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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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Click to collapse
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
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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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Say "cheese", then rate this thread to express how photos taken with the Google Pixel 2 come out. A higher rating indicates that photos offer rich color (without over-saturating), sharp detail (with all subjects in-focus), and appropriate exposure (with even lighting).
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!
Not taken by the "average consumer" but I have to admit that these picks are AMAZING! Cant wait to have my 2XL in hand to test it out! https://9to5google.com/2017/10/07/google-pixel-2-photos-videos-samples-gallery/
Updated link with Full Res Pics
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1...?key=WEdYT3BMNFZGdUlwQ0l6aEdFT1UwVlg2LUZESDhn
I haven't taken more than a few photos, but oh my lord this camera is absolutely awesome. Depth of field trick is snazzy and works perfectly 99% of the time. Color accuracy on photos is mind-blowing.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/AWwB8R1uW2CQJPBh1
Took some sample pictures with Pixel 1 and Pixel 2, compared images on PC, they look identical but some are better on Pixel 1. Pixel 2 colors are more saturated and there is no flare....
I have been comparing the photos from the Pixel 2 to the iPhone 8 Plus if anyone is interested ?
Daylight and Night time
Took pictures today after dusk, same thing. Most images look identical to Pixel 1, but when I zoom in I can see that lens on Pixel 1 is a little bit sharper with less noise.
Edit: also noticed that automatic white balancing is off sometimes. Pixel 1 gets it right while Pixel 2 doesn't.
But all negatives are relatively small, I wouldn't say one is better then another
I don't find the camera miles better than previous phones I've owned (S7, S8, 5s pixel port etc). But it's capable, fast, a good allrounder and DOF mode is okay for a single lens construction. Hdr+ is a joy and considered, that Google don't yet utilize the new chip empowering this function it's FAST.
Sendt fra min Pixel 2 med Tapatalk
I have been able to take amazing pictures with the N5,N5X,N6P and now with the Pixel 2.
HDR+ does a great job in all these phones I owned.
The main quality difference between the N5 and the latest 3 I mentioned, are the megapixels. (But HDR+ quality was still solid in the old 5).
They main difference between the 5X/6P and the Pixel 2 is the speed to take photos, launch the camera, focus and process the HDR+ but the quality is really close.
I've decided to stick with HDR+ enhanced (which is similar to the old HDR+ in the Nexus) to minimise the risk of getting unfocused areas that sometimes with the HDR+ are not so detailed. So I'm sacrificing speed to capture photos to try to get always a perfect HDR+ shot.
Sent from my Pixel 2
thesebastian said:
I have been able to take amazing pictures with the N5,N5X,N6P and now with the Pixel 2.
HDR+ does a great job in all these phones I owned.
The main quality difference between the N5 and the latest 3 I mentioned, are the megapixels. (But HDR+ quality was still solid in the old 5).
They main difference between the 5X/6P and the Pixel 2 is the speed to take photos, launch the camera, focus and process the HDR+ but the quality is really close.
I've decided to stick with HDR+ enhanced (which is similar to the old HDR+ in the Nexus) to minimise the risk of getting unfocused areas that sometimes with the HDR+ are not so detailed. So I'm sacrificing speed to capture photos to try to get always a perfect HDR+ shot.
Sent from my Pixel 2
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do you think it's better then middle range budget mirrorless camera ?
julianalaqrua said:
do you think it's better then middle range budget mirrorless camera ?
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Click to collapse
I don't know because I stopped using cameras for my trips, since I got a Nexus 5 with HDR+ and before that I mostly used the typical compact Sony cyber shot with Carl Zeiss lense.
And I only regret to use smartphone as main camera when I switched from the N5 to Z5 Compact and went to Paris and took ugly photos. Specially nightly photos and closeup photos. This is the main reason I sold that phone after 6 months and went for the 5X.
Probably you can get better details with those cameras you mention. But there are some key features in HDR+ (this is all post processing) that do a lot of magic:
- Focus in most of the areas. (You can focus on a person's face and still capture the details behind a window that points to the street / or the clouds in the sky/ or other faces; as if you had focused directly on that window or clouds).
- More dark skies at night. The night photos look amazing. Nightly skies try to be converted to a more solid dark colour.
- Same good quality with sunny photos that have a lot of sunlight or sun rays and you can't see well trough the camera app when taking the photo because of the high brightness. After HDR+ you could have a good result more opaque.
