Take better low pictures using google camera and HDR mode - HTC One A9

Hi Guys,
I wanted to let you all know that I happened to install Google camera as I was not particularly impressed with the noisy low light photos of the stock camera app.
I was pleasantly surprised to see the results using the google camera after enabling the HDR mode ,the low lights are vastly better than the stock camera in HDR mode, also photos in HDR mode with the google camera are saved much faster than the stock camera in the HDR mode.
Please note that google camera doesn’t show up for me in play store ,so I have side loaded 3.1.025 version .it’s not all rosy though, as the video mode is not working for me and there are occasional FC’s while the pic has been clicked and if you press the home button.
But despite all these, I honestly can’t go back to the stock camera for low light photos,I would suggest you all give it a try and let me know your thoughts.
Cheers.

Attaching some low light picture taken using the google camera.dont have the stock app photos side by side for comparison.sorry.

I have found low light with stock RAW very good as you can control noise levels and lights, even the simple gallery app DNG post treatment make very good results

vegetaleb said:
I have found low light with stock RAW very good as you can control noise levels and lights, even the simple gallery app DNG post treatment make very good results
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the Tip mate ,would try it out.I am inclined towards google camera because without any post processing the images have lesser noise compared to the stock camera.I would try to post some better pics,I will admit the ones I have put dont make a strong case for themselves because I was just trying them out
Cheers.

Related

HTC Sense 3.0 Camera

I was testing out the HDR options for this and they do not seem to do much at all. There is a difference, but it is VERY minor. I took a shot without HDR, one with HDR, and then one using the free HDR app, and the HDR app simply blew the HTC HDR mode completely out of the water...
Has anyone else had any experience with this? Is there something I may be missing?
HDR always seemed like something better left to photo editing software to me (like photoshop). Phone camera filters always seem kind of lackluster, but then again, none of us are taking professional shots with a cell camera I assume
On topic though, I wouldn't doubt it being better. Sense stuff isn't exactly always perfection as far as software quality and HDR was probably just an afterthought tied into the camera so they could tick off a notch somewhere on some sheet for features.
Absolutely the same as my experience. I used HDR Camera from the market before this (free), and I really loved its results. When I installed the 3.0 Sense camera and saw the HDR setting, I was happy until I tried it. My theory is that it is NOT taking multiple pictures, but only doing an image adjustment --->> NOT the same thing. HDR Camera doesn't have the issues that some of you described. You do not have to be rock steady and my phone is plenty fast enough to take the three photos within about a second. The image settings are also adjustable (color, etc.).
On the other hand, the panorama mode in the Sense camera is Awesome!
yareally said:
HDR always seemed like something better left to photo editing software to me (like photoshop). Phone camera filters always seem kind of lackluster, but then again, none of us are taking professional shots with a cell camera I assume
On topic though, I wouldn't doubt it being better. Sense stuff isn't exactly always perfection as far as software quality and HDR was probably just an afterthought tied into the camera so they could tick off a notch somewhere on some sheet for features.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Software cannot do what HDR does. HDR takes 2 pictures, adjusting the gain on the sensor between low and high. It combines the best of both images to gain detail in low light areas and avoid over exposure in high light areas. Software will not work after the fact because the extra information gained from low/high gain is not present. Unfortunately the HDR option is poorly implemented by HTC. If you try HDR on the Iphone, you can see a drastic difference.
Actually, I use Pro HDR on my Evo, and it takes fantastic pictures in true HDR. It is a touch slower than a pro camera, but it does actually meter the scene and adjust the camera's aperture accordingly. It then allows for adjustments between the composite image and allows for saving the final as well as the source images, meaning you can do further editing elsewhere. Outside of some cropping, I haven't had problems.
With that said, I would be curious to know what the deal is with Sense. What's interesting is if you put it in HDR mode, it shows the little icon in the top right with multiple images...like whoever designed it at least understood how true HDR *should* operate. Then, if you push and release it instead of the regular shutter button, it beeps and you hear the lens go, and the image focuses itself. So...idk. I don't see a noticeable effect in the regular images at all...

