Simple low-light camera and camcorder tweak! - Motorola Droid 3

Hey guys I have found another tweak. In our build.prop I noticed ro.mediacapture.torchintensity=40. Upping this increases the flash brightness in the camcorder. Also ro.media.capture.flashintensity=70 upping this increases the flash brightness in camera.
I confirmed they made a difference. Tried last night taking a picture at stock setting, then a picture with it upped to 100. Then did the same with the camcorder.
Try raising those values to what you feel comfortable with and let me know if they have helped you guys.
WARNING! Obviously too high would kill battery quicker if taking many shots or long videos. But this definitely works.
Heres an interesting concept. Can we adjust a setting to get 8mp widescreen? If possible would be amazing! Havent been able to figure this one out though.

Be careful turning the flash to high.you could burn the led out.
Sent from my DROID3 using XDA App

Izeltokatl said:
Be careful turning the flash to high.you could burn the led out.
Sent from my DROID3 using XDA App
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I hear ya, but considering led last alot longer than regular lights I wouldn't worry than much. Besides that why we have warranties.

gkitab said:
I hear ya, but considering led last alot longer than regular lights I wouldn't worry than much. Besides that why we have warranties.
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Click to collapse
They may last longer under normal circumstances, but oh man can they die fast. Be VERY careful with how bright you make it and for how long it stays on for. You an burn out the diode very quickly.
Sent from my DROID3 using XDA App

Dont have to put it at 100 if you dont want to. Just pointing out that it most definitely helps. Make it what you feel confortable. It definitely improves low light video and pictures.

upping the brightness wouldn't be so bad if there was a way to deflect the light. taking camcorder pictures with the flash on is great in most any light situation, but because it's a direct light, you get washed out colors and red eye problems.
i wish there were an easy to deflect the light too.

Well its adjustable so you guy can fine the setting that best suits you guys. Keep in mind its only a phone if we want better quality we should use cameras. That being said, upping these values at least gets us a respectable picture or video in low light, a picture worth keeping that doesn't just get deleted after we go back and check it.

Related

Bad camera on my phone?

Hey guys, recently i have noticed that on my phone, when taking pictures in low light settings, It has these weird "lines" across the image. Whether the "lines" are horizontal or vertical, they are there.
For example, the images i have uploaded. This one has the horizontal "lines"
I have searched across the net, and I am not able to find any low-light settings with these problems. So... Do you guys think my Captivate has a bad camera? maybe, a bad sensor or something like that :O
P.S. Yes, i know i need a new keyboard xP
I didn't see any lines on that picture
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Its on the bottom of the picture. Its not like a black line but it is like a line of noise x.x
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
It's a bad camera, but it's not just you.
There's a reason why high end phones have LED lights. You can't create light out of nothing.
Wait... so is it a bad unit, or is it normal for the camera in low light conditions?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Bump
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
dude your keyboard is disgusting....i think i would have to wash my hands after using it
on another note....my first phone had a pink dot in all the pics i took, att store exchanged it without a question. no lines, but to me it kinda sounds normal
OP, I took a picture last night and it had the same effect. Disappointing because it was alot worse and it my favorite out of 70. Ugh.
I can't really provide any input on your Q though. I assume mine was just a fluke, but you say it happens every time for you.
buddy17 said:
dude your keyboard is disgusting....i think i would have to wash my hands after using it
on another note....my first phone had a pink dot in all the pics i took, att store exchanged it without a question. no lines, but to me it kinda sounds normal
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Click to collapse
Lol, well I still haven't gotten a definite answer x.x is this a problem, or is it normal for the camera in low light conditions? >_>
Btw, if it is pass the 30 days and I go to at&t, will they exchange it, or would have to go through warranty with samsung?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
david717 said:
OP, I took a picture last night and it had the same effect. Disappointing because it was alot worse and it my favorite out of 70. Ugh.
I can't really provide any input on your Q though. I assume mine was just a fluke, but you say it happens every time for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It doesn't happen everytime, only times with low lighting.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
My phone does it too... its normal.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Ah, I see those lines. They are normal even in high end DSLRs. You have to increase the ISO quality,that means use the lowest number say 100. However, when you do this, blur is more obvious.
However, I also noticed that our camera's sensor isn't really good. I tried ISO 100 and timed. I also was not holding the camera. It took a sharp picture but it still produced the noise on dark parts of the image. Taking pictures using DSLRs on ISO 100 doesn't produce those noise. I'm really not expecting too much from this phone since it's got a very small sensor.
Ok. Thanks. My camera lenses was also kind of dirty and I cleaned it and it helped a little. But thanks for all the help
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

Screen too bright for use in the dark?

