Hi,
I was taking some snaps with my S2 today and I was trying to spot meter on some bright lights so that I could expose for them and underexpose the rest of the scene. However, I realized that spot metering only works at the center of the screen. To my knowledge, the phone should spot meter at the point that I decide to focus on. When I tap to focus it should automatically spot meter on that region. That is how it works on my friends HTC legend and thats how it works on my Nikon D300s. Spot metering should be done based on the autofocus point but it doesn't work this way on my phone. I have to spot meter using the center of the scene, keep the shutter button pressed, recompose and then release to take a snap. Could someone explain why this is not working as it should or is this just samsung's weird implementation of this feature.
Galaxy Camera Spot Metering
radicalgel said:
Hi,
I was taking some snaps with my S2 today and I was trying to spot meter on some bright lights so that I could expose for them and underexpose the rest of the scene. However, I realized that spot metering only works at the center of the screen. To my knowledge, the phone should spot meter at the point that I decide to focus on. When I tap to focus it should automatically spot meter on that region. That is how it works on my friends HTC legend and thats how it works on my Nikon D300s. Spot metering should be done based on the autofocus point but it doesn't work this way on my phone. I have to spot meter using the center of the scene, keep the shutter button pressed, recompose and then release to take a snap. Could someone explain why this is not working as it should or is this just samsung's weird implementation of this feature.
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So, I have noticed the same issue on the S3, spot meter and center wieghted metering only works on the center of the screen, even if your focus point is somewhere else. I dont recall the original Galaxy S being programmed like this, most other phones I have also tried (iphone 4 and iphone 5, droid x) all allow you to spot meter on your desired focused point.
Apparently, samsung beleives your focal point of your picture should always be in the center of your picture! I find this odd, considering they have put so many features in the phone to appeal to photographers, but they seem to have left left out a basic metering function that is available on most other phones, and one that is vital in creating shots with proper exposure control.
Does anyone know of android camera application that allows for more contoll over the spot metering capabilities?
Thanks.
deving said:
So, I have noticed the same issue on the S3, spot meter and center wieghted metering only works on the center of the screen, even if your focus point is somewhere else. I dont recall the original Galaxy S being programmed like this, most other phones I have also tried (iphone 4 and iphone 5, droid x) all allow you to spot meter on your desired focused point.
Apparently, samsung beleives your focal point of your picture should always be in the center of your picture! I find this odd, considering they have put so many features in the phone to appeal to photographers, but they seem to have left left out a basic metering function that is available on most other phones, and one that is vital in creating shots with proper exposure control.
Does anyone know of android camera application that allows for more contoll over the spot metering capabilities?
Thanks.
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That's a really a very interesting topic!! Also Bada 1 linked the exposition to AF, (i took amazing shoots) while in Bada 2 this feature has been lost: the exposure is always weighted to the center of image. It is very common in other devices (for example in my lumia 620) (there you cannot even choose the metering mode...) and cameras too (canon, but not nikon..)
Anyway the old Galaxy S advance has still the exposition calculated on the focus point... Why have they changed? It's a so stupid thing...
Related
I moved over to Android a while back from an iPhone 4 and there was one app called Magic Shutter which enabled you to take amazing long exposure photos. I was wondering if there is any app which could pertain the same results for Android or specifically the Galaxy s2.
+1 This would be really nice to know. I would also appreciate any answer to this.
Development
I talked with the people at Anistar studios (the developers of the Magic Shutter App for iPhone) and they said that they just need to complete the version upgrade for ios devices then they will start developing for android
In the meantime, use fireworks scene mode. You can stretch your shutterspeed for up to 1 second.
drigz08 said:
In the meantime, use fireworks scene mode. You can stretch your shutterspeed for up to 1 second.
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+1
This is the way I use too.
last time i looked there was no boss for a camera quick release on phone, ... 1 sec is a long time to hold any camera without camera shake, let alone a phone shurley beter doing it post ? maby im wrong here but point is have movement shown on part of image but have it sharp as well. or maby its just artistic interpretation lol
Here is a sample. I shot it quickly, if done right, 1 second can fill the whole frame with light from left to right. I just did it on half on purpose.
-My hand is not steady so I was not able to maintain position within 1 second. It is as evidenced by the curved red light. If done right, the lights line will be straight and you wil not get blurry road.
lights art by John.Drigz, on Flickr
Found an App
I found a very nice application called Light-paint Live which does a great job at light painting. Have yet to test it at night outside but anyways I suggest you try it. Its found in the marketplace ;D
problem is to get truly good star photography we need 20-25 second exposures not 1 second. if you want a shot of the milky way for example you really need 20-25 second exposures.
