Develop Bugs

My new findings about the HTC Camera App!

Hey guys!
Seems like the original HTC Camera App is quite a bugger. Sure, it's interface is fancy and intuitive with quite the features, but hear me out.
I bought Camera Zoom FX back in the days and loved to use it with my Galaxy S2 since it produced some wonderful shots for me.
I tried it out now on my One X device, and there I made quite a discovery.
First of all, I did 2 test shots for each camera, so in total 4.
The first one I did outside, cloudy sky, slight rain -> white concrete wall. Makro shot. The second on I did indoors, closed room, artificial light (bad light condition).
Second is: I'll also write down the filesize of the photos. The difference is, least to say, overwhelming.
Another point is: As soon as I took a shot with the HTC camera app, I simply can't take any photos anymore with Camera Zoom FX. Camera screen stays black after a shot, photo doesnt get saved, app needs to be killed. It will only work again after a reboot. Seems like the HTC camera app not only applies heavy compression and somewhat dark lighting, but also causes glitches and issues within the system regarding the camera api.
Enough talk, see for yourself:
Keep in mind, I didnt use LED flash, nor HDR. Simple setup, no color corrections or post processing. Those are raw, untouched images down there!
Macro - Cloudy Sky, Slight Rain, White concrete wall
HTC camera (Original: 2,14 MB)
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Camera Zoom FX (Original: 4,48 MB)
Autofocus - Indoor, closed room, poor light condition, artificial light
HTC camera (Original: 1,50 MB)
Camera Zoom FX (Original: 4,80 MB)
Okay, guys. Now that you've seen those shots, what are your thoughts and impressions? To me, the color, brightness and sharpness looks ALOT better with Camera Zoom FX. PLUS - focusing seems to be much more stable on Camera Zoom FX, and its still FAST. Maybe its a little too bright with CZFX, but still, that just shows that the HTC One X Camera is capeable of much more!
HTC, fix your camera application!!

in my opinion, the 2nd shot seem way better for both cases u uploaded..

WOW... incredible difference...can you take a few more samples outside with decent lighting?
that is really amazing how much better the FX shots look...
so you are saying that you can only take one FX shot at a time- and then you have to reboot??

I found the HTC camera to produce a lot of noise even in well lit environment.
The camera is one of their big selling points it seems odd they would use so much JPEG compression in the software. Personally I'd like to output images as actual RAW files.
Also the brightness and colour contrast of the HTC one X screen seems to have given them a bit of a dilemma with the colour of photo's, when you take a shot and view it on the phone screen the colour looks good but when you then view it on a monitor the colour looks washed out and dull, Problem is if the camera reproduced the colour correctly it would look way over saturated on that bright screen of the phone.
EDIT
Try4Ce said:
Another point is: As soon as I took a shot with the HTC camera app, I simply can't take any photos anymore with Camera Zoom FX. Camera screen stays black after a shot, photo doesnt get saved, app needs to be killed. It will only work again after a reboot. Seems like the HTC camera app not only applies heavy compression and somewhat dark lighting, but also causes glitches and issues within the system regarding the camera api.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just had this same issue after taking some shots in the garden, not with camera zoom fx though, I dont have that installed, took half a dozen shots then the camera appeared not to take photos, it would focus, make the shutter sound and seemingly take a picture but on viewing i just got a black screen with a triangle and exclamation. reboot was needed. this was using only the htc camera app.

OMG! There's a HUGE difference between those pictures!!! I was a little disappointed with one x's camera quality but now it's clear that it is software related, the camera itself is capable of taking better pictures. I really hope HTC fixes this soon, because I think this is a major problem that has to resolved.

Definitely needs to be resolved, been out taking some more and it only seems to successfully shoot a picture half the time, seems it doesnt need a reboot to get it working again, it just randomly decides when it wants to take a picture or not, seems to mostly fail in very well lit sunny conditions. also had some freezes using the camera needing a hard reboot.

Also downloaded - Different results
I also downloaded camera zoom fx - both stock app and camera zoom are set to auto. in my opinion the camera zoom picture looks over exposed
Camera Zoom Fx may peform better on a sunny day???
both very similar sizes Camera Zoom was 0.2 Mb bigger
first image is Camera Zoom

guys all you need to do is increase the exposure in the htc camera app for similar results
i love the camera guys every pic you post i see amazing colors, actually Camera FX images are over exposed

hamdir said:
guys all you need to do is increase the exposure in the htc camera app for similar results
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Doesnt make a difference for me, tried on manual ISO with same result, it cant take a picture in well lit conditions, tried a few again, if i point the camera to the garden (sun behind me) it cant take a picture, if i point the camera down to the floor standing in the same position so there is less light on the sensor it will take a picture, point it back up again, fails to take a picture.
been trying in different areas too, in shadowed areas or indoors its fine, something that is well lit by the sun it fails to take a picture at all.
Gonna try Camera FX now
actually no im not, it's not free lol

