Database Develop

Did my new Galaxy S come with a dodgy Camera?

I just bought a new, sealed unit a few days ago. The last remaining stock left over in Aus. As soon as I turned on the camera I quickly realised something was a bit off.
I know they never had amazing camera quality to begin with, but mine is, a lot messier, than what I have seen in other units up until now.
My friend also has a I9000, and I used his a few times but mind you only checked out the camera for a total of 10-15 seconds (which is what persuaded me the galaxy S had a good camera), but that was enough for me to immediately spot a significant difference in mine. I then did a thorough test between mine and his and confirmed this. I also looked at some phones in stores.
Is this common of the newer model/last remaining stock?
Or should I try get it replaced for another one?
It seems about 30-40% worse in general.
I made sure to first reset and then check all camera settings.
The results seem consistent.
Here is my phone and my friends. Both taken at exactly the same moment, settings, etc side by side.
Mine
His
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
Mine
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
His
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
Mine
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
His
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
Running 2.2 On Voda firmware. All stock.
Anyway I spoke to the retailer where I signed up to a contract from and they said, the camera looks fine to me. He took a few photos and said it was all in order.
It seems they would only consider replacing it is if the camera doesn't work at all?
Isn't there a level of quality control?
The retailer said if we send it of for repairs they will just inspect it, say its fine and return the same one to you again, just in worse condition.
I haven't even used the phone since I got it 5 days ago, as a major reason to get it was a decent camera. At the moment its worse/the same as all my old 1.3-5mp phones from 5 years ago.
Any ideas? Does it qualify for warranty/another unit?

by seeing the images, i feel the resolution setting for your cam is to blame. go to settings and check whether its full (2560*1920)

Looks like it's on one of the mode settings.

I suspect low quality camera sensor. Hmmm big diference... i'll check mine tonight, you make me curious.

kkagarwal said:
by seeing the images, i feel the resolution setting for your cam is to blame. go to settings and check whether its full (2560*1920)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you read the post he states that they used identical settings and each pic has it's resolution on it, they are all the same resolution.
There's definitely a big difference in quality though, the lighting is way different in the two phones. Never seen that big a difference before on the 3 phones I've used.

Yes its definitely identical settings guys.
The lighting differences seem like the software is trying to make up for the fact the camera is delivering a poor image, and turns up the iso and changes color balance etc.
I actually first posted this on android forums before I took any action, before I knew of this forum, but they don't seem that keen on hardware as here.
http://androidforums.com/samsung-galaxy-s/333683-did-my-new-galaxy-s-come-dodgy-camera.html
You can look at that link for a better sized comparison. The pics on there arranged nicer.
Anyway I called up samsung, told them of my issue.
They basically said I should contact the nearest service center. They said its Fonebiz in Rockdale on the Princess HWY. Pretty close to me.
When the lady on the phone found out its only a few days old and I am not using it because of the issue, she said if its under 20 days I can contact the place where I bought it from and get another one on the spot.
Well as I said the guy at the shop completely missed the point, tested out the camera in a few shots and started comparing it to other brands of phones.
He said any difference I notice could be because of different camera batches which is of course true, but I still think the difference is too big, especially since a better camera was one of the biggest reasons for me to upgrade phones. Not to mention you have to compare Galaxy S vs Galaxy S, as I did.
Do you guys have any recommendations/contacts etc? I think I will just walk into Fonebiz and see what they say, but I don't know if I want a refurbished unit to replace essentially a new phone.

I think that the "good" phone was aimed more at the light source hence the slight changes in exposure etc etc.
I would not judge a phone camera in a dim room anyway, but i would not change it just yet.
Come on its a phone the camera's are either poor or really poor at best.
Filename: i20110511214043.jpg
Size: 1517Kb
Resolution: 2560 x 1920
Camera used: SAMSUNG GT-I9000
Orientation: Horizontal (normal)
Focal length: 3.8 mm
Aperture: f/2.6
Date/Time: 2011-05-11 21:40:42
Exposure time: 1/17
Lens F-Number: f/2.6
ISO: 200
Whitebalance: Auto
Metering mode: Center-weighted average
Exposure: Program AE
Jpeg Quality: JPEG (old-style)
-----------------------------------------------------------
Filename: a20110511214044.jpg
Size: 1409Kb
Resolution: 2560 x 1920
Camera used: SAMSUNG GT-I9000
Orientation: Horizontal (normal)
Focal length: 3.5 mm
Aperture: f/2.6
Date/Time: 2011-05-11 21:40:43
Exposure time: 1/9
Lens F-Number: f/2.6
ISO: 160
Whitebalance: Auto
Metering mode: Center-weighted average
Exposure: Program AE
Jpeg Quality: JPEG (old-style)

I had problems with my camera. Its focus was bad. I found it much better if you tap the area of the photo you wish to focus on and only when it goes green take the shot.

Why don't you take both off auto, and set them both to the same iso settings and check the difference then. This would give a better indication of software vs hardware.

Yes, te same ****y quality i have on my sgs.
Iso auto (400)
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Iso 100
I notice autofocus seems got impoved in gingerbread.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

Galaxy camera
There must be differences then.
Mine at ISO 400, standard scene, using stock camera (JVH ginga), handheld, with auto contrast ON and image stabilisation OFF.
640x480 attached
Full res here: https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/mc1d5_bicjU0fhJaNZJehAaai0htwUKheDFpOU8DCYE?feat=directlink

Oh - there is a difference! The focal length varies - 3.5mm and 3.8mm. They must be different lens/sensor units!
Anyone with 3.8mm... bad news... but 3.5mm might be better??