Other things I like from the latest Google phones cameras:
- Panoramas. Sometimes I take a panorama with just 1 captured image, because of the increased FoV to fit a building. And sometimes you need to take more than 1 because the building still doesn't fit.
- Capture photos when walking: In previous HDR+ Nexus cameras when you press the shutter, camera starts capturing and you can have blurry photos if you were moving. In The Pixel 2 when I press the shutter of the camera (also walking and with HDR+ enhanced) phone camera blocks and take some time to capture to maximize the possibility of a crisp shot. (And if you press the shutter and starts shaking the camera it won't capture till you stop shaking)
So I'm taking photos when I don't have time to stop now.
- Minimum focus distance: I love close-ups / macro shots and the latest Google phones had a good minimum focus distance and mixed with HDR+ the result is amazing.
(The Z5 Compact I owned used to have a wide angle but terrible minimum focus distance I hate this).
What I don't really care is the new portrait mode. You get 2 photos when using it. With blurry unfocused areas and the original with no blur. I think this is only useful for CV photos or some close-ups or special cases. There is a lot of people that loves this feature. I personally prefer the photo that contains more data for 99% of my captures.
Sent from my Pixel 2
Absolutely love the camera on my Pixel 2. Below are some examples shot really quickly from The Shard in London.
I had the iPhone 8 plus briefly and although similar, I'd probably say the Pixel 2 is a bit better, I also think the portrait mode is insanely good considering it only has one camera! :highfive:
Pixel 2 vs Pixel 1 (Auto, flash off, lens clean, no case)
https://photos.app.goo.gl/FTyfRvJHxWAx38e93
julianalaqrua said:
do you think it's better then middle range budget mirrorless camera ?
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Click to collapse
absolutely not.
however, the pixel takes decent pictures completely automatically while you can completely mess up a picture on a mid range a mirrorless camera if you don't know how to use the settings - and the fully automatic mode of the mirrorless cameras tend not to be actually as good as the pixel
(technically, the pixel is also a mirrorless camera btw - just that the sensor and lens are tiny, get less light and aren't as sharp, basically - but they have much better automatic processing)
sstanton86 said:
Absolutely love the camera on my Pixel 2. Below are some examples shot really quickly from The Shard in London.
I had the iPhone 8 plus briefly and although similar, I'd probably say the Pixel 2 is a bit better, I also think the portrait mode is insanely good considering it only has one camera! :highfive:
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Click to collapse
amazing shots. that's auto mode or you have used lightroom or photoshop ?
sammyalexandro said:
amazing shots. that's auto mode or you have used lightroom or photoshop ?
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Click to collapse
Thank you! And it was through a glass window too! No Lightroom or any other editing app. Just HDR!
Very happy with the camera.
took pixel 2 for a two weeks Europe trip, omg! The pictures are amazing!!!!
elijahmendelson said:
what about bokeh? is it possible to make background blur on pixel 1 like pixel 2 in portrait mode ?
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Click to collapse
Pixel 1 does not have Portrait mode (or at least not yet). Pixel 1 has Lens Blur mode, it works but not as good
---------- Post added at 12:45 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:43 AM ----------
bilboa1 said:
absolutely not.
however, the pixel takes decent pictures completely automatically while you can completely mess up a picture on a mid range a mirrorless camera if you don't know how to use the settings - and the fully automatic mode of the mirrorless cameras tend not to be actually as good as the pixel
(technically, the pixel is also a mirrorless camera btw - just that the sensor and lens are tiny, get less light and aren't as sharp, basically - but they have much better automatic processing)
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Click to collapse
I had Canon G5 ($500 compact camera) and gave it away with a purchase of Pixel 1. I think P1 pictures are much better.
kolyan said:
Pixel 1 does not have Portrait mode (or at least not yet). Pixel 1 has Lens Blur mode, it works but not as good
.
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is it possible to activate portrait mode on pixel 1 ? this is only software thing as I understand, right?
alfonsocoralles said:
is it possible to activate portrait mode on pixel 1 ? this is only software thing as I understand, right?
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Click to collapse
No you can't activate it, not sure if it's software or some hardware thing. Maybe Google will enable it later
I have both devices currently and from my very brief short time with the P20 pro , the pictures taken with it don't even come close to the quality you can get from the Pixel 2 XL.