I dont think the camera is at total fault... If you play around with the camera settings you can adjust the amount of exposure and sharpness of the photo... I personally feel that this setting is quite good under normal conditions:
Exposure -1
Saturation -1
Sharpness -1
Contrast -1 (play around with different light ambience)
These settings actually gave quite good results for me... although undeniably raw uncompressed pictures are better... just my 2 cents...

shangostar said:
Gonna try Camera FX now
actually no im not, it's not free lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dunno what it costs now, but it was on sale for something like 50c a couple of weeks ago.....not that that helps you at all!
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

Basil3 said:
Dunno what it costs now, but it was on sale for something like 50c a couple of weeks ago.....not that that helps you at all!
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's on sale now in the uk too at just under £2, I know that's not a lot but I'm not paying for an alternative app just because the one on my brand new £500 phone doesn't work properly. Hopefully software updates or custom roms should fix the issues and realistically I'll rarely use the camera anyway, I have a DSLR I will use when I know I want to photograph stuff but was just hoping the HTC camera might be good to use on the occasion I don't have the DSLR with me.
And it probably will be if i can just get it to take pictures in the sun.

Well, after some further testing I can confirm that in regular daylight conditions, Camera Zoom FX as well as ICS Camera (Market) both produce over exposed photos.
That is kinda weird. I also experience intense flickering on the capture frame while using the mentioned apps.
Sometimes, both apps dont even shoot a photo. Camera Zoom FX just stays at a black capture frame, and ICS Camera just FC.
What's up with that cam, seriously? Thats kinda weird... Tho, sharpness still looks a litttle better with third party camera apps. File size is always way bigger, too.
I think the camera is capeable of doing much more. I guess the drivers are still not really final yet.

Try4Ce said:
Sometimes, both apps dont even shoot a photo. Camera Zoom FX just stays at a black capture frame, and ICS Camera just FC.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How bright and sunny is it where you are today?
it's very bright here and I cannot get it to take images in the sun at all, just getting black screens like you mentioned.

Camera compression is better inOne X. I had Xperia Arc and camera compression was horrible, Same 8 MP cam it used to be below 1 MB but it does produced awesome pictures.

shangostar said:
How bright and sunny is it where you are today?
it's very bright here and I cannot get it to take images in the sun at all, just getting black screens like you mentioned.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea, pretty bright. Seems like the apps have issues with bright environments and therefore bright captures ... bugger

I'm wondering if the fixed f2.0 aperture is just too wide for sunny conditions, great for low light yes but I wouldn't use f2.0 on a DSLR in very bright conditions unless I was using a fast shutter speed and since there is no shutter speed adjustment on the One X, 2.0 I think is just too wide for those conditions, even on 100 ISO
Just popped back out into the garden now the sun has gone down some and the same pictures that wouldn't take earlier are now taking ok.

Okay guys, I don't know if any of you here are photographers - but I am...
It doesn't matter what app you use for your phone-photography - it's all using the same lens! What matters is the settings you use. Given, the 3rd party apps may implement their settings better, but nothing that the stock camera app isn't capable of. Know how to adjust your shutter speed and ISO settings accoridngly and you'll come out with some cracking pictures (considering the size of the lens and sensor). At the end of the day, it's a PHONE CAMERA. It ain't never going to be perfect. If you want great image quality, go out and a buy a dSLR or compacts / micro 4/3s camera.

Eddzz!! said:
Okay guys, I don't know if any of you here are photographers - but I am...
It doesn't matter what app you use for your phone-photography - it's all using the same lens! What matters is the settings you use. Given, the 3rd party apps may implement their settings better, but nothing that the stock camera app isn't capable of. Know how to adjust your shutter speed and ISO settings accoridngly and you'll come out with some cracking pictures (considering the size of the lens and sensor). At the end of the day, it's a PHONE CAMERA. It ain't never going to be perfect. If you want great image quality, go out and a buy a dSLR or compacts / micro 4/3s camera.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Photographer here too
I do wish there was an option for less compression on the stock app though /: As it is there's still too much compression going on. Just play with the ISO and image settings and it's still pretty good

They really need to improve the software and encoding for both image and video capture. They are both worse than the competition. Their hardware seems capable enough, and this certainly has enough firepower, but it ain't being used right.
I'm not a photographer but I can tell a ****ty photo from a good one. I don't think they are very pleasing on this device. Older phones I've owned take much better photos. It's really sad that photo snobs come into a cellphone forum and riddle every post about the camera with IT"S NOT A DSLR IT"S A CAMERA-PHONE GO BUY A REAL CAMERA. Set the bar high much? We're comparing cellphone cameras. I don't see PC people coming in and crapping on browser and benchmark threads, saying IT"S NOT A PC BUY A REAL COMPUTER LULZ.
These cellphones are replacing point-and-shoot cameras. Those are REAL cameras BTW, and they are good enough. How many people actually own DSLRS? I don't even know any, nor know of anyone who would be caught dead with one, or pay the $500+ for a good one.
Downplaying the camera is also a good line for HTC apologists/fanboys.

[Q] Possible fix for galaxy nexus camera problem?

