Database Develop

Nexus 5 in the hands of a photographer

We gave our Nexus 5 in the hands of a photographer (friend of mine) for a month, and this is what we get!
Very impressive!
http://www.androidworld.it/2014/01/...i-di-un-fotografo-il-nostro-test-foto-209321/

cisoprogressivo said:
We gave our Nexus 5 in the hands of a photographer (friend of mine) for a month, and this is what we get!
Very impressive!
http://www.androidworld.it/2014/01/...i-di-un-fotografo-il-nostro-test-foto-209321/
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Click to collapse
Knowing a thing or two about taking picture taking results in some impressive pictures.
Whodathunkit!

Cirkustanz said:
Knowing a thing or two about taking picture taking results in some impressive pictures.
Whodathunkit!
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yup

There's some pretty severe pink-camera-problem going on in the center of most of the photos.

Wow, these look great.
Getting excited to see if I'll be able to get shots which look are remotely as good

and you had to get a photographer for those shots? :laugh:
anyways, OP has "generating clicks" written all over it.

Nice shots! I especially like how well OIS works on the n5 when taking videos too, much better than the n4.

PoisonWolf said:
There's some pretty severe pink-camera-problem going on in the center of most of the photos.
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I think that issue is pretty common these days, you camera might even produce those with the very same conditions.

Nice Pic's, probably could have been a litter better if it was from a White N5

Grande ciso!

EarlZ said:
I think that issue is pretty common these days, you camera might even produce those with the very same conditions.
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My N4 has it as well, I agree, but not to the extent as observed in those photos.

ghettopops said:
Nice Pic's, probably could have been a litter better if it was from a White N5
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O_O explain

biscuitownz said:
O_O explain
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Auto correct. Little. White N5's are better than the black ones

ghettopops said:
Auto correct. Little. White N5's are better than the black ones
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How are they a little better?

cisoprogressivo said:
We gave our Nexus 5 in the hands of a photographer (friend of mine) for a month, and this is what we get!
Very impressive!
http://www.androidworld.it/2014/01/...i-di-un-fotografo-il-nostro-test-foto-209321/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am assuming that your friend bit**ed and moaned about the lack of manual shutter speed and aperture control, default camera app (awful), and in general lack of a manual mode (which is how most pros shoot- manually setting everything).
Disclaimer: I'm a photographer (not the 'I have a DSLR and use AUTO mode and press this thingy' photographer, the 'I have my own successful business' kind) and the lack of manual shutter & aperture is beyond frustrating to me. Sure there are (mostly worthless) apps that give you some control of ISO, WB, burst mode, etc., but without those vital exposure controls (shutter and aperture) to me all smartphone cameras will suck.
I know, I know. It's not a pro level slr... it's a phone...

Of course having stunning locations always helps.

anactoraaron said:
I am assuming that your friend bit**ed and moaned about the lack of manual shutter speed and aperture control, default camera app (awful), and in general lack of a manual mode (which is how most pros shoot- manually setting everything).
Disclaimer: I'm a photographer (not the 'I have a DSLR and use AUTO mode and press this thingy' photographer, the 'I have my own successful business' kind) and the lack of manual shutter & aperture is beyond frustrating to me. Sure there are (mostly worthless) apps that give you some control of ISO, WB, burst mode, etc., but without those vital exposure controls (shutter and aperture) to me all smartphone cameras will suck.
I know, I know. It's not a pro level slr... it's a phone...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While I agree with you that the default camera app is incredibly awful and lacks many controls, mobile phones are replacing point and shoot cameras, not DSLRs or micro 4/3. Also, most people use photos nowadays for stupid web shots/social/ready-made-filters etc and not for printing or cropping and zooming for the perfect frame.
I replaced my Cannon P&S since I had the HTC One X two years ago, but no mobile will ever replace my Fuji X-A1

anactoraaron said:
(which is how most pros shoot- manually setting everything).
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I don't disagree with you on anything but this - most modern SLR pros I know (less than 100, but many more than 10) do NOT shoot all manual. Most may shoot A-priority or S-priority, or use P mode and wheel their way to the desired blend, but only landscape, product or portrait shooters really can practically go all manual, all the time - you need non-moving subjects and somewhat consistent lighting to rock all manual and get a decent return on your shots.
And let's be fair, manual shooting modes do not make better pictures: better photographers make better pictures.