Ok, so I had a chance to set the settings all to manual as was suggested.
To cut it short, regardless of the settings, when they are the matched and the phones are put side by side to take the same shot, his one captures more light and less noise. I guess they go hand in hand.
So a scene that looks completely dark on my camera(i.e black, no detail coming through), will be actually be clearly visible but with a lot of noise on his one.
A scene that looks barely visible on mine, will be fairly visible with a lot less noise on his one.
A scene that looks fully well lit with little noise on his one, will look like its a little dark on mine with a little noise.
I think you get the point. I guess what the software was doing in mine on auto is to compensate for the lack of light being captured, it turns the iso up, this introducing even more noise and off color etc.
One last thing, which I am curious to find more info about
It say on the back of my phone, MADE IN VIETNAM, and on his one MADE IN KOREA.
I had no idea they switched manufacture plants like that, nor had I come across any info on the sgs about that.
True story.
so It looks like I probably won't/cant be bothered to try exchange the phone, even though it is still within 14 days of purchase...sigh
The new one could be the same, and I may get one without a bootloader, and my current one has one etc. Heck I may even get a refurb.

this is such a good topic for me....
i have the same problem as you i did not compare with other sgs phone but i have never managed to get nice pictures indoors with this camera....
only if there is ALLOT of light the pics turn out ok nothing outstanding.
i played with all possible settings and yet nothing looks good.
i hate to admit it and sad too but the sgs camera is very ****ty imo...
its always more yellow and the colors turn out bad
also when i picture indoor with a little light in the room and night scene the pics are too dark.
this camera is a joke sadly

mine is made in Korea... so useless
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

awojtas said:
Oh - there is a difference! The focal length varies - 3.5mm and 3.8mm. They must be different lens/sensor units!
Anyone with 3.8mm... bad news... but 3.5mm might be better??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine's 3.5, my pics are fine, but I mostly use it outdoors, lots of natural light.

DMD9 said:
Mine's 3.5, my pics are fine, but I mostly use it outdoors, lots of natural light.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you take an indoors photo sometime and post it here? Try set it to ISO400, as that's what most of the pics here seem to be, so we can compare. As long it's indoor, ISO400, and you don't shake the camera we should get a basic idea of quality.
So... Korea (3.5mm focal length) = good
Vietnam (3.8mm focal length) = you're screwed
If the angle of view is the same, theoretically, the Vietnam ones have a bigger sensor (same megapixels, but bigger sensor area), which normally means better image.
But in this case the lens might be really rubbish.

Mine is Vietnam 3.8mm too and pretty poor in dim light.

awojtas said:
Could you take an indoors photo sometime and post it here? Try set it to ISO400, as that's what most of the pics here seem to be, so we can compare. As long it's indoor, ISO400, and you don't shake the camera we should get a basic idea of quality.
So... Korea (3.5mm focal length) = good
Vietnam (3.8mm focal length) = you're screwed
If the angle of view is the same, theoretically, the Vietnam ones have a bigger sensor (same megapixels, but bigger sensor area), which normally means better image.
But in this case the lens might be really rubbish.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will do, I'll try to have a pic up tommorrow

as I said, mine is made in korea with 3.8mm so the country doesn't count.

Camera problem: red/blue/purple noise in low light photos

Hello everybody!
I am now a proud owner of an HTC One and I absolutely love it.
Its an SH35BW903846 and, build quality wise, its almost perfect - 99% perfect. No gaps, no dents, not dead pixels, no light bleed and not even the pop/crackle. It's running the 1.29.401.16 software.
The only problem I have (I don't know yet if it is a problem), is with the camera in night time and very low light scenes.
My problem is that in night shots and very low light scenes, the camera turns the black into blue (or red in very very dark scenes). For example, I included some photos, on a dark street with only a few light posts it turns black areas into blurry blue. Yes, it lets in more light (and more natural looking light) than my old One X, but the black areas are blue.
Not to mention, some times it has trouble focusing so a few of the shots I attached were taken after 2-3 tries.
Even more, in very very dark scenarios - see the last picture - it turns the blackness into red.
Now, my questions:
Is this normal?
Has anyone else had this problem (is it a problem)?
Can someone post a night time picture taken with their one in similar scenario and without the "blue"?
I am a bit worried because if it is a flaw than i would have to return my almost perfect One... :crying:
If the information below or this thread have helped you in any way, hit the thanks button
UPDATED 13th of November: I took my phone into service again. This time they didn't replace my whole phone, but they did replace the camera module. They put in a camera from SHARP, sensor date 14 october 2013. The first tests I've done indicate that they've finally found a way/a sensor/a manufacturer to make the damned camera perform in low light like it supposed to... See a photo comparison of the new camera here.
UPDATED 14th of October: A comparison test after getting the 4.3 and Sense 5.5 Update: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=46781359&postcount=3099
UPDATED (2nd of October) - If you have the same problem, please fill in this Google form made by @gogogaga7 so we can have a centralized data base with information about the units that are flawed. The form is here: http://goo.gl/HmRJqC
UPDATED (5th of July) - I just got a replacement for my faulty unit and I just posted comparison photos in this post: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=43265994&postcount=89
Advice: If your camera gives you similar results with blue/red/purple noise in low-light photos -> take it back to HTC or an operator or repair service for a replacement!
UPDATED with Poll (13th of August) - Seeing how many replies and page views this thread has gathered during these couple of months, how many of you said they experience this problem and how HTC has not publicly recognized it (either as software or hardware fault), I added a Poll to see indeed how many of us are having this problem. Please vote!
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@VictorCozmei
Heya buddy! Yes this is the same as mine! I have been trying to create a discussion of this eversince and also found some users here with the same or worst than ours issue.
Apparently reducing the ISO solves the issue.
Anyways do you have access to other HTC One devices? Like demo on stores or relatives owning one? You could try by covering the camera lense with your hand. If it turns bright red then we must assume it's a normal behaviour of the camera. I can't really tell but I think this is happening because of the very aggressive sensitivity of light on our phones. I compared it with my previous phone and an ISO 100 on HTC One is equally similar to the ISO 400 of my previous phone.
Anyways if we can gather much feedback from users maybe we would know if this is a defect indeed(software/hardware) or just normal.
Also this should not be Chromatic aberration or at least similar to thos of the iphone 5 purple haze as it's like the opposite. CA and iphone purple haze is due to high contrast whilst ours is happening on low contrast areas.

