Develop Bugs

Does manual focusing work on the 5X?

TL;DR/dream response to this post:
If anybody that has Camera FV-5 (this is the app I want to use and it seems to have the best support for MF via Camera2 API and "LENS_INFO_FOCUS_DISTANCE_CALIBRATION_CALIBRATED") could...
1. Switch to MF in FV-5
2. Set focus distance to infinity (drag the MF slider all the way to the left to the "mountain symbol")
3. Take a snap of a landscape type of scene.
I'd really like to take a look at the resulting DNG/JPEG in full size.
Long version:
I'm considering selling my Nexus 5 because the MF does not work (because of mechanical reasons) with my favorite apps "Manual Camera", "L Camera" or "Camera FV-5".
This GitHub issue comment explains why it doesn't work:
The problem relates to the fact that the focus system of the Nexus 5 is not calibrated, as the construction of the focusing system (a relatively simple spring with an electromagnet) does not allow for calibration. That means that the chip cannot know when it is on a certain position or not. If you point your phone downwards (i.e. you try to photograph your feet yourself while standing up) your phone will reach infinity (i.e. the spring will stretch farther), while pointing to the ceiling will be the worst case, and even when setting the focus position to infinity (manually) the focus will be farther away from infinity (the sprint contracts because of the lens weight). While autofocusing, the camera uses an iterative process to achieve focus, and do not rely on absolute positioning.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My question now: will it work on the 5X, or does it suffer from the same hardware design fail? The Nexus 5X should be calibrated (says apps should be able to read "LENS_INFO_FOCUS_DISTANCE_CALIBRATION_CALIBRATED" from the Camera2 API), but right now I don't trust this information at all, since support for for basic Camera2 features in many handsets (even Googles "own") has been a big fail.
To be clear: I'm not interested in manually focusing flower macros. Manually focusing at objects at up to 1 meter or so works perfectly with the Nexus 5. It is focusing at things at a distance (or at infinity) that isn't working. I want to be able to snap pictures fast without engaging AF in a street setting (see hyperfocal distance) with the focus set to infinity. Phone cameras are well suited for this because their sensors are abysmal which results in a very deep DOF.
Thanks in advance!

@8fold Here you go...

PiousInquisitor said:
@8fold Here you go...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you!!! I'm sad to see that this picture isn't in focus though. I guess that means that Google has released yet another Nexus phone which is incapable of manual focusing. You can see what the picture should really should have looked like by turning on the AF and focusing at something distant in your scene.
I wonder though if it's possible to have a distant object in focus by setting the MF a little to the right of the mountains on the MF slider i FV-5. If there is a another position, even if it isn't "at the mountains icons", which allows distant objects to be in focus that wouldn't bother me much. If you, or somebody else, has the time/energy/curiosity to research it that would be marvelous.