Am I alone here when I say i'd like to be able to dim this thing a lot more, occasionally?
Thus far I can't find a way to do so. Does anyone know of a way to dim the screen beyond the limitations of the brightness settings?
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium
you are not alone, I run at 0% brightness all day and God knows i want even darker at night
Same here. At night i sometimes think the brightness has been turned up. I use at it around 10% during the day and it feels it is way too bright at night
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium
download "screen filter" from the market.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium
bendoe91z28 said:
download "screen filter" from the market.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium
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Click to collapse
You got there before me Bendoe, yep, Screen Filter works a treat people, just be sure not to set it too low when you first use it, else you won't "see" anything if you do lol.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk
Also I recommend running a program with a 'night mode'
- Frank
bendoe91z28 said:
download "screen filter" from the market.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
totally worked!
I am still awaiting my Galaxy Note, but perhaps the following could offer a solution.....
[MOD]Lower Auto-Brightness levels to save battery
This is a mod for the Galaxy S 2 but in theory the method should be ok to apply to the Note. However that said, I have not tried it on the Note (or successfully on my S2 as I always have trouble recompiling the apk) but hopefully it could help some as by applying the mod you can change the default 'lowest value' of auto-brightness from something from around 35 to 5 (on a scale from 0-255) making it light up less in dim environments.
cd993 said:
I am still awaiting my Galaxy Note, but perhaps the following could offer a solution.....
[MOD]Lower Auto-Brightness levels to save battery
This is a mod for the Galaxy S 2 but in theory the method should be ok to apply to the Note. However that said, I have not tried it on the Note (or successfully on my S2 as I always have trouble recompiling the apk) but hopefully it could help some as by applying the mod you can change the default 'lowest value' of auto-brightness from something from around 35 to 5 (on a scale from 0-255) making it light up less in dim environments.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That worked on my NOTE with my KKA ROM! My auto brightness is MUCH better now. Thanks!
ookba said:
That worked! My auto brightness is MUCH better now. Thanks!
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Click to collapse
Glad to of helped out!
So to anyone else reading this with the same issue.......follow suit!
The native web browser has 3 energy saving settings that make the screen even darker than 0 brightness, but there's no such setting for the screen in general. I agree that the screen in this device is incredibly bright, and in complete dark you could turn it down a lot more. I'm typing this by daylight with screen brightness at minimum and I find it enough. Of course you need more if the screen is directly on the sun light, but no screen can compete with a nuclear furnace 1 million km wide.
I don't see why people would want to have such a dim screen on their phone, 10% and below also...
What is the point in having a gorgeous nice and bright Amoled screen only using it at 0% brightness?
It's like me buying a Lamborghini and never going any quicker than 50mph...
The Note has such a wonderful screen and it's such a waste when it's dim most of the time...
My screen is on 90% brightness 24/7 and I get 2-3 days use out the phone.
Running my Note with 10 or 20% will get me an extra day or two out the battery but then it means looking at an ugly, dark & very dim screen...
kanej2006 said:
I don't see why people would want to have such a dim screen on their phone, 10% and below also...
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Click to collapse
Maybe because it IS subjectively too bright in certain scenarios? Like at night for example? (The key work being subjectively.)
And for some, the battery life is more important than somewhat nicer looking screen - I find the screen good enough even at low brightness. The colour rendering naturally suffers, but it's not too bad.
kanej2006 said:
My screen is on 90% brightness 24/7 and I get 2-3 days use out the phone.
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Click to collapse
