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My biggest complaint so far: Front Facing Camera Image Quality

Hi all,
Just picked up a v10 from tmo yesterday and been playing around with it. I've seen two different V10's and both have had very unimpressive front facing image quality. I know that it's 5 MP vs the G4's 8 MP. However, whenever I open it up, it looks very grainy and soft in low light. During the day in bright light outside, it looks very oversharpened and the dynamic range is poor. The sky is typically completely blown out, and my face looks a bit unrealistic with the oversharpening. I've played around with the beauty feature and tried it at different levels. Indoors, even with beauty set to 0, the image was still very soft. I also did HDR off and on and it didn't make a difference. When recording video, it looks a lot better. These do seem like software issues. I'm just really surprised since LG is really pushing photography/video with this phone, but the front camera images just don't look good at all to me. I'm going to be using the V10 for a bit to see if I want to keep it, or if I want to go back to the 6P. I don't expect the same quality of front facing camera on the V10, as the 6P. I just didn't expect it to be this much worse. I also compared it to a G4, and the G4 looked great. I don't think the 3 MP difference should make that much of a difference.
Anyway, let me know if you guys have experienced this too.

You need to remember the V10 ups the screen gamma (everything looks pastel/washed out) and adds software sharpening when you're in sunlight, so what you're seeing on the screen in sunlight is not really what the camera is capturing.

siraltus said:
You need to remember the V10 ups the screen gamma (everything looks pastel/washed out) and adds software sharpening when you're in sunlight, so what you're seeing on the screen in sunlight is not really what the camera is capturing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It does look a bit better after I take it. I also uploaded it to drive and looked at it on my computer. It's still somewhat oversharpened. Can you explain the screen gamma? So, everything that's on the screen will look pastel like? So, if I send someone a picture or upload it to instagram/FB it will look better to other people?
Edit: In decent light, the front facing camera looks better in snapchat, however it tends to be fairly dark. I guess it uses a lower ISO? not sure. But it also looks less processed. The back camera is also pretty dark in snapchat.

I will say I LOVE the wide angle selfie... I mean I have NEVER been a selfie kinda guy but it really does capture alot. I can get me and my family of 4 easily in one pic.
The image quality could be better but it's nice to be able to get more into the picture.
Sent from my LG-H901 using XDA Free mobile app

PsychDrummer said:
Hi all,
Just picked up a v10 from tmo yesterday and been playing around with it. I've seen two different V10's and both have had very unimpressive front facing image quality. I know that it's 5 MP vs the G4's 8 MP. However, whenever I open it up, it looks very grainy and soft in low light. During the day in bright light outside, it looks very oversharpened and the dynamic range is poor. The sky is typically completely blown out, and my face looks a bit unrealistic with the oversharpening. I've played around with the beauty feature and tried it at different levels. Indoors, even with beauty set to 0, the image was still very soft. I also did HDR off and on and it didn't make a difference. When recording video, it looks a lot better. These do seem like software issues. I'm just really surprised since LG is really pushing photography/video with this phone, but the front camera images just don't look good at all to me. I'm going to be using the V10 for a bit to see if I want to keep it, or if I want to go back to the 6P. I don't expect the same quality of front facing camera on the V10, as the 6P. I just didn't expect it to be this much worse. I also compared it to a G4, and the G4 looked great. I don't think the 3 MP difference should make that much of a difference.
Anyway, let me know if you guys have experienced this too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Coming from Note 4, I do agree with you that the FCC is a little bit lacking on the sharpness department. It seems like there's an overly-aggressive noise-reduction being applied even with the "Beauty" mode turned to 0. I just that the selfies looks smushy compared to the ones taken by my note 4.

PsychDrummer said:
Hi all,
Anyway, let me know if you guys have experienced this too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does it make a difference which ffc you're using? The wide angle lens tends to be slightly grainier compared to the solo lens. It defaults to wide..
I wonder what's the actual megapixel capability of the front sensor as well as it's pixel size..
Note. I need beauty mode setting of 10. I'm still hella oogly set at highest... :silly:

baymon said:
Coming from Note 4, I do agree with you that the FCC is a little bit lacking on the sharpness department. It seems like there's an overly-aggressive noise-reduction being applied even with the "Beauty" mode turned to 0. I just that the selfies looks smushy compared to the ones taken by my note 4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, what I've noticed is that when using the stock camera it tends to oversharpen making it look artificial. But, if I use snapchat, or google camera, it makes it seem like it can't focus or something. The image looks very, very soft and even a bit blurred. In low light, it just looks dark and noisy.
clockcycle said:
Does it make a difference which ffc you're using? The wide angle lens tends to be slightly grainier compared to the solo lens. It defaults to wide..
I wonder what's the actual megapixel capability of the front sensor as well as it's pixel size..
Note. I need beauty mode setting of 10. I'm still hella oogly set at highest... :silly:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, both look the same to me. Honestly, I compared a front facing image with a Nexus 5, and while the nexus 5 is obviously low resolution it actually didn't look THAT much worse. I really wish they kept the single camera from the G4. It looked great when I checked it out. I'm still debating about keeping this or going back to the 6P. If the V10 had the same FFC as the 6P/G4, had the same slow motion capabilities as the 6P, and maybe have a slightly more saturated screen I would have to say the V10 is definitely a much better phone. I still might end up keeping it though. I do like the manual control, better video capture and of course the sd card/removable battery. Also, I prefer the design/build of the V10.

