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Captivate camera - Is ther a guide to using it and taking the best shots?

I haven't been impressed with the photos at all. Most of them are blurry. I know nothing about camera settings on this phone. Is there a guide out there somewhere?
Thanks!

Citznfish said:
I haven't been impressed with the photos at all. Most of them are blurry. I know nothing about camera settings on this phone. Is there a guide out there somewhere?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The camera sucks. Sucks defined as: takes blurry pictures in daylight. A total fail. The video is pretty good 'tho.

I love the camera. Takes better photos than my 3gs.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

I've been using the camera a lot and it's been really nice for me, for a phone camera, and I'm used to dslr's...
Side arrow>Gear (Settings)
Camera:
Page 3/5, check Anti-Shake
Page 4/5, check Auto contrast (can't remember if that is a default)
Wrench:
Just a personal preference, I set Review to 2 seconds to see the picture after it's taken.
Other than that, you just have to make sure the camera's focused on what you select before taking the picture, and it should be fine.

Make sure u tap on the screen to focus on the area u want to take the picture of.

Citznfish said:
I haven't been impressed with the photos at all. Most of them are blurry. I know nothing about camera settings on this phone. Is there a guide out there somewhere?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have to agree with the OP, here. The images aren't so much blurry as they are highly compressed for some reason. I wonder if there's a way to lower the JPEG compression. It's like the images look good on the display, but when you look at them on your computer or (in the rare occasion) an iPhone 4's RetinaDisplay, you really see the compression artifacts. The video is not much better.
There must be a way to solve this.

I know it sounds obvious, but seriously make sure the camera lense isn't smudged before you start taking pictures. It's flush with the back of the phone and so really really easy to smudge with your fingers while handling the phone.
I was noticing how some pictures were insanely crisp and others were blurry in the same lighting conditions and everything, and I am pretty sure it's because of the lens being smudged. Just throwing that out there.

Desire S better camera than Incredible S

yo.
I'm a new member, so I can't post links, but if you re-attach this:
lesnumeriques.com/duels.php?ty=1&ma1=291&mo1=1380&p1=10848&ma2=291&mo2=1344&p2=10632&ph=2
it's very interesting. The Desire S seems to have a lot better image quality than the IS, which really looks crappy IMO.
cheers

Monkeybrew said:
it's very interesting. The Desire S seems to have a lot better image quality than the IS, which really looks crappy IMO.
cheers
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Click to collapse
From the Desire S <-> Incredible S comparison, the detail and contrast seem much better on the DS. Color balance is much better too.
I had seen comparisons with the Arc (which has a very good camera) and got the impression that the camera was a weak point on HTCs; I had resigned myself to having a below-average phone camera in exchange for more memory/storage and a nicer UI than the SE phone.
But having taken a few pictures and a little bit of video with the DS, I'm fairly pleased with the results. I may post samples here later, if I can be bothered.
I've not gone to the trouble of pixel-peeping, and most of the photos I've taken have been outdoors in good light, but the camera on the DS seems okay.

Camera of the Desire S is awful. Terribly high compressed JPGs. Yes, the pics from Incredible S can only be even worse since this camera has 8 MPixel which must be even more terrible for an image sensor of this size. In most situations it will only capture noise.
But the interesting thing is, that the Desire S is even much worse than the Diamond II (my previous phone). It's the same 5Mpixel sensor. But the Camera application on the Diamond II had an option for 3 different Jpeg compression levels. I always had SuperFine enabled, which ended up id quite reasonable results. The cam app on the Desire S has no option for different compression levels. It produces 5 MPixel images with the size of 800 kByte. This can not be usefull.
I also tried an alternative camera app (Vignette). Images are far less compressed (about 3 MByte per image) but not a good quality.
Again, I know that optics of this size can not resolve 5 MPixel. But the quality of Diamond II images has been better (also 5 MPixel).

800 kb of a 5mpx photo xDD ?? thats a joke. my old w880 has a 2 pmx sensor with no AF (its pretty awful..) and IT makes 800 kb photos lol

xilw3r said:
800 kb of a 5mpx photo xDD ?? thats a joke. my old w880 has a 2 pmx sensor with no AF (its pretty awful..) and IT makes 800 kb photos lol
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Click to collapse
OK, 800kB was a bit overdrawn. But 1,3MB is a typical size of a 5MPix image on the Desire S.

[Q] Possible camera improvements?

