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OK... first of all I would just like to clarify that though I, as a normal human being when distraught, have to express my disappointment, I am not here to whine and complain just for the sake of complaining. I am not here to just bash down this camera. But I am merely explaining my experience with it so far hoping that you would help me reach some sort of peace-of-mind... So please bare with me, and share with me your thoughts and experiences.
I've been using different compact point-and-shoot cameras for a fairly long time, I was used to taking shots with cameras even before digital ones were commercially available. and I've owned many different phones with cameras all of different qualities. So I know what to expect. I have some sort of a broad sense of what outcome I should remotely expect and what limits I have to stop my hopes at.
Having said that, I have to sadly say that the Samsung Galaxy Camera has been THE WORST camera I have ever owned, probably even one of the devices that caused me the most disappointment.
But I keep asking myself... is this how this camera really is? is this how it's supposed to behave? is this the limits of its abilities?
I wonder because of this little story:
When I bought the camera, I bought it from a "reseller"... meaning that they are not the official dealer in the country for Samsung products nor do they even have direct contact with them. I say and assume this because they're selling the camera with NO WARRANTY. Any other retailer sells it with some sort of guarantee.
I know it was a mistake to go for something without guarantee, especially since I was on a very tight budget. But I still bought it because I REALLY wanted the camera, and they sold it for a price a lot lower than anybody else.
When I first bought, and on the very first use.. after I set up the device, and then started testing the camera, a few minutes later it suddenly shut down completely! Black screen, no response whatsoever. I did a battery pull, and the device would reboot then just as it is supposed to start again, it shut down again, sometimes even with the lens open and stretched out just like that. The only way to restart the camera would be to attach the charger usb to it then reboot it.
The same thing kept happening over and over again, so I took it back to them to change it for me or give me my money back. They tried to get away with it saying that "We told you there's no guarantee". Anyway after a long discussion I forced them to take it and fix it.
A week later, they gave it back.. the problem is gone. But that incidence alone kept me always skeptic... especially that now I'm EXTREMELY disappointed with the outcome of this camera.
Let me show you... and please do tell me, is this how the Galaxy Camera behaves? are these the kind of pictures it can take?
I'm comparing pics to those taken by a Sony HX20V, not for the shear purpose of comparing, but to show that I have no problem holding my hands "normally" stable, and there is no serious problem with the lighting of the place.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/o1sxni5t9sw44x3/20130409_080009.JPG
now compare it to this:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/guh9p21t7yydq99/DSC08308.JPG
Can you see the GREAT difference?? and there's just enough light to capture an at least "decent" image..!
Now look at this one..
https://www.dropbox.com/s/qz1pxtzvybkxi7x/20130409_080040.JPG
Compare it to what the Sony took
https://www.dropbox.com/s/dbgxksjp0om81cz/DSC08310.JPG
Yes the image isn't super sharp and clear but it's extremely acceptable and useable!
Check this one out
https://www.dropbox.com/s/cwivq3mklltq0by/2013-04-09 00.44.00.JPG
notice how it's obvious there's a bright chandelier lit on in the room..
https://www.dropbox.com/s/7key32wi9kvyy2d/DSC08294.JPG
Taken by the cybershot even AFTER the bright light was turned off!!
Now this one was taken outside a couple of hours before sunset.. there was enough light
https://www.dropbox.com/s/kbr9c5wpndqox3p/2013-04-08 18.35.38.JPG
I expected the lousy Galaxy Camera to take something at least remotely similar to what the Sony took
https://www.dropbox.com/s/3bs940xqmssnhy4/DSC08288.JPG
See the great difference?!
Don't miss this one
https://www.dropbox.com/s/9u13ducrbgkghoj/20130410_204801.JPG
Here I'm comparing it to what I captured right at the same place, a couple of minutes apart, with a Galaxy Note N7000!!
https://www.dropbox.com/s/wxyzb5t1o5you9i/2013-04-10 20.49.50.jpg
Do you see now what I'm talking about??