horrible camera
just got the LG V10 around mid November. Mostly bought it for the camera...was supposed to be the top of the line and have great reviews. I HATE this camera. The pics all looked washed out and dull. I have told Verizon about this twice and the last time the kid was kinda smart assy about it and said I'm not gonna get saturated pretty pics. I'm going to get detail pics of what I'm actually seeing. I want my beautiful, colorful pics back. I mean who doesn't want colorful vibrant pics! He told me if I want that then I'm going to have to edit my pics. Very disappointed in this phone...if I could get rid of it I would...

You think a software (firmware) update can fix the camera issues.

mv522 said:
You think a software (firmware) update can fix the camera issues.
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Click to collapse
I don't know...I'm trying Verizon one more time here in a few minutes. I will ask them about that. I sure hope so. I'm already looking into selling the phone and coming up with the difference to pay it off to get a new one. I show people all the time and they all say the same thing. I like bright, beautiful pics. With this camera there's no vibrant colors and some of the pics look like there's like a "hazy" over them. After I use and editor...they look really nice (I will admit) but I'm not going to edit every pic I take when my Samsung Galaxy s5 they all looked good and I would pic just a few to tweak up to make look even better. Not edit every pic to have it look as it should!

PsychDrummer said:
Hi all,
Just picked up a v10 from tmo yesterday and been playing around with it. I've seen two different V10's and both have had very unimpressive front facing image quality. I know that it's 5 MP vs the G4's 8 MP. However, whenever I open it up, it looks very grainy and soft in low light. During the day in bright light outside, it looks very oversharpened and the dynamic range is poor. The sky is typically completely blown out, and my face looks a bit unrealistic with the oversharpening. I've played around with the beauty feature and tried it at different levels. Indoors, even with beauty set to 0, the image was still very soft. I also did HDR off and on and it didn't make a difference. When recording video, it looks a lot better. These do seem like software issues. I'm just really surprised since LG is really pushing photography/video with this phone, but the front camera images just don't look good at all to me. I'm going to be using the V10 for a bit to see if I want to keep it, or if I want to go back to the 6P. I don't expect the same quality of front facing camera on the V10, as the 6P. I just didn't expect it to be this much worse. I also compared it to a G4, and the G4 looked great. I don't think the 3 MP difference should make that much of a difference.
Anyway, let me know if you guys have experienced this too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
really, you went through all that? but i do wear bifocals

[3/7] Samsung S7E Vs Nexus 6P Camera Samples (Comparison)

