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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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Click to collapse
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.

Focusing problems with your Lumia 1020? Try this crazy stunt..

I've noticed some people have encountered this problem. Simply put, the camera can't focus properly at objects situated at about 2-3meters or further. Autofocus can succesfully occur only at macro shots. Sometimes this is coupled with that infamous camera scratching sound, the one that sounds like a dying penguin or whatever.
Well, my phone does all of this and since it's a second hand unit without any warrany, why the hell not, let's fix it. A new sensor is expensive so i had to find other ways to fix the one i have.
After some investigation is seems that the internal construction of these sensors includes a mobile assembly containing the OIS and autofocus mechanical and optical modules. When you focus - relative to the sensor underneath, the lens have about 1.5-2mm travel space, again, relative to the sensor (that's fixed in the frame). When you focus the camera to an object far away, the lens assembly must travel inwards, closer to the sensor. Viceversa, when you focus for a macro shot, the lens travel further appart from the sensor. Pretty simple.
However, all but one of the lens are made from polycarbonate (plastic) like most of the sensor module's guts. This is not a bad thing actually. The choice was made because the optical assembly must be as light as possible and glass+metal would have weighted a lot more. But using plastic has some other problems.
When i disassembled the phone, i extracted the sensor module and activated it outside of the phone casing to make some tests. What i first noticed is that as soon as i enable the camera app, the sensor will get hot. Real hot. You can't touch it after some 2-3 minutes of it running. Most of the heat is generated by the photo sensor itself. It's how these things work. However the heat output from such a huge sensor is more disturbing then the situations found with other phone's small camera sensors. Even so, for example, it is known that HTC One M7 had a failure mode involving it's camera, due to the high heat output, the sensor would burn itself resulting in a pink/purple cast over the image you try to capture. Over time those sensors will fail, HTC replaced them with a different design.
In lumia 1020's case the huge heat output results in a another failure mode. Since the module uses gyroscopes and moving parts (bearings, actuators etc) in plastic rail, the plastic becomes brittle with an increase in temperature so the rails change their position relative to the sensor. So it's mechanical wear amplified by overtemperature.
The aufocus lens subassembly will actually swing out of the correct focusing distance. The 1.5-2mm distance will thus increase over time. Since it's a closed space, there's not enough space to accomodate the new lens position, so at some focal lenghts the mobile assembly will bash against the sensor casing resulting the dead penguin sound.
SO..... HOW TO FIX THIS?
If your phone's camera does the penguin sound all the time, then it's done. It's past feasable repair solutions. If it's only seldom happening or only at specific focus distances, you could still be good to go. Also, no penguin sound but only focus problems is the ideal case.
So, what to do. It could come as a surprise but if it were a human, your phone would have a typical case of short-sightedness or myopia. So... let's treat this condition like we would do with a human.
First step: find some glasses. From some experiments i've determined that my phone has a -2 to -3 myopia. So i found some corresponding glasses, placed one lens over the sensor area and voila : the phone now focuses properly. I can take a landscape photo.
So, with that in mind, find some lenses, specified for -2 to -3 myopia and check them with your phone. Try taking photos without using the flash at both landscapes and macro things. A good lens is one that enables the phone to focus at both macro and landscape. Larger negative value lens (-4 -5 etc) could correct landscape focus but prevent the sensor module to lock a macro focus. So.. experiment.
Second step, the ideal lens should be made from polycarbonate, not glass. You will need to cut the center of the lens itself. You can't cut glass with regular tools. If you find the right lens, proceed to disassembe the phone. Once you remove the sensor, you will see a glass lens glued to the back of the phone's casing (on that round black circle on the back). You will need to find a way to replace that lens with your new found one. Ideally, the piece of lens you cut should be as flat and thin as possible in order to make a flush fit inside the casing. Before glueing anything test the lens at the distance it will be mounted over the sensor. If everything is right, remove the original lens using some hot air (it's glued) and replace it with your custom one.
Third step. Improve the sensor's cooling. Some cooper pads should be already placed there by the manufacturer. Use the back of the screen as a cooling surface. Place cpu thermal compound (arctic silver, any good brand) over those copper pads and check to see if they make contact with the back of the display. If not insert some aditional copper pads. This will prevent further heat related problems and further sensor module damage.
Also... NEVER USE FLASHLIGHT APPS FOR TOO LONG WITH THIS PHONE!. When you use them, you are actually powering up the whole sensor not just the led. This can result in overheating and premature damage to the sensor itself.
I have completed my preliminary tests so i'm now searching for a good lens to place inside the phone, once i find one i'll update this post and ad a picture tutorial.
Meanwhile, feel free to experiment by placing different glasses in front of your phone's camera ( 1cm or closer) and check to see what works for you.
Hope it helps :good:

Thanks for explaining this issue. I was wondering is this software or hardware bug but clear now

ok so i found a pair of used glasses. They have heliomate lenses, ie. they darken by themselves when exposed to sunlight but, i got them for free and figured out it's worth a try.
Also in Romania, you can go to a store specialized in manufacturing seeing glasses and buy lens separately. For example a single -2.5 glass lens will cost about 3 euro here and the polycarbonate ones (needed for this project) about 8-10 euros.
But since i have this glasses i used one of their lenses.
First of all, the lenses are too thick to simply place inside the phone. Therefore some DIY action is required.
Here's what i did:
1. First - removing the original lens over the black cap on the back of the phone. I used hot air, that thing is really stuck in there with some nasty glue stuff. Here's how it looks when removed:
2. I then made a drawing of what i must do with my lens to fit inside the casing.
Click on the image to see the full drawing. The first picture shows the new diy lens as viewed from the top, while the second one shows the profile of the lens. This thing is made using a single lens.
3. I removed one of the glasses lens and started cutting a triangle shape on the center of it. You must use the center portion because the thickness of the lens varies and if it's not constant in the center of your lens you will get a lot of barrel lens distorsion when taking photos. Also, you should use plastic lens, since cutting glass lens is impossible with DIY tools.
I cut the lens using a fine saw using a blade made for cutting metals, or you can use a bread knife, the ones that have jagged blades. It's a slow process, it toked 30 minutes to cut that triangle.
4. Now, I've begun grinding the edges of the triangle with a file, in order to begin forming the upper circle that must be inserted to the back of the phone's camera ring. Here's how it looks after the first try.
5. The hexagon shaped part now must have it's corners grinded. Some care must be taken not to scratch the upper and lower part of the lens. Using a spare casing (silver color one in the photos) i checked to see how much to grind in order to fit the part inside. After all of this is done, here's the end result.
6. I've then inserted the new lens inside my phone casing. A little more grinding is needed to align the lens with the case and the sensor. In order to adjust that - we have those 3 blunt triangle edges. I grinded those to make them sit flush inside the casing with the lens being parallel to the sensor itself.
Once the lens was inside, i temporarely placed the sensor over it and tested how some sample photos look. I took some pictures of far away objects looking for edge to edge sharpness or barrel distorsions. Once I found the optimum position i place a little bit of glue on the edges of the triangle to secure the lens inside.
7. Once that is done, i reassembled the phone. Here how the new lens look, as seen from the back.
.
It's a bit yellowish because of that heliomate coating but it doesn't seem to affect the pictures taken.
How this works? Well, i can now focus at things further apart then 2 meters from the camera. I can do landscape photos (that was totally impossible before). Also the new lens doesn't prevent macro focus.
After all of this I've also learned that a -2 lens would have been ideal, because before of this modification i was able to macro focus at about 15-16cm and now i can only focus at about 18-20cm minimum. The lower you go with these lens (-3, -4 etc) the further you increase the minimum focus distance. I don't care much of the lost 2-3cm but if anyone should try this --- try testing with -2 lens first.
Also, some optics stores (in my country at least) can grind the lens for you (i found this ...of course... after i finished all of this) . You give them the old lens you removed and they will measure it and make one from the new lens.
All in all, it took me about 2 hours since the plastic lens are really easy to grind, it's a pretty soft material.
I didn't post photos taken, just imagine a good working sensor, it simply works. They are not that valuable for other people. It's better to make your own tests, at first by just placing a -2 pair of glasses 1cm in front of your camera and try to focus. If it improves your focus, you may want to read this "tutorial" again and maybe give it a go.

thx so much , am having the same problem and i tried an old pair of glasses in front of my lens and it worked , I'll file it and install it as in this tutorial .

Great DIY tutorial,i dont have problems with my Lumia but is good to know .

Specs of the finished product (DIY)
Hello can I know the ff: specs please.
What is the thickness of the glass?
Diameter of the Circle?
I need to do this..
I am asking a company to do this for me so they want some info..

So the only fix for this problem is to.
Change the Camera Module? or Change the Lens with a grade of -2?
Am I correct?
Please response.
Thank you!

thank u for telling. my Nokia 1020 not focusing far objects, so where can i buy lenses type of glass either cylindrical or spherical glass please tell me
---------- Post added at 08:48 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:37 AM ----------
meawmnj said:
thx so much , am having the same problem and i tried an old pair of glasses in front of my lens and it worked , I'll file it and install it as in this tutorial .
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where can u fing glass. iam asking at optical shop he asked cylindrical or spherical. iam confused tell me

Dark blobs in camera?