Even at night...? I can't imagine looking into this 5.3" flashlight at night I feel sorry for your eyes
Pete
kanej2006 said:
I don't see why people would want to have such a dim screen on their phone, 10% and below also...
What is the point in having a gorgeous nice and bright Amoled screen only using it at 0% brightness?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I use it at lowest stock setting 24/7 and it is too bright to my eyes for most situations.
It's like me buying a Lamborghini and never going any quicker than 50mph...
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Click to collapse
I didn't buy the note for its screen only
My screen is on 90% brightness 24/7 and I get 2-3 days use out the phone.
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Click to collapse
Sounds like you don't use it enough I can't get 1 full day (16 hours) with mine at minimal brightness (and no it is not a wakelog or something I use it a lot)
Running my Note with 10 or 20% will get me an extra day or two out the battery but then it means looking at an ugly, dark & very dim screen...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A dim screen is not ugly, at least not to my eyes
Haha, I love the screen and even at night I love the colours/brightness to be STRONG.
Any less than 50% brightness is too dark for me..
Maybe it's coz I sit a few feet away from my 32'' LED IPS TV & therefore I'm used to bright screens...
I just tried the screen brightness on 0% and it looks terrible, weak and washed out colours, I dunno how others are saying it's still too bright...
How do you guys do it?
kanej2006 said:
I don't see why people would want to have such a dim screen on their phone, 10% and below also...
What is the point in having a gorgeous nice and bright Amoled screen only using it at 0% brightness?
It's like me buying a Lamborghini and never going any quicker than 50mph...
The Note has such a wonderful screen and it's such a waste when it's dim most of the time...
My screen is on 90% brightness 24/7 and I get 2-3 days use out the phone.
Running my Note with 10 or 20% will get me an extra day or two out the battery but then it means looking at an ugly, dark & very dim screen...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
in complete darkness, at 0% this screen is way too bright. it is absolutely terrible for your eyes to look into it when the lights are out and one absolutely needs some way to dim it further. i can tell you that if you think otherwise, you are damaging your eyes and might want to reconsider how you view screens in general.
best,
jason
I sometimes use my phone in bed at night and on the lowest setting the screen is too bright. It lights up the room and makes it difficult for my girlfriend to sleep. So I found some screen dimming apps and I'll use one or more of them at the same time to significantly dim the screen to an acceptable level.
The main one I use is adjustable: BackLightFilter
Others: Screen Filter, Dimmer (Night Mode)
I really wish CyanogenMod was available for the Note. It contains a Render Effect which lets you turn off red, green, blue, or a combination of those from your screen. I'd leave only red on for good night viewing. Anyone know of an apk or other way to implement this function without having it baked into a ROM?
kanej2006 said:
I just tried the screen brightness on 0% and it looks terrible, weak and washed out colours, I dunno how others are saying it's still too bright...
How do you guys do it?
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Click to collapse
If you are just reading, a book, or xda, it really doesn't matter what the colors are. It is annoying for many to read on a brightly lit screen. This is why the original kindle continues to sell well.
I did the white on black mod for opera and its my preferred browser now.
maxh said:
I really wish CyanogenMod was available for the Note. It contains a Render Effect which lets you turn off red, green, blue, or a combination of those from your screen. I'd leave only red on for good night viewing. Anyone know of an apk or other way to implement this function without having it baked into a ROM?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Chainfire 3d.. do it custom as well.. he even has an add on to do auto switching..
fards said:
Chainfire 3d.. do it custom as well.. he even has an add on to do auto switching..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Excellent, thanks! I even have a home screen toggle for it now, something I wished for on CM7.