This hideous, annoying, extremely distorting BLUR! Why is it there??
Does this camera have no capability of stabilizing the shots whatsoever??? Why would Samsung release a product that takes pictures worse than a cheap phone camera?!
Then again I have to ask, is this how this camera really takes shots??
I mean look at this:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/fld1vqvjzw2mjrr/2013-04-14 09.49.47.JPG
What is this?? seriously wtf is this?!
and it's only because I zoomed in the lens for only x2.8!! You can see in the background how the sun is glaring and there's more than enough light.. I mean I swear even in extremely well lit conditions like this, zooming is like the picture is writing it's own suicide note!
Yes the camera did take some okay shots here and there.. but without zoom, with my hands leaning against something to help stabilize it further, and after several tries, and waiting for seconds before finally fully pressing the button to take the shot.. so what's the use?? if this is how more than most of the pictures turn out like??
How is this considered a point-and-shoot camera? it's more like point-and-hold-your-breath-completely-and-pray-for-the-best-and-shoot-then-get-disappointed camera!
The way the pictures turn out renders this camera useless! I wanted this to be my primary carry around camera in my travels, in holidays and so... but when it behaves like this, then I will be able to take almost NO decent pictures ever... and this is very very sad because it has great functionalities what with it being based on an android system and all.. I really had very high expectations and they have not been remotely met..
Dear fellow Galaxy Cam owners... please tell me what is wrong? IS there something wrong anyway with the device I have? Did I get some sort of pre-mass-production prototype? Is there a way I can tell if that's so? Because I also noticed that everything in and around the camera is French and nothing but French. We don't bring models made exclusively for the French market here in this country...
So tell me... is this the kind of pictures your cameras are capturing? Are you facing the same problem? Do you suffer from the same UGLY blurring problem??
I'm awaiting your answers, hoping I'd finally be able to reach a resting point from where I can decide what to do..
Thank you for your time...
Hi,
Sorry to hear your camera is dissapointing. But if it seriously takes these kind of pictures, the camera is broken, or you might have a serious case of parkinsons. My camera makes perfect pictures, with all settings. Okay, it's not as perfect as a DSLR camera, but that is to be expected. Even when I'm a bit shakey, it doesn't blur like on your pictures. So I think it's safe to assume you've bought a broken camera.
If the store where you bought it is giving you trouble, try contacting Samsung directly for a solution, it might take a bit longer, but they're probably a bit more friendly.
good luck solving your problems.
Incanity said:
Hi,
Sorry to hear your camera is dissapointing. But if it seriously takes these kind of pictures, the camera is broken, or you might have a serious case of parkinsons. My camera makes perfect pictures, with all settings. Okay, it's not as perfect as a DSLR camera, but that is to be expected. Even when I'm a bit shakey, it doesn't blur like on your pictures. So I think it's safe to assume you've bought a broken camera.
If the store where you bought it is giving you trouble, try contacting Samsung directly for a solution, it might take a bit longer, but they're probably a bit more friendly.
good luck solving your problems.
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Thank you so much for your reply! I assure you parkinsonism is one thing I'm sure I don't suffer from, lol! XD
so you're saying that even in normal, not extremely brightly lit conditions, the camera manages to normally process and stabilize the image, as should any decent camera? Good, very good to know..
Thanks again, and I still want to hear more from all other users
I can't even make such horrible photos from a moving car with my galaxy camera.
I can even do decent night-shots without a tripod, and those are incredibly sensitive to movement.
unless your camera is set to a night, light, or water flow mode(slow shutter speed) it really shouldn't make pictures like that, and is most likely broken.
thedicemaster said:
I can't even make such horrible photos from a moving car with my galaxy camera.
I can even do decent night-shots without a tripod, and those are incredibly sensitive to movement.
unless your camera is set to a night, light, or water flow mode(slow shutter speed) it really shouldn't make pictures like that, and is most likely broken.