Sometimes in low indoor lighting I noticed some dark blobs that appear on the camera. They look like rather large particles scattered throughout the frame. I was suspecting maybe dust in the lens but I've seen a similar thing with my friend's Nexus 4 when is directly cast in sunlight - similar to when you look under a microscope and your hair eyelashes are in the way. Another thing I suspect it could be is some interference from the shiny black plastic ring within the camera lens (not the silver ring outside), as it appears to be made of a rough plastic-like material.
Sample (there are many more depending what angle the light is shining): https://www.dropbox.com/s/zm8h9jp3jhdy726/DSC_0476.JPG?dl=0
Has anyone experienced this as well?
Note that the lens/camera module that was replaced by Sony in Taiwan due to the left blur problem. They assured me that the phone was still waterproof. Unfortunately I am no longer in Taiwan so I can't get it repaired. In most situations the blobs are not visible but I do notice them when I'm filming in my room and the camera appears to be trying to pick up more light.

hmm, now that i look at my lens, i it appears there is a spot on the actual camera lens behind the main lens cover. Either dust got in during the lens replacement process, or it somehow got in later. So much for IP68 =/

Can you send it back and get a new device?

Lambo16 said:
Can you send it back and get a new device?
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Nope, I bought it in Taiwan, and am studying overseas now. Perhaps next time I go to Taiwan I will turn it in. It's not a huge problem as none of my outdoor photos seem to have this problem - I only noticed it in videos I filmed in my room indoors with a certain lighting or flare (if you cover the light a bit it's gone, like you have a lens hood). It's not as obvious as previous reports of dust in the Xperia Z lens etc.
I looked into it with a magnifying glass and it does seem like there is at least one speck behind the lens cover.
Maybe there was some dust or paper in my pocket that somehow got in, but I had the phone in a case, and there's a rear protector film I applied that goes around the lens

No plastic film on camera and heart sensor lenses?

Did anyone notice that, unlike the GS6 and other Galaxies before it, the S7 and S7 Edge don't have the plastic film that covers both the camera and heart sensor lenses when you first got it? Some people take them off when they got the phone, but I left it on there on my GS6 to protect the camera lense from scratches.
Just wanted to know whether someone has noticed this on their phones as well?

U are anyways suppose to remove them.
Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

Dark5tar said:
Did anyone notice that, unlike the GS6 and other Galaxies before it, the S7 and S7 Edge don't have the plastic film that covers both the camera and heart sensor lenses when you first got it? Some people take them off when they got the phone, but I left it on there on my GS6 to protect the camera lense from scratches.
Just wanted to know whether someone has noticed this on their phones as well?
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That plastic makes photos you take worse because it reflects lights to the camera in a way that it is undesirable. You bought a phone with a fantastic camera. Why would you leave a thing like this attached to it?
Besides, the camera glass is Gorilla. Heart hate sensor is a cheap one. And if you use any kind of case, you can put your phone on the table and the camera glass will never touch table directly.
Enjoy your phone. I know it is not cheap, but it is just a phone.
https://youtu.be/D_bB5fnN7Jk
Sent from my SM-G930F using XDA-Developers mobile app

goTouch said:
That plastic makes photos you take worse because it reflects lights to the camera in a way that it is undesirable. You bought a phone with a fantastic camera. Why would you leave a thing like this attached to it?
Besides, the camera glass is Gorilla. Heart hate sensor is a cheap one. And if you use any kind of case, you can put your phone on the table and the camera glass will never touch table directly.
Enjoy your phone. I know it is not cheap, but it is just a phone.
https://youtu.be/D_bB5fnN7Jk
Sent from my SM-G930F using XDA-Developers mobile app
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Thanks, appreciate your feedback

Even if it did have that plastic on it and you left it on, it'd get scratched up pretty quickly. If you wanted some kind of protection though, you could try d-brand skins. They cover the glass on the camera lens, leaving only a small opening for the aperture (although I don't know how much "give" there is for the OIS function), but that could still get damaged. Personally, I just have a case, front screen protector and that's it.

Kiwi_Dude said:
Even if it did have that plastic on it and you left it on, it'd get scratched up pretty quickly. If you wanted some kind of protection though, you could try d-brand skins. They cover the glass on the camera lens, leaving only a small opening for the aperture (although I don't know how much "give" there is for the OIS function), but that could still get damaged. Personally, I just have a case, front screen protector and that's it.
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Thanks. Glad to see another NZ lad on here

Also from NZ boys, i ordered some glass protectors from ebay and they fit really well. They fit over the camera lens and on thr heartrate sensor. Check them out. Only took a couple days to get here aswell which was awesome.
tapped on #datbombv7EchoeRom

MRDOCA said:
Also from NZ boys, i ordered some glass protectors from ebay and they fit really well. They fit over the camera lens and on thr heartrate sensor. Check them out. Only took a couple days to get here aswell which was awesome.
tapped on #datbombv7EchoeRom
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Can you provide a link of the one you bought?

Look at this on eBay http://www.ebay.com/itm/121975555820
Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

Question How many have Lens Flare issue?

The more I read, the more it seems that P7P users have got a bad Lens Flare issue on the X1 Lens.
Out of curiosity, how many users here have the issue themselves?
I used to have the Mate 20 Pro for 4 years and the Lens Flare wasn't that bad in comparison to the P7P.
I'll add that I don't have a lens cover over my cameras and the glass is clean.

Everyone, that's just the nature of the beast.

1gavinr said:
The more I read, the more it seems that P7P users have got a bad Lens Flare issue on the X1 Lens.
Out of curiosity, how many users here have the issue themselves?
I used to have the Mate 20 Pro for 4 years and the Lens Flare wasn't that bad in comparison to the P7P.
I'll add that I don't have a lens cover over my cameras and the glass is clean.
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That's not an "issue", everyone has the lens flare. It only depends on the light angle and how it hits the lens.

It's pretty bad. I took some comparison photos with my S21 before I sent it in for trade and the flare was awful. And non-existent on the Samsung photos.

This was taken with a Canon DSLR and a £2000 Canon L lens, there are always circumstances where it is going to happen.

issasaurus said:
It's pretty bad. I took some comparison photos with my S21 before I sent it in for trade and the flare was awful. And non-existent on the Samsung photos. View attachment 5762543View attachment 5762541
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Different focal lengths though so not a fair comparison.

MrBelter said:
This was taken with a Canon DSLR and a £2000 Canon L lens, there are always circumstances where it is going to happen.
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If it happens in some circumstances and only once in a while, its OK. But I think p7p has a permanent problem.
One request for folks who experience it: can you try a case (or any other way) which covers most of the aluminum? I think the reflections off the aluminum are adding to the flare phenomenon.
IMO, going with shiny metal around the lens was not a smart choice by google. Get the wrong curves on that part and it can mess with the light that goes into the lens.

devsk said:
If it happens in some circumstances and only once in a while, its OK. But I think p7p has a permanent problem.
One request for folks who experience it: can you try a case (or any other way) which covers most of the aluminum? I think the reflections off the aluminum are adding to the flare phenomenon.
IMO, going with shiny metal around the lens was not a smart choice by google. Get the wrong curves on that part and it can mess with the light that goes into the lens.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It does only happen in some circumstances though and only once in a while on the Pixel 7 Pro to be fair and those circumstances are using the 1X lens while it pointing it at something very bright and this is when lens flare is always a risk.
The problem is a lack of any anti reflection coating on the glass covering the lens, it is just plain glass sadly. I have wondered if we could use something as a lens hood which should help dramatically with the issue as it stops light from falling across the lens.
FWIW i have a black skin over my camera bar, it certainly made a difference one the P6P but it makes no difference whatsoever on the P7P
Using a different focal length other than 1X the problem is much, much less noticeable.

I see the issue across all lenses. That's why I think its the metal, not the lenses or the glass covering the lenses!
Any kind of coating will reduce the amount of light that the lens can capture. Is anti-reflective coating an industry standard across lenses?

hmm....quick google suggests that lack of anti reflective coatings on lenses may be the reason for this unusual issue. Which means that we are stuck with it...
And it does look like that anti reflective coating is the norm and it actually increases the light that reaches the sensor....Why would google hardware not do this? go figure!

devsk said:
I see the issue across all lenses. That's why I think its the metal, not the lenses or the glass covering the lenses!
Any kind of coating will reduce the amount of light that the lens can capture. Is anti-reflective coating an industry standard across lenses?
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As i said, i have a black skin on my camera bar, there is no metal showing.
Any lens worth its salt be it camera or glasses will have an anti-reflective coating.
Why Lens Coatings Are So Important in Photography
A look at the science of camera lens coatings and how they improve optics while reducing things like lens flares in photographs.
petapixel.com

devsk said:
hmm....quick google suggests that lack of anti reflective coatings on lenses may be the reason for this unusual issue. Which means that we are stuck with it...
And it does look like that anti reflective coating is the norm and it actually increases the light that reaches the sensor....Why would google hardware not do this? go figure!
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Click to collapse
They have on the lenses, they just didn't bother on the class covering them.

MrBelter said:
They have on the lenses, they just didn't bother on the class covering them.
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Any idea if it can be applied after the fact from the outside? Or is it something that has to be cured into the glass before putting it on the frame?

devsk said:
Any idea if it can be applied after the fact from the outside? Or is it something that has to be cured into the glass before putting it on the frame?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That i don't know, i wouldn't want to risk buggering the whole thing up myself as any coating has to bond to the glass and getting it back off could be difficult.
The fix may be as simple as holding your hand above the lens like a simple lens hood to prevent light scatter.

I went to a Christmas light switch on last night and the lens flare and the simple reflections you get from the plain glass doesn't half make you study the scene to try to get around it, that in its self makes spontaneous street photography at night difficult.