[Q] HTC One Camera: Near Zero Light Performance

Seem to be unable to find anything about this...I recall seeing a thread earlier on about camera issues but cant find it anymore.
But I was wondering how your HTC one takes photos when there's almost zero light - mine turns out with a lot of red noise
Mine does too
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 4 Beta
The camera is good at low light but can't create miracles obviously.
I Am Marino said:
The camera is good at low light but can't create miracles obviously.
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Click to collapse
I figure that for whatever reason I'd like to capture a pitch black scene, I'd be able to. Oh well
slntdth93 said:
I figure that for whatever reason I'd like to capture a pitch black scene, I'd be able to. Oh well
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can, just turn off Auto ISO by selecting ISO 400 or less and the noise and color shift should go away.
bosotros said:
You can, just turn off Auto ISO by selecting ISO 400 or less and the noise and color shift should go away.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure why more people don't know this.
The noise will range from blue to purple to red. ISO 100 will give you the best color accuracy and the least amount of noise.

Android 4.4.2 Camera test

Hi all I just received the OTA for Android 4.4.2 so have put together a before and after comparing 4.4 to 4.4.2 for the Nexus 5 camera. Includes some full crop images and video capture as well as the all important autofocus test.
Very pleased with the results looks like Google have made big improvements all round to the camera.
You've obviously not tried the camcorder in dim light?
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Thx for the vid man!
Ben36 said:
You've obviously not tried the camcorder in dim light?
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
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Why do you put a question mark at the end of a statement you clearly don't look for an answer to?
Because Google haven't made improvements, they've ballsed it up since 4.4!
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Ben36 said:
Because Google haven't made improvements, they've ballsed it up since 4.4!
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
Maybe for you.. camcorder exposure is fine for me.
Stock 4.4.2 odexed
BoneXDA said:
Thx for the vid man!
Why do you put a question mark at the end of a statement you clearly don't look for an answer to?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
because it's what we call a rhetorical question....
Ben36 said:
You've obviously not tried the camcorder in dim light?
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
I've tried it in dim light and find the noise to be ok, better than the S4 not as good as HTC One (to be expected)
ISO is ramping more aggressively in still images IMO but not a deal breaker, looks better than the S4 anyway.
The screen is really, really dark in dim light. And the video itself is also really dark.
Case and point, i went to a bar with my girlfriend to eat something. I decided to record something using the camcorder, and well. I'll let the results speak for themselves. It looked like the lights were out in the place. I wish I had thought to take pictures, because it certainly wasn't as dark as the video would lead you to believe.
https://plus.google.com/+HectorCaceres/posts/WGZ3kZHNMj6
Sampson0420 said:
because it's what we call a rhetorical question....
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Click to collapse
No it's not. A rhetorical question is still a form of question, "you've obviously not tried the camcorder in dim light" however is not, so the use of question mark is inappropriate? (See what I did there? <-- rhetorical question.)
xybur said:
The screen is really, really dark in dim light. And the video itself is also really dark.
Case and point, i went to a bar with my girlfriend to eat something. I decided to record something using the camcorder, and well. I'll let the results speak for themselves. It looked like the lights were out in the place. I wish I had thought to take pictures, because it certainly wasn't as dark as the video would lead you to believe.
https://plus.google.com/+HectorCaceres/posts/WGZ3kZHNMj6
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is that with the 4.4.2 or 4.4.1 update installed?
androidizen said:
Is that with the 4.4.2 or 4.4.1 update installed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I went 4.4->4.4.1->4.4.2
When I recorded that video, I used 4.4.1.
I tested later and had the same behavior in 4.4.2.
androidizen said:
I've tried it in dim light and find the noise to be ok, better than the S4 not as good as HTC One (to be expected)
ISO is ramping more aggressively in still images IMO but not a deal breaker, looks better than the S4 anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm starting to think that we're all seeing the same thing and just coming up with different interpretations due to subjective differences. There's no other reason that everyone would be having such wildly different results using the same software and hardware.
All I know is that video recording on my phone in low light is MUCH, MUCH darker than it was on either 4.4 or 4.4.1. I wish I had taken some screenies before updating to show you.
xybur said:
The screen is really, really dark in dim light. And the video itself is also really dark.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are the results with 4.4 much better? This has really got to be on the edge of what the sensor can do in video so the results don't surprise me.
for anyone wondering about the dimmer picture in the video ,
i made a little example here
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3W...it?usp=sharing
( dont have to download to view)
im not complaining , just showing what people are saying
haydonxda said:
Are the results with 4.4 much better? This has really got to be on the edge of what the sensor can do in video so the results don't surprise me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Uhh, actually I remember I have another low light recording that I did on 4.4 when I was in a restaurant. Very low ambient lighting. The test was more to see the image stabilization during recording, but the lighting was comparable to the bar.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwFhXib0pZk
xybur said:
Uhh, actually I remember I have another low light recording that I did on 4.4 when I was in a restaurant. Very low ambient lighting. The test was more to see the image stabilization during recording, but the lighting was comparable to the bar.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Those two videos have completely different lighting. If you took a light meter into those two places (restaurant vs bar) you'll find that the bar is really much darker.
I'm not saying that 4.4.1/2 isn't worse - just that these two videos don't make a good comparison.
haydonxda said:
Those two videos have completely different lighting. If you took a light meter into those two places (restaurant vs bar) you'll find that the bar is really much darker.
I'm not saying that 4.4.1/2 isn't worse - just that these two videos don't make a good comparison.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What's funny is that I had spotlighting right above my head (direct, LED bright lighting) IN the bar at the table I was sitting at, which would make it look like stage lighting.
But it looks as if it's horrendously dark in there and all of the ambient LED's look like christmas lights thanks to the recording and the contrast of light sources. Trust me when I say it was a lot brighter in the bar than the video would lead you to believe.
My 4.4.2 pictures.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
xybur said:
The screen is really, really dark in dim light. And the video itself is also really dark.
Case and point, i went to a bar with my girlfriend to eat something. I decided to record something using the camcorder, and well. I'll let the results speak for themselves. It looked like the lights were out in the place. I wish I had thought to take pictures, because it certainly wasn't as dark as the video would lead you to believe.
https://plus.google.com/+HectorCaceres/posts/WGZ3kZHNMj6
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That looks exactly like I would expect a video from a dimly lit bar to look.
I didn't think to take any photos at the time, but the difference between the photo viewfinder mode and the camcorder mode was incredibly noticeable, very similar to the screen caps of the viewfinders posted in the 4.4.2 first thoughts thread.
edit: Here is the thread if you somehow missed it: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2562886