mr.r9 said:
While I agree with you that the default camera app is incredibly awful and lacks many controls, mobile phones are replacing point and shoot cameras, not DSLRs or micro 4/3. Also, most people use photos nowadays for stupid web shots/social/ready-made-filters etc and not for printing or cropping and zooming for the perfect frame.
I replaced my Cannon P&S since I had the HTC One X two years ago, but no mobile will ever replace my Fuji X-A1
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I know this and agree with you entirely, but I do have an old Polaroid P&S that allows me to set the shutter speed (like from 1/30-1/200, but no aperture control) and that thing is 5+ years old now. But yeah, the need to own a P&S is mostly non-existent with how good smartphone cameras are getting now. It still wouldn't stop me from griping about the things I mentioned if someone gave me a smartphone to take photos with the expectation of delivering pro quality work though (OP was 'I gave my phone to my pro friend to see what he/she could do').
big_adventure said:
I don't disagree with you on anything but this - most modern SLR pros I know (less than 100, but many more than 10) do NOT shoot all manual. Most may shoot A-priority or S-priority, or use P mode and wheel their way to the desired blend, but only landscape, product or portrait shooters really can practically go all manual, all the time - you need non-moving subjects and somewhat consistent lighting to rock all manual and get a decent return on your shots.
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The only problem I have with P, A, and S priority modes is the reaction time of the camera to lighting conditions - especially outdoors. I particularly have an issue with P mode as most cameras seem to want a neutral/balanced shutter and aperture - like 1/60 @ f8 - whereas I may want 1/125 or faster @ f4.5-6.3 - and it gets worse outdoors (like wanting 1/160 @ f25 instead of 1/800 @ f8 etc) almost necessitating use of S mode if auto operation is desired. It also seems to take too long sometimes for the camera to read the amount of light and adjust the exposure (shutter speed in A mode or aperture in S mode) correctly. Shooting in manual mode for me is easier and better for me as I can read the light and pick a proper shutter, etc. based on conditions where I am shooting without having to worry about being occasionally slightly too bright (concern for a loss of detail being washed out) or too dark (where softness/pixelation comes into play).
But I suppose how you use your camera will vary on what you are taking pictures of. My gripe with the Nexus 5 is that with adequate lighting indoors and having the flash on auto the camera seems to always want to take pictures with the flash off at 1/10 or 1/20 @ f10 ISO ~400 or something like that, and that's just no good with really anything especially pictures of the kids. Why can't I at least just set the shutter? So many blurry pics... I thought there would be more emphasis on getting the camera experience better on a Nexus phone... the sad thing is that the hardware is actually really good for a phone but sadly the software side is woefully behind :crying:
And let's be fair, manual shooting modes do not make better pictures: better photographers make better pictures.
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Absolutely correct.

I always love these posts,
I have been an on again off again professional photographer for over 10 years mostly in industrial photography.
Even once owned an online photography magazine with pros writing articles from around the world.
My first thought is that it never really has much to do with the camera, its the photographer that stands behind this.
The best example I can give you of this, is the gear snobs that say you can't use mirror-less cameras in the professional setting.
Just grab a pro photographer give them a Nikon V1 or a Olympus OM-D and let them go shooting for a day.
As far as not having P/S/A/M modes, it's a phone....
1 in 100 000 people will even know what that is and about a third of those will actually know how to use it.
If we want to talk camera geek for a moment.
Sensor size is 1/3.2″
Aperture is f2.4 (fixed Aperture)
Max iso is 100 - 800
What does this mean?
Low light shots will still be grainy (Tiny sensor doesn't collect enough light)
The Lens is equivalent to about 28mm which if you have a Canon Rebel or a Nikon DXXXX camera it works out to the 18mm on a kit lens.
So why no manual control?
Well with a fixed aperture of 2.4 what can you change?
Well if you know cameras there is something called the exposure triangle, all this means is aperture, shutter speed, iso have to line up just right for an image to be exposed correctly. In A (aperture priority) you only control aperture and iso, S (shutter priority)you only control shutter and iso, and M you control everything. If you can't change the aperture then you can't use these modes.
Any app that says it gives you control of these things are just simulated.
Every photographers favorite word.... Bokeh!
The blur in the background, how to get it on a phone.
First we have to look at two things the 28mm lens and the tiny sensor. The smaller the sensor does not help at all in this case and nether does the focal length. To get Bokeh with your phone you have to get really really close to your subject almost as if your taking a macro shot.
One more trick for you guys if your still reading this, the camera phone is not ideal for taking portraits.
The reason why is at 28mm you get barrel distortion that pulls the center of the image towards the viewer. You can give people longer than usual noses and get strangeness going on. If your going to take a portrait of a person, instead of taking a close up on the face back up a bit. It will help hide this distortion.
Wow didn't mean for this to come out this long but I am at work, and bored.... lol

[Q] Hope for the Nexus 6 Camera?

Alot of the reviews says, nexus 6 camera experience has been a "hit or miss" from taking a good pic even with HDR on. Would it help to install a new camera app and do some tweakings over it, or better yet use an xposed module (if any) to fix the issue?