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Click to collapse
Wow so the camera is supposed to be THAT good??
All those photos were taken with the "Auto" mode. Sometimes it even shows "hold still while camera takes shots" which I'm not sure if it's supposed to happen on auto mode but it does. Anyway as you can see.. If there's no bright shiny sun light, it's such a pain taking a close-to-decent photo with the cam I have...
Thank you so much for your reply!
the auto mode in the galaxy camera is a bit smarter than most cameras as it will actually use things like night-shot(which is what gives the "hold still" message) while other cameras only slightly tweak some settings.
thedicemaster said:
the auto mode in the galaxy camera is a bit smarter than most cameras as it will actually use things like night-shot(which is what gives the "hold still" message) while other cameras only slightly tweak some settings.
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Yeah I figured so. Thanks for the clarification
Hi
I will soon be able to get a new phone.
SGS4A is one of my options.
As a father of a 1Y old son i am keen on getting a robust phone and happy if there is a pretty good camera. (not replacing a dslr, but for snapshots)
Good means that in not ideal light i still get usable pics and that the reaction/focus is fast.
In several tests i was reading that it takes plenty of seconds untlil a pic is tooken. Is that true or what is your experiance with the cam?
The standard mode of shooting with Auto snaps a picture for me in well under a second flat. I prefer to use the HDR mode for most everything (known as Rich Tone (HDR) on the Active's camera mode selection tool) and when you snap a pic with that mode you're told to hold the camera steady because it snaps the pic then does the HDR processing which takes 1, potentially 2 seconds at the very worst, and then you're ready to snap another. The delay for HDR is not a big hassle to me, I know it's a smartphone that allows me to take pics - if I wanted pro level imagery I'd get a $2500 DSLR.
I got no beef with the photos I've been taking, they look fine to me and friends that have seen some of my better shots (so they say). Yes the S4 has 13 MP to play with but I believe the 8 MP shooter in the GS4A is more than adequate for most any photo purposes for us "normal" consumers.
I think the 8MP camera on the S4A is pretty good overall, but low light shots definitely suffer.
Inside, with "dinner lighting", the shots of people are very grainy, blurry and dark, regular or HDR didn't make a big difference in the quality.
If you primarily need a camera that works well in low-light, a stand-alone cam like your dslr is the way to go. On a phone, the NOKIA Lumia has an awesome camera, but you are stuck with Windows Phone. Always seems to be a tradeoff somewhere.
Galaxy s4 active camera
According to what I have seen about the phone regarding camera isn't breath-taking as it is 8MP, 1080p-capable @30fps, To be honest I was expecting something like 12MP...I can conclude by saying its more powerful on graphic-demanding games and apps with its powerful features...just give it a try maybe it wont disappoint you
Sending back my Nexus 6p to replace with op3t been wanting this phone for some time. Aside from asking many different questions my main thing would be the camera . Initially videos and blogs on the camera said it's in n par with a s7 or note 5 quality . But I'm hearing negative talk about the rear cam blur and clarity. Is there a known issue ? A camera mod or fix or is this just bias opinion. I guess I'll find out soon .
Sent from my Nexus 6P using XDA-Developers Legacy app
androidddaaron said:
Sending back my Nexus 6p to replace with op3t been wanting this phone for some time. Aside from asking many different questions my main thing would be the camera . Initially videos and blogs on the camera said it's in n par with a s7 or note 5 quality . But I'm hearing negative talk about the rear cam blur and clarity. Is there a known issue ? A camera mod or fix or is this just bias opinion. I guess I'll find out soon .
Sent from my Nexus 6P using XDA-Developers Legacy app
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For me the camera it just fine , I mean I don't expect professional results it is a phone camera if I want better results go for a pro one
One a bright day the camera is perfect wonderful pics , but as light reduces the camera loss some quality and sharpness
I mean for 439 dlls it a good camera
Sent from my ONEPLUS A3000 using Tapatalk
I love this phone and the latest. Oxygen OS update fixes alot of the camera issues witch were fine according to me but im not a camera guy. I got it for the processor and 6 gigs of ram and so far this thing has only impressed at ever corner you can't go wrong with this phone especially at this price point.