^^^ @Riyal
Thanks for the reply. I thought for surely my post would go unnoticed and I'll be left alone with this potential problem even if there are loads of HTC One owners on the forum who can give a helping hand but just don't bother...
I don't have immediate access to another HTC One, but I will be following your advice and I will surely test them that way... Again, I sure hope this isn't a flaw in my phone. I would hate to take it back because it is so perfect in every other way :crying:
Just hope somebody else could join in the discussion and share their experience...

I notice a couple of interesting things when trying stuff out after reading your post:
If it's very dark (probably darker than what it was when you took the example pictures) the screen could be blue, red, or purple (a mix of blue and red noise upon closer inspection) depending on how much light I allowed back in.
If it's completely dark (put it down on a table), the screen is always red. This is actually pretty common among many sensors though.
Taking pictures with it at night in my living room with the tv on, the pictures are usually orange.
So it seems to me to be a property of the camera even when the camera is otherwise fine as I have noticed no other issues with mine. Thinking back to my old iPhone, I remember the pictures being blue just like your examples when it was dark. Maybe further evidence of it being normal?
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app

@Xerro-Five
Do you also experience the same issue as ours? I believe it's a miscalibration. Or probably an issue with image sense chipset of HTC. Did any of you guys already tried directly ask HTC about this issue?
Anyways could I ask you guys the build number of your phones?
@VictorCozmei
Considering that this phone should boast low light capabilities I think this is not a normal behavior. What we should do is ask directly HTC if this is solved through software or hardware. As far as I know not all people here experience this issue else we could seen alot more posts about this.
Xerro-Five said:
I notice a couple of interesting things when trying stuff out after reading your post:
If it's very dark (probably darker than what it was when you took the example pictures) the screen could be blue, red, or purple (a mix of blue and red noise upon closer inspection) depending on how much light I allowed back in.
If it's completely dark (put it down on a table), the screen is always red. This is actually pretty common among many sensors though.
Taking pictures with it at night in my living room with the tv on, the pictures are usually orange.
So it seems to me to be a property of the camera even when the camera is otherwise fine as I have noticed no other issues with mine. Thinking back to my old iPhone, I remember the pictures being blue just like your examples when it was dark. Maybe further evidence of it being normal?
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Riyal said:
@Xerro-Five
Do you also experience the same issue as ours? I believe it's a miscalibration. Or probably an issue with image sense chipset of HTC. Did any of you guys already tried directly ask HTC about this issue?
Anyways could I ask you guys the build number of your phones?
@VictorCozmei
Considering that this phone should boast low light capabilities I think this is not a normal behavior. What we should do is ask directly HTC if this is solved through software or hardware. As far as I know not all people here experience this issue else we could seen alot more posts about this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well yeah, that's what I was getting at lol. Even right now for example it's dark and the blacks can turn blue and/or red. Again I don't think this is a problem but rather a normal behavior of image sensors (at least in my experience) so I haven't made any complaints or inquiries.
HT349W
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app

Xerro-Five said:
Well yeah, that's what I was getting at lol. Even right now for example it's dark and the blacks can turn blue and/or red. Again I don't think this is a problem but rather a normal behavior of image sensors (at least in my experience) so I haven't made any complaints or inquiries.
HT349W
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@Xerro-Five
Check this post I made yesterday...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=42413954&postcount=6926
Some users doesn't have that annoying red/blue tint on their devices even when covered.
Here's mine
And here's from another user

@Riyal
Mine doesn't get red when i cover the camera with my hand and take a picture (or if i put it on the table with the camera down). Its black, but at night time and in extremely very low light it goes to red... If it finds a little more light than the black areas get blue, blueish or purple... And it gets very hard to focus for a proper shot, even if i point it towards a light source like a lamp post.
I took a photo with my hand fully covering the camera and it turned out black. I compared it to the one posted on the other thread by the other user, the one who uploaded his black photo for you so you could see the exif data.
Compared, mine was taken with ISO 400, the other user's photo was ISO 2000 ... Mine had thew birghtness -2.163531, his was -4.48546
What does yours say?

