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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!
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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.

[Q] Camera help!

Everyone seems to think the froyo camera (2.2) is phenomenal, but I really must be missing something, because mine sucks. This is my second G2X, and both cameras had the same issues. The biggest issue is that the focus is always slightly off, no matter what setting I choose (yes, manual setting can make the focus somewhat better, but that's not a real fix for me as I can't always be manually focusing the camera to catch a shot in time). Basically, the picture looks decent, but if you enlarge any details at all, they are fuzzy. I'm obviously doing something wrong, and if anyone could help me figure out what that is, it would really be a huge help.
Thanks in advance!

Try pixel peeping on a PC. The gallery app does not seem to render properly when zooming on the phone.
Sent from my Nexus One using Tapatalk

I have checked out the pics on my pc, and they're almost ALL fuzzy. Doesn't matter what the lighting was like, the setting of the phone, whether the object was stationary...they are decent from far away, but up close, not that great at all. If you're getting great shots, what settings are you using? Auto everything? Some preset scene? Or specially tweaked settings?

Erislover said:
I have checked out the pics on my pc, and they're almost ALL fuzzy. Doesn't matter what the lighting was like, the setting of the phone, whether the object was stationary...they are decent from far away, but up close, not that great at all. If you're getting great shots, what settings are you using? Auto everything? Some preset scene? Or specially tweaked settings?
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Try taking off the battery cover and taking a pic. If its better than you may have forgotten to take off that little liner that covers the lens or the battery door camera hole is dirty or something

Even with the back cover off the phone, the pictures look the same.
Just to make sure we're all on the same page - when I look at the pictures on my pc, they look fine, but when I zoom in at all, the pixelation is extremely obvious. I do not have this problem with pics from my sony camera (non-phone).
Are people saying their photos are good FOR A CAMERA-PHONE, or are they actually good photos?? If they are actually good, are people using special settings??

Mine are great. Do you have the settings set to very fine image quality? Also make sure you are taking them using 8mp rather than 2mp.

jrwingate6 said:
Mine are great. Do you have the settings set to very fine image quality? Also make sure you are taking them using 8mp rather than 2mp.
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Yes, I have it set on very fine and 8mp.
See http://www.flickr.com/groups/[email protected]/?added=2
These are a couple of shots I just took without the back cover on the phone. Notice the pixelation. Can anyone with consistently great photos please post theirs?

Erislover said:
Yes, I have it set on very fine and 8mp.
See http://www.flickr.com/groups/[email protected]/?added=2
These are a couple of shots I just took without the back cover on the phone. Notice the pixelation. Can anyone with consistently great photos please post theirs?
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I dont see any photos in Flickr. Can you post the images in this thread?

jrwingate6 said:
I dont see any photos in Flickr. Can you post the images in this thread?
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well, if I post them here, they'll be shrunken photos!
this link should take you to "photos taken by g2x group" on flickr. http://www.flickr.com/groups/g2x/pool/

bump...i also have this issue. did u ever resolve it?
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App

that photo looks fine to me. remember this a camera phone, just because it is an 8MP camera that doesn't mean it will take crystal clear shots. A lot of the issues will come down to a poor/cheap lens, overall the camera take good pics for a camera on a phone.
Until manufacturers start using quality lenses like the new WP7 device named sea ray from nokia which uses a carl zeiss lens, pictures will not be great.

Erislover said:
Yes, I have it set on very fine and 8mp.
See http://www.flickr.com/groups/[email protected]/?added=2
These are a couple of shots I just took without the back cover on the phone. Notice the pixelation. Can anyone with consistently great photos please post theirs?
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I checked out your link and it that pic looks very good to me. I do not think a camera phone is going to give you the clarity and detail a larger ccd does in a $400 digital camera.

