Star Photography. - Huawei P20 Pro Questions & Answers

What are the best settings in Pro mode to photograph stars. I'm working on an iso of 3200 and a shutter speed all the way up to 30. What other settings are suggested. I'm not sure what the eV and af are...

Any answers here ?

You'd want a tripod for your P20 Pro, set your iso anywhere above 3200, your shutter to 10+ seconds, leave your EV (exposure value) to 0 and AF (autofocus) to MF (manual focus) and focus to infinity so it doesn't shift focus way from your subject (in this case the sky). Ensure you're photographing a clear and dark sky as well. You can find more at davemorrowphotography, which has a tutorial on this.
Hope that helps!

Think along the same lines as using a DSLR. Have the shutter open no longer than 30 seconds. Stay under 3200 and make sure you're set to infinity. With a phone you'll really need dark sky's. Don't expect the photo to be of sharp quality because keep in mind the size of the sensor that's in the phone compared to that of a DSLR

Did you try the star mode? It's very cool

hi, where can I buy a good head to fit the phone in a Manfrotto tripod ?

Related

At Last, I can take great pics!!

I have been very dissapointed with the performance of the X1 camera even after installing the R3 cab. It was imposiible to capture anything that moved because by the time it took the photo my subject had left the vicinity lol.
Following the advice of another poster (sorry, cant remeber who but thanks) I set my focus to infinity. Now, I can take full 3mp, fine quality pics, use the zoom function and capture crisp, clear images...even when the subject is moving. This combined with Resco Photo Viewer has been the final missing piece of the X1 jigsaw.......forget the X2 Ill now keep my X1 for as long as I can
Hah, I will check this out than!
Nice advice, works flawless! The pictures are not shaken anymore...
But tell me: how do you zoom? Does the x1 have the option to zoom?
Cheers
Zooming
Use the volume up and down button. Didnt work with 3mp and auto focus but works a treat now!!
just remember there is no optical zoom only digital zooma, so the more you zoom the worse the picture.
Well, even with infinity focus I can't zoom in 3mp mode. It says "cannot zoom in this quality mode". Man. Do you guys use R3A or has it nothing to do with it. Or is there a newer camera program?
oTToToTenTanz said:
Well, even with infinity focus I can't zoom in 3mp mode. It says "cannot zoom in this quality mode". Man. Do you guys use R3A or has it nothing to do with it. Or is there a newer camera program?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, have installed R3A cab so maybe that's the difference with the zoom function. Well worth doing as it also has auto flash and GPS functionality.
You can zoom as long as the image is set to less than the max (3 mega pixels for the X1). Its always been like this on every WM and nonWM phone I've ever had.
i always thought infinity would be the worst option
thnx for the tip!
Still blurry indoors for me. Are y'all saying that this solves that issue for you? Only thing that works to get rid of blur for me is to change to action mode and keep flash on, but pictures are still pretty dim.
ring-bearer said:
Still blurry indoors for me. Are y'all saying that this solves that issue for you? Only thing that works to get rid of blur for me is to change to action mode and keep flash on, but pictures are still pretty dim.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The infinity "trick" doesnt effect the ability of camera to take good pics in poor light. It just lets you take good quality pics instantly rather than suffering the lag between button push and photo taken.
Sonus said:
You can zoom as long as the image is set to less than the max (3 mega pixels for the X1). Its always been like this on every WM and nonWM phone I've ever had.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have my camera set for 3mp and fine quality, have just double checked and it seem that with the R3A cab installed the zoom function is available with all of the focus options.
hey thanks for the advice, it really helps.
biernes_atrece said:
i always thought infinity would be the worst option
thnx for the tip!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As a photographer I can hopefully shed some light on this - the percieved 'shutter lag' that most people experience on consumer grade cameras and cellphone cameras has nothing to do with shutters (actually nearlly all of these don't have shutters, but 'hot' shutters where the imaging sensor is just sampled for 1/x seconds), but to do with focus acquisition. On a DSLR, focus is performed using phase-detection using a seperate and extremely quick method (also hence why DSLRs have reflex mirrors).
On cellphones, where there's a far smaller sensor, and no room to beamsplit with mirrors, autofocus is done by measuring contrast on the main sensor, focus is moved in increments from MFD to Infinity, contrast of the image measured, until the sensor detects the maximum available contrast, then focus locked at that point. Because this has to essentially traverse the entire focus range (which admittedly isn't that huge), and is performed on a small sensor with fairly low contrast, the process isn't fast. It is decently accurate though.
By setting the focus to Infinity, the camera doesn't focus, as focus is just fixed at the further possible focal point. This would usually present an out-of-focus issue, (and it still would), but due to the depth of field relationship to sensor size, a camera with a small sensor has a large given depth of field, and, the hyperfocal (the point after which all distances are in acceptable focus) is relatively close, and the depth of field at infinity also encompasses a large slice of distance. Because of this, a large amount of the image will always likely be in focus, especially for stuff that's not right in front of the camera, and the delay of focusing is eliminated, so when you hit the shutter release, the photo just takes, and it's likely in focus just fine
