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Camera auto mode is horrible

Is anyone experiencing this, I don't see many threads?
Tonight I did a camera comparison with a friends IPhone 6 and the IPhone 6 was far superior in every sense. Images from the Z3 generally seem grainy and lack detail and sharpness.
I see a few people have mentioned that the camera is better of you manually set the options. This isn't what a smartphone is for when you need to snap a quick shot, by the time you've done all that you've missed the moment.
I swapped my LG G3 (which also took better shots) for this and I'm really underwhelmed by the camera on the Z3, which ironically is its main selling point.
Can anyone suggest some third party camera apps which would perform better?
Also do you think Sony will fix this, i owned the original Z and can recall having some camera issues. I didn't think they would still be present 4 years on.
The Z3 camera was hyped up so much, I really can't see why. Great on paper, not so good in the real world.

Xperia Z3 D6603
rm83855 said:
Is anyone experiencing this, I don't see many threads?
Tonight I did a camera comparison with a friends IPhone 6 and the IPhone 6 was far superior in every sense. Images from the Z3 generally seem grainy and lack detail and sharpness.
I see a few people have mentioned that the camera is better of you manually set the options. This isn't what a smartphone is for when you need to snap a quick shot, by the time you've done all that you've missed the moment.
I swapped my LG G3 (which also took better shots) for this and I'm really underwhelmed by the camera on the Z3, which ironically is its main selling point.
Can anyone suggest some third party camera apps which would perform better?
Also do you think Sony will fix this, i owned the original Z and can recall having some camera issues. I didn't think they would still be present 4 years on.
The Z3 camera was hyped up so much, I really can't see why. Great on paper, not so good in the real world.
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superior auto mode is basically a 8 mp with hdr and flash with some adjustments better go with the manual so you can choose a higher mega pixel.

nolihowell said:
superior auto mode is basically a 8 mp with hdr and flash with some adjustments better go with the manual so you can choose a higher mega pixel.
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I installed Pro Capture and it seems a lot better. Sony is doing half a job. You cannot supply excellent hardware and not take advantage of it with the software. It seems most people are impressed by the specs of the camera more than its ability to actually take a picture! I cannot believe how much hype surrounding this camera there was.
Have you tried the xposed module 'superiorauto 20mp'? which forces the SA mode to shoot at 20megapixels?

Mi4C vs SGS4 camera only

Hi,
How would you compare camera in Mi4c vs Galaxy s4 ? Is there any one who moved from s4 to Mi4c ? I have browsed all pages with pictures and comparison tools however cannot find real user experience. I am currently using sgs4 and camera is enough for me, however with new phone I would like to get a bit more Will I get it with Mi4C ?
Thanks

If I were in your place, I'd wait for mi5. S4 ain't a bad device

The only thing i liked about the S4 was the screen. The camera takes blurry shots 4/5 times and it lagged to no end. The Mi4c is worlds above it.

I had i9505 2 months ago I sold It and bought mi4c I think mi4c has a better camera as compared to s4 and if we talk about features of camera mi4c has awesome manual mode which s4 lacks

I agree with ermacwins. You should wait a little for mi5

hey, as far as camera is concerned the mi4c is miles ahead of the s4 (and it should be, actually, it's a flagship two years ahead !) i wasn't a sg4 owner but i have used it a lot and i'm also a previous xperia z owner (both share the same imx135 sensor) and i can safely suggest the mi4c as a camera update over the sg4. however if you are very interested in night photography mi4/mi note will suit you better (and of course mi5).

mi4c's imx258 is way ahead of s4, IMO the worst thing about mi4c's camera is the MIUI camera app itself - you've got plenty of options, but in worse light conditions it ruins 9 of 10 taken photos - a much simpler google camera takes much better pictures as it uses better exposure parameters and doesn't try to wipe out the higher ISO noise along with all the detail left
and yes, wait for the mi5 to appear - the mi4c price will drop making it even better buy

