Develop Bugs

[Q] Camera Question

I was messing with a Galaxy 2 today, and noticed that it had a 8mp camera on it. I thought the quality of the pictures were also really nice. How does the Nexus's camera compare to the one that is on the galaxy 2? Also, why would the downgrade the camera? I know that mega pixels isn't everything when it comes to pictures, but is the nexus 5mp camera better somehow that the 8mp that comes on other recent devices?
Thanks

Unfortunately there is nothing special about the 5mp camera on the nexus.

I can't speak for the galaxy s2, but coming from a Droid 1 which also has a 5mp camera I can say the nexus completely blows it away, very sharp too. Same MP, big difference. There are many discussions on what makes a 8mp camera suck and say, a 5mp be better, ill avoid that road but say it is more than just MP!
And as a second thought, its a phone! The nexus camera is more than adequate, and if you really need top quality, buy a real camera
Galaxy Nexus Bugless Beast 4.0.3 cdma

While there is more than MP the best unfortunate truth is that most high end phones have better sensors AND more MP
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App

I'm not 100% sure but I believe megapixel has to do with the size of the photo?
Quality of the camera doesn't really depend on the megapixel.
Despite saying that, the galaxy nexus camera isn't that good. The software is ok but I think its worse then my 5megapixel camera that used to be on my galaxy s captivate.
Please correct me if I'm wrong. Just my thoughts.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App

my old htc Dinc got a 8mp camera, to compare the both, i dont see any differences beside the GNex came are godly fast.

I can coax better shots out of my Dinc...
That and stock software takes terrible shots, not even at the expense of speed, just poor decisions in noise reduction.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App

I wonder if they choose to use a smaller sensor to keep the camera so fast. Maybe the larger sensors weren't performing as well speed wise. But I agree others, it isn't the best out there.

zeke1988 said:
my old htc Dinc got a 8mp camera, to compare the both, i dont see any differences beside the GNex came are godly fast.
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staticx57 said:
I can coax better shots out of my Dinc...
That and stock software takes terrible shots, not even at the expense of speed, just poor decisions in noise reduction.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App
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bummer. the camera is one of the main deciding factors for me. i'll be upgrading from a Dinc, and while it served me well the past two years, I really would like to upgrade to a better phone cam, since the Dinc's cam is terrible at low light situations and can overexpose at outdoors. the flash on it is terrible also, being overly bright, which just washes out the photo. do i have another option in verizon, or is the iphone 4s my only other option? my upgrade is due now by the way. thanks.

MP is just the size of the photos. How good a camera is has a lot more to do with just the MP count. However, MP count does play an important role in phone photography. 99% of the phone camera lenses have no optical zoom. All the "zoom" are digital zoom, which just means cropping and enlarging the original picture. In this case, all else equal, the higher the MP, the better the "zoomed" result. Moreover, and very unfortunately, MP count aside, the lens and the sensor on the Galaxy Nexus are pretty poor.

The camera isn't amazing, but I would definitely not suggest anything but the GNex since it's all round just a perfect phone, you'll regret not getting it IMO.

radiohead14 said:
bummer. the camera is one of the main deciding factors for me. i'll be upgrading from a Dinc, and while it served me well the past two years, I really would like to upgrade to a better phone cam, since the Dinc's cam is terrible at low light situations and can overexpose at outdoors. the flash on it is terrible also, being overly bright, which just washes out the photo. do i have another option in verizon, or is the iphone 4s my only other option? my upgrade is due now by the way. thanks.
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If I were you on verizon I would get the Rezound. It has a really nice camera compared to the Gnex and it also has a 1280x720 screen and even a more powerful GPU (but not CPU). I had it before I switched it for my gnex but I can't stand not having an AMOLED screen otherwise id still have that phone.

staticx57 said:
If I were you on verizon I would get the Rezound. It has a really nice camera compared to the Gnex and it also has a 1280x720 screen and even a more powerful GPU (but not CPU). I had it before I switched it for my gnex but I can't stand not having an AMOLED screen otherwise id still have that phone.
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yea i was trying out that phone in store. it's a bit of a brick though, and i wasn't impressed with the screen as well. any other ones coming out soon that i should wait for? will verizon get the galaxy S3?

Im impressed with the GNex cam. I do a lot of custom paint and mostly metallics so i like to take very close pics and they always come out great

The camera is good on this?