I'm a photographer. Here's the thing.
Camera reviews on cell phones are reviewed by gadget freaks, not photographers. They're interested in specs, they think megapixels are important, they don't even mention the important stuff.
Android L is the first OS to have a decent camera api. This will allow the nexus camera - which is only inherently different from the note 4 camera in terms of software - to vastly outperform anything on the market given a good camera app.
This mythical camera app should take advantage of a few things - full manual control. Exposure compensation and AE/AF lock. Auto bracketing. Proper metering, with selections for spot through to matrix. FPS control. Video control with framerate and resolution options, and the ability to manually control or lock exposure and focus. And finally, take advantage of L's .dng output, so we can work on this in lightroom after we're done. I don't trust my $2000 camera to spit out a nice jpg processed the way I want it, I shoot raw, I sure as hell don't trust a phone.
The nexus 6 looks to have some nice hardware. Let the software take advantage of it and you'll be happy.

tripler6 said:
I'm a photographer. Here's the thing.
Camera reviews on cell phones are reviewed by gadget freaks, not photographers. They're interested in specs, they think megapixels are important, they don't even mention the important stuff.
Android L is the first OS to have a decent camera api. This will allow the nexus camera - which is only inherently different from the note 4 camera in terms of software - to vastly outperform anything on the market given a good camera app.
This mythical camera app should take advantage of a few things - full manual control. Exposure compensation and AE/AF lock. Auto bracketing. Proper metering, with selections for spot through to matrix. FPS control. Video control with framerate and resolution options, and the ability to manually control or lock exposure and focus. And finally, take advantage of L's .dng output, so we can work on this in lightroom after we're done. I don't trust my $2000 camera to spit out a nice jpg processed the way I want it, I shoot raw, I sure as hell don't trust a phone.
The nexus 6 looks to have some nice hardware. Let the software take advantage of it and you'll be happy.
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Good post. My girlfriend is a photographer but her biggest complaints were:
- The lens should've been bigger (1.5/3 at least - according to her the sheer size of this phone would have allowed for a much bigger lens, even 1.2/3).
- The dual LED flashes would likely overexpose the images due to their placement on the back of the phone. Sure, aesthetically it can look good (depending on your preference) but logically it will risk adding too much exposure to photos. The Note 4, 6+, top Nokia phones with large lenses all have the flashes further away from the lens for example (for good reason).
- The type of flash (LED) wont be as good an xenon flash (or dual). According to her the phone body is definitely thick enough to house the bigger flash; this would reduce noise in the images and provide better lighting/exposure in photos.
She also mentioned that even with a 10/10 camera app which does absolutely everything you want, the photo quality will not be much better (maybe the same as or potentially still worse) compared with the Note 4 or even iPhone 6+. Yes the hardware might be similar but the placement of the flash compared with the Note 4 will affect the way the camera captures photos with flash enabled. As, even though TW in Samsung has major issues it does have very heavily optimised camera software which will always improve - better than every camera app that I personally know of.
Front facing camera however will not complete with the Note 4. From demo's , despite being higher MP than the iPhone 6+, the results are worse. I do not know why, it could be down to the quality of the lens in the front but the Nexus 6 FF camera quality isn't much better than the Nexus 5 (it looks the same to me).

spartanm99 said:
Good post. My girlfriend is a photographer but her biggest complaints were:
- The lens should've been bigger (1.5/3 at least - according to her the sheer size of this phone would have allowed for a much bigger lens, even 1.2/3).
- The dual LED flashes would likely overexpose the images due to their placement on the back of the phone. Sure, aesthetically it can look good (depending on your preference) but logically it will risk adding too much exposure to photos. The Note 4, 6+, top Nokia phones with large lenses all have the flashes further away from the lens for example (for good reason).
- The type of flash (LED) wont be as good an xenon flash (or dual). According to her the phone body is definitely thick enough to house the bigger flash; this would reduce noise in the images and provide better lighting/exposure in photos.
She also mentioned that even with a 10/10 camera app which does absolutely everything you want, the photo quality will not be much better (maybe the same as or potentially still worse) compared with the Note 4 or even iPhone 6+. Yes the hardware might be similar but the placement of the flash compared with the Note 4 will affect the way the camera captures photos with flash enabled. As, even though TW in Samsung has major issues it does have very heavily optimised camera software which will always improve - better than every camera app that I personally know of.
Front facing camera however will not complete with the Note 4. From demo's , despite being higher MP than the iPhone 6+, the results are worse. I do not know why, it could be down to the quality of the lens in the front but the Nexus 6 FF camera quality isn't much better than the Nexus 5 (it looks the same to me).
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A lens is proportionate to the sensor. On top of that? It's a fixed lens. They can make those extremely small when we're talking about phone sensors. There is also no mechanical shutter, meaning the lens can be even more compact. This is why mirrorless cameras have small lenses. This of course goes for cell phone lenses in general, but the reason is there's really no need to put a huge lens on a phone.
The dual LED flashes won't overexpose the image, don't worry. In the studio we use a ring flash - same concept - there are some versions that operate as a regular flash, and there's some versions that operate constant on. You can shoot with either. Studio LED lighting is even becoming a thing now, it's cool because you can control the color temp directly and change the brightness.. it's also always on so WYSIWYG. Either way your flash will operate TTL and will not overexpose Xenon - what a hotshoe flash uses - will just use a lot of energy and drain your batteries. LED is very efficient.
The ring flash appears to be too small to have the "ring flash effect", which is uniform lighting around a subject that is popular in fashion and hides blemishes.. I mean it's like the size of a finger. The source of the flash is too small to produce any meaningful difference between the "ring" flash and the regular samsung/iphone flashes. It's going to look about the same. If you see a difference, it's software.