[Q] Help my phone's camera!

i just got htc one xl (international versionfor at&t) and everything is just superb. but wait here is a problem with my phone's camera the image quality is not awesome in low lights its average with some noise at the ends of picture now where is the BSI sensor result??and the major issue is that my phone looses its focus while recording video and when i press centre of phone's screen then it appears ok what the hell is this? is it a software problem or my phone is buggy

There's an international One X forum, go there. Some others may be having the same problem. Honestly, it just sounds like you're expecting too much from the camera in terms of low light. Try messing with exposure? The phone comes over exposed though already.

vioalas said:
There's an international One X forum, go there. Some others may be having the same problem. Honestly, it just sounds like you're expecting too much from the camera in terms of low light. Try messing with exposure? The phone comes over exposed though already.
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yes i am expecting too much because htc and gsmarena makes me to expect that too much impressive result by talking about f/2.0 and BSI sensor performance. i also used n8 and that was mind blowing result and camera phone. anyhow what about problem in focus while recording? any one have any idea?

It must be a faulty handset. I've taken shots in almost absolute darkness and still been blown away by the camera's low level light performance. Like someone mentioned it's already oversaturated out the box.
Sent from my HTC One X using XDA

shawn1224 said:
It must be a faulty handset. I've taken shots in almost absolute darkness and still been blown away by the camera's low level light performance. Like someone mentioned it's already oversaturated out the box.
Sent from my HTC One X using XDA
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And oversaturation is good for low light pictures right? Sorry, my camera knowledge is slim to none at best.
Sent from my HTC One X

The only thing can really help the low light photography is a large sensor. You need a sensor the size of APS-C or full frame 35mm to achive that. The pee sized sensor in all phones can never get what you want no matter what technological wonders they have.
Unfortunately, those larger sensor (and the larger lens) is impossible to embed into a phone.

I also have a problem with the camera where the pics are mostly too yellow. Is this a common issue and is there a fix? I can't fine RGB adjustment in the stock camera app. Is there a good 3rd party camera app that has this feature?

plau13 said:
I also have a problem with the camera where the pics are mostly too yellow. Is this a common issue and is there a fix?
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It happens when you shoot indoors with incandescent lamps as lighting. You need to manually change the white blance to Incadescent mode in camera settings.
It's a common issue for majority of the cameras out there.

n70shan said:
yes i am expecting too much because htc and gsmarena makes me to expect that too much impressive result by talking about f/2.0 and BSI sensor performance. i also used n8 and that was mind blowing result and camera phone. anyhow what about problem in focus while recording? any one have any idea?
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Click to collapse
The continuous autofocusing does seem to be quite aggressive, resulting in the phone always searching for something to focus on. This may be what you're experiencing. Try turning off the Face Detection option in the cameras settings. Hopefully that helps!
The low-light performance of this camera is not mind-blowing. The overall image quality and abilities of the camera is, to me, quite spectacular. But take my word, and the word of reviews around the internet, with a grain of salt, as we are all speaking relatively. That is, understand that this is a pretty awesome camera for a camera phone. It's not an 808, n8, n9, nor is it your average point and shoot camera, which will have a large sensor and better image processing. But the HOX is capable of taking photos that compare to those types of devices.

fitchpuckman said:
The continuous autofocusing does seem to be quite aggressive, resulting in the phone always searching for something to focus on. This may be what you're experiencing. Try turning off the Face Detection option in the cameras settings. Hopefully that helps!
The low-light performance of this camera is not mind-blowing. The overall image quality and abilities of the camera is, to me, quite spectacular. But take my word, and the word of reviews around the internet, with a grain of salt, as we are all speaking relatively. That is, understand that this is a pretty awesome camera for a camera phone. It's not an 808, n8, n9, nor is it your average point and shoot camera, which will have a large sensor and better image processing. But the HOX is capable of taking photos that compare to those types of devices.
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ok fine but plz tell that whether galaxy s3 has better camera compared to one xl or one x?