I mean picture quality, not video recording. I have been somewhat disappointed with the camera so far. Even at 8 MP, my pictures often turn out strangely blurry, or the colors end up being washed out. Are there any tweaks/mods/apps you guys are aware of that may improve the camera? I'm running cyanogenmod 7, if that makes any difference.

niko_droid said:
I mean picture quality, not video recording. I have been somewhat disappointed with the camera so far. Even at 8 MP, my pictures often turn out strangely blurry, or the colors end up being washed out. Are there any tweaks/mods/apps you guys are aware of that may improve the camera? I'm running cyanogenmod 7, if that makes any difference.
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Click to collapse
See here. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1402622

Try an app called "HDR Camera" it trends to make pictures better using HDR (High Dynamic Range).
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda premium

stormageddon said:
Try an app called "HDR Camera" it trends to make pictures better using HDR (High Dynamic Range).
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda premium
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Click to collapse
Aren't most camera apps disposed to make low res images though? How many will actually take pictures at full 8mp resolution?

psychoace said:
Aren't most camera apps disposed to make low res images though? How many will actually take pictures at full 8mp resolution?
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Click to collapse
I tried HDR camera before, as well as Camera Zoom. They both support 8MP from what I remember. But Zoom didn't really help my camera's quality, while HDR takes pretty darn long to take a photo. The colors are better, but the photos still aren't as sharp as they should be.
And thanks prettyboy, I'll try the engine when I get home, and we'll see how that goes. From the pictures, the improvement looks pretty significant.
P.S. Happy New Year everyone!

I removed the little glass piece, makes the pictures look better. Especially outside shots.

One S vs iPhone 4S camera comparison

So out of curiosity I took some pictures with my One S and an iPhone 4S to try and see if there is a significant difference in camera quality. Unfortunately I didnt quite manage to take identical pictures, but it gives you some idea at least.
Personally I think its a rather close call, so Im happy with my One S for sure.
I posted the results here.
What do you think?

Most of the pictures are not loading in full size.

Really? Thanks ill look into it!
Sent from my HTC One S using Tapatalk 2

Hmm its pretty close i say but i think that the iphone4s gives more true colors on android devices many of them are greyish washed out like...
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using xda premium

The one S definatly beats the iPhone 4s. The 4s really desaturated a lot of colors. Their are comparisons on youtube.

shahkam said:
Hmm its pretty close i say but i think that the iphone4s gives more true colors on android devices many of them are greyish washed out like...
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think I may have to agree with you. I find the colors more vivid on the photos taken by the iPhone 4S. It is indeed a close call though.

The iPhone 4S outdoor photo looks much sharper in the corners and upper edge (better lens?). Here is another comparison (One X / $s)
http://www.gottabemobile.com/2012/03/30/iphone-4s-vs-htc-one-x-cameras-compared/
Could you rename the files to clearly show which one is from which phone?
Could you re-check the focus - the HTC one looks front-focussed?
The 4S camera is better from those pictures - but others should note that the focal lengths are not the same - this makes comparisons very difficult.
FWIW I own 4 DSLRs and 10 lenses (mostly primes) - so Ive seen way too many camera test shots

aza314 said:
The iPhone 4S outdoor photo looks much sharper in the corners and upper edge (better lens?). Here is another comparison (One X / $s)
http://www.gottabemobile.com/2012/03/30/iphone-4s-vs-htc-one-x-cameras-compared/
Could you rename the files to clearly show which one is from which phone?
Could you re-check the focus - the HTC one looks front-focussed?
The 4S camera is better from those pictures - but others should note that the focal lengths are not the same - this makes comparisons very difficult.
FWIW I own 4 DSLRs and 10 lenses (mostly primes) - so Ive seen way too many camera test shots
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Click to collapse
Meh even if the iphone camera beats the one X it still doesn't make IOS/Apple better then ANDROID / Google.
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using xda premium

Thanks for comparison.
P.S. nice mouse

You cant compare the camera quality from the iPhone 4s with the one s because of screen resolution and size. The iPhones has a small screen with high resolution and higher pixels per inch with a 3.5 inch screen. So taking a pic with the iPhone and looking at the pic from the iPhones screen, quality is going to look much better but doesn't mean it is.
Take a pic with the iphone, send it to your one s and look at the pic you took with the iPhone through the one s screen. The pic won't even load full size, they will load super tiny. And if you try to blow them up, they will get distorted. Even when my cousin and my friend that own an iPhone 4 send me pics, I always receive them really small, every single time.
There's no way the Iphones camera quality should be even close to the one s camera quality. One s should be 10x better.