[Q] 3rd party camera apps vs. stock

What's your experience on 3rd party camera apps such as Snap Camera, A better camera, Camera Zoom FX etc. in comparison to stock google cam app? Do they perform any better in point-and-shoot scenarios? Some of these apps recently got support for camera2 API on Nexus 5. Does that actually change anything except RAW support and 4k video recording?
I use "A Better Camera", and shoot in "Super" mode. I took several pictures with the google camera in various levels of light, on normal and HDR, and took the same with A Better Camera using normal, HDR, and Super. Super looks hands down the best. When zooming the pictures in all of the way, you can easily see that A Better Camera's pictures taken as Super contain the most detail and most accurate colors. A Better Camera's HDR also beats the stock camera HDR in detail. For low light A Better Camera destroys the Google Camera.
Edit: Also, A Better Camera focuses better than the stock camera, and doesn't need to refocus every several seconds.
I do not use any post processing.
DeathKoil said:
I use "A Better Camera", and shoot in "Super" mode. I took several pictures with the google camera in various levels of light, on normal and HDR, and took the same with A Better Camera using normal, HDR, and Super. Super looks hands down the best. When zooming the pictures in all of the way, you can easily see that A Better Camera's pictures taken as Super contain the most detail and most accurate colors. A Better Camera's HDR also beats the stock camera HDR in detail. For low light A Better Camera destroys the Google Camera.
Edit: Also, A Better Camera focuses better than the stock camera, and doesn't need to refocus every several seconds.
I do not use any post processing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just have it a shot and your right!! Thanks for the suggestion!
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Free mobile app
I installed it and it certainly takes a better picture, but I cannot find any "super" setting.
Where is the super setting?
You need premium
Also, do I need premium for it to zoom? I can't get it to zoom like the regular camera does.
You shouldn't need premium for the Super setting. Tap the circle at bottom right to get shooting mode settings, and Super should be the tile in the middle. For zoom, swipe down from the top to get the settings menu, tap More settings (at bottom), tap Viewfinder settings, tap More, and make sure Show zoom control is checked. Then, when you go back to the main (picture-taking) screen, swipe from left to right to bring the zoom slider out.
Thank you for the clear explanations.
I found the zoom control hidden on left. I had been trying to zoom using 2 finger stretch like in other apps but didn't work here.
But super is not there. I purchased the app but as you see in the screenshot there is no super.....
Odd... yours has Night where mine has Super (2nd screenshot). Super was there for me in the free version too.
Well, at least I'm not going blind.
I have the latest version. Just purchased it.
I thought I edited my post to say I'd figured it out, but something didn't save... anyway, if you are running Lollipop, pull down your settings menu, tap More settings, tap General Settings, tap More, then make sure Use Camera2 Interface is checked. Then you will have the Super option available. (If you're still running KitKat, that won't work since KK doesn't use the Camera2 interface.)
Thank you.
I'm still on kitkat. So no super mode. ?