flashpanda said:
As a photographer I can hopefully shed some light on this - the percieved 'shutter lag' that most people experience on consumer grade cameras and cellphone cameras has nothing to do with shutters (actually nearlly all of these don't have shutters, but 'hot' shutters where the imaging sensor is just sampled for 1/x seconds), but to do with focus acquisition. On a DSLR, focus is performed using phase-detection using a seperate and extremely quick method (also hence why DSLRs have reflex mirrors).
On cellphones, where there's a far smaller sensor, and no room to beamsplit with mirrors, autofocus is done by measuring contrast on the main sensor, focus is moved in increments from MFD to Infinity, contrast of the image measured, until the sensor detects the maximum available contrast, then focus locked at that point. Because this has to essentially traverse the entire focus range (which admittedly isn't that huge), and is performed on a small sensor with fairly low contrast, the process isn't fast. It is decently accurate though.
By setting the focus to Infinity, the camera doesn't focus, as focus is just fixed at the further possible focal point. This would usually present an out-of-focus issue, (and it still would), but due to the depth of field relationship to sensor size, a camera with a small sensor has a large given depth of field, and, the hyperfocal (the point after which all distances are in acceptable focus) is relatively close, and the depth of field at infinity also encompasses a large slice of distance. Because of this, a large amount of the image will always likely be in focus, especially for stuff that's not right in front of the camera, and the delay of focusing is eliminated, so when you hit the shutter release, the photo just takes, and it's likely in focus just fine
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the mini lecture. I've been trying to get good bokeh/DOF blur on my X1 and K850, this helps in telling me which settings to focus on (no pun intended)
harveydent said:
Thanks for the mini lecture. I've been trying to get good bokeh/DOF blur on my X1 and K850, this helps in telling me which settings to focus on (no pun intended)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Heh, you're welcome. If you're trying to get narrow DOF/bokeh effects on your X1 and K850, I'm afraid to say you're pretty much out of luck, the (tiny) imaging sensors on phones leads them to have a very large depth of field at any given aperture. Your best chances for getting the smallest depth of field and best bokeh possible is to have a subject extremely close to the X1, focus near, and have the background seperated and relatively far away.
flashpanda said:
Heh, you're welcome. If you're trying to get narrow DOF/bokeh effects on your X1 and K850, I'm afraid to say you're pretty much out of luck, the (tiny) imaging sensors on phones leads them to have a very large depth of field at any given aperture. Your best chances for getting the smallest depth of field and best bokeh possible is to have a subject extremely close to the X1, focus near, and have the background seperated and relatively far away.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's what I do, actually I usually include a secondary subject in the background to make the DOF blur easily appreciated.
Plus, I have a modded camdriver for the k850 which allows manual focus. No luck finding one for the X1, though.
Thanks Crank1.
I was getting peeved about the quality of the pics and the lag.
No I get perfect pics every time! (well for a phone camera)
manual focus would be so awesome

[Q] What are the best camera settings for low-light situations?

I'm coming from an LG G2, which had a great camera in low-light situations. I noticed a knock on some reviews for this camera in same situations, and I tried it out a bit and my pics look a little grainy. What are suggested settings for the camera? Thanks.
RCizzle65 said:
I'm coming from an LG G2, which had a great camera in low-light situations. I noticed a knock on some reviews for this camera in same situations, and I tried it out a bit and my pics look a little grainy. What are suggested settings for the camera? Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First, to remove the noise from your photos i suggest you to use the app 'A Better Camera' which has a good noise reduction process, once you downloaded it go in night mode, then go to 'other settings', then go to "shot mode settings", "night", "overnight processing", set noise reduction to maximum and shadow elimination to none, and tick the saturation check.
If you prefer Sony's camera use these settings in manual mode:
Exposure: one or two bars below value of 0
WB: auto
Resolution: 15,5 mpx
Focus mode: multiple autofocus (i think that's what it's called in english)
ISO: This is the most important setting. You can set it to 100 or even 50 to avoid noise and artifacts caused by heavy postprocessing by software. But, the lower the iso, darker the image will be. So on a sunny day it can be 50 od 100, On a cloudy day, a bit higher and in night photos 800.
Metering: multiple
Focusing: When you want to take photo, put object you want to take photo of in the middle and half press shutter button. When squares turn blue on places you want focused, keep shutter half pressed and you can then move your phone to left, right, up or down and not losing focus. That way you make your composition. When you think you have your scene set up, finally press the button all the way.
(i copied these text from the user Istic).