It really is. I have no idea why so many people whine about it. My girlfriend quite often uses my phone instead of hers for pictures because the camera is so nice. Only time it sucks is if I zoom in at night with zero lighting. Basically have to try to make it anything but amazing. I can capture beautiful pictures of animals mid hop which is hard even with a real camera. OK rant over but I'm impressed by it.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA

because it is apart of humanity. we as humans always like to find something to criticize about, either that or they are trolls from other phone forums trying to bash the galaxy nexus. kinda like the whole criticism of "lack of sdcard" or "plastic phone". the camera is perfectly fine as long as its focused properly.
best tip is to just ignore them and keep using the phone we all enjoy the most

zephiK said:
because it is apart of humanity. we as humans always like to find something to criticize about, either that or they are trolls from other phone forums trying to bash the galaxy nexus. kinda like the whole criticism of "lack of sdcard" or "plastic phone". the camera is perfectly fine as long as its focused properly.
best tip is to just ignore them and keep using the phone we all enjoy the most
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Hmmm true honestly I forget that people like trolling since I can't see the point. The sdcard thing is my only gripe but I keep seeing things about the camera. When I got this phone I was beyond surprised by how awesome my camera is now.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA

Its definitely better the the LG Revolution. I don't mind the camera.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

Gahh Its Lee said:
Hmmm true honestly I forget that people like trolling since I can't see the point. The sdcard thing is my only gripe but I keep seeing things about the camera. When I got this phone I was beyond surprised by how awesome my camera is now.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA
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honestly i don't see a problem with 16GB, i mean yeah its nice to have a SD card slot. Verizon users have 32GB. The phone itself (in GSM form) should of came with 32GB in my opinion. But it's not a big deal for me.
I don't understand why people need to carry all their movies and music on their phone at the same time. It's not like they're going to watch everything they stored on their phone. And there is always USB OTG where you can plug a USB drive into your phone for expandable storage.
4.0.4 also improved the camera. my same ideology goes with the camera, phone cameras are for CASUAL pictures. if you're going to go out to a important event like a wedding or whatever it is... you'd have a DEDICATED camera such as a canon rebel eos or something of that sort. it would produce higher quality. same thing for GPS etc etc. yes i know its convenient, but we have to all realize that the GN is a phone. Not a superphone that can do everything in one device.

In good lighting the camera takes good shots. In low lighting the shots are extremely washed out. Coming from a rezound I like the pics better on the nexus in good light...even though the rezound has an on avg better camera. It can pass.
Knocking a phone for having a plastic build is pathetic. Mine is in a case...who cares what it is made of. As long as its in a case no one will ever know lol.

ac29593 said:
In good lighting the camera takes good shots. In low lighting the shots are extremely washed out. Coming from a rezound I like the pics better on the nexus in good light...even though the rezound has an on avg better camera. It can pass.
Knocking a phone for having a plastic build is pathetic. Mine is in a case...who cares what it is made of. As long as its in a case no one will ever know lol.
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Phone actually feels really good regardless if it's plastic. When compared to a Galaxy S1, I feel that Samsung did a really good job on the Galaxy S2 backcover. Can't say too much about Galaxy S3 though. Looks like a downgrade.
+1 with case... Ringke Slim Case + Extended Battery = Perfection!

Why not have a look at photos taken with the phone?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1392436

mentose457 said:
Why not have a look at photos taken with the phone?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1392436
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You should read the thread before posting.
The OP is not asking if the GN camera is good or not. The OP is stating his OWN opinion about the camera and he feels that the camera is good enough and wonders why people complain about the camera.

Thanks I couldn't find that thread. I think we get some damn good quality for a phone.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA

****ty craftsmen blame their tools.
I've got an ET4G SGS2 until tomorrow. From the pics I've seen here and round the web I'm sure I'll get the same quality (if not better) pictures from this camera...they'll just be slightly smaller.
Also people think they are "tipped off" by their "superior intellect" that the camera must suck because it has 3mp less than most cameras. I see it as having 3mp less noise in the image. I have a 16mp digital camera....that doesn't mean that it necessarily takes better pictures--zoom in the 1:1 pixel-for-pixel and tell me that you really need all 8mp when--even on a good well focused steady shot in great lighting--you see noticeable noise in every shot. Show me a phone camera (or even ANY digital camera) that consistently doesn't do this at all.
I'm not worried at all. I'm a musician....I've been in bands....played out for more than half of my life (I'm 32). Other musicians and band guys will likely know exactly what I'm talking about....lots of people are just about to start a band, project, song, video, production company, etc....but they just need that one last key piece of equipment to get them started. An artist wants to create art with whatever they have, everyone else will blame their tools for not making them great.

zephiK said:
You should read the thread before posting.
The OP is not asking if the GN camera is good or not. The OP is stating his OWN opinion about the camera and he feels that the camera is good enough and wonders why people complain about the camera.
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Apparently you didn't read my post. I simply suggested he admire the great photos taken with the phone by others. Please refer to the OPs post below yours.