[Review] Archeer Wireless IP Cloud Camera Review - Safe & Sound

Introduction –
While I started Everyday Listening as an audio review website, I occasionally like to share other technologies that have had an impact on my lifestyle. Archeer are a well-reviewed company that produce some really nice products and some really cheap products, generally mutually exclusive. While I admire their diverse range of products, I sometimes feel that they need to focus more on quality rather than quantity; the same goes for a lot of companies.
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That being said, If Archeer have a speciality, it’s their great grasp on audio and wireless technologies; their Bluetooth headphones and earphones are great performers for the asking price and their higher range speakers such as the A320 offer almost unbeatable cost/performance ratios. So when Archeer offered to send me a review unit of their latest IP Camera, I was more than excited to give it a go but also sceptical as a reviewer. Archeer are actually no stranger to IP cameras with several models currently on offer, but their new camera is both their most feature rich and expensive camera yet. While I can assure that it is a very versatile camera, let’s see if it’s worth the premium over competing models.
*Again Archeer persist with their confusing naming scheme, please designate your products with catchy model names! I have will put the Amazon linke below for reference:
http://amzn.to/1T7XoJp
Disclaimer –
I would like to thank Lucas from Archeer very much for providing me with a review sample of their latest IP Camera. There is no monetary incentive for a positive review and despite receiving the camera free of cost, I will attempt to be as objective as possible in my evaluation.
Accessories –
For their more premium products, Archeer have mixed up the packaging a bit, with a large box coated in clean graphics.
Sliding off the top cover reveals the camera and accessories nestled within foam moulds. Archeer include:
- IP Camera
- Wall Mount
- Screws and gyprock sleeves
- Ethernet Cable
- 3dB Wi-Fi antenna
- Power adapter
- Various power plug adapters
Design –
I like the design of the camera as a gadget but not as a professional tool. It’s clear that this camera was intended more for personal use, maybe pet watch device, rather than a dedicated security device for large scale professional application. While it has all the features of a good security camera, the fully plastic build does not quite feel substantial enough to survive even a modest drop and the bright silver colour scheme lacks subtly, the camera will really stand out in pretty much any home.
That being said, for a home gadget, it is a charming and fun design that will be approachable and not overly intimidating for younger users/residents; it won’t scare off guests and doesn’t look too serious. While the feel in the hand still leaves much to be desired, the camera is solidly constructed and all mechanisms are without play or creeks which is most important at the end of the day. The glossy finish looks a bit toyish, but it resists smudging better than most, I still think that a matte black option would be ideal.
All connectors are tight and reliable and the motors operate quietly when panning, audible but not distracting during recordings and barely audible otherwise. All of the cutouts for the IR LEDs and camera are well moulded. The camera has modest weight, it’s not particularly light but the included stand is more than solid enough to support it.
The base has rubber feet should you want to place it on a desk or shelf instead. The camera is quite compact considering its feature set, the design could have been streamlined a little more, but the look never bothers me in daily usage, I usually keep it out of the way where it has a nice view over the first floor of my house.
The rear of the base contains all of the interfaces, the power port, Ethernet port for wired connection, a micro sd card slot and connector that enables the use of an external wireless antenna. A grill along the top of the base contains the in-built speaker and microphone, there are also two 3.5mm audio input and output jacks that enable the speaker to be used with an external mic or speaker system should the in-built ones be inadequate for your usage. At the front is a transparent window that protects the three status LEDs denoting WiFi, Ethernet and Power.
Archeer’s IP camera is inherently an indoors camera due to a lack of any ruggedizing features. This is also reflected by Archeer’s choice of a 720p sensor over a 1080p one, in theory translating to superior low light performance when combined with a low aperture lens, but also less detail in bright lighting (which is less consequential indoors). While I still would have liked to see a nice large 1080p sensor for the $100 USD asking price, Archeer’s flagship IP Camera still produces really nice image and video quality for a wireless camera. In addition, a quick perusal of multiple competing models reveals that Archeer’s offering provides a lot more range of motion than most other IP cameras, offering 350 degrees of horizontal panning and 95 degrees of vertical panning. This is essential in tight indoor spaces and, in culmination with the very wide-angle 3.5mm lens (for reference, I shoot my reviews with a 50mm lens and ~10-16mm is generally considered quite wide), somewhat justifies the higher price of the camera as it can scan a larger area, hence omitting the need for multiple fixed cameras or several cameras with less FOV. I can easily see this camera as a nice store or pet monitor in addition to a home security device.
Usage –
The camera was far easier to set up than I expected, Archeer streamline the process through a simple, well-translated manual in addition to various QR codes for the dedicated app and pairing of the specific camera. Simply install the MiPC app from the app store on your device, available for both Android and IOS, create an account for the app (the account will unify all of your cameras if you have more than one) and scan the QR code on the IP Camera itself to register it within the app. You can also manually enter the cameras ID code into the app to pair.
The camera does require a wired Ethernet connection to first connect to you smart device, but is easy to connect to your Wi-Fi network through the MiPC application once initial pairing is complete. The camera connects via a 3Db external antenna. It’s a solid gain, not too high and thus, not too directional, but also high enough to receive a strong signal capable of streaming 720p/25fps video to my smartphone from almost every location in my house, I didn’t notice obvious degradation in quality or framerate from a wired Ethernet connection though the application does enable you to stream in lower resolutions should you have a slow connection. At its highest setting, the Archeer IP Camera will record 1280×720 video with H.264 compression.
Once connected, the camera only requires a power cable and will remember its settings if unplugged, allowing for quick relocation. The camera can actually cover a very large area due to it’s 350 degrees of horizontal rotation. The wide angle lens comfortably captures about half of a medium-large sized room and panning allows the camera to view the opposite side. When placed in a corner, the camera easily secures an entire room, but if your house is more open, you could probably cover an entire storey with just two cameras. The cameras supports 3X digital zoom (two finger gesture in the app) and although the 720p resolution might sound meagre in our 4K adopting society, there is still plenty of resolution to read text on book covers and identify thieves should something like that occur. While 1080p cameras might resolve slightly more detail in ideal lighting, Archeer’s camera provides relatively clean images and preserves a lot of detail when light gets scarce.
The smartphone application has various other features, in addition to viewing a live feed from the camera. The Camera supports up to a 32GB micro SD, it has no internal storage but can upload photo and video to your smartphone over Wi-Fi. Inserting a card enables a few other features such as motion detection, the camera will sound an alarm or start recording when it senses movement, and schedule based recording which is self-explanatory. While these features sound very enticing, I was unable to get SD card functionality to work, every time I removed the SD card, it would corrupt, requiring formatting in windows. It seems that the card must be kept within the camera and can only be sent to another device via a wireless connection.
The camera has 12 Infrared LEDs that enable night and low-light usage. They are mostly invisible to the human eye when activated, you will notice a small red glow, but will adequately illuminate a medium sized room on camera. Arhceer claim up to 10M of night vision, to test this, I placed the camera outdoor in my back yard and took some quick photos at night. The camera did well to light up my back yard and the 10M claim seems accurate.
So I’ve mentioned that the camera has an outstanding horizontal FOV due to its 350 degrees of rotation however, vertically, the camera is limited to just 95 degrees, understandable since this was limited by the design of the camera itself. Archeer include a wall mount with the camera that places it horizontally on the wall. While the camera is perfectly usable just sitting vertically on a table or shelf, the camera is unable to look down, it can only look up at the ceiling.
Placing the camera horizontally using the included mount enables the use to take full advantage of that 95 degrees of vertical panning, granting 47.5 degrees down and 47.5 degrees of upward mobility, it’s clear that this is how the camera was intended to be used. Still, if you are unable or rather, unwilling like I was, to permanently attach the mount to a wall, the camera is comfortable in a waist height location such as on a desk which will also take advantage of that upward panning.
The camera also supports 2-way audio, especially nifty if you want some simply multi-storey communication. For reasons unknown to me, I could only use this feature on the IOS app as the Android app would only allow 1-way audio. That means that you can either listen through the cameras in-built microphone though your smartphone speakers or speak through your smartphones’ mic though the in-built speaker in the camera. On IOS, it works more like a phone call and you can do both at the same time. As far as audio goes, the speaker on the camera is upper mid-high frequency dominated as expected, but is luckily very loud and clear (measured just over 80dB on my HTC 10 using soundmeter). Voices are easily discerned, I never struggled to understand the speaker on the other side and there was plenty of volume for me to either hear the person perfectly or to gain my attention when some distance away. The microphone quality is similarly impressive, through my HTC 10 and iPod Touch 6, the mics offered plenty of gain to hear what the other person was saying, even when not directly near the camera. The mics are also less directional than most and will pick up voices from almost any direction at the cost of slightly more ambient noise. All in all, even with the clunky android app, I couldn’t be happier with the audio features.
Image Quality –
On a whole, image quality was on the higher end of the IP Cameras I’ve seen. All images suffer from compression artefacts but are otherwise quite clean, especially in low light. The camera meters exposure quickly and the sensor has adequate dynamic range to resolve plenty of shadow detail without blowing out the highlights. All of these scenes had vastly differing ambient light levels yet they are all similarly exposed. In the lower light images we can see the advantages of using a lower resolution, higher sensitivity sensor for indoor shooting. Video quality is almost identical to still image quality, there is plenty of resolution to resolve text in medium and bright light, but things get a bit too fuzzy in lower light situations unless night mode is used (black and white, uses the 12 Infrared LEDs to illuminate the scene). The following images were taken in my room lit by a large window to the left. I artificially simulated varying light levels by adjusting the blinds and shutters, closing off all light sources for the night test. The camera was about 1.5m away from the bookshelf to give you a reference of the camera’s FOV. As seen in the night image, the IR LEDs are too bright for close subjects, overexposing the books, the LEDs are also quite
The following images were taken in my room lit by a large window to the left. I artificially simulated varying light levels by adjusting the blinds and shutters, closing off all light sources for the night test. The camera was about 1.5m away from the bookshelf to give you a reference of the camera’s FOV. As seen in the night image, the IR LEDs are too bright for close subjects, overexposing the books, the LEDs are also quite focused to illuminate the centre rather than evenly across the image, suitable when tracking a subject in detail. Sharpness, exposure and contrast can be adjusted via the application, all were left on their default setting in the following images. The sharpness could have been turned a little higher to resolve more detail on the text though I am pleased with the results.
Of note, I’m guessing that the camera doesn’t support autofocus as the text on the books looks to be out of focus and there is no tap to focus function on the smartphone application. When placed further from the subject, the camera achieves a sharper image, these images are more for noise and processing. See the bottom right corner for crops.
- Considerable colour noise and processing artefacts in the shadows, text is barely legible if at all.
- Shadows are still just as noisy but the text on the books is more legible if still not ideal.
- Shadows clean up considerably, text is completely legible but a little fuzzy.
- Very clean image, text completely legible but out of focus due to fixed focus tuned for further subjects.
- Focused IR LEDs overexpose centre of the image, exacerbated by reflective subject. Text is legible and noise is surprisingly hardly prevalent at all. Great low light performance.
Verdict –
As a technology, IP Cameras are one of the most useful home tech products out there, existing not to bring convenience or aesthetic appeal, but rather security and communication. In this sense, most of these IP cameras are quite alike, they all provide the same basic features and are controlled/viewed through a smartphone application over a wired or wireless connection. Among these cameras, a few stand out with superior optics, higher resolution, night vision, weather proofing and enhanced mobility that suit the differing uses of their clients.
Overall, I think everyone should own at least one IP camera to watch over their house. It doesn’t have to be as expensive as this one, Archeer themselves have a few models that are about a third of the price, but this one, in particular, is especially versatile. Setup is easy and usage after that is even simpler, the camera is pretty much automated. It can record throughout the day and overwrite older footage when the card is filled, it can automatically record when motion is detected and can easily stream to a network-connected smart device (you can access the camera as long as you have an internet connection even from data and when overseas). I was recently overseas and having this camera gave me just that little extra comfort knowing I was able to check in on the house every now and then. The extra mobility allowed me to scan almost the entire first floor of my house and the night vision was adequate enough to illuminate about half of it. The audio features are also a highlight of this camera, while not nearly an exclusive feature, they do work very well here with a loud, clear speaker and sensitive mics. I would probably recommend the camera more for IOS devices as the app is better optimised with generally lower latency and better 2-way audio support, but apart from that, every feature works perfectly on android too. Archeer’s newest IP camera is a winner!
Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed my review, pease have a look at my website for more articles just like this one:
https://everydaylisteningblog.wordpress.com/2017/02/11/archeer-ip-camera-review-safe-and-sound/

