Develop Bugs

Any tips for using the Desire camera?

Is it just me, or does the camera on the Desire really suck? Don't get me wrong, provided the subject or scene is perfectly still along with my hand, it will take really nice pictures. But if there is any movement of any kind it just blurs the images. I suspect the desire camera must have a really slow shutter speed that is causing this. If only there was some kind of adjustment for this, but i cannot see one.
I previously owned the nokia N95 8GB and the camera was far superior even on this 3 year old phone. I think the scene modes for portrait/sports/night etc helped adjust the camera very well and would have been a very useful addition to the desire IMO.
Other the the camera, the Desire is a fantastic phone. So if anyone has a workaround to help counter the blurry issue, it would be much appreciated

spen2 said:
Is it just me, or does the camera on the Desire really suck? Don't get me wrong, provided the subject or scene is perfectly still along with my hand, it will take really nice pictures. But if there is any movement of any kind it just blurs the images. I suspect the desire camera must have a really slow shutter speed that is causing this. If only there was some kind of adjustment for this, but i cannot see one.
I previously owned the nokia N95 8GB and the camera was far superior even on this 3 year old phone. I think the scene modes for portrait/sports/night etc helped adjust the camera very well and would have been a very useful addition to the desire IMO.
Other the the camera, the Desire is a fantastic phone. So if anyone has a workaround to help counter the blurry issue, it would be much appreciated
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i have answered this so many times please search before posting or starting a thread
tap and hold the screen while taking a picture this should not blur the picture

dexteral said:
tap and hold the screen while taking a picture this should not blur the picture
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I agree this was the first thing I learned when playing about with the Desire and im taking pictures flawlessly now, a definate 5 Mega Pixel improvement over my old iPhone 3G (R.I.P)/iPhone 2G/G1 cameras

Galaxy camera apk?

Hey everyone. I've been following the boards for years, literally since I had a win mobile 5 phone back in the day, but I've never posted lol. But my question is, and I've searched everywhere to no avail, would it be possible to port the samsung galaxy or droid x camera apk to the droid inc? I feel like both cameras have their strong points, and are better in some ways than the inc camera. I love the inc camera, but the one and only problem I have is the focus. When taking close up photos, there is no macro setting to get a nice clear close up pic. It will start blurry, focus into a perfectly sharp picture, then go back to blurry and snap the photo. I was boasting to my friend and girlfriend about how awesome my brand new droid inc camera was, but when I went to take a close up pic (about 6 inches away) from a cig pack, it came out blurry every time. My friends iphone 3g and my girlfriends galaxy s both took perfect focused pics. But the inc seems to lack in this department. I know the lens has the ability to focus, but maybe its a software limitation? Are there any better camera apks from other phones that will work on the inc? I've tried almost every app from the market but none offer a macro setting. My moto droid 1, and even lg dare, took great pics and both had a macro setting. And I'm fairly well versed in basic photography. Any help would be greatly appreciated! I tried searching, and I'm sorry if this its in the wrong forum.. Thanks for your help!
D Dubs
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App

leebeelobeyes said:
Hey everyone. I've been following the boards for years, literally since I had a win mobile 5 phone back in the day, but I've never posted lol. But my question is, and I've searched everywhere to no avail, would it be possible to port the samsung galaxy or droid x camera apk to the droid inc? I feel like both cameras have their strong points, and are better in some ways than the inc camera. I love the inc camera, but the one and only problem I have is the focus. When taking close up photos, there is no macro setting to get a nice clear close up pic. It will start blurry, focus into a perfectly sharp picture, then go back to blurry and snap the photo. I was boasting to my friend and girlfriend about how awesome my brand new droid inc camera was, but when I went to take a close up pic (about 6 inches away) from a cig pack, it came out blurry every time. My friends iphone 3g and my girlfriends galaxy s both took perfect focused pics. But the inc seems to lack in this department. I know the lens has the ability to focus, but maybe its a software limitation? Are there any better camera apks from other phones that will work on the inc? I've tried almost every app from the market but none offer a macro setting. My moto droid 1, and even lg dare, took great pics and both had a macro setting. And I'm fairly well versed in basic photography. Any help would be greatly appreciated! I tried searching, and I'm sorry if this its in the wrong forum.. Thanks for your help!
D Dubs
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App
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If you long press on the screen where you want it to focus, it will focus and snap the photo without pressing the track pack. This works well for close ups but it's limitation seems to be right at six inches or so, any closer and it seems to lose the ability to focus. Hopefully this helps, I'm currently running the Evo camera but if memory serves the Inc was the same way.