How to make the best photos ?

Hello from France
I would like to know how to make the best photos?
I'm not a professionnal. I would like to be sure to have the best photos when i press the button without changing anything
For the moment i have choose 10mx pixels and disable IA, only that
I'm a little suprise about the size of photos. Beetween 2Mo-3Mo so half less than my Samsung S7
3648*2736 P20 Pro - > 4032*3024 Samsung S7 (12Mo pixels)
A better compression ?
Really thanks
I have called Huawei and a technician told me to choose 40mpixels! I maybe it was an Samsung spy !!!!!:laugh:
for me, i just switch it to auto and on the AI, seems to be doing it's job correctly so far, and if the AI detects wrongly, i'll just dismiss the scene by clicking on the "x" beside the scene name
I also suggest leaving AI on, it does a fantastic job in many scenarios, producing quality pics you just wouldn't capture without. It also reduces hand shake to get sharper photos. Just dismiss it when the shot you want to capture doesn't look right rather than disable it completely.
I think it depends on your taste. The AI is boosting colours quite a bit ( which I really like), for some this might be too much. In 10 mp mode there is also a lot of sharpening going on, just take a 10mp picture of some clouds. They are so cleary structured, I love it. But again some say its to much. 40 mp will give you the picture more straigt from the sensor(which is a good sensor) which some people prefer. For me its 10mp but i will occasionally switch to 40mp just to compare. Also try the Night Mode in various situations(even some where it is not too dark) it is amazing.

Camera tips and tricks

It seems some camera options are not very well documented. Thought I would start a thread to share tricks to help improve photos. There is another thread for tips and tricks but that one focuses on other things. Since camera is one of the highlights of this phone I figured a dedicated thread was worth it.
Here are a few I found. Feel free to share yours!
1. When tapping to focus on a point, if you do a long touch instead, it will set a focus point but add a second movable frame for exposure so you can have an exposure point that is not your focus point (IE focus on someone but expose for highlights)
2. If short tapping to focus, you can then tap/drag the focus point up or down to adjust exposure level (exposure compensation).
3. From my early tests, it looks like the camera hdr is better at recovering shadows instead of highlights. When having high contrast scene, change exposure so the highlights are better exposed when looking at picture frame. Shadow details will come out better (don't over exaggerate this or shadows will remain too dark). Adjusting exposure for shadows never seem to recover highlights properly.
4. I've seen some reviews where pixel 3 has a better exposure using their night scene function. If the mate night function yeilds results too dark, you can force the time and Iso to use (tap the icons in bottom left and right). So far I found that if I look at the picture info and see the auto mode exposed say 4 sec with Iso 400, usually keeping 4 sec but doubling Iso (800 in that case), will produce a better exposure similar to the pixel. I don't want to get into color/detail comparison between the 2 devices.. This is just to get a better exposure. Guessing they'll sort this out in a future update.
For now that's what I found that didn't feel intuitive.
Please share your findings!
Let me share my suggestions:
1. In case of pro mode ,shutter speed is restricted to 30s of exposure whereas night mode can give up to 52s (max I have seen) exposure.
2. You can try different light painting modes to achieve low-light shots as well. I tried with star trails and got good results ( but exposure gets throttled and(or) locked at some point.
3. in Pro mode, If you are taking low-light snaps in an enclosed area such that your flashlight can reach, then you will get very good photos for reasonably smaller exposure times.
4. Use tripods for all night shots (bluetooth trigger will make it even better), don't rely on stabilization unless there is ample light and that exposure time will be around 1/125 , because even night mode can be affected despite the claim that OIS stabilization will be sufficient.
5. lowering the exposure while taking close-up flash photography will help in partially retaining data that would have been lost due to flash overexposure.
Thanks,
Rakesh