coupetastic-droid said:
You cant compare the camera quality from the iPhone 4s with the one s because of screen resolution and size. The iPhones has a small screen with high resolution and higher pixels per inch with a 3.5 inch screen. So taking a pic with the iPhone and looking at the pic from the iPhones screen, quality is going to look much better but doesn't mean it is.
Take a pic with the iphone, send it to your one s and look at the pic you took with the iPhone through the one s screen. The pic won't even load full size, they will load super tiny. And if you try to blow them up, they will get distorted. Even when my cousin and my friend that own an iPhone 4 send me pics, I always receive them really small, every single time.
There's no way the Iphones camera quality should be even close to the one s camera quality. One s should be 10x better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you have a lot to learn about phones and their cameras. The resolution on the pictures taken by the iPhone 4S has nothing to do with the size or resolution of the screen. The 8 megapixles produce appropriate high resolution pictures regardless of the screen. Imagine my Canon 450d only taking pictures in 640x480 because that's the resolution of the display on it.
Sorry mate, but you have it all wrong. The One S and the iPhone 4S both take pictures at the same resolution so they are just as big. The only difference is the optics, and that is what we are discussing here.
Sent from my HTC One S using Tapatalk 2

Untouchab1e said:
I think you have a lot to learn about phones and their cameras. The resolution on the pictures taken by the iPhone 4S has nothing to do with the size or resolution of the screen. The 8 megapixles produce appropriate high resolution pictures regardless of the screen. Imagine my Canon 450d only taking pictures in 640x480 because that's the resolution of the display on it.
Sorry mate, but you have it all wrong. The One S and the iPhone 4S both take pictures at the same resolution so they are just as big. The only difference is the optics, and that is what we are discussing here.
Sent from my HTC One S using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 !!!
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using xda premium

Untouchab1e said:
I think you have a lot to learn about phones and their cameras. The resolution on the pictures taken by the iPhone 4S has nothing to do with the size or resolution of the screen. The 8 megapixles produce appropriate high resolution pictures regardless of the screen. Imagine my Canon 450d only taking pictures in 640x480 because that's the resolution of the display on it.
Sorry mate, but you have it all wrong. The One S and the iPhone 4S both take pictures at the same resolution so they are just as big. The only difference is the optics, and that is what we are discussing here.
Sent from my HTC One S using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really? So you're telling me that a bunch of pixels packed into a small screen has nothing to do on how a picture looks on a screen?
A small screen with a lot of pixel is going to have a higher resolution resulting in finer cleaner pictures, but thats only from the 4s screen view. Like I said, take the same pic with the 4s and the one s, send the 4s pic to the one s and compare both pics viewing the from the one s gallery.

8 megapixels for both devices
iPhone 4S has HDR
One S has HDR, SmartFlash, VideoPicture , Slow Motion 60fps , Fast Burst Mode ,Backside illuminated sensor and much Sense interface complements the camera really well.
I don't want third party apps to interfere, One S hands down wins, no contest. And Android OS makes it much easier to transfer photos, iTunes is horrific for syncing. Anyone who thinks the iPhone wins is an apple fanboy.
I have HAD the iPhone4S previously, it took good photos but it crumbles when it comes to the One S.

coupetastic-droid said:
Really? So you're telling me that a bunch of pixels packed into a small screen has nothing to do on how a picture looks on a screen?
A small screen with a lot of pixel is going to have a higher resolution resulting in finer cleaner pictures, but thats only from the 4s screen view. Like I said, take the same pic with the 4s and the one s, send the 4s pic to the one s and compare both pics viewing the from the one s gallery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I get your point but regardless of the screen either its retina or not take the pics from both phone and put them online then we can compare if we compare like phone side by side its obviously the i4s the winner...
Sent From My Sexy Sensation.

AndroidBlizzard said:
8 megapixels for both devices
iPhone 4S has HDR
One S has HDR, SmartFlash, VideoPicture , Slow Motion 60fps , Fast Burst Mode ,Backside illuminated sensor and much Sense interface complements the camera really well.
I don't want third party apps to interfere, One S hands down wins, no contest. And Android OS makes it much easier to transfer photos, iTunes is horrific for syncing. Anyone who thinks the iPhone wins is an apple fanboy.
I have HAD the iPhone4S previously, it took good photos but it crumbles when it comes to the One S.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The iPhone 4S has a backside illuminated sensor, relatively fast burst mode (as fast as you can push de shutter button) and a better lens than the One S (even if not as bright).
You also do not have to go near iTunes to pull pictures off of an iPhone. You can use dropbox, email them, have them automatically upload to iCloud and if you're on a PC, connecting the iPhone via usb will open up a folder where you can directly access all your photos, just like on android.
The amount of ignorance and misinformation when it comes to iPhones on XDA is sometimes quite amusing. I keep seeing people criticize without having gone near one and having no hands on experience with iOS.
So yes, the One S has a pretty good camera, but the iPhone's is slightly better on the hardware side. You could argue that the software on the HTC compensates with a multitude of options, so if anything it becomes a matter of wanting to play around with the camera interface or just wanting to point and shoot. I do like the HDR mode on the One better.