Mine is also saying 2000 ISO and brightness(based on properties detail on windows 7) 4.28472
This only mean 1 thing... Our phone's sensor is either uncalibrated or is just way too aggressive in collecting light.
I can only recreate a pitch black result by covering the camera if my I manually set my ISO to 400 or 200. Setting it to 800, 1600 or Auto shows up the reddish tint.
I already contacted HTC about this and sent a sample screenshot. Now let's see what they can tell.
@Professional photographers
What do you think this is? color temperature issue? Gain issue? I can modify these values in the kernel if someone can confirm me what might be the real issue is.
VictorCozmei said:
@Riyal
Mine doesn't get red when i cover the camera with my hand and take a picture (or if i put it on the table with the camera down). Its black, but at night time and in extremely very low light it goes to red... If it finds a little more light than the black areas get blue, blueish or purple... And it gets very hard to focus for a proper shot, even if i point it towards a light source like a lamp post.
I took a photo with my hand fully covering the camera and it turned out black. I compared it to the one posted on the other thread by the other user, the one who uploaded his black photo for you so you could see the exif data.
Compared, mine was taken with ISO 400, the other user's photo was ISO 2000 ... Mine had thew birghtness -2.163531, his was -4.48546
What does yours say?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

@Riyal
I tried again to take some shots with my hand closely covering the camera.... One picture was purple, the other one was red... In both ISO was 2000...
-4.4 in brightness

VictorCozmei said:
@Riyal
I tried again to take some shots with my hand closely covering the camera.... One picture was purple, the other one was red... In both ISO was 2000...
-4.4 in brightness
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I guess all I could say is.... Welcome to the club! lol! Now with so many users having this issue I don't know if it's indeed an issue or not. Is this the downside of having 300% more light in a low pixel resolution camera?
---------- Post added at 04:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:26 PM ----------
By the way I'm gonna go to our local telecom provider later since they have display units of HTC One here. I'll take a look and see if it also has the issue. Last time I checked it was a May build so it's a new batch.
*Hope it gets the same result to ease my mind*
I'm really gonna fret out if it's a hardware issue as I have to ship the device back to europe from asia just to get it fixed/replaced >.<

Riyal said:
Well I guess all I could say is.... Welcome to the club! lol! Now with so many users having this issue I don't know if it's indeed an issue or not. Is this the downside of having 300% more light in a low pixel resolution camera?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm looking at the anandtech review and I don't see this problem in their night shots... For example, this picture ( http://images.anandtech.com/reviews/gadgets/HTC/HTCOne/cameracomp/bench-HTC One.jpg ) was taken on full auto and it returned an ISO of 531 1/15s and all that was supposed to be black was black...
If I try something like that... I'll most certainly get an 1/7s and an ISO-2000...

VictorCozmei said:
I'm looking at the anandtech review and I don't see this problem in their night shots... For example, this picture ( http://images.anandtech.com/reviews/gadgets/HTC/HTCOne/cameracomp/bench-HTC One.jpg ) was taken on full auto and it returned an ISO of 531 1/15s and all that was supposed to be black was black...
If I try something like that... I'll most certainly get an 1/7s and an ISO-2000...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think so... Look at the light in the area it's way to evenly spread out for yours to become reddish believe me I have tried it. For the photo to become reddish you basically need to have a very limited light source(candle in a completely dark room) for the sides to become reddish.

+1 on the above stated issues. When I cover the lens, the image turns red because iso shoots up. However when I manually set the iso lower (say 100), then the image is just plain black.
I honestly do not think this is a defect of some kind but rather normal behaviour with high iso settings. But when someone can take a pitch black picture with the lens covered on iso 2000 than we will have a problem

Riyal said:
I don't think so... Look at the light in the area it's way to evenly spread out for yours to become reddish believe me I have tried it. For the photo to become reddish you basically need to have a very limited light source(candle in a completely dark room) for the sides to become reddish.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've tried taking photos in similar scenarios like the one on the anadtech site and my result was a photo with blue and purple-ish noise instead of the black that appears in their photos. All on auto on my device -> ISO 2000, 1/7s, blue instead of black areas

I was thinking the same as you before someone gave me this pitch black result.
Floris2310 said:
+1 on the above stated issues. When I cover the lens, the image turns red because iso shoots up. However when I manually set the iso lower (say 100), then the image is just plain black.
I honestly do not think this is a defect of some kind but rather normal behaviour with high iso settings. But when someone can take a pitch black picture with the lens covered on iso 2000 than we will have a problem
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
VictorCozmei said:
I've tried taking photos in similar scenarios like the one on the anadtech site and my result was a photo with blue and purple-ish noise instead of the black that appears in their photos. All on auto on my device -> ISO 2000, 1/7s, blue instead of black areas
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm pretty sure I could get exactly the same results with my phone. Even just a single street light is enough to remove the reddish tint on the camera. However what I find odd is flourescent lights can't remove it.

@VictorCozmei @Floris2310 @Xerro-Five
Confirmed! We have a weird sensor on our devices. I manage to play with another HTC One in a store here in our place and it's indeed having perfect pitch black images

damn, bad news then. Probably a stupid question but did you check the ISO settings on the device?
There are two possible scenarios here:
1) We have a sensor which is acting weird/broken
2) There is something wrong with the ISO selection and it typically takes an ISO to high which causes the red image
I think (read: hope) the second option is more likely and the good news is that this would probably be a software rather than hardware issue.
Anyway, thanks @Riyal for checking this!