I'd say given good amount of lightning, the camera gets pretty decent performance. Once its in lowlight, it definitely has some catching up to do compared to devices like S7, 6p.
There is apparently an issue with the camera on OnePlus 3T where focus stops working. I have read multiple reports now and I am affected myself. Some say this is a hardware issue and some had their phones already fixed by OnePlus. Someone else said a software update fixed it for him so maybe there are multiple issues at work. But those are all defects where the camera stops working properly. Until this happened, the camera was fine and I couldn't complain about the quality at all.
Outdoor photos with any degree of sunlight are excellent. Indoors, with any amount of sun coming through windows also are great. Indoors, with artificial lighting is where it gets trickier. The lower the light, the longer it takes to auto focus; and if your subject is moving, the pics are more likely to blur. If you have some patience, and know how to take pictures, you can get decent results. And you may have to take several photos, knowing some will have blur.
The best example would be indoor pics of my young kids (which I take a lot) which can never stand still for long, even for a picture. But even with some decent amount of artificial light, and a bit of patience, I get some very good pics most of the time.
Another option on the OP3T, is you can change the camera to "manual" mode. This allows you to manually set the ISO, white balance (type of light), etc. This can get you faster focus and better results in lower light. But not everyone may want to take the time to manually tweak these settings.
I take a good amount of smartphone pics, and the camera is important to me. Overall, I'm pleased with the camera on the OP3T. But given, I'm coming from an older phone, the HTC M8 (which is going on 3 years old). On the other hand, the amount of effort it takes to get unblurred photos on the OP3T is not out of line with when I use my DSLR camera.
Maybe a phone like the Samsung GS7 can take more focused pictures, more consistently, and with less effort. And of course there is something to be said about that. But there is also a price. Most folks who criticize the camera on the OP3T are comparing it to flagships like the iPhone 7 or Samsung GS7 which cost almost twice as much (okay, the price of phones vary a lot over time and by region - but you see what I'm getting at). The OP3T simply can't compete as it lacks the fancy features such as dual camera, laser focus + phase detection etc. which all cost money. But what you have is a phone which competes with the current flagships on almost every level (processor, RAM, build quality) with just a bit of compromise on the camera, screen resolution, and waterproofing.
came from a 6p, have had trouble getting my camera to focus, but still love the phone
Ok ever since Ive seen this phone I've been smitten with it., but the price has scared me off a bit...it does seem to have some down to a relatively reasonable price and its got me thinking again. The Camera is what intrigues me the most, as with most people I would assume.
Here is what gives me pause though...from a lot of accounts it doesn't do very well taking pictures of people and just about every real review Ive sen says the camera oversharpens a lot, in any situation. My dilemma is I take a lot of pictures of my kids, as a lot of people do, so crappy pictures of people is sort of a dealbreaker for a phone. The low light performance seems amazing and teh 3x zoom I could definitely get some use out of, but the beauty mode and sharpening is stopping me from buying this phone.
Are there any ROMs that can be flashed that addressed this? Is this something someone could find in the software of the phone and disable? VIA a rom again obviously because it cannot be disabled in stock form it appears.
I find with people oh and dogs it can be a a little slow I am thinking of jumping ship to the note 9 as that camera is lightening fast plus you can add a memory card
When you come to scenary I have to say wow
The attached pic is unedited
I have to say however it's an amazing device it's fast and fluid operating system wise i have always used iPhones and am happy to have moved to android just wish camera person wise was more polished
Sent from my CLT-L29 using XDA Premium HD app
Yeah that's great, but as you probably know people and dogs rarely stand still..babies even worse. If it's a little slow that's a definitely no, I got a note 8 and even that is a bit slow at times and I miss the shot Im trying to get.
