thing that comes in mind is that sony standalone lens that can be used on any mobile device
like this one
http://www.wired.com/2014/09/sony-ilce-qx1/
but for that price (or if you add some extra $), you can find a better compact camera (like one from the Sony NEX series or Olympus Pen series)
60nine said:
i guess you've messed up the terms...
1st lens you are mentioning in your post is called "zoom" or "tele" lens
2nd one is called "macro" or "close up" lens (not micro)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh thanks for correcting me though. Btw, is this lens for zooming or macro? I really wanted, well at least 50x optical zooming capabilities for my project. Not really interested for close-up shot since i've made my own by just using cd-rom lens. Its not perfect but, well it does the job.
kopter3161 said:
Oh thanks for correcting me though. Btw, is this lens for zooming or macro? I really wanted, well at least 50x optical zooming capabilities for my project. Not really interested for close-up shot since i've made my own by just using cd-rom lens. Its not perfect but, well it does the job.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol... you will hardly find 50x optical zoom lenses even for dslr cameras
if you need that much optical zoom - you better forget about mobile device for doing that...
you'd be better with the FinePix SL1000, Sony HX400V, Olympus SP-100, Canon PowerShot SX50 HS or several other compact cameras which will give you 50x optical zoom and way better pictures than any mobile device for sure...
ps:
you can also search for a cheaper dlsr that you can attach to a telescope with a proper adapter... i believe there are some budget solutions for this combo
60nine said:
lol... you will hardly find 50x optical zoom lenses even for dslr cameras
if you need that much optical zoom - you better forget about mobile device for doing that...
you'd be better with the FinePix SL1000, Sony HX400V, Olympus SP-100, Canon PowerShot SX50 HS or several other compact cameras which will give you 50x optical zoom and way better pictures than any mobile device for sure...
ps:
you can also search for a cheaper dlsr that you can attach to a telescope with a proper adapter... i believe there are some budget solutions for this combo
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah i know it is ridiculous to even begin with. Lol. It is just i am very interested in this kind of thing. My brother just got me 200x telescopic lens for my d90 and i started to see a whole new things to fiddle with. It is amazing!
Beware ladies. Lol. Just joking. Dont ever do unethical things like peeping tom could. Even if it fun.
I wish i had a Makro lens for my G2. All the photos that was taken with makro lens, look so great
Hosre said:
I wish i had a Makro lens for my G2. All the photos that was taken with makro lens, look so great
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
believe me - macro lens on phones are PITA to use... especially if you don't have a dedicated photo capture button on your device (and G2 doesn't have it - at least not on the bezel side instead of the buttons on behind of the case)
you can grab a macro lens from ebay for as much as 10$ or less...
downsides are:
- very hard to focus due to being unable to keep the device steady that close to the subject (and you have to be very, very close to the subject to get it in focus)
- on G2 - the macro lens always has a black circle vignette around the image (lens hardly covers the whole frame without the vignette "effect")
- not so sharp images as the real macro photos
- a bit clunky to use because it clips on the device (instead of screwing to the case like i.e. on iPhones)
good points:
- nice for fun (especially if you don't have a normal camera - dslr or compact)
- gives almost a natural bokeh to the macro image (which isn't possible with phone lenses)
my 2 cents
60nine said:
believe me - macro lens on phones are PITA to use... especially if you don't have a dedicated photo capture button on your device (and G2 doesn't have it - at least not on the bezel side instead of the buttons on behind
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This one problem could actually be resolved by using voice-activated command on G2 stock camera app. It is called cheese shutter and this function is pretty great though.
kopter3161 said:
This one problem could actually be resolved by using voice-activated command on G2 stock camera app. It is called cheese shutter and this function is pretty great though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes, it might work - but as i've said, it's the "holding the device still" that's PITA the most
Some of those acceptable pics (many are really really close up, but you can't really tell what it is, so I won't even post them)
Human hair
Sponge
IEM earphone wires (different lens)
Salt (or sugar)
Sugar (or salt)
Surface of a HDD disc
Zarrick19 said:
Some of those acceptable pics (many are really really close up, but you can't really tell what it is, so I won't even post them)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what lens and device did you use for this?
As I've said before, I'm using lens from the cheapest lasers on ebay.
