Hello, i've been using arnova's modded gcams for a while, and noticed that video recording is extremelly dark, and sometimes get black screen flashes on it, not even close to photo's quality.
The only camera that seems to be doing an extremelly good job with videos is the oneplus modded one, but it lacks a lot of features.
Actually the image quality of the modded Gcam is shocking when enabling hwhdr on debugging and setting hdr to high, video doesn't stand a chance. As it doesn't happen only on one app, I believe it is a system or a camera2api configuration that the oneplus camera and the default camera ignores (I am running Pixel Experience, feb latest build, but it's a thing on every Oreo's ROM).
Is there anyone that knows about the topic any way or idea to debug it -be it from the camera source files or from the c2a settings-? It would be insane to have also the video ia for stabilization of the Gcam and maybe it can compare or be better than the OnePlus Camera.
Open to suggestions !
They is another problem with the modded gcam, when we select 60fps option camcorder the screen flickers while focusing and thats been recorded
There's nothing to do to check flickering, dark video and fix colours on preview? images looking a bit color-dead before obturation on some cameras, seems that only aplications that overrides those settings are working good. (modded gcams are dark and flickers on video, apps like instagram that doesnt obture gets a bit of lack of colours since preview doesnt do a bit of hwhdr to have an more accurate end result to obturation and also nicer looks on instagram photos). Seems to be a problem with the phone configuration since the camera can record well on other devices, and the op camera can record well on ours. Not like there are no ways around now, we can use both cameras and take the images with stock camera before uploading them but in long term it would be a nice improvement on social networks direct uploading, easier to take videos and photos on a single application (also to have gcam benefits as it is video stabilization). Sorry if I didn't explain myself properly, im not so good at english. Also, I didnt develop directly for android/camera but if someone with a bit of idea gives me the hand I can check out the settings. I don't have so much free time to learn now but as a developer with a couple of tips on the topic maybe I can find a way around to check those settings. Or if an experienced developer with time and will to do it I can help out maybe. I believe it's worth to give it a look
So GCam is definitely the answer for getting the best photo quality out of this phone in almost any situation, but let's see how we can record the best possible video.
Btw, when you first try video recording with the Note 7 in low light, it's natural to be disappointed since you're comparing it to GCam's photo output in low light. GCam uses frame stacking and other techniques to remove noise, increase dynamic range and get details in both shadows and highlights as well as the rest of the image. To produce only one 12-megapixel frame, it uses anywhere from 3 to 15 frames and takes a few seconds to do the complex blending and computations to create a great low light photo. Without a much stronger SoC, ISP, a better sensor and more advanced processing algorithms, this is impossible to do while recording a video, as the phone is struggling to keep up with recording 30 8-megapixel frames (UHD) each second or 2-megapixel frames in case of 1080p. They've barely managed to get SD 660 to comfortably use real-time EIS at 1080p30, along with auto focusing, WB, exposure, noise reduction etc.
So, knowing that in low light this phone's video recording will never be great, let's focus on other aspects of its video recording. My only idea for improving low light video recording is to find an app that can use a high bitrate in order to avoid introducing additional noise and artifacts. This also applies to filming in daylight.
I'll start with some findings about the differences between the stock app, GCam and Open Camera when recording video.
STABILIZATION
As far as video stabilization goes, only stock camera's 1080p30 EIS properly uses gyro-EIS and that really is the most beautiful stabilization you'll get out of this phone. No wobbling or image distortion, it just softens the shakiness, as if the phone were on a gimbal.
1080p30 EIS in GCam – it's instantly noticeable that the viewfinder here is stabilized (whereas in the stock app it isn't). It appears to be using the gyroscope, but not in the same way the stock app does. Stabilization is OK, but not as smooth as in the stock app and wobbliness can be noticed occasionally, with more abrupt movement.
UHD EIS in GCam – better than no stabilization, but wobbliness on the edges tends to be obvious when there's a lot of movement.