@Riyal
This is horrible :crying: @#$%!
If this is truly confirmed and there are a number of One's out there with broken sensors, than I think this thread should be renamed so that all users know about this problem. Maybe some of them, looking to buy the One, can do the camera test before purchasing a faulty unit!
I just got my One and I'm falling in love with it and now I have to take it back and be without it... More over, the great HTC-partner service we have here doesn't not know the meaning of the word "replacement" and they will most surely try to open and fix it (oh the horror!!) ...

VictorCozmei said:
@Riyal
This is horrible :crying: @#$%!
If this is truly confirmed and there are a number of One's out there with broken sensors, than I think this thread should be renamed so that all users know about this problem. Maybe some of them, looking to buy the One, can do the camera test before purchasing a faulty unit!
I just got my One and I'm falling in love with it and now I have to take it back and be without it... More over, the great HTC-partner service we have here doesn't not know the meaning of the word "replacement" and they will most surely try to open and fix it (oh the horror!!) ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would wait a little longer before returning the device. The 4.2.2 update is just around the corner and I have read somewhere that there are some camera improvements. Perhaps the issue is fixed with the update. If it's a software problem that is.

[Q] Camera Focus

I do have the camera update installed. I have tried other camera apps including Camera Zoom and Shot Control.
Is anyone else having ridiculous problems with focusing--usually in macro situations? It's very frustrating and, frankly, embarrassing that the camera focuses so poorly. I often have to move the focus reticle around multiple times, reframe my shot, or just give up on trying to capture a focus in most macro situations (such as when I want to grab focus on an object real close and have the background blur out). I had no problems with this on my Gnex.
I just bought my Moto X over the Thanksgiving holiday and didn't know what the camera was like before the camera update, but I couldn't imagine it being worse than what I'm experiencing with it right now.
Here are two example photos of a gnome sitting a respectable 4-6" away from my camera. I found that if I moved the focus reticle onto the blue sleeve, it captured focus very well. However, if I tried to focus on the face or just brought the camera up to the gnome in a "real life situation", it wouldn't focus even after multiple movements of the focus reticle.

Then put the focus on the blue arm part. Problem solved.

natezire71 said:
Then put the focus on the blue arm part. Problem solved.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol.
Sendt fra min Nexus 7 med Tapatalk 4

I tested the camera outside of my room and it's fine. Thanks for the tip. Plus there is the new camera update.

mrsonsai said:
I tested the camera outside of my room and it's fine. Thanks for the tip. Plus there is the new camera update.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What's the trick to get it to focus on close objects in other apps? I cannot get barcodes to scan in the Amazon app because they are out of focus when they are close enough to be big enough.

poorgrad said:
What's the trick to get it to focus on close objects in other apps? I cannot get barcodes to scan in the Amazon app because they are out of focus when they are close enough to be big enough.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
honestly I'm not sure. It just sort of seemed to work when I used it outside of my bedroom. Maybe try it in a different light?

Camera focus
I also tested the camera outside of my room and it's working fine.:good:

I've had a number of issues with focusing as well, especially in macro. You can try turning on the manual focus control and having it focus on your subject which seems to help in most cases. However I have had a number of times where the camera just won't focus at all unless I move it to another point and then back to the original photo. It hasn't happened a ton but I have had it happen enough to notice it.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

termleech said:
I've had a number of issues with focusing as well, especially in macro. You can try turning on the manual focus control and having it focus on your subject which seems to help in most cases. However I have had a number of times where the camera just won't focus at all unless I move it to another point and then back to the original photo. It hasn't happened a ton but I have had it happen enough to notice it.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have this same problem as well. I have a republic wireless one that didnt get the kit kat update yet, and i'm dying for the big camera update in the hopes that it will save me.
the only good thing about an iphone is the flawless camera. otherwise, my moto x just plain rules.

Decided to do a micro-focus comparison vs my S2, here's a sample of both focusing as close as they can on my computer monitor. The best image from each was selected:
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I'll let you guess which is which.
I know it's not apples-to-apples (this isn't the same type of problem) but the camera definitely has some serious issues.

mrsonsai said:
I do have the camera update installed. I have tried other camera apps including Camera Zoom and Shot Control.
Is anyone else having ridiculous problems with focusing--usually in macro situations? It's very frustrating and, frankly, embarrassing that the camera focuses so poorly. I often have to move the focus reticle around multiple times, reframe my shot, or just give up on trying to capture a focus in most macro situations (such as when I want to grab focus on an object real close and have the background blur out). I had no problems with this on my Gnex.
I just bought my Moto X over the Thanksgiving holiday and didn't know what the camera was like before the camera update, but I couldn't imagine it being worse than what I'm experiencing with it right now.
Here are two example photos of a gnome sitting a respectable 4-6" away from my camera. I found that if I moved the focus reticle onto the blue sleeve, it captured focus very well. However, if I tried to focus on the face or just brought the camera up to the gnome in a "real life situation", it wouldn't focus even after multiple movements of the focus reticle.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Download the app "Camera JB+" from the Play Store and all your problems are solved. I think it's 1.99.
Speaking of the horrible camera on this phone does anyone get bad flash glares in their photos while using flash?? I swear this phone would be perfect if it at least had a gs3 quality camera.

Auto focus uses contrast measurement between lines of the sample area. If the area you're trying to focus on has little contrast, especially in low light, it will have a difficult time trying to focus.

