Reasons to prefer this phone (new byer perspective). 1 . Camera. - Verizon HTC One (M8)

New thread series - reasons to buy this phone from a new user, who is myself.
My Android phone history - HTC EVO, HTC EVO 3D, Sprint Epic 4G Touch, HTC Evo LTE, Galaxy S3, Galaxy S4.
---Camera---
I always have to take 3-5 consecutive shots to get a sharp picture. I think it's because my hands shake, and there's not much I can do about it - it's enough to make even the best-focused shot blurry. This has always been the case with me and smartphone cameras - hold as still as you can, take 3+ shots, and hope you got a good one.
Not so - enter the HTC One m8 camera.
I took many test shots in a Verizon store, and each shot was nearly perfectly focused, after a single try.
I also took many test shots with an S5 in a US Cellular store, and *none* of the shots were focused.
So 16 megapixels were ruined by bad focusing, while 4 megapixels were great on this phone.
I may be somewhat biased because I'm now an owner of the 4MP HTC One m8, but even S5's 16MP camera couldn't hold a candle to the 4MP in my hands.
Please discuss.

Try zooming in..
That's where the camera falls short. (only downfall I see)
I still love it though.

Ya, but that front facing camera though. Snapchat is ****ing dope though

DjCalvin said:
Try zooming in..
That's where the camera falls short. (only downfall I see)
I still love it though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, you are right in the general sense. 16MP(S5) looks MUCH better than 4MP (factor of 2 in sharpness - 2x2 vs. 4x4) under ideal circumstances. But that isn't the only variable.
But my point was like this - even if I zoom in, blurry cannot be fixed, because of bad focusing on Samsung phones. Blurring made my 13MP shots (S4) look like 1MP at best!
I was actually amazed at how well the HTC camera can help me focus shots - basically, all I had to do was press the button.
Also, the "best shot" is automatic with this camera, whereas on S4, you had to choose the best shot yourself (which makes zero sense.)
While the possibility is there to have better shots with Samsung phones, for me personally, not having to think about the quality and still get good shots is much more important.

I got my wife the S5 for "free" when I bought my m8.
While the camera on the S5 can be good with 16MP, it also makes you hold the damn phone for like 5 seconds to take the picture. Its so annoying. If you were trying to hurry and take a quick snap of something, you wouldn't stand a chance. You hit the shutter button and it seriously says something like "hold steady..." I can't remember exactly, but it take forever to snap the picture.
My m8 on the other hand, is damn instant. Sometimes I feel like I didn't even touch the shutter button yet lol.
People always get locked on the Mega Pixels. Mega Pixels does not mean better camera/pictures. I am a photographer by hobby, and any real photographer will also tell you this. Yes its true, the more mega pixels, the clearer the image usually is when you zoom in to details. (at least on a phone that is) on a real camera, a quality lens can also make or break.
My point here is, I have a 12MP Cannon DSLR that is quite a few years old now. But I have a lot of equipment (lenses, filters, etc), and even though its only 12MP it will still make any phone camera, and also most any point-and-shoot digital camera look bad. Case-in-point = Mega Pixels doesn't mean better pictures. It means bigger pictures and larger possible print sizes. Phone manufactures know that most people think "more MP=better", and they use that to market their device to attempt to sell more (Hence all the 16MP, 20mp and even 40mp phone cameras. They know people will literally say "ohhhh more mega pixels, that will take amazing photos". Lets face it, 99% of the users are NOT going to be making large 30" photo prints with their phone pictures. So IT DOESN'T MATTER.

I love this camera.
I just came from a 13 megapixel G2. It WISHES it could hold a candle to this camera. Seriously.
Sent from my HTC6525LVW

I agree. I will take this 4mp over my old s4's 12 any day.
Sent from my HTC6525LVW using xda app-developers app

Related

Touch Pro Camera sharpness ... normal?