Yeah I've tried the evo camera but it seemed to be the same software as the inc except with an added shutter button on the screen. And I always use the touch focus instead of the track ball to snap the photo. I was really hoping someone may have heard of other cameras that were ported to the inc.
Sent from my droid incredible using the XDA app

Why all the bad press about the camera on this phone?

I took a few test shots, and the images look great! What are your thoughts on the camera guys?

I found that in dimmer lighting, it is not as impressive as advertised.
I think some of the problem is that the camera needs to be kept pretty still, so more pics are blurry due to phone movement.
I might argue that my N1 camera was better. Slower, but better pics in low lighting.
Hopefully some software tweaks can help this.

WilliamStern said:
I took a few test shots, and the images look great! What are your thoughts on the camera guys?
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compared to the sgs2 it's not as good.

Personally, I'm at a loss. As far as I can tell, 'zero shutter lag' basically means they've just removed auto focus?
Sure it takes instantaneous photos, but they are often blurry and out of focus unless I tap to focus first, then hold the phone super steady and then press the shutter (which is virtually impossible due to no physical shutter button).
So yeah, not that impressive to me and I don't get this whole zero shutter lag business.
Panorama mode is a total gimmick too, pictures are very tiny... though this is a criticism of ICS camera app and not the SGN's camera setup.

I am happy with the camera so far, I like the fact I don't have to wait 5-6s on my older phone to take another shot
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App

Here is a quick snap no "Focus Tap"
http://twitpic.com/7toyrq

it has been a hit or miss for me.
so probably when they tried it they got alot of misses lol.

i think the main thing is that a lot of people are going "5MP?!... all the other new phones are 8MP!!"
sure, it may not be able to take pictures at higher resolutions or produce quite the same quality as those 8MP cameras, but the fact that it can snap pictures instantly is a big plus.
that and even if you were to take a pic at "8MP", most likely you're not a professional photographer and you're going to be re-sizing the photo anyway.

In answer to your question, it's due to the fact there are plenty of high quality cameras out there on phones slightly older than this that produce superior photos. The GN is a beast of a phone with the latest mobile technology, but the camera is still a generation or two behind. Disappointing to say the least, but not disappointing enough to prevent me from getting it.
That's why.

Are you guys seriously that dumb?
The phone autofocuses still (without using touch to focus). Zero shutter lag means no lag WHEN TAKING THE PICTURE, AFTER IT FOCUSES.
I can't believe some people have no idea how this works lol. You still need to focus the damn thing, or wait for it to autofocus.

I find that the camera is quite good for taking pictures outdoors, but under artificial light the come out a little off. Mind you this is not messing with any settings, just taking pictures out of the box. I will say that no matter where I take the pictures and under whatever lighting, they turn out much better than my Droid 1 (which I fully expected)

I love the new software I think its a step up from the SGS2 even tho its not quite the 8MP. Yes, it may not beat the pants off the iPhone4s but really its a phone and does the job I want it to..... If I need DSLR quality I will take the DSLR out. Also, for me my pics are mostly viewed on the phone for family and friends...not for family portrait books ect. This topic is just like the battery life issue some are happy and some want perfection.... I want it too... but as our devices get better so do our expectations.