I read reviews that says the Galaxy Nexus camera is worse compared to s2 and the details of the picture taken is lesser compared to GS2 and also the video How true is that? I mean does the GN's camera can't compete w/ the gs2's camera and there difference in quality is really huge?
So does this issue can be fixed by only an OS update w/ camera improvements? or really this issue is really on the hardware and can't be fixed w/ os update?
If you can also can you please post picture taken by your galaxy nexus's camera? thank you

There are plenty of picture threads on here if you'd like to browse in the general forum, but I'll try to post a pic for you in a few. As far as quality I find the camera pretty impressive compared to my old droid bionic camera. Yes it's a lower mp but at the same time it's a matter of lens quality that really makes the difference. As for what you were saying about the upgraded os and whatnot, there is a thread in the development forums for the Gnex toolkit by mskips. He's compiled a modified "media_profiles.xml" file. That xml controls the cameras properties on the phone. He has them changed to improve video, audio, and picture quality. I've noticed a pretty decent improvement over the stock settings especially in video recording. Hope that helps you out a bit.
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Taken from a quickly moving car.
Some local graffiti.
Turtle I found outside my shop today.

utcu said:
There are plenty of picture threads on here if you'd like to browse in the general forum, but I'll try to post a pic for you in a few. As far as quality I find the camera pretty impressive compared to my old droid bionic camera. Yes it's a lower mp but at the same time it's a matter of lens quality that really makes the difference. As for what you were saying about the upgraded os and whatnot, there is a thread in the development forums for the Gnex toolkit by mskips. He's compiled a modified "media_profiles.xml" file. That xml controls the cameras properties on the phone. He has them changed to improve video, audio, and picture quality. I've noticed a pretty decent improvement over the stock settings especially in video recording. Hope that helps you out a bit.
View attachment 1018133
Taken from a quickly moving car.
View attachment 1018134
Some local graffiti.
View attachment 1018135
Turtle I found outside my shop today.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, those are some great pics. Could you be so kind as to provide a link to said file?
Thanks .

Yes the camera is not as good as the SGSII, but very few cameras are. The camera is not terrible, people just like to complain about things because they're terrible photographers lol.
There are tons of threads on photography with the GNex, you should see them. Here are a couple of mine:
I could go on for pages... As you can see the camera is completely capable of taking good shots.

ichilouch said:
I read reviews that says the Galaxy Nexus camera is worse compared to s2 and the details of the picture taken is lesser compared to GS2 and also the video How true is that? I mean does the GN's camera can't compete w/ the gs2's camera and there difference in quality is really huge?
So does this issue can be fixed by only an OS update w/ camera improvements? or really this issue is really on the hardware and can't be fixed w/ os update?
If you can also can you please post picture taken by your galaxy nexus's camera? thank you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The latest update greatly improved the camera. All the original reviews used the crappy camera software during first release. I'd look at newer pic threads.

T4rd said:
Wow, those are some great pics. Could you be so kind as to provide a link to said file?
Thanks .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here ya go
http://www.mediafire.com/?cr3tsecfbsacj3n

utcu said:
There are plenty of picture threads on here if you'd like to browse in the general forum, but I'll try to post a pic for you in a few. As far as quality I find the camera pretty impressive compared to my old droid bionic camera. Yes it's a lower mp but at the same time it's a matter of lens quality that really makes the difference. As for what you were saying about the upgraded os and whatnot, there is a thread in the development forums for the Gnex toolkit by mskips. He's compiled a modified "media_profiles.xml" file. That xml controls the cameras properties on the phone. He has them changed to improve video, audio, and picture quality. I've noticed a pretty decent improvement over the stock settings especially in video recording. Hope that helps you out a bit.
View attachment 1018133
Taken from a quickly moving car.
View attachment 1018134
Some local graffiti.
View attachment 1018135
Turtle I found outside my shop today.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you Wash your hands and clean ur nails from time to time? xD.... Hope you dont own a restaurant... Haha
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

martonikaj said:
Yes the camera is not as good as the SGSII, but very few cameras are. The camera is not terrible, people just like to complain about things because they're terrible photographers lol.
There are tons of threads on photography with the GNex, you should see them. Here are a couple of mine:
I could go on for pages... As you can see the camera is completely capable of taking good shots.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe It depends on the skill?
I can't do like this, and all the quality of photo took by my GN is so terrible...
I think that maybe is caused by the camera, because my Sony X10i doesn't have this problem.
So what do you think?

johnnyaqwer said:
Maybe It depends on the skill?
I can't do like this, and all the quality of photo took by my GN is so terrible...
I think that maybe is caused by the camera, because my Sony X10i doesn't have this problem.
So what do you think?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed. Some devices simply are more forgivable in this department.