1080p30 or UHD EIS in Open Camera – also a stabilized viewfinder, but the stabilization algorithm here is very wobbly, which is extremely noticeable in UHD, so try to hold the phone as stable as possible when recording in Open Camera. The highlight of Open Camera for the Note 7 is its front-facing camera UHD stabilized video recording. So far this is my only use case for Open Camera on this phone (plus testing).
If you like using 1080p60 because of its smoother panning and movement in general, here's a tip to stabilize 60 fps videos: shoot in 1080p60 without EIS in the stock app or another app (using a high bitrate when possible) and then stabilize the footage in Google Photos, which does a nice job unless the video is impossibly shaky.
SLOW MOTION
In my testing, I've never managed to get a smooth slo-mo video out of the stock app and I've tried it after every MIUI update so far. At 1080p or 720p, the result is always a stuttering slo-mo video. GCam to the rescue!
GCam can record stutter-free 1080p slo-mo for a long time (I tried it for a couple minutes) and the resulting video is smooth as butter, suffering only from an occasional hiccup here and there. Perfectly usable.
Open Camera can also record in 1080p120. Different apps should be tried out to see how smooth the slo-mo is and which one is able to use the highest bitrate, leading to the highest image quality. Although image quality does appear to be limited in slow motion mode.
FIELD OF VIEW (FOV)
If you have your phone on a tripod or you can lean on a surface to stabilize it, you should turn EIS off. This will give you a wider field of view and a sharper image. When you're recording a video, the top and bottom portions of the image are cut off to accommodate for the widescreen format. This already makes you lose around 25% of the image information that the sensor can actually see. EIS works by further zooming into the centre of the sensor (or cropping the image) and using the now-extra information to shift the frame in any direction as necessary, to produce an impression of a more stable footage.
The phone will not recognize that it's on a tripod and turn EIS off. You have to do that manually. Why would you want to do that? If you want:
1) to capture more of the scene (a wider field of view), with EIS on, you'll have to step back (which is sometimes not possible)
2) better image: stabilization comes with trade-offs. If you don't need it, turn it off. The phone will be able to use a greater number of pixels to create your fixed-resolution video, resulting in a better image.
With 1080p30 EIS off or UHD without EIS, you'll have the widest FOV possible for video on this sensor. Only top and bottom are cut off for widescreen.
1080p60 EIS off – for some reason, this has just slightly narrower FOV than 1080p30 without EIS. The same FOV appears to be present in 1080p120 (slow motion).
When EIS is on, it crops the least on the stock app, slightly more on GCam and the most on Open Camera.
VIDEO AND AUDIO BITRATES AND QUALITY
Work in progress. So far I can only tell that stock and BSG's GCam produce different videos. Stock uses a higher video bitrate and GCam a higher audio bitrate. Open Camera tends to put on a yellow cast, presumably to make the image warmer. Also, bulkin's GCam allows you to select video bitrate. Haven't played with that or the bitrate in Open Camera.
It's also worth to test other apps, such as Cinema FV-5. I've had luck with that on previous phones.
My recommendation is Open Camera by mark harman
Plzz any one provide me the link
tamalnag said:
Plzz any one provide me the link
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open camera is on play store
Very detailed observation.. Thanks for sharing. ?
Have anyone tried 'Footej Camera'?
Great post. My recomendation for all uses is gcam, not the best in all but not the worst. Perfect for a daily use
There is a possibility to set the video bit rate in some of the other GCam MODs.
I can recommend this GCam MOD made from developer marlin-ku OR this GCam MOD which have much more valuable options (speed / ISO optimisations) from developer bulkin043. The last version of the second MOD is available in the Telegram channel here.