Please tell me its just a case of faulty software, else I think I may be taking this phone back sadly.
Problems so far
Images lack any real detail and are very soft
HDR mode still hidden
Night Mode whilst great is still a 4 sec picture.. (but still soft ) - (The advantage you get from those 4 secs does not seem worth it from my quick test - but i'll keep testing)
Camera UI is rubbish... (subjective i know)
But it will be interesting to know if anyone else as similar experiences , as most reviewers online appear to suggest that this is the best camera phone ever!
Can't say my photos come out soft, mine are pretty close to what I see with my eyes. Not as sharp as some cameras that seem to over sharpen via post processing. More natural images than most cams I have used.
With the P20 Pro you do have to fiddle a bit in different situations, it's definitely not as versatile as the pixel if you just want to point and shoot. Some of my pics come out better when I bump up the megapixels. Some need nightmode or for me to disable the AI.
You can adjust pretty much everything. You don't need to always take 4 second night shots, you can adjust the time for the situation. Sometimes a second is enough.
The UI is a bit of a pain I agree, although I did expect that with the sheer amount of options provided. There is a lot going on. I'm having great success in Pro mode in my limited testing so far. It is a bit or a learning curve with the P20 Pro compared to other phones though for sure.
---------- Post added at 10:19 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:13 AM ----------
I forgot to add that the front camera is a different story, not that I take many selfies but...damn. Beauty mode seems to be undefeatable. Even when turned off I come out looking like a Ken doll. They really need to provide some kind of fix for that. The camera itself is capable of better pics, looks like they gimped the software.
I emailed them about it, because as it is, it's not that useful.
What i can say from my experience using several huawei phone is that, ever since P9,
The phone built with a photographer user (not really common point and shoot user) in mind,
Manual or semi auto setting always work best in various condition. Especially if the user understand well the corelation between apperture size, speed and ISO sensitivity and how it affect the picture quality/result.
That being said, someone who come from pixel 2 (i own pixel 2 xl myself as well) might find that the camera app UI and the auto mode is not as easy/versatile to use compare to google one. But the potential is definitely there.
Honestly, when using huawei camera, i mostly shoot in RAW and do the post processing later on myself. Auto mode is good enough for daily usage like shooting food or friend for instagram use. But the true power is in manual mode. Thats where all those leica software engineer chime in.
Thanks guys
Can you give me some examples of your images after post-processing ?
I'm more than happy to use pro mode (I also had a V30) , but even in pro the images just don't look right at all.
Also it was mentioned that the colours are more true to life but again i'm not seeing this when compared to the pixel (I took a very quick random picture of a orange t-shirt and it came out yellow on the p20 pro... )
Horses for courses. If you only want to point n shoot then Pixel or S9, if you're more into photography than that then easily the P20 Pro over anything else on the market right now. DxO ratings have always correlated poorly to actual general use, I thought everyone had worked that out by now.
Highspeed123 said:
Can't say my photos come out soft, mine are pretty close to what I see with my eyes. Not as sharp as some cameras that seem to over sharpen via post processing. More natural images than most cams I have used.
With the P20 Pro you do have to fiddle a bit in different situations, it's definitely not as versatile as the pixel if you just want to point and shoot. Some of my pics come out better when I bump up the megapixels. Some need nightmode or for me to disable the AI.
You can adjust pretty much everything. You don't need to always take 4 second night shots, you can adjust the time for the situation. Sometimes a second is enough.
The UI is a bit of a pain I agree, although I did expect that with the sheer amount of options provided. There is a lot going on. I'm having great success in Pro mode in my limited testing so far. It is a bit or a learning curve with the P20 Pro compared to other phones though for sure.
---------- Post added at 10:19 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:13 AM ----------
I forgot to add that the front camera is a different story, not that I take many selfies but...damn. Beauty mode seems to be undefeatable. Even when turned off I come out looking like a Ken doll. They really need to provide some kind of fix for that. The camera itself is capable of better pics, looks like they gimped the software.
I emailed them about it, because as it is, it's not that useful.
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Click to collapse
Could you please share some of the settings that helped you? I for one am not able to find the setting to disable the AI [Edit - Did you mean the Master AI setting? It seems to only affect the Photo mode]
Not a point an shoot quite yet
I would say the Samsung Note 8 or S8/9 are easier to use but the colours on the P20 Pro seem more realistic once you have disabled AI.