I am just excited about the RAW support in 5.0. I am okay with an f/2.0 aperture on a device in my pocket. If I needed something better, my DSLR has a 50mm f/1.5 which is only a camera bag away

The problem I'm having with my Nexus 6 is lag. That is, I went into my 9 month old's room, and turned on the light. So, okay incandescent lighting, not too bright, but I wouldn't call it 'low-light', either. My little son is standing up in his crib bouncing around, and every now and again turning and smiling at me. I go for the shot with my nice Nexus 6....and in the FOUR SECONDS it takes for the camera to actually take the picture, he's looked away again. I tried several times. Each time, the camera did NOTHING for a few seconds and then took the shot when the window of opportunity was gone. WHAT THE HECK?!?!?! It didn't even look like it was doing any autofocus hunting.
THIS is very depressing. Anyone know of any camera apps that will actually, I don't know, take the picture when I actually ask it to?
Randy

I'm waiting for devs to work their magic on the camera. It has a great sensor (Sony IMX214) so the potential is there. I really wish they could use the G3's software because its great. Is there a way to make the G3's software work on the Nexus for the camera? It processes images really well and is very fast.

rmagruder said:
The problem I'm having with my Nexus 6 is lag. That is, I went into my 9 month old's room, and turned on the light. So, okay incandescent lighting, not too bright, but I wouldn't call it 'low-light', either. My little son is standing up in his crib bouncing around, and every now and again turning and smiling at me. I go for the shot with my nice Nexus 6....and in the FOUR SECONDS it takes for the camera to actually take the picture, he's looked away again. I tried several times. Each time, the camera did NOTHING for a few seconds and then took the shot when the window of opportunity was gone. WHAT THE HECK?!?!?! It didn't even look like it was doing any autofocus hunting.
THIS is very depressing. Anyone know of any camera apps that will actually, I don't know, take the picture when I actually ask it to?
Randy
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Do you have HDR+ enabled? If so that's why your focus takes so long. It's taking 3 pictures in a row and is great for still images. I find the camera with HDR+ off plenty fast.
---------- Post added at 01:17 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:15 PM ----------
On another note is raw format already being supported on the 6 or is it coming in an update. I'm no photographer but I'm extremely pleased how well the camera functions. I've only had nexus devices. The last phone I had with a decent camera was the Nokia n 5

Smallsmx3 said:
Do you have HDR+ enabled? If so that's why your focus takes so long. It's taking 3 pictures in a row and is great for still images. I find the camera with HDR+ off plenty fast.
---------- Post added at 01:17 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:15 PM ----------
On another note is raw format already being supported on the 6 or is it coming in an update. I'm no photographer but I'm extremely pleased how well the camera functions. I've only had nexus devices. The last phone I had with a decent camera was the Nokia n 5
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No, HDR+ was NOT on, nor was the flash. I just wanted it to snap the stupid picture with as little muss n fuss as possible

I extracted the lib files and camera apk/odex from my g3 is there anything else I would need to make it work? I can get the framework from my system files if needed. I want to see if this will help the camera at all considering it had a lot of potential.

Pilz said:
I extracted the lib files and camera apk/odex from my g3 is there anything else I would need to make it work? I can get the framework from my system files if needed. I want to see if this will help the camera at all considering it had a lot of potential.
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Let us know how it goes

rmagruder said:
No, HDR+ was NOT on, nor was the flash. I just wanted it to snap the stupid picture with as little muss n fuss as possible
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Click to collapse
Then something is broken on your phone. Completely stock N6, not even root let alone disabling encryption, without HDR+ or Flash... the phone takes pictures within half a second every time.

Smallsmx3 said:
Let us know how it goes
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Click to collapse
It's still FC's even after I moved the camera.apk and camera.odex into the system/app and I wrote over the Nexus's libs with the G3's. I'm not sure why its FC's maybe I can install the framework.apk from my G3 and see if that works.

Try some low light shots....

tripler6 said:
I'm a photographer. Here's the thing.
Camera reviews on cell phones are reviewed by gadget freaks, not photographers. They're interested in specs, they think megapixels are important, they don't even mention the important stuff.
Android L is the first OS to have a decent camera api. This will allow the nexus camera - which is only inherently different from the note 4 camera in terms of software - to vastly outperform anything on the market given a good camera app.
This mythical camera app should take advantage of a few things - full manual control. Exposure compensation and AE/AF lock. Auto bracketing. Proper metering, with selections for spot through to matrix. FPS control. Video control with framerate and resolution options, and the ability to manually control or lock exposure and focus. And finally, take advantage of L's .dng output, so we can work on this in lightroom after we're done. I don't trust my $2000 camera to spit out a nice jpg processed the way I want it, I shoot raw, I sure as hell don't trust a phone.
The nexus 6 looks to have some nice hardware. Let the software take advantage of it and you'll be happy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any chance for Slo Mo video (at least 120fps) with this "mythical camera app"?