Eckyx said:
Decided to do a micro-focus comparison vs my S2, here's a sample of both focusing as close as they can on my computer monitor. The best image from each was selected:
I'll let you guess which is which.
I know it's not apples-to-apples (this isn't the same type of problem) but the camera definitely has some serious issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have an s2...And now a Moto x...not sure about you...But my x's camera blows my s2 away really.
Sent from my Moto X cell phone telephone.....

kj2112 said:
I have an s2...And now a Moto x...not sure about you...But my x's camera blows my s2 away really.
Sent from my Moto X cell phone telephone.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check out this thread I posted a bit ago, did a comparison between the cameras side-by-side:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2550110

Eckyx said:
Check out this thread I posted a bit ago, did a comparison between the cameras side-by-side:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2550110
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's your phones....And your picture taking techniques.....right?
I'm using fv-5, not stock app....And again...my Moto x blows my s2 away. My wife agrees.
Does it compare to my cheap 150 dollar Sony camera's pictures....nope. And no phone will.
Sent from my Moto X cell phone telephone.....
---------- Post added at 03:06 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:03 PM ----------
Check the pictures thread to see what people have taken. Probably people who have spent time working on their technique with this phone....But some great pics in there.
Sent from my Moto X cell phone telephone.....

kj2112 said:
I have an s2...And now a Moto x...not sure about you...But my x's camera blows my s2 away really.
Sent from my Moto X cell phone telephone.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
kj2112 said:
That's your phones....And your picture taking techniques.....right?
I'm using fv-5, not stock app....And again...my Moto x blows my s2 away. My wife agrees.
Does it compare to my cheap 150 dollar Sony camera's pictures....nope. And no phone will.
Sent from my Moto X cell phone telephone.....
---------- Post added at 03:06 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:03 PM ----------
Check the pictures thread to see what people have taken. Probably people who have spent time working on their technique with this phone....But some great pics in there.
Sent from my Moto X cell phone telephone.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I'm using the latest update to the stock camera on the Moto X, and the stock camera app on the S2, both using stock settings. I retook pictures several times to prevent blurry shots. The Moto is definitely better indoors but outdoor performance is equal at best to the older module used in the S2. I'd be happy to purchase FV-5 and do a comparison using that if you'd like - what kind of technique am I supposed to have with a cellphone camera that has basically no controls or options? It's not like a DSLR - pretty much as point-and-shoot as you can get.

Eckyx said:
Yes, I'm using the latest update to the stock camera on the Moto X, and the stock camera app on the S2, both using stock settings. I retook pictures several times to prevent blurry shots. The Moto is definitely better indoors but outdoor performance is equal at best to the older module used in the S2. I'd be happy to purchase FV-5 and do a comparison using that if you'd like - what kind of technique am I supposed to have with a cellphone camera that has basically no controls or options? It's not like a DSLR - pretty much as point-and-shoot as you can get.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fv-5 let's you control everything...or just point and shoot too. Yes....it takes time to learn what to change and when....But it can do much more than stock. Someone who is into photography on a real camera....not a phone....would probably learn quick how to get the most out of our crappy phone cameras with fv-5.
Or a similar app....that's just the one I read about and bought.
Sent from my Moto X cell phone telephone.....

Galaxy Note 4 / Edge blurry camera problem petition

If it was not already painfully obvious to any of us with children, the movement of subjects using both the Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy Note Edge camera results in CONSTANT blurry photos.
Yes, we have all tried sports mode. And we know about the rapid image capture trick which takes a bunch of photos we don't want, to get a single shot. We also know that the video can take an impressive 4K, and you can grab .png files from the video that are frozen. But, seriously, who does this?
This thread is meant to point out a serious flaw in the firmware of the Samsung OIS 16mp camera on the Galaxy Note 4 and Edge and Samsung knows it. We need to demand an update that handles the far to wide open Fstop that Samsung is using for normally lit environments, and give us a night mode selection for those shots we can manually turn on and off. I am tired of my kids looking like a blurry mess because they looked in a slightly different direction during every shot. It's not like I am complaining because they are running around the room created blurred images. This is far more common than it should be.
Anyone want to post their blurry pics of fully lit rooms, I will be joining you when I have a chance to upload them.
Cmon Samsung, fix the camera on your $800+ phone. Really sad since when their is zero movement in the image, the quality is pretty fantastic.
EDIT: If anyone can get any subject frozen in motion, please let me know. There may be some defective camera in these phones, but I have not seen any still shots in sports mode of any people caught in movement yet. None.

I agree with your assessment. Also how can we speed up the shutter speed taking a picture with flash? I press the button and seconds later it takes the picture by then I've lost the shot.

Sorry man I have to say I disagree. Every phone I have had, has been bad up until now. I was on HTC then jumped to samsung gs3 then gs4. This has been an issue for so long with all phones. In fact most people I know with Icrap phone will ask me to take the picture instead cuz they can't stand their camera on the iphone. This has been the first time I am satisfied with the camera. Just 3 days ago my daughter had a Christmas show at school and every picture was crystal clear even with all the kids moving. Yesterday too I took my daughters to a chris.as festival and the kids were playing in the fake snow. Again crystal clear. To add to that my wife was using her gs3 and could not get the shots. In fact she was aittle mad at me because I have a phone that takes good pictures and she doesn't. We also need to remember one this this is a cell phone to a thousand dollar nikon that is built to only take pictures. In the end this is a phone it is to answer and make calls and for it to take the picture that it does is amazing. They are almost better than my nikon and that thing is huge. Just my 2 centz.
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A d these kids were moving and squirming all over the place.