If you like to work in Pro mode and use the manual focus you can get some very good results on the P20 Pro but everything set to auto and its random whether the shot works out or not.
In particular for close ups manual focus is infinitely more effective than trying to wait for the auto focus which sometimes fails completely.
If you use the P20 Pro like you would a camera the depth of abilities are way up there but AI doesn't quite work well enough yet to provide reliable results.
Remember DX0 is only about sensors not ease of use or UI etc its just about sensor performance.
My 2p worth..
After more playing around with the p20 pro i've come to the conclusion that its not for me.
I'm more of a point and shoot guy and the p20 pro is too random with its pictures to really be a good point and shoot.
I'm going to stick with the pixel 2 xl, and would advise anyone looking for a simple point and shoot camera to look elsewhere.
P.S Surely the LG V30's manual mode is superior to the p20 pro if you want to play with manual settings?
Tiger33 said:
After more playing around with the p20 pro i've come to the conclusion that its not for me.
I'm more of a point and shoot guy and the p20 pro is too random with its pictures to really be a good point and shoot.
I'm going to stick with the pixel 2 xl, and would advise anyone looking for a simple point and shoot camera to look elsewhere.
P.S Surely the LG V30's manual mode is superior to the p20 pro if you want to play with manual settings?
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Click to collapse
I would agree with you, if you simply need a point and shoot camera. Pixel 2 XL wil do better for you
P20 Pro, just like the "Pro" moniker it bring along, will suit a seasoned photographer more.
As for manual mode conparison between LG v30 and P20, i would say, no. LG is nowhere close to huawei manual/pro mode. But again, that is a subjectivity. Someone who were common with a DSLR / Mirrorless camera manual set up, will appreciate huawei software more. Since it resemble their old "real" camera gear more. DxO is quite an oldtimer in photography area, and what they did with their test, is what normally a photographer will do as well. Unfortunately, thats not always the case with the rest of mobile phone user. Thats why the result is oftenly unrelateable.
Btw, before you actually ditch your P20 pro, can you give it one more chance, but this time,
Try to shoot everything using night mode (even in daylight). I think you will find the result totally different with your previous experience.
Thats all i can suggest for now. If you wonder, why nigh mode ?? Maybe this video can help you get a better idea :
Tiger33 said:
P.S Surely the LG V30's manual mode is superior to the p20 pro if you want to play with manual settings?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think the number of settings and the options given to the photographer are nearly as good with LG. Huawei are in a class of their own in that regard, at the moment. UI can definitely be improved a bit though.
Also, the V30 uses a tiny 1/2.9" sensor, like the iPhones.
Right, I've created a very quick group in flickr with some pictures taken with both p20 pro and pixel 2 xl.
would love to get your opinions.
In all cases i'm just using Auto with no AI for the P20 Pro,
https://www.flickr.com/groups/[email protected]/
Again in my eye the pixel 2 xl is 'alot' better than the P20 Pro ( bad photographer? = me )
So yes i just pointed, focused and shot the picture.
Just using auto and no AI for the pictures too.
let me know if you think i should adjust settings and i'll continue making adjustments.
I have a few more days with phone before making final decision.
I've added another 3 pictures to the group
https://www.flickr.com/groups/[email protected]/
1 taken with pixel 2 xl
1 taken with p20 pro auto
1 taken with p20 pro night mode (as suggested earlier)
Night mode just appears to oversharpen the image badly IMO?? , whilst auto is too soft
Picture 7 - P20 Pro - Night Mode
Picture 7 - P20 Pro - Auto
picture 7 - Pixel 2 XL
Looks to me very close although I think the P20 shots on Auto are a slightly over exposed but have less noise and the Pixel shots are better exposed but have more noise.
I would say the P20 will be better for night shots if you are happy waiting 6 seconds for a shot, but the Pixel 2 XL will take better auto day time shots.
Tiger33 said:
Right, I've created a very quick group in flickr with some pictures taken with both p20 pro and pixel 2 xl.
would love to get your opinions.
In all cases i'm just using Auto with no AI for the P20 Pro,
https://www.flickr.com/groups/[email protected]/
Again in my eye the pixel 2 xl is 'alot' better than the P20 Pro ( bad photographer? = me )
So yes i just pointed, focused and shot the picture.
Just using auto and no AI for the pictures too.
let me know if you think i should adjust settings and i'll continue making adjustments.