Hi Guys!
I'm really happy with my Touch Pro for about a month or so, but one thing really dissapoints me : the camera. Before this TP I had a N95 and it really has a great camera; fast, vivid and sharp.
I have tried virtually every available setting in the TP Camera, but I keep getting pictures that aren't really sharp. Best result is pictures taken from a short distance, but when I try to shoot for example my house or street (daylight!) it's a bit blurry.
What's with your TP camera's; are they 'great' of do you have the same impression as I do?
well the HTC company has come from far considering the camera`s.
when al the other manufactor`s like samsung or nokia had 1.3 and 2.1 MP in their phone`s, htc was still stuck with 0.3 MP in their phone`s.
second while for all the other manufactory`s the camera function was very important to them, it wasn`t for htc.
htc never was sold as a camera phone but as an PPC or PDA with a camera.
and don`t forget that a company like sony and samsung already made very good foto and video camera`s it was easy for them to implement a good camere in their phone.
so altouch you now have a nice 3.2MP with autophocus on youre HTC it stil isent a real photo camera.
it just can take picture`s and good ones for the majority of people.
still if you want to take a proffesionel looking foto you got to do it with youre real camera
personaly for me the camera in the HTC is good for a quick snapshot or a nice picture.
sure i would like to see a better camera on the Touch pro or diamond, but if it was just the good camera i wanted i was getting me a sony ericsson.
probably you did aspect more from the camera of youre HTC, and that is to bad.
maybe you did not do any research on the camera`s in the past.
or you didn`t see picture`s taken with an HTC before you bought yours and so i can understand the disappointment you are having.
but you probably haveto live with it.
there are also some settings you can adjust with, maybe you got to try it out.
point is, HTC has a camera on it but it is not the most important thing on the phone.
Are you touching the round button first to get a focus, before you depress it fully to take the shot? Lightly placing your finger on the button causes the indicator on-screen to go green, indicating focus has been achieved. If you don't do it in these two steps, the camera hasn't focussed properly and your shots will be fuzzy.
I tend to get pretty good shots with mine.
It's all there in the manual.
You really can't expect much from the pinhole camera. The focus is strictly software contrast detection fixed focus, so it will be nowhere as good as a real camera with true autofocus. Basically it's stuck at a super high aperture (fstop, like f22) so that it can focus on everything. It can't really truly "focus." With such cheap cameras, it's possible some just aren't calibrated right. I'm still waiting for those liquid lenses that were suppose to revolutionize camera phones 2 years ago or the Squiggle 5mm focusing motor.
What i found a lot of people doing is they hold the thumb over the button and hear the fake focus noise and think thats it, when it fact you have to keep your thumb there until you hear the focus beeps. Usually takes 2-3 seconds. I'm actually kinda impress how macro the focus can get. Noise is pretty bad though, you'll need to reduce the image by at least 1/4th to get rid of it via subsampling.
Thanks very much for all your quick replies!
Yep; I'm using a light touch on the button and wait for the auto-focus to become green before completely pressing. I also tried other settings like pressing once and waiting for the picture to be taken.
I complete understand your filosophy about that the HTC builds PPC's / PDA's and not camera-phones like the Sony or Nokia. In that light; the pictures of the 3.2MP camera aren't too bad.
However, I am used to carrying my phone with me everywhere and sometimes would like to take a picture without carrying my normal camera around. That was going really great with the N95; so great that most of the time I left my real camera at home. Now, with the HTC, I have to remember to carry my camera with me when I am going somewhere I might want to take a picture. That sucks in my opiniion
I did extensive research on the phone I wanted and the TP was the best match for my needs. I thought. Never thought about checking the camera-quality. Stupid me.
But... I am not thinking of getting rid of the phone because of the camera. Yet.
I don't think it's a focus problem, I think the problem is the low quality of the lens. Yes, unfortunately TP doesn't have nearly the quality of a N95 or similar, but the N series has always been about great multimedia cameraphones, which isn't TP's market. I'm not justifying the bad quality, I'm just saying I didn't expect a great camera from a professional phone.
what about the camera quality compared to a 2mp BlackBerry camera??
just curious
msmith1991 said:
what about the camera quality compared to a 2mp BlackBerry camera??
just curious
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also have a BlackBerry Pearl from my work and its camera is about the same quality as the Touch Pro. Sometimes even a bit sharper but less colourfull. It hasn't got autofocus.

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
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do not bother yourself he's just a fanboy ...
Sent From My Sexy Sensation.

