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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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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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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.
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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
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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.
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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
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.
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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
So far, I'm pretty happy with this phone but very disappointed with the stock camera app. The camera does pretty well outdoors and in low light, but is terrible in moderate light conditions (i.e. normal indoor conditions.) I just took a bunch of blurry, grainy pictures of my kids with their Easter baskets that all snapped 1/2 a second after I clicked the shutter. The thing that makes me think the camera can do better is that everything looks great on the screen up until I ask it to take a photo, then it refocuses and everything goes to hell. I tried Samsung's sports mode, and that is only marginally better. My wife's new S5 is suffering from the same problem.
Has anyone had better luck with other camera apps or a change in settings? Camera Zoom FX and Google's new camera app don't seem any better. I don't care about effects, HDR, manual photo settings or gimmicks; all I want are sharp, in-focus photos that take without a bunch of lag.
Bazirker said:
So far, I'm pretty happy with this phone but very disappointed with the stock camera app. The camera does pretty well outdoors and in low light, but is terrible in moderate light conditions (i.e. normal indoor conditions.) I just took a bunch of blurry, grainy pictures of my kids with their Easter baskets that all snapped 1/2 a second after I clicked the shutter. The thing that makes me think the camera can do better is that everything looks great on the screen up until I ask it to take a photo, then it refocuses and everything goes to hell. I tried Samsung's sports mode, and that is only marginally better. My wife's new S5 is suffering from the same problem.
Has anyone had better luck with other camera apps or a change in settings? Camera Zoom FX and Google's new camera app don't seem any better. I don't care about effects, HDR, manual photo settings or gimmicks; all I want are sharp, in-focus photos that take without a bunch of lag.
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Turn picture stabilization off and it gets rid of the picture lag.
But yes, otherwise similar issues.
That's the thing. The HTC M8 wins on indoor/low light pics (if you don't get that purple blob effect), this will on outdoors. That's where the whole MP vs. sensor size come into play as larger sensor means more light but not as sharp vs. more MP means sharper but due to smaller sensor less light thus not always great.
Anyway I've found it takes me about 2 pictures to get one I like with HDR and image stabilization off. With that on that all seem to suck due to the delay. Would have been nice to have some true optical image stabilization too. Samsung just doesn't seem to learn/care though.
We get good HW but they cheap out on the little things that make it better.
Yeah, turning off stabilization, HDR etc helps, but there's still a noticeable lag. The lag bothers me less than the fact that my near-stationary subject is coming out blurry. If the camera would simply capture the exact image that is on-screen at the moment I hit the shutter, I would be thrilled...
Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk
So here's kinda the problem. And it happens a lot with people taking pictures on your phone.
A phone was not meant to be a camera. It just wasn't. In the early days of low resolution things went faster. When you try to run 16 megabit... things are necessarily going to be harder.
Here's the easiest solution to your problems: Practice taking pictures with the phone. Keep your arms tucked in at your sides, keep the phone closer to your body. Shoot in landscape instead of portrait so your hands are in better position. I use the flip case for this phone which means I can use that as well to have better grip and stability. Take the picture... and keep the camera pointed just where you were taking the picture for at least 1/2 sec after you tap the "shutter release". Shutter lag will only be exacerbated by being too quick to move the phone. Also, you don't have to mash the on screen button, light tap and whatnot. Oh and the 1/3 of a sec focus time is their "fastest" rating. While in truth that is pretty darn decent, it's also the fastest you'll have. Expect a possible 1/2 to 3/4 sec focus time. And make sure you're PICKY about your focus. Do it over and over again if it's not right.
Also, your metering mode will have a big impact on your images. Get used to changing them to suit your subject.
I have 13+ years experience as a photographer. If it weren't absolutely absurd, and say all of my bodies died at the same time... I would be carrying a monopod or tripod for use with my GS5... Stability is the key to image quality. Who cares what you look like when you take the picture, it's the picture that matters.
Oh and one other thing, image blur is exacerbated when objects are either very close, or very far away. One because the contrast elements (edges and such) are easy to distinguish from the rest and when they're blurry... you notice it. The other because detail elements are TINY at that range, down to even 1 pixel width, so any shake makes those disappear entirely into blur.
Just some basic things to do. Honestly if it's a choice between getting the shot with my Nikons... or getting it with my GS5? the Nikons will win every time. But in a pinch, the camera on the GS5 is good enough. Just takes the right hands and the right frame of mind.
Arkanthos2015 said:
So here's kinda the problem. And it happens a lot with people taking pictures on your phone.
A phone was not meant to be a camera. It just wasn't. In the early days of low resolution things went faster. When you try to run 16 megabit... things are necessarily going to be harder.
Here's the easiest solution to your problems: Practice taking pictures with the phone. Keep your arms tucked in at your sides, keep the phone closer to your body. Shoot in landscape instead of portrait so your hands are in better position. I use the flip case for this phone which means I can use that as well to have better grip and stability. Take the picture... and keep the camera pointed just where you were taking the picture for at least 1/2 sec after you tap the "shutter release". Shutter lag will only be exacerbated by being too quick to move the phone. Also, you don't have to mash the on screen button, light tap and whatnot. Oh and the 1/3 of a sec focus time is their "fastest" rating. While in truth that is pretty darn decent, it's also the fastest you'll have. Expect a possible 1/2 to 3/4 sec focus time. And make sure you're PICKY about your focus. Do it over and over again if it's not right.