Question #HELP! Blurry photos with 1x

Hi, I noticed today that when I take photos with 1x, it seems like lack of focus.
With wide camera, 3x, and 10x, the results are fine and sharp. Just the main 1x is the problem.
Note: I used manual focus with Pro mode
Auto indoor
AutoIndoor.jpg
JPG Image
1drv.ms
Pro Indoor
ProIndoor.jpg
JPG Image
1drv.ms
Auto Outdoor
AutoOutdoor.jpg
JPG Image
1drv.ms
Pro Outdoor
ProOutdoor.jpg
JPG Image
1drv.ms
Anyone has this issue? Any idea how to fix it?
Things I have done:
- factory reset, clear camera cache.
I am running One UI 4 Beta 1.
Samsung S21 Ultra Snapdragon 5G
Shaky hands?
babyboy3265 said:
Shaky hands?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think so, if it's the case, the pro mode will also produce blurry one. It only happens with indoor photo.
I have turned off scene optimizer & focus enhancer as well.
You may have a too dark room to take photos
tessut said:
You may have a too dark room to take photos
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's 12 PM and the light is everywhere. Not sure why the pro mode and 4:3 did better details tho?
Do you think my unit is faulty? Did factory reset and still the same
Brace the phone to eliminate cam shake.
Make sure it's getting a AF lock.
Where you too close?
Compare the shooting settings from the pro vs photo auto whatever mode in the photos exif data.
Not every shot is a keeper...
blackhawk said:
Brace the phone to eliminate cam shake.
Make sure it's getting a AF lock.
Where you too close?
Compare the shooting settings from the pro vs photo auto whatever mode in the photos exif data.
Not every shot is a keeper...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure. I see a similar thread below talking about the same thing.
Short story he got his phone repaired by Samsung.
Issue with focus on camera 1.0x
Hello ! This weekend , i find an issue on my S21 ultra.. With the 1.0x camera , the back of the photo is always blurry... With 3.0x or 0.6x no problem ! I try to touch my screen for the focus but same problem... my mother have the same phone and...
forum.xda-developers.com
Sky33 said:
Not sure. I see a similar thread below talking about the same thing.
Short story he got his phone repaired by Samsung.
Issue with focus on camera 1.0x
Hello ! This weekend , i find an issue on my S21 ultra.. With the 1.0x camera , the back of the photo is always blurry... With 3.0x or 0.6x no problem ! I try to touch my screen for the focus but same problem... my mother have the same phone and...
forum.xda-developers.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could be... but a couple blurry shots can happen.
Make sure the lense cover plate is clean as that can skew the AF.
Try clearing the cam data and the system cache.
blackhawk said:
Could be... but a couple blurry shots can happen.
Make sure the lense cover plate is clean as that can skew the AF.
Try clearing the cam data and the system cache.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think it is okay now. I switched the full resolution and format my phone. I'll let you know if it happens again
Sky33 said:
I think it is okay now. I switched the full resolution and format my phone. I'll let you know if it happens again
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
blackhawk said:
Could be... but a couple blurry shots can happen.
Make sure the lense cover plate is clean as that can skew the AF.
Try clearing the cam data and the system cache.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No. It happens again.
Hmm there are actually people also having this problem.
S21 ultra 5g 1x camera auto focus issue.
So I'm on vacation in Arizona and was trying to take photos at the grand canyon. Normal 1x camera is stuck won't focus, pictures come out blurry. All other camera lenses work great. What is the problem, spent a lot of money on this phone for the camera and when I need it, it doesn't work...
us.community.samsung.com
What's the resolution of the resulting photos? That doesn't look like blur, but more like low resolution.
daniel_loft said:
What's the resolution of the resulting photos? That doesn't look like blur, but more like low resolution.
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Click to collapse
Just took the full resolution, they are 1800x4000.
The only difference is the main camera is blurry, while the other cameras work well, sharp fine photos
Even if you put your phone in one spot and you are not holding it in your hands the photos from the main cam still come up blurry?
@Sky33 what you are sharing there are screenshots which is not ideal. In order to clear the situation up let's do the following:
0. Disable location saving in the camera app.
1. Pick a well lit scene (at least as lit as a cloudy mid day) with a well defined object (the sky or a wall won't do) that is at least 2 m from your phone. Most of the times indoor lighting is not enough, except maybe for a very bright kitchen light.
2. Place your phone on an object (preferably on a tripod) or make you're holding it very still (you have to be in a confortabile position yourself).
3. Frame the photo with the above object close to the middle and force the camera to focus on it by tapping the screen on the object.