Here is a camera app solution for the A50, Cortex Camera......really slow but works

For anyone wanting something like GCAM that actually works for the A50, here is probably your best bet. It's called Cortex Camera. It's $2.99 in the playstore. For the A50 it works pretty slow and sometimes buggy, but it works. You need to hold your phone still on a subject for 5-8 seconds, until it starts processing. The more still you are, the better the results. During the processing part, you don't need to keep the camera on the subject I believe it's kind of slow on the A50 because of the camera sensor and Exynos processor combo. Otherwise Cortex works much faster on Snapdragon. Current version for Android is pretty old, but how it works for a phone is hit and miss. It works great on some old phones and new phones, not all.
I've tried all the Gcams floating around but they won't process HDR+. There is no advantage over the stock app apparently with GCAM so far. The A50 stock app is like your typical generic app with unpleasant sharpening artifacts. Stock app is ok for sharing and such but if you want the best performance, it's far from it's full potential. Nowadays most phones heavily rely on good apps with stacking/alignment etc
Cortex Camera is like GCAM, in that it stacks aligns and optimizes HDR to a degree, with a few custom settings..... like how many images you want to stack.......it is otherwise auto, and touch to focus ONLY with no other manual controls. Auto settings for Cortex Camera are usually pretty good. Tap to focus and expose is important too.
Results are on the soft side, but less noisier than Gcam on average and much much less ugly water painting artifacts. Turn off shadow enhancement for best results....may work slower though.
For the A50, results for Cortex Camera are processed to 38MP images around 10-18MB each, no other options. Again you can customize how many images you want to process on each capture........and to repeat it's a slow process and this app is not for everyone. Screen timeout may interrupt the process so you may have to tap screen for process to finish before the screen turns off. Images are saved in "Pictures" folder. This app would be best for landscape /still subjects.
I
Hope this helps someone.

All external camera applications are useless on the a50. They do not take a picture in 3 * 4H. Any purchase for the a50 is a hoax. You will receive a WOOL photo without detail. And no need to fool people. An external camera can only help with night shots.

Sharemanshik said:
All external camera applications are useless on the a50. They do not take a picture in 3 * 4H. Any purchase for the a50 is a hoax. You will receive a WOOL photo without detail. And no need to fool people. An external camera can only help with night shots.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"All external camera applications are useless on the a50. " LOL. If you say so. The stock camera and video app are useless to me.
1) Aspect ratio has nothing to do with image quality and using Cortex Camera on the A50 renders images that are 4 x 3 7188x5388
From EXIF data using Irfanview
7188 x 5388 Pixels (38.73 MPixels) (4:3)
ImageWidth - 5388
Model - SM-A505U
ImageLength - 7188
Make - samsung
ExifOffset - 103
Orientation - 0
FocalLength - 3.93 mm
LightSource - Auto
2) Cortex Camera uses median stacking to enhance image quality over inferior stock apps or any inferior app. Stock A50 software doesn't disallow median stacking.

Tried it.
Literally the same, only less detail. And a little bit darker... kinda... not really.

It is useless to argue. External cameras cannot shoot at 24mp. Cameras also do not have access to camera2api, which means they do not process RAW files. Take a distant object where there is text and take pictures in 3 * 4, 3 * 4H and any other camera in good lighting. And you can write anything in EXIF. In any editor, you can stretch the image to infinity, which is what you get in all pseudo-cameras that think that they shoot in 24 megapixels.

King-V said:
Tried it.
Literally the same, only less detail. And a little bit darker... kinda... not really.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What pixel dimensions are you getting like megapixels and what do mean by "literally the same"?

poog said:
For anyone wanting something like GCAM that actually works for the A50, here is probably your best bet. It's called Cortex Camera. It's $2.99 in the playstore. For the A50 it works pretty slow and sometimes buggy, but it works. You need to hold your phone still on a subject for 5-8 seconds, until it starts processing. The more still you are, the better the results. During the processing part, you don't need to keep the camera on the subject I believe it's kind of slow on the A50 because of the camera sensor and Exynos processor combo. Otherwise Cortex works much faster on Snapdragon. Current version for Android is pretty old, but how it works for a phone is hit and miss. It works great on some old phones and new phones, not all.
I've tried all the Gcams floating around but they won't process HDR+. There is no advantage over the stock app apparently with GCAM so far. The A50 stock app is like your typical generic app with unpleasant sharpening artifacts. Stock app is ok for sharing and such but if you want the best performance, it's far from it's full potential. Nowadays most phones heavily rely on good apps with stacking/alignment etc
Cortex Camera is like GCAM, in that it stacks aligns and optimizes HDR to a degree, with a few custom settings..... like how many images you want to stack.......it is otherwise auto, and touch to focus ONLY with no other manual controls. Auto settings for Cortex Camera are usually pretty good. Tap to focus and expose is important too.
Results are on the soft side, but less noisier than Gcam on average and much much less ugly water painting artifacts. Turn off shadow enhancement for best results....may work slower though.
For the A50, results for Cortex Camera are processed to 38MP images around 10-18MB each, no other options. Again you can customize how many images you want to process on each capture........and to repeat it's a slow process and this app is not for everyone. Screen timeout may interrupt the process so you may have to tap screen for process to finish before the screen turns off. Images are saved in "Pictures" folder. This app would be best for landscape /still subjects.
I
Hope this helps someone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
try a better camera for hdr

arjun1919 said:
try a better camera for hdr
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have used "A Better Camera" many times before. HDR mode on this app for the A50 doesn't do anything other HDR apps can't....simple bracketing, but all still noisy results. especially dark ones.
Cortex Camera gives far better results.

Why are you misleading yourself about the "left" cameras on the a50. They all shoot worse than the drain, except for the night mode. DRO and HDR modes on third-party cameras simply add sharpness, but not detail. photos remain fuzzy with re-sharpening. All these offers are money luring and deceiving people. With good lighting, shoot at the stock 3 * 4H, you can turn on the "Optimization" photo will turn out juicier. If the lighting is poor or the shadow go to 3 * 4.

Sharemanshik said:
It is useless to argue. External cameras cannot shoot at 24mp. Cameras also do not have access to camera2api, which means they do not process RAW files. Take a distant object where there is text and take pictures in 3 * 4, 3 * 4H and any other camera in good lighting. And you can write anything in EXIF. In any editor, you can stretch the image to infinity, which is what you get in all pseudo-cameras that think that they shoot in 24 megapixels.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"
It is useless to argue. "
Then take your own advice and don't argue....and pretending to know about every app, when you don't.

King-V said:
Tried it.
Literally the same, only less detail. And a little bit darker... kinda... not really.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's not less detail. That's a lot less noise. Noisier is often is perceived as better detail, but it isn't.