Fix blurry photos

Not a GS4 problem, more of an Android problem. Just learned how to fix. Hold the snap button instead of tapping, and release when in focus.
Hope this helps others.
If it's a universal android problem, why can I pick up any HTC phone made in the last year and a half and snap instant, crystal clear photos without waiting for them to focus? The problem is just that the S4 has a crappy camera.
Sent from my SGH-I337
I get super sharp pictures out of my S4. I too had some blurryish and some extra light in my first pictures. Then I discovered, There is yet another piece of protective film on the camera. It has a hole in the middle for the sensor but the edge of the protective film in the "donut hole" both messes with the focus and causes halos.
Personally I find every camera will be blurry if just held. I have pretty shaky hands....
I will say this camera needs better Macro focuses. I wish it was an option or there was a way to adjust focus. Samsung camera have long seemed to lack in the Macro areas.
Sent from my awesome AT&T SAMSUNG GALAXY S4 SGH-I337 using xda developers app.
CAG-man said:
I get super sharp pictures out of my S4. I too had some blurryish and some extra light in my first pictures. Then I discovered, There is yet another piece of protective film on the camera. It has a hole in the middle for the sensor but the edge of the protective film in the "donut hole" both messes with the focus and causes halos.
Personally I find every camera will be blurry if just held. I have pretty shaky hands....
I will say this camera needs better Macro focuses. I wish it was an option or there was a way to adjust focus. Samsung camera have long seemed to lack in the Macro areas.
Sent from my awesome AT&T SAMSUNG GALAXY S4 SGH-I337 using xda developers app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow I didn't even see that. I hate when company's apply some film and make it almost impossible to see.
If you hold the shutter many phones will do burst shots. Blurry photos are caused by too slow a shutter speed, i.e. low light shots.
geoff5093 said:
If you hold the shutter many phones will do burst shots. Blurry photos are caused by too slow a shutter speed, i.e. low light shots.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
em, go into setting and turn burst shot off?
Came from iPhone 4S. 8MP camera on there took 10x better photos than this 12MP camera on this... Don't get me wrong the camera on the S4 _CAN_ get some decent photos.. if you're in a extremely well lit area, or using flash, and your subject is completely still... but the shutter speed on the S4 just seems way to slow. Let alone the aperture and sensor doesn't seem big enough to get good low light photos.
FYI. Samsung galaxy s4 have 13 MP camera and pictures are cristal clear. iPhone 4s have no chance with appeture speed against Galaxy s4. On other hand nothing like good camera in hands , let say canon EOS D60 or Nikon D3200 with good f1.4 lens if you want to take good pictures. This is just a phone so relax everydody.
WoodburyMan said:
Came from iPhone 4S. 8MP camera on there took 10x better photos than this 12MP camera on this... Don't get me wrong the camera on the S4 _CAN_ get some decent photos.. if you're in a extremely well lit area, or using flash, and your subject is completely still... but the shutter speed on the S4 just seems way to slow. Let alone the aperture and sensor doesn't seem big enough to get good low light photos.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have to agree, I came from an iPhone 5 and the camera seems to be a lot better than the S4's.
Unless you changed to the 13MB, the camera default it actually 9.6MB for the widescreen photo... not really the topic though
nakedninja42 said:
Unless you changed to the 13MB, the camera default it actually 9.6MB for the widescreen photo... not really the topic though
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
my S4 takes amazing pictures, all of them are clear, no blurryness. Maybe its not about the camera and more about the camera man
polish_pat said:
my S4 takes amazing pictures, all of them are clear, no blurryness. Maybe its not about the camera and more about the camera man
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only time I notice blurry pictures is when I am drunk :laugh:... maybe its my eyes
The S4 does take awesome photos, but I am a little biased since I bought a new Nikon D5200 two weeks before I got the phone... 24MP vs the 13/9.6MP
The recording on the phone is great too! I was at a Sharks playoff game during the first round. I was recording them coming onto the ice and the arena went into a roar. LOOOOOOUUUUUD. There is no audio clipping considering how crazy it was in there.
For those that are getting blurry shots, make sure you are holding the phone still when you take the picture. As long as I hold the phone still, my pictures come out sharp.
WoodburyMan said:
Came from iPhone 4S. 8MP camera on there took 10x better photos than this 12MP camera on this... Don't get me wrong the camera on the S4 _CAN_ get some decent photos.. if you're in a extremely well lit area, or using flash, and your subject is completely still... but the shutter speed on the S4 just seems way to slow. Let alone the aperture and sensor doesn't seem big enough to get good low light photos.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree completely.
polish_pat said:
my S4 takes amazing pictures, all of them are clear, no blurryness. Maybe its not about the camera and more about the camera man
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It makes me so angry when people make this argument. I've used both the iPhone 4S and the Galaxy S4 to take pictures. Same camera man. The iPhone pictures always come out better. Plus, they are much easier to take because I don't have to worry that if I move the camera a tenth of a millimeter, the picture will come out blurry.
GeorgeP said:
For those that are getting blurry shots, make sure you are holding the phone still when you take the picture. As long as I hold the phone still, my pictures come out sharp.
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Click to collapse
Not the issue. The issue is phone vs. phone, not person vs. person or technique vs. technique. The fact is, some phones have fast shutter speeds and take crystal clear pictures even with a little movement, and some phones have slower speeds and a little movement causes blurry pictures. The S4 falls into the latter category.