The verge has a hands on review go read it

Make sure you're using Low light mode in the settings too and not just Auto.

gunnyman said:
The verge has a hands on review go read it
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where?plz give me link to that site?

http://www.theverge.com/2012/5/25/3042640/samsung-galaxy-s-iii-review

n70shan said:
ok fine but plz tell that whether galaxy s3 has better camera compared to one xl or one x?
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I can't tell you one way or the other. I have not used the S3 or really looked deeply into it's camera. I'm sure this would be something you'd want to look around the web for, to see if any sites have gotten a hold of an S3 to test it out.

Just read that the SGIII has the same camera as the 4S. Take it as you will, but I like that camera. However its the post processing in the software that will produce the end result.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium

Blurry camera images.

Is anyone having issues with the camera? When I pinch to zoom in, I find the camera not properly focusing. This seems to occur no matter if it on single shot, hdr, etc. Its not ALL photos, just moist of them. Used to have thunderbolt and did not experience this type of issue there. The reviews praised the s3 camera, so i am disappointed. Anyone have any advice? Thanks
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk 2

Unfortunately I also am experiencing this same problem. I dont have a real solution but to use an alternative camera application, and hope it helps.

Try a diff gallery. I found sometimes the gallery will not focus in. Although sometimes I have found myself dissapointed in the camera. There are 2 different cameras in the s3 one is app lower quality.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

You're not alone! The camera is almost always blurry for me, and sadly, bad enough for me to say this camera SUCKS. I really hope this is a firmware issue.
I've looked at the pictures on my computer as well, and they're just not nearly focused.

+1 on all of it for me

So let me get this straight:
While you're in camera mode, about to take a picture, and you pinch to zoom-in, the photo gets blurry?
Or are you talking about in the gallery when you pinch-to-zoom on a picture you've already taken?
If it's the former, I believe it's one of two things: 1) firmware issue, or 2) hardware issue. If it is indeed a hardware issue, you can probably get a replacement free of charge from Verizon.
If it's the latter, I think you just have to wait a few seconds for the phone to show you the high-res version instead of the low-quality blurry snapshot.
My sister has the same issue on her Galaxy Nexus. But I'm assuming that's not the case, since the blurriness usually goes away in a matter of seconds?

I've found the camera pretty crummy in anything but full-light settings. It's really frustrating.

tekhna said:
I've found the camera pretty crummy in anything but full-light settings..
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That statement pretty much applies to any camera/phone.
One thing you guys might want to try is using the app "CameraFX"
CameraFX has a pretty cool feature that allows you to take a pic by voice activation. I find the camera phones are much harder to hold steady and take a clear shot than a real DC (& I'm a pro photographer). Using the voice activation allows you to hold the camera super steady & then just say a word like now or smile etc when you're ready to take the shot.
I have my camera set to take a shot with the volume button, but the voice activation is still easier to use IMHO.

jmorton10 said:
That statement pretty much applies to any camera/phone.
One thing you guys might want to try is using the app "CameraFX"
CameraFX has a pretty cool feature that allows you to take a pic by voice activation. I find the camera phones are much harder to hold steady and take a clear shot than a real DC (& I'm a pro photographer). Using the voice activation allows you to hold the camera super steady & then just say a word like now or smile etc when you're ready to take the shot.
I have my camera set to take a shot with the volume button, but the voice activation is still easier to use IMHO.
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This camera doesn't focus properly. Period. I'll do side-by-side shots with my Rezound and iPhone. The GS3 camera is woeful in anything but full, natural light.

tekhna said:
This camera doesn't focus properly. Period. I'll do side-by-side shots with my Rezound and iPhone. The GS3 camera is woeful in anything but full, natural light.
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I agree that the Rezound camera is better, I have three Rezounds & the camera is super (for a phone camera).
I really have not had any focusing issues with the G3 although I don't use it a whole lot because I usually have access to a real DC.
---------- Post added at 10:01 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:54 AM ----------
Taehee. said:
.
My sister has the same issue on her Galaxy Nexus.
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That's another issue entirely, the Nexus is notorious for having an atrociously bad camera.