Update [3/7] I uploaded day and night samples using manual mode, ISO 100 and let the phone do the rest as requested. The pictures are in my Google Drive link below for everyone to download the full sized images since they get compressed on the forum.
Update [2/29] All pictures taken were either using Auto mode, HDR+ unless otherwise noted. I'm using a Manfrotto tripod from my DSLR for the night photos to keep the photos consistent. I took 5-10 photos for each scene and picked the best one from each phone before posting them here. I will provide a link to the full image located below so they can be viewed without the possibility of being downsized.
I did not edit any of the pictures, and both were taken with a 4:3 12MP setup for maximum resolution. I will add more photos throughout the next couple of days and post my comments as I go.
[2/29]: The 6P clearly is taking significantly better pictures so far. The S7E's photos look washed out despite having a 'better' sensor, so I hope Samsung addresses this issue promptly.
I stopped into my local Bestbuy and had a look at the S7E. I ordered a silver one for reference. I took some pictures side by side with the S7E and my 6P to see how the camera stacks up. I'm honestly surprised because I thought the 6P took better pictures, but this is only one scenario. I'll do a full write up when my S7E comes along with night photos and the works. Have a look at the few samples below and let me know what you think.
Off topic: let's try to keep things relatively on topic, no bashing or dumb arguing please. I am a Nexus fan, but I'm always open to trying new things. With that statement in mind let's have a nice discussion
Here's a link to all of the pictures on my Google drive (for the original pictures that I removed)
Here's a link to all of the pictures on my Google drive
Here is the link to the second set of photos
Here are the new pictures for the official review:
Official Comparison photos link
This 1 picture is the ONLY one that I took using a tripod
Picture #1
S7E
Nexus 6P
Picture #2
S7E
Nexus 6P
Picture #3
S7E
Nexus 6P
Picture #4
S7E
Nexus 6P
Picture #5
S7E
Nexus 6P
Picture #6
S7E
Nexus 6P
Picture #7
S7E
Nexus 6P
Picture #8
S7E
Nexus 6P
Picture #9
S7E
Nexus 6P
Picture #10
S7E
Nexus 6P
Picture #11
S7E
Nexus 6P
I wanted to share my impressions of the S7E after using it for a day of pictures. The S7E takes nice pictures when there is ample light, but the post processing usually causes the pictures to seem overexposed. The HDR mode also doesn't seem to make a big difference during normal shooting like it should (aka it doesn't bring out the dark areas/shadows well). I like how fast it focuses despite the often washed out colors it produces. I want to like the camera, but it's hard to really enjoy using it when the pictures are ok not great. The camera is still good by all means, yet it falls short most of the time compared to the 6P. I took a lot of pictures in less than ideal lighting while it was cold out this morning. The S7E should have an advantage because the camera has OIS, but the 6P still consistently produced better pictures. If Samsung doesn't address the short comings of the camera (which they are promoting heavily), then that might be a deal breaker for some people. I will post another update with more pictures after I use it some more later this week.
HDR Test: Here are some pictures that were requested with and without HDR and NO tripod.
HDR Test
HDR Test_1
S7E HDR
S7E NO HDR
Nexus 6P HDR
Nexus 6P NO HDR
HDR Test_2
S7E HDR
S7E NO HDR
Nexus 6P HDR
Nexus 6P NO HDR
[3/5] Update: Here are some pictures from Pittsburgh today including some panoramas. As per usual I also uploaded the images to the drive link above along with 2 videos (1 for each phone panning so you can see the difference OIS makes). Lastly, there are pictures I took tonight with the S7E using Auto, HDR, and Manual for the same scene.
Note: Please keep the discussion professional before mods have to clean up the comments.
Panorama
S7E Pano 1
S7E Pano 2
Nexus 6P Pano 1
Nexus 6P Pano 2
City
S7E City 1
S7E City 2
Nexus 6P City 1
Nexus 6P City 2
Manual Mode Test S7E:
S7E Auto No HDR
S7E HDR
S7E Manual

While both are excellent it appears the Samsung trumps the Nexus 6p which is not surprising. Text in the SAMSUNG pics are clearer with the exception of the first picture where maybe your hand wobbled , than the Nexus. Pictures seem a bit brighter with the Samsung . Either way I wouldn't be unhappy with either one of them as I do own nexus the Nexus and praise its camera. Just an FYI, many have determined if you upload a picture directly into XDA the quality suffers. Far better to use a third party app with a link.
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

markwebb said:
While both are excellent it appears the Samsung trumps the Nexus 6p which is not surprising. Text in the SAMSUNG pics are clearer with the exception of the first picture where maybe your hand wobbled , than the Nexus. Pictures seem a bit brighter with the Samsung . Either way I wouldn't be unhappy with either one of them as I do own nexus the Nexus and praise its camera. Just an FYI, many have determined if you upload a picture directly into XDA the quality suffers. Far better to use a third party app with a link.
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
I'll happily link the images via Google drive for everyone to see. My hand was stable while taking the pictures and I took 5-6 of each scene and picked the best for each phone to upload. Personally the Samsung took pictures that were brighter but they look less natural. Look at the text on the Samsung display for example it's more clear and not washed out on the 6P's picture. I think the S7E has a lot of potential and I will gladly take tons of pictures when I get it in the coming weeks. I'll add them drive link to the OP so check back in about 5 min for it.
Edit: it's added to the OP

I like the Nexus 6P pictures. Like the OP said, they look more natural.

dave2metz said:
I like the Nexus 6P pictures. Like the OP said, they look more natural.
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Click to collapse
The S7E takes HDR+ photos instantly which is nice, but the post processing is a little over the top. I took at least 200 pictures messing around and the 6P ones still look more natural. I'm not saying that's good or bad, but it's am observation. I bought the S7E for the camera and waterproofing as a backup phone. I expected the camera to be a little better, but I'll wait until I have my unit in hand to make a final decision about it.

For what it's worth, I personally think the S7 took better pictures than the 6p - if you look specifically at the shots of the balloons and the one of the store - in both, the 6p is darker - while the S7 looks more natually light - both are excellent but IMHO the S7 looks better.
I have a 6p - and I love it - personally I always thought my Note 5 took better photos - and I was dissapointed that the S7 went down in size from 16mb on the note to 12mb on the S7 - but that pixel thing (double pixels) that samsung added to the S7 may actually make it better. Can't wait to get my hands on it...

