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Front facing camera is useless

Well, i am very annoyed by the front facing camera. Every time i use it, i have to use a small shart object to clean the lense of dust. This is the only phone i know that has a recessed camera. Anyone has this issue? Any work arounds?

jason.hamilton said:
Well, i am very annoyed by the front facing camera. Every time i use it, i have to use a small shart object to clean the lense of dust. This is the only phone i know that has a recessed camera. Anyone has this issue? Any work arounds?
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Unfortunately there isn't much of a workaround to prevent your camera from being recessed .
However, I can tell you that I don't have problems with dust collecting on my lens, so maybe it is something about your usage of the phone that is contributing to dust collection. Personally, I have no case on mine, and my phone is usually either in my pocket (facing forward if that matters), or laying face up on my desk at work.
As a side note, I would think that a small sharp object is probably not the best thing to use to clean a lens. Also, are you cleaning the lens because you are actually seeing artifacts when you use a camera app, or just because you see dust on the lens? Especially in the case of the front camera (due to the already lower quality), I am doubting you will actually see anything unless the dust is rather large.

I see it when I try to take a picture. Its all blurry and whitewash. I also see dust/pocket lent. I have ghost armour so not much of a case. I use a mechanical pencil head with tissue on it to wipe the lense. It is fine after that.
Sent from my BlackBerry Runtime for Android Apps using Tapatalk 2

I used the led pencil or pen method with a tisue or cloth and I broke the glass over the ffc.

Yeah I had dust collecting on my front facing camera to the point that pictures were extremely blurry. The solution for me was to simply use a Q-tip to clean the camera. Everything was fine after that
Sent from my One X using xda app-developers app

My girlfriend and i had the same problem. We also used qtips to clean the lens and it was much better afterwards.
Sent from my One X using xda app-developers app

Yup. Q-tip works just fine. I also use just a dab of window cleaner on the very end of the Q-tip, to help pick up the dust. Just enough for the Q-tip to be a bit damp, not so much that liquid gets into any crevices. Even though the Q-tip is bigger than the opening, you can press it in just enough to get the job done.

redpoint73 said:
Yup. Q-tip works just fine. I also use just a dab of window cleaner on the very end of the Q-tip, to help pick up the dust. Just enough for the Q-tip to be a bit damp, not so much that liquid gets into any crevices. Even though the Q-tip is bigger than the opening, you can press it in just enough to get the job done.
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Thanks I will try this. I used a tooth pick but tried to be careful not scratch.
Sent from my Carbon-ize Evita using xda-developers app

jason.hamilton said:
Well, i am very annoyed by the front facing camera. Every time i use it, i have to use a small shart object to clean the lense of dust. This is the only phone i know that has a recessed camera. Anyone has this issue? Any work arounds?
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Click to collapse
Not only is the ffc useless, but so is the main camera. I have NEVER seen such poor behavior from a cell phone camera in terms of getting contrast, saturation, and color balance even remotely close. Skin tones are garish pink, makes everyone look like a cooked shrimp. Warmth is off, and the various color balance modes are completely useless. Yes, I have tried all the various settings and I know a thing or two about I-cameras (http://groovygeek.deviantart.com/gallery). The only semi-usable solution I have hound is HDR Camera Pro, and that is only because it immediately goes into edit mode after taking a pic, with sliders at your fingertips to tweak contrast, brightness, saturation, warmth and hue. I usually find myself backing off saturation quite a bit, bumping up warmth gently to compensate, and sometimes tweaking contrast. EVERY image I have ever taken has needed rather significant tweaking, I am not sure how HTC manages to get it so completely wrong.

GroovyGeek said:
Not only is the ffc useless, but so is the main camera. I have NEVER seen such poor behavior from a cell phone camera in terms of getting contrast, saturation, and color balance even remotely close. Skin tones are garish pink, makes everyone look like a cooked shrimp. Warmth is off, and the various color balance modes are completely useless. Yes, I have tried all the various settings and I know a thing or two about I-cameras (http://groovygeek.deviantart.com/gallery). The only semi-usable solution I have hound is HDR Camera Pro, and that is only because it immediately goes into edit mode after taking a pic, with sliders at your fingertips to tweak contrast, brightness, saturation, warmth and hue. I usually find myself backing off saturation quite a bit, bumping up warmth gently to compensate, and sometimes tweaking contrast. EVERY image I have ever taken has needed rather significant tweaking, I am not sure how HTC manages to get it so completely wrong.
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Shut up, we didnt ask you to come here and complain about the phone, and maybe you should try WITHOUT HDR!