ㅤㅤㅤ

Vlothx said:
Heh, here's a quick comparison between Stock Camera, Cortex Camera, AND HedgeCam2.
1. Stock Camera (default)
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2. Stock Camera - Night-mode (default)
3.- Cortex Camera (default)
4. HedgeCam2 - Noise Reduction (18MP, 70 Frames, Boost, 0.33% Highlight Clip)
HedgeCam gives far better results, and it's free, lol.
smh rn
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will try Hedgecam. But you sure that Cortex sample is right? The EXIF data on the Cortex sample doesn't look right. I'm using the latest version 1.01........and used it on like 12 different phones for years. ANdroid version Exif data for Cortex never gives anything beyond focal length and light source and dimensions. That sample has exif data as if it were from the stock camera. And if it is the latest version, (was never updated for years), the dimensions should be much bigger. The exif data says it was originally shot at about 12MP.

poog said:
For anyone wanting something like GCAM that actually works for the A50, here is probably your best bet. It's called Cortex Camera. It's $2.99 in the playstore. For the A50 it works pretty slow and sometimes buggy, but it works. You need to hold your phone still on a subject for 5-8 seconds, until it starts processing. The more still you are, the better the results. During the processing part, you don't need to keep the camera on the subject I believe it's kind of slow on the A50 because of the camera sensor and Exynos processor combo. Otherwise Cortex works much faster on Snapdragon. Current version for Android is pretty old, but how it works for a phone is hit and miss. It works great on some old phones and new phones, not all.
I've tried all the Gcams floating around but they won't process HDR+. There is no advantage over the stock app apparently with GCAM so far. The A50 stock app is like your typical generic app with unpleasant sharpening artifacts. Stock app is ok for sharing and such but if you want the best performance, it's far from it's full potential. Nowadays most phones heavily rely on good apps with stacking/alignment etc
Cortex Camera is like GCAM, in that it stacks aligns and optimizes HDR to a degree, with a few custom settings..... like how many images you want to stack.......it is otherwise auto, and touch to focus ONLY with no other manual controls. Auto settings for Cortex Camera are usually pretty good. Tap to focus and expose is important too.
Results are on the soft side, but less noisier than Gcam on average and much much less ugly water painting artifacts. Turn off shadow enhancement for best results....may work slower though.
For the A50, results for Cortex Camera are processed to 38MP images around 10-18MB each, no other options. Again you can customize how many images you want to process on each capture........and to repeat it's a slow process and this app is not for everyone. Screen timeout may interrupt the process so you may have to tap screen for process to finish before the screen turns off. Images are saved in "Pictures" folder. This app would be best for landscape /still subjects.
I
Hope this helps someone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice !
But there's no reason to believe that the lag is due to sensor present on A50. Imx 576 on A50 is also a flagship sensor. It's maybe due app optimization with exynos chipsets. I'll test it out especially the hdr.
Cheers !

Cortex Camera version 1.01 last updated May 7, 2016. It was strange even to assume that this program can work qualitatively on 9 Android and the latest cameras. The developer of the program did not immediately begin to modify it anymore, since it is an ordinary clone of hundreds of other programs on the Internet. Why are you stubbornly trying to explain that she shoots well. This program, like others did not write under eksinos and a50. Some useless reading of your posts.

Sumedh_ said:
Nice !
But there's no reason to believe that the lag is due to sensor present on A50. Imx 576 on A50 is also a flagship sensor. It's maybe due app optimization with exynos chipsets. I'll test it out especially the hdr.
Cheers !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The other poster recommended Hedgecam2. It does work similarly in stacking mode which they call "noise reduction " mode. But it appears Hedgecam doesn't use an auto alignment ..or it doesn't work nearly as good as Cortex. So handheld can be problem with Hedgecam. And Hedgecam appears slower. Like you said and I meant earlier yeah...these are not Exynos optimized....but they work. Try manually setting to 12 images first and turn off shadow enhancement. You can stop pointing the camera when says "processing". Again you should tap to focus on your subject. And appearance is soft but signal to noise and clarity can be way way better than stock. Have fun.

Sharemanshik said:
Cortex Camera version 1.01 last updated May 7, 2016. It was strange even to assume that this program can work qualitatively on 9 Android and the latest cameras. The developer of the program did not immediately begin to modify it anymore, since it is an ordinary clone of hundreds of other programs on the Internet. Why are you stubbornly trying to explain that she shoots well. This program, like others did not write under eksinos and a50. Some useless reading of your posts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
" since it is an ordinary clone of hundreds of other programs on the Internet. ".
LOL, you have no clue. Cortex Camera was the first app to employ median stacking first for Iphone in 2012 or 2013 and then for Android around 2015. I already stated in my first post Android version has no updates for a long time but the core tech with very good alignment is intact. There are only a handful of apps that employee median stacking. The alignment tech is superior to all other 3rd party apps aside from gcam. Huawei does nicely but not designed for many other phones than Huawei. This means Cortex is most friendly when hand holding. My first post said it's buggy but gives nice results, although soft, but has major upsides.
Other poster recommended Hedgecam. While you can get some nice shots with Hedgecam...... Cortex has some advantages and that is alignment
If RAW was enabled with full C2api support, and code could be modified to turn off stock jpg sharpening results can be better for Cortex. But it's still overall going to give better IQ than stock app for A50 especially lower light.

Of course, LOL, which is why the "developer" who "made the camera miracle" no longer paid attention to it. She was a masterpiece of our time. It was not before her and will not be after. Apparently in vain, GCam is constantly updated and configured for individual devices. You can immediately install a “miracle camera” on Pixel phones instead of GCam, because it is so good. Maybe the "developer" himself knew that this was a useless program and therefore immediately forgot about it. Theme for humor ...

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cortexcamera.cortexcamera_production&hl=en
This topic is probably a joke. This app is ancient - over 3 years old.
The real miracle is that it happens to work on A50 Android Pie

pabgar said:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cortexcamera.cortexcamera_production&hl=en
This topic is probably a joke. This app is ancient - over 3 years old.
The real miracle is that it happens to work on A50 Android Pie
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The real joke is that A50 cannot support any GCAM app or RAW/DNG capture. And the stock camera app kinda sucks on the A50. Even though Cortex camera for Android is old, it can give you better image quality. Someone else recommended Hedgecam in "Noise Reduction" mode. which stacks and alignes images. I agree now. Hedgecam works for this mode when switching to Camera2Api. it's not bad. But the alignment part is better in Cortex. You get about the same image quality in both Cortex and Hedgecam (Noise Reduction mode). But there is a tradeoff. Hedgecam is faster (c2pi). Cortex has better alignment stage. These apps do most what gcam does, but slower and more manual setup without optimization. But these apps give less noise overall.
I believe OPEN CAMERA in standard mode gives better image quality than the stock A50 app.
In Open Camera,
1) enable Camera 2 API
2) set to highest resolution
3) set to highest image QUALITY OF 100
4) DISABLE noise reduction in [processing setup
5) Disable edge detection in [processing setup

