Database Info

Dual Camera only working in Live Focus Mode and not in 2X Mode

Maybe I'm confused here, but I thought when I hit 2X in the camera app it is supposed to switch to the the telephoto lens. I covered both cameras and under 2X Mode and the same camera is used. However, in Live Focus Mode, I can cover both cameras and there is difference. Can someone explain what I'm doing wrong in 2X mode?

Nevermind, found my answer.
Apparently in low light situations the wide angle F1.7 len is used whereas in better lighting, the F2.4 Tele is used. Should be a manual setting IMO
Op can close

FAKE dual camera setup on Xiaomi Mi A1? [Not Really]

Greetings my dear Mi A1 brethren! Today I am the bearer of bad news for you guys. From unreleased source codes to headphone hissing. This problem is the final nail in Xiaomi's coffin for me. I will never ever buy another Xiaomi device again.
I have reason to believe that the "dual" camera setup on the Xiaomi is FAKE! Let me show you. Follow these steps:
1) Open up the camera app.
2) Cover ONE of the two camera lenses at the back with your finger.
2) Zoom in to 2x mode (or greater).
Did you notice something? THE CAMERA LENSES DO NOT SWITCH! The main point of the Mi A1's dual camera setup is that one lens is wide angle and the other is telephoto (as mentioned on their website). When you zoom in, the app should automatically switch cameras.
Another test is that the dual camera setup should provide a background blur (bokeh effect) on objects that are up close to the camera. Cover a lens with one of your fingers and you'll see that either the camera gets blocked by the finger or the blur effect still remains (regardless of the fact that TWO cameras are needed for a proper bokeh effect)!
Both these tests prove that one of the Xiaomi Mi A1 cameras is a dummy. Has Xiaomi lied to us again? Why would Google let them do this?
Or is it that I don't understand how dual cameras work? Someone please enlighten me. I feel I've wasted 250$ of my hard earned cash on a scam
EDIT: Nevermind! I just found out it does work. But only in manual mode or portrait mode. Strange that the app does not switch to telephoto mode automatically. Perhaps in a future update.

Have you tried manual mode

MayanKKaushik said:
Have you tried manual mode
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I did. I've edited the OP. I feel like a goof for not trying that first

No its real!
Try that in outdoor lighting conditions.
In natural lighting cover the zoom lens, and then hit the 2x zoom.
You will notice that the zoom lens is functional in good lighting conditions, not in bad light conditions.
Same with the portrait mode, thats why it is recommended to use 2x optical zoom and portrait mode in outdoor lighting conditions.

The camera decides if it should use digital zoom or telephoto lens depending on light conditions. Telephoto zoom only works with a lot of light(like portrait). If there is not enough light, digital zoom from wide angle lens is better. This even happens on iphone 7plus/8plus camera set up(if there is not enough light they just use digital zoom). However, I think that maybe it switches to wide angle digital zoom sometimes in good light conditions.

I can understand that you were concerned but please test things thoroughly before posting (or maybe Google it out). Actually the telephoto camera have a narrower aperture then the main camera. So it captures less light then the primary camera. When who cover the telephoto camera to see if it is working or not, then hit x2, it detects that there is low light (since you are covering the lens) & hence uses the primary camera. Okay, so this is how you should have tested. First go to a very will lit environment, then select 2x zoom, and then try covering the telephone camera. You will get the proper results. Hope this helps.

It's the same in Oneplus 5, for example!
Telephoto works properly only in good light situation

RayDnafsa said:
Yes, I did. I've edited the OP. I feel like a goof for not trying that first
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
should already have done that before starting a thread like this.
2017 dumbass award goes to you. smart alec.

erimin5 said:
should already have done that before starting a thread like this.
2017 dumbass award goes to you. smart alec.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

If you want to know before clicking a photo which lens is used for 2x zoom just look at the animation when you use the zoom button. If theirs an animation of zooming then it's digital zoom & if it is directly switching to 2x or 1x then it is actually switching between the lenses. And it won't change with a future update too as the OP hopes. Works the same way even on iPhones. It OK to have questions but you went too far calling it a scam, fake & never buying from Xiaomi again.

jazzthe#1 said:
No its real!
Try that in outdoor lighting conditions.
In natural lighting cover the zoom lens, and then hit the 2x zoom.
You will notice that the zoom lens is functional in good lighting conditions, not in bad light conditions.
Same with the portrait mode, thats why it is recommended to use 2x optical zoom and portrait mode in outdoor lighting conditions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But please help me, now my stock camera app there is no portrait and 2x mode , they're disappear after i've flash it to RR custom rom, but when i back to stock rom through miflash, the camera is still facing the same problems

Whats the role of the left camera?