I don't think this is a definitive comparison.

coupetastic-droid said:
Really? So you're telling me that a bunch of pixels packed into a small screen has nothing to do on how a picture looks on a screen?
A small screen with a lot of pixel is going to have a higher resolution resulting in finer cleaner pictures, but thats only from the 4s screen view. Like I said, take the same pic with the 4s and the one s, send the 4s pic to the one s and compare both pics viewing the from the one s gallery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are still getting it all wrong. The camera and screen are two different components.
If your argument was valid, then it woulndt matter what kind of camera optics you put on the phone, as apparently you think its the screen that determines the quality of the pictures you take. So with your logic, if you put the iPhone 4S's camera on the One S, and the One S's camera on the iPhone 4S, the One S would still take better pictures. You sir, are totally getting it wrong.
I dont care how the pictures look when viewed on the phone, the quality of the pictures taken are determined by how they look either when printed out or on a computer. So the screen on the phone is irrelevant in this matter. When you buy a regular camera, do you determine the quality of the picture they take by the resolution of the screen? I am quite shocked by your flawed logic.. Though if you still dont get it, how about I take a picture with both phones and send it to you, then you can try and determine which picture came from which phone. Since you claim the One S takes 10 times better pictures, it should be an easy match, eh?
EDIT: Actually, Ill just upload them here.. Since its so obvious to you which phone takes the way better pictures, tell me if which phone took the picture named aaaa.jpg and which one took bbbb.jpg.

AndroidBlizzard said:
8 megapixels for both devices
iPhone 4S has HDR
One S has HDR, SmartFlash, VideoPicture , Slow Motion 60fps , Fast Burst Mode ,Backside illuminated sensor and much Sense interface complements the camera really well.
I don't want third party apps to interfere, One S hands down wins, no contest. And Android OS makes it much easier to transfer photos, iTunes is horrific for syncing. Anyone who thinks the iPhone wins is an apple fanboy.
I have HAD the iPhone4S previously, it took good photos but it crumbles when it comes to the One S.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But this isnt about third party apps or how easy it is to transfer photos. Its simply about the quality of the image. No reason to put fanboyism into the equation.

Untouchab1e said:
But this isnt about third party apps or how easy it is to transfer photos. Its simply about the quality of the image. No reason to put fanboyism into the equation.
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Click to collapse
Do not bother yourself he's just a fanboy ...
Sent From My Sexy Sensation.

[Q] How good/bad is the Nexus 5 camera?

I'm just wondering, is it really good as some people say or is it just average? I didn't get a tracking number yet so I don't think I'll be able to test it myself for a while. Some shots you've taken recently would suffice, just to see the strengths of the camera.

The quality of the actual pictures are fine, but the real deal breaker is how slow it is. Even after achieving focus, there's always this 1-2 second delay after you hit the shutter button. It's terrible. It doesn't matter if the camera took the highest quality shots in RAW if it's too slow to capture anything you could consider a "moment."

aznxk3vi17 said:
The quality of the actual pictures are fine, but the real deal breaker is how slow it is. Even after achieving focus, there's always this 1-2 second delay after you hit the shutter button. It's terrible. It doesn't matter if the camera took the highest quality shots in RAW if it's too slow to capture anything you could consider a "moment."
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On mine, an HDR+ shot acquires focus and snaps the picture in about 1 second. Regular shots take maybe half a second or less.

aznxk3vi17 said:
The quality of the actual pictures are fine, but the real deal breaker is how slow it is. Even after achieving focus, there's always this 1-2 second delay after you hit the shutter button. It's terrible. It doesn't matter if the camera took the highest quality shots in RAW if it's too slow to capture anything you could consider a "moment."
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which mode are you speaking of?
Dungeon47 said:
On mine, an HDR+ shot acquires focus and snaps the picture in about 1 second. Regular shots take maybe half a second or less.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's not bad, but not insanely fast. If pictures took only a second I wouldn't mind but if it is as bad as he says, then I might have to download Focal and see how that works.

Dungeon47 said:
On mine, an HDR+ shot acquires focus and snaps the picture in about 1 second. Regular shots take maybe half a second or less.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would agree with this experience. The camera app itself loads fairy quickly too: 4 seconds from touching the camera icon to having the photo snapped and saved to storage.

androidrockz said:
Which mode are you speaking of?
That's not bad, but not insanely fast. If pictures took only a second I wouldn't mind but if it is as bad as he says, then I might have to download Focal and see how that works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also like how it maintains focus based on facial recognition.