60nine said:
yes, it might work - but as i've said, it's the "holding the device still" that's PITA the most
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes without a tripod the image would susceptible to blurring. Unless it can take picture at 1/1000s at lowest ISO possible without darkening the picture, yes you wont get professional-quality close-up shot.
Zarrick19 said:
Some of those acceptable pics (many are really really close up, but you can't really tell what it is, so I won't even post them)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Those picture actually very nice. But the problem i spotted is there isnt enough lights. I used to take pictures like those but end up having to bring the camera too close to the object thus blocking lights to shine the object. That is the only problem for this method. At least for me, it is.
Hello guys, I'm really disappointed and I need your explanations please !
I bought my Galaxy Note 9 (960F variant) from an official Samsung store so I'm sure I'm having a genuine one
As you know, there are two cameras in the rear. I thought that the main one is in the middle, and the 2X optical zoom powered is the one at the left.
Well, yesterday I was playing with my phone, and I masked the camera on the left with a paper. So I thought that I can take pictures in normal mode with the camera on the middle, but the 2X option should give me a blank picture only because of the mask. But no ! Both modes (1x and 2x) are using the same middle camera !
It's normal ?! So what is the purpose of the left sided camera ? Is the 2X really an optical zoom or just a software one ?!
Please do the test and answer me !
Maybe this explains is it
https://www.trustedreviews.com/reviews/samsung-galaxy-note-9-camera
My side camera works only on live focus. Everything else I tested works on the center only. I have a snapdragon, the same setup as my wife's Note 8 too. It's the way they are designed.
kaalalto said:
Hello guys, I'm really disappointed and I need your explanations please !
I bought my Galaxy Note 9 (960F variant) from an official Samsung store so I'm sure I'm having a genuine one
As you know, there are two cameras in the rear. I thought that the main one is in the middle, and the 2X optical zoom powered is the one at the left.
Well, yesterday I was playing with my phone, and I masked the camera on the left with a paper. So I thought that I can take pictures in normal mode with the camera on the middle, but the 2X option should give me a blank picture only because of the mask. But no ! Both modes (1x and 2x) are using the same middle camera !
It's normal ?! So what is the purpose of the left sided camera ? Is the 2X really an optical zoom or just a software one ?!
Please do the test and answer me !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's the same thing with the Note8. It all depends on the lighting and if anything blocking the other camera. It works by design. So when you hit 2x it seems it's blocked and gives you 2x digital zoom instead.
So it's truly an optical zoom ? I ask because if it's "just" a software one, I won't never use it to preserve picture quality !
kaalalto said:
So it's truly an optical zoom ? I ask because if it's "just" a software one, I won't never use it to preserve picture quality !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yep, AFAIK, it is true optical zoom. The camera just changes back to main camera if something is blocking the secondary one.
Um I try to not cover it ,but it still using the main one
JalenHo said:
Um I try to not cover it ,but it still using the main one
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here !
I hope I didn't started a "cameragate" scandal !
There are no official specifications from Samsung explaining the purpose of each camera ?!
It depends on the lighting
Try and go outside, on a sunny and bright day, point at the clouds or something, and zoom
Then cover the center camera, it should be using the 2x lens (can confirm with my SM-N960F)
kaalalto said:
Same here !
I hope I didn't started a "cameragate" scandal !
There are no official specifications from Samsung explaining the purpose of each camera ?!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You didn't, it's working properly. You are just confused. Cover the middle one and see. Take multiple pics @ 1x and then at @ 2x on both cameras with and without covering. Covering the camera just out it into a different mode so as to not take bad pics by default. The difference is clear of you understand the 2 technologies and have any eye for photography. It's working completely correctly and very nicely.
Yeah like the others stated, it's not supposed to work completely independently and take pictures even with no light to the sensor, it's supposed to be smarter than that, if it's working correctly.
Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
Hey all, I worked this out.
In a low light situation the wide camera is used for the 2X zoom (So technically Digital zoom)
In a situation with more light, it switches to the dedicated 2X camera.
You can test this by putting your finger over the camera and showing it a bight light, then dark. I'm guessing this is because the main (Wide) camera is better at low light.
willhemmens said:
Hey all, I worked this out.
In a low light situation the wide camera is used for the 2X zoom (So technically optical zoom)
In a situation with more light, it switches to the dedicated 2X camera.