4. Take a picture with the auto mode.
5. Switch to pro mode and repeat points 3 and 4. Be careful to have approximately the same framing.
6. Upload the original photos to a file sharing service (Google Drive, One Drive, mega.nz, etc.) and share them here. Do not use a photo sharing service as that might compress the pictures. Do not remove any EXIF data from the pictures.
In case I wasn't clear enough please point it out. I'm not in the best environment to write.
Let's see what comes out.
daniel_loft said:
@Sky33 what you are sharing there are screenshots which is not ideal. In order to clear the situation up let's do the following:
0. Disable location saving in the camera app.
1. Pick a well lit scene (at least as lit as a cloudy mid day) with a well defined object (the sky or a wall won't do) that is at least 2 m from your phone. Most of the times indoor lighting is not enough, except maybe for a very bright kitchen light.
2. Place your phone on an object (preferably on a tripod) or make you're holding it very still (you have to be in a confortabile position yourself).
3. Frame the photo with the above object close to the middle and force the camera to focus on it by tapping the screen on the object.
4. Take a picture with the auto mode.
5. Switch to pro mode and repeat points 3 and 4. Be careful to have approximately the same framing.
6. Upload the original photos to a file sharing service (Google Drive, One Drive, mega.nz, etc.) and share them here. Do not use a photo sharing service as that might compress the pictures. Do not remove any EXIF data from the pictures.
In case I wasn't clear enough please point it out. I'm not in the best environment to write.
Let's see what comes out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Note: I used manual focus with Pro mode
Auto indoor
AutoIndoor.jpg
JPG Image
1drv.ms
Pro Indoor
ProIndoor.jpg
JPG Image
1drv.ms
Auto Outdoor
AutoOutdoor.jpg
JPG Image
1drv.ms
Pro Outdoor
ProOutdoor.jpg
JPG Image
1drv.ms
Take into account the differences in iso, shutter speed, exposure and AF point between the 2 modes.
On my N10+ I will use manual mode when automated mode fails. Usually because of an AF lockon issues.
These micro lense systems have no adjustable aperture so no aperture priority mode, the most useful mode to have when shooting.
That sucks.
blackhawk said:
Take into account the differences in iso, shutter speed, exposure and AF point between the 2 modes.
On my N10+ I will use manual mode when automated mode fails. Usually because of an AF lockon issues.
These micro lense systems have no adjustable aperture so no aperture priority mode, the most useful mode to have when shooting.
That sucks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I came from N10+ and didn't have this issue. Usually just open camera, point, and shoot, and will definitely get those fine results.
I guess this is a new normal for me :/
Sky33 said:
I came from N10+ and didn't have this issue. Usually just open camera, point, and shoot, and will definitely get those fine results.
I guess this is a new normal for me :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Return it if not happy.
If anything it should be better than the 10+'s AF.
I got a second new N10+ 2 weeks ago because both Samsung latest and Android 11 didn't thrill me.
Sky33 said:
Note: I used manual focus with Pro mode
Auto indoor
AutoIndoor.jpg
JPG Image
1drv.ms
Pro Indoor
ProIndoor.jpg
JPG Image
1drv.ms
Auto Outdoor
AutoOutdoor.jpg
JPG Image
1drv.ms
Pro Outdoor
ProOutdoor.jpg
JPG Image
1drv.ms
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is peculiar. Have you a different photo app?
Sky33 said:
Note: I used manual focus with Pro mode
Auto indoor
AutoIndoor.jpg
JPG Image
1drv.ms
Pro Indoor
ProIndoor.jpg
JPG Image
1drv.ms
Auto Outdoor
AutoOutdoor.jpg
JPG Image
1drv.ms
Pro Outdoor
ProOutdoor.jpg
JPG Image
1drv.ms
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for my late response but I've been rather busy lately.
I kept on looking at the two sets of pictures and I must say there are some interesting things happening there. I assumed that the objects in focus are the boxes of Crunchies and the chair on the grass, respectively. I took a look at the EXIF data and it might explain a lot.
Indoor picture:
Auto: The blur seems to be caused by movement. If the exposure time is correct (1 s) than it is very much explainable. I'm not sure how capable Samsung's OIS is, but from my experience 4 stops is what OIS would compensate for and there are approx 5 stops (1/60, 1/30, 1/15, 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, 1) between pro and auto exposure times.
Pro: The exposure time is just about right for a clear shot (1/50 sec). The exposure seems to be calculated differently, for whatever reason.
Outdoor picture:
Auto: Same as before, there is a 1 sec exposure time.
Pro: The photo seems to be more sharpened in pro mode.
I would recommend you wipe the cache of the camera app and try again. If the results are not improving then try wiping the data of the camera app. If things are still blurry, call Samsung service center. There is a possibility that your camera module is not properly calibrated.

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