mattdm said:
It makes me so angry when people make this argument. I've used both the iPhone 4S and the Galaxy S4 to take pictures. Same camera man. The iPhone pictures always come out better. Plus, they are much easier to take because I don't have to worry that if I move the camera a tenth of a millimeter, the picture will come out blurry.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, you obviously have an issue i don't. My GF has an iphone 5 and i always think to myself how "crappy" her pictures are, there is always some glare or pixeling to the picture i don't have with my s4. I have compared both phones directly and i do like the s4 better. The s4 tends to oversaturate the colors, which, for me, is a total +. I like vivid colors. Also, you make it sound like i take picture with a tripod or something, i dont, i always take them standing or sitting, just like you, i obviously dont run with the camera, but i'll go back to what i said earlier, my photos always come our crystal clear and beautiful.
Both the S4 and iPhone have the 2 best cameras in town, if your pictures always come out blurry, or most of the tiem, then you have a problem, with you, or with the phone. take your guess
mattdm said:
If it's a universal android problem, why can I pick up any HTC phone made in the last year and a half and snap instant, crystal clear photos without waiting for them to focus? The problem is just that the S4 has a crappy camera.
Sent from my SGH-I337
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
perhaps you don't understand the meaning of the word "crappy"....my s4 takes great pics...better than my htc for sure:victory:
im pretty sure people can testify with the picts theyve taken themselves
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2251755
mattdm said:
Not the issue. The issue is phone vs. phone, not person vs. person or technique vs. technique. The fact is, some phones have fast shutter speeds and take crystal clear pictures even with a little movement, and some phones have slower speeds and a little movement causes blurry pictures. The S4 falls into the latter category.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was just trying to make a suggestion to help out those that are getting blurry pictures. But comparing the facts - phone vs phone:
My wife has an iphone 5. My pictures definitely come out clearer than hers. But this does not have to be a matter of opinion. For the facts, one can look at the specs of the camera and the EXIF information of the pictures taken. The shutter speed set by any camera is largely a function of the camera's maximum aperture (along with camera's ISO selection algorithm). The S4 has a larger maximum aperture, 2.2 vs 2.4, and tends to set a higher ISO, meaning that all else held equal, the S4 will set a faster shutter speed. Comparing the EXIF information on pictures taken with the S4 and iphone 5 confirms this. Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com) did a comparison of 4 camera phones including the S4 and the iphone 5. In their tests, the S4 set the fastest shutter speed. For example, in the side-by-side low light test, the S4 set a shutter speed of 1/30 second and the iphone set a speed of 1/17 second.
Finally, the S4 has a slightly shorter focal length 31mm vs 33mm (35mm equivalent) meaning that the S4 will be less sensitive to camera shake, i.e., the same amount of camera shake, at the same shutter speed, will result in less motion blur.
GeorgeP said:
I was just trying to make a suggestion to help out those that are getting blurry pictures. But comparing the facts - phone vs phone:
My wife has an iphone 5. My pictures definitely come out clearer than hers. But this does not have to be a matter of opinion. For the facts, one can look at the specs of the camera and the EXIF information of the pictures taken. The shutter speed set by any camera is largely a function of the camera's maximum aperture (along with camera's ISO selection algorithm). The S4 has a larger maximum aperture, 2.2 vs 2.4, and tends to set a higher ISO, meaning that all else held equal, the S4 will set a faster shutter speed. Comparing the EXIF information on pictures taken with the S4 and iphone 5 confirms this. Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com) did a comparison of 4 camera phones including the S4 and the iphone 5. In their tests, the S4 set the fastest shutter speed. For example, in the side-by-side low light test, the S4 set a shutter speed of 1/30 second and the iphone set a speed of 1/17 second.
Finally, the S4 has a slightly shorter focal length 31mm vs 33mm (35mm equivalent) meaning that the S4 will be less sensitive to camera shake, i.e., the same amount of camera shake, at the same shutter speed, will result in less motion blur.
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BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM! This guy dropped the bomb!
Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk 2
GeorgeP said:
I was just trying to make a suggestion to help out those that are getting blurry pictures. But comparing the facts - phone vs phone:
My wife has an iphone 5. My pictures definitely come out clearer than hers. But this does not have to be a matter of opinion. For the facts, one can look at the specs of the camera and the EXIF information of the pictures taken. The shutter speed set by any camera is largely a function of the camera's maximum aperture (along with camera's ISO selection algorithm). The S4 has a larger maximum aperture, 2.2 vs 2.4, and tends to set a higher ISO, meaning that all else held equal, the S4 will set a faster shutter speed. Comparing the EXIF information on pictures taken with the S4 and iphone 5 confirms this. Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com) did a comparison of 4 camera phones including the S4 and the iphone 5. In their tests, the S4 set the fastest shutter speed. For example, in the side-by-side low light test, the S4 set a shutter speed of 1/30 second and the iphone set a speed of 1/17 second.
Finally, the S4 has a slightly shorter focal length 31mm vs 33mm (35mm equivalent) meaning that the S4 will be less sensitive to camera shake, i.e., the same amount of camera shake, at the same shutter speed, will result in less motion blur.
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If that's all true, I have to conclude I have a defective unit. -_-
Sent from my SGH-I337