You can test this by putting your finger over the camera and showing it a bight light, then dark. I'm guessing this is because the main (Wide) camera is better at low light.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, although you mean digital zoom for low light situations.
My issue is that sometimes the camera still decides to use digital zoom in good lighting instead of the second camera because it decides that a slightly overcast day or sunset is "low light" or the subject is too close. I'm guessing the second camera can't focus as closely and its optics aren't quite as good as the main camera. In more inconsistent conditions I can sometimes see the viewfinder image jump between the two lenses and usually settle for the digital zoom. Doesn't seem to be used at all in Pro Mode. (I also wish Pro Mode had burst capture)
If you look at the EXIF data you can see which lens is used for your photo. The wide lens is 4.3mm and the telephoto lens is 6mm. The mushroom images were taken 20 seconds apart with "2X" in Auto mode; in the second shot the camera decided to use the wide lens with crop, and the EXIF shows 4.3mm compared to the first image. The crop version just looks like an upscale and has more aggressive nose reduction and edge enhancement; it's not too bad compared to some phone cameras which add too much sharpening or use a simpler interpolation filter. The third image of the grasshopper/locust was in very bright daylight, but the camera decided to use the main camera with 2X crop.
https://imgur.com/a/MYpRogb
With video it tends to be even more obvious which camera is used because if you take 4K in low light with 2X enabled it looks more noise-reduced and interpolated.
I get that Samsung tried to make its camera app "smart" but the 2x button implies that it's using the 2x lens and doing otherwise is deceiving.
If I knew that a zoomed photo would use digital zoom then I'd rather take the full shot and crop later so that I can have more flexibility in framing.
While this is unlikely to ever happen, here's how I feel this should be fixed:
1) Add an option to force switch cameras in all conditions (perhaps in pro mode only?)
2) Hide the 2x button unless the telephoto camera will actually be used. Still allow pinch to digital zoom.
I've looked around but couldn't find any 3rd party camera apps which are able to use the zoom lens. Does anyone know of one?
I've tried a few shot it seems if the lighting isn't good enough it will stick with the primary camera., in good lighting it does work though.
Just do two shots with each and compare the level of detail, it should be obvious.
So the phone has 2 front facing cameras. The 24 megapixel camera is working fine. But is the 2 megapixel one working for you? I tried covering the camera and there is no difference in portrait blur. It looks like it's just some software blur instead of a real one.
The secound one i used for the bokeh effect.
I know. I have enabled bokeh and covered the second camera but the background is still blurred. Also it does a really bad job identifying what's in the background and what's in the front.
Try with covered lens on Aperture mode. You will see the difference.
Sent from my SNE-LX1 using Tapatalk
There is no aperture mode for the front facing camera.
ShareACoke said:
There is no aperture mode for the front facing camera.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My bad. Didn't read "front camera"... Yep on front one no difference if you cover the second sensor.
Sent from my SNE-LX1 using Tapatalk
Thanks for your answer. Do you know any way to check whether it is real or not?
That's very interesting.. i tried every mode, that i could, but as i can see, i don't really know, how to test it out :/
I just got a Mate 20 Lite. Funny if it is a fake camera.
Both secondary "cameras" are "depth sensors".
Anybody with Pie who got the depth sensor working?
Second cameras are working but they are working in conjunction with software. Software utilizes the additional information that is collected from the depth cameras but it does not solely rely on that information. And if you cover it you may not be able to see any difference because thanks to machine learning the software is really good at identifying subjects from the background. There is never a real bokeh on these smartphones because of the tiny lenses and sensors that are being used in them. So you are always in need of some software trickery to achieve good blurr. Another option is to get really close to your subjects but in many cases that is not useful.
Both the secondary cameras, front or rear, are real. But they are only used to the boken effect most of the time.
They are used to capture the depth of a cenary, imrpoving the effect in the final version.
You probably wont notice a difference if cover the secondary sensor, but in some cases can have impact.
Most of the work isn't done by that sensor, but by the câmera software, thats why you don't see any real difference in the images.
That secondary câmera can also be used to improve the quality of some photos, for instance, in the night.
So, is a real câmera? Yes, it is.
But like in any other dual câmera smartphone, is used for some situations, not all the time.