I don't understand. The only reason I would ever go back to sense is for the camera app. It took most beautiful pictures. Then it was a step up in sense 4+. Either your lens are super dirty, or you are doing so terribly wrong.
And to answer your first question, remember cameras on the flip phones...?
Sent from my Carbon-ize Evita using xda-developers app

Mouth ahead of brain..

I love this phone's design more than any phone out there right now (including the One) but I simply can't figure out why HTC didn't think about this recessed camera thing... mines always dusty. Does the htc one have same problem ?

J3susisl0rd7 said:
I love this phone's design more than any phone out there right now (including the One) but I simply can't figure out why HTC didn't think about this recessed camera thing... mines always dusty. Does the htc one have same problem ?
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Q-tip...works like a champ. Just don't press to hard
Sent from my now S-Off HTC OneXL

elfysrfr said:
Q-tip...works like a champ. Just don't press to hard
Sent from my now S-Off HTC OneXL
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+1 works every time.
This post was created and transmitted completely in analog.

I always wondered why the back camera was not recessed some. Now I know why. It seems to get dirty in one day from being in my pocket. It is like a black hole for lint and dust.

The truth is that very little use is given. I occasionally use it for skype and Tango.

I tried doing the Q-tip method and it works fine for a while. Then it starts getting dusty again...
SO ANNOYING, I have to clean every time I want to take a selfie or front shot with me and my friends.
Any other solution!?

QUESTION: What am I doing wrong that all my pictures are blurry?

I'm beyond confused as to why 90% of my photos i'm taking with my S3 are blurry.
I want to love this phone but the camera is the most important feature to me and right now it just isn't cutting it.
I took 10-12 shots of a dog and cat i'm house sitting for outside AND inside and EVERYONE one of them has awful blurry images or pixelation. I'm as steady as can be and so were the animals but the shots shouldn't look THIS bad or this blurry. Are there settings I can do? i already tried turning on the stabilization...but that doesn't seem to help at all. Any settings or suggestions would be great because I don't want to return this and get an iPhone 5. Thanks!
[EDIT]Samples... never mind I can't post pictures or links so guess I can't show you what I mean.

Happened to me. Clean the lens and it fixed it.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium

funlander said:
Happened to me. Clean the lens and it fixed it.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium
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I have noticed the lens being full of gunk. I need to get a case stat so the camera is slightly recessed. I made sure it was pristine before taking these pictures though...no dice.

solidage said:
I have noticed the lens being full of gunk. I need to get a case stat so the camera is slightly recessed. I made sure it was pristine before taking these pictures though...no dice.
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My pictures come out remarkably "tight" (compared to my old Droid Incredible, especially), but just recently I hit a batch of foggy and blurry pics. I was handling the phone after putting candles on an ice cream cake for a party and accidentally touched the lens when hurrying to capture the moment. Usually, the slim, hardshell case I use effectively keeps junk off the lens - so, I cleaned it with a soft cloth and pictures were back to usually clarity.
- ooofest

ooofest said:
My pictures come out remarkably "tight" (compared to my old Droid Incredible, especially), but just recently I hit a batch of foggy and blurry pics. I was handling the phone after putting candles on an ice cream cake for a party and accidentally touched the lens when hurrying to capture the moment. Usually, the slim, hardshell case I use effectively keeps junk off the lens - so, I cleaned it with a soft cloth and pictures were back to usually clarity.
- ooofest
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Yeah as I said before I have made a conscious effort to clean the lens. Once I hit 10 posts i'll post samples.

solidage said:
Yeah as I said before I have made a conscious effort to clean the lens. Once I hit 10 posts i'll post samples.
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After cleaning, have you used a magnifying glass (or similar) to see if anything looks amiss behind the lens glass? I haven't heard of such a defect yet, but I suppose it's possible across the millions of phones made - hope it's something easier to fix in your case, of course.
Or, have you possibly dropped the phone? In this case, I wonder if there's even a hairline fracture on the lens (this is fixable, from a thread I saw where an owner replaced their own lens glass).
- ooofest

Try a different camera app. Also try a different gallery I have noticed the stock gallery will sometimes not focus in on the pictures. I like the pro capture camera app.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

What did you clean it with exactly? I have that issue where the pictures will be blurry and if I try and clean the lens with my shirt or a simple rag it won't always clean off. Luckily I have a few microfiber cleaning cloths lying around which do wonders for cleaning anything, and work great for cleaning the camera lens too. I got a pack of 8 for like, $5 at walmart and cut them up into 8ths.