Hi, I come from a family of S4 owners but used a LG G2 instead.
The Mi4C takes much better pictures than the S4 (main reason being its fast PDAF focus). The processing is mature, it capures much more light in the same conditions as well and shutter lag is much less. Like the other people here, I advise you to wait for the Mi 5 release, but here are some pictures I took with my Mi 4c:

xdadevet said:
Hi, I come from a family of S4 owners but used a LG G2 instead.
The Mi4C takes much better pictures than the S4 (main reason being its fast PDAF focus). The processing is mature, it capures much more light in the same conditions as well and shutter lag is much less. Like the other people here, I advise you to wait for the Mi 5 release, but here are some pictures I took with my Mi 4c:
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I remember reading your comments on the xda portal camera related on cm roms. If you havent tried cm13, try it now because it has a new snapdragon camera and it rivals the miui stock camera.

adamuadamu said:
mi4c's imx258 is way ahead of s4, IMO the worst thing about mi4c's camera is the MIUI camera app itself - you've got plenty of options, but in worse light conditions it ruins 9 of 10 taken photos - a much simpler google camera takes much better pictures as it uses better exposure parameters and doesn't try to wipe out the higher ISO noise along with all the detail left
and yes, wait for the mi5 to appear - the mi4c price will drop making it even better buy
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actually the miui app has proper manual controls and the g. camera has not. but yes, in auto mode your night shots come out both blurry and full of noise. (who makes the software? the camera picks 1/12 s.s. and 3000 iso ! tons of noise and shake too ! )

ermacwins said:
I remember reading your comments on the xda portal camera related on cm roms. If you havent tried cm13, try it now because it has a new snapdragon camera and it rivals the miui stock camera.
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I'm on Team Superluminal's CM13. I'll definitely look into it. The stock camera of CM13 is horrible, it doesn't even support PDAF. At the moment I have to restore a MiUI build when I know I'm going to spend the day taking pictures, and revert back to CM13 afterwards. Thank you for letting me know, camera quality is the one thing that bugs me on AOSP.

xdadevet said:
I'm on Team Superluminal's CM13. I'll definitely look into it. The stock camera of CM13 is horrible, it doesn't even support PDAF. At the moment I have to restore a MiUI build when I know I'm going to spend the day taking pictures, and revert back to CM13 afterwards. Thank you for letting me know, camera quality is the one thing that bugs me on AOSP.
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Are you on the latest build because it was added with the ROM. I'm on a older build and had to flash the camera. There was some flickering but apparently fixed.

Oneplus 6 cuurent development with GCAM

Hi all,
I bought OP6 few months ago and went back to pixel 2xl. I was gonna go for pixel 3 but not gonna do it because of alot of issues with the device. Anyway im thinking of buying a OP6 (no 6T ) but the only thing hold me back is the camera. So my question is how's the current development with GCAM + OP6? Is is working like on OP3 + Gcam? HDR working + greenish photo issues have been fixed? Highly appreciated your input

Don't know how it worked back with the OP3 but I come from a Moto G4 Plus and GCam was miles better than stock on that phone although it was very slow to take shots.
My experience with Gcam on my OP6 has been really good. I didn't start using Gcam until a couple of weeks ago but I'd say it's pretty solid when it comes to regular photos. Video doesn't work but the stock op app works fine for that. When I compare pictures between stock and gcam the gcam can be a bit too aggressive when it comes to background blurring and zooming in on text on a whiteboard is better on stock though nightcamera is miles better on gcam.
My point being that gcam isn't superior in every single way compared to stock. Don't know if it might be gcam not working the same as on pixel 3 or the stock just being superior in some scenarios.