Xperia 1 ii Photography Pro, a sort of review

I left my cameras at home during my summer vacations and only took my brand new Xperia 1 II.
Since it costs a lot (as you all know) I wanted to see if it could really replace a real camera as the marketing hype suggests.
I'm a kind of lazy guy so this is not a detailed review with shoot examples and comparisons (by the way, I recommend you to take a look at this one by @stsdema28 ).
I'm just focusing to the Photography Pro app features, its pros and cons on my opinion.
I own a Sony mirrorless camera (DSC-R1) it's quite old and here you can see why I'm still in love with it. But it's not an Alpha camera so I have no experience on the interface that should have inspired the Photography Pro app. Anyway I'm using smartphones since 2011, I used a few "pro" camera apps, (Camera FV-5 was my favorite one, I used it on my Oneplus devices)
I found the Photography Pro app a step in the right direction, with many perks but also with several flaws.
PROS
3:2 aspect ratio. This is a most welcome and unexpected feature in a smartphone, I always shot 3:2 pictures, beginning with reflex cameras in the 80's, then with Sony mirrorless cameras and even my small Canon S120 is set to 3:2 ratio. It's great for consistency with all those photos I took before and because it is a better, more "photographic" and slightly panoramic format.
Great WB control. Shade option is here and 3 custom options too: uncommon to find such granularity in some pro cameras too.
Big EV +/- slider, I used it a lot.
All those controls right at the fingertips
Grid and virtual horizon line, great to shoot straight pictures
CONS
HDR settings buried in the menu and missing visual clues. I forgot so many times when it was in auto mode or off, so I took many pictures with an unwanted HDR feature turned on and viceversa. It seems to me there is plenty of room for such setting in the main screen.
It would be great a setting to force max brightness to better see the screen where there is too much light in the environment. Camera FV-5 has it and it worked great on my Oneplus devices. I shoot many pictures in blind mode.
Timeout too short and not adjustable. Screen is dimming after 20s sec and app closing after 10 more secs: many times app closed in my face if I forgot to periodically touch the screen while looking for the right framing or waiting for the right moment to take a picture. I understand that this setting and the previous one are probably meant to reduce battery consumption. Thank you very much but I prefer to be in control of such details.
Jpeg quality maybe too low? Sometimes it seems to me to see some jagging due to jpeg compression artifact, most cameras and many pro-like camera apps have settings to increase jpeg quality (and size), it would be great to have such a feature. A recent firmware upgrade enabled RAW+jpeg shots so it should be easy to check if my fears are true (but, again, I'm too lazy to do it).
Changing focal length requires two tap, it would be an improvement to select the desired lens without having to use a submenu (as you can do in the standard camera app).
A sharpness control would be nice, even if the default applied sharpness does not seem to strong.
A feature to save custom settings profiles would be great too.
App icon is ugly (and not following material design guidelines, I guess).
Other thoughts
The dedicated key is great!
Default 24mm lens is wider than most other smartphone default lens and too wide for me. The short focal length combined with the minimum focusing distance does not allow to make macros as close as I would have liked (and to which I was used to on the oneplus 3t) but maybe it is a side effect of the sensor size.
Switching from traditional zoom camera with a 24mm to 120mm range to 3 fixed focal lengths it was not easy for image composition but I thought it would be worse, most of times you can just fix it by moving closer to or away from the subject. Again, having a 26 or 28 mm instead of a 24mm would have been better.
I would also like to let Sony know what I think (with an app like FV-5 I could have written to the developer) but I'm afraid there is no way, unless any of them read XDA

AGM G2 Guardian | 5G Unlocked | Qualcomm QCM6490 | Long Range Thermal Monocular | Android 12 | 108MP | 7000 mAh

AGM G2 Guardian​5G Unlocked Rugged Smartphone | Thermal Monocular Long Detection Range: 500m/yd​
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​Main Features​​
* Qualcomm QCM6490
* Long Range Thermal Monocular
* 6.58' FHD+ 120Hz Display
* 108MP Rear Camera
* 7000 mAh Battery
* Waterproof, shock and dust proof. Certified IP68/IP69K/MIL-STD-810H
* 109dB Loud Speaker
* 8/12GB + 256GB Storage​
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Source: AGM Mobile Website
Stay tuned for further Information​

5G​
Band: n1, n2, n3, n5, n7, n8, n28, n41, n66,n71, n77, n78,n79
NSA: Support, Option 3x/3a
SA: Support, Option 2
MIMO: n1/n2/n3/n7/n66/n77/n78/n79 Four Downstream, Single Upstream, n41 Four Downstream, Dual Upstream
SRS
SA SRS: n41:2T4R，n77/n78/n79：1T4R NSA SRS：n41/n77/n78/n79 1T4R
HPUE: n41/n78/N79： Total Power 26dBm
EN_DC
CA​
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Chipset​Chipset: Qualcomm QCM6490
CPU: Kryo 670
GPU: Adreno 643​
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
​
Storage​Capacity: UFS2.2, 8G+256G & 12G+256G
Expandable Storage (TF Card):Support , 512G​
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Screen​Size: 6.58'
Resolution: FHD+
Refreshing Rate: 120HZ
Cameras
Pixels
108MP Rear Camera
20MP Infrared night vision Camera
2MP Macro Camera
256*192 Thermal Camera (10mm lens)
sensor: TBD
Flashlight: Support
Front Camera
Pixels: 32M
sensor
Sound
MIC: Dual-mic
PA: 3.5W Speaker
Stereo: Not Support
Motor: Support
Speaker Effect: Default algorithm
Headphone Effect: No
Speaker: AGM Iconic Speaker
Direction: Back
WLAN agreement: 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax
Battery
capacity: 7000mAh
installation method: built-in
Fast Charging: Support, 18W
Dock Charging: Support
Durability requirements
Operating temperature: -20°C~60°C
Degree of protection: IP68/IP69K/810H​
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