Idea for Higher Resolution Pictures

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jp.nsystem.resize
I don't know how well this works but I like it. What the app does is basically upscale your photographs up to 12megapixels. I have compared the same picture on my macbook, one with the enhancement and the other without and can notice more detail when zooming in. There's a lot of options and I am not a big techie but it seems that bicubic interpolation is what to use. Photoshop has the effect and it works the same way. Maybe someone, if possible, could find a way to incorporate this into ROMs so that our camera could be better since that is my only complaint about this phone.
The image can only produce what the sensor/lens allows. Software cannot up a MP, that's a hardware thing. Don't fall for the "omg 4 MP camera" saying, the camera on the M8 is no slouch. Megapixels only come into play when your either zooming in or trying to print out a large picture.
If there were pictures from various 8+ MP cameras mixed with the M8, you and anyone else would never know.
Sent from my HTC6525LVW using xda app-developers app
The m8 does take great pictures.... Sometimes in just the right lighting but like richii said, the megapixels are not to blame. The lens and software are what hold this thing back.
Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Tapatalk
I realize that each person is different, but I use my phone to take spontaneous photos and videos of my friends, family and life. If I want a good picture, I'm not taking them with ANY phone (Nokia, HTC, Samsung, etc.) I would use my wife's Nikon D3000 (or to be honest, let her take them, lol).
If the HTC One (M7 & M8) have to the lower MP to take the excellent low-light photos that they do, IMHO it's a fair trade-off. My M7 and now M8 blow away my wife's photos she takes with her S4.
Side note: I think I've used the flash 2 times since I purchased the M7 back in August of 2013. My wife almost always has to use hers.
Wow. My m8 must have faulty camera. My s4 blows my gf m7 and my m8 out of the water in every scenario including low light
I knew this going into this phone though. I bought it for everything but the camera.
Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Tapatalk
Evocm7 said:
Wow. My m8 must have faulty camera. My s4 blows my gf m7 and my m8 out of the water in every scenario including low light
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I failed to say that my M7/M8 blows away my wife's S4 in regards to low-light photos, and probably color accuracy as well.
You must have a bad one... every "expert" comparison of photos between the two phones that I've seen, the color and clarity of detail (with little light in the shot) on the M8 is distinctly better. If you're viewing the photos on a 50" TV, perhaps that's why, but 99% of my photos are viewed on my phone or by my Facebook friends, which are downsized anyway.
The day I see a professional photographer whip out and use an iPhone or Galaxy S5 to take my family portrait is the day that a Smartphone's camera really matters. Until that day, there is no substitute for a standalone camera when it comes to photo quality.