I have a few more days with phone before making final decision.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
iI've checked your album,
and i would agree that the roof top auto result from P20 Pro is lPretty bad. Sky was overblown. And pedestrian area is not looks that good as well. But for the night mode shoot, i wont say that as an oversharpen image though. The detail on trhe brick is quite good, sky is not clipping, and in overall, it has less noise compared to the pixel 2XL.
same case with ST. Pancras shot, i would say that in term of detail and noise level, P20 pro has an advantage here. You can check the detail on the top decoration, as well as near the ceiling. While Pixel 2 XL already abit of smudgy because of the noise, P20 result still showing the fine detail. So am not sure what you mean by "soft". (check my attachment to understand which area am talking about)
what confused me is the dinning room shot. I check the ISO and Shutter Speed of both shot. And in both shoot, Pixel 2 using faster shutter speed and lower ISO, yet the result is much darker in P20 Pro shot. This doesn't really go well with a photography theory, LoL. Slower speed and higher ISO should always resulting abrighter image. Yet the P20 Pro image is so bad at retaining the dark area.
May i know some details from you :
1. How do you point your focus/metering ? Do you always focus on same area/spot when shooting using the two phones ?
2. What resolution did you use on P20 Pro ? 40MP or 10MP ? 40MP use full resolution, but will deject the post processing, causing softer & darker image, but good for self post editing. But will looks bad if you plan to use the picture directly. In contrary, 10MP will use the post processing engine more, resulting in more pleasant picture for mobile use.
Sorry i left the attachment
otonieru said:
iI've checked your album,
and i would agree that the roof top auto result from P20 Pro is lPretty bad. Sky was overblown. And pedestrian area is not looks that good as well. But for the night mode shoot, i wont say that as an oversharpen image though. The detail on trhe brick is quite good, sky is not clipping, and in overall, it has less noise compared to the pixel 2XL.
same case with ST. Pancras shot, i would say that in term of detail and noise level, P20 pro has an advantage here. You can check the detail on the top decoration, as well as near the ceiling. While Pixel 2 XL already abit of smudgy because of the noise, P20 result still showing the fine detail. So am not sure what you mean by "soft". (check my attachment to understand which area am talking about)
what confused me is the dinning room shot. I check the ISO and Shutter Speed of both shot. And in both shoot, Pixel 2 using faster shutter speed and lower ISO, yet the result is much darker in P20 Pro shot. This doesn't really go well with a photography theory, LoL. Slower speed and higher ISO should always resulting abrighter image. Yet the P20 Pro image is so bad at retaining the dark area.
May i know some details from you :
1. How do you point your focus/metering ? Do you always focus on same area/spot when shooting using the two phones ?
2. What resolution did you use on P20 Pro ? 40MP or 10MP ? 40MP use full resolution, but will deject the post processing, causing softer & darker image, but good for self post editing. But will looks bad if you plan to use the picture directly. In contrary, 10MP will use the post processing engine more, resulting in more pleasant picture for mobile use.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep that is what was so frustrating, I noticed the night shot of St pancras Hotel sign and could see it looked do much better yet that was the only example
All other pictures the pixel looked better
I'm using 10MP and I'm focusing on the same area with both phones
otonieru said:
Sorry i left the attachment
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which images are taken with which phone?
scook94 said:
Which images are taken with which phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Warmer tone is P20 Pro
otonieru said:
Warmer tone is P20 Pro
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Images 2&4? They certainly seem the superior pictures.
So far I'm not too wowed by the camera either :/
Hoping to learn to use it properly because some sample shots I've seen look amazing but I can't seem to get anything like that.
I did some comparative shots with one of my work colleagues. He has a Samsung Galaxy S9+. We took the same photos in the same conditions and all his photos were sharper, more detailed and with less noise. Even low light shots where I had night mode enabled, his still took better pictures and he doesn't even have night mode.
Pretty disappointing.
upload the samples, let us judge it too
I've come from the S9+ and the Mate 20 Pro is better
Biggenz said:
I did some comparative shots with one of my work colleagues. He has a Samsung Galaxy S9+. We took the same photos in the same conditions and all his photos were sharper, more detailed and with less noise. Even low light shots where I had night mode enabled, his still took better pictures and he doesn't even have night mode.