I pre-ordered the G2 Guardian and received it 4 days ago. I charged it to 100% when I received it and have not since charged it again...4 entire days of pretty heavy usage, still I have 30% battery. Just about to fill the MicroSD up with music. Hopefully by the time it's fully charged again my battery usage metrics will be calibrated and I can work on some proper usage figures for everyone.
Why did I make this purchase/ My use case:
I work in forestry in Northern Australia. It's sweaty as hell, storms develop quickly and whatever I use will get wet multiple times per week through one or the other. Overall I look after my gear with great care, but some things are unavoidable: water, dust, plant matter slowly filling all of my pockets and getting into my gear through whatever orifice is available. Much like Eels, it finds an entrance where it can. I spend much of my week smashing around in the undergrowth. Being able to wash my devices periodically is important, good quality port covers are equally important.
Another must-have for me is a battery that won't let me down. If I manage to hike to the furthest point from my vehicle within a given parcel of land then it's a major problem for me if my battery runs out and I lose the GPS track that I am running, or cannot collect the remainder of my data taking a different path back to my vehicle. My time is wasted, my sweat and exertion are wasted and I've got to climb a bunch of 35+ degree slopes back to the car for no gain. For this reason, the company iphone and ipad are in the bin where they belong. Both devices constantly let me down one way or another, neither of them are designed to do what I do, even in a lifeproof case.
To solve these issues, I ran the Ulefone Power Armor 13 for over a year. It was a great device, I customised the hell out of it but eventually I got tired of carrying a 498gram brick in my pocket. At home without a belt, it would pull my pants down. It was JUST fast enough not to annoy me, and I really enjoyed how deeply I had customised it but I became annoyed with how poor the camera could be sometimes, and with just how heavy it was, but moreso how cumbersome the form factor was and how cheap it looked and felt.
In a flash of brilliance, I replaced the Power Armor 13 with a Galaxy Xcover 6 pro. Paid outright for the device, bought a couple of spare batteries and rubber port covers for the 3.5mm and USB-C ports, and patted myself on the back for being the smartest man alive. The extra speed of the Snapdragon 778G was just what I had been looking for, the retention of an IP68 rating even with a replaceable battery and the moderately rugged construction seemed to be more than enough for my workday, and I could much more easily slip this thing into the pocket of my jeans before heading to the bar on the weekend. No more laughter when producing my phone from my pocket, no more having to explain how I could possibly need a half kilogram phone...I just looked like a normal person, with a normal life.
It lasted 2 months. I got caught in a storm, the Xcover 6 pro was in my backpack. That IP rating is not worth the paper it is written on. Not only did it fail spectacularly, I'm pretty sure it almost caught fire doing so. It got indescribably hot to the point that I knew it was absolutely dead. No amount of time spent in bags of rice would resurrect it, and after a last ditch effort trying to dry it out in direct sunlight I could see that constant exposure to heavy sweat during my work had also managed to penetrate whatever miserable water ingress protection it had. There were literal salt crystals falling out from near the battery terminals: this thing had been getting moisture past the rubber gasket whilst in my pocket for the entire 2 months I'd owned it.
At this point, Samsung can go and boil their bums. I had been a militant supporter of their Galaxy Active lineup, simply unable to understand why anyone would choose their regular lineup when the Active line existed. Once they dropped the Active I had to look elsewhere, but I was over the moon to see that they had done an xcover device that wasn't completely and utterly under powered so I caved. Fool me once... they're dead to me, and so is the possibility of me owning a 'normal' phone. It's just not going to work for me.
After drying my tears I set about scouting out a new rugged phone that would meet all of my needs without pulling my pants down. I have also recently had to start doing koala spotting again, and even though we have a $2400 thermal scope available at my office, there is only 1. I can't carry it with me all the time in case somebody else needs it, and to be perfectly honest I've found it pretty inadequate once the sun rises. Once there's sunlight on the trees it's pretty much useless, and having to peer through a monocular makes it dangerous walking through the bush. The hardware specs of the scope are so low that it is ridiculously clunky to use, and it is endlessly refreshing the sensor. I wasn't happy with it, and I always had to drive back and get it, so the presence of a thermal camera on my everyday phone became appealing. Imagine my joy when I got home to find that pre-orders for the AGM G2 guardian were just about to start. BOLD claims in the promo literature, but I decided to roll the dice.
Initial impressions of the AGM G2 Guardian after 4 days:
I had some serious trepidation about this purchase. I know that AGM have been around for 14 years or so, and I have come really close to buying several of their devices over the years. The AGM X3 was right up my alley, but for $1000USD in 2019, it was a much easier choice to grab a second hand S8 Active for a few hundred bucks.
The purchase experience through AGM's official eBay store felt sketchy. They shipped me an AU power adapter on the day I pre-ordered, marking the device as shipped. Once the adapter was delivered my buyer protection started counting down. Honestly, in spite of their constant assurances I felt like I was about to get scammed especially since I got it for such a comparatively low price as a pre-order.
I was also nervous about the price I had paid for a rugged phone made in Shenzen. Even though AGM have always positioned themselves as the premium offering in this space, often choosing absolute top of the line Snapdragon SOC's rather than poxy mediatek chips, and having a European design team for their entire range it still seemed like an awful lot of money given the competition.
As soon as I held the G2 Guardian in my hands the reason for the additional price tag compared with the competition became obvious. Even before I turned it on this thing felt TIGHT. Not a rattle in sight, and whilst the 400 grams is still very heavy for a phone, it carries the weight well and manages to feel extremely high quality, reliable and a little bit sexy all at the same time. I'm not sure how to describe this, because it's only 98 grams lighter than my Power Armor was, but I barely notice this thing in my pocket. It feels great to hold and even though I acknowledge that I am part of a very small and very weird group of customers...I think it looks cool as hell and the ergonomics are great. Everything is where you want it to be including the fingerprint sensor. Every time I pull it out of my pocket, I get that nugget feeling. It feels built to last and extremely high quality.
Once I powered it up and started going through the setup process I really started smiling. The first thing that really brought home that nugget feeling was the quality of the haptic feedback. I assume a decent quality motor combined with just how solid the body of the device is has given a fairly nice result here.
Overall an absolute 10/10 for satisfaction on the physical characteristics of this device.
Chipset
Qualcomm QCM 6490 industrial processor.
2.7Ghz, 8 cores, 6nm process. 5G, Wifi6/6E. 8 or 12GB ram.
There's not much to say here. This thing absolutely flies, and sips battery whilst it's doing it. It's faster than the competing 778G by a decent margin and has far better multithreaded performance. It also destroys even the best Mediatek Dimensity chipsets in competing rugged phones clocking in at just under 600,000 Antutu score in V9. No, it's not as fast as a snapdragon 8 Gen1, but it also won't get overly hot or need a purpose built animation to see your battery empty whilst playing games or doing demanding processing.
Display
120hz refresh rate (though I have to assume it is adaptive given the battery life and lack of manual setup options) and a very tasty 2408x1080 400ppi results in a fast, flowy and vibrant display. Let me be clear, this absolutely bashes the pants off my previous 2 phones, but I have to assume it wouldn't be in the ballpark of the latest S23 or anything like that in terms of image quality. The 120hz display is a massive bonus here, and a great implementation. I've never seen this thing lag or skip. It's a really rewarding user experience that looks and feels great and is always buttery smooth. AGM have not provided customisation options here. There's no ability to lock it to 60hz or change the resolution. Ordinarily I wouldn't be happy with this, but given the battery life and quality of experience it seems like they've dialed it in exactly where it needs to be.
Cameras
The main camera is a 108mp Samsung lens. Obviously this lens is extremely capable of taking good photos. Plenty of depth and colour, and it is extremely fast. Unfortunately the combination of a lack of image stabilization and a very basic camera app implementation lead to a lot of dud photos unless you get lucky with the natural lighting conditions being absolutely perfect. I find myself having to take 5 or 6 photos of the same scene or subject to guarantee 1 good shot. It is really reliable up-close on stationary objects, and in this use-case it seems to thrive, producing consistently good images.
There is work to do here for AGM. At present, this high-quality and perfectly capable lens is going to waste a lot of the time because the camera app is so basic. You can tell that the hardware is infinitely capable, but it is absolutely screaming for a port of GCAM or a LOT of development on their in-house app. I don't think it even has HDR at present and configuration options are extremely limited.
Front camera is a 32mp unit that provides a really smooth video calling experience, quality is good. Not sure how good it is at selfies because selfies are for children.
There's also a 20MP Sony night-vision camera. This works well, and I believe it is activated by choosing 'infrared detect' in the camera app and probably plays some role in the thermal function I guess (?).
Finally, the last 'normal' camera is a 2MP Macro Camera. This works really well for Macro shots but I have to wonder what kind of insanity led to the inclusion of a macro lens rather than a decent wide-angle sensor in an outdoor focused device. 90% of my photos on my last few phones have been taken with the wide-angle sensor and it is going to take some serious getting used to not having one. Obviously I knew this before purchase, but I miss my wide-angle lenses already.
Thermal Module
Here is the big daddy, and obviously the focal point of this device. A 10mm lens paired with 256x192 thermal image resolution and 25hz video resolution.
AGM have knocked this out of the park. With zero exaggeration, this is the best thermal scope I have ever used. I have used devices with higher thermal detector resolution (384 x 288), but even in devices that cost over $2200AUD, these sensors are paired with absolute garbage processing power. This leaves you with a really clunky user experience. These specialist devices are also often plagued with really terrible battery life, and having to hold it up to your eye is downright dangerous given the understory you are more than likely walking through if you have a use for such a device.