Improving camera quality

Hello everyone, I will be getting my Mi A1 in a week or two and I'm really looking forward to it. Well.. l maybe not the camera as I've seen it get some harsh reviews, especially in low light. That's why I want a thread here on how to improve the image quality. Looking into the matter it seems like google camera with hdr+ is the best bet so far? However can we share settings and tweaks here to improve it further. Also posting pictures for comparison versus stock would be great. :highfive::good::good:
I have an Mi A1 as my moto broke and needed one staright away. Being in Asia for work I had easy access to it.
I have used dark cameras for. Long time and can see that the algorithm to bump up the iso could do with a bit of modifying.. I have not had much chance to take shots.. took about 10 in total..
I will take a few shots in differing light and then import them into PC Lightroom and push a few shadows and raise iso and see what is the best result.
That info might be useful to those involved.. of what I have seen, the focus is okay, but high iso is a killer.. will report here again in a week or so.
It helps if you Untick "Enhance low light images automatically" under Settings and then shoot pictures under low light conditions with HDR on. The HHT or Hand Held Twilight mode doesn't help much also..
The_Runner said:
It helps if you Untick "Enhance low light images automatically" under Settings and then shoot pictures under low light conditions with HDR on. The HHT or Hand Held Twilight mode doesn't help much also..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What are your favorite settings when you shot in low light conditions ?
- Hdr ?
- HHT ?
- Untick or Tick "Enhance low light images automatically"
FerrarisIV said:
What are your favorite settings when you shot in low light conditions ?
- Hdr ?
- HHT ?
- Untick or Tick "Enhance low light images automatically"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't use HHT .. isn't of much help..
Hdr is on
HHT off
Untick enhance low light images..
I tried every combination, thats the best one, if u keep the camera still.. at least the ISO problem is partially reduced.
But if you use manual mode . You can really get some good shots
Here are is a sample on manual mode. I used a light source, an led torch.
Thanks a lot: I will try, also in manual mode.
Anyway did you try Google Camera, and what is your opinion about it compared with stock camera ?
The_Runner said:
Here are some samples on manual mode. I used a light source, an led torch.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FerrarisIV said:
Thanks a lot: I will try, also in manual mode.
Anyway did you try Google Camera, and what is your opinion about it compared with stock camera ?
ps: cannot see images
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No i didn't try that still.. I'm waiting for the Oreo build to see if they improve the camera a bit. And then I'll opt for Gcam, though i know HDR+ mode is great. bt still wanna give the stock a run
Ps: you can now see those images. One of them got inverted. My bad
The_Runner said:
No i didn't try that still.. I'm waiting for the Oreo build to see if they improve the camera a bit. And then I'll opt for Gcam, though i know HDR+ mode is great. bt still wanna give the stock a run
Ps: you can now see those images. One of them got inverted. My bad
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks again. I am waiting for Oreo, too. But I don't know if i can wait to try Google Camera with Eis and Hdr+
FerrarisIV said:
Thanks again. I am waiting for Oreo, too. But I don't know if i can wait to try Google Camera with Eis and Hdr+
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same with me.. I also cant wait after seeing those HDR+ shots, but then, Oreo is just a few days away.. so
The_Runner said:
Same with me.. I also cant wait after seeing those HDR+ shots, but then, Oreo is just a few days away.. so
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not few days.. some weeks :highfive
anyway i am studying for Unlock and Rooting the device
Still waiting for my a1 to arrive, stupid slow swedish customs.. I think mine will be unlocked asap to push the limits! :victory:
enricogrim said:
I've rooted my phone and installed modded gcam with hdr+ and eis enabled. Honestly I don't see so much improvement in photos...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really? Did you try to shot in low light conditions with Hdr + ? here should have difference... also if i still never tried everybody confirm this
enricogrim said:
I've rooted my phone and installed modded gcam with hdr+ and eis enabled. Honestly I don't see so much improvement in photos...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which version of Gcam and what settings do you use? I can clearly see vast improvement of low light photos taken with Gcam.
enricogrim said:
Yes, I did some shots in low light conditions with gcam and stock camera and they are very similar. I will try more shots.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try try, i wait for you :good::laugh:
enricogrim said:
I'm using GCam5.1.016-Arnova8G2-V1.3 and settings of Nexus 6 as suggested.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try this one: MGC_5.1.014_7.0H_C2API_v.1.5g_AllinOne.apk (model Nexus 6P, Config HDR+ Pixel 2016 Zsl Hdr, HDR+ High)
I've taken a couple with both apps, here's a few samples (HDR on both): (Left:Stock cam; Right: Google cam)
JaadiBooti said:
I've taken a couple with both apps, here's a few samples (HDR on both): (Left:Stock cam; Right: Google cam)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Incredible difference
MI A1 DETAILED REVIEW AFTER COUPLE OF DAYS OF USAGE.
Pros :
1) Potrait shots are exceptionally well in good light conditions.
2) HDR works pretty well in Daylight.
3) The Dirac Sound built in is fabulous both in terms of speakers & on headphones.
4) Build quality is amazing.
5) Voice quality is very very clear.
Cons:
1) Night mode is really really bad.(Too much noise & Shaky pictures are captured ,loses focus most of the time)
2) Lack of image stabilization while clicking pictures in HDR mode as well as normal mode.
(Slight shaking of phone loses focus in HDR mode and makes pictures blurry)(MUST NEEDED IN NEXT UPDATE)
3) HDR mode in artificial light feels too much exposed over bright light and image feels too artificial.
4) No Electronic image stabilization (EIS) while shooting video its too shaky & not upto the mark.(MUST NEEDED IN NEXT UPDATE)
5) 2X shots are not that great when zoomed even 50% and also are much noisy at times.
6) The UI is smooth but feels at times having less transiston.(Forced swipe has to be done from up to down & from down to up)
7) Selfies are bit artificial at times want it more natural and too much beautification is being applied.
8) In phone app while clearing the call history the app crashes and doesn't clear the call history. It force stops.
Shots by stock cam, with optical zoom 10x and our 2x optical zoom. In last pictures I used digital zoom, too.
image host

A Guide for Better Photography [How to use manual mode][camera api2 pros]