Interesting comparison.
Few observations:
- Looks like the white balance/colors look a bit more vibrant on the S7E (but perhaps not as real to life?)
- Maybe this is due to F1.7, but it seems that anything generating light seems to be blown out on the S7E (ie look at the ceiling lights, and lit up signs)
- The S7E pics look a bit blurry/not focus in a lot of the pictures, particularly in the background. Wonder why this is
I love both Nexus and Samsung devices so I find this comparison interesting, thanks OP. It's just odd because when I owned a 6p, I compared it against the S6 Edge and found the latter to take better pics.

Best buys are highly lit. Nothing looks natural there. S7 pic looked much more accurate in my opinion. The balloon pic is no contest.

mocsab said:
For what it's worth, I personally think the S7 took better pictures than the 6p - if you look specifically at the shots of the balloons and the one of the store - in both, the 6p is darker - while the S7 looks more natually light - both are excellent but IMHO the S7 looks better.
I have a 6p - and I love it - personally I always thought my Note 5 took better photos - and I was dissapointed that the S7 went down in size from 16mb on the note to 12mb on the S7 - but that pixel thing (double pixels) that samsung added to the S7 may actually make it better. Can't wait to get my hands on it...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's how the S7E would focus. I didn't enable touch to focus for to so I let the phone determine what to focus on and took the pictures. The 'double pixels' only refer to the focusing pixels. The 6P has a laser to assist with focusing, so both do a good job at acquiring a fast target. I noticed the S7E wouldn't focus when I put my finger within a inch or so of the sensor and the same is true of the 6P. I have a DSLR, so I never expect a phone to come close to that quality, depth of field etc.
TL,DR the double pixels are only there to focus and the 6P has bigger individual pixels than the S7. Check the IMX377 zenzor that's in the 6P vs the IMX260
shadow82x said:
Interesting comparison.
Few observations:
- Looks like the white balance/colors look a bit more vibrant on the S7E (but perhaps not as real to life?)
- Maybe this is due to F1.7, but it seems that anything generating light seems to be blown out on the S7E (ie look at the ceiling lights, and lit up signs)
- The S7E pics look a bit blurry/not focus in a lot of the pictures, particularly in the background. Wonder why this is
I love both Nexus and Samsung devices so I find this comparison interesting, thanks OP. It's just odd because when I owned a 6p, I compared it against the S6 Edge and found the latter to take better pics.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's possible the f1.7 takes in more light despite its smaller actual pixel size vs the IMX377. A lot of the issues could be post processing which Google doesn't really rely upon as much as other OEMs. The 6P has a great camera and I'm sure the S7E will too when I get it to really see how the performance is. I have no doubt that both phones will perform well, yet I'm left wondering about how the IMX260 will be at night conapred to the IMX377 (phones aside).
I will try to be as unbiased as I can be when responding. I've owned tons of phones (S3, Note 3, G3, S5, Moto X 2nd gen, Nexus 6, Zenphone 2, Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P etc...), so I've seen all kinds of cameras. The S6/S6E/Note 5 did win when taking videos (6P sucks at die to only having EIS), and they day pxitures are great/on par with the 6P if not better on occasion. It was for a Nexus to take good pictures in general before this generation.

Thank you for the test.
It is however the AF, noise, dynamic range and colour accuracy under not-so-ideal lighting conditions that really shows if there is a big difference between the two.
ISO 1600, very low light, no flash, 1/10-1/30s shutter time.
If anybody can post such comparisons, make my day
Here's an ISO 1250 no-flash shot from GSM Arena test for S7:
http://cdn.gsmarena.com/imgroot/reviews/16/mwc2016-samsung/s7-edge-day/camera/gsmarena_040.jpg

Not good for s7...

Canard caché said:
Not good for s7...
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Click to collapse
What isn't? The S7 clearly has a fantastic camera, your post makes zero sense.

I feel the exposure is too much for S7 camera? Do we need to turn down the exposure since it has a f1.7???

Beefheart said:
What isn't? The S7 clearly has a fantastic camera, your post makes zero sense.
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Click to collapse
sorry but it's not what i see in this photos.
I see no gap of qualitiy (against a 6p Oo) and even yellow filter, too much deformation. There is clearly a problem... perhaps jpeg threatment?

Canard caché said:
sorry but it's not what i see in this photos.
I see no gap of qualitiy (against a 6p Oo) and even yellow filter, too much deformation. There is clearly a problem... perhaps jpeg threatment?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_s7_edge_mwc_2016-review-1400.php
I'm clearly reading the photos different than you in that case. But instead of making a rash judgement on photos taken in a bright shop floor on an S7 with an unknown and no doubt pre-release firmware on it, check the photos out in that link, particularly those in low light. It's clearly a fantastic camera.