rmagruder said:
Try some low light shots....
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Click to collapse
I found this thread after searching for a better camera for my n6. Realized after reading your post that it is the low light shots that suffer from severe shutter lag. Pics in good light are perfect. Ugh. My original moto x Dev. Took awesome pics compared to this low light garbage

Cwoomer said:
I found this thread after searching for a better camera for my n6. Realized after reading your post that it is the low light shots that suffer from severe shutter lag. Pics in good light are perfect. Ugh. My original moto x Dev. Took awesome pics compared to this low light garbage
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The pics are great when you are in a very well lit place. The moment you start to lose even a little light (semi lit), the camera really struggles. I'm very disappointed to start, but I'm going to stay patient and wait for Google to fix this.

Pilz said:
I'm waiting for devs to work their magic on the camera. It has a great sensor (Sony IMX214) so the potential is there. I really wish they could use the G3's software because its great. Is there a way to make the G3's software work on the Nexus for the camera? It processes images really well and is very fast.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The G3 is the best camera on a phone because of the hardware.. not sure if the software has much to do with it because I've switched camera apps on that phone many times and the pics still come out amazing

dannieloco said:
The G3 is the best camera on a phone because of the hardware.. not sure if the software has much to do with it because I've switched camera apps on that phone many times and the pics still come out amazing
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The G3 uses the IMX135 sensor while the Nexus uses the IMX214 which is a better sensor. So in theory the Nexus 6 is capable of better photos if the software can back it up. The G3 still uses the lib's and framework from LG no matter what camera app you are using from what I understand.

Anyone know anything about the Slo Mo capabilities? Im wanting to buy the N6 but the Slo Mo feature is really important to me. Hopefully it is possible with the sensor which everyone seems to regard as a pretty high quality sensor.

[Q] Xperia Z3 camera updates

Hello,
I've noticed some "artifacts/noise", with a recursive pattern, in some photos of the Sony Xperia Z3 in "some" smartphone websites (I don't know if I can say the names ).
They were made in manual mode 20mpx.
Are there updates/firmware for the camera that have improved the final result versus the early reviews?
Thanks a lot.

Looking in deep, they seems JPEG artifacts... how can Sony ruin Z3 photos like this?

The Sony Z3 Compact camera is anyways a ****ty hardware and the software that is hard protected by the DRM keyes is also a turd. Compared to my 5 years old iPhone 4S, the all new Sony phone makes very very bad photos. Less quality, no real color, too much noise, slower focusing, bad contrast and the HDR doesnt makes anything...
So I am sitting here and just waiting for the end of my carreer contract, when I will change this horrible phone to something usable.

****ty hardware? really?
The only problem with the phone is the software, automatic mode is a joke. If you have very bad photos with this phone it's either a faulty unit or your fault (by using auto). Hopefully with android 5.0 coming they tweak the auto mode so people who can just point and shoot will be happy with the device - for me RAW DNG is already enough

davebugyi said:
****ty hardware? really?
The only problem with the phone is the software, automatic mode is a joke. If you have very bad photos with this phone it's either a faulty unit or your fault (by using auto). Hopefully with android 5.0 coming they tweak the auto mode so people who can just point and shoot will be happy with the device - for me RAW DNG is already enough
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Click to collapse
I've tried a few Z3 compacts and Z3's and the results of the camera are pretty bad. Very noisy, autofocus is total hit or miss, and my biggest blunder is that all reddish colors come out with a funky purpleish tone in the pictures. The software is also pretty abysmal and unnecessarily complicated. Even my nexus 5 a year after the updates takes much more natural looking pictures although AF still sucks.
There's just something wrong with the hardware+software stack of the Xperia Z series and Sony needs to get up with the program if they want to compete. The current experience pales in comparison to the cameras of the iPhone or the Note4/Galaxy S5 which are fantastic. It would be ok if this was not supposed to be a flagship, but it is such a thing.

No man just no. The hardware is completely fine. The software is not upto par. The same Sony lenses are used by other manufacturers and they achieve good results. This 20.7 will be used on HTC M9 next probably and you'll see whether it's the problem with the hardware or software

Very noisy = turn down the ISO sensitivity, it's no APS-C or Full Frame sensor - but probably Sony's mess while on Auto
Autofocus is total hit or miss - Again, this one is not that visible on my unit, even in poor lit conditions makes a few misses, but in daylight never.
Magenta tint? nope, not here.
However without arguing the stock camera app needs improvemrnt, I am taking pictures with Camera FV-5 and those are great.

davebugyi said:
Hopefully with android 5.0 coming they tweak the auto mode so people who can just point and shoot will be happy with the device - for me RAW DNG is already enough
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Click to collapse
How do you save in RAW/DNG format on Z3C?

wpcoe said:
How do you save in RAW/DNG format on Z3C?
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At the moment, you can't. As you can see, I already wrote that feature will come in Android 5.0, and if Sony's camera won't support it, others will. Camera FV-5 already has the option.