I agree the camera works great in natural sunlight, a little funky indoors under artificial light..However, since I've taken the phone out of the store i've been taking random pictures everywhere and none them have sucked so far...focus, clarity, and color are all very acceptable.
---------- Post added at 05:24 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:14 PM ----------
voxigenboy said:
i think the main thing is that a lot of people are going "5MP?!... all the other new phones are 8MP!!"
sure, it may not be able to take pictures at higher resolutions or produce quite the same quality as those 8MP cameras, but the fact that it can snap pictures instantly is a big plus.
that and even if you were to take a pic at "8MP", most likely you're not a professional photographer and you're going to be re-sizing the photo anyway.
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even if it was a 15MP camera on my phone, i still would take a point & shoot camera for my precious moments..I guess i'm old school..I just use my phone camera for spur of the moment shots..which 5MP is more than adequate for the job.

True, but pics are still only very average even when focused. Poor, poor camera for such an uptodate phone. Google really have dropped the ball on this aspect.
One day a phone will work from all aspects - soon I hope!

It is too early for me to have a solid opinion but definitely better than the Dinc's 8MP. I really like the camera app on my Asus TF I was thinking the stock ICS cam app would be similar.
I think 1080P Video is very good for a phone, second only to iphone for my eye anyway.
---------- Post added at 05:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:11 PM ----------
Danny80y said:
.... want perfection.... I want it too... but as our devices get better so do our expectations.
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/slowclap
A bit on the nose but yes I wanted a N1 but they never came to verizon so I bought it's "cousin" the Dinc. I was awed by it and still am.
The GN...Makes it look like a ugly chunky brick with a dull screen...but so do most modern offerings.

The flash on people's skin (faces, etc) make you look orange, like you have jaundice or something.
I'm sure it will be fixed, just a bit irritating.
Speed is king, though.

The phone takes really blurry photos when I do try it.
Yes, I know what how to focus. Just seems even after it finishes focuses, the images come out blurry.
I've also compared it side by side to an i4s and it's night and day difference in quality.
http://i4c.org/86
Here's one of the better ones i've taken.
But most seem to come out blurry like this
http://i4c.org/88

my camera works great so far. occasional blurry pic but not often.

Can take some great pics.
Far better than my wife's 5mpx HTC Desire!!
For some reason, people think that zero lag means they can take a crystal clear pic instantly, without any kind of focus. Well DUH! lol!
OCCASIONALLY that'll work, but quite rare.

wonshikee said:
The phone takes really blurry photos when I do try it.
Yes, I know what how to focus. Just seems even after it finishes focuses, the images come out blurry.
I've also compared it side by side to an i4s and it's night and day difference in quality.
http://i4c.org/86
Here's one of the better ones i've taken.
But most seem to come out blurry like this
http://i4c.org/88
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To me the second one looks a bit more like motion blur instead of bad autofocus. 1/17s wasn't such a fast shutterspeed (low light) so you maybe moved the phone too much while taking the picture. It's not easy to hold such lightweight and thin devices really still.
You could try out another app like vignette which offers an option called "steady shot". Then it will take the picture when the phone is hold almost still - just may take a few seconds until it takes the picture then.

[Q] Picture quality, day and night?

Hey guys/gals,
Just wondering on how the quality of the pictures are with this phone. I've seen pics taken by reviewers, but it's always better to look at it from a user's perspective. Has anybody tried playing around with the camera?
Also, can someone be kind enough to upload some sample pictures of random shots, like daylight shots, night time, and macro shots? I know the camera is supposedly very good, but it'll be nice to actually see a few real samples, especially the night time shots.

bump, anybody? hehe

Actual pics to come, but from my own experience as both a previous user of the Nexus One AND a hobby digital photographer are;
All of this is using the default Camera, default settings (except for turning OFF the shutter sound).
1. The Nitro does a rather good job in low light situations. Opting to raise the ISO more than use Flash. On more than a few occasions where I expected to see flash, it didn't. When blown-up you certainly can see the picture is grainier without the flash, but for web/facebook viewing the results are quite good and a LOT LESS harsh from not using flash.
2. LONG shot-to-shot time! I wonder what the buffer size with the camera is, IF there's even a buffer that comes with it! Because it takes me about 6 seconds between taking one picture before I'm able to take the next. Even when I try using a 3rd party app (Camera Zoom FX) I only got the time down to 3 seconds. Do NOT plan on using this phone's camera for any kid's birthday parties!!
That's all I've got for the moment, will add more when I've done more playing/testing.