Canard caché said:
sorry but it's not what i see in this photos.
I see no gap of qualitiy (against a 6p Oo) and even yellow filter, too much deformation. There is clearly a problem... perhaps jpeg threatment?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you look at the EXIF data for the pictures they both had similar ISO values for the images. This test was by no means scientific, but I think it gives people a good general idea of what to expect. I'm not sure if the software on it is the final build, but it did have the February security patch. The S7E did seem a little noisier around and overexposed in some areas unfortunately. As I mentioned before both were on auto mode and I didn't tap to focus on either phone. I'll wait until I get my phone to do a real full comparison and post it here. I enjoy taking pictures, and would like to see how the S7E performs with the lens kit too. It was nice how the S7E took a HDR+ picture without the ~>1 second it takes the 6P when I was messing with it. There is a manual "pro" mode in the app which could assist with taking better pictures, but it should still capture good images using auto.

The white balance is different, and it can be altered afterwards to suit taste. The S7 pictures look cooler, Nikon-like, while the 6P pictures look warmer, Canon-like. Looking at the pixel level, the Samsung seems to have less noise. And also looking at the ceilings, the Samsung shows the ceiling close to its real color while the 6P shows it in a brownish color. I also wonder what color did the watch holder LED from the picture really has. Is it blue (like the Samsung shows) or white (like the 6P shows) ?

Beefheart said:
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_s7_edge_mwc_2016-review-1400.php
I'm clearly reading the photos different than you in that case. But instead of making a rash judgement on photos taken in a bright shop floor on an S7 with an unknown and no doubt pre-release firmware on it, check the photos out in that link, particularly those in low light. It's clearly a fantastic camera.
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Click to collapse
I didnt make rash judgement and everybody know what i judged => the pics here.
Yeah we ll see when a true test comparison goes out. BUT for now, it's not good at all (IN THIS PICS)
And the gsmarena article=> really im not impressed at all. I have the same effect with my s6 and post threatments...
---------- Post added at 03:28 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:26 PM ----------
Pilz said:
If you look at the EXIF data for the pictures they both had similar ISO values for the images. This test was by no means scientific, but I think it gives people a good general idea of what to expect. I'm not sure if the software on it is the final build, but it did have the February security patch. The S7E did seem a little noisier around and overexposed in some areas unfortunately. As I mentioned before both were on auto mode and I didn't tap to focus on either phone. I'll wait until I get my phone to do a real full comparison and post it here. I enjoy taking pictures, and would like to see how the S7E performs with the lens kit too. It was nice how the S7E took a HDR+ picture without the ~>1 second it takes the 6P when I was messing with it. There is a manual "pro" mode in the app which could assist with taking better pictures, but it should still capture good images using auto.
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Click to collapse
indeed we'll see. I just tell what i'm seeing... that's all (im concerned for my preorder)

Canard caché said:
I didnt make rash judgement and everybody know what i judged => the pics here.
Yeah we ll see when a true test comparison goes out. BUT for now, it's not good at all (IN THIS PICS)
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Click to collapse
And in my view claiming the S7 photos in this thread are "not good at all" is ridiculous. You can argue the 6P photos are better, but that doesn't equate to the same thing.

Beefheart said:
And in my view claiming the S7 photos in this thread are "not good at all" is ridiculous. You can argue the 6P photos are better, but that doesn't equate to the same thing.
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hu so there are things we can say but other we can't?

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.
==============================================
FULL GALLERY
==============================================
Rear Cam Side-by-Side 1/2 - VIEW AT 100%
Full Res: N6P — GS8
==============================================
Rear Cam Side-by-Side 2/2 - VIEW AT 100%
Full Res: N6P — GS8
==============================================
Front Cam Set 1/5: N6P — GS8
==============================================
Front Cam Set 2/5: N6P — GS8
==============================================
Front Cam Set 3/5: N6P — GS8
==============================================
Front Cam Set 4/5: N6P — GS8
==============================================
Front Cam Set 5/5: N6P — GS8
==============================================
BONUS - 2MP tablet front cam with no HDR from 2015
==============================================
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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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Click to collapse
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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Click to collapse
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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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

Pixel 2 vs One Plus 5t : Camera

I know the pixel is better, but I want to understand the difference.