​
msedek said:
Do you Wash your hands and clean ur nails from time to time? xD.... Hope you dont own a restaurant... Haha
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol. I wash them about 20 times a day. I'm an automotive technician though so they get pretty dirty throughout the day. Oil, grease, dirt, all the fun stuff I get paid to play in. haha
As far as the cameras quality being a skill issue... It is not necessarily a skill issue on the user's part, but at the same time a dslr camera's auto settings, and other settings allow for a lot more error on the user's part. My pictures from my d40 will always look cleaner than my gnex. This falls back to lens quality as well. My nicer lenses were more expensive than my phone by far and there's a reason high end lenses cost so much. Using cell phones to take pictures doesn't require any special talents but knowing what conditions will help you produce better quality photos can help a lot. Having the right lighting alone can make a huge difference. Also you need to remember it is a phone and not a camera. Yes it has a camera, but it's main purpose and intent is to be a communications device which it does well. lol. I also feel that for a phone it has a more than adequate camera. It's not the best on the market, but I got this phone for development purposes and my love of android software. As for pictures I've got my old minolta 35mm and my Nikon DSLR.

I will never understand why people say the s2 has a better camera. I had the s2 before the GN and I hated the camera tit would always take a picture I millisecond too short when focusing causing blurry photos. Hated that damn camera. I'm very happy with this. I truly believe anything over 5mp on a phone is pure overkill is just a game of who has the greater Number. All of this only differs if they actually put a damn great sensor of course but I'm loving my nexus camera. Oh and I loved the nexus one camera too. That was sharp and so reliable.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA

nexicon said:
I will never understand why people say the s2 has a better camera. I had the s2 before the GN and I hated the camera tit would always take a picture I millisecond too short when focusing causing blurry photos. Hated that damn camera. I'm very happy with this. I truly believe anything over 5mp on a phone is pure overkill is just a game of who has the greater Number. All of this only differs if they actually put a damn great sensor of course but I'm loving my nexus camera. Oh and I loved the nexus one camera too. That was sharp and so reliable.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are exactly right about the >5mp being overkill for a phone. Mp has nothing to do with photo quality when taken it is mainly a unit used to measure the depth of the image and how large you can increase it before you see pixels. I've never taken a picture with my phone that I've wanted to blow up bigger than 3x5 at the most. lol.

The HTC One X can replace your point and shooter camera...

In my opinion, some might not agree, but the HTC One X can and does a great job as a point and shoot camera. So far I am impressed how well pictures turn out.
http://hggadgets.blogspot.com/2012/05/can-htc-one-x-replace-your-point-and.html
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium

ElCamino said:
In my opinion, some might not agree, but the HTC One X can and does a great job as a point and shoot camera. So far I am impressed how well pictures turn out.
http://hggadgets.blogspot.com/2012/05/can-htc-one-x-replace-your-point-and.html
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Me too only thing stopping me from returning mine right now lol. Taken some stunning pictures and the quality allows some forgiveness when using image editing apps.

ElCamino said:
In my opinion, some might not agree, but the HTC One X can and does a great job as a point and shoot camera. So far I am impressed how well pictures turn out.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I still think the iPhone 4S takes better pictures. I have both and have compared extensively. It's very noticeable in the HDR mode, where the 4S easily beats the One X

Just tested "Camera ICS" from the market - seems better.
Here's what I got with it:
Bitrate: 7k to 20k, mostly in 10-12k range
Frame rate: 24.53
Resolution: 1920x1088
Audio: AAC, 32KHz
I think our camera hardware is capable of decoding a higher bitrate on the fly, but I wonder why did HTC limit it so much?
And just as a thought... I wonder if it'd be possible to let main CPU handle the on the fly decoding, essentially allowing easy high-bitrate capture..

DarkDvr said:
Just tested "Camera ICS" from the market - seems better.
Here's what I got with it:
Bitrate: 7k to 20k, mostly in 10-12k range
Frame rate: 24.53
Resolution: 1920x1088
Audio: AAC, 32KHz
I think our camera hardware is capable of decoding a higher bitrate on the fly, but I wonder why did HTC limit it so much?
And just as a thought... I wonder if it'd be possible to let main CPU handle the on the fly decoding, essentially allowing easy high-bitrate capture..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm thinking it's because of the limited storage capacity.

DarkDvr said:
Just tested "Camera ICS" from the market - seems better.
Here's what I got with it:
Bitrate: 7k to 20k, mostly in 10-12k range
Frame rate: 24.53
Resolution: 1920x1088
Audio: AAC, 32KHz
I think our camera hardware is capable of decoding a higher bitrate on the fly, but I wonder why did HTC limit it so much?
And just as a thought... I wonder if it'd be possible to let main CPU handle the on the fly decoding, essentially allowing easy high-bitrate capture..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nokia did the same with a lot of their phones. I remember having the Nokia N86 8MP which produced photo's that were smaller than 3mb in size. I thought then that phone manufacturers weren't serious about cameras in their phones, even when they advertise them as replacements. I now think it's a balance between what's possible in the phone and speed of use. Consumers want a picture taken with zero lag, fast save times and excellent quality from a phone chipset. While phones have very good silicon, I don't know how they stack up against a highend compact like the Panasonic LX or Canon S for example. I think these phones could produce better pictures but there will probably be an increased processing time. But if the manufacturers were serious about making a replacement camera phone, then why not have two camera apps. One stock one with current setup and one which gives full control over exposure, ISO, shutter speed, F-stop (if it's variable which I doubt) etc.