Pretty disappointing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm.... I don't have so but I have s8 to compare.. Mp20 takes way better pictures in any situations.. Please post the samples you are comparing.. Maybe it's just the Samsung screen is better than our Mp20.
I'm also coming from the S9+ and the shots on the Mate 20 Pro are consistently better, with more details.
What I noticed, though, is that OIS on the S9+ seems to be superior to the stabilization on the M20Pro - specifically in low light situations. But we are talking about subtle nuances here ....
I think camera is superb
My mate 20 pro camera is way better at night than my note 9 ugly camera
You got defective unit, the only camera that beats mate at times, is the Pixel.
Derpling said:
You got defective unit, the only camera that beats mate at times, is the Pixel.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok, I have this problem too!
Bought a mate 20 pro yesterday and today I was comparing the pictures with the S9 and the Mate and all of them are way better with more detail in the S9.
I'm in panic now!
i will post the comparative pictures.
edit:
Left one is from a Galaxy S9 and the right one is the Mate.
sousa_2005 said:
ok, I have this problem too!
Bought a mate 20 pro yesterday and today I was comparing the pictures with the S9 and the Mate and all of them are way better with more detail in the S9.
I'm in panic now!
i will post the comparative pictures.
edit:
Left one is from a Galaxy S9 and the right one is the Mate.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The photo you took is totally different composition, the monitor LED light might effect the result also. Should take a photo with same composition.
another ones
edit:
don't know why the S9 image stays always upside down after uploading..
pogi.paul0119 said:
Hmm.... I don't have so but I have s8 to compare.. Mp20 takes way better pictures in any situations.. Please post the samples you are comparing.. Maybe it's just the Samsung screen is better than our Mp20.
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Click to collapse
Do you think the m20p is a good upgrade from the s8/s8+ especially including the free pre order gifts?
anyone know if this phone has diferent camera sensores like samsung (Sony and samsung sensor)?
I can't believe that my S9 with only one camera take way BETTER shots than the Mate 20 pro.
Too much disappointed with this!
Don't know if I'm doing anything wrong...
I bought this because I was tired of the Samsung ui and the slow (NO) updates... but payed a lot more for this phone and comparing the pictures.. 90% of them are worst than the S9.
The pictures in the Huawei are way more darker...
first- S9
Second -Mate
Auto Setting in both phones.
Huawei with AI off
merewood bebox said:
Do you think the m20p is a good upgrade from the s8/s8+ especially including the free pre order gifts?
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Click to collapse
Well yeah.. The phone itself is nice. Good upgrade if your coming from s8..
Ok, while I really like this phone for it's camera capabilities, it's fair to say my experience with the M20Pro shooter has been a bit mixed. I am coming from a S7 edge (great camera for its time). My girlfriend has an iPhone XS, so that's also a good reference.
The good: the wide angle lens is amazing, great for pictures of architecture and nature, shots look dramatic and fairly unique. Night mode is also good, when it get's it right, it renders a really impressive picture. Portrait mode is a bit agressive, but does an above average job bluring the foreground as well as the backgroud. Aperture mode is neat and more natural looking than portrait. AI is ok, it get's things right more often than not. I haven't used much the 3x zoom yet, but I guess it can come in handy.
The bad: no optical image stabilization - it may seem like nitpicking, but this phone takes a lot of blured shaky picures for a flagship, especially in low light situations. You may find yourself having to have to hold it steady and firm for a good second or two in some situations to get a usable shot. If you're trying to take pictures from moving subjects, like pets or kids, this device is not your greatest friend. The dinamic range is also not the best, lagging significantly behind iPhone and Pixel - the shadows tend to be darker while the highlights do blow sometimes. I found that a little post production goes a long way with the M20P shots - when you recover those shadows, add a tad of sharpness and maybe a bit of saturation you can make a rather dull pic look amazing - but I can understand how the average user might not want to go throught that. Also not great is the HDR, firstly because it's a separate hidden mode in the extras (when it should be a toggle always readily available on the interface), secondly because, as mentioned, while usable, it's not top class - and again the lack of OIS makes things trickier.
All in all, I am mostly pleased with this camera because of its versatility. You can acomplish pictures with the M20P that no other phone can match - like a wide angle night shot. Having said that, it's certainly not the best point and shoot phone camera out there - to get the most of it you have to wrestle through the endless menus and modes and sometimes work a bit on the post production. So, if you don't care abou the wide angle lens and just want a phone camera that spits out eye catching images 9 times out of 10, I guess you could be better served with a Pixel 3, iPhone Xs or even a Galaxy S/Note 9.