The spot metering function on my camera seems to have stopped working. When you choose spot metering mode in the camera and use your finger to point at a bright object on the edge of the screen, the exposure does nothing. Samsung tech support confirmed that the exposure is supposed to be adjusted to that spot that you touched but it doesn't do it on my S3. It used to work but just stopped a couple of weeks ago. What's even stranger that some S3's seem to work fine but others also don't work - I tried whole bunch of them today in various stores and some work just fine but others don't work at all.Is yours broken?
Homey said:
The spot metering function on my camera seems to have stopped working. When you choose spot metering mode in the camera and use your finger to point at a bright object on the edge of the screen, the exposure does nothing. Samsung tech support confirmed that the exposure is supposed to be adjusted to that spot that you touched but it doesn't do it on my S3. It used to work but just stopped a couple of weeks ago. What's even stranger that some S3's seem to work fine but others also don't work - I tried whole bunch of them today in various stores and some work just fine but others don't work at all.Is yours broken?
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Mine is broken as well, it only focuses. That's probably related to the fact that my manual exposure controls also don't work though.
It never occurred to me that spot metering should work according to the area you touch. I had always assumed that spot metering takes the reading from the centrer spot on the camera like a DSLR.
Mine only focuses, it does not meter the point that I touch.
Actually, this functionality has been there from the Galaxy S so it's nothing new or revolutionary!
I think that most people don't use the camera as anything more than a simple point and shoot, which is a pity because its easily as good as the iPhone 4S camera and perhaps even a bit better, and we all know the fuss people make about that.
There are a lot of users wandering around with broken cameras but no one seems to care, as you can tell from the number of responses to the original post!
I was always wondering why my S3 only does spot metering at the center spot. Is this a bug or a feature? I think my spot metering is broken but if it should work only at the center then it's fine. Can somebody clear this up?
I'm so glad someone else has this problem - not in a mean way. It's just infuriating me at the moment - was trying to take a sunset picture today and realised it wasn't working when I tapped on the different areas. Infuriating, but not sure how to fix!
same issue here... my Galaxy S does it wonderfully right with spot metering on the spot I touch... my S3 which has a far better cam miserably fails at spot metering and only takes the center average... so spot metering is just broken
Galaxy Note 2 has same camera hardware and software as the S3. My spot metering worked in the past while on the stock rom. I'm on a custom rom, Jedi rom, and it no longer works. This is a TW based rom so I'm surprised it doesn't work. But from what I'm hearing, users on stock firmware are having problems as well.
Thanks to those who stuck it out diagnosing and raising the level of awareness around this problem. Almost every thread I find has some long-winded helpful genius in it explaining to us how we don't understand what spot metering is and that there is no problem. Sometimes you have to be extremely persistent on the net or your problem will be buried by the highly motivated know nothings.
I hope this problem is figured out. I, for one, would NOT trade a faster camera against one with spot metering. These cameras have tiny sensors and will never be great (I have aps-c and full frames). The ability to expose a particular point properly with no regard for the rest of the frame is the only saving grace for these cameras with so narrow a dynamic range due to the small sensor.
I'm learning in this search that this is a big reason most people take poor pictures with camera phones. They don't know how to use the spot metering to mitigate (somewhat) the limitations of the small sensor. I'll report back when/if I find a solution.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk 2
_atlien_ said:
Galaxy Note 2 has same camera hardware and software as the S3...
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And guess what... SGS4 has the exact same issue with their cam!!! Can you believe it? I could for one not... When I was testing out the SGS4 in the phone store with stock firmware... it had no touch spot meter that would measure where I push... but the same dumb center weighted spot meter it has in SGS3 and NOTE2. I am disappointed Samsung... it has the best camera but without a proper spot meter. :crying::crying::crying:
I am starting to think this has been done intentionally to dumb things down a bit... or they have some patent issue with apple or someone else with their "touch to spot meter" tech... sigh... patents...
Sigh... I tried asking about this when I first got my GS3 back in October. Same thing.. I don't get how this hasn't been addressed. You can see my thread here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1963959
I even contacted Samsung France where I am, Samsung USA, and even my mobile carrier and nobody could answer. The shameful thing was that Samsung's TECH SUPPORT didn't even know what I was talking about. I kind of gave up.
A trick for you guys which seems to have worked for me...
Ironically, before getting the GS3, the spot meter worked brilliantly on my HTC myTouch4G. You would touch a spot, wait for it to register with a beep and then wherever you moved, it locked in that exposure. Try this...