This port is the best working - one of the few other GCam MODs I'm frequently using on my Redmi Note 7.
have you tried anx camera
Quaresma_7 said:
If you like using 1080p60 because of its smoother panning and movement in general, here's a tip to stabilize 60 fps videos: shoot in 1080p60 without EIS in the stock app or another app (using a high bitrate when possible) and then stabilize the footage in Google Photos, which does a nice job unless the video is impossibly shaky
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is it is also true for 4k30 ? do you getter final image quality and stabilization if you do eis in google photo as it must be a more complex algorithm vs "eis on" that only must use a simpler faster algorithm that runs in real time
is it hardware accelerated by the snapdragon 660's Spectra 160 ISP or is it software running on the arm cpu (question both for " eis on" and for stabilisation done in google photos app )
amanieux said:
is it is also true for 4k30 ? do you getter final image quality and stabilization if you do eis in google photo as it must be a more complex algorithm vs "eis on" that only must use a simpler faster algorithm that runs in real time
is it hardware accelerated by the snapdragon 660's Spectra 160 ISP or is it software running on the arm cpu (question both for " eis on" and for stabilisation done in google photos app )
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Google photos stabilization is good, sometimes it does a miracle, but some artifacts appear in the video. It's more aggressive and intelligent than eis on but quality could be not so good. (I don't know anything about which processor is used, but in Google photo is a lot slow the stabilization process, about the double of the video duration)
video quality difference between 4k and 1080p on bsg mod
i installed this gcam mod : https://f.celsoazevedo.com/file/cfiles/gcm1/MGC_6.2.030_RN7_V1a_FINAL.apk but i notice that 1080p and 4k have a completely different look (different WB, different DR) is it due to snapdragon 660 limitations ? is gcam only configuring the hardware capture codec for snapdragon 660 hardware or is it applying some software computation (google proprietary code) on each frame in real time ?
Best video camera app for me is open camera. I do 1080p with 120 fpS with that and it's awesome. Other one is filmic pro. I can shoot flat video and chose nitrate and frame rate.
Cinema f5
My RN7 can't install the GCAM, I've been getting the message "App Not Installed" please any help?
Okusac said:
My RN7 can't install the GCAM, I've been getting the message "App Not Installed" please any help?
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Uninstall any other previous versions. Then install this
https://drive.google.com/file/d/10OAI7zoNHiBjSmxRGTv2meclafg4nmxV/view?usp=drivesdk
Ryamoz said:
Uninstall any other previous versions. Then install this
https://drive.google.com/file/d/10OAI7zoNHiBjSmxRGTv2meclafg4nmxV/view?usp=drivesdk
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Okay, I've than that... Thanks
My best is filmic pro. It is dedicated app for video making. U can record in flat/log profile which u then can color grade later on.
The quality is greater than other app.
Open camera is also nice but it has less control over the video. U can't control color temperature and u can't basic color grade ur videos. Plus u can't save ur preset.
I have no luck with GCam and stock one.
Pics GCam, Video Stock
Interesting Thread. On MIUI Global 10.3.6 and now MIUI Global 11.0.4 (Android 9) using GCam PMGC_7.0.009_Astrophoto_Version_V12 overall I'm impressed, activated Sabre and H265/HEVC (edit/play/upload compatibility seems good for the apps I mostly use which paired with the smaller size is good). Not sure if really but crispness/clarity seems well improved as well as less speckles/red-dots especially on the skin in artificial/low light. EIS also still very good.
I also use the stock camera and OpenCamera, so what bothered me in GCam PMGC:
a) still focus flickering in video (can it be optimized by any settings?), stock RN7 camera IMHO has considerably less such flickering?
b) needing GSF: so no CustomROMs? Or is MicroG able to solve this?
c) found no possibility to save to SD-Card DCIM, I think in PMGC V3/V4 versions this still was available?