Those are my two cents, but I'm curious to read what you guys think.
Cheers.
helder_gz said:
Ok, while I really like this phone for it's camera capabilities, it's fair to say my experience with the M20Pro shooter has been a bit mixed. I am coming from a S7 edge (great camera for its time). My girlfriend has an iPhone XS, so that's also a good reference.
The good: the wide angle lens is amazing, .....
Those are my two cents, but I'm curious to read what you guys think.
Cheers.
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Click to collapse
Nice sharing, agreed the M20P photo is not the best in certain situation, video too, but i bought it just because the wide angle camera, the huge battery and the fast charging.
---------- Post added at 06:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:59 PM ----------
sousa_2005 said:
anyone know if this phone has diferent camera sensores like samsung (Sony and samsung sensor)?
I can't believe that my S9 with only one camera take way BETTER shots than the Mate 20 pro.
Too much disappointed with this!
........
first- S9
Second -Mate
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi there, what firmware you are on?
Mine is 9.0.0.126, seem like ok.
sousa_2005 said:
anyone know if this phone has diferent camera sensores like samsung (Sony and samsung sensor)?
I can't believe that my S9 with only one camera take way BETTER shots than the Mate 20 pro.
Too much disappointed with this!
Don't know if I'm doing anything wrong...
I bought this because I was tired of the Samsung ui and the slow (NO) updates... but payed a lot more for this phone and comparing the pictures.. 90% of them are worst than the S9.
The pictures in the Huawei are way more darker...
first- S9
Second -Mate
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
40mp or 10 mp ?
to use 40, you need are really well lit environment, otherwise its always 10 mp for hdr effect.
hi just know what happened ..... shame on me...
sousa_2005 said:
hi just know what happened ..... shame on me...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And?
I have an Xperia 1 ii which I do really like, I've always enjoyed Sony phones and I really like the look and feel of it. The long display is great for me, the storage (plus option of an SD card) is good and the battery is OK.*
I am by no means an expert photographer but the camera on a phone is one of the main draws for me on a phone. Whilst I have been able to capture some nice shots on my Xperia, I have found the point and shoot camera to be very hit and miss and definitely lacking either under artificial light or at night. It certainly feels like a stepdown from the camera on my old P20 Pro.
Given this, I am considering trading in my Xperia and switching to the Pixel 5, predominantly*for the camera and also taking advantage of the Bose preorder offer. From what I can see, the main downgrades would be a stepdown in processor, smaller screen and reduction in storage size (with no SD option). The latter could be a slight barrier as I am currently using 122GB of storage on my Xperia (I like to keep a fair chunk of music offline) so this would basically max out the Pixel.
It would be helpful to hear the views of any Xperia and/or Pixel owners or just any community experts who know a lot more than me!
Well, considering you've used the 1ii, you know that the form factor and processing power are quite good. You won't get either on the Pixel. The camera on the Pixel may be better set up for point and shoot, yes. I've found the 1ii's point and shooting abilities to be good, and of course you lose some of the benefits of manual RAW tweaking if that is up your alley. Further, the 1ii has a telephoto lens, while the P5 lacks one entirely, so if you like zooming in on stuff the Sony is the way to go. And there is absolutely no way you can store 122GB of music on a 128GB Pixel. Remember, a number of GB are taken up by the system (and then your apps).
As a former Pixel user, the Xperia has a different feel for its photos, being more neutral, for instance, but I've come to enjoy it. That said, the Pixel camera gets better night mode results. Still, a port of GCam is in the works (WHEN it may come is up in the air). Once it eventually comes out, the advantages of the Pixel will be available on the 1ii (so, let's go Arnova!)
(There is a GCam 5 you can check out, linked in some other posts, though I've found it to be hit or miss stability wise.)
nebula9 said:
Well, considering you've used the 1ii, you know that the form factor and processing power are quite good. You won't get either on the Pixel. The camera on the Pixel may be better set up for point and shoot, yes. I've found the 1ii's point and shooting abilities to be good, and of course you lose some of the benefits of manual RAW tweaking if that is up your alley. Further, the 1ii has a telephoto lens, while the P5 lacks one entirely, so if you like zooming in on stuff the Sony is the way to go. And there is absolutely no way you can store 122GB of music on a 128GB Pixel. Remember, a number of GB are taken up by the system (and then your apps).