crazykas said:
Hi all,
I bought OP6 few months ago and went back to pixel 2xl. I was gonna go for pixel 3 but not gonna do it because of alot of issues with the device. Anyway im thinking of buying a OP6 (no 6T ) but the only thing hold me back is the camera. So my question is how's the current development with GCAM + OP6? Is is working like on OP3 + Gcam? HDR working + greenish photo issues have been fixed? Highly appreciated your input
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Let me get this straight.
You bought OP6, then went back to Pixel 2 XL (because the camera wasn't good? Or is it something else) Then you wanted Pixel 3, but it had issues.
So you want OP6 with the power of a Pixel camera by using the Gcam mod apps?
Ok, I think I can advise on this particular scenario, since I have been testing it extensively.
1) When in good lighting conditions, the stock camera of OP6 is almost as good as cameras of other flagship phones (iPhone XS, Galaxy Note 9, Huawei Mate 20 Pro etc.) I have seen multiple reviews of this camera, and during daylight, it's excellent. My own shots with this camera were very good as well.
2) When in dim lighting conditions, the stock camera of OP6 uses an oversharpening algorithm that makes images look grainy/noisy and also makes images lose a lot of fine detail. Gcam does superior noise reduction, and preserves a lot of detail, but the images come out softer than other flagship phones' . I would definitely use Gcam for low light shots.
3) However, a lowly GS9 cam (which I have access to) is still superior to this OP6 camera, in both daylight and low light scenes. There's not a large but definitely noticeable difference in detail and focus at night, and a slight difference during the day.
Conclusion: The Gcam app will not change your camera experience, unless you take a lot of shots of dimly lit scenes. Using the Gcam app will significantly help you bridge the difference between the OP6 camera and other flagship cameras.

j0nas_ said:
Don't know how it worked back with the OP3 but I come from a Moto G4 Plus and GCam was miles better than stock on that phone although it was very slow to take shots.
My experience with Gcam on my OP6 has been really good. I didn't start using Gcam until a couple of weeks ago but I'd say it's pretty solid when it comes to regular photos. Video doesn't work but the stock op app works fine for that. When I compare pictures between stock and gcam the gcam can be a bit too aggressive when it comes to background blurring and zooming in on text on a whiteboard is better on stock though nightcamera is miles better on gcam.
My point being that gcam isn't superior in every single way compared to stock. Don't know if it might be gcam not working the same as on pixel 3 or the stock just being superior in some scenarios.
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Thanks man appreciate your input.
nabbed said:
Let me get this straight.
You bought OP6, then went back to Pixel 2 XL (because the camera wasn't good? Or is it something else) Then you wanted Pixel 3, but it had issues.
So you want OP6 with the power of a Pixel camera by using the Gcam mod apps?
Ok, I think I can advise on this particular scenario, since I have been testing it extensively.
1) When in good lighting conditions, the stock camera of OP6 is almost as good as cameras of other flagship phones (iPhone XS, Galaxy Note 9, Huawei Mate 20 Pro etc.) I have seen multiple reviews of this camera, and during daylight, it's excellent. My own shots with this camera were very good as well.
2) When in dim lighting conditions, the stock camera of OP6 uses an oversharpening algorithm that makes images look grainy/noisy and also makes images lose a lot of fine detail. Gcam does superior noise reduction, and preserves a lot of detail, but the images come out softer than other flagship phones' . I would definitely use Gcam for low light shots.
3) However, a lowly GS9 cam (which I have access to) is still superior to this OP6 camera, in both daylight and low light scenes. There's not a large but definitely noticeable difference in detail and focus at night, and a slight difference during the day.
Conclusion: The Gcam app will not change your camera experience, unless you take a lot of shots of dimly lit scenes. Using the Gcam app will significantly help you bridge the difference between the OP6 camera and other flagship cameras.
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Lol. Yeah i went back because of the camera. Once you use a pixel it is hard to find a good camera phone. Yes. I dont wanna go for Pixel 3 due to remaining issues. Here is the thing, only thing i love about Pixel devices are Stock fluid system + superior camera. But i was a oneplus user few years back. Thanks for your long explaination. May i ask you how do i get GS9 cam apk? Only drawback of coming to OP was the camera. Im gonna give it a try