Shutter Speed Issue...

When I set my shutter speed in manual mode to anything between 2.5 and 4 seconds (for long exposures) it seems that my camera draws MUCH more light and makes the screen and picture almost completely white. I have verified that the flash is off. I am new to long exposure photography and I know a phone isn't the best device for it, but I have seen a few reviews which mentioned it on this phone and thought I'd give it a try. Is anyone else noticing this? I am testing it in my office and the screen is almost a solid white. Thank you in advance
klarthur said:
When I set my shutter speed in manual mode to anything between 2.5 and 4 seconds (for long exposures) it seems that my camera draws MUCH more light and makes the screen and picture almost completely white. I have verified that the flash is off. I am new to long exposure photography and I know a phone isn't the best device for it, but I have seen a few reviews which mentioned it on this phone and thought I'd give it a try. Is anyone else noticing this? I am testing it in my office and the screen is almost a solid white. Thank you in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Long exposure shots are usually used at night when it's not as bright. Pictures of the night sky where you can see the star trails, or the pictures of cars on the highway with the headlights as a streak are examples of long exposure. Using long exposure when the is enough light for a normal picture will cause it to look washed out (overexposed) try the long exposure shot outside at night. If you have kids give them sparklers. It's a cool way to have fun with the family and get some really cool pictures.
Sent from my EVO using xda app-developers app
gstanke said:
Long exposure shots are usually used at night when it's not as bright. Pictures of the night sky where you can see the star trails, or the pictures of cars on the highway with the headlights as a streak are examples of long exposure. Using long exposure when the is enough light for a normal picture will cause it to look washed out (overexposed) try the long exposure shot outside at night. If you have kids give them sparklers. It's a cool way to have fun with the family and get some really cool pictures.
Sent from my EVO using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for the response. That makes much more sense! I appreciate you explaining it to a camera noobie like me Thanked!
klarthur said:
Thank you for the response. That makes much more sense! I appreciate you explaining it to a camera noobie like me Thanked!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problem. My girlfriend has a cannon rebel t3i so we have taken a few long exposure shots. Very cool but kinda tricky. We have always used a tripod to hold the camera.
Sent from my EVO using xda app-developers app

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