No updates for the camera AKAIK, which sucks because it is not great right now. Pink spot, crummy white balance, almost unuseable "superior auto", funky reds, poor shutter speed selection, stupidly complicated software, and appalling jpeg processing that leaves 20MP photos in particular looking like they were saved at 30% quality.
One of the main reasons i bought the z3c was for the camera, but those reviewers who sang its praises must have been smoking something (or paid by Sony). I hope the Lollipop update brings some improvement.

Same here, I had very high hopes coming from iPhone 5 but I already miss how easy it was to take a photo with that.

There are no jpeg artifacts, only artifacts from excessive artificial sharpening.
The jpeg quality must actually be quite high here, considering the ~9 MB size of the full-res photos.

[Q] Camera quality: superior auto vs 15.5mp manual

Hi all. I jus bought this phone, it's great and all, but camera didn't deliver as expected. Moved from LG G3 to Z3 compact, and camera is of lower quality it seems. Some people say that superior auto mode takes better pictures, some say that manual mode take better pictures. I'm not specially interested in detail, it is obvious that 20mp shots do have a lot more detail than 8mp superior auto shots. I am specially interested in noise, sharpness and colour balance. Most of my pics are shot in low light without flash (at home, in the office, in pubs and coffe shops, etc). What mode does deliver less noise and more acurate colours? Manual or Superior auto? I have mixed results in my testing. Thanks allot

cornel.atomei said:
Hi all. I jus bought this phone, it's great and all, but camera didn't deliver as expected. Moved from LG G3 to Z3 compact, and camera is of lower quality it seems. Some people say that superior auto mode takes better pictures, some say that manual mode take better pictures. I'm not specially interested in detail, it is obvious that 20mp shots do have a lot more detail than 8mp superior auto shots. I am specially interested in noise, sharpness and colour balance. Most of my pics are shot in low light without flash (at home, in the office, in pubs and coffe shops, etc). What mode does deliver less noise and more acurate colours? Manual or Superior auto? I have mixed results in my testing. Thanks allot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe you can find some answers in this thread
http://forum.xda-developers.com/z3-compact/general/stock-camera-google-camera-t2892515

charliebigpot said:
Maybe you can find some answers in this thread
http://forum.xda-developers.com/z3-compact/general/stock-camera-google-camera-t2892515
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I have read this post, it's about stock camera app vs google camera. I am interested only in stock camera performance, not google camera. Thanks anyway

Manual is always better if you know what you are doing.
For indoors or night shots, noise is inevitable unless you use a tripod (at ISO 100/200) and/or your subject is not moving (handheld ISO 400/800). YMMV, increase ISO by a step if what you take is blur.
Auto takes night shot at around ISO 1600-6400 when not using flash.
For accurate colors, use manual white balance. If your scene has lots of neutral colors, then auto wb should reproduce accurate colors.
I use Auto Superior most of the time though, because composition and capturing the moments are more important than noise.
Overall I am happy with this camera considering its size, but it could be better as I believe the software is holding it back.

Pretty much everything is better than Superior Auto mode on this camera in my experience, but I also find the 20MP manual mode tends to waaaay oversharpen images. It's especially evident on high-contrast edges and can ruin many landscape shots.
Superior auto always seems to choose entirely the wrong settings. I've found it almost impossible to take artificial-light indoor portraits, for example, because they always come out blurred whatever scene mode and flash mode I use.

I'd like to pile on. As frustrating as the 2013 Moto X camera was, it's auto functionality, even if it was too aggressive, was much more effective than this one seems to be. I've enabled the 20MP Superior Auto hack but have yet to try it out. Not too hopeful. I wonder if the Moto X camera app is extractable?

LastSilmaril said:
I'd like to pile on. As frustrating as the 2013 Moto X camera was, it's auto functionality, even if it was too aggressive, was much more effective than this one seems to be. I've enabled the 20MP Superior Auto hack but have yet to try it out. Not too hopeful. I wonder if the Moto X camera app is extractable?
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The thing is that even if you're able to port the Moto X app, chances are very big that the app won't be able to use all libs, etc. So in other words the ap still won't work to it's full potential.
Sent from my D5803

Thoughts on the XZ3 Camera (Auto Mode)

So for those who already own the XZ3, what are your thoughts so far on the camera??
For me, I've been happy with daytime photos and definitely the selfies are fantastic, but I'm not too happy with the low light shots, at least some of the time. While the XZ3 maintains Sony's ability to be VERY color accurate (unlike Samsung and Apple, and maybe LG sometimes?), it seems so far in low light it doesn't fare all that well.
What do you think? If you've found a way to improve the camera, ESP in low light conditions, please let us know what settings you implemented, or tricks you used. Also mention which mode you're in, though I'd prefer to keep this on Auto only, I will be open to Manual Mode suggestions as well.
Thank you!!

As I said on my previous post, the only thing I hate is the lens flare. Other than that, I'm pretty much satisfied with the camera.

This is from iArvee, who posted it in another thread:
"Comparing it to my XZP, I find the XZ3 to be better, especially in low light photos. Low light photos come out more clear, and less smudged in comparison with the XZP. However, I hate that there's a huge lens flare when taking photos in both low light or daylight."
That's cool! I too notice the lens flare, and have been in some cases lowering the brightness while in Auto mode to compensate. To elaborate more on what I said above, in low light, it just seems like the XZ3 in most cases keeps color accuracy but the details are smeared out more than they should be. I wonder if I don't have the best settings up, but Auto is limited there, so I dunno. To elaborate, here are some pics b/t my LG V30 (which uses the modded GCam ((same camera app found in the Pixel phones)) app) and the XZ3.
Thoughts? Any way I can make these better?? In both cases, the LG ones with GCam app seems to be more detailed. Though in other shots the Sony was better. The ones with the clock........zoom into the Glenlivet liquor box. Which one looks better to you? (Note: Waive mouse over each pic to see if it's LG or Sony.)
Note: I apologize for the Sony pics being rotated over. I have no idea why this is happening. lol Feel free to download the pics and rotate them accordingly if you wish for comparison's sake.

Here are some additional pics. Waive over each pic to see which phone took it (again, LG is NOT using stock but modded GCam app in Auto) and also the mode.
Looks to me that the Sony in Auto mode won out here, where the LG couldn't quite keep up.
The Sony Manual mode pics (HDR off and HDR on) came out the worst, proving that Manual mode isn't always better. Unfortunately, XDA isn't letting me upload those, but I can tell you they came out VERY dark and inferior to the two that did get uploaded to this message.
Thoughts?

I love how the colors turn out in low light. Sony delivers there for years. I also don't bother a bit of noise as long as the chroma noise is eliminated. But it is the end of 2018, they need to step up the game in Computational Photography. Something like a night mode on Huawei or Pixel Phones is missing. Something like HDR+. And functional Portrait modes.
If the Google Camera worked on the XZ3, it could be the best camera phone on the market. This sensors performance on high iso is sick. Gcam makes heavy use of multiple high iso shots and merges them together to increase the dynamic range and reduce the noise. So this sensor is kind of made for something like gcam.
A real portrait mode is also missing. The selfie one is ok, sharp but really flat looking, and making a lot of mistakes bluring out the background. But the downloadable portrait mode for the rear camera is total garbage.
Even though Sony App improved a lot compared to previous iterations, it feels like it is still 2 or 3 years behind.
I'd pay 100€ to get the gcam working on this phone. I'm pretty sure it will rock!

I'm satisfied with it but it doesn't hold a candle to the Xperia XZ2 Premium camera. I wish Sony would put all the best features into one device and call that the flagship. Xperia XZ2 Premium has a dual lens camera and 4K. The Xperia XZ3 has OLED screen. Make one device, with all the best features, and sell that. As it is, I carry the XZ3 to use as my phone and watch videos and carry the XZ2 Premium if I will be taking pictures.

madphone said:
I love how the colors turn out in low light. Sony delivers there for years. I also don't bother a bit of noise as long as the chroma noise is eliminated. But it is the end of 2018, they need to step up the game in Computational Photography. Something like a night mode on Huawei or Pixel Phones is missing. Something like HDR+. And functional Portrait modes.
If the Google Camera worked on the XZ3, it could be the best camera phone on the market. This sensors performance on high iso is sick. Gcam makes heavy use of multiple high iso shots and merges them together to increase the dynamic range and reduce the noise. So this sensor is kind of made for something like gcam.
A real portrait mode is also missing. The selfie one is ok, sharp but really flat looking, and making a lot of mistakes bluring out the background. But the downloadable portrait mode for the rear camera is total garbage.
Even though Sony App improved a lot compared to previous iterations, it feels like it is still 2 or 3 years behind.
I'd pay 100€ to get the gcam working on this phone. I'm pretty sure it will rock!
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I love the phone overall, and camera overall too. But when it comes to details, it's not as good as it should be. So I agree with you there that they need to step it up for sure!
Case in point............here are some more daytime pics I took earlier today (attached). The outdoor pics are superior to what I took on my LG V30 with modded GCam app (yes, I WISH there was one for Xperia!!!! lol), but when I come indoors, the XZ3 disappoints. When you zoom in, even with the movies one, it just doesn't look all that great. I'm honestly having second thoughts about keeping it sadly.
I even tried out some other camera apps off Google Play Store. NONE of them were as good as Sony's stock software, but that's not saying much. For overall pics, and also selfies (EVEN nighttime selfies), the XZ3 is fantastic. For wanting detail, it still isn't up to par despite it being a 2018 flagship.
Thoughts?

augie7107 said:
I'm satisfied with it but it doesn't hold a candle to the Xperia XZ2 Premium camera. I wish Sony would put all the best features into one device and call that the flagship. Xperia XZ2 Premium has a dual lens camera and 4K. The Xperia XZ3 has OLED screen. Make one device, with all the best features, and sell that. As it is, I carry the XZ3 to use as my phone and watch videos and carry the XZ2 Premium if I will be taking pictures.
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Interesting. Very helpful post!
Let me ask you augie, how was the XZ2 P when it came to detail, both in daytime and low light vs. the XZ3 (please see my last post before answering)?? I am very interested in your opinion there. Please feel free to be AS DETAILED as possible!
Yeah it sux b/c the XZ2 P is 16:9, and I really really like 18:9 phones. But they couldn't make 4K in an 18:9 phone with the 845 chip I guess. So the XZ3 P next year will offer that up instead as I believe the 855 will be able to handle that. If I don't keep my XZ3, I may just wait for the XZ3 P then.
Wow ok. You shouldn't have to do that, but I guess you got the best of both worlds at least! lol

RockStar2005 said:
Interesting. Very helpful post!
Let me ask you augie, how was the XZ2 P when it came to detail, both in daytime and low light vs. the XZ3 (please see my last post before answering)?? I am very interested in your opinion there. Please feel free to be AS DETAILED as possible!
Yeah it sux b/c the XZ2 P is 16:9, and I really really like 18:9 phones. But they couldn't make 4K in an 18:9 phone with the 845 chip I guess. So the XZ3 P next year will offer that up instead as I believe the 855 will be able to handle that. If I don't keep my XZ3, I may just wait for the XZ3 P then.
Wow ok. You shouldn't have to do that, but I guess you got the best of both worlds at least! lol
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As always, good to hear from you. I will provide a detailed response with examples tomorrow. The short of it, XZ2P is the best Sony low light/night time camera I have had on a Sony phone. The 51200 max ISO makes this possible. Great point on the 4K screen ratio issue but what is stopping them from putting a dual lens camera with higher ISO in the XZ3?

augie7107 said:
As always, good to hear from you. I will provide a detailed response with examples tomorrow. The short of it, XZ2P is the best Sony low light/night time camera I have had on a Sony phone. The 51200 max ISO makes this possible. Great point on the 4K screen ratio issue but what is stopping them from putting a dual lens camera with higher ISO in the XZ3?
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Likewise old friend! Been a while too. Hope you're doin' alright!
Ok that's cool. I await that post!
Oh yeah that's right.........51200 max ISO! The XZ3's max is 12800. So that makes sense why the XZ2 P's would be so much better. I just REALLY wish they also had ISO on ALL these cameras. Then I believe they would be unstoppable. But Sony Mobile is SO damn stubborn about OIS. But hey, let's RANDOMLY put it on the XA2 Ultra's FRONT cam only!!! Not the main camera, or any of the ACTUAL flagships! Cuz that would be too weird and insane to conceive!! lol
I have NO idea why they didn't continue using dual lenses augie. But at this point I've made a final decision to return my XZ3. The main reason I'd say is the camera thing. But also, T-Mobile's about to get a new radio band, Band 71/600 MHz, and Sony didn't program it on this phone, so although I get Band 12, I won't get 71 when it does if I keep the XZ3. If they'd CERTIFIED it with T-Mobile then I would, or else if they wanted to ACTUALLY remove their heads FULLY out of their a$$es, they'd get with ALL the major carriers here and actually sell some phones! I've seen charts that show that the same time they stopped dealing with T-Mo and Verizon (2015) is when their sales here started to plummet. Coincidence? I think not. lol It just sux cuz I really love this phone.
Again, I look forward to your XZ2 P pics tomorrow. In addition though, can you tell me, is there anything CAMERA-wise that the XZ3 does better than the XZ2 P? I'm kinda hoping not, but I thought I'd read they made further improvements. Ughh I dunno! lol

Here are some samples from XZ2P. I am a photography novice but I thought these low-light pictures were the best I have captured with a Sony phone

augie7107 said:
Here are some samples from XZ2P. I am a photography novice but I thought these low-light pictures were the best I have captured with a Sony phone
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Wow!! Gorgeous man. Thanks for sharing!
So again, was there ANYTHING about the XZ3's camera that you thought was actually better vs. the XZ2 P's?

RockStar2005 said:
Wow!! Gorgeous man. Thanks for sharing!
So again, was there ANYTHING about the XZ3's camera that you thought was actually better vs. the XZ2 P's?
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There isn't, XZ2P camera is far superior in my humble opinion. Again, a photography novice so simply my preference is stated.

augie7107 said:
There isn't, XZ2P camera is far superior in my humble opinion. Again, a photography novice so simply my preference is stated.
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Ok. That's what I was expecting you to say too. lol
Very sad!! But also, hopeful for the XZ3 P!!!!! :good:
Let me ask you, if you have time, can you take some new pics with the XZ2 P of something specific? I'd like to see some close-up pics (within 5-7 feet) of anything with writing on it............boxes, DVD/Blu-Ray movie containers, etc. In low-light would be preferred, just to see how the XZ2 P handles it vs. the XZ3's weak a$$ for this. lol
Thank you!!!!!
In other random news lol.