The camera on this is great. Just because it has less pixels than most other cameras it doesn't take horrible pictures. I still consider it an upgrade from my 8mp DINC.

I like it too. I installed Camera FV-5 and it has dSLR controls. Good for casual shooting
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA

zephiK said:
Phone actually feels really good regardless if it's plastic.
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Agreed. And I don't see it pointed out very often that the HTC Rezound is 100% plastic, the RAZR which claims to be aluminum feels a hell of a lot like plastic to me, the Thunderbolt, Revolution, X, X2, Bionic, Charge, Evo, Evo 3D, Evo LTE and 50 other high end phones over the last couple years - plastic. Even Casio's rugged phones are plastic. It's an illogical complaint, that's my point.

You guys are kidding right? The camera is simply not that good. It's not terrible, but just very disappointing for such a new flagship phone.
It has nothing to do with megapixels. If I read a review that compares cameras solely based on megapixels, I walk away. With the Nexus, it looks great in the viewfinder, but after I take a picture, I zoom in and it's usually blurry. I have gotten into the habit of taking 3 pictures and discarding the two worst ones and almost always the first pic is blurry as hell. I came from a 5mp Sony Ericsson Hazel feature phone with dedicated shutter button and I kinda miss it. I rarely needed to retake pictures like this. I'm only on 4.0.2 right now, so hopefully they did fix it in software.
The sensor is just weak, especially in low light. Annoyingly, our phone also loses to the iPhone 4s in picture quality. will try to find the link later.

It's pretty decent for the phone. You obviously can't expect SLR kind of quality but in good light it's very good.
The ICS improvements have made it very snappy too. Love the panaroma feature if that makes you tick...

zAlbee said:
You guys are kidding right? The camera is simply not that good. It's not terrible, but just very disappointing for such a new flagship phone.
It has nothing to do with megapixels. If I read a review that compares cameras solely based on megapixels, I walk away. With the Nexus, it looks great in the viewfinder, but after I take a picture, I zoom in and it's usually blurry. I have gotten into the habit of taking 3 pictures and discarding the two worst ones and almost always the first pic is blurry as hell. I came from a 5mp Sony Ericsson Hazel feature phone with dedicated shutter button and I kinda miss it. I rarely needed to retake pictures like this. I'm only on 4.0.2 right now, so hopefully they did fix it in software.
The sensor is just weak, especially in low light. Annoyingly, our phone also loses to the iPhone 4s in picture quality. will try to find the link later.
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I believe they did fix the focusing problems with the 4.0.4 update. Give it a go and see.

zAlbee said:
You guys are kidding right? The camera is simply not that good. It's not terrible, but just very disappointing for such a new flagship phone.
It has nothing to do with megapixels. If I read a review that compares cameras solely based on megapixels, I walk away. With the Nexus, it looks great in the viewfinder, but after I take a picture, I zoom in and it's usually blurry. I have gotten into the habit of taking 3 pictures and discarding the two worst ones and almost always the first pic is blurry as hell. I came from a 5mp Sony Ericsson Hazel feature phone with dedicated shutter button and I kinda miss it. I rarely needed to retake pictures like this. I'm only on 4.0.2 right now, so hopefully they did fix it in software.
The sensor is just weak, especially in low light. Annoyingly, our phone also loses to the iPhone 4s in picture quality. will try to find the link later.
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Its not a flagship phone. The Galaxy S III is a flagship phone. The HTC One X is a flagship phone. The GALAXY Nexus is a REFERENCE device.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA

zAlbee said:
You guys are kidding right? The camera is simply not that good. It's not terrible, but just very disappointing for such a new flagship phone.
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I'm only on 4.0.2 right now, so hopefully they did fix it in software.
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And that is why the GN's camera has a bad reputation. People stuck with old firmwares giving their impression even though many camera problems were fixed.

Camera TERRIBLE indoors?