Maybe you have shaky hands like me

I had the same problem so I changed the resolution from 8M to W6M and my pictures have been coming out better.

phillysdon04 said:
I had the same problem so I changed the resolution from 8M to W6M and my pictures have been coming out better.
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I tried this but to me they almost looked WORSE...hmm perhaps i'll revisit.

solidage said:
I tried this but to me they almost looked WORSE...hmm perhaps i'll revisit.
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So, nothing shows up on the lens still or even behind the lens glass?
Have the pictures always been like this?
Are the clarity of pictures the front-facing camera similar?
- ooofest

x714x said:
Maybe you have shaky hands like me
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turned on stabilization...same.

Need to see some pics. Either post 2 more times or upload to dropbox.
Capturing a picture of a cat and dog can be tough, especially if they have the slightest movement. The question is does pictures of still things come out blurry as well?
Also, did you try setting the focus on face detection for pics of the cat and dog?

ooofest said:
So, nothing shows up on the lens still or even behind the lens glass?
Have the pictures always been like this?
Are the clarity of pictures the front-facing camera similar?
- ooofest
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The front facing one takes fairly crappy pictures too but i chalk that up to the camera on the front being of lesser quality
As soon as I hit my 10 posts i'll post samples but one minute it can take beautiful shots the next it's blurry and awful.
I just cleaned it with some monitor wipes but haven't had a chance to test it at work.

alright, 10th post picture samples incoming!

OK here is an example of a great photo i took outside.
http://imgur.com/LtZRk
here are two pictures i also took outside around the same time of day but they came out awful.
the dog was PERFECTLY still (except his tail when i took these)
http://imgur.com/xt2ga
http://imgur.com/AdsR0
here is another shot i took with the flash and inside...and it looks good. why though are so many coming out blurry and crappy when outside and why is it random?
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-FfQZGe2mjTk/UGG_38421-I/AAAAAAAADlA/UGVr0G3ncVY/s819/20120924_232738.jpg

In-door shot just taken.
Grainy and horrid...NO FLASH
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1O49WrRnq48/UGHHyKIdPGI/AAAAAAAADlo/rw0uYyyl-G8/s819/12+-+1
Better with flash.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-lqgIfsb3U0Y/UGHJErgSKUI/AAAAAAAADmA/LQaCP9NKW6c/s819/12+-+1
It's almost like the camera isn't getting enough light.

Part of the problem is, you're missing the AF point.
That happens a lot with camera phones, the camera focuses on the background instead of what you intended it to AF on.

jmorton10 said:
Part of the problem is, you're missing the AF point.
That happens a lot with camera phones, the camera focuses on the background instead of what you intended it to AF on.
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I have tried AF and Macro mode.

Is the front facing camera lousy?

The front facing camera on my One X is horrible. The selfies are washed out and extremely low res, nowhere near the quality from my Droid Razr that has the same megapixel count. What could cause this? Does the proximity sensor have anything to do with the camera? I have a screen protector and it has a cutout for this sensor but I don't know if the cutout is big enough since I can't see the sensor. I have not taken a picture w/o the screen protector installed. Anything else I should be looking at?

The proximity sensor has nothing to do with the front facing camera. In all honesty, it doesn't take great pictures. You might have some dust built up in there, try cleaning it out with a cotton bud.
Sent from my Evita

timmaaa said:
The proximity sensor has nothing to do with the front facing camera. In all honesty, it doesn't take great pictures. You might have some dust built up in there, try cleaning it out with a cotton bud.
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Thanks. I did that after doing a search on the issue (which I should have done before my post-my bad) and the difference is night and day. I never would have guessed a lens could get so dirty that it would literally make a camera unusable but now I know it can.