It's not an SLR... you're asking too much and clearly have no idea how cameras work so the options would be lost on you even if they were possible.

HTC One X can replace my piont and shoot camera look at these:
this is captured using 14 megapixels cheap benq camera with CCD by Sony
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this is HTC One X

Raider0001 said:
HTC One X can replace my piont and shoot camera look at these:
this is captured using 14 megapixels cheap benq camera with CCD by Sony
this is HTC One X
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LoL are you taking the piss?

Hi,
here is my comparison from one x camera.
left picture in hdr mode, and right is automatically.
cheers
starbase64

Raider0001 said:
HTC One X can replace my piont and shoot camera look at these:
this is captured using 14 megapixels cheap benq camera with CCD by Sony
this is HTC One X
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I prefer the quality of your 14mp Benq...
This won't replace my camera's - currently a Zoom Q3HD for audio/video and Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5.
I photograph and film a friends rock band and solo act (I'm not professional, I just use Auto settings) The last solo gig I went to my wife took better photo's with her GSII than the One X took! I put it away I was so embarrased. Even my HTC Desire managed to get ok pictures at a gig on auto.

BenPope said:
It's not an SLR... you're asking too much and clearly have no idea how cameras work so the options would be lost on you even if they were possible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure if you mean this for me but I never said anything about an SLR and I don't think I'm asking too much. I reread my post and I didn't mean for it to sound like the phones could beat a high end point and shoot but they should be able to produce better pictures with more detail, tones and dynamic range THAN THEY DO NOW.
Also, please don't jump to conclusions. I do know a thing or two about photography and these options would not be lost on me.
Regarding the original post, I use a Panasonic Lx5 and Pentax Dslr so I wouldn't expect a phone camera to replace these but I would expect a camera phone advertised and supposedly designed to replace a lesser camera to be better than what's currently on offer from phone manufacturers. I'm not sure how they'd better the cameras but I'm sure the trend for thinner devices doesn't help as it's sure to limit what they can achieve. Always a tradeoff.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA

I hadn't tried any of the camera modes, only auto...
But...
These look pretty good to me.
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk 2

matt_not_andrew said:
Not sure if you mean this for me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, it was. I should have quoted, but it's a pain from XDA app. You said "one which gives full control over exposure, ISO, shutter speed, F-stop", exposure is related to both shutter speed and F-Stops, the latter is clearly not adjustable on a fixed aperture lens (28mm, F2.0). Even ISO is technically not adjustable on a digital camera. You want to be able to do two things; shutter speed and exposure tweak (let's call it ISO, everyone else does, and the results are pretty much equivalent). That will adjust your blur and how bright the image is. Manual focus would be cool, too.
And I wouldn't have two apps, just basic point and shoot mode and advanced mode, with either fixed ISO or fixed shutter both with auto exposure, or full manual control.
Oh, and my apologies, I was a tad harsh.
Edit: I concur that the images are underwhelming; too much compression odd white balance, and, considering it was advertised as a good low light camera, too much noise in low light. I'm hoping these will be improved though.

TremF said:
I prefer the quality of your 14mp Benq...
This won't replace my camera's - currently a Zoom Q3HD for audio/video and Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5.
I photograph and film a friends rock band and solo act (I'm not professional, I just use Auto settings) The last solo gig I went to my wife took better photo's with her GSII than the One X took! I put it away I was so embarrased. Even my HTC Desire managed to get ok pictures at a gig on auto.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I couldn't tell the difference on his pics, myself, they both seemed bad. I don't know anything about the Zoom, but I know the Panasonic Lumix are great cameras. I also don't think we can expect phones to replace full lensed cameras, but it can certainly replace those crappy cheap point and shoot. The lumix definitely isn't a cheap point and shoot (I see a number of $50 point and shoots that people buy). I will have to say that this is the first phone where I've been fine with not carrying my point & shoot camera though. In fact, I brought it on this last vacation and never brought it out with me. The advantages of the auto dropbox syncing and uploading to social networks, etc. make up for the photo differences in most situations.
The 'auto' mode on the one x camera app sucks though, I almost always set it to HDR mode. If anyone knows of a way to make it default to HDR, that would be kinda handy. I hate that it always resets to auto.
---------- Post added at 01:09 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:57 AM ----------
BenPope said:
Edit: I concur that the images are underwhelming; too much compression odd white balance, and, considering it was advertised as a good low light camera, too much noise in low light. I'm hoping these will be improved though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I must have missed that they advertised it being a good low light camera, it definitely is not. I noticed the noise in low light and low light mode really didn't do anything. I assumed low light would slow the shutter speed and I'd get a low noise, lighter (but likely blurry because I was on a moving boat) photo. From what I can tell, the low light mode only increased the contrast, which is pointless.... I can do that from a photo app (similar to the equally useless digital zoom option).