Combining a decent sensor and a 10mm lens with the very respectable hardware at the heart of the G2 Guardian eliminates all of the problems inherent to a standalone thermal monocular. They say the best camera is the one you have with you, and this applies double to thermal scopes. To ALWAYS have this thing available in my pocket is a massive advantage.
Thermal Range (Detection Range VS Recognition Range) and performance
I was pretty dubious of the claims made by AGM here. Well, I was wrong. At night, there is a very comfortable recognition range of around 100 to 200 metres depending on the size of the animal, and a detection range (how far out you can actually identify a heat signature is present) well over 500 metres, again, depending on the size of the object.
The thermal app interface is fast and responsive, and there is an entire galaxy of configuration options including the ability to set up your own custom thermal ribbon colour modes to suit your use. The timelapse function will be awesome for monitoring wildlife, and the analysis tools are crazy good. Both auto-focus and manual focus modes are brilliant, and I find myself wishing they had put a similar amount of effort into the main camera app.
Temperature measurement range is disappointing in the Guardian variant which I believe is only capable of 0C to 150C with accuracy. I believe this was a necessary compromise to allow such an amazing long range thermal camera experience. The G2 Pro variant does not have such impressive long-range thermal capability, but has accurate temperature measurement between -20C to 550C. This was an easy choice for me, it's far more useful for me to be able to detect an animal or heat signature at long range, than to tell the exact temperature of that object up close.
I have had a FLIR sensor previously on the very first CAT phone, and it was not even in the same universe of what the G2 Guardian is capable of. Hands down, this is the best bit of thermal gear I've ever used and I have access to several very expensive standalone units - the implementation on the G2 Guardian is genuinely impressive. They have made the jump from what is a cool gimmick on most phones, to a genuine work or hunting tool. I am blown away here.
The most impressive feature of the thermal experience is how well it works in daylight conditions. Many extremely expensive scopes are completely useless in daylight. As soon as sunlight starts to hit tree trunks, it's time to give up and go home. I'm not exactly sure how AGM have overcome this challenge, and obviously it will always work better at night or in the early morning, but even at 10am in full sun I have been able to ID animals very easily.
Firmware and customization potential
The Android implementation here is completely and utterly bloat free. The only non-google apps AGM have installed is their camera app, their thermal camera app and the AGM service app, where you can input the particulars of your device and purchase date, and submit a help or service request. There is also a third party launcher, but I never touched it - I installed Lynx launcher from my google backup before I even made it to the homescreen...i know what I like at this point.
The remainder of the UI experience is practically untouched, sharing most similarities to the latest Pixel devices including some of the fancier features including the ability to screenshot beyond the current display area of a web site, the juicy larger sized quick settings menu, extra dim mode, bedtime routines etc etc. There are extra settings menus present for the user defined key (though very basic, can't even set a vibration
I have to commend AGM here for providing such a beautiful stock android experience and not going ham with some janky over zealous skin.
Whilst I have not unlocked the bootloader or rooted this device, I have verified that flicking the OEM Unlocking switch in developer options does have the desired result, and that you are able to gain access to the bootloader via ADB reboot bootloader. This is good news for the future, with many devices from mainstream manufacturers now shipping without even the ability to access the bootloader.
It seems like there is potential here, but at present I do not have a reason to proceed any further down this path. Time will tell how well AGM support these devices long term with incremental updates but so far all they have promised is that they will provide regular Android security updates, and that their camera and thermal apps will be developed on an ongoing basis. I would not be surprised if we never see Android 13 or 14 here, but I could be wrong.
It would be a massive roll of the dice to flash a GSI or custom rom here given the amount of device specific, niche hardware. In all likelyhood, unless AGM decide to expend the resources to support this type of development in-house (and why would they?), any attempt to install a non-factory rom will result in the loss of your thermal camera, infrared camera and probably the sick flashlight as well.
At some point in the future I may attempt to root this phone but for now most of the reasons I have for doing so have already been solved in-house.
The battery optimisation and power management is absolutely killer and unobtrusive, giving an outstanding result for daily use. All of the bluetooth codecs you could possibly want are there including APT-X, APT-X HD, LDAC, AAC - so i've no need to force these in via magisk modules.
Activating the amazingly handy 100 lumen flashlight on the top of the phone via hardware key on the side is a default feature...this is one of the big reasons I usually root my phones. If they would add haptic feedback when it's activated, I'm happy and probably won't root at all.
Connectivity
3G and 4G signal reception on this device is better than anything I've owned previously. I was sweating bullets about VoLTE and VoWifi working on this out of the box because I have been completely reliant on wifi calling at home on all my other phones, which generally only manage 1 bar of cellular signal at best.
The great news is that VoLTE and VoWifi did work immediately out of the box, but given that I now have consistently better coverage with the G2 I'm less reliant on it. When it does kick in, it seems to do so seamlessly. All I could really ask for here is clear visible delineation between Wifi calls and HD voice/ VoLTE calls.
Wifi reception is also very good with very little degradation even at considerable distance from my router. Unfortunately I do not have access to 5G or Wifi6 to truly test it. On the previous 5ghz wifi standard it is easily able to hand me the full capacity of my starlink connection. Overall I feel like they really prioritized antenna location and design in this device. All of the other features are cool, but first and foremost this is a GREAT phone.
Tiny touches
AGM G2 Guardian is one of those cases where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. I assumed the 3.5watt speaker on the rear would be a gimmick...wow. This little speaker is worth its bulge. It's loud, clear and gives even the simple act of unlocking the device some serious presence. For podcast listening when I'm out in the shed or out in the bush and don't want to risk headphones masking the early warning signs of any slithery surprises it is absolutely fantastic. For music, I own several small bluetooth speakers that do not have this quality or volume. They have tuned the output in such a way that even at max volume there is no distortion, it's just loud and clear. I thought being on the rear of the device would be a disadvantage but they've overcome this with pure power.
The torch is one of my favourite features. I'm a total torch nerd but this is one less thing that I have to worry about having on my person, and the output is more than enough for most simple tasks at night. To have this with me at all times is a huge boon, and it is a million times better than even the brightest LED flash style flashlight on most phones, and emits from the top so is much more usable.
Bluetooth implementation here is INCREDIBLE. Stability of all bluetooth codecs has been fantastic, with no skipping and fantastic range. Even on my tiny earbuds, I am able to walk to the other end of my house with no skips or disconnects. This is about 25 metres. For comparison, my xcover 6 pro would constantly skip just from facing the wrong way in my pocket, and would give me about 10 metres unobstructed in the house. That's some serious power from the AGM, and decent thought put in to location of the antennas.
Best of all, when connecting any bluetooth audio device, a quick popup appears to inform you which codec is active! This is such a great little touch that saves me jumping through 3 layers of developer options to ensure that I am actually using the codec I want when my headphones connect.
A labour of love
In one of their recent long-form videos on youtube, an AGM representative claims the Bill of Materials cost for parts and labour to bring the G2 Guardian to completion is $740USD owing mainly to the expense of the thermal module.
If this is true, this leaves AGM with a very slim profit margin on this device. It seems their motivation here is purely to grow their brand, get more AGM devices into the hands of users in this small segment of the market and really make a great device to be proud of. You can feel it.
If you have ever considered a rugged device, or are sick of destroying your expensive mainstream ones this may well be the halo product you have been waiting for. The attention to detail here is hard to put into words until you've used one for a few days.
Concerns
-Even the large RAM X-Grip can only just hold this device in a vehicle owing to the bulge on the rear. It is secure in there, but only just. If AGM were to release a purpose built vehicle mount for these, I'd absolutely buy one.
-AGM Specs on their website still claim 10W wireless charging even now. It appears that either A) this is a lie B) it uses some non-standard wireless charging standard or C) They are claiming their dock accessory as wireless charging which I suppose would technically be true...but I have not yet received my dock and seems a bit disingenuous
It turns out there is wireless charging present, it's just very difficult getting it to pick up given the shape of the rear and the thickness of the case. Presently charging at 10W after some very careful balancing. I eagerly await the charging dock!
-Thermal module is fairly exposed and picks up every smudge imagineable. This does not impact use, and I do not have any scratches yet. AGM claim hardness of this glass is very high, but I can't think of a way to protect this lens when it is not in use.
-Main camera software needs some help. As detailed previously, you can get great photos out of this hardware combo, but it doesn't happen often enough. Maybe the in-house team can pull something together, but I can't help but think it would be a better outcome to get a port of GCAM running well, and enjoy all of the software processing and HDR trickery that comes with it. I may start having a mess around here myself.
That's about it. 99% of people won't read my wall of text, but for those seriously considering this purchase I hope this goes some way to helping you make your decision.
I have used rugged devices from every major player in this space. This is by far the best experience I've had with any of them. This phone absolutely slaps.
Camera samples attached with some compression from google photos.
Daylight closeup outdoors under cover
Daylight outdoors closeup subject
Daylight indoors close-up
Daylight sneaking distance, medium size eastern grey kangaroo
Outdoors 9am daylight photography sample
Night. Termite mound in foreground. Cow approx 60m away
Night. Small kangaroo @ 70-75m
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Alright I'm off to the races.
Shamim's Gcam port opens and appears to take photos, doesn't lag. It's night here right now, but this is where I will be starting my customisation journey.
Shamim: SGCAM_8.7.250.XX.44_STABLE_V4FIX
Download SGCAM_8.7.250.XX.44_STABLE_V4FIX by Shamim.
www.celsoazevedo.com