HONEST COMPARISON: S8 Front/Rear Cameras Are The Worst On A Flagship Phone In Years

EDIT: There are probably dozens of reviews/comparisons, but here are two just from today that are also harsh: Krystal Key and PocketNow. And UrAverageConsumer's wife's comments here and here "it does look a little washed out...it is a little soft...I'm not a fan of it...it's good enough..."
The consensus seems to be that the front camera is "soft" (aka it looks permanently out of focus or blurry), the rear cam consistently blows out highlights with or without HDR, and video is wobbly and distorted despite ois AND eis. To be clear (pun intended) this is not a problem with the sensors, but with Samsung's processing. If Google's Camera app didn't disable HDR+ on non-Nexus devices then the S8 it would very likely take the best pictures of any smartphone ever.
Here are my samples shot with my S8 with the better Sony sensors, and a Nexus 6P from 18 months ago. For maximum quality from the S8, HDR is enabled and beauty disabled. 6P is in auto mode. Be sure to right click on the side-by-side compilation images and open in a new tab to see them at full size, where the detail quality—rather than just the light/color quality—is most apparent.
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FULL GALLERY
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Rear Cam Side-by-Side 1/2 - VIEW AT 100%
Full Res: N6P — GS8
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Rear Cam Side-by-Side 2/2 - VIEW AT 100%
Full Res: N6P — GS8
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Front Cam Set 1/5: N6P — GS8
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Front Cam Set 2/5: N6P — GS8
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Front Cam Set 3/5: N6P — GS8
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Front Cam Set 4/5: N6P — GS8
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Front Cam Set 5/5: N6P — GS8
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BONUS - 2MP tablet front cam with no HDR from 2015
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SUPER BONUS - Mystery camera! Can you guess?
My first impression of the camera coming from a S6, is that it sucks, yes it's better in low light, but if there is decent to good light it is much worse, all my pictures look muddy where the S6 taken at its side looks sharp. really ruins the phone for me!
.psd said:
All in the interest of honesty (it's OK to be honest!)
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Good lord. GSMArena, AnandTech, and Notebookcheck do exhaustive subjective reviews. GSMArena's and Notebookcheck's camera evaluations are linked below. Spoiler alert: they don't agree with your objective testing of your sister's phone.
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_s8-review-1603p9.php
https://www.notebookcheck.net/Samsung-Galaxy-S8-Plus-SM-G955F-Smartphone-Review.213438.0.html
Samsung frontcams are always behind the competition. Not sure why. Agreed with OP's honest review.
BarryH_GEG said:
Good lord. GSMArena, AnandTech, and Notebookcheck do exhaustive subjective reviews. GSMArena's and Notebookcheck's camera evaluations are linked below. Spoiler alert: they don't agree with your objective testing of your sister's phone.
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_s8-review-1603p9.php
https://www.notebookcheck.net/Samsung-Galaxy-S8-Plus-SM-G955F-Smartphone-Review.213438.0.html
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Click to collapse
I also included nearly 30 minutes of reviews of the camera by PocketNow and Krystal Key, but there are likely dozens of reviews by now showing the same thing.
The front cam looks like it's always out of focus—what reviewers universally are calling "soft". The rear cam consistently blows out the highlights even with HDR on. Video is wobbly and distorted despite having OIS AND EIS. In all cases, this is due to Samsung's processing because devices with inferior sensors from Google or Apple don't have these problems.
Something here in which i agree is that over-exposing. The Galaxy S8 loves doing this in certain situations where it shouldn't be doing but most of all is the auto-focus feature for me. Auto-Focus can be a mess when it wants too, simple macros where it should focus with ease it can't do that. I took my S6 and i found that in certain situations it was able to get a faster better macro with one tap compared to the S8. I felt that this one is a bit sloppy, and requires a lot of fiddling to get a good focus point. But don't get me wrong, whenever the phone is able to focus and does a good job in auto mode the photos look amazing. Overall my only complaint is the auto-focus on close-up shots and some over exposing. I really think these can be tweaked with a software update but honestly this phone should have had a completely new rear camera in the first place without being forced to wait for the new Note. I still believe this phone was a bit rushed, it looks stunning and awesome performance but man those software tweaks and scrolling bugs, and stutters and red screens could have been avoided. Oh yes.. let's not forget that Image Stabilization , wobbly videos and front face focus as mentioned above, i think these sometimes do a mess of a job. Real let down from the camera side of things for me.