It is boring to always use the auto mode in camera so let's try the manual mode and have greater quality pictures, which is better than auto mode.
What is manual mode ?
Manual mode is one of the main settings on your camera, and it lets you manually control shutter speed, white balance, manual focus, and ISO in most. These three settings work together to control the how bright or dark your photo is (known as exposure), as well as change the overall look of the image.
What is ISO ?
In photography ISO measures the sensitivity of the image sensor. The same principles apply as in film photography – the lower the number the less sensitive your camera is to light and the finer the grain. Higher ISO settings are generally used in darker situations to get faster shutter speeds.
What is Shutter Speed ?
In photography, shutter speed or exposure time is the length of time when the film or digital sensor inside the camera is exposed to light, also when a camera's shutter is open when taking a photograph. The amount of light that reaches the film or image sensor is proportional to the exposure time.
What is White balancing ?
White balancing is a process in which a camera will attempt to detect the type of white light largely visible in different environments. This is typically utilized to account for different light sources (fluorescent, incandescent, etc.), as well as different weather types and times of day (overcast, sunny, sunset, etc.). White balance generally focuses on collecting the proper temperature of white light in a scene, which ranges from cold (blue-tinted) to warm (orange or gold-tinted).
This is one setting that is often best left on automatic settings, unless the viewfinder suggests that the automatic white balance is obviously wrong. Of note, RAW images will have to be manually white balanced in post-processing, as RAW shooting will not modify the white balance in-camera.
What is Manual Focus ?
Manual focus controls are a more recent and much-appreciated addition to the control suite of manual smartphone photographers. Most camera apps features a simple and intuitive circular slider which can be used to accurately set focus manually in lieu of the jumpier and imperfect auto-focus, something which is often exaggerated when trying to take photos of close subjects. If you want to take a closer pic of something very near try macro focus.
What is Manual exposure ?
manual exposure is a small supplement to ISO and shutter speed settings, and it is one of the rarer manual settings one will find in smartphone camera applications. If a combination of shutter speed and ISO produce an unsatisfying image, manual exposure is often offered as a way of tweaking the brightness of an image in-camera. It can quite easily be replaced by simply modifying brightness after taking the photo, but it can sometimes be more efficient to get the image right the first time.
What do we have in our Lenovo P2 :
I had Camera api2 activated and snap camera hdr+ and oneplus 5 camera apps.
Shutter speed
Minimum 0.68s maximum 1/96423s
ISO
Minimum 100 Maximum 19200
Verdict approximate values
In low light condition
Higher ISO [ 500 ~ 19200 aprx] + Higher shutter speed [0.68 ~ 1/200 aprx]
In heavy light condition
Lower ISO [below 500 aprx] + Lower shutter speed [1/200s ~ 1/96423s aprx]
Camera Api2 advantages
Raw image capture support
In depth manual mode control
Enable camera api2
https://forum.xda-developers.com/lenovo-p2/themes/flashable-zip-activating-camera-api2-t3724207
Which app is best for manual mode?
? Snap camera HDR
https://www.google.co.in/search?q=Snap+camera+HDR+paid+apk&gws_rd=cr&dcr=0&ei=bXs-WuDaI4HEvQSYyLWQDQ [Google search result page, Cuz many getting confused about this app]
? Oneplus 5 camera
Download link https://forum.xda-developers.com/lenovo-p2/themes/stable-oneplus-5-camera-t3709983
? Adobe Photoshop Lightroom CC
? Camera FV 5
Reserved [for samples]
I can't use the RAW format, the scrren get mad and the camera crash, am i the only one with this problem?
Liacon said:
I can't use the RAW format, the scrren get mad and the camera crash, am i the only one with this problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Screenshot
It's like this with all the camera apps that have avaible the raw format
At first I was thinking that the problem it's present because I usa a micro sd, but the image gets mad even without it.
I'm on the last lineage build by Higway Star
Liacon said:
It's like this with all the camera apps that have avaible the raw format
At first I was thinking that the problem it's present because I usa a micro sd, but the image gets mad even without it.
I'm on the last lineage build by Higway Star
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only the bug in camera driver can make mess like this.
Wonder Wicked Witch said:
Only the bug in camera driver can make mess like this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So it's a rom's related problem?
Liacon said:
So it's a rom's related problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same issue on stock s244, with every app.
Also, I've seen many others
Liacon said:
So it's a rom's related problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
icsdia said:
Same issue on stock s244, with every app.
Also, I've seen many others
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe due to changing roms in mobiles the camera driver can get into buggy, not confirmed yet.
If you want Camera with Raw capture try "snap camera HDR" with force HAL1 enabled in-app setting.
If you looking for completely manual configuration try camera api2 ON in-app setting.
[camera api2 HAL3 vs HAL1 screenshots]
I can't find force hal1, sucks.
At least the manual controls it's a very sweet thing
Liacon said:
I can't find force hal1, sucks.
At least the manual controls it's a very sweet thing
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you check it out properly? It is in-built in app itself.
Wonder Wicked Witch said:
Did you check it out properly? It is in-built in app itself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have check the same option that you show in your screen shot, but maybe it's because I have the trial version
Liacon said:
I can't use the RAW format, the scrren get mad and the camera crash, am i the only one with this problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same problem here.
Liacon said:
I have check the same option that you show in your screen shot, but maybe it's because I have the trial version
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe you can get it for free if you Google it.
YoYoRishi said:
Same problem here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With camera api2 raw fails as it is not supported in P2 right now. But without camera api2 or with Hal1 enabled you can capture raw image in DNG format.