Also, your metering mode will have a big impact on your images. Get used to changing them to suit your subject.
I have 13+ years experience as a photographer. If it weren't absolutely absurd, and say all of my bodies died at the same time... I would be carrying a monopod or tripod for use with my GS5... Stability is the key to image quality. Who cares what you look like when you take the picture, it's the picture that matters.
Oh and one other thing, image blur is exacerbated when objects are either very close, or very far away. One because the contrast elements (edges and such) are easy to distinguish from the rest and when they're blurry... you notice it. The other because detail elements are TINY at that range, down to even 1 pixel width, so any shake makes those disappear entirely into blur.
Just some basic things to do. Honestly if it's a choice between getting the shot with my Nikons... or getting it with my GS5? the Nikons will win every time. But in a pinch, the camera on the GS5 is good enough. Just takes the right hands and the right frame of mind.
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Lots of truth to your post in regards to the pointers about technique and settings. I've got an EOS-1Ds I use when I plan to take photos, and you need to know how to use your gear and be practiced if you want to take a decent photo.
However, I disagree when it comes to expectations for smartphone camera performance. I used to have the same attitude you expressed about taking photos with a phone, until I recently backed up and printed some of the photos off my wife's old iPhone 4S. The photos it took were shockingly good, and my disappointment with the Galaxy S5 camera stems from the fact that it is getting severely outperformed by the 3 year old iPhone. If the Apple crowd has been able to rely on their iPhones as a competent point-and-shoot camera for years, I see no reason why my flagship Android phone should be no different.
In other news, I've been playing with different settings and apps all afternoon, and still aren't seeing any improvement in performance. Camera Zoom FX allows for ISO 1600, and that's giving me the best performance so far in terms of reducing lag and image blur. (Of course, the images are quite grainy...boo hiss.)
Can anyone confirms this? Almost 4 units i tested from sony stalls has this issue.
The photos taken by camera turns out to be overly sharpened, with lots of artifacts.
Turning on or off image enhancements does not help.
I am seeing this as well. And most of the reviews I saw also reported this.
Currently I am trying a few third party camera apps to see if they do the same
Haiz.. Why can't they make the camera right for once?
I concurred this. Mine focused good. I learned a trick that you actually have to tap the screen then press and hold the camera button on screen or side until it is clear. When i first got it, all my photos was focusing on the wrong spot. However, now with that trick i could get sharp images but zooming in they look very blurry and a lot of noise.
Do you experience this is good or low light? You do have to work a little bit harder with the camera settings as the light drops off to get the right image. And use the designated camera button too rather than the on screen one.
Good lightings... Not to mention if its poor lighting conditions. Guess have to wait for a new firmware.
Yep so much sharpening in all lighting conditions. Hoping for a software update soon.
Here is samples pictures from my XZ. It has undoubtedly the best selfies camera under daylight. Lowlight shooting takes a bit to get used to it. It was bad as first but if you toggle on "tap - focus and brightness" in setting it will improve tremendously as it uses it light sensor to automatically brighten the photos. Overall, I'm happy with the camera. It beats Iphone 7 Plus and on par with the S7Edge. My beef with the XZ is the small size and 3GB. I would prefer 5.5 and 4GB for a $600 phone. But if you can get it for $450 or $500, this phone is definitely worth every penny.
http://imgur.com/a/1S4Si
I am not talking about selfies. I am talking about the main camera. Very bad quality here. So fall 8 sets i have tried, same issues
Noticed this myself, not impressed with the image quality. Seems to be worse than my Z2. Hoping when they eventually drop Nougat it'll iron out some of the issues.
About blure and noise, increse ev to +0.7 or 1
A very good example of xz camera samples. You can guess which photos are by xz. The oversharpening of images when zoomed in.. Soo much artifacts.
http://m.gsmarena.com/blind_shootout_iphone7_galaxy_s7_xperia_xz_lg_g5
I have OnePlus 7 for exactly one week, use the stock camera on auto with default settings and took under 20 pictures. Even though I take images in bright summer light and my daughters are in little to no move, I often end up with these poor artifacts.
I will try switching HDR off. Any other suggestion (except trying GCam)? Does anyone else experience something like that? (Am I using it wrong? I had no issues with Samsung Galaxy S7.)
Have similar issues. Portrait mode comes out with artifacts as well. Stock cam sucks despite what everyone else says. Not sure if the OP7pro's cam is as bad.
I think OP needs to put more effort into marketing the OP7 globally (not just the pro) and improving the cam. I am very disappointed.
Have just installed GCam to try. Hopefully it is better.
HDR is and never will be made for super low shutter speeds.
As I reckon these kids are moving quickly there is simply not enough time for the phone to quickly burst shoot and merge those 5 or so pictures for HDR
Just my guess. Try holding your phone still and shoot a static object and see if these problems persist
The attached pictures were taken with shutter speeds of 1/50 to 1/450 sec and on Oxygen OS 9.5.5. I'm now on 9.5.6 but I still experience issues with HDR so I keep it off.
The thing is that with Samsung (S7), only really low shutter speeds of around 1/10 s and low light caused issues - but then objects were blurred, which is what I expect. Not weird artifacts like the samples.
I basically never have enough time to play with settings so I only use auto.