I didn't do detailed comparison but for rear camera, which is the one i care the most, my S8+ seems similar and even slightly better than my Note 7.
Consumer Reports did more detailed comparison, they think the s8 has the best 12MP camera there is. And according this photo, in low light it's indeed a lot better than the s7.
https://youtu.be/3MmjHMWwtPU
So no, the s8 rear camera is NOT The Worst On A Flagship Phone In Years
My short time with the camera is the opposite. S8 front is marginally better than the 6p. Will do more testing.
No issues, amazing camera. Coming from a Pixel, pixel does look nicer but not by far.
When someone is doing pixel peeping, i am sure you can find flaws about every cameras out there. I look at overall quality and usability such as speed of launch and speed of taking the actual picture. After all phone pictures are all about capturing the moment.
Turn off one of the stabilizations. They dont both need to be on. Also, every samsung has let you adjust the exposure level..
Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk
The pictures are a lot better than the pictures the HTC M8 took.
Darkestred said:
My short time with the camera is the opposite. S8 front is marginally better than the 6p. Will do more testing.
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Any examples? I posted several, and I've not come across a single instance where the S8 is superior.
I just bought this phone for $800 and have the Nexus 6P sitting right next to me. Money isn't an issue. I don't make income from hyping the S8 or from my brand. I have no interest in suggesting the S8 camera is any better or worse than it is. Would be really interested to see you post actual selfies like I did to support your claim that, despite reviews and my 10 pictures posted, the S8 takes superior front cam pictures.
willymcd said:
My first impression of the camera coming from a S6, is that it sucks, yes it's better in low light, but if there is decent to good light it is much worse, all my pictures look muddy where the S6 taken at its side looks sharp. really ruins the phone for me!
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Whoa, no way the s6 takes better pictures. I just did my own comparison and ask the s6 photos are so dark and fuzzy
.psd said:
Any examples? I posted several, and I've not come across a single instance where the S8 is superior.
I just bought this phone for $800 and have the Nexus 6P sitting right next to me. Money isn't an issue. I don't make income from hyping the S8 or from my brand. I have no interest in suggesting the S8 camera is any better or worse than it is. Would be really interested to see you post actual selfies like I did to support your claim that, despite reviews and my 10 pictures posted, the S8 takes superior front cam pictures.
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I never said anything about that. I just said in my use i feel its better. Here are 2 sample pics i did. I dont have any fancy setup so its all manual and i realize my pictures are not lined up but i got lazy. I feel the color in the s8 is way nicer and while it does get soft or blend in details like my scruff - i still think overall it does a nicer shot. Its not always a perfect shot. out of the 6 i took one came out blurry.
If my pictures aren't perfect enough - i really do not care. Take it for what its worth.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B3F4QJb82X1ReV9mVUMzRzJTdmc
I too made a thread because I noticed how soft this front camera is. I'm super disappointed.
@.psd
I appreciate the work you did, but can you provide the original pics with EXIF data included?
thx
Here is a great review on the S8 camera. https://youtu.be/NAEVPxQ4MCw
Sent from my SM-T800 using XDA-Developers Legacy app
Looking at the pics it does look like the S8 shots are worse(maybe not) / different from other phones. In all of these reviews the one thing no one has mentioned is that smartphone cameras are largely software dependent. While the S8 is on software that has come right out of the box, 6p as used here has had a whole year's worth of updates some of which definitely did bring updates to the camera software. I still love the S8 and believe that future software updates can and will iron out the issues with the camera. (Just hoping Samsung doesn't drop the ball on the updates front).
Eddie Hicks said:
Here is a great review on the S8 camera. https://youtu.be/NAEVPxQ4MCw
Sent from my SM-T800 using XDA-Developers Legacy app
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That's the one I linked in the OP...??
kornelius1982 said:
@.psd
I appreciate the work you did, but can you provide the original pics with EXIF data included?
thx
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No because image hosts strip the metadata for user protection (e.g. location data) and it would take too long to do it for each picture the following way (e.g. undelete them from google photos and screencap some of the metadata minus the location, then save each file, then upload it, then link it here):
Here's the data for 2 of them to prove they were shot on the S8:
#1 — #2

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