I think the hox takes ok pictures but the dynamic range is low and the images are quite noisy at times. However that said I always have my phone with me and your best camera is always the one you have with you.

Replacement camera app

My wife wants a new phone for Christmas to replace her ageing HTC Desire S. She complains mainly about the naff camera on the Desire and wants something better.
Not wanting to break the bank, I was looking at the Moto G as a possible replacement. I know the camera has its shortcomings but wondered if anyone has tried using any other camera apps to see if they make a difference in things like focus speed and shutter lag on the phone?
Thanks in advance.
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Sorry, posted in wrong section. Please can this be deleted mods and I'll repost in Q A.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app

If she wants better camera, tbh you should look elsewhere since Moto G cam isn't great...
I used camera360 ultimate on my moto G and its not great improvement...
Since i don't care about the cam, its the first midrange android i bought...and it ticks everything except cam and audio quality (through headphone)
You could get her a nice 8mp phone but since you are on a budget...
My first android phone was a samsung s2 8mp which takes better shot that my nexus4.

Maybe try Focal.

Floechen95 said:
Maybe try Focal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Compared Focal to the stock camera app facing light. Default settings on both apps. Focal did pretty bad

I found stock camera not so bad (for such a cheap phone).
I tried also Camera Zoom FX (ugly) and Camera FV 5 (a little better but nothing special).
The only other camera app that seems to perform well is VSCO Cam: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vsco.cam&hl=it

I was also looking for a low-maintenance, point & shoot camera app that'll produce better pics than stock. I'll give VSCO a try.

The camera will not have massive improvements by chainging camera apps, litle or no improvement will be seen.

The Moto G camera is not that bad in my opinion. The reviews made me belive it was terrible. It's definitely not the best camera in the market, but for casual photos it can handle pretty well. And you can still use all those photo editing apps to make some color correction and etc.
This topic has some pictures taken with the Moto G in different situations, so you can decide for yourself if the 5MP camera is enough.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2543003
If you want something better you should probably consider another device as different camera apps wont give you a big improvement.

The camera in the Moto G is perfectly adequate. Not excellent, mind you. But good enough for normal use. The light is a bit dodgy but the quality and colour is fine on the test photos I took. Nothing that cant easily be fixed in Photoshop.
But lets be honest here. What are people going to use if for? Photographing food for Instagram and taking blurry selfies in the bathroom mirror? You don't need 41 megapixels for that.

it's not the best or the greatest. coming from an 8mp htc vivid there is a difference. better then expected though, and better then my old nexus one 5mp with flash.

Just so you guys know, when you take a picture in "Widescreen" (default setting, aka 16:9 aspect ratio), the picture is only 3.8 MP. If you turn it off in the camera app, it's 5 MP.

Product F(RED) said:
Just so you guys know, when you take a picture in "Widescreen" (default setting, aka 16:9 aspect ratio), the picture is only 3.8 MP. If you turn it off in the camera app, it's 5 MP.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ive taken the same photo in both modes but still get slightly more detail in widescreen.

How is the camera really?

I am thinking about moving from my Nexus 5 to the Z Play. Mainly for the battery. I would also like a much improved camera. The battery is the only reason I am not getting a Nexus 5x. The size of the phone is also slowing my decision.
I have seen lots of comments about the camera being subpar for a modern phone. Mainly when compared to the OnePlus 3T. My question is this...
Is the camera that much better than the N5 that I won't care or is the camera really the Achilles heal to near perfect (size is debatable) phone.
Thanks for your input and possibly even photo samples.
Sent from my Nexus 5 CAF using Tapatalk

Well, in my experience using this phone for 4 months as my daily driver. The camera could be better, i don't know if it's my phone or all the Moto Z Plays, but i have this issue when i try to focus, you have to tap the screen multiple times in order for the phone to focus properly.
If you are looking this phone mainly for pictures, i wouldn't recommend it.
But for battery life, is crazy, i can easily get 2 days without charging it. This is the reason im keeping it.

Camera is above average in my opinion. It is foolish to compare it with phones which costs almost twice as much as mzp. If camera is the reason you want to to buy a phone, you can look for other options but you want a decent camera which will click god shots when needed in a budget smartphone, you can go for it. I have used note series starting from 1, Xperia Z1 (20.7mp camera with Xmor sensor), and LG g4 so I know what I am talking about. Night shots aren't very good but it's the same with every phone I have seen except for Sony phones. Battery backup is insane and for a budget phone, performance is also quite good. Of course mzp cannot be compared to op3 but if battery backup and ui smoothness concerns you in any way mzp should be you choice.
Else for raw power, you can go for one plus 3.
Sent from my XT1635-02 using Tapatalk
---------- Post added at 07:15 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:08 AM ----------
I will post some shots as well in differnt lighting conditions so you can judge yourself.
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My Moto X Pure destroyed my Moto Z Play in both pictures and video. So let's not say that whole midrange blah blah blah argument here. The camera is definitely sub par. I don't know what Moto did, but they messed up somewhere. What kills me is that when taking videos via Snapchat, recording is perfect, but using any camera software, can't focus, despite tapping the screen or repositioning the focus ring. Picture wise, camera isn't bad, but I had better clarity and less noise in my X Pure. At this point I'm debating buying the Hasselbad camera Moto Mod just to try, in hopes that I'll see an improvement.