Hi all,
Quick question about the quality of images on my HOX.
They are absolutely terrible, for a HOX, especially when one of their major selling points was the apparantly, amazing camera?
The quality of images out doors, is acceptable, but again for a camera such as the HOX I think they should be better.
But indoors, they are almost un-viewable they are that bad.
Im no camera expert, and don't know much about what to do to produce a good image.
Has anyone else experienced terrible HOX images?
Is their anything I can do to improve the quality of the images?
Thanks all !

In my experience indoor performance of the One X camera is as good if not better than other well regarded smart phones out there. I have personally compared indoor performance against the Galaxy S3 and the iPhone 4S; picture quality in most cases turned out to be better than 4S and on par with S3. However, having said that, don’t expect the quality of a DSLR or even a cheap point n shoot compact camera.
What exactly is the problem with your indoor photos? Are they too dark, noisy or blurry? When taking photos indoors try to hold the phone as stable as you can, because under low light conditions the shutter stays open longer to take in more light, this causes even the slightest movement to make your photo very blurry.

PhoenixFx said:
In my experience indoor performance of the One X camera is as good if not better than other well regarded smart phones out there. I have personally compared indoor performance against the Galaxy S3 and the iPhone 4S; picture quality in most cases turned out to be better than 4S and on par with S3. However, having said that, don’t expect the quality of a DSLR or even a cheap point n shoot compact camera.
What exactly is the problem with your indoor photos? Are they too dark, noisy or blurry? When taking photos indoors try to hold the phone as stable as you can, because under low light conditions the shutter stays open longer to take in more light, this causes even the slightest movement to make your photo very blurry.
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Hi, thanks for the reply.
I compared with the S3, and the HOX looked like a disposable camera compared to the S3.
Indoors they look very pixlated and blurry as you said.
I hold it as steady as my hands allow me.
Im not sure what noise etc is.
Thanks for the reply mate, is there anything I can do to improve?

Wilks3y said:
Hi, thanks for the reply.
I compared with the S3, and the HOX looked like a disposable camera compared to the S3.
Indoors they look very pixlated and blurry as you said.
I hold it as steady as my hands allow me.
Im not sure what noise etc is.
Thanks for the reply mate, is there anything I can do to improve?
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Same issue here on my gf's htc one x.
Blurry pictures. Setting iso to 800 manualy helps a bit but still not like my note 2.
And the low light setting I have been reading about is night setting I presume?
My note 2 has a low light setting and with it you make awesome pictures.
Doesn't work like this on one x.
Real shame because outdoor pictures are great.
If you advertise with it make it f***** work.
Focus is wierd to. Note 2 flashes long for focus then again short and adjusted during the shot.
The htc focusses in darkness then flashes and takes the shot.....no wonder they're out of focus.
Anyway we are not happy. Especially when we heard they don't take it back.
Now she's stuck with a crappy indoor phone camera for 2 years.
Htc better update on this issue quick

Nathalex27 said:
Same issue here on my gf's htc one x.
Blurry pictures. Setting iso to 800 manualy helps a bit but still not like my note 2.
And the low light setting I have been reading about is night setting I presume?
My note 2 has a low light setting and with it you make awesome pictures.
Doesn't work like this on one x.
Real shame because outdoor pictures are great.
If you advertise with it make it f***** work.
Focus is wierd to. Note 2 flashes long for focus then again short and adjusted during the shot.
The htc focusses in darkness then flashes and takes the shot.....no wonder they're out of focus.
Anyway we are not happy. Especially when we heard they don't take it back.
Now she's stuck with a crappy indoor phone camera for 2 years.
Htc better update on this issue quick
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Same here, gutted.
Can't understand how they can advertise a man jumping out of a plane with it, and getting focused stunning shots, but yet us trying to take a picture of a dog in our bedrooms is not stable enough and comes out blurry.
Yet again, HTC successfully blags its consumer base.
Anything we can do?!

Wilks3y said:
Same here, gutted.
Can't understand how they can advertise a man jumping out of a plane with it, and getting focused stunning shots, but yet us trying to take a picture of a dog in our bedrooms is not stable enough and comes out blurry.
Yet again, HTC successfully blags its consumer base.
Anything we can do?!
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I called with htc customer service and they said if enough complaints come in that they'll update on the issue.
So report it and hope for the best
Edit: I had mine replaced with a galaxy s3.
Better flash, more functions ( that actualy work and do what they should do. )
Very sharp indoor pictures.
With flash is perfect but without and low light mode is perfect too.
I'm just gonna stick to samsung phones from now on.
Save myself the trouble of going through countless discussions with htc and customer service to replace a phone.
Sent from my GT-N7100 using XDA Premium HD app

Is this the right phone to get?