Hi,
I was sure that the dual camera setup on this phone is that one camera has a wide angle at 27mm, and the second camera is a telephoto (zoom) at 52mm.
I was also sure that clicking the x1/x2 zoom button on the camera app will switch between the cameras, based on the mentioned above...but it doesnt.
Ive tried covering the left camera with my finger, and clicking the zoom button, and it still uses the camera on the right for both x1 and x2 zoom.
What am I missing here?

ferez said:
Hi,
I was sure that the dual camera setup on this phone is that one camera has a wide angle at 27mm, and the second camera is a telephoto (zoom) at 52mm.
I was also sure that clicking the x1/x2 zoom button on the camera app will switch between the cameras, based on the mentioned above...but it doesnt.
Ive tried covering the left camera with my finger, and clicking the zoom button, and it still uses the camera on the right for both x1 and x2 zoom.
What am I missing here?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What rom do you use?

dromaczek said:
What rom do you use?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Stock MIUI Global 9.5.3.0 (7.1.1)

ferez said:
What am I missing here?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Enough light then the secondary camera will be used for 2x zoom. Otherwise, it's always the main camera. You can test it using manual mode to ensure that the secondary camera really works. It surely is used in portrait mode, it can't be processed instantly otherwise.

leledumbo said:
Enough light then the secondary camera will be used for 2x zoom. Otherwise, it's always the main camera. You can test it using manual mode to ensure that the secondary camera really works. It surely is used in portrait mode, it can't be processed instantly otherwise.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So if there is enough light, the zoom is optical, otherwise the zoom is digital?

ferez said:
So if there is enough light, the zoom is optical, otherwise the zoom is digital?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can say so. The telephoto lens ****ty pixel size and dark aperture really suck in low light.

Nokia 7 Plus not using Telephoto lens for zoomed images

Hi,
So the Nokia 7 plus is supposed to have a Secondary telephoto lens for 2x optical zoom. But there is no way(not that I am aware of) in the Nokia camera app to use that lens.
There is a button for 2x zoom in the camera interface. But when you click that the secondary camera is not used. It is digitally zooms with the primary lens.
I was curious if the telephoto lens is actually being used or not, so i clicked different pictures with 1x and 2x zoom and when I compared the info of the pictures, both the 1x as well as 2x pictures were using the same 12.2MP/f1.8 lens.
simpler confirmation, switch 2x button and put your thumb on second lens
This makes the secondary lens just a decoration if you can't use it. (unless for the portrait shots, which I don't think is very convenient, but that's another story).
Am I missing something here? Is there a way to use the optical zoom features or is Nokia missing so something.
I have attached pictures I took.

spark25 said:
[...]I was curious if the telephoto lens is actually being used or not[...]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
btw:simpler confirmation, switch 2x button and put your thumb on second lens

spark25 said:
Hi,
So the Nokia 7 plus is supposed to have a Secondary telephoto lens for 2x optical zoom. But there is no way(not that I am aware of) in the Nokia camera app to use that lens.
There is a button for 2x zoom in the camera interface. But when you click that the secondary camera is not used. It is digitally zooms with the primary lens.
I was curious if the telephoto lens is actually being used or not, so i clicked different pictures with 1x and 2x zoom and when I compared the info of the pictures, both the 1x as well as 2x pictures were using the same 12.2MP/f1.8 lens.
This makes the secondary lens just a decoration if you can't use it. (unless for the portrait shots, which I don't think is very convenient, but that's another story).
Am I missing something here? Is there a way to use the optical zoom features or is Nokia missing so something.
I have attached pictures I took.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It indeed uses second lens when you click 1x button. The metadata is added by camera software. If what you say is true, it's just a bug in the camera software where it just stamps the first lens info on all photos.
Sent from my Nokia 7 plus using Tapatalk

fornix said:
It indeed uses second lens when you click 1x button. The metadata is added by camera software. If what you say is true, it's just a bug in the camera software where it just stamps the first lens info on all photos.
Sent from my Nokia 7 plus using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@spark25 The camera app has been using only the primary camera for me since I bought the device, and 2x mode is digital zoom. Even in the latest camera update. The only place where telephoto activates is the portrait (bokeh) mode.
Maybe they will utilize it in Pie, as it includes multi-camera api so there could be smooth transition between the two camera streams.
Edit: It does use the telephoto camera lens when there is a good lighting.
Broadcasted from Zeta Reticuli

fornix said:
It indeed uses second lens when you click 1x button. The metadata is added by camera software. If what you say is true, it's just a bug in the camera software where it just stamps the first lens info on all photos.
Sent from my Nokia 7 plus using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try putting your thumb on the secondary lens when zooming.

k3dar7 said:
btw:simpler confirmation, switch 2x button and put your thumb on second lens
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, and more solid confirmation :highfive:

Noisy shots on bokeh mode
Can someone confirm if pictures taken from the bokeh mode turn out too noisy and pixelated? The picture is very grainy and loses everything on zooming in.