- point the screen to the place you want the exposure to be set for
- tap the screen there to focus
- only when you've seen it focus (green square) and heard it beep signaling exposure and focus lock, press and HOLD the shutter button and move to the framing you actually want
- let go of the shutter to take the picture
I have found that it takes one or two tries but it DOES work. You will see that the moment you let go of the shutter, it will go back to what the exposure would have been where you framed.
Feel free to ask questions if this doesn't make sense.
I can't get that to work. But I may not be following the instructions correctly. The beginning steps aren't clear for me.
Center the desired focal point on the screen then touch and lock that point. Then press and hold shutter. Then recompose picture. Then release shutter.
This doesn't work for me. Holding the shutter button doesn't lock the exposure.
Also wondering if this problem is hardware or software. I installed ProCapture app which is supposed to have spot metering which didn't work on my Galaxy Note 2. Just FYI.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk 2
Hi guys! It's a pleasure for me to notice that other people are struggling for this problem!!!:high five:
I remember that my Samsung Wave 2 , with Bada 1.2, gave me amazing shots: the exposition were linked to the focus point. Then with Bada 2.0 all has changed and, independently from the metering method the exposure is alway always weighted at the centre of the image.
Ok one can make recomposition, but it takes minutes and a the results are not so brilliant.
Now I have a Lumia 620: same problem, i'm getting crazy!!
Does anybody knows the reason of this stupid choice??
i select spot-metering mode, point at my brightly sunlight desk, i click different areas of the screen and while focusing the colours seem to change saturation and "fill".. does this mean my metering is working?
Yeah! If the colors of the photo change on the basis of your taps on the screen, then you have the exposure that follows the AF point. You are very lucky!!
Notice that in many devices even if you choose spot metering, the spot is linked to a central point of the image!
But does it happen only with spot or also with other metering modes?
yep mine's broken too not sure if it worked before it fell on the floor but i highly doubt that it worked in the first place it's damn sad that the S3 is such a great phone but has a partly broken cam on 90% of the S3's and still they didn't fix it in the S4
Thank you so much for the quick fix
ive tried over 20 apps
messed around with 100's of setting..... no dice
tinpanalley, your tip is the only way yo make this work
this is by far THE WORST camera a phone could ever had, i feel very sorry for people who purchased the S3 for it's incapable camera.
and the funniest thing is that they screwed up the s4 camera as well, L O L
Hello everyone, I may be missing something but i was playing around with the camera on this great phone and realized that the normal press and hold of the shutter button to have the camera focus in a dark room does not work. If you press and hold the camera takes shots in burst mode. If you press it once the flash lights up dimly but does not focus properly and then flashes full blast but takes a blurry photo. This is very annoying because im used to my samsung s3 and note 2 that would focus by holding the shutter button in a dark room and then release to take a clear focused picture.
Am I missing something? for a camera that is good in low light and have 5 levels of flash intensity it seems to make no sense to not be able to focus in a dark room. whats the point of having a camera with a flash that cant take a picture in the dark or semi dark room right?
let me know if you are having this issue, if you think i'm doing something wrong or maybe if ill just have to deal with it until HTC comes out with an update. if it happens to you we can all call 8664498358 and press 0 and let HTC know this is very annoying I have gotten through to a live person instantly by calling this number to ask why in the world the power saver feature is persistent in the notification drop down....there reason....dummy instructions and to many service returns for "bad batteries"
UPDATE: I have spoke with HTC on a separate issue and mentioned this to the guy i spoke with and he has not had any other feedback on this issue, how ever he advised me to have anyone who is having this issue please contact them, he was not able to duplicate it yet because he in not in a dark room but he said he will try it when he can (Thanks Fred). the more people who report the issue and provide feedback the better chances they can get it resolved, I am having this issue on my wifes phone and my phone. you may need to focus on a far object and then try to focus on a near object in a dark room, like a room with less then low light. In my case it was in a room only lit by an old crt tv (bedroom) how ever he advised me the more feedback the better, they are very interesting in hearing from us and he is very aware of the xda forums as well as other android forums out there.
so no one cares. nice
So much for the community. No one seems to care even though plenty of you guys have looked and all own this phone. Pretty disgraceful.
EDIT: Sorry if I sound rude or condescending, Just surprised no one has commented yet or has said they are having this issue, personally I use my phone for taking photos in less then low light situations often and if this issue cant get resolved its going to really suck. HTC can fix it but needs the feedback to know that its widespread and not just a fluke, although they do know that its happening on my wifes phone and my phone.
I've tried it, and it doesn't auto-focus either. Manually focusing before taking the picture works though.
Zolor23 said:
I've tried it, and it doesn't auto-focus either. Manually focusing before taking the picture works though.