For OpenCamera while b) und c) are no problem regarding a) there seems to be good micro movement EIS but overall movement/transition is not so smooth; focus seems manual (tapping on-screen) so I could not see flickering . I like OpenCamera for the many settings especially the filename without prefix. It is also possible to set RAW DNG or WebP (I use 4x3k JPG 84%), Exif tags, HEVC, 24 fps, flat/log profile. I wonder why half-max-res pics (2000x1500) are not available to select. For video I would like to have something 16:9 slightly bigger then FHD so like 3K (2560x1440) which is not available (only 4:3). I also can not find timelapse.
A friend has Filmic on RN7. It has pro options and as well HEVC. As i tried once EIS is ok (below stock/GCam) and it seems video focus flickering is noticable just a little more then Stock and GCAM is considerably worse. I do not like the 1/3 screen Play preview of taken videos (just 3 show up) and also the files are not saved in the standard DCIM camera folder on the SD (CMS External Storage, not found by Gallery Apps).
Currently my preference is:
Images: GCam PMGC
Video: RN7 Stock; Timelapses: GCam PMGC
Hi everyone! Back to this topic to ask you a question. After the recent upgrade to Android 10, still with MIUI 11, I've noticed that
- stock camera has video stabilization working "after save"
- gcam (tons of version tried) and opencamera have no more stabilization. Once it was directly on the screen. Now there's any noticable on the screen or offer save.
Do you have the same problem? Thanks! Any way to solve this?
Hi guys,
I am quite underwhelmed by the camera.
Switched from Huawei Mate 20 Pro and compared to that phone this camera sucks.
Did anyone else noticed that HDR does nothing? It's enabled and detected but photos are just black, crushed shadows and very contrasty.
Check photo bellow with HDR ON.
Hi
Did you checked the firmware updates? some improvements have been implemented about the cameras.
Otherwise, make sure that the settings you've applied are compatible with HDR enhancement.
Yeah, I did get the update and this photo is with the update .
I tested a bit more and it seems that HDR handles highlights well, but it doesn't do much for shadows and dark parts of the image.
Hope future updates correct this.
It is a VERY soft HDR...
Hello, Im currently using Xiaomi 13 Pro with Global version and running MIUI14. I am having a problem while watching in youtube about distortion or large pixels randomly appear in the video. Anyone experiencing it and possible solution? it is kinda annoying and its just in youtube, other streaming have no problems like primevideo, netflix and disney+. you may check my attached screenshot for reference
Have you tried to turn off MEMC and other boost image quality features that Xiaomi enabled by default?
zSyntex said:
Have you tried to turn off MEMC and other boost image quality features that Xiaomi enabled by default?
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Hi, can you guide me what to turn off?
diaven said:
Hi, can you guide me what to turn off?
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Just disable them from Display Settings
zSyntex said:
Just disable them from Display Settings
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I did played the settings under display, but none of it fix the pixelation on my video. any other work around?
diaven said:
I did played the settings under display, but none of it fix the pixelation on my video. any other work around?
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Me too have the same issue. Haven't find any solution yet
Can you share the link YouTube you have it? So I can compare with a different device.
Hello, I have a xiaomi poco f3 and experienced something similar but worse (youtube videos showing weird pixels and colors or noise like display at parts of the video, like a broken tv signal). I tried moving from miui 14 to a custom pixel OS but it did not solve the issue. Another thing I experienced is that 240p and below it was working flawlessly, anything above and I'd get the glitches. Likewise, other platforms like twitch.tv worked perfectly. Trying revanced youtube, root version or not, did not work for me. I pinpointed the problem to the vp9 codec, which is used by youtube videos when setting resolution above 240p. The following things worked for me:
a) Whats your refresh rate? Try setting it at 120hz at all times (other options like setting it automatically or per app won't do, for my pixelOS, it was "force peak refresh rate" in Display settings). This solution worked for me globally, including the youtube app, but increases battery consumption.
b) Browser only solution, that works without forcing max refresh rate at all times (and thus saving battery): use the enhanced-h264ify extension, available for android only for kiwi browser, afaik. There, in the addon options, block vp8, vp9 and av1 (iirc they all came pre checked)