The tele Lens only activates under certain conditions, when it can focus on far objects with good lighting otherwise it will use the normal lens with smaller aperture.

The secondary camera only works under certain conditions and I can confirm that if you your place the finger in front of it it just digitally zooms. It probably works only in good lighting.

spark25 said:
Hi,
So the Nokia 7 plus is supposed to have a Secondary telephoto lens for 2x optical zoom. But there is no way(not that I am aware of) in the Nokia camera app to use that lens.
There is a button for 2x zoom in the camera interface. But when you click that the secondary camera is not used. It is digitally zooms with the primary lens.
I was curious if the telephoto lens is actually being used or not, so i clicked different pictures with 1x and 2x zoom and when I compared the info of the pictures, both the 1x as well as 2x pictures were using the same 12.2MP/f1.8 lens.
simpler confirmation, switch 2x button and put your thumb on second lens
This makes the secondary lens just a decoration if you can't use it. (unless for the portrait shots, which I don't think is very convenient, but that's another story).
Am I missing something here? Is there a way to use the optical zoom features or is Nokia missing so something.
I have attached pictures I took.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The 2x Tele Lens only works when there's a good amount of light is available. (Since, photos taken with 2x Lens is bad at dark)
However, there's a trick that works sometimes:
Point your camera with with 2x Zoom at a bright white spot(area) or a bright white wall, the software will automatically switch into 2x Tele lens.
Keep in mind, using 2x Lens at dark doesn't give good results. The photos quality is worse at dark with 2x Lens (because of grainy and dark pictures)

Best photo resolution

Hi everyone!
Which resolution do you use, 12 mpx or 20 mpx? 12mpx gives you hybrid zoom x2 but phone only uses rgb lens, while 20mpx supposedly uses both lenses to create a hybrid colour/b&w pic. So which do you use? I have it on 12mpx in order to use zoom but don't really know which is best.
Cheers!

It actually depends on your preference and the situation you want to create in the photo. I use the 20mp when shooting wide angle landscapes, while im using the 12mp when shooting portraits or closeups

earl_110 said:
It actually depends on your preference and the situation you want to create in the photo. I use the 20mp when shooting wide angle landscapes, while im using the 12mp when shooting portraits or closeups
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for replying! I've actually found that shooting a normal close up pic on 12mpx shoots in kind of a wide-angle effect. Last friday celebrating carnival at school, I was able to fit in a whole class of 28 kids from a few feet away. If u look at the pic, it looks like it has been shot on a wide-angle lens!

Any more opinions on camera config are more than welcome!

I don't believe that the 20MPx option uses both cameras. When you partially cover the B&W sensor, there is no noticable effect on the photo. Looks like it is only software based up-scaling and may get you jagged edges sometimes. After some testing with 20MPx and then 20MPx resized to 12MPx just for comparison, I prefer the 12MPx default setting.

_Marian_ said:
I don't believe that the 20MPx option uses both cameras. When you partially cover the B&W sensor, there is no noticable effect on the photo. Looks like it is only software based up-scaling and may get you jagged edges sometimes. After some testing with 20MPx and then 20MPx resized to 12MPx just for comparison, I prefer the 12MPx default setting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Marian, thanks for your reply!
So on a phone with a dual camera, what would be the purpose of the dual lens?? If one is rgb and the other monocrome, don't they both work together to provide depth information and zoom? Or do all colour pics use just the one rgb lens and the other is exclusively for b&w pics?? Seems a little pointless to me...
You are totally right about the sw upscale to 20mp as any other camera app only detects a maximum resolution of 12 mp, but it seems strange to me that even on 12mp colour pictutes, the phone wouldn't use both lens (depth and zoom) because the inferior P20 Lite precisely doess that on all the reviews I read about it (I've always thought that was the point of all dual-lens cameras).
Cheers!

The B&W sensor should provide depth information. You can try different camera modes and cover the B&W sensor. The phone says "Please do not cover the lenses." in some camera modes. But if you don't put finger too close, nothing happens. I can't tell it does anything at all to the image quality which seems strange. Did they made some mistake in latest build? It only does have some effect on aperture mode when you can see heat haze effect on display. It sucks we don't have more options like jpg quality or sliders for post-process filters.