Up until a few weeks ago I had a Nexus 5x. I loved it, especially the camera!
However the Nexus 5x died, and I replaced it with a brand new OnePlus 5t. The screen is amazing, it's runs pretty much stock Android, and the battery life was astounding. But I returned it after 2 days because the camera wasn't even as good as my Nexus 5x.
In bright daylight the OnePlus 5t takes lovely pictures, but in every other scenario it's pretty rubbish (in my opinion).
I mainly use my camera by just whipping it out of my pocket, pointing, and shooting. The Nexus excelled at this. The OnePlus 5t gave me shots with lots of motion blur, lots of noise, and they weren't exposed properly. Most of the photos I took were unusable.
So, the OnePlus 5t went back and I got a Pixel 2. It's a smaller screen and a way worse battery life, but it's by far the best point-and-shoot camera phone I've had, even better than the Nexus 5x. To be honest it's not that much better than the Nexus 5x, but the fact it has OIS does make a big difference to some shots. I love it.
So, if you mainly take photos of things that don't move (landscapes and still life) and can stand really still when you take a photo, the OnePlus 5t will take lovely photos.
If you take photos of people/things that move, or anything indoors, then Pixel 2 (or a second-hand Nexus 5x!) will serve you way better.
Hope that helps!

richhhh said:
Up until a few weeks ago I had a Nexus 5x. I loved it, especially the camera!
However the Nexus 5x died, and I replaced it with a brand new OnePlus 5t. The screen is amazing, it's runs pretty much stock Android, and the battery life was astounding. But I returned it after 2 days because the camera wasn't even as good as my Nexus 5x.
In bright daylight the OnePlus 5t takes lovely pictures, but in every other scenario it's pretty rubbish (in my opinion).
I mainly use my camera by just whipping it out of my pocket, pointing, and shooting. The Nexus excelled at this. The OnePlus 5t gave me shots with lots of motion blur, lots of noise, and they weren't exposed properly. Most of the photos I took were unusable.
So, the OnePlus 5t went back and I got a Pixel 2. It's a smaller screen and a way worse battery life, but it's by far the best point-and-shoot camera phone I've had, even better than the Nexus 5x. To be honest it's not that much better than the Nexus 5x, but the fact it has OIS does make a big difference to some shots. I love it.
So, if you mainly take photos of things that don't move (landscapes and still life) and can stand really still when you take a photo, the OnePlus 5t will take lovely photos.
If you take photos of people/things that move, or anything indoors, then Pixel 2 (or a second-hand Nexus 5x!) will serve you way better.
Hope that helps!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, I never thought the camera was worse than the last generation smartphone. And you are saying if there is no real light the camera is not good, right?

JosephECorson said:
Wow, I never thought the camera was worse than the last generation smartphone. And you are saying if there is no real light the camera is not good, right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The 5T is using the same sensor as the 3T, so the technology is maybe 1 year newer than the 5X. Against which it's a significantly smaller sensor (less light) with more pixels (so more noise). So it's not totally shocking if the 5X camera does perform better.
Anyway, a big part of phone camera performance is the processing rather than the sensor (which Google have certainly been concentrating on in the last couple of years). And at the time of the 5T's release theirs was, well, not good. Look at this image from GSMArena's review, click on the zoom button, and when you've finished admiring the total lack of texture in the leaves and branches take a look at the grass between the fallen leaves and the house. It's many years since I've seen any camera do that type of watercolour smearing in a daylight photo, and I hope for their customers' sake that OnePlus have been doing something about this.
(It's not a one-off either: they published a set of preview photos before their review, and some of those were comically bad. You could have used them as a teaching aid to show students how not to do image processing).

JosephECorson said:
Wow, I never thought the camera was worse than the last generation smartphone. And you are saying if there is no real light the camera is not good, right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That was my experience, yes. It was bad in low light and bad with any movement (of either your hands holding the camera or of a subject in the frame)
I've found a lot of camera reviews for phone cameras don't take into account real-world usage. They're all set up in studios, or taking photos of a random building, or a flower, and then another flower, or a posed portrait where the subject is dead still. All very 'traditional' photography setups looking more at the colour reproduction and exposure.
Very few (non that I've actually found!) take into account how it performs as something people pull out of their pocket to capture an unposed, often badly lit, fleeting moment. If they did, most would likely find the OnePlus 5t churns out a blurry mess, and the Pixel 2 (while far from perfect and still no competition for an actual small point-and-shoot camera) does just fine.
---------- Post added at 01:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:53 PM ----------
Large Hadron said:
Anyway, a big part of phone camera performance is the processing rather than the sensor (which Google have certainly been concentrating on in the last couple of years).
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Click to collapse
I 100% agree with that too.
And yes, you can get the Google Camera port for other phones these days which brings their incredible HDR+ processing to other phones, and I did actually try it on the OnePlus 5t (it improved visual quality and processing, but didn't help with any of the inherent problems).
But you have to manually keep that ported/hacked app updated, and it might not be very stable, or not save the actual file sometimes.
Whereas on the Pixel/Nexus it's built in by default and 'just works', and works very well in a lot of situations, which is all you can hope for

richhhh said:
So, if you mainly take photos of things that don't move (landscapes and still life) and can stand really still when you take a photo, the OnePlus 5t will take lovely photos.
If you take photos of people/things that move, or anything indoors, then Pixel 2 (or a second-hand Nexus 5x!) will serve you way better.
Hope that helps!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agree with this 100%. I had the OP5T for 10 days and tried every setting I could think of and a variety of apps/apks to improve the quality but in the end there was always some compromise.
Almost all of the photos I take are of my children and the quality was particularly poor (in my opinion) if the conditions weren't perfect (lighting, kids standing perfectly still, my hands perfectly stable etc.). If you need a phone camera to 'capture the moment' by just pointing and shooting then you may be very disappointed by the 5T
Large Hadron said:
It's many years since I've seen any camera do that type of watercolour smearing in a daylight photo, and I hope for their customers' sake that OnePlus have been doing something about this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And the 5T sometimes did this 'watercolour smearing' to the skin on my children's faces which was the last straw for me. In many cases my older Xiaomi mi5 was taking better pictures.
So I sent it back and bought the Pixel 2 and the difference is night & day. I'm really trying to take a bad picture with the Pixel 2 but keep failing

Low light

At the club, at the bar, or just in your mom's basement, nighttime is when you come out to play. Rate this thread to express how the Samsung Galaxy S9+'s camera performs when no or low light is present. A higher rating indicates that the camera sensor "sees" lots of light in dim conditions, and that the resulting photos have minimal noise. A higher rating also indicates that when the flash fires, the resulting photo is evenly-lit without any bright spots.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!

These 2 photos were taken in dark factory yesterday with my 9+

I'll post some lathe pictures tomorrow (S9+) getting delivered tonight.

Taken at nighttime, no flash S9+

Sorry wrong thread
Someone pls delete

Some pictures taken at night; pretty impressed with the camera quality and clarity:
:fingers-crossed:

Galaxo60 said:
Some pictures taken at night; pretty impressed with the camera quality and clarity:
:fingers-crossed:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The one with the shed turned out really good. The sky looks awesome

zathus said:
The one with the shed turned out really good. The sky looks awesome
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Click to collapse
Yes, camera is awesome and I'm pretty happy with the device.

Low light on this phone is incredible. Ive never seen a phone like it when it comes to the dark. https://youtu.be/ZX_JY35oFCc

jrharvey said:
Low light on this phone is incredible. Ive never seen a phone like it when it comes to the dark. https://youtu.be/ZX_JY35oFCc
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Finally we have a proof which one is better. Clearly S9+ has better cam than Google Pixel 2!
Pixel 2 eat your heart out. Finally!
THANK YOU from all XDA Members who had any doubt about which of these two phones to buy!!

androidbadboy said:
Finally we have a proof which one is better. Clearly S9+ has better cam than Google Pixel 2!
Pixel 2 eat your heart out. Finally!
THANK YOU from all XDA Members who had any doubt about which of these two phones to buy!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well to be fair I own both phones and they both have their strength and weaknesses. I prefer the google pixel 2 PICTURES right now however once GCAM gets ported to the S9 I think the advantage will 100% go to the galaxy. For now the video on the S9 is much better but if your into auto snapshots the pixel 2 still probably beats out in good lighting. Move to low light and of course the S9 just destroys the pixel 2.

jrharvey said:
Well to be fair I own both phones and they both have their strength and weaknesses. I prefer the google pixel 2 PICTURES right now however once GCAM gets ported to the S9 I think the advantage will 100% go to the galaxy. For now the video on the S9 is much better but if your into auto snapshots the pixel 2 still probably beats out in good lighting. Move to low light and of course the S9 just destroys the pixel 2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did I understand You right? You claim that Pixel 2 makes better photos than S9+ in daylight?!

androidbadboy said:
Did I understand You right? You claim that Pixel 2 makes better photos than S9+ in daylight?!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats just my personal opinion. Also I believe this will change once gcam gets ported to the S9. Its all subjective and really depends on the situation but Id much prefer the S9 camera over the pixel 2 in 95% of the situations because #1 I care more about video and #2 the daytime shots are very similar and almost not noticable however once you get in low light the S9 really flexes its muscle for sure. The dynamic range on the pixel 2 IN PICTURES during the day definately is slightly better HOWEVER when it comes to video the S9 can pull off some pretty impressive dynamic range if you have the right app or if you edit the footage in post. I dont like how contrasty samsungs video is but luckily you can pull out a ton of detail from the shadows in an editing program if you need to.