It's alright.

androidrockz said:
Which mode are you speaking of?
That's not bad, but not insanely fast. If pictures took only a second I wouldn't mind but if it is as bad as he says, then I might have to download Focal and see how that works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just tried Focal and it couldn't take any pictures. Might need an update before it works.

Dungeon47 said:
Just tried Focal and it couldn't take any pictures. Might need an update before it works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's probably not compatible with Kit Kat yet. Are there reviewers having the same issues?

I actually think the camera is pretty good. About the same as a iPhone 5s. Definitely not great though. However, the app sucks. Right now I'm using Camera MX and it's better than the stock app. Mine is pretty fast BTW. Not a long time between shots.

KingSolomon said:
I actually think the camera is pretty good. About the same as a iPhone 5s. Definitely not great though. However, the app sucks. Right now I'm using Camera MX and it's better than the stock app. Mine is pretty fast BTW. Not a long time between shots.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does Camera MX take burst shots?

androidrockz said:
Does Camera MX take burst shots?
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Click to collapse
Nah, not that I can tell. But there are plenty of free camera apps that will probably perform better than the stock.

I think the camera is very good considering the overall top of the line phone specs vs price.
The OIS works amazing, try it, you can really shake the phone around and the image stays perfectly still - really what a small low mass smartphone needs! As even just tapping the screen to take a photo causes blurred photos.
I also like how it uses the flash to help you pre-focus, something my Desire Z never did, even with JB.
HDR+ is also pretty amazing, I can't fault it yet in my limited use, the photos come out much more vibrant, very impressive for the phone's small size!
Now what is bad is the shutter lag, between taking photos and when pressing the shutter, even if pre-focused... Come on Google, please fix that in your next update .
Other phones take photos a lot faster.

god camera is amazing well down google
i am in love with this phone its surpassed all the non ois equipped device like iphone5s, s4, even not 3 in low light
hdr+

digweed4me said:
god camera is amazing well down google
i am in love with this phone its surpassed all the non ois equipped device like iphone5s, s4, even not 3 in low light
hdr+
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm impressed. I'm wondering how it does macro shots, that the real thing I want to know. Are those with HDR+ enabled?

androidrockz said:
I'm just wondering, is it really good as some people say or is it just average? I didn't get a tracking number yet so I don't think I'll be able to test it myself for a while. Some shots you've taken recently would suffice, just to see the strengths of the camera.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Better than the wifes iPhone5 is my rating. It's better is daylight, better is low light, better at HDR, and the photosphere is a game changer.

androidrockz said:
I'm impressed. I'm wondering how it does macro shots, that the real thing I want to know. Are those with HDR+ enabled?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Macro is very good
This shot was just testing out closer photos - I think I could go even closer. HDR+ was off so these are just standard quick shots.
I have attached a photo which I guess will be higher res, and also put it on imgur for the guests viewing.
You can see tiny bits of specs of dust and paint on the rotor blade (rc model heli), very good quality. The blade is covered in oil btw...
http://imgur.com/fBNSRIl
The bokeh is not bad either!
Oh, and reviewing photos on the HD display is beautiful, you can easily see if they are sharp and the colours / clarity is spot on even in daylight.

few more on both regular and hdr +
---------- Post added at 10:08 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:01 PM ----------
androidrockz said:
I'm impressed. I'm wondering how it does macro shots, that the real thing I want to know. Are those with HDR+ enabled?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
top one is hdr +
and one thing why ppl complaining about slow focus mine is almost instant focus and camera shots.

Compared to the Galaxy Nexus camera, I think the camera of the Nexus 5 is an improvement. It performs way better under suboptimal lighting conditions, and it supports HDR which snaps really nice pics with good colors.

LaurenceGough said:
Macro is very good
This shot was just testing out closer photos - I think I could go even closer. HDR+ was off so these are just standard quick shots.
I have attached a photo which I guess will be higher res, and also put it on imgur for the guests viewing.
You can see tiny bits of specs of dust and paint on the rotor blade (rc model heli), very good quality. The blade is covered in oil btw...
http://imgur.com/fBNSRIl
The bokeh is not bad either!
Oh, and reviewing photos on the HD display is beautiful, you can easily see if they are sharp and the colours / clarity is spot on even in daylight.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is beyond expectation. Do you have an example of a pure bokeh, pure isn't what I mean, but like, a shot and then the background is completely bokeh.