As a former Pixel user, the Xperia has a different feel for its photos, being more neutral, for instance, but I've come to enjoy it. That said, the Pixel camera gets better night mode results. Still, a port of GCam is in the works (WHEN it may come is up in the air). Once it eventually comes out, the advantages of the Pixel will be available on the 1ii (so, let's go Arnova!)
(There is a GCam 5 you can check out, linked in some other posts, though I've found it to be hit or miss stability wise.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot for the feedback. I have been following the Gcam thread for the Xperia 1ii having been very excited about it but it doesn't appear to be imminent any time soon (that's not a criticism at all, the guys trying to develop it sound amazing) so I'm wary about waiting more months to see if that comes good. I think I might pre order a Pixel and if I'm not enjoying it in the first 14 days, return it and go back to the Xperia.
Tmel14 said:
Thanks a lot for the feedback. I have been following the Gcam thread for the Xperia 1ii having been very excited about it but it doesn't appear to be imminent any time soon (that's not a criticism at all, the guys trying to develop it sound amazing) so I'm wary about waiting more months to see if that comes good. I think I might pre order a Pixel and if I'm not enjoying it in the first 14 days, return it and go back to the Xperia.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can check out the Gcam 5 thread. I find that it works pretty well (the MGC variant), but only for the main and selfie cameras. You may need to fiddle with the settings for best stability and results, though.
Based on my testing, the Pixel 4 produced better quality photos in almost every setting that wasn't perfectly lit. Sony grabs amazing detail in perfect lighting, but only in raw.
Unfortunately the two phones are apples and oranges. One's a manual shooter while the other's a point and click. Neither one is great at doing the other, seeing as Sony's post-processing is downright garbage. Gcam on the Sony would be nice, but it seems like development on this phone is completely dead. We don't even have a recompiled kernel yet, let alone a working Gcam 7.x.
Just know that the Pixel 5 will not have a 2x zoom lens. That's a big downgrade from the Pixel 4, where it made a huge difference.
nebula9 said:
Well, considering you've used the 1ii, you know that the form factor and processing power are quite good. You won't get either on the Pixel. The camera on the Pixel may be better set up for point and shoot, yes. I've found the 1ii's point and shooting abilities to be good, and of course you lose some of the benefits of manual RAW tweaking if that is up your alley. Further, the 1ii has a telephoto lens, while the P5 lacks one entirely, so if you like zooming in on stuff the Sony is the way to go. And there is absolutely no way you can store 122GB of music on a 128GB Pixel. Remember, a number of GB are taken up by the system (and then your apps).
As a former Pixel user, the Xperia has a different feel for its photos, being more neutral, for instance, but I've come to enjoy it. That said, the Pixel camera gets better night mode results. Still, a port of GCam is in the works (WHEN it may come is up in the air). Once it eventually comes out, the advantages of the Pixel will be available on the 1ii (so, let's go Arnova!)
(There is a GCam 5 you can check out, linked in some other posts, though I've found it to be hit or miss stability wise.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just for information, Pixels also can shoot in RAW. Even my old Pixel 3 can do it.
---------- Post added at 02:25 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:16 AM ----------
YandereSan said:
Based on my testing, the Pixel 4 produced better quality photos in almost every setting that wasn't perfectly lit. Sony grabs amazing detail in perfect lighting, but only in raw.
Unfortunately the two phones are apples and oranges. One's a manual shooter while the other's a point and click. Neither one is great at doing the other, seeing as Sony's post-processing is downright garbage. Gcam on the Sony would be nice, but it seems like development on this phone is completely dead. We don't even have a recompiled kernel yet, let alone a working Gcam 7.x.
Just know that the Pixel 5 will not have a 2x zoom lens. That's a big downgrade from the Pixel 4, where it made a huge difference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can confirm exactly the same experience on my Pixel 4XL against Xperia 1 and 5 (apart from RAW part which is missing on those Sony phones). My Xperia failed to deliver good photos at not perfect light condition. Night shots were unusable without using a tripod. And yes, Sony's post-processing seems simply doesn't exist which is not wise idea when it comes to tiny lenses of smartphones. I guess that inability to implement proper post-processing led Sony to these fully Manual control camera-phones with reference to creativity etc . That's just pathetic, sorry.