crazykas said:
Thanks man appreciate your input.
Lol. Yeah i went back because of the camera. Once you use a pixel it is hard to find a good camera phone. Yes. I dont wanna go for Pixel 3 due to remaining issues. Here is the thing, only thing i love about Pixel devices are Stock fluid system + superior camera. But i was a oneplus user few years back. Thanks for your long explaination. May i ask you how do i get GS9 cam apk? Only drawback of coming to OP was the camera. Im gonna give it a try
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Sorry, but GS9 camera comparisons are from an actual GS9 phone, which my friend owns.
If your sole issue is camera performance, then don't go back to OP6. It's just not as good as flagship cameras.

nabbed said:
Sorry, but GS9 camera comparisons are from an actual GS9 phone, which my friend owns.
If your sole issue is camera performance, then don't go back to OP6. It's just not as good as flagship cameras.
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totally agree. let's also say that other flagship could cost (in some cases) more than 2 OP6 put together.
comparisons are soooooooooo sweeeeeeet..
I spend most of my free time looking comparisons between phones but we gotta face the fact that there is a CONSISTENT price difference between a MATE 20 PRO or the lastest iPhone and an OP6 (or maybe two, lmao), and still I think that so much money won't giustify the quality difference.
my2cents

nabbed said:
Sorry, but GS9 camera comparisons are from an actual GS9 phone, which my friend owns.
If your sole issue is camera performance, then don't go back to OP6. It's just not as good as flagship cameras.
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MetalSir said:
totally agree. let's also say that other flagship could cost (in some cases) more than 2 OP6 put together.
comparisons are soooooooooo sweeeeeeet..
I spend most of my free time looking comparisons between phones but we gotta face the fact that there is a CONSISTENT price difference between a MATE 20 PRO or the lastest iPhone and an OP6 (or maybe two, lmao), and still I think that so much money won't giustify the quality difference.
my2cents
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Thank you both. The reason that pixel camera is great beacuse it is just point and shoot. 9 out of 10 it will produce blurr6 free perfect photo without any editing. Most of other cameras won't do that. To be honest im not a photographer or i dont take photos alot ( like used to be). So it is good that i can relay on a camera that will capture that moment without a fail. But if the GCAM port can catch up to that I'll ho back to Oneplus. I know that there is a huge price difference. Thanks though. Really appreciate your help

Can someone please explain the reason for the photo quality difference on the OP7P?

Hey, All...
I'm on the newest 9.5.7 on my 12/256 OP7P that I ordered direct from OP.
Although the updates are making the camera better, I still can't wrap my mind around how there can be such a detail and focus issue between photos and apps on the SAME device. To me, that means that it's software that is the issue, and not actually hardware quality...
Here's a comparison of two photos I took with the same conditions in the same distance in the same lighting. One is from the G cam app on my OnePlus 7 Pro and the other is from the stock camera on my OnePlus 7 Pro How can there be such a difference?
Needless to say, the photo that looks better and has much more detail is from the G cam app
To be totally transparent, I also have a Pixel 3XL that I use
Thanks for helping me understand!

Yay for black cats! I have one, too.
Anyhoo, if you're trying to understand the difference in quality between Google's software and OP's, I don't think it's fair. Google's software for their camera is the best on the market. Even the likes of Samsung haven't beaten them yet (for still images and night shots). Personally, I'm happy with the stock camera performance on this 7 Pro because I don't really demand the bleeding edge camera performance on a phone. Not to suggest that you require that, most of us just want usable pics to share online with each other.
Pixel 3a is $400 and has the second best camera (behind the regular Pixel 3) on the market. For some folks, the camera is the number one reason for choosing their phone. For me, it's like number 4 on my list. I didn't like the 6T performance because even for regular shots that I shared online, it was hot garbage. But they've made enough improvement to it on this 7 Pro to make day to day living and photo shooting fair enough. When I need just that much more quality (especially at low light), I just use the Gcam.