The image quality of the camera is a LOT worse than advertised

Hello there, other S10e owners,
Recently, I took advantage of an early Black Friday sale to get an S10e, the phone I was craving for a while. They said the image quality is on par with the Pixel 3 after the May update, but in reality, it's just as noisy and "oil-paintingish" as my Xperia Z1 Compact from four (!!!) years ago.
The samples are in the attachment of this forum post; the first and the third image was taken with the Google Camera app, and the second and forth one with the Samsung Camera app. The first two images were taken with HDR, but the latter ones without HDR.
As you can see in the non-HDR pictures, the Samsung Camera picture has less noise, but cold, washed-out colours and less detail thanks to the aggressive noise cancellation.
On the other hand, the Google Camera image has the correct colour representation and more detail, but with the sacrifice of noise cancellation.
With HDR+, though... Things get even worse. The Samsung Camera app now blurs out even more detail and the Google Camera app just cranks up the ISO to levels that make the image too bright.
In conclusion, the image quality is not on the promised levels, but I hope there's something I can do with it (like a good setup.xml file that can fix GCam to shoot exceptionally good images in both sun- and low light or fixing the Samsung Camera app). So, in order to fix this, I need your help. Please give me advice to pimp back up the image quality to the levels I saw in camera reviews.
Edit: Oops, I forgot to mention that I have the Exynos version.
ThePS4Gamer said:
Hello there, other S10e owners,
Recently, I took advantage of an early Black Friday sale to get an S10e, the phone I was craving for a while. They said the image quality is on par with the Pixel 3 after the May update, but in reality, it's just as noisy and "oil-paintingish" as my Xperia Z1 Compact from four (!!!) years ago.
The samples are in the attachment of this forum post; the first and the third image was taken with the Google Camera app, and the second and forth one with the Samsung Camera app. The first two images were taken with HDR, but the latter ones without HDR.
As you can see in the non-HDR pictures, the Samsung Camera picture has less noise, but cold, washed-out colours and less detail thanks to the aggressive noise cancellation.
On the other hand, the Google Camera image has the correct colour representation and more detail, but with the sacrifice of noise cancellation.
With HDR+, though... Things get even worse. The Samsung Camera app now blurs out even more detail and the Google Camera app just cranks up the ISO to levels that make the image too bright.
In conclusion, the image quality is not on the promised levels, but I hope there's something I can do with it (like a good setup.xml file that can fix GCam to shoot exceptionally good images in both sun- and low light or fixing the Samsung Camera app). So, in order to fix this, I need your help. Please give me advice to pimp back up the image quality to the levels I saw in camera reviews.
Edit: Oops, I forgot to mention that I have the Exynos version.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please give me the Gcam download link. I couldn't find any Gcam version that worked well on my S10e Exynos. Thanks
Julyh0rse.ManU said:
Please give me the Gcam download link. I couldn't find any Gcam version that worked well on my S10e Exynos. Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you can do something with it, here's the link: GCam Exynos APK
In sunlight, it should theoretically work with the stock settings, but they say it's recommended to change the auto-exposure correction to 1/2 sec, the Night Sight correction to 1/4 sec and the exposure compensation to -3,0 to get the best out of daytime GCam photos.
For Night Sight images, it's recommended to use the mackytravel-nightsight.xml file without any changes for outdoor night photos and for indoors, turn off auto-exposure correction and exposure compensation, change the Night Sight correction to 1
or 2 sec (depending on the level of darkness) and in the Advanced drop-down menu, turn off the ISO limit. This way, you can get more detail out from the S10e's powerful camera sensors.
Lastly, if you'd like to shoot something with the wide-angle lens, just change the auxiliary camera switching method to the long-press method.
You can find my GCam config folder with all of the said configuration files at the link here.
Just install the GCam apk, copy-paste the config folder to the root of your internal storage (/storage/emulated/0/) and double tap on the black area around the shutter button to choose between the three configuration files.
I've noticed a similar thing with my camera on my SD 855 model where images taken using the camera just don't look very natural or realistic. They look very much like a painting!
Currently I get better results with HDR on and scene optimiser turned off.
My iPhone 7 photos still look a bit more natural at times but obviously less detailed.
Sent from my SM-G970F using Tapatalk

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