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Thank you very much for the reply, I have tried to manual focus and it doesnt work for me in very dark situations. sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't though. I have noticed if I focus on something distant in a low light area and then back on something near in a very dark area it will not focus. Every other camera I have used on a phone has lit up the flash long enough and bright enough to focus and turn the focus indicator green how ever this camera seems to focus on speed and seems to not care about weather the picture is focused, it doesn't turn red or beep or anything it just takes a blurry photo. it takes more blurry photos then clear it seems to me in low light or less then low light conditions.
If you could please contact HTC and let them know I would be very happy and hopefully they get this issue fixed, I have called HTC a few times for other issues. yesterday my lock screen kept saying today was cinco de mayo and for the life of me I couldnt figure out how to turn that off and I also am not happy about the Gallery app showing every single friend photo including horribly low resolution ones not to mention the persistant power saver notification in the drop down thats so stupid! but when I talked to them they mentioned the camera issue and wanted me to explain to them cause they saw the notes based on my phone number and previous calls, they would like all the feedback they can get.
This isn't just a T-Mobile HTC One issue, my international is doing this too.
I'd be interested to know from someone that doesn't have this problem, in a dark room, if you tap on the screen to focus, does the light come on?
All other phones I've had would light the area to focus, as you've said above this just tries to focus in the dark. How can that be right?
I've tried different ROM's and firmware, always tries to focus in the dark. Why on earth would it do this!?!?!
Yeah I noticed that problem too when trying to take a picture of a person in a life like Iron Man costume in a theater Friday night.
Sent from my Nexus 7
lets get this fixed!
Boy I'm glad I'm not the only one. I know we are about fixing stock and nodding and what not but please start a ticket on the issue. HTC has a place on there website for this or you can call them.
Hey guys, I've never posted here, I mostly just lurk and try to learn things.
My question is a bit difficult to explain but I'll try my best. Do me a favor and take a photo while completely covering the camera lens, then view the photo in the gallery. Make sure youre in a dark room and viewing the photo in full screen, wait a second for the back and task manager buttons to turn off as well.
Is your picture completely black or are the outside edges and corners fuzzy and white almost?
My previous phones are Galaxy S1, 2, 3 and 4 along with the Note 3 (which I miss :/ ) never had a problem like this, I do believe some GS2s had a similar problem with the screen being spotty in black images.
thanks.
redline06 said:
Hey guys, I've never posted here, I mostly just lurk and try to learn things.
My question is a bit difficult to explain but I'll try my best. Do me a favor and take a photo while completely covering the camera lens, then view the photo in the gallery. Make sure youre in a dark room and viewing the photo in full screen, wait a second for the back and task manager buttons to turn off as well.
Is your picture completely black or are the outside edges and corners fuzzy and white almost?
My previous phones are Galaxy S1, 2, 3 and 4 along with the Note 3 (which I miss :/ ) never had a problem like this, I do believe some GS2s had a similar problem with the screen being spotty in black images.
thanks.
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Hello there, I did a test for you on mine, when i was in my room with my lights on but completely covered the lens and mine came out fuzzy. It seems that the s5 camera is very powerful picking up the slightest bit of light !
Then I turned off the lights in my room and did the same test, this time it was pitch black.
Did you try turning all your lights off in your room?
Thanks for your input, my initial test was in a room with the lights off. Looks so bad :/
redline06 said:
Thanks for your input, my initial test was in a room with the lights off. Looks so bad :/
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I noticed that with my camera too. The exact same thing happens to me too when I cover the camera, in both lighted and unlighted rooms. But I'm pretty sure it's normal. When your ISO is on auto, you'll notice that the camera turns up the ISO past what you can manually set it at (800). So since they're bumping up the ISO so high (probably ~1600 in dark areas), there's going to be considerable amounts of noise, even with very low light.
You can see for yourself that if you compare auto ISO and ISO 800 in a dark room, the latter will be much more pitch black like you expect it to be.
Has anyone else noticed this? The option for spot metering is in my camera menu but the function doesn't actually work, it will only meter light from the center of the screen, not from where the spot is. Pretty poor! Not sure if my device is faulty, is this the case for everyone else?
Cheers ?
Doesn't work for me either
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
Spot metering in the smartphone world means touch the screen to adjust the exposure to that spot, I also own a dslr and am aware of the difference. In other words it sucks in direct brightly lit conditions, eg sun or bright lights, super disappointed! Please fix this with a software update Sony!!!
No, I really hate that it doesn't work.
i guess it's not only me then, came to Sony from M7 because of the camera and now this is faulty