Rear camera distortion

Just noticed that when things are in the top portion of the picture with the camera tilted down slightly things get distorted. It makes heads oblong and alien looking. Wondering if other people have this same issue or if it's just my phone. So it's really a question of whether the phone is being exchanged or returned.
I've attached two pics. When the tv is in the top portion of the pic it looks a lot taller than when it's in the center of the pic. Both pics were taken from the same distance at the same zoom amount.

Did you take the plastic film off the lens that comes from the factory?

s197 said:
Did you take the plastic film off the lens that comes from the factory?
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I was gonna say the same! Although mine lately has not been focusing at all unless i shake it. View is immediately blurry, but up close to something it is fine. Like it is stuck in close up. Shake it and seems good. This is before ROOT and playing around. Any ideas?

s197 said:
Did you take the plastic film off the lens that comes from the factory?
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Did you have a plastic film on your camera? I had one over the fingerprint sensor but if there is one on my camera it's near impossible to detect, I feel like I'm just scratching at the glass although my fingernail is definitely catching on something. I just cant tell if it's the edge of the glass for the camera or a film covering it.

i had the same issue so i boiled my kettle, and held the phone above it after it boiled and let the steam peel the lense sticker.

omgi0wn said:
Did you have a plastic film on your camera? I had one over the fingerprint sensor but if there is one on my camera it's near impossible to detect, I feel like I'm just scratching at the glass although my fingernail is definitely catching on something. I just cant tell if it's the edge of the glass for the camera or a film covering it.
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If you had the plastic on it, you'd know it. It was very noticeable on mine.

droidiac13 said:
If you had the plastic on it, you'd know it. It was very noticeable on mine.
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I really can't tell if it's there, if it is it lines up almost perfectly. It isn't causing me issues for now though so I'm not going to mess with it.

omgi0wn said:
I really can't tell if it's there, if it is it lines up almost perfectly. It isn't causing me issues for now though so I'm not going to mess with it.
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You would notice in the center of the lens. The plastic would have a cut. Once it's off, the lens is perfectly flat across the top.

The plastic was still on, but no change in distortion taking it off. I'm guessing the cutout in the center of the plastic makes it so it doesn't impact photos.

So I tested on my computer monitor and am able to somewhat replicate what is happening in your shots. However, this distortion is natural because you're tilting the camera downwards on its axis. Its called perspective lens distortion and is common to all cameras without a tilt shift lens (a lens that costs several thousand dollars). You should be able to replicate the effect with any camera phone.

Yeah I've noticed distortion in other cameras but it's just not so extreme. On the s6 the distortion makes any pics with the subject on the edge ridiculous and unusable.
I think I've narrowed it down to when the s6 is set up to shoot max resolution at 16:9. When I switch it to 4:3 the distortion is pretty much gone since that distorted area is just cropped out but that reduces it from 16mp to 12mp. Other phone cameras I've had (moto x 2nd gen and s3) crop the other way (max resolution at 4:3 and then crop to get 16:9).
So the s6 presumably has a 16:9 sensor where the others had 4:3. But the extra width is pretty much unusable.
I'm not sure how I feel about this. What's the point of having a 16mp camera if you can only effectively use 12mp?

Any update on this? I was hoping there's a post processing software in Android/Windows/OSX that can compensate for the lens distortion even though it'll reduced the resolution a bit. I have a AT&T Galaxy S6.
I tried DXO Optics Pro 8, and it works very good for shots from my Nikon D7000 to un-alienize the faces, but there are no modules for the Galaxy S6 lens.

Lensflare gate?

Today I took some photos in bright daylight. So I realized in almost every photo streaks produced by lens flare.
It's the same if you make a picture of a lamp (see the attached photo). Besides it also happens if you use the front camera.
So what do you think? Do you have the same issues?

borg17a said:
Today I took some photos in bright daylight. So I realized in almost every photo streaks produced by lens fare.
It's the same if you make a picture of a lamp (see the attached photo). Besides it also happens if you use the front camera.
So what do you think? Do you have the same issues?
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Could be a problem with your handset.

shubh_007 said:
Could be a problem with your handset.
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Maybe. Did you try it and take a photo of a lamp or next to the sun?