androidbadboy said:
Finally we have a proof which one is better. Clearly S9+ has better cam than Google Pixel 2!
Pixel 2 eat your heart out. Finally!
THANK YOU from all XDA Members who had any doubt about which of these two phones to buy!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
jrharvey said:
Well to be fair I own both phones and they both have their strength and weaknesses. I prefer the google pixel 2 PICTURES right now however once GCAM gets ported to the S9 I think the advantage will 100% go to the galaxy. For now the video on the S9 is much better but if your into auto snapshots the pixel 2 still probably beats out in good lighting. Move to low light and of course the S9 just destroys the pixel 2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
androidbadboy said:
Did I understand You right? You claim that Pixel 2 makes better photos than S9+ in daylight?!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
jrharvey said:
Thats just my personal opinion. Also I believe this will change once gcam gets ported to the S9. Its all subjective and really depends on the situation but Id much prefer the S9 camera over the pixel 2 in 95% of the situations because #1 I care more about video and #2 the daytime shots are very similar and almost not noticable however once you get in low light the S9 really flexes its muscle for sure. The dynamic range on the pixel 2 IN PICTURES during the day definately is slightly better HOWEVER when it comes to video the S9 can pull off some pretty impressive dynamic range if you have the right app or if you edit the footage in post. I dont like how contrasty samsungs video is but luckily you can pull out a ton of detail from the shadows in an editing program if you need to.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After having the Pixel 2 XL and now the S9+, I prefer the camera on the S9+, because Pixel 2 XL processes the pics too much and they look unreal. They are just social network ready, but not natural at all, and it usually oversharps and put a lot of drama to the pictures. They look nice at first sight, but just try to zoom a little in details and you will notice the loss in detail and quality. In low light, Pixel is just noise and grain.
Anyway, I leave here a video I really liked and to say this guy made a great job comparing both cameras:
:good:

Galaxo60 said:
After having the Pixel 2 XL and now the S9+, I prefer the camera on the S9+, because Pixel 2 XL processes the pics too much and they look unreal. They are just social network ready, but not natural at all, and it usually oversharps and put a lot of drama to the pictures. They look nice at first sight, but just try to zoom a little in details and you will notice the loss in detail and quality. In low light, Pixel is just noise and grain.
Anyway, I leave here a video I really liked and to say this guy made a great job comparing both cameras:
:good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very helpful video for the undecided ones!

UHD/60 is amazing.
Compared to my Note 8, well there is no comparison.
I'm talking low light. I can take video in a dark passageway and play it back and see more than my eyes can AND it's not a snowy, grainy mess!
That's impressive indeed!

cpufrost said:
UHD/60 is amazing.
Compared to my Note 8, well there is no comparison.
I'm talking low light. I can take video in a dark passageway and play it back and see more than my eyes can AND it's not a snowy, grainy mess!
That's impressive indeed!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seriously You can see MORE with S9+ than with your naked eyes? Do You use flashlight when looking at dark areas with S9+?
I'm SHOCKED. This is quite amazing and quite impossible.

Nope, when I look at video taken in a dark room I can make it more details than I can with my own eyes.
My eyes are good in the dark, all I need is a single 3 lumen night light to walk around in a 400 ft^2 room. Just as a security camera night (IR) mode can reveal details, it's far inferior to a brightly lit room. Our eyes work the same way. The image processing is amazing that it can reduce noise reasonably well and preserve color balance. Non of my other devices can do this.

cpufrost said:
Nope, when I look at video taken in a dark room I can make it more details than I can with my own eyes.
My eyes are good in the dark, all I need is a single 3 lumen night light to walk around in a 400 ft^2 room. Just as a security camera night (IR) mode can reveal details, it's far inferior to a brightly lit room. Our eyes work the same way. The image processing is amazing that it can reduce noise reasonably well and preserve color balance. Non of my other devices can do this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So it's final then, S9+ broke all barriers for smartphone cameras. It's the best in the world. No doubt about it. Iphone X and Pixel 2 can not hold a candle to S9+
Congrats to Samsung!

Well let's put it this way. I have an iPhone X. I use it for work and Apple dev projects. I like it a lot. It's the best iPhone I've owned. And I preferred it over my Note 8 for video based on the fact that it can do UHD at 60fps. It still has issues with AF hunting though. I have not tested the 9+ to see how it fares in that department. In the dark, however, off come the kids gloves. Video is the best I've seen. I also use Filmic Pro and ProCam on the X to get the best out of the hardware. Tough to beat physics with f 1.5. The processing helps too. SEC does need to work on the glare problems, however. And given such a small lens aperture I suppose reflections are just impossible to avoid (inter element reflections). Take video of a bright light on the ceiling or at a concert with multiple points of bright light, you will see.
As for the Pixel phones, my last Google device was the Nexus 6. Loved the dev on that phone but its time has come and gone. Hated the aesthetics of the Pixel series. The N6 had a great camera but horrible software. I don't care for TW but SEC got it right on the camera software out of the box. Ever since the S6E+. I wish they would move back to a 16MP sensor though. Shooting RAW in pro mode yielded some incredible shots that are hard to get today still.