For those of you that have this phone, and have had it since close to it's release date, what are your opinions?
I am going to be purchasing a new phone, for use with WindMobile in Canada (i.e. it must be an AWS phone). As far as I can tell this is my best option because I use my phone mostly as a camera so my #1 interest is a camera that does not lag and will open quickly. I also am a fairly heavy user for NUMBER of apps. I have a lot installed and switch between them frequently. I don't play games or watch videos so graphics don't matter much.
The kicker here is I am REALLY hoping to keep this phone for 2 years at least. Do you think that this phone will last? Keeping in mind I don't care about being behind on new technology. I only care that it can handle my volume of use and won't sputter and choke to a slow after 6 months use like the one I have now.
I currently have an Optimus 2X but it is dying. It lags incredibly between tasks and the plastic covering the camera is poor quality and I had to rip it off so the lens is mostly unprotected now. I don't want to deal with stuff like this is I am going to buy a brand new phone. Do you think the Xperia ZL is the right choice?
p.s. I saw a review of the camera where the reviewer said that the photos look great on the BRAVIA screen but once on a computer screen are not very good. Has this been your experience? What about printing?
p.p.s. would appreciate comments about how rugged it is also as I work as a nanny with two 24 month old toddlers. Honestly I want the Z due to it's waterproof encasing but it's not sold new up here in Canada.

so my #1 interest is a camera that does not lag and will open quickly.
--> camera itself is the fastest I've seen. First thing you notice is the super smooth and responsive viewfinder.. even in low light. It always feels 60fps. I compared this to HTC ONE and it's a LOT slower..really.
About opening.. opening of the camera app isn't fastest i've seen (can take 3 secs) but because of the dedicated button you can still open it way faster than phones without button.
I also am a fairly heavy user for NUMBER of apps. I have a lot installed and switch between them frequently. I don't play games or watch videos so graphics don't matter much.
--> Ye as with all 2GB phones multitasking is almost instant and apps never really close.
The kicker here is I am REALLY hoping to keep this phone for 2 years at least. Do you think that this phone will last? Keeping in mind I don't care about being behind on new technology.
Then yes. I don't see why this phone wouldn't make it 2 years.
I only care that it can handle my volume of use and won't sputter and choke to a slow after 6 months use like the one I have now.
With 2GB ram it's pretty future proof IMO.
p.s. I saw a review of the camera where the reviewer said that the photos look great on the BRAVIA screen but once on a computer screen are not very good. Has this been your experience? What about printing?
Well, in my opinion, pictures look suberb on the 5" with bravia engine 2..really gives a wow-factor.
When you then watch them on the PC they look kinda normal/bland/boring..so its just the way you look at it
p.p.s. would appreciate comments about how rugged it is also as I work as a nanny with two 24 month old toddlers. Honestly I want the Z due to it's waterproof encasing but it's not sold new up here in Canada.
The back isn't made from glass but very grippy texture. I haven't dropped mine but the phones feels very sturdy and good quality, except for maybe the little flap on the back for sim/SD.
Honestly I think ZL is very underrated and still (even with new models like Z1) ZL is still my favorite.

Thanks for your quick quick reply!! One clarification I have to ask: I understand what you mean about quality depending on the screen. However when you look on your computer do you think the quality fits the price? Let's put this simply: I am tired of my boyfriend's iphone photos looking SOOOO much better than mine. Can I at least compete now? lol

earthabbey said:
Thanks for your quick quick reply!! One clarification I have to ask: I understand what you mean about quality depending on the screen. However when you look on your computer do you think the quality fits the price? Let's put this simply: I am tired of my boyfriend's iphone photos looking SOOOO much better than mine. Can I at least compete now? lol
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To be honest I really like the camera but the software app just doesn't do it justice. Pictures looked a bit washed out when looked at the computer. You can still install another camera app with less compression effects.
Also, for me the camera opens very quickly, less than 1 second with the latest 267 firmware update.
The phone looks gorgeous with the incredibly small bezel for a 5 inch phone. But if you want an awesome camera phone you really should go with the Galaxy S4. Still the best midrange camera phone I've seen so far is clearly the Nokia Lumia 920 but its a Win8 phone... both phone can be easily unlocked if not offered by Wind and are AWS versions.
Also, lots of people complain about the screen being TFT which is the cheapest technology you can use for a phone nowadays. So the viewing angles aren't good but I personally don't care much. But I think you will notice it right away.
Still, for a lot of other aspects, I prefer the Sony ZL

earthabbey said:
p.p.s. would appreciate comments about how rugged it is also as I work as a nanny with two 24 month old toddlers. Honestly I want the Z due to it's waterproof encasing but it's not sold new up here in Canada.
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the Z is available through Bell FYI.

I just traded it my s3 for an zl very disappointed in camera in dark places there is a ton of noise I have to also take multiple snaps before I can get a shot to have a properly focused pic if I use flash it works fine but using superior auto mode and in a well lit room it still doesn't compare anything to the s3 which had a very quick focus but other then that the phone is well worth it will last you 2 years if you do not abuse it only thing im concerned is the non removable battery... wonder how will it perform in 2 years from now....
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium

shahkam said:
I just traded it my s3 for an zl very disappointed in camera in dark places there is a ton of noise I have to also take multiple snaps before I can get a shot to have a properly focused pic if I use flash it works fine but using superior auto mode and in a well lit room it still doesn't compare anything to the s3 which had a very quick focus but other then that the phone is well worth it will last you 2 years if you do not abuse it only thing im concerned is the non removable battery... wonder how will it perform in 2 years from now....
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
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Do you have the latest update? A lot of reviews I saw said that there were a lot of problems before the latest update.

shahkam said:
I just traded it my s3 for an zl very disappointed in camera in dark places there is a ton of noise I have to also take multiple snaps before I can get a shot to have a properly focused pic if I use flash it works fine but using superior auto mode and in a well lit room it still doesn't compare anything to the s3 which had a very quick focus but other then that the phone is well worth it will last you 2 years if you do not abuse it only thing im concerned is the non removable battery... wonder how will it perform in 2 years from now....
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
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Don't use superior auto by default, it adds way too much noise. Try using normal with some basic tweaks, you will see a major difference.
Especially with the latest update.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app

Well I kind of have the same problem. Own an Optimus 2x and now ordered Zl from an amazon offer (350 euros). I love the white version since - if the black back looks cheap - this is absolutely not the case with the white.
However, I am quite disappointed by the screen. You notice the viewing angles immediately and every time the phone is lying on a table in a darker room, it looks like it is showing a bright Grey picture although background is black. So I wanted to return it.
Then I thought of alternatives, but very successful.. I am looking for a phone with no amoled screen, wo no s4. I really want at least 32gb memory and would be happy if it had a working fm radio like XZL (tried Optimus G and thought that must be a bad joke). The Optimus G was nice, but fm radio crap, and due to non expendable storage, I was really missing USB otg. S4 active would be nice, but no fm radio, feels somehow big and is very overpriced. The new nexus 5 seems to only have 16gb.. LG G2 is very expensive with 32gb. And none of them has a dedicated camera button. So I guess xperia zl is a great package! If only they had included a IPS screen (which can be considered as standard today, even for cheap phones).
Today I looked at the screen in a bright room and then it looked way better than yesterday night when it was dark. So I am thinking of keeping the phone - seems like the package is quite good. Or does anyone of you habe a proposal?
Sent from my LG-P990 using xda app-developers app

My comments:
The poor viewing angles on the screen aren't as horrible as people make it out to be, the screen is still perfectly good and quite a joy to look at. (plus if you like to be private then it stops people from seeing what you're doing easily)
Picture quality is fine, I have an unlocked bootloader(which I did before TA backups were a thing ;_ and even still everything looks great on the screen. Video quality is pretty good in my opinion. In low light, yes the picture quality does tend to suffer but it's still acceptable for it being a phone, I personally haven't tried tweaking with the settings much besides installing the Z1 camera app port.
If you want to see the quality yourself, here are some photos/videos(mind you the outdoor greenery shots were taken a while ago so the latest updates might have improved things):
http://imgur.com/a/qoqg2#0
http://youtu.be/SXxN14HdeGU
Performance has been pretty good, there are a few things I've noticed which can make it a little laggy, like setting a smaller icon size in Apex and the app Twilight can make scrolling a little laggy, but otherwise performance is snappy.
Something that might be of concern is battery life, due to the non-removeable battery. I can usually get through a day before having to charge. I get about 4-5 hours of video watching, so if I only use the screen for a few hours sporadically(15 minutes here, 15 minutes there) then I can usually push it to 24 hours.
One thing I would really suggest is getting at least a decent screen cover, if not case as well, I have one of those meifeng cases from ebay, it's decent enough quality and it's pretty thin, I don't use it every day though. But the built in screen protector is an absolute lint electromagnet, it's like it's sole purpose was to collect lint, not cool. I picked up a skinomi screen protector, just put it on top of the built in one and it works/looks fine.
One thing I like about the skinomi is that it's slightly soft, so it doesn't scratch easily, but it still a good surface for fingering.
The speaker isn't loud enough to be heard over a concert or some power tools, but if you're just at home or in the car then it's quite adequate, the headphone out is also adequate, though it can be a tad quieter than some might like, depending on headphones used.
The microphones are pretty great, that youtube video? The music in person was ear-screeching, yet somehow the microphones managed to pick everything else up pretty well.
The IR Blaster is fun if you normally use multiple remotes for your home.
I can't really think of anything else at the moment, but feel free to ask and I'll try to answer.
Edit:
Shadowman19: Personally I find the viewing angles acceptable knowing that I'm probably never really going to be looking at my phone from these angles anyways, 99% of the time I'm looking at it is straight on.

Personally I don't own a ZL(I currently own an Ion), but i have seen a couple of Z's(the Z screen is similar to the ZL). Honestly, I don't see the difference when tilting the phone(I can definitely see it on my ion). The poor viewing angle claims are exaggerated.

Anyone not happy with the camera even after the update?

For some reason when I shoot videos or photos, it's blurry if I try to shoot right away. OR I have to tap on the object just to focus on it. I remember being drunk at a concert and recording some video...it took about 10 seconds of a 2 minute video just to fully focus. Even my s3, m7 and old phones never had this problem. Anyone else have this problem?

btort1 said:
For some reason when I shoot videos or photos, it's blurry if I try to shoot right away. OR I have to tap on the object just to focus on it. I remember being drunk at a concert and recording some video...it took about 10 seconds of a 2 minute video just to fully focus. Even my s3, m7 and old phones never had this problem. Anyone else have this problem?
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Camera isn't great, people are probably going to say you're talking rubbish. But I agree.
You can take a good pic and video but not you have to prepare it in certain cases, clean the lens etc.

Camera is just great and it keeps getting better. Make sure you don't have a faulty device or maybe clean the lens and laser auto focus.

Camera experience on mine is awful.
Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk

Compared to my mother's iPhone 6 and my old S6E it takes better photos. I'm not doubting with a few more software updates it'll get even better. I saw that Taiwan got another update recently that reduced glare and further improved on exposure.

I'm going to be honest, the camera is terrible imo. But that's why I carry my DSLR with me if I want to take good pictures. Here is a video I took of my ride to work the other night and the lens was as clean as it could possibly be. Pictures come out the same way https://goo.gl/photos/SS7meVTv2tdA9EuX9
Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk

In low light condition it might still have the autofocus issue, but in bright situation it's been fixed, I think.

I agree with the fact that in the right conditions it's a great camera, it can take some decent shots. But if the situation doesn't permit then it'll takes some poor ones, this has been htcs issues for a long time.

Agreed.
I had the m7 and m8 and so I was used to tinkering with touching the screen to find the perfect focus spot and waiting and taking lots of shots hoping one or two were good.
Then I had the S7 edge for a few weeks. WOW! Never seen anything like that camera.
I returned because of the bootloader and was really excited hearing how the 10's camera rated nearly as good.
I have no idea what crack they are smoking, but focus is an issue and low light performance is worse than the m8, IMO.

After the Verizon update, the camera is faster to focus for me. I still have far too many optical flares though, and halo effects from fingerprints on the lens. They go away if I spend a minute cleaning it well with a lens cloth, but I'm not going to do that before taking every single photo. The lens is easy to accidently touch.
It's tragic because I feel this is a decent camera -- but they either put the glass too far away from the sensor or didn't coat the lens properly to prevent fingerprints from ruining shots. I've never had this problem with any of my other smartphones.
If I had to do it again, I think I'd likely go S7 (standard.) Unfortunately for me, I'm outside of my return window. My girlfriend has it, all of her photos are better, the phone is slightly easier to hold /much lighter, storage performance is much better, and the phone finally has enough power to overcome TouchWiz. Anyone wanna trade? lol

meringo said:
After the Verizon update, the camera is faster to focus for me. I still have far too many optical flares though, and halo effects from fingerprints on the lens. They go away if I spend a minute cleaning it well with a lens cloth, but I'm not going to do that before taking every single photo. The lens is easy to accidently touch.
It's tragic because I feel this is a decent camera -- but they either put the glass too far away from the sensor or didn't coat the lens properly to prevent fingerprints from ruining shots. I've never had this problem with any of my other smartphones.
If I had to do it again, I think I'd likely go S7 (standard.) Unfortunately for me, I'm outside of my return window. My girlfriend has it, all of her photos are better, the phone is slightly easier to hold /much lighter, storage performance is much better, and the phone finally has enough power to overcome TouchWiz. Anyone wanna trade? lol
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Funny thing, the M9 camera "Could" take a decent pic. The sensor wasn't actually a bad one.
It just had poor optimisation and that's what let it down.
I have an iPhone for work (I know )
But the camera is superb, for a quick point and shoot, it's hard to beat.
Also a friend has the G5, camera is simply sublime. The wide angle is just amazing, still even with all this moaning I would swap any for my HTC.
Just something really cool about them..[emoji16] its a curse.

IMO the camera is the best HTC has made, but it's still no where close to Samsungs camera, even the original galaxy (SGS Vibrant) is miles better.
It's a choice, camera VS bootloader, mods, roms, etc.

SykesAT said:
IMO the camera is the best HTC has made, but it's still no where close to Samsungs camera, even the original galaxy (SGS Vibrant) is miles better.
It's a choice, camera VS bootloader, mods, roms, etc.
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I agree completely, the camera is htcs best, but still behind the curve. They'll get it one day.

I tried to take a video a few days ago and problem was it kept and stayed out of focus no matter what I tried
Sent from my HTC 10 using XDA-Developers mobile app

meringo said:
After the Verizon update, the camera is faster to focus for me. I still have far too many optical flares though, and halo effects from fingerprints on the lens. They go away if I spend a minute cleaning it well with a lens cloth, but I'm not going to do that before taking every single photo. The lens is easy to accidently touch.
It's tragic because I feel this is a decent camera -- but they either put the glass too far away from the sensor or didn't coat the lens properly to prevent fingerprints from ruining shots. I've never had this problem with any of my other smartphones.
If I had to do it again, I think I'd likely go S7 (standard.) Unfortunately for me, I'm outside of my return window. My girlfriend has it, all of her photos are better, the phone is slightly easier to hold /much lighter, storage performance is much better, and the phone finally has enough power to overcome TouchWiz. Anyone wanna trade? lol
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Click to collapse
What do you mean by storage performance? What kind of scenario in your case?
Sent from my HTC6545LVW using Tapatalk

Sounds like a there must some defective cameras out there. My camera always focuses instantly and I have taken a lot of photos. Not one of my photos has been disappointing so far and I have taken them in a wide array of condition, both dark and light.
Sent from my HTC 10 using XDA-Developers mobile app

Sounds like a simple enough idea, and the reason I think it may work is because I think it's htcs optimization of the camera.
Do you think another app would work better? Might give a few a whirl tomorrow, bought a good one not long ago, will try it and let you guys know.
This is the app, https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.riseupgames.proshot2
Has buttons similar to a DSLR.

richii0207 said:
What do you mean by storage performance? What kind of scenario in your case?
Sent from my HTC6545LVW using Tapatalk
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emmc (HTC) vs usf (what Samsung uses.)
Reads are 35% faster on the S7. Writes are much faster on the HTC10 due to great SLC write cache, but far less important than read speed, in my book.
This improves not only general performance, but file transfers to your computer (real world example: get photos off device without cloud)
Sent from my HTC6545LVW using XDA-Developers mobile app

meringo said:
emmc (HTC) vs usf (what Samsung uses.)
Reads are 35% faster on the S7. Writes are much faster on the HTC10 due to great SLC write cache, but far less important than read speed, in my book.
This improves not only general performance, but file transfers to your computer (real world example: get photos off device without cloud)
Sent from my HTC6545LVW using XDA-Developers mobile app
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Click to collapse
I understand that internal storage is faster on the S7, but I asked for a SCENARIO that affects YOU to the point where the speed of that difference shows.
Moving files such as movies, photos, and music to your internal storage seems a bit silly when you have an sd slot.
Sent from my HTC6545LVW using Tapatalk

I feel like I can take decent to great pictures BUT the phone sometimes has a hard time focusing unless you tap on the screen. If you were trying to take a picture of something quick, most likely it will be blurry. And yeah, I do clean my lenses more than usual. This is my only problem with this phone. I came from a S6E and that phone had a great camera
too bad it's crippled with touchwiz and yes, it still lags from time to time.