There is a lot of software voodoo going on to improve pictures. It isn't just capture the image, and there it is. Lots of processing goes on to take the raw data and convert it into an image.
Google has some smart people working there to have their code to some real good work.

stuff said:
There is a lot of software voodoo going on to improve pictures. It isn't just capture the image, and there it is. Lots of processing goes on to take the raw data and convert it into an image.
Google has some smart people working there to have their code to some real good work.
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I wonder how good the actual hardware is on the pixel 3xl camera compared to the OP7P then, lol.

KillerQ said:
I wonder how good the actual hardware is on the pixel 3xl camera compared to the OP7P then, lol.
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In my opinion, I don't think it's any better or worse tbh. The capability of the camera application is crucial.
Google put all their effort into taking the best "auto" photos it can conjure up. That's why there doesn't exist the ability to manually change it.
But that camera app is also designed specifically for that HW camera (whichever hw model Pixel it is).
Google just knows what they are doing in that dept.

stuff said:
There is a lot of software voodoo going on to improve pictures. It isn't just capture the image, and there it is. Lots of processing goes on to take the raw data and convert it into an image.
Google has some smart people working there to have their code to some real good work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
stuff said:
In my opinion, I don't think it's any better or worse tbh. The capability of the camera application is crucial.
Google put all their effort into taking the best "auto" photos it can conjure up. That's why there doesn't exist the ability to manually change it.
But that camera app is also designed specifically for that HW camera (whichever hw model Pixel it is).
Google just knows what they are doing in that dept.
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So, this means, as soon as someone comes up with an amazing G cam port for our phone, we'll be sitting pretty just like everyone else.

KillerQ said:
So, this means, as soon as someone comes up with an amazing G cam port for our phone, we'll be sitting pretty just like everyone else.
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Don't take my word 100% on it, but I believe that is the case.

Thoughts on the P40 Pro

I know a lot of people (including myself) are bitter about how the updates to our device have been. As much as i want to move away from Huawei I can't help, but lean towards getting the P40 Pro. Mainly towards the camera aspect as I'm a photographer and like having what's essentially a pro camera in my pocket. So what are people's thoughts on the phone? Let's keep the whole Google and Huawei controversy out of the discussion please as we all know how stupid it is, but there are work arounds in the P40 Pro forums so it's nothing that really worries me.

I moved from p30 Pro to P40 pro - The main camera on par with better shots in the dark wors night mode?
Zoom is a lot better, but far from other cameras
Wide 18mm vs 16mm??? Bad move difference with main camera is not so big now and definitely far from Samsung's 13mm.
AI changed a lot especially in wide camera - pictures are not so punchy like P30's
Video is a lot better all over it but the zoom is not very good
Overall good improvement but not overwhelming.
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From:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/huawei-p40-pro/review/photo-quality-t4067711
Just a Post from the P40pro Board.
--
Yes, Google is Possible on the P40pro, but i know this from my Kindle Fire Tablet, i am not really happy with it. (Blocker for me)
Updates: Another Blocker for me.
Bootloader: Another Blocker. (is essential after official Updates for me)
Besides that i am really happy with the Quality of my P20Pro, and i am sad about the above points... and i am sure the P40pro makes phantastic pictures.
https://www.dxomark.com/huawei-p40-front-camera-review/
i also want my next camera with 2 front cameras, i like to take selfies
I also use zoom a lot.
So my next camera will be something like the p40pro , but no more huawei i am afraid.

As good as Huawei hardware is, there is no way I'm ever buying a Huawei phone again unless they roll back their locked bootloader policy. Which they won't.

Nibb31 said:
As good as Huawei hardware is, there is no way I'm ever buying a Huawei phone again unless they roll back their locked bootloader policy. Which they won't.
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What he said.
Never again.
I'll go with the new oneplus 8pro

No matter how good the phone is now, if it doesnt get updates, its dumb.

I'm pretty happy with my p40 pro so far and I migrated from p20 pro about 2weeks now