Guess I can upload a bunch I took.
A note, some are taken with HDR + and others with Camera Zoom FX.
http://thewisedumbass.tumblr.com/post/14540968432 (Had to make it a post on Tumblr, pics kept messing up here)

The photos looks decent for a phone, nothing spectacular, at low light is more like "meh" - an average or slightly above, but when it comes to movies at low light I'd prefer have grain (Atrix 4G / Nitro) rather then ghosting (any other phones). On Nitro and Atrix 4G regardless of the light the picture is smooth 30fps, as opposite to Skyrocket or ANY HTC phone with 5fps and all smugged.
Here are some shots to compare:
Nitro with flash (left), no flash (right):
Atrix 4G with flash (left), no flash (right):
Also note Nitro has much lower lens focal length, which makes it capture wider surroundings. The photos were taking from 4 feet away and Nitro's photos captured much more surroundings then Atrix. Even when you hold both phones side by side the image at Nitro looks at pretty much correct distance, rather then on Atrix it looks like zoomed in. Yet, in low light Atrix's ISO captures much more light.
This is first phone camera that beat Atrix's (IMO). /me very happy with it.

Nice!! thanks guys for the details comparisons. I am liking wat i see with the Nitro. Do any of u guys find the auto focus annoying, or is there an option to do manual focus, like the atrix??

Not sure what manual focus you are talking about, but the camera does allow you to touch to pick the area to focus. Still auto-focus to the region, but better than the normal.

aquariuz23 said:
Nice!! thanks guys for the details comparisons. I am liking wat i see with the Nitro. Do any of u guys find the auto focus annoying, or is there an option to do manual focus, like the atrix??
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Neither stock nor MIUI camera has manual focus on Atrix...In fact Atrix doesn't allow you pick which part on the picture you want it focus to, it's always at the center.

Blurry Camera

Whenever I try taking a picture it takes a few tries to get it right and not blurry. I noticed many people have not had this problem as there aren't many posts about it but I find it annoying. I am coming from an HTC Sensation and that phone didn't have this problem. I think the blurriness is caused by the slight movement caused when tapping the shoot button. I also noticed that when taking photos with voice commands this problem doesn't show. I already have it on auto focus mode so can anyone tell me what else I can do? Just got it and was trying not to root or flash for awhile at least.

Have you tried gong into your camera settu ng and turned on anti-shake on? Is your lens dirty? Have you dropped your phone? If so you may have jarred something lose...try those first ones and see if that fixes the problem.
Sent from my T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S III

aamir123 said:
Whenever I try taking a picture it takes a few tries to get it right and not blurry.
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Anti-shake should definitely be on. But also, instead of tapping the shutter button, hold it down until you get the beep and green autofocus box on your target. Then, when you release the button, the shot is taken. Much less blur inducing vibration in that motion rather than in tapping. It's amazing the manual doesn't even mention that. "Burst shot" also sometimes yields good results. More pics to sort through later on in that mode, but multiple pics taken all at once increases your chances of finding a more desirable and less blurry shot out of the bunch. Good luck!