I disagree that there's a problem with the camera in the note 4. It's just the nature of an auto setting.
The low aperture allows for a higher shutter speed. Thus less motion blur.
However, in low light situations with a fixed aperture, the iso will rise and shutter speed will drop naturally in an auto setting like on our phones.
And to the pper talking about shutter delay, when you use the flash on a cell phone it will always take a little longer. It sucks and I noticed the note 4 does have a slightly longer delay with the flash being used than some other phones.
If you want total control over all lighting situations and thus little to no motion blur, buy a dslr and some good lenses. You can't expect perfection from a cell phone.
EDIT: sorry, saw you were talking about normal lighting conditions after I posted. I haven't noticed a problem with this with mine in good lighting. My bad!
Sent from my SM-N910T using XDA Free mobile app

ZenInsight said:
If it was not already painfully obvious to any of us with children, the movement of subjects using both the Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy Note Edge camera results in CONSTANT blurry photos.
EDIT: If anyone can get any subject frozen in motion, please let me know. There may be some defective camera in these phones, but I have not seen any still shots in sports mode of any people caught in movement yet. None.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're right they're all blurry... the subject doesn't even need to be in motion... it's software bcos fine detail is being lost.
I have a pic of my cat just sitting on the floor and you can't even make out his nose, and his fur is missing all detail, whereas the floor around him has more detail and is generally sharp.
I have another where he's walking and he's all blurry whereas his surrounds are sharp.
It's like they've totally gone over board with NR.

I dont understand why there aren't way more complaints. Could we have defective cameras? Ones that have the wrong apeture settings?

Are you guys on stock rom?

Stock rooted here.

If it's within 14 days you can exchange it. I'm suprised no one else has any input. I wouldn't make a full conclusion on 2 guys cameras are other parts and 2 guys cameras are good. We need more data.

I am an Australian user and facing same issue.
Close up pics are sharp. Long shots are blurry.
Camera also seems to loose focus.
I have tried all troubleshooting tips.
And no I do not have shaky hands
Sent from my SM-N910G using XDA Free mobile app

I also have the exact same problem as OP, have resorted to using camera in sports mode even for any slightly moving objects as otherwise pics are blurry

I don't have this problem. I have never used sport mode and the pictures taken with my Note 4 are not blurry.

Just made some tests with my Note 4 camera because of this thread. I have to admit, that I rarely use my phone camera, as I have always a system camera with me.
If you want to take a picture of people that are not moving much, you should have a shutter speed of at least 1/60s, if you have moving kids, I'd recommend 1/200s or more. I just took some test shots indoors (evening, only artificial light source) and noticed the Note 4 is limited to ISO 800 max, which results in slow shutter speeds like 1/17s in my conditions. I also tried sports mode, but as the camera is already at its limit, this does not speed up the shutter any more.
If you use the LED flash, the camera will decrease the ISO and keep the shutter speed still slow to decrease noise. The only way to speed up the shutter is to set ISO to 800 fix and force the LED flash. You will sure have more noise in your image, but less motion blur. To speed up even more, you can under expose by one step (EV -1), which will result in a darker image but shutter speed is additionally increased. Unfortunately the noise will get more visible in darker areas as well.
In low light the OIS does a good job as long as there are no moving subjects, but for moving subjects under bad light conditions the Note 4 camera is imho not capable of getting the job done.
I'm using the N910F (Qualcomm), not sure if the Exynos is using a different camera module.

This could be fixed in lolipop. They are opening up restriction in the camera. Maybe there is light at the end of the tunnel. Pardon the pun.

HDR related?
I was getting blurry shots in reasonable lighting conditions, until I turned off HDR mode. That seemed to fix the issue for me, and increased the speed a little too.

[/IMG]
---------- Post added at 03:18 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:12 PM ----------

Don't use stock camera app. Use example Camera FV-5 for settings - use flash and 800 ISO. Use flash in night mode.
Same for video - author made app for vids too.
I use these apps in SGS II, where in stock camera I couldn't set plenty of things, where in Camera FV-5 I can.

I agree with you. I tried to take a picture and my subject wasnt moving at all and it all blurry. Im not that noob at taking a picture.. fix it please.

ryj01 said:
I agree with your assessment. Also how can we speed up the shutter speed taking a picture with flash? I press the button and seconds later it takes the picture by then I've lost the shot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same problem here after talking shots it shows the pics but after restart the cell pictures lost y y y???

I'm having the same issues, all my closeup pics are great, anything over 5 feet away is completely blurry. I'm on a Sprint phone, well past the 14 days for exchange. This is unacceptable. I can post examples.

Question Cameras in low light are really bad

Smudged detail, really not great. I had the find x5 pro for a while before returning it and there really is no comparison. Quite disappointed.

arsenal74 said:
Smudged detail, really not great. I had the find x5 pro for a while before returning it and there really is no comparison. Quite disappointed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really not sure about keeping the phone. On one hand I actually like the fake OxygenOS basically ColorOS. The phone software feels very very polished relative to other androids. Almost like a non buggy MIUI. But the PWM flicker is pretty bad.
Cameras seem fine in my limited testing. Although OnePlus has always taken a couple months to fix their cameras.

I've taken some great pics so far...as with any phone the situation sometimes requires you to alter some settings, that's what pro modes for.
This phone will come good, the hardwares just too good to not exploit with some good ROMs.
I was hesitant at first comparing it to my 8 pro but I'm so in now..

dladz said:
I've taken some great pics so far...as with any phone the situation sometimes requires you to alter some settings, that's what pro modes for.
This phone will come good, the hardwares just too good to not exploit with some good ROMs.
I was hesitant at first comparing it to my 8 pro but I'm so in now..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Totally agree!

in good light the camera is fine, it is medium to low light where I am seeing a drop off vs say the S22 or Pixel. For example seems pretty bad for smudging fur detail on pets.

arsenal74 said:
in good light the camera is fine, it is medium to low light where I am seeing a drop off vs say the S22 or Pixel. For example seems pretty bad for smudging fur detail on pets.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried the other settings in manual mode ?
As a point and shoot it'll get better but if you expect the world without any work it's just not going to happen mate. Not Vs an S22. I mean that's an expensive phone, it should be better, the pixel is using the base software and it's Google again it should be better..
That being said I'm positive I can get better than any point and shoot camera phone with this phone

This camera has a lot of features, settings, and cool picture possibilities....Hasselblad ftw

What I have learnt from experience with phones is to now buy it for the camera , I will just get one mirror less camera which will last longer than any camera phones for a long time

I think it is only in comparison to the competition that it falls short. My torture test for any new phone is photos of our cats indoors and I am seeing more smudging and a less clwean image than the Pixel of S22 Ultra offers and yes I have owned both and still actually have the S22U.

arsenal74 said:
I think it is only in comparison to the competition that it falls short. My torture test for any new phone is photos of our cats indoors and I am seeing more smudging and a less clwean image than the Pixel of S22 Ultra offers and yes I have owned both and still actually have the S22U.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try some different settings. Smudges may occur due to HDR being on and a slight movement, could just be the software that OnePlus has made. It could just need a few updates which I'm sure may occur.
ISO could be too high too.
Use pro mode, set the shutter speed as low as possible Vs an ISO of 200-800, should help...find the sweet spot depending on the light you have.. it's manual but honestly my pics come out better when I have control. My DSLR I'd never let the camera choose for me..

There was a poll on phonearena with blind camera test (users were asked to vote for best picture of same scene clicked by S22, iPhone13 Pro, OP 10 Pro and Pixel 6 Pro without knowing which phone clicked which picture)... OP sucked major balls and came in last
I got my OP10 Pro today...anyway I did not buy it for camera
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arsenal74 said:
Smudged detail, really not great. I had the find x5 pro for a while before returning it and there really is no comparison. Quite disappointed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, sometimes it is bad if there is very low light OnePlus should give an update for this along with the security patch!

gagan007 said:
There was a poll on phonearena with blind camera test (users were asked to vote for best picture of same scene clicked by S22, iPhone13 Pro, OP 10 Pro and Pixel 6 Pro without knowing which phone clicked which picture)... OP sucked major balls and came in last
I got my OP10 Pro today...anyway I did not buy it for camera
View attachment 5593549
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Click to collapse
Again this is point and shoot.
Ask any actual photographer if they rely on automatic lens settings, the vast majority will say no they won't so why would you rely on it for your phone? They all have the capability yet we tend to believe some plum who's pointings and shooting? Makes no sense to me
I'm not saying that the results are incorrect as I've not used them phones, but relying on this test is testing one thing and that's the automatic settings chosen by the software on the phone.
That's it.
Give all these phones to a photographer and get them to use settings based on the scene they have Infront of them, then check the results, I think you'll see a different outcome

For the record I used to be a photographer for a living in a previous life. I almost always though just use my phone in auto mode as a point and shoot, have just never embraced manual mode (or even Av mode for that matter) on a phone.

arsenal74 said:
For the record I used to be a photographer for a living in a previous life. I almost always though just use my phone in auto mode as a point and shoot, have just never embraced manual mode (or even Av mode for that matter) on a phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I take a lot of astro photograph's, both with my DSLR / telescope and purpose built astro camera.. but also my phone.
I need to change some things when I take a night shot, especially of the sky.
I think if you give it a shot (no pun intended) you'll be surprised at the results.

it will take months before sensor potential is used at its fullest with Gcam, and everyone knows these have infinite issues with white balance etc for years, so those kind of flagships won't ever shoot close to what cheaper older flagships can already do after years of gcam configs development

vandal4e said:
it will take months before sensor potential is used at its fullest with Gcam, and everyone knows these have infinite issues with white balance etc for years, so those kind of flagships won't ever shoot close to what cheaper older flagships can already do after years of gcam configs development
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree besides gcam, it's just unstable, things not working like wide angle, slow motion.
But for a point and shoot it's the simpler option.
I think Vs pro mode you'd get better on the stock app.
Defo agree on updates helping

oneplus explicitly stated they remove access to aux cameras in OOS12, no one pays flagship price for a point and shoot and nevermind what comes out at the end experience, u can do that on a 200$ Xiaomi and get 95% satisfaction for social media and casual browsing on large screens

vandal4e said:
oneplus explicitly stated they remove access to aux cameras in OOS12
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How do you mean?
Auxiliary as in external?

OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro OxygenOS 12 Android 12 Update: Filled with Bugs, Blocks Access to Auxiliary Cameras for GCam , same is inherited in all models @ OOS12​