+1, I have noticed that a lot of my pics are coming out blurry, I thought it was maybe because the camera was sensative to the slightest twitch and that I was maybe moving it mid shot.

skrypj said:
+1, I have noticed that a lot of my pics are coming out blurry, I thought it was maybe because the camera was sensative to the slightest twitch and that I was maybe moving it mid shot.
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I think it is to some extent, turn on anti-shake, but that doesn't totally fix it. It's pretty frustrating that this phone seems like a step backwards in terms of camera.

skrypj said:
+1, I have noticed that a lot of my pics are coming out blurry, I thought it was maybe because the camera was sensative to the slightest twitch and that I was maybe moving it mid shot.
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That is why I posted what I did about CameraFX.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/59294739/miui.camera.apk
This miui camera works pretty well just install the apk no changes to permission needed. It does not use the ffc so use stock app for that.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

jmorton10 said:
That's another issue entirely, the Nexus is notorious for having an atrociously bad camera.
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I'm not talking about the camera quality, itself. I mean in the gallery, when you're looking through pictures you've already taken, the pictures are a bit blurry at first, but then clear up into the original (higher) resolution.
---
@OP: Are you sure the camera is focused?

Taehee. said:
I'm not talking about the camera quality, itself. I mean in the gallery, when you're looking through pictures you've already taken, the pictures are a bit blurry at first, but then clear up into the original (higher) resolution.
QUOTE]
Gotcha, you definitely have to wait a few seconds or all the images look awful.......
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I took some pictures today in my home office (have a floor lamp...decent lighting but not super bright) with both the GS3 and the Fascinate (GS1). The GS1 pictures are better. This is VERY disappointing

Taehee. said:
So let me get this straight:
While you're in camera mode, about to take a picture, and you pinch to zoom-in, the photo gets blurry?
Or are you talking about in the gallery when you pinch-to-zoom on a picture you've already taken?
If it's the former, I believe it's one of two things: 1) firmware issue, or 2) hardware issue. If it is indeed a hardware issue, you can probably get a replacement free of charge from Verizon.
If it's the latter, I think you just have to wait a few seconds for the phone to show you the high-res version instead of the low-quality blurry snapshot.
My sister has the same issue on her Galaxy Nexus. But I'm assuming that's not the case, since the blurriness usually goes away in a matter of seconds?
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Click to collapse
It is the former. I tried camera 360 today and photos seemed ok. That app only alows 2x zoom. I was outdoors photographing dinosaurs in full sun. Perhaps i try another photo app, camera fx or something like that and see how it goes. Thank you for the reply. As I see I'm not the only one with this issue, I'm glad that we can discuss it and see what helps for us.

Camera Zoom FX as mentioned is a good alternative, for me I think the instant shutter makes it more blurry because you don't have any time to steady the camera after pressing the button. Camera Zoom has a slight lag. I would also try ProCapture, which I think does a better job than Camera Zoom but YMMV.

Camera sucks.. Period.. Pictures are horrible for an 8mp camera..
Sent from my Commodore 64..
READY.
load"*", 8,1

Camera quality

Hi folks
I've spent some time today playing around with Note 3 camera and I got mixed feelings.
It is clear that when there is light, the camera gets quite nice results but, what the hell is going on in interiors/low light?
Is it possible that my note N7000 gets sharper pictures in low light than the N9005?
I really hope this is a software issue, for your good Samsung

Use a different camera app. World of difference.

toenail_flicker said:
Use a different camera app. World of difference.
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Could you please recomend one?
I use to have camera ICS+ in the N7000 because the volume buttons can be used as shooter button, quality was good too

Sure. For instance, Camera ZoomFX. Indoor under fluorescent looks much better.
Ucam is another. Not bad either.

Or Procapture, or FV5.
Stock Camera is horrible. It has no options to set the ISO, meaning that in low-light it automatically picks the highest settings, which has the most noise.

ShadowLea said:
Or Procapture, or FV5.
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No experience with either. Which do you prefer and why? Thx.

That's odd. I and another owner also found the stock camera way worse than the n7000.
note 2 has more contrast and the photos don't seem washed out.
Also it focused faster.
Gonna try other apps.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

toenail_flicker said:
No experience with either. Which do you prefer and why? Thx.
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As a photographer, I very much like the manual options in ProCapture. I still have not found anything that can match my dslr in terms of manual setting, but that comes closest.
Fv5 also has many of the settings I'm used to. It's quicker at saving the image, Procapture always needs time to process the shot, so for multiple pictures fv5 is better.
Shotcontrol is also a decent one.
Send From My Samsung Galaxy Note 3 N9005 Using Tapatalk

That's great info, thanks.
Photography is a passion for me, too. I got rid of my last phone because of the camera. This one is very usable and I will be keeping my N3. I'll try both apps you suggested - already downloaded them - as soon as I can. Thanks, again!
Edit - Missed the third app you mentioned and have downloaded it now.

ShadowLea said:
Or Procapture, or FV5.
Stock Camera is horrible. It has no options to set the ISO, meaning that in low-light it automatically picks the highest settings, which has the most noise.
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That's weird. On my stock N9005, when I open the camera and hit the menu button for camera options, I have the ISO settings menu, from which I can choose Auto, 100, 200, 400, or 800.

hockeyfan said:
That's weird. On my stock N9005, when I open the camera and hit the menu button for camera options, I have the ISO settings menu, from which I can choose Auto, 100, 200, 400, or 800.
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Oh, hello, they seem to have re-added them in the newest update. Well, that's a relief!

I noticed the same problems with the camera. Even took it back to the store to be sure it wasnt defective. I got way better pics with my Galaxy s 4

Have noticed if shooting in lots light with image stabilization on there is a lot of grading noise in a ring around the edges of the shoot.
The noise is not there with stabilization off.
Anyone else notice this
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

Canadoc said:
Have noticed if shooting in lots light with image stabilization on there is a lot of grading noise in a ring around the edges of the shoot.
The noise is not there with stabilization off.
Anyone else notice this
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4
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You should only be using image stabilization if shooting in very low light without using the flash.

Which is what I was doing
Sent from my SM-N900W8 using Tapatalk

People.. firmware ?
on mj1 my camera sucked so bad indors you can't imagine, on mj2 even worst , faces all brushed
of course it is worst than n7000 .. I had one for almost 2 years besfore de mega 6.3 and the note3..
Just flash mj6 thru odin , its here on the forum , camera is corrected and better indoors than n7000
Fixed focus miss in low light
Fixed brushed look In low light
much sharper etc

Some samples in low light with smart stabilisation on off and compare to the iPhone 5 (the iPhone was focused on the darkest part of the scene to achieve a brighter picture)
https://www.dropbox.com/s/9px5wcvavhz5nmt/Untitled-1.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/cgxiq559k8i2mrb/Untitled-2.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/59osdv649aiy28a/Untitled-3.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/9pp2mbehzt011ll/Untitled-4.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/yb33j8xhshr0pqh/Untitled-5.jpg

Shadowjump said:
Some samples in low light with smart stabilisation on off and compare to the iPhone 5 (the iPhone was focused on the darkest part of the scene to achieve a brighter picture)
https://www.dropbox.com/s/9px5wcvavhz5nmt/Untitled-1.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/cgxiq559k8i2mrb/Untitled-2.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/59osdv649aiy28a/Untitled-3.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/9pp2mbehzt011ll/Untitled-4.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/yb33j8xhshr0pqh/Untitled-5.jpg
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What is your firmware?

MJ2, havent got the latest update yet. Dont know if it ll fix anything though.