My other options are a p2xl or a Oneplus 6, or keep the Note 8 but the GF needs a new phone
loki993 said:
Yeah that's great, but as you probably know people and dogs rarely stand still..babies even worse. If it's a little slow that's a definitely no, I got a note 8 and even that is a bit slow at times and I miss the shot Im trying to get.
My other options are a p2xl or a Oneplus 6, or keep the Note 8 but the GF needs a new phone
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Click to collapse
That's the problem people move and the AI modes say keep still even once shot
I played with the note 9 last night and it was lightening fast
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mancuk29 said:
I find with people oh and dogs it can be a a little slow I am thinking of jumping ship to the note 9 as that camera is lightening fast plus you can add a memory card
When you come to scenary I have to say wow
The attached pic is unedited
I have to say however it's an amazing device it's fast and fluid operating system wise i have always used iPhones and am happy to have moved to android just wish camera person wise was more polished
Sent from my CLT-L29 using XDA Premium HD app
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Slow to focus or slow shutter speed? Anyway I don't find it slow by any means, one of the fastest to both focus and fire of a shot to be honest
I've found the rear cameras work really well - it is fast to focus, the night mode and B&W are really good. Turn off the AI as I think it's not very good. For just a point and shoot, I think the Pixel 2 will give you better results. If you are willing to put in a bit of work into your shots, I think the P20 Pro will give you excellent results. Now, if you are talking about the front camera, it is not very good (IMO). So, if you use the front camera quite a bit, I might suggest other options for you.
From what I hear, the video is not very good either (I don't shoot video, so I cannot comment first hand). I've read that the rear camera processing software was done by Leica and the front camera and video was done by Huawei - that may explain the difference in quality between those.
Overall, I find the hardware excellent but am not so fond of EMUI (esp. the memory management, notifications and AOD).
I take loads of photos of my kids, who never stop moving. Ever. Most of the time it takes amazing shots, but sometimes they're a bit blurry.
The over softening of faces has been reduced on recent updates, and if you're in portrait mode you can dial it down with a slider (it's called beauty level).
You'll struggle with ROMs now though - Huawei have stopped giving bootloader unlock codes. This means you won't be able to flash anything, and even if you could it has completely stifled development. Personally I wouldn't buy it now because of this (you also won't be able to root). But the photos really are incredible so if you can put up with stock software and no root then get it.
rajeshr said:
I've found the rear cameras work really well - it is fast to focus, the night mode and B&W are really good. Turn off the AI as I think it's not very good. For just a point and shoot, I think the Pixel 2 will give you better results. If you are willing to put in a bit of work into your shots, I think the P20 Pro will give you excellent results. Now, if you are talking about the front camera, it is not very good (IMO). So, if you use the front camera quite a bit, I might suggest other options for you.
From what I hear, the video is not very good either (I don't shoot video, so I cannot comment first hand). I've read that the rear camera processing software was done by Leica and the front camera and video was done by Huawei - that may explain the difference in quality between those.
Overall, I find the hardware excellent but am not so fond of EMUI (esp. the memory management, notifications and AOD).
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Yeah honestly I don't use a front camera a lot and even when I do the quality doesn't really matter all that much.
I do do a lot of point and shoot, the quick snap of a kid doing something . But I do like having the extra functionality if I really wanted to take the time to get a really good shot. That's just not always practical.
krs360 said:
I take loads of photos of my kids, who never stop moving. Ever. Most of the time it takes amazing shots, but sometimes they're a bit blurry.
The over softening of faces has been reduced on recent updates, and if you're in portrait mode you can dial it down with a slider (it's called beauty level).
You'll struggle with ROMs now though - Huawei have stopped giving bootloader unlock codes. This means you won't be able to flash anything, and even if you could it has completely stifled development. Personally I wouldn't buy it now because of this (you also won't be able to root). But the photos really are incredible so if you can put up with stock software and no root then get it.
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yeah, it seems that people were trying to get Huawei to allow people to unlock again. Eh may it would be better to just wait until that happens.