PhilD41 said:
I am thinking about moving from my Nexus 5 to the Z Play. Mainly for the battery. I would also like a much improved camera. The battery is the only reason I am not getting a Nexus 5x. The size of the phone is also slowing my decision.
I have seen lots of comments about the camera being subpar for a modern phone. Mainly when compared to the OnePlus 3T. My question is this...
Is the camera that much better than the N5 that I won't care or is the camera really the Achilles heal to near perfect (size is debatable) phone.
Thanks for your input and possibly even photo samples.
Sent from my Nexus 5 CAF using Tapatalk
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siralsmooth said:
My Moto X Pure destroyed my Moto Z Play in both pictures and video. So let's not say that whole midrange blah blah blah argument here. The camera is definitely sub par. I don't know what Moto did, but they messed up somewhere. What kills me is that when taking videos via Snapchat, recording is perfect, but using any camera software, can't focus, despite tapping the screen or repositioning the focus ring. Picture wise, camera isn't bad, but I had better clarity and less noise in my X Pure. At this point I'm debating buying the Hasselbad camera Moto Mod just to try, in hopes that I'll see an improvement.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think your unit is kinda defective. I have always used flagship devices and this is my first mid rang phone. Camera quality is definitely above average in good lighting Conditons.
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---------- Post added at 10:23 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:21 AM ----------
Pics that I have uploaded are in 11.9mp mode. I am sure tapatalk has reduced the quality to a large extent but you will get an idea.
Sent from my XT1635-02 using Tapatalk

Defective, not at all. Photos are fine, but in comparison to my X Pure, definitely not as good, and that too, was a midrange device. Videos, as I attend a lot of shows and festivals, usually at night, are horrific, even using a modified camera API, alternative apps, it's the same BS, can't focus no matter how many tries. I've lost so many good videos because they're blurry the whole way through. But again, Snapchat video is flawless and focuses perfectly. Fairly certain the issue is related to the camera API, as Snapchat uses its own, thus the distorted audio 95% of the time, Motos wind rejection/noise cancellation is amazing. Front rows,50k-150k Watts of sound and waves of bass and it's perfect.
As I said, camera isn't bad, for picture taking, and in decent light, as your examples look like what mine takes, but low light or any usage of zoom, pfft, garbage photos. My Nexus 6 was amazing, X Pure was a step down, but this I feel shouldn't​ be this bad. The G4 probably has a better camera, and that's sad.
---------- Post added at 06:13 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:10 AM ----------
And worth noting, I used to buy my phone's based on the camera alone. Still have my Nokia N82 with the Carl Zeiss optics and a true xenon flash. That 8yr old phone at 5MP took better pictures than my Moto Z Play.

I don't find the camera bad. Compared to my previous Sony Xperia Z1C and the Note 4 I find it better. But it alway also depends on what you want to do. I use it a lot for outdoor Pictures.
I copy my post from another thread with some Pictures here:
Coming from a Samsung Note 4 the Z Play camera quality was a big concern for me. But actually it's better than the Note 4. Samsung applies way too much denoise and sharpening filters which you could see a lot in outdoor images with trees and so on. (Giving everything a "watercolor effect".) Of course they do not have so much noise on the other hand but images clearly lack of detail with Samsung software.
The Moto Z Play gave me more details compared to the Note 4 (which is the same module than Galaxy S5). Also low light is better. Overall for me quality was on par for example with the OnePlus3T of my son.
The only thing I agree which is missing is the OIS. You really have to concentrate to hold the phone steady when taking HDR images. Without HDR I don't have issues though. On the other hand HDR images are really good to increase the images dynamic range.
I also switched to Snap Camera app (not to be confused with Snap from Lineage) which gives me a lot more options compared to the stock camera. There I completely disabled the denoise filter and lowered the sharpening filter to -2. This gave me even more details without sacrificing the Quality with to much noise. Beside this it has 4K Super Slowmotion and an enhanced HDR mode for really hard conditions.
I noticed that a lot of people judge the images only on the small phone screen and don't zoom in an look at the details. Also they expect images to perfectly come out with auto mode and not trying to play with the settings and optimize them.
Some images at full resolution. Most of them were shot under not so ideal conditions but I think they are good espacially with the given conditions. All were done with Snap Camera and denoise filter disabled to get more details. Just click on the links below:
A lot of small details in this image which come out really well. Also the dynamic range and the colors are great I think.
Denoise disabled too, maybe a little to much sharpening. Therefore noise came out a little to much but nice details if you look at the meadow, trees and roof.
Optimized the sharpening filter a little.
A shot against the rising sun. You could still see details of the plants in the foreground.
Very dark - actually it was darker than it appears on the image:

Auto focus isn't working at all on my MZP. I'd say it is the worst camera I ever had in any smartphone, which isn't really an issue though.
Edit: If the focussing would work, it might be a decent cam. However, it seems to be a wide-spread issue.
Edit2: According to this thread Lenovo confirmed that the faulty auto focus is a hardware issue. So, the camera shouldn't be an obstacle after all.

Auto focus searches all the time on my phone also! If it's a hardware issue, it can't be fixed by software update. That's bad.
So why is camera no issue? Are you sure the hardware fault is fixed in newer devices? Does there exist a reliable test to find out if your device is concerned?

Thank you to everyone's input so far. The information has been been very helpful! I appreciate the thoughts, information and images greatly!
cesgz said:
If you are looking this phone mainly for pictures, i wouldn't recommend it.
But for battery life, is crazy, i can easily get 2 days without charging it. This is the reason im keeping it.
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Click to collapse
I am mainly looking at it for battery, but I would like a better camera than my N5. To be fair, it is REALLY bad so that isn't saying much. For the photos that "matter" I use my Nikon DLSR.
leoavi94 said:
you want a decent camera which will click good shots when needed in a budget smartphone, you can go for it. I will post some shots as well in differnt lighting conditions so you can judge yourself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is exactly what I am looking for. I would like something with a good dev community to keep the device current (first non Nexus for me) but the MZP looks to have that as well. The N5's photos aren't hardly worth putting on Facebook, so I was hoping to get something a little better. Thank you for the pictures!! those are simple (which is good), and worlds better than what I would get with the N5.
siralsmooth said:
My Moto X Pure destroyed my Moto Z Play in both pictures and video. So let's not say that whole midrange blah blah blah argument here. The camera is definitely sub par.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have much to compare it to outside of the Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 5 and my wife's first gen Moto X (sprint). I take your input seriously and will look to evaluate images. I am a little concerned about you stating it is more the focus than the IQ. That could make even a good camera unusable.
noisyriver said:
I don't find the camera bad. Compared to my previous Sony Xperia Z1C and the Note 4 I find it better. But it alway also depends on what you want to do. I use it a lot for outdoor Pictures.
I copy my post from another thread with some Pictures here:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you so much for these examples. Let me say you have a beautiful place to take photos. I would consider these really good for a mid range phone. I wouldn't even attempt them with my N5 knowing they wouldn't be usable. Assuming the focus issue isn't a show stopper this lets me know I would be moving up a class or two in camera.
hypoPLAsm said:
Auto focus isn't working at all on my MZP. I'd say it is the worst camera I ever had in any smartphone, which isn't really an issue though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for the link. That is unfortunate. This provides valuable information though and will help me make a decision - at least to know if the camera is working correctly. I am curious if they have fixed it now.
Thanks again to everyone. If others are reading this, I would always appreciate more input.

I think the camera is pretty good. of course i'm not a photographer. i dont understand the camera debate. buy a camera if you need a camera ?!

Hi.
It's simple, if the camera get focus , takes good pictures ... but you have to try almost 3 times to do it right ... sensor it's good ... the problem it's autofocus. I use bacon camera with continuos focus ... helps a little.
Sorry for my english.

I'm actually gonna give snap camera a go as mentioned. And to the previous poster as to why buy a camera, maybe if I carried a purse or a backpack with me every where I went, but my pocket is only so big, and the convenience of having a decent shooter on my phone is more than enough for my needs.

Camera is not bad, need some practice.
http://cloud.tapatalk.com/s/58e91bafcb906/IMG_20170408_185534009.jpg?
http://cloud.tapatalk.com/s/58e91b9311e1e/IMG_20170408_191249547_HDR.jpg?
Wysłane z mojego XT1635-02 przy użyciu Tapatalka

You all talked me into it. Hopefully I will have my "new to me" Moto Z Play next week. From what I have seen here, I should be happy with the phone as a significant improvement in battery and camera over my Nexus 5. Thanks!!

The mzp has a camera about as good as the nexus 5x. Nowhere near the LG G4 or nexus XL.

Compared to my best friends G5 I'm content with the picture quality and often impressed. The Z play camera is underrated.

The image quality is ok, but the auto focus REALLY sucks. There's no way to take a quick snapshot because the focus is very slow and almost always focusses on the background instead of the object you are trying to capture. As much as I love the Z Play, I just hate the camera, even compared to the one from my previous Nexus 5.

beatschubser said:
The image quality is ok, but the auto focus REALLY sucks. There's no way to take a quick snapshot because the focus is very slow and almost always focusses on the background instead of the object you are trying to capture. As much as I love the Z Play, I just hate the camera, even compared to the one from my previous Nexus 5.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After reading you comment, I minimized Tapatalk, opened my camera and gave less than a second to focus and snapped a shot. To minimise the luck factor, I did it it 3more times and absolutely no blurriness..
Couple of more people have reported that issue on this post but I have never faced any such problem.. Lucky may be [emoji14]
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