Have you got the gcam port working? And if so how is image quality?

davecotefilm said:
Have you got the gcam port working? And if so how is image quality?
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Yes it's working and very stable with both main camera and front camera stills + video all good.
Image quality is great but I need to figure out how to make a config file for this device, never done one before. HDR is a little too extreme on both HDR modes.
I'll put a couple of comparison images together over the weekend. That link I posted is a great base to start building from, and stability seems to be zero issues so this is already a win.
I did some up-close shots and GCAM really made them pop. Landscape stuff looking a little alien with HDR effect at present.
Anyone got a good resource for getting started with GCAM config? Seems like the hardware is fully compatible with this build so shouldn't be too many barriers.

Okay yes I'm thinking this will be my next phone :-D Just need price to drop a bit!

bandario said:
Yes it's working and very stable with both main camera and front camera stills + video all good.
Image quality is great but I need to figure out how to make a config file for this device, never done one before. HDR is a little too extreme on both HDR modes.
I'll put a couple of comparison images together over the weekend. That link I posted is a great base to start building from, and stability seems to be zero issues so this is already a win.
I did some up-close shots and GCAM really made them pop. Landscape stuff looking a little alien with HDR effect at present.
Anyone got a good resource for getting started with GCAM config? Seems like the hardware is fully compatible with this build so shouldn't be too many barriers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll try to get into the configs, but does gcam give it any image stabilization?

bandario said:
Yes it's working and very stable with both main camera and front camera stills + video all good.
Image quality is great but I need to figure out how to make a config file for this device, never done one before. HDR is a little too extreme on both HDR modes.
I'll put a couple of comparison images together over the weekend. That link I posted is a great base to start building from, and stability seems to be zero issues so this is already a win.
I did some up-close shots and GCAM really made them pop. Landscape stuff looking a little alien with HDR effect at present.
Anyone got a good resource for getting started with GCAM config? Seems like the hardware is fully compatible with this build so shouldn't be too many barriers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay awesome, I'll get it as my next device and follow this thread I suggest contacting the dev from the gcam link, he can help with configs if he can ask you for files etc. Then once built just attach the apk here!

I installed "SGCAM_8.7.250.XX.44_STABLE_V5_ENG_PACKAGE" on G2 Guardian and it is working fine on the main camera and the front camera and has software based image stabilization option. However, I don't see any option for Night vision and macro cameras. May be proper config is required.

bandario said:
Yes it's working and very stable with both main camera and front camera stills + video all good.
Image quality is great but I need to figure out how to make a config file for this device, never done one before. HDR is a little too extreme on both HDR modes.
I'll put a couple of comparison images together over the weekend. That link I posted is a great base to start building from, and stability seems to be zero issues so this is already a win.
I did some up-close shots and GCAM really made them pop. Landscape stuff looking a little alien with HDR effect at present.
Anyone got a good resource for getting started with GCAM config? Seems like the hardware is fully compatible with this build so shouldn't be too many barriers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for the review and mentioning of GCAM software. I installed it and It has many more options then the stock AGM G2 Guardian app. Thanks

vicki20july said:
I installed "SGCAM_8.7.250.XX.44_STABLE_V5_ENG_PACKAGE" on G2 Guardian and it is working fine on the main camera and the front camera and has software based image stabilization option. However, I don't see any option for Night vision and macro cameras. May be proper config is required.
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Click to collapse
You never will. It's a small miracle that it works out of the box with main and front cam for stills and video. To get any other lens involved would require huge input from AGM on a non-sanctioned project messing with google code. It won't happen. I'm just grateful they used standard enough hardware calls that we can build from a stable base on main cam.

davecotefilm said:
I'll try to get into the configs, but does gcam give it any image stabilization?
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Yes, AI image stabilisation standard to GCAM. To be honest I actively avoid phones with hardware OIS because vibrations when mounted to my motorbike kill the mechanism leaving me with a dead camera. I'm super happy to have GCAM fake OIS.

Thinks you for all this informations about agm guardian, I want to buy from ebay agm store, I want to ask you about zoom quality of the main camera? Can you post image and videos with zoom at least x8 or x10

samienemy said:
Thinks you for all this informations about agm guardian, I want to buy from ebay agm store, I want to ask you about zoom quality of the main camera? Can you post image and videos with zoom at least x8 or x10
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It does not have a telephoto lens. Max zoom is 8X and it looks as bad as you imagine. If this feature is important to you, buy something with a telephoto lens.

GCAM
AGM Stock CAM

It cost over 1200$ I will wait for less price

samienemy said:
It cost over 1200$ I will wait for less price
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$859USD on Ebay. AGM web shop is wild, changes price if you view it multiple times getting more expensive every time.

bandario said:
It does not have a telephoto lens. Max zoom is 8X and it looks as bad as you imagine. If this feature is important to you, buy something with a telephoto len
bandario said:
It does not have a telephoto lens. Max zoom is 8X and it looks as bad as you imagine. If this feature is important to you, buy something with a telephoto lens.
View attachment 5889529
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Click to collapse
There is an option in SGCAM to increase zoom capability. I am able to get it working up to around 35x
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To what end? At 8X it already looks like a psychedelic cartoon.