Ok so a few things.
The device as a non rooted device is as good as they come.
Design
Battery
Camera
Performance
Storage
System
Can't fault any of it.
My wife has the phone as stock and she loves it.
I have the phone with the bootloader unlocked, debranded and rooted and I love it.
I can do a lot more than my wife can with it due to the flexibility of being able to remove bloat and install things like lineage and mods like swap torpedo for speed.
Personally if I was unable to unlock the bootloader, there is no way I would contemplate buying this phone, not for its price or for it's hindered lack of unlocking options.
My advice, you cannot unlock the bootloader any more.
Pixel 2 XL It's just dropped by £100
OnePlus 6T when it arrives
Pixel 3 when it arrives.
Not this phone, unless you are going to never hope to root it.
No one of the things I would need would be to get rid of EMUI because people don't seem to like it and from what I hear I wouldn't like it either. I would by buying it with the intention of swapping something more stock ish on it, so if I can't do that its really a non starter.
I'm really looking at a 2xl probably from swappa there are a bunch of refurbs or buybacks on there for a pretty decent price and there is the 200 off deal from Fi too.
I am considering the 6, yeah the 6t will be out but not until November and even then what can they do to change it? wireless charging is almost a sure bet, but not sure what else. Maybe a bit of work on that notch but that doesn't bother me too much. My note 8 has wireless charging and I never use it, so I can do without that.
The 3XL was what I wanted originally but the more leaks I see of the phone the more I don't like it. Again I'm not a notch hater like some people seem to be but it is rather large on the 3xl it seems and with the chin on the bottom it makes the screen look oddly placed...aesthetic issues only though.
The big thing though is it looks like it's only going to have 4 gigs of ram and a battery that's not any larger than its predecessor and for a phone that's likely going to cost around a thousand dollars that's just not acceptable. Now if they come out and say we could only fit this battery and 4 gigs of ram in it because our sensor is bigger than the P20 pros, or something else crazy like that, they may have my attention, but until I hear something like that Im not so interested. Even then, Huawei managed to fit a 4k battery and 6 gigs of ram and 2 more cameras in their phone in addition to the big one...so even that would be a weak excuse, but I could settle for that.
Loving my pro. Coming from Samsung for over ten years, I really like emui. Very easy to use. Very customizable. Thumbs up from me.
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I recently bought an S10 after I cracked my screen on my S8 and it made more sense to get a new phone however I wish I hadn't. The photos indoor of my children are terrible, especially when compared to my S8. They look blurry around their arms/body and their faces look like zombies. Also the detail just isn't there. I've tried pro mode and changed the aperture to 1.5 and this helps quite a lot but still not as good as my S8. I took it back into Samsung and they said try messing with HDR to see if it makes a difference so will try it when I get the kids back later. Looking in the details bit of each photo it seems auto mode is using too high an ISO and the 2.4 aperture but i'm no expert so I don't know.
Anyone else having this issue or is my device faulty? I've seen a few posts around the internet about it but are all old posts.
I have the exynos version if it helps.
I haven't experienced this issue, but I don't think I have the same version phone as you.
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Schwuar1 said:
I recently bought an S10 after I cracked my screen on my S8 and it made more sense to get a new phone however I wish I hadn't. The photos indoor of my children are terrible, especially when compared to my S8. They look blurry around their arms/body and their faces look like zombies. Also the detail just isn't there. I've tried pro mode and changed the aperture to 1.5 and this helps quite a lot but still not as good as my S8. I took it back into Samsung and they said try messing with HDR to see if it makes a difference so will try it when I get the kids back later. Looking in the details bit of each photo it seems auto mode is using too high an ISO and the 2.4 aperture but i'm no expert so I don't know.
Anyone else having this issue or is my device faulty? I've seen a few posts around the internet about it but are all old posts.
I have the exynos version if it helps.
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Are your sure you aren't using Live Focus?
Nope just 'photo' mode