The autofocus is on and lens is clean. Also is there any way to make it so that autofocus can account for the camera tap? other than holding the button for a longer time? Any hacks?
Also holding the capture button longer doesn't always give clear shots

aamir123 said:
The autofocus is on and lens is clean. Also is there any way to make it so that autofocus can account for the camera tap? other than holding the button for a longer time? Any hacks?
Also holding the capture button longer doesn't always give clear shots
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Tap the screen where you want to focus then take the pic

So in a situation where I am moving (ie. on a plane, in a car, bus, train) this camera is useless because the phone will not take good pix? I'm sorry if I sound like a brat or anything but a camera is important on a phone as that is my only camera. Maybe a rom can fix this or a hacked version of the camera?

aamir123 said:
So in a situation where I am moving (ie. on a plane, in a car, bus, train) this camera is useless because the phone will not take good pix? I'm sorry if I sound like a brat or anything but a camera is important on a phone as that is my only camera. Maybe a rom can fix this or a hacked version of the camera?
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I always enable anti shake and it seems to work pretty good... maybe you have a faulty unit however i doubt that i never heard of it before but as i said maybe...
Sent from my SGH-T999V using xda premium

Maybe I'll give it a little time to settle, I just did a factory reset and notice a little lag as well. I did transfer a lot of sms from my old phone using sms backup pro so maybe thats causing it? But hopefully a little time will fix if not then I will try factory resetting without restoring messages.

aamir123 said:
So in a situation where I am moving (ie. on a plane, in a car, bus, train) this camera is useless because the phone will not take good pix? I'm sorry if I sound like a brat or anything but a camera is important on a phone as that is my only camera. Maybe a rom can fix this or a hacked version of the camera?
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Filmed with Galaxy S3. The camera is not useless.
http://vimeo.com/50545993#

I'm also disappointed with the camera and don't think you're being a "brat" for expecting more from this phone. Seems like the optics might be poor quality...or maybe the CCD itself. Dunno. But hopefully I'm wrong and dev's can improve the camera's performance by modifying the software at some point. The "premium upgrade" that's due soon and already out for others is supposed to fix the cam's poor low-light capabilities(among other added features), so Samsung has already admitted there are real issues with the cam. If we're lucky the upgrade will fix the other cam related stuff too.
That said, there'll be plenty of people out there willing to argue their T999's take fine pictures...Wait, there's one now! Haha... But unless our particular phones are an exception to the rule, this cam pretty clearly(pun intended) has issues. I certainly wouldn't characterize the cam as "useless" though. In fact, I actually like the video it captures better than it's still photos. All focus, shake and grainyness issues aside, as long as you're prepared to do a little post-shot processing on still photos, the cam takes 'acceptable' quality pics, IMHO.
Of course it's possible we do have bad devices. In fact, I've had multiple issues with this S3(including something like the "lag" you mentioned, interestingly enough) and will have a replacement by early next week because of those issues. I'll let you know if my new phone takes better quality photos.

Hey just to update, my camera seems to have gotten better. I messed around with it and even turned off anti-shake and turned it back on. Maybe it was just me not being able to handle the bigger phone (not as comfortable to hold, well at least without practice). But Anvil Vapor try turning off anti-shake and turning it back on. Also mess around with the hdr mode and let box turn green on its own. Pictures are much better now.
Thanks everyone.

aamir123 said:
Hey just to update, my camera seems to have gotten better. I messed around with it and even turned off anti-shake and turned it back on. Maybe it was just me not being able to handle the bigger phone (not as comfortable to hold, well at least without practice). But Anvil Vapor try turning off anti-shake and turning it back on. Also mess around with the hdr mode and let box turn green on its own. Pictures are much better now.
Thanks everyone.
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Glad to hear you're getting better results! Got my replacement S3 last Friday and have been comparing shots taken with the old and new cams. The replacement fixed every issue I was having with the phone, and it now performs more like I was expecting it to. But for me, holding and then releasing the shutter button to take the shot still captures less blurry pics than when letting it autofocus and tapping the shutter button. I do notice, though, that with the new camera HDR mode results in much less blurry pics than it used to(and maybe even less blurry than single-shot with anti-shake ON/OFF, now). So maybe the camera was bad in my old phone, or it had something to do with it's faulty mainboard. Dunno...
But for an 8MP phone camera, it's ok. And close up, macro pics look quite nice! :good: