Hi,
this app works on my HTC One X.
The first app with working user customized exposure time (attached pictures)!
Camera FV-5 > Google Play
description said:
Camera FV-5 is a professional camera application for mobile devices, that puts DSLR-like manual controls in your fingertips. Tailored to enthusiast and professional photographers, with this camera application you can capture the best raw photographs so that you can post-process them later and get stunning results. The only limit is your imagination and creativity!
Major features:
• All photographic parameters are adjustable and always at hand: exposure compensation, ISO, light metering mode, focus mode, white balance and program mode.
• DSLR-like viewfinder display: see exposure time, aperture and stops display with EV and bracketing settings.
• Full fledged exposure bracketing: from 3 to 7 frames, unlimited stops spacing, plus custom EV shifting.
• Built-in intervalometer: make stunning timelapses (even bracketed/HDR timelapses) and time-controlled picture series.
• Program and Speed-priority modes.
• Long exposure support: take beautiful night photos and light trails with long exposure times up to 60 seconds*.
• JPEG as well as RAW (PNG**) image formats for lossless photo capturing, perfect for post-processing.
• EXIF and XMP sidecar metadata support.
• Self timer for delayed shooting.
• Autofocus, macro, touch-to-focus*** and infinity focus modes, plus a focus lock switch (AF-L).
• In background photo developing and processing allows a smooth, uninterrupted camera operation.
This camera application completely avoids scene modes, instead you get full manual control over all photographic parameters, just like you do with a reflex camera, so you can ultimately control every aspect of the picture, and leave the post-processing to the computer. So after your DSLR, you will never miss a photo opportunity again, being able to capture it with the closer sensation to your DSLR as possible.
If you find a bug using the application, please, visit the web page http://www.camera.flavionet.com or write to [email protected] with your phone model name and the description of the problem, before writing a negative comment. Customer satisfaction is my priority, and I will try to fix it as soon as possible!
* Long exposures lowers picture resolution to 2 or 1 MP, depending models. The reason is explained here: http://www.camera.flavionet.com/faq.php#long-exposure-resolution
** Lossless PNG saving is a memory intensive operation. Some devices might need to raise the memory limit for Camera FV-5 to save PNG pictures. See the FAQ here: http://www.camera.flavionet.com/faq.php#png-memory
*** Touch-to-focus available only on Motorola, HTC and Nvidia camera drivers, plus some Samsung drivers and other phones.
Click to expand...
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with friendly greet
starbase64
nice find S64... i remember you in TyTn days.. nice to have you here in one X
Wow man been waiting for some like this for a while..
Can`t buy sh*t from play store here if else i would.
Trying the free version at the moment.
And except for the resolution (for wich i have to pay) i`m really happy
Thanks M8
Thanks! Very good app!! It takes wonderfull image and it can save image as png!! If i can i post some image..
Yes
Gesendet von meinem HTC One X mit Tapatalk 2
Can you guys post the free version apk here???
Sent from Tapatalk 2
prince147 said:
Can you guys post the free version apk here???
Sent from Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
DropBox: https://www.dropbox.com/s/gmgtegcpjhltlvj/Camera_FV-5_lite_1.13.apk
Ty dude!!
Sent from my GT-I5500 using Tapatalk 2
The image, just for quality!
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/63736373/DSC_0012.PNG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/63736373/DSC_0013.PNG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/63736373/DSC_0015.PNG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/63736373/DSC_0034.PNG
rubino25 said:
The image, just for quality!
https://dl-web.dropbox.com/get/DSC_0012.PNG?w=2be519e5
https://dl-web.dropbox.com/get/DSC_0013.PNG?w=09203cab
https://dl-web.dropbox.com/get/DSC_0015.PNG?w=0e012189
https://dl-web.dropbox.com/get/DSC_0034.PNG?w=a0a87b35
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Error 403 on your links.
starbase64 said:
Error 403 on your links.
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Link repaired!
rubino25 said:
Link repaired!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, nice images.
@rubino25
please post your settings
starbase64 said:
@rubino25
please post your settings
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/63736373/Screenshot_2012-04-28-16-50-37.png
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/63736373/Screenshot_2012-04-28-16-51-00.png
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/63736373/Screenshot_2012-04-28-16-51-16.png
The only things the i change are the format and the light metering mode! You need to set it according to the pictures to take! Macro, portrait or landscape .. I don't like the jpg format because i came from DSLR! The negative side is the space for the photo! 12 Mb >>> 5 Mb!! But the quality is much higher!!
---------- Post added at 05:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:00 PM ----------
Another thing.. To save space and don't have a milion of file, i only save the EXIF data!
thx, i will try now.
You're welcome! Keep me updated!
Just installed the free version, not even gonna bother trying it, the limitation on the free version is the stupidest thing they could have done, 640x480 max resolution, I want to take photos at it's full resolution to compare it with stock and other camera apps, can't make any sort of quality comparison with a 640x480 image.
Is it the app cannot support custom input of aperture ?
Thanks.
The camera has a fixed F2.0 aperture
shangostar said:
The camera has a fixed F2.0 aperture
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Unfortunately yes!! I hope they fix it!! I notice that's sometimes the program save corrupted file and the gallery load PNG slowly!
So GCam is definitely the answer for getting the best photo quality out of this phone in almost any situation, but let's see how we can record the best possible video.
Btw, when you first try video recording with the Note 7 in low light, it's natural to be disappointed since you're comparing it to GCam's photo output in low light. GCam uses frame stacking and other techniques to remove noise, increase dynamic range and get details in both shadows and highlights as well as the rest of the image. To produce only one 12-megapixel frame, it uses anywhere from 3 to 15 frames and takes a few seconds to do the complex blending and computations to create a great low light photo. Without a much stronger SoC, ISP, a better sensor and more advanced processing algorithms, this is impossible to do while recording a video, as the phone is struggling to keep up with recording 30 8-megapixel frames (UHD) each second or 2-megapixel frames in case of 1080p. They've barely managed to get SD 660 to comfortably use real-time EIS at 1080p30, along with auto focusing, WB, exposure, noise reduction etc.
So, knowing that in low light this phone's video recording will never be great, let's focus on other aspects of its video recording. My only idea for improving low light video recording is to find an app that can use a high bitrate in order to avoid introducing additional noise and artifacts. This also applies to filming in daylight.
I'll start with some findings about the differences between the stock app, GCam and Open Camera when recording video.
STABILIZATION
As far as video stabilization goes, only stock camera's 1080p30 EIS properly uses gyro-EIS and that really is the most beautiful stabilization you'll get out of this phone. No wobbling or image distortion, it just softens the shakiness, as if the phone were on a gimbal.
1080p30 EIS in GCam – it's instantly noticeable that the viewfinder here is stabilized (whereas in the stock app it isn't). It appears to be using the gyroscope, but not in the same way the stock app does. Stabilization is OK, but not as smooth as in the stock app and wobbliness can be noticed occasionally, with more abrupt movement.
UHD EIS in GCam – better than no stabilization, but wobbliness on the edges tends to be obvious when there's a lot of movement.
1080p30 or UHD EIS in Open Camera – also a stabilized viewfinder, but the stabilization algorithm here is very wobbly, which is extremely noticeable in UHD, so try to hold the phone as stable as possible when recording in Open Camera. The highlight of Open Camera for the Note 7 is its front-facing camera UHD stabilized video recording. So far this is my only use case for Open Camera on this phone (plus testing).
If you like using 1080p60 because of its smoother panning and movement in general, here's a tip to stabilize 60 fps videos: shoot in 1080p60 without EIS in the stock app or another app (using a high bitrate when possible) and then stabilize the footage in Google Photos, which does a nice job unless the video is impossibly shaky.
SLOW MOTION
In my testing, I've never managed to get a smooth slo-mo video out of the stock app and I've tried it after every MIUI update so far. At 1080p or 720p, the result is always a stuttering slo-mo video. GCam to the rescue!
GCam can record stutter-free 1080p slo-mo for a long time (I tried it for a couple minutes) and the resulting video is smooth as butter, suffering only from an occasional hiccup here and there. Perfectly usable.
Open Camera can also record in 1080p120. Different apps should be tried out to see how smooth the slo-mo is and which one is able to use the highest bitrate, leading to the highest image quality. Although image quality does appear to be limited in slow motion mode.
FIELD OF VIEW (FOV)
If you have your phone on a tripod or you can lean on a surface to stabilize it, you should turn EIS off. This will give you a wider field of view and a sharper image. When you're recording a video, the top and bottom portions of the image are cut off to accommodate for the widescreen format. This already makes you lose around 25% of the image information that the sensor can actually see. EIS works by further zooming into the centre of the sensor (or cropping the image) and using the now-extra information to shift the frame in any direction as necessary, to produce an impression of a more stable footage.
The phone will not recognize that it's on a tripod and turn EIS off. You have to do that manually. Why would you want to do that? If you want:
1) to capture more of the scene (a wider field of view), with EIS on, you'll have to step back (which is sometimes not possible)
2) better image: stabilization comes with trade-offs. If you don't need it, turn it off. The phone will be able to use a greater number of pixels to create your fixed-resolution video, resulting in a better image.
With 1080p30 EIS off or UHD without EIS, you'll have the widest FOV possible for video on this sensor. Only top and bottom are cut off for widescreen.
1080p60 EIS off – for some reason, this has just slightly narrower FOV than 1080p30 without EIS. The same FOV appears to be present in 1080p120 (slow motion).
When EIS is on, it crops the least on the stock app, slightly more on GCam and the most on Open Camera.
VIDEO AND AUDIO BITRATES AND QUALITY
Work in progress. So far I can only tell that stock and BSG's GCam produce different videos. Stock uses a higher video bitrate and GCam a higher audio bitrate. Open Camera tends to put on a yellow cast, presumably to make the image warmer. Also, bulkin's GCam allows you to select video bitrate. Haven't played with that or the bitrate in Open Camera.
It's also worth to test other apps, such as Cinema FV-5. I've had luck with that on previous phones.
My recommendation is Open Camera by mark harman
Plzz any one provide me the link
tamalnag said:
Plzz any one provide me the link
Click to expand...
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open camera is on play store
Very detailed observation.. Thanks for sharing. ?
Have anyone tried 'Footej Camera'?
Great post. My recomendation for all uses is gcam, not the best in all but not the worst. Perfect for a daily use
There is a possibility to set the video bit rate in some of the other GCam MODs.
I can recommend this GCam MOD made from developer marlin-ku OR this GCam MOD which have much more valuable options (speed / ISO optimisations) from developer bulkin043. The last version of the second MOD is available in the Telegram channel here.
This port is the best working - one of the few other GCam MODs I'm frequently using on my Redmi Note 7.
have you tried anx camera
Quaresma_7 said:
If you like using 1080p60 because of its smoother panning and movement in general, here's a tip to stabilize 60 fps videos: shoot in 1080p60 without EIS in the stock app or another app (using a high bitrate when possible) and then stabilize the footage in Google Photos, which does a nice job unless the video is impossibly shaky
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Click to collapse
is it is also true for 4k30 ? do you getter final image quality and stabilization if you do eis in google photo as it must be a more complex algorithm vs "eis on" that only must use a simpler faster algorithm that runs in real time
is it hardware accelerated by the snapdragon 660's Spectra 160 ISP or is it software running on the arm cpu (question both for " eis on" and for stabilisation done in google photos app )
amanieux said:
is it is also true for 4k30 ? do you getter final image quality and stabilization if you do eis in google photo as it must be a more complex algorithm vs "eis on" that only must use a simpler faster algorithm that runs in real time
is it hardware accelerated by the snapdragon 660's Spectra 160 ISP or is it software running on the arm cpu (question both for " eis on" and for stabilisation done in google photos app )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google photos stabilization is good, sometimes it does a miracle, but some artifacts appear in the video. It's more aggressive and intelligent than eis on but quality could be not so good. (I don't know anything about which processor is used, but in Google photo is a lot slow the stabilization process, about the double of the video duration)
video quality difference between 4k and 1080p on bsg mod
i installed this gcam mod : https://f.celsoazevedo.com/file/cfiles/gcm1/MGC_6.2.030_RN7_V1a_FINAL.apk but i notice that 1080p and 4k have a completely different look (different WB, different DR) is it due to snapdragon 660 limitations ? is gcam only configuring the hardware capture codec for snapdragon 660 hardware or is it applying some software computation (google proprietary code) on each frame in real time ?
Best video camera app for me is open camera. I do 1080p with 120 fpS with that and it's awesome. Other one is filmic pro. I can shoot flat video and chose nitrate and frame rate.
Cinema f5
My RN7 can't install the GCAM, I've been getting the message "App Not Installed" please any help?
Okusac said:
My RN7 can't install the GCAM, I've been getting the message "App Not Installed" please any help?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Uninstall any other previous versions. Then install this
https://drive.google.com/file/d/10OAI7zoNHiBjSmxRGTv2meclafg4nmxV/view?usp=drivesdk
Ryamoz said:
Uninstall any other previous versions. Then install this
https://drive.google.com/file/d/10OAI7zoNHiBjSmxRGTv2meclafg4nmxV/view?usp=drivesdk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, I've than that... Thanks
My best is filmic pro. It is dedicated app for video making. U can record in flat/log profile which u then can color grade later on.
The quality is greater than other app.
Open camera is also nice but it has less control over the video. U can't control color temperature and u can't basic color grade ur videos. Plus u can't save ur preset.
I have no luck with GCam and stock one.
Pics GCam, Video Stock
Interesting Thread. On MIUI Global 10.3.6 and now MIUI Global 11.0.4 (Android 9) using GCam PMGC_7.0.009_Astrophoto_Version_V12 overall I'm impressed, activated Sabre and H265/HEVC (edit/play/upload compatibility seems good for the apps I mostly use which paired with the smaller size is good). Not sure if really but crispness/clarity seems well improved as well as less speckles/red-dots especially on the skin in artificial/low light. EIS also still very good.
I also use the stock camera and OpenCamera, so what bothered me in GCam PMGC:
a) still focus flickering in video (can it be optimized by any settings?), stock RN7 camera IMHO has considerably less such flickering?
b) needing GSF: so no CustomROMs? Or is MicroG able to solve this?
c) found no possibility to save to SD-Card DCIM, I think in PMGC V3/V4 versions this still was available?
For OpenCamera while b) und c) are no problem regarding a) there seems to be good micro movement EIS but overall movement/transition is not so smooth; focus seems manual (tapping on-screen) so I could not see flickering . I like OpenCamera for the many settings especially the filename without prefix. It is also possible to set RAW DNG or WebP (I use 4x3k JPG 84%), Exif tags, HEVC, 24 fps, flat/log profile. I wonder why half-max-res pics (2000x1500) are not available to select. For video I would like to have something 16:9 slightly bigger then FHD so like 3K (2560x1440) which is not available (only 4:3). I also can not find timelapse.
A friend has Filmic on RN7. It has pro options and as well HEVC. As i tried once EIS is ok (below stock/GCam) and it seems video focus flickering is noticable just a little more then Stock and GCAM is considerably worse. I do not like the 1/3 screen Play preview of taken videos (just 3 show up) and also the files are not saved in the standard DCIM camera folder on the SD (CMS External Storage, not found by Gallery Apps).
Currently my preference is:
Images: GCam PMGC
Video: RN7 Stock; Timelapses: GCam PMGC
Hi everyone! Back to this topic to ask you a question. After the recent upgrade to Android 10, still with MIUI 11, I've noticed that
- stock camera has video stabilization working "after save"
- gcam (tons of version tried) and opencamera have no more stabilization. Once it was directly on the screen. Now there's any noticable on the screen or offer save.
Do you have the same problem? Thanks! Any way to solve this?
Hello everyone,
》 You can use "4k video recording & click @25mP images in hdr mode" which isn't natively present in the stock camera, period, by using "Open Camera"
》Playstore Link : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.sourceforge.opencamera
》I saw a marginal improvement in highlights especially at the night time shooting where stock camera blows up the highlights almost all the times & the detail levels are also higher as the image is captured in @25mp mode with active HDR.
》There's no stabilization in 4k recording but i saw drastic Improvement in dynamic range, especially at night. The difference between the stock 1080p video & the 4k video from "Open Camera" is huge. Ofcourse the files sizes are also 4 times higher.
》The details are much higher in both the front & back camera with better dynamic range using "Open Camera" especially during daytime.
》I prefer the stock camera only to capture still images at night due to faster shutter speed & as A50 uses pixel binning in 3:4 hdr mode which helps to gather more light ofcourse. The images are comparable here, though in this situation only.
》》》 If you're going to record video at evening & night time, I highly recommend you using 4K option in the "Open Camera", trust me the difference in dynamic range especially at night is unbelievable.
》》》 Tip : Keep the scene optimizer on & use 3:4 hdr mode while shooting at Night on Galaxy A50 as it uses pixel binning & AI to get stable pictures & gather more light for a bright shot. Avoid wide angle lens at night.
》》》 Reply to this post if you want to see actual proofs else you can try it out yourself.
Here's 4k vs 1080p video sample link (uncompressed)
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=1NrXoZ75VCALXn0HUYMgZcJJVafI2xhM9
Cheers
The more interesting thing is what the phone is actually capable, but isn't enabled in the stock camera. Maybe Samsung will optimise the camera in future updates.
madd0g said:
The more interesting thing is what the phone is actually capable, but isn't enabled in the stock camera. Maybe Samsung will optimise the camera in future updates.
Click to expand...
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Yes brother, exynos 9610 is infact capable of doing [email protected] as mentioned on their official website.
Also, Galaxy A50 has flagship grade imx 576 sensor :
https://pasteboard.co/I8HMVvi.jpg
I doubt that Samsung will add 4k in future updates.
Cheers
Hi, everybody. I'm using an Open Camera that's unlocked, it will unlock the camera at 2API.1280x720 resolution, bitrate 200 mbbs.120 frames per second, but the video size is 398 megabytes in 18 seconds.
xda turns into a resource to read instead of humor. The man took and unlocked camera2api without even realizing what it was. On a rooted a50, it does not allow access, but he succeeded with a finger movement in the settings ...
help! what's the settings in open camera to make 4k video?
CCCCCCCCP said:
help! what's the settings in open camera to make 4k video?
Click to expand...
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Nothing.
Change the resolution to 4k in Settings > Video Settings > Video resolution
You're good to go, Cheers.
It has been four weeks since I received my device. One of the reasons I purchased this device was the nice features around the pro mode of its camera.
After I saw the comments from the reviewers/press regarding the standard Camera App and the Auto mode, I was curious to test the AUTO mode myself.
In this post I will try to share my findings around the AUTO mode, explain how I interpreted the different apps around the camera and share some thoughts. I hope you will find it useful.
Device Software (Build number): 58.0.A3.39
Thoughts around AUTO Mode
I have noticed that many reviewers kinda refused to use the Photo Pro app when they did compare this device with other devices. Their explanation/reasoning for that was that many times the users (even the pro users) will need to capture something fast and straight away without spending five mins in the settings or using a tripod. Now, If you check the comments in any of these reviews/videos, you will find at least ten guys screaming about the fact that Photo Pro has AUTO mode as well.
Personally, even I do enjoy the program mode etc I do agree that having a decent AUTO mode (no matters the app) it’s very important for any smartphone.
I took multiple shots with the standard camera app (which provides only the default mode, the AUTO mode) and the Photo Pro AUTO mode. I think I managed to understand what's the main difference between these two.
(for the rest of this post, please assume that any reference to the Photo Pro is regarding the AUTO mode unless I specify a different mode)
Standard Camera App vs Photo Pro AUTO
As long as you don't change the focus point by touching on the screen, the results from the two apps (standard camera app and the Photo Pro in AUTO) are almost identical.
Both applications will use HDR when it is required and they will provide decent results. You can't control whether the HDR will be used or not, you can’t turn it off, but it's there, fully automated.
In order to prove my findings around the HDR, I compared photos taken with AUTO (both apps) with photos taken with the P Mode in Photo Pro with everything in default settings(auto) by setting the HDR OFF. I did that as it’s not possible to control HDR in AUTO mode.
For the Photo Pro you can go to Menu -> Exposure/Colour -> DRO/AUTO HDR and set your preference: a) D-Range Optimiser, AUTO HDR, Off but this is applied only for the special modes (P, S, M).
For the AUTO mode the DRO/AUTO HDR is set to AUTO, which it seems to be a special config just for the AUTO mode. I guess that it will apply the D-Range Optimiser, or HDR or none of these depending on the scene.
Quick test for the HDR in AUTO modes:
Standard Camera App: https://www.flickr.com/gp/[email protected]/2FgY1d
Photo Pro AUTO: https://www.flickr.com/gp/[email protected]/08z99k
Photo Pro P Mode, default, HDR Off: https://www.flickr.com/gp/[email protected]/1rf185
As you can see, the results from the two apps are similar for AUTO and in both cases HDR was applied. If you compare them with the third image where the HDR was set to off, it’s quite obvious.
Things are getting interesting when you touch the screen with the aim to change the focus point - lets use Sony’s term for now on: “touch to adjust”.
For the standard app, it's not possible to configure what will be happened on that action but it seems that it adjusts the focus and the brightness/exposure. In the Photo Pro you can choose whether the application will adjust only the focus or the focus and the brightness (Settings -> Touch to Adjust). That choice will be applied in all modes including the AUTO mode. Btw, adjusting both, the focus and the brightness is a common/expected behaviour and you will find it in other apps by other manufactures or developers.
Based on the above, someone would expect that if you choose for the Photo Pro to adjust both the focus and the brightness (as the standard camera app does), the results from the two apps would be identical when you touch to adjust. The reality is: not always!
The reason is that the HDR gets disabled in the standard app when the following two things happen at the same time: a) you touch to adjust and b) there is enough light in the scene so no special mode (low light or night mode) is applied. This is not the case for the Photo Pro AUTO where the HDR remains on auto (only if it’s required as described above). I have to add that the standard app provides you the ability to adjust the brightness/exposure for the focus point once you apply touch to adjust. This is not possible in Photo Pro AUTO - If you want to have this kind of control, you will need to switch to P mode. Based on that, it's obvious that the two apps follow different approach for the particular scenario.
Before I continue with further analysis of that scenario, I need to provide a clarification for the low light cases: you should expect similar results from both apps (AUTO) no matter if you touch to adjust or not. Low light or Night mode will be applied in both cases.
So, let’s discuss further the behaviour of the standard app for the touch to adjust and when it will result to a different outcome in comparison to the Photo Pro.
Based on what I mentioned above, if you “touch to adjust” and there is enough light in the scene (so the app can achieve correct exposure for the focus point without applying any special mode), the HDR will go off. The application adjusts the ISO and the shutter speed in the attempt to achieve the right exposure for the specific point. The truth is it does that correctly most of time. However, the outcome depends on the scene (basically the light) and on the user’s choice regarding the focus point.
Usually it is a photo with the right exposure for the focus point but with blown highlights for the brightest parts of the scene e.g the sky. If you understand the concept around the exposure, I guess it’s quite clear why this is the case. The focus point becomes the reference for the right/correct exposure, so anything brighter than this point will appear over exposed. In the case of really bright parts - light sources e.g sun, clouds etc, that over exposure causes blown highlights. A possible solution to mitigate that effect is to adjust the exposure manually for the focus point in an attempt to capture some of the missing highlights.
Quick example/test:
Without touch to adjust: https://www.flickr.com/gp/[email protected]/bo9TL6
With touch to adjust: https://www.flickr.com/gp/[email protected]/8eZ4ZX
In the Photo Pro AUTO mode, just because the HDR doesn’t go off during the above scenario, the outcome will be a photo without blown highlights. However, the reference for the exposure will still be the focus point (assuming you selected the touch to adjust to adjust focus and brightness), so the result won’t be the same with a photo that was taken without applying touch to adjust. It’s usually a brighter photo and this is because the HDR is applied with the provider point as a reference for the exposure.
You can observe all the above in the following test I did: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mlqKaFObgkV6ZyV2X7B1y1kYzmpNBrtZ/view?usp=sharing (pdf file with the photos)
I tested the touch to adjust for both, the standard camera and Photo Pro in AUTO.
You can see from the results that the photos from the Standard Camera are similar to the photos taken using the P mode with the HDR off, while the photos from the Photo Pro AUTO are similar to the photos from the P mode with HDR on AUTO.
When it comes to AUTO mode, I am not convinced what would be the right thing to do around HDR for that particular scenario - the touch to adjust. Both options/behaviours (HDR to go off but be able to adjust the exposure vs HDR on AUTO) can be valid depending on the use case. My personal preference would be to have the control around the HDR.
We can’t say that there is an issue or a bug with any of the two AUTO modes. It seems to me that the two apps were developed separately and different decisions have been made. Atm, If you would like to have some control around the HDR but you don’t bother about anything else, you can still use the P mode with everything in the default config and adjust DRO/AUTO HDR, as I demonstrated in my tests.
Just for completeness: In Photo Pro, If you select the touch to adjust to adjust only the focus, the results won’t be similar as the tests above. In that case, when you touch to adjust, the exposure doesn’t change based on the focus point. As a result, the exposure of a photo taken with that setup will be identical to the one taken without applying touch to adjust.
I will close this part around that particular scenario with a quick tip/advice: if your aim is to have everything in focus and have balanced/correct exposure across the whole photo, there is no reason to try to focus on something in a distance (e.g the mountain in a landscape, a building etc) using the touch to adjust feature. Due to the fact that smartphones camera sensors are small in general, the depth of field is large/wide so everything will be in focus (this is applied for any smartphone, it’s not only for this device). Use the touch to adjust for things in close distance unless you intentionally want to adjust the exposure of the photo based on a particular point.
Overall, I would say that the AUTO mode is decent and I can trust it, especially if I want to snap something quickly.
I saw comments from reviewers mentioning blown highlights and this is the reason I spent some time to explain the touch to adjust.
If someone experienced blown highlights in AUTO mode without applying touch to adjust, I am really curious to see that.
Thoughts around the camera apps
It’s more that obvious that Sony targets the enthusiasts with this device. You can see in the product’s page that they target photographers, cinematographers, cinephiles etc
When it comes to camera, they want people to use the Pro apps. However, I am not convinced that the Cinema Pro can be used by everyone.
So, this is how I interpreted the three apps:
Standard Camera app (video): that’s easy. The default app for video for most of the people.
Cinema Pro: 100% for people interested to shoot mini projects and happy to use tripod, gimbal, maybe filters etc and they are happy to spend reasonable time to take the right clip. There is a room for improvement, mainly around the fix exposure after starting recording, so more people can use it.
Standard Camera app (photos): I saw people saying: forget about this one, use Photo Pro only. I kinda disagree. If this device is your daily driver, it means that you take a lot photos with that camera beyond the nice shots of different memorable scenes. I believe that this app is intended for the moments when you want to take a quick photo without thinking too much. Possibly this is the reason they chose to have all the special modes be applied automatically (HDR, low light, night mode etc). If you don’t have time, you don’t want to mess with settings, just point and shoot. It does provide decent results.
For the daily stuff this is a no brainer. Examples: random photos of items that you need to show to people , a meal you cook etc
For more “critical shots”, between missing the shot, and having the perfect shot after 3 mins in the settings, I choose to take the shot.
So let’s say you have spent some time taking photos of a landscape using the Photo Pro. Job done, phone in the pocket. Suddenly you see something nearby that you want to photograph. What do you do? Photo Pro is in M/P/S mode as you left it 5 mins ago with the configuration for that scene. Yes, you are 2 clicks away from setting it to AUTO but you may miss the shot. Standard camera is your friend in that case.
Photo Pro: My default option if I want to shoot anything and I have reasonable time. It can be AUTO mode, it can be the P mode and taking multiple shots by experimenting with HDR off/AUTO etc. It can be any other mode. It depends on the amount of time I want to spend on taking the shot and my mood
General thoughts
HDR
I do like the convenience of computational photography, however I am not a big fun when camera apps end up over-processing the photos. The usual example: taking a photo of a landscape during a cloudy day and the HDR makes the photo looks like you are in the middle of a hurricane.
Fortunately, Sony’s HDR appears to be not that aggressive and I really like that part.
Having that said, I still believe that there is room for improvement/optimisation with:
a) the algorithm that calculates whether the HDR will be triggered or not.
b) the HDR algorithm itself on how it blends the images and what images should be taken (how many stops above and below)
It’s really good but not perfect. There is no perfect anw.
As mentioned above, it would be nice for Sony to provide the users the option to adjust HDR in the auto mode.
Portrait Mode
I still try to understand why Sony chose to add that mode in the standard camera app. I don’t see the reason of adding a non well optimised mode to a device that is advertised so much about its photography capabilities.
For now, If you want to take some portrait photos, switch to the 70mm lens and that’s it. Nice natural portrait photos with decent bokeh effect. That bokeh effect is not comparable to any portrait mode that uses computational photography, but it still look good enough. The nice thing about that is that you get consistent results cause it's 100% natural effect by the lens (no issues with hair etc).
Not the best example: https://www.flickr.com/gp/[email protected]/m2152a
Night Mode - low light
These modes are triggered/applied automatically. I took some decent shots under low light. I can see that Sony didn’t follow the path of the other manufactures. Similar to the HDR, the night mode algo is not that aggressive. Sony tries to remain close to reality and avoids over processing. Maybe this is not something that everyone will appreciate but I think it's nice to have different approaches by different manufactures. It results to more options for the consumers, more competition and innovation etc. Personally, I don't really understand why some reviewers are giving credits to manufactures for over processing.
Back to Sony, It would be nice to provide the users the option to enable/disable night mode during the auto mode or provide a dedicate night mode.
Some photos:
https://www.flickr.com/gp/[email protected]/5fZ25B
https://www.flickr.com/gp/[email protected]/0rfGPZ (I was a bit surprised looking that one)
https://www.flickr.com/gp/[email protected]/vK61N9
https://www.flickr.com/gp/[email protected]/A4U34R
Macro
At Auto, both apps are able to recognise a macro shot and actually in the standard app if you enable the photography hints, the app will guide you to "move further away" in case you are too close. Photos look natural, there is not any kind of computational photography processing in that mode. The blur parts in the photo is a natural outcome from the lens and it happens when parts of the scene lie outside of the depth of field.
Some photos (main lens - 24mm, standard app):
https://www.flickr.com/gp/[email protected]/BM00v8
https://www.flickr.com/gp/[email protected]/s6p1Sh
https://www.flickr.com/gp/[email protected]/257gts
https://www.flickr.com/gp/[email protected]/H75112
https://www.flickr.com/gp/[email protected]/396Ac0
https://www.flickr.com/gp/[email protected]/Z83oh4
Hardware
Through my tests I did notice that the zeiss optics help a lot by reducing reflections and flares especially when I was pointing directly to a source of light (e.g sun, lamb etc). I compared it with Pixel 2 xl and Samsung s9 (whatever I had access) and the difference was obvious.
However, I noticed that when there is light coming from a particular angle (it's an edge case), there is a specific type of lens flare only for the main lens, 24mm.
Example: https://www.flickr.com/gp/[email protected]/vp48Jd
The album with all the photos in the post and some additional photos: https://www.flickr.com/gp/[email protected]/K343dG
Sony released an update while I was writing this, I will try to update the post if they changed anything around the stuff I covered.
Update: added macro shots.
Very nice review of the cameras! Wish tech reviewers could understand 10% of what you wrote here
Great post and write up. After coming here and just browsing for a couple years I literally signed up because of your post. Thanks for taking the time.
great detail and time spent, very much appreciated, post of the year IMO
it is obvious that certain reviewers didn't quite understand what simple PAS is
and I agree totally with your night shot comments - who wants a night shot that doesn't look like night and is way over exposed and processed
again many thanks and looking forward to further experiences from you my friend as the phone receives a few updates going forward, I am now hoping Sony don't change too much as it seems perfect as is
thank you so much!
@stsdema28 Great post! Do you know how I can calibrate white balance in pro mode? I have seen the adjust button in P mode for white balance but how do I get it right? In Photo Pro auto mode, photos look red-ish to me.
mehdi_s82 said:
@stsdema28 Great post! Do you know how I can calibrate white balance in pro mode? I have seen the adjust button in P mode for white balance but how do I get it right? In Photo Pro auto mode, photos look red-ish to me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am not sure what you mean/expect when you are saying "how can I calibrate WB". White balance can be different even between two clicks in the same scene when the light changes significantly. So there isn't a concept of calibrating the WB of the camera once so it can be right every time. What you can do is to adjust WB every time based on the scene. Another option is to adjust WB in post processing (this is what I usually do when I shoot with my DSLR, but I shoot RAW).
Back to the Xperia, I usually use AWB but I tried some of the predefined options (cloudy, daylight, incandescent etc) and they were quite accurate. Did you try any of them? It's important to choose the right option for the scene.
short article about WB: https://www.nikonusa.com/en/learn-and-explore/a/tips-and-techniques/setting-white-balance.html (it's by Nikon, but it doesn't really matter)
If you are not happy with the predefined options, you can try to set and use one of the custom options but you need to remember that it would be valid/correct only for the scene you set it for. Check the following video how you can do that: https://youtu.be/ehK8zJ2up98?t=454 (I set the exact moment he describes the WB options)
one of the reasons I was looking at this phone is because sony mentions its supposed to be good at capturing motion shots. How is it in your experience? Is it as good as the pixel in being able to capture a motion shot with one snap in auto?
billybobjones said:
one of the reasons I was looking at this phone is because sony mentions its supposed to be good at capturing motion shots. How is it in your experience? Is it as good as the pixel in being able to capture a motion shot with one snap in auto?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The motion feature of pixel has nothing to do with burst shooting.
The Xperia 1 ii can shoot up to 20fps with autofocus and auto exposure. It's all about capturing the right photo. You can see the burst shooting in the following videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQEXla29P9A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVJtmP8Ckfg
The motion feature in pixels (or similar feature in other apps) captures several frames or a short video with sound before and after you take a photo. The idea here is to capture additional material to accompany the photo for future reference with the aim to help the user to recall that moment.
So, it depends what you are looking for. There is no other phone that is able to shoot 20fps with autofocus and auto exposure (as far as I know). But given that you referred to pixel's feature, I guess you are looking for "motion" photos.
stsdema28 said:
So, it depends what you are looking for. There is no other phone that is able to shoot 20fps with autofocus and auto exposure (as far as I know). But given that you referred to pixel's feature, I guess you are looking for "motion" photos.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the difference is video frames vers 20 actual full res photos
and there is a huge difference
stsdema28 said:
The motion feature of pixel has nothing to do with burst shooting.
The Xperia 1 ii can shoot up to 20fps with autofocus and auto exposure. It's all about capturing the right photo. You can see the burst shooting in the following videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQEXla29P9A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVJtmP8Ckfg
The motion feature in pixels (or similar feature in other apps) captures several frames or a short video with sound before and after you take a photo. The idea here is to capture additional material to accompany the photo for future reference with the aim to help the user to recall that moment.
So, it depends what you are looking for. There is no other phone that is able to shoot 20fps with autofocus and auto exposure (as far as I know). But given that you referred to pixel's feature, I guess you are looking for "motion" photos.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sorry i meant a moving object. for example a dog running or a bicyclist or a kid running. with a pixel you can take 1 shot and get a good photo. With other smartphones when you take one photo you usually get a blurry mess. How is the sony?
billybobjones said:
sorry i meant a moving object. for example a dog running or a bicyclist or a kid running. with a pixel you can take 1 shot and get a good photo. With other smartphones when you take one photo you usually get a blurry mess. How is the sony?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check some real examples from reddit:
https://www.reddit.com/r/SonyXperia/comments/i9kbox/burst_mode_is_the_killer_feature_especially_if/ (it contains an animation as well)
https://www.reddit.com/r/SonyXperia/comments/i634x9/ive_complained_about_focus_tracking_while_doing/
https://www.reddit.com/r/SonyXperia...ng_with_professionals_burst_shot_on_xperia_1/
https://www.reddit.com/r/SonyXperia/comments/i9687m/testing_the_high_continuous_shooting_mode/
https://www.reddit.com/r/SonyXperia/comments/i7m08k/20_fps/
anyone notice that with Camera Pro, raw and 70mm lens ... it produce a 13,8mpx photo?
if you save it in jpg it's a 12,2mpx, if you select raw, it produce a 13,8mpx with 4288x3216 resolution
I'm on XQ-AT52 HongKong with 3.88 firmware
my thoughts
This is very faithful review by stsdema28, great job thank you.
I have come to the same conclusion as stsdema28 while testing it.
I have my xperia 1II for a week now and after testing it I'm sure that I made a good chose buying it.
There are some things that are important to me while taking pictures with a phone and I like to share them with you.
First of all I think that main camera app does amazing job in recognising scenes, focus, white balance, it's reliable.
It's fast and convenient; for me, I don't see s reason to use Pro app.
In my opinion using Pro is good for RAW output if someone needs it.
I personally have used raw in cameras for years but I consider it a waste of time for me right now.
Main camera app also in my opinion has flawless noise reduction, jpg's from Pro mode have different noise reduction; more looking like "alfa" camera output.
So, what is important for me with this camera phone:
-all 3 cameras output same resolution 12mpix photos
-colours are true to life on all 3 cameras and they remain the same on each one of them
-auto white balance is correct in different scenes where I had problems before with my Huawei p30pro
-pictures have natural look, not overprocessed
-there are no artifacts when the light is to bright on a shiny surface and around red light sources in the dark
-glow around light sources look natural like from a real camera, don't know if this is due to good optics or the lens coating
When it comes to video all that I can really say is that I have no complaints and find it very high quality.
What I need to point out is audio quality which is on par with video quality.
Wind noise filter does awesome job, all that is left of wind in strong wind; is something like old low bitrate mp3 artifacts but very faint.
Sound positioning is very good too.
Selfie camera take sharp shots, no artifacts in bright light, I almost never use it, but if I did; I would be happy with the results.
Thx
Paweł
Thanks to @stsdema28 and @starepiernikowe for the excellent real life reviews of the phone. It is so helpful and so much better than watching the YouTube reviews.
---------- Post added at 09:25 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:25 AM ----------
Thanks to @stsdema28 and @starepiernikowe for the excellent real life reviews of the phone. It is so helpful and so much better than watching the YouTube reviews.
ISO3200 PRO and default app
Just wanted to show the differences in jpg from PRO app and default camera app noise reduction.
The exposure is different on those pictures, so the colors are too.
Left is PRO right is default camera app.
https://
freeimage.host/i/26zkCJ
Sorry I have problems with putting links here since i don't have enough posts.
Thx
Pawel
stsdema28 said:
It has been four weeks since I received my device. One of the reasons I purchased this device was the nice features around the pro mode of its camera.
After I saw the comments from the reviewers/press regarding the standard Camera App and the Auto mode, I was curious to test the AUTO mode myself.
In this post I will try to share my findings around the AUTO mode, explain how I interpreted the different apps around the camera and share some thoughts. I hope you will find it useful.
Device Software (Build number): 58.0.A3.39
Thoughts around AUTO Mode
I have noticed that many reviewers kinda refused to use the Photo Pro app when they did compare this device with other devices. Their explanation/reasoning for that was that many times the users (even the pro users) will need to capture something fast and straight away without spending five mins in the settings or using a tripod. Now, If you check the comments in any of these reviews/videos, you will find at least ten guys screaming about the fact that Photo Pro has AUTO mode as well.
Personally, even I do enjoy the program mode etc I do agree that having a decent AUTO mode (no matters the app) it’s very important for any smartphone.
I took multiple shots with the standard camera app (which provides only the default mode, the AUTO mode) and the Photo Pro AUTO mode. I think I managed to understand what's the main difference between these two.
(for the rest of this post, please assume that any reference to the Photo Pro is regarding the AUTO mode unless I specify a different mode)
Standard Camera App vs Photo Pro AUTO
As long as you don't change the focus point by touching on the screen, the results from the two apps (standard camera app and the Photo Pro in AUTO) are almost identical.
Both applications will use HDR when it is required and they will provide decent results. You can't control whether the HDR will be used or not, you can’t turn it off, but it's there, fully automated.
In order to prove my findings around the HDR, I compared photos taken with AUTO (both apps) with photos taken with the P Mode in Photo Pro with everything in default settings(auto) by setting the HDR OFF. I did that as it’s not possible to control HDR in AUTO mode.
For the Photo Pro you can go to Menu -> Exposure/Colour -> DRO/AUTO HDR and set your preference: a) D-Range Optimiser, AUTO HDR, Off but this is applied only for the special modes (P, S, M).
For the AUTO mode the DRO/AUTO HDR is set to AUTO, which it seems to be a special config just for the AUTO mode. I guess that it will apply the D-Range Optimiser, or HDR or none of these depending on the scene.
Quick test for the HDR in AUTO modes:
Standard Camera App: https://www.flickr.com/gp/[email protected]/2FgY1d
Photo Pro AUTO: https://www.flickr.com/gp/[email protected]/08z99k
Photo Pro P Mode, default, HDR Off: https://www.flickr.com/gp/[email protected]/1rf185
As you can see, the results from the two apps are similar for AUTO and in both cases HDR was applied. If you compare them with the third image where the HDR was set to off, it’s quite obvious.
Things are getting interesting when you touch the screen with the aim to change the focus point - lets use Sony’s term for now on: “touch to adjust”.
For the standard app, it's not possible to configure what will be happened on that action but it seems that it adjusts the focus and the brightness/exposure. In the Photo Pro you can choose whether the application will adjust only the focus or the focus and the brightness (Settings -> Touch to Adjust). That choice will be applied in all modes including the AUTO mode. Btw, adjusting both, the focus and the brightness is a common/expected behaviour and you will find it in other apps by other manufactures or developers.
Based on the above, someone would expect that if you choose for the Photo Pro to adjust both the focus and the brightness (as the standard camera app does), the results from the two apps would be identical when you touch to adjust. The reality is: not always!
The reason is that the HDR gets disabled in the standard app when the following two things happen at the same time: a) you touch to adjust and b) there is enough light in the scene so no special mode (low light or night mode) is applied. This is not the case for the Photo Pro AUTO where the HDR remains on auto (only if it’s required as described above). I have to add that the standard app provides you the ability to adjust the brightness/exposure for the focus point once you apply touch to adjust. This is not possible in Photo Pro AUTO - If you want to have this kind of control, you will need to switch to P mode. Based on that, it's obvious that the two apps follow different approach for the particular scenario.
Before I continue with further analysis of that scenario, I need to provide a clarification for the low light cases: you should expect similar results from both apps (AUTO) no matter if you touch to adjust or not. Low light or Night mode will be applied in both cases.
So, let’s discuss further the behaviour of the standard app for the touch to adjust and when it will result to a different outcome in comparison to the Photo Pro.
Based on what I mentioned above, if you “touch to adjust” and there is enough light in the scene (so the app can achieve correct exposure for the focus point without applying any special mode), the HDR will go off. The application adjusts the ISO and the shutter speed in the attempt to achieve the right exposure for the specific point. The truth is it does that correctly most of time. However, the outcome depends on the scene (basically the light) and on the user’s choice regarding the focus point.
Usually it is a photo with the right exposure for the focus point but with blown highlights for the brightest parts of the scene e.g the sky. If you understand the concept around the exposure, I guess it’s quite clear why this is the case. The focus point becomes the reference for the right/correct exposure, so anything brighter than this point will appear over exposed. In the case of really bright parts - light sources e.g sun, clouds etc, that over exposure causes blown highlights. A possible solution to mitigate that effect is to adjust the exposure manually for the focus point in an attempt to capture some of the missing highlights.
Quick example/test:
Without touch to adjust: https://www.flickr.com/gp/[email protected]/bo9TL6
With touch to adjust: https://www.flickr.com/gp/[email protected]/8eZ4ZX
In the Photo Pro AUTO mode, just because the HDR doesn’t go off during the above scenario, the outcome will be a photo without blown highlights. However, the reference for the exposure will still be the focus point (assuming you selected the touch to adjust to adjust focus and brightness), so the result won’t be the same with a photo that was taken without applying touch to adjust. It’s usually a brighter photo and this is because the HDR is applied with the provider point as a reference for the exposure.
You can observe all the above in the following test I did: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mlqKaFObgkV6ZyV2X7B1y1kYzmpNBrtZ/view?usp=sharing (pdf file with the photos)
I tested the touch to adjust for both, the standard camera and Photo Pro in AUTO.
You can see from the results that the photos from the Standard Camera are similar to the photos taken using the P mode with the HDR off, while the photos from the Photo Pro AUTO are similar to the photos from the P mode with HDR on AUTO.
When it comes to AUTO mode, I am not convinced what would be the right thing to do around HDR for that particular scenario - the touch to adjust. Both options/behaviours (HDR to go off but be able to adjust the exposure vs HDR on AUTO) can be valid depending on the use case. My personal preference would be to have the control around the HDR.
We can’t say that there is an issue or a bug with any of the two AUTO modes. It seems to me that the two apps were developed separately and different decisions have been made. Atm, If you would like to have some control around the HDR but you don’t bother about anything else, you can still use the P mode with everything in the default config and adjust DRO/AUTO HDR, as I demonstrated in my tests.
Just for completeness: In Photo Pro, If you select the touch to adjust to adjust only the focus, the results won’t be similar as the tests above. In that case, when you touch to adjust, the exposure doesn’t change based on the focus point. As a result, the exposure of a photo taken with that setup will be identical to the one taken without applying touch to adjust.
I will close this part around that particular scenario with a quick tip/advice: if your aim is to have everything in focus and have balanced/correct exposure across the whole photo, there is no reason to try to focus on something in a distance (e.g the mountain in a landscape, a building etc) using the touch to adjust feature. Due to the fact that smartphones camera sensors are small in general, the depth of field is large/wide so everything will be in focus (this is applied for any smartphone, it’s not only for this device). Use the touch to adjust for things in close distance unless you intentionally want to adjust the exposure of the photo based on a particular point.
Overall, I would say that the AUTO mode is decent and I can trust it, especially if I want to snap something quickly.
I saw comments from reviewers mentioning blown highlights and this is the reason I spent some time to explain the touch to adjust.
If someone experienced blown highlights in AUTO mode without applying touch to adjust, I am really curious to see that.
Thoughts around the camera apps
It’s more that obvious that Sony targets the enthusiasts with this device. You can see in the product’s page that they target photographers, cinematographers, cinephiles etc
When it comes to camera, they want people to use the Pro apps. However, I am not convinced that the Cinema Pro can be used by everyone.
So, this is how I interpreted the three apps:
Standard Camera app (video): that’s easy. The default app for video for most of the people.
Cinema Pro: 100% for people interested to shoot mini projects and happy to use tripod, gimbal, maybe filters etc and they are happy to spend reasonable time to take the right clip. There is a room for improvement, mainly around the fix exposure after starting recording, so more people can use it.
Standard Camera app (photos): I saw people saying: forget about this one, use Photo Pro only. I kinda disagree. If this device is your daily driver, it means that you take a lot photos with that camera beyond the nice shots of different memorable scenes. I believe that this app is intended for the moments when you want to take a quick photo without thinking too much. Possibly this is the reason they chose to have all the special modes be applied automatically (HDR, low light, night mode etc). If you don’t have time, you don’t want to mess with settings, just point and shoot. It does provide decent results.
For the daily stuff this is a no brainer. Examples: random photos of items that you need to show to people , a meal you cook etc
For more “critical shots”, between missing the shot, and having the perfect shot after 3 mins in the settings, I choose to take the shot.
So let’s say you have spent some time taking photos of a landscape using the Photo Pro. Job done, phone in the pocket. Suddenly you see something nearby that you want to photograph. What do you do? Photo Pro is in M/P/S mode as you left it 5 mins ago with the configuration for that scene. Yes, you are 2 clicks away from setting it to AUTO but you may miss the shot. Standard camera is your friend in that case.
Photo Pro: My default option if I want to shoot anything and I have reasonable time. It can be AUTO mode, it can be the P mode and taking multiple shots by experimenting with HDR off/AUTO etc. It can be any other mode. It depends on the amount of time I want to spend on taking the shot and my mood
General thoughts
HDR
I do like the convenience of computational photography, however I am not a big fun when camera apps end up over-processing the photos. The usual example: taking a photo of a landscape during a cloudy day and the HDR makes the photo looks like you are in the middle of a hurricane.
Fortunately, Sony’s HDR appears to be not that aggressive and I really like that part.
Having that said, I still believe that there is room for improvement/optimisation with:
a) the algorithm that calculates whether the HDR will be triggered or not.
b) the HDR algorithm itself on how it blends the images and what images should be taken (how many stops above and below)
It’s really good but not perfect. There is no perfect anw.
As mentioned above, it would be nice for Sony to provide the users the option to adjust HDR in the auto mode.
Portrait Mode
I still try to understand why Sony chose to add that mode in the standard camera app. I don’t see the reason of adding a non well optimised mode to a device that is advertised so much about its photography capabilities.
For now, If you want to take some portrait photos, switch to the 70mm lens and that’s it. Nice natural portrait photos with decent bokeh effect. That bokeh effect is not comparable to any portrait mode that uses computational photography, but it still look good enough. The nice thing about that is that you get consistent results cause it's 100% natural effect by the lens (no issues with hair etc).
Not the best example: https://www.flickr.com/gp/[email protected]/m2152a
Night Mode - low light
These modes are triggered/applied automatically. I took some decent shots under low light. I can see that Sony didn’t follow the path of the other manufactures. Similar to the HDR, the night mode algo is not that aggressive. Sony tries to remain close to reality and avoids over processing. Maybe this is not something that everyone will appreciate but I think it's nice to have different approaches by different manufactures. It results to more options for the consumers, more competition and innovation etc. Personally, I don't really understand why some reviewers are giving credits to manufactures for over processing.
Back to Sony, It would be nice to provide the users the option to enable/disable night mode during the auto mode or provide a dedicate night mode.
Some photos:
https://www.flickr.com/gp/[email protected]/5fZ25B
https://www.flickr.com/gp/[email protected]/0rfGPZ (I was a bit surprised looking that one)
https://www.flickr.com/gp/[email protected]/vK61N9
https://www.flickr.com/gp/[email protected]/A4U34R
Macro
At Auto, both apps are able to recognise a macro shot and actually in the standard app if you enable the photography hints, the app will guide you to "move further away" in case you are too close. Photos look natural, there is not any kind of computational photography processing in that mode. The blur parts in the photo is a natural outcome from the lens and it happens when parts of the scene lie outside of the depth of field.
Some photos (main lens - 24mm, standard app):
https://www.flickr.com/gp/[email protected]/BM00v8
https://www.flickr.com/gp/[email protected]/s6p1Sh
https://www.flickr.com/gp/[email protected]/257gts
https://www.flickr.com/gp/[email protected]/H75112
https://www.flickr.com/gp/[email protected]/396Ac0
https://www.flickr.com/gp/[email protected]/Z83oh4
Hardware
Through my tests I did notice that the zeiss optics help a lot by reducing reflections and flares especially when I was pointing directly to a source of light (e.g sun, lamb etc). I compared it with Pixel 2 xl and Samsung s9 (whatever I had access) and the difference was obvious.
However, I noticed that when there is light coming from a particular angle (it's an edge case), there is a specific type of lens flare only for the main lens, 24mm.
Example: https://www.flickr.com/gp/[email protected]/vp48Jd
The album with all the photos in the post and some additional photos: https://www.flickr.com/gp/[email protected]/K343dG
Sony released an update while I was writing this, I will try to update the post if they changed anything around the stuff I covered.
Update: added macro shots.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really appreciate that detailed info, thanks!
Quick question from me - in the Photo Pro app Auto mode, if RAW or RAW+Jpg is the selected format, have you found that the phone doesn't use HDR? Seems to be my experience. Make sense, but I wondered if it might still use HDR for the JPG and perhaps save each of the RAW files it generated, too. Doesn't seem so.