Ok so first off, hi everyone . Newbie here with a question for you guys.
So my problem is, I have a 5 day old galaxy s2 and for some reason the camera is not performing as I expected it to.... Whenever I set it to record a video in 1080p the end result is always grainy/poor quality and the video is kind of slow. When I set it to record in 720p----and this part really pisses me off---- the video flickers at random intervals when I pan the camera around. It's quite the annoyance especially considering I spent so much $$ on this phone and you would expect it to perform as advertised. The lower res settings work fine though. BTW I'm running everything stock 2.3.4 Gingerbread (installed some apps/games and GoLauncher EX). My question is; has anyone experienced anything similar and if so what did you do to resolve the issue? If anyone can help me out or have any suggestions etc. I would greatly appreciate your help.
I did some searching around and apparently, it is a bug in the camera software as I thought.... Low lighting conditions causes a stutter effect and lag while auto-focusing in 720p. I know low lighting would have some effect on video quality but it only happens in 720p which leads me to believe its a software issue and hopefully not a defect. I dont know if all S2s have this problem but it sure is annoying and there is no official fix yet. Do any of you with rooted phones and 2.3.5 firmware suffer from this? I'm seriously considering rooting my phone now... BTW I messed around with the exposure setting in 1080p and that seemed to solve the 'grainyness' so at least I can rest easy now...somewhat. I still think this phone is the best though, no questions there. No minor issue can change that.
So, I'm thinking about rooting and installing a custom rom on my European Samsung Galaxy S II. But I've had some previous experiences regarding custom roms on my HTC Desire, whereas the quality of the still pictures and video recordings shot with the camera was drastically decreased. Still pictures looked horrible, and it was not possible to record video in 720 due to a huge amount of lag and stutter. This was the case with the three roms I flashed the HTC Desire with.
I'm not really educated on this subject, so I hope you guys can give me some information.
Will installing a custom rom affect the quality of still pictures/video recordings?
If so, what is the reason for this?
Bump [10 char]
Fureeze said:
Will installing a custom rom affect the quality of still pictures/video recordings?
If so, what is the reason for this?
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That doesn't happen on samsung phones at all, must be an htc thing.
If you care that much about camera quality, stick with Touchwiz ROMs. Flashing CM7 or MIUI will decrease the picture and video quality as they use AOSP apps which are worse than Samsung ones.
If you install a custom Samsung rom you should be fine but if you install cm7 or miui I've noticed the quality ain't as high
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
Okay, thanks. What is the reason for the decrease of quality?
Fureeze said:
Okay, thanks. What is the reason for the decrease of quality?
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Click to collapse
I've used both cm7 and miui and both cameras are noticeably poorer than stock. I may be wrong but may be due to drivers or something as they are aosp based roms. But don't go by my word on reasoning. The pictures look fine on the phone but once you view them on a bigger screen you see the differences in quality.
When I get time I want to test various camera apps and compare them to stock using same conditions, don't think we have a thread like that.
Sent from my GT-P7510 using Tapatalk
Yeah, okay. I've been looking for threads like that, but I haven't found any. If you decide to go through with it, send me a PM with a link to the thread
The one thing holding me back from flashing cm10 is the fact that I lose the TW camera. The HDR function in it works _so_ well.
I've tried a few free versions of various HDR apps and they all suck compared to the TW one.
Does anyone have experience with any of the ones on the market and can maybe share their settings?
HDR/MDR
I don't consider any mobile camera good. Any cheapest point-n-shoot will punch it in face. If u got SGS3 for camera - u r wrong.
I heard Photoshop can do HDR - so look into that. Also PlayMarket is a good source of information.
I disagree. The camera on this phone is more than adequate, and HDR is impressive
Sent from the current Heavy Weight champ GALAXY SIII
bravomail said:
I don't consider any mobile camera good. Any cheapest point-n-shoot will punch it in face. If u got SGS3 for camera - u r wrong.
I heard Photoshop can do HDR - so look into that. Also PlayMarket is a good source of information.
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Click to collapse
meh, camera is great for my neeeds.
as for ps doing hdr, you need an hdr image first for ps to be able to manipulate the exposure and b/w settings.
what is PlayMarket? Something that reviews playstore apps?
bravomail said:
I don't consider any mobile camera good. Any cheapest point-n-shoot will punch it in face.
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Click to collapse
Do you have anything to back that up, or is it just your POV?
Check out vignette. I'm pretty sure it has an HDR function in it.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
bravomail said:
I don't consider any mobile camera good. Any cheapest point-n-shoot will punch it in face. If u got SGS3 for camera - u r wrong.
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Click to collapse
Any recent cheap point in shoot will do better in terms of IQ.
Having said that even cell phone cameras vary in quality and if you use them then you'd be silly not to take that into account if it is important to you, even if you've got another camera that is better.... nothing wrong with buying the S3 for the camera. Not sure how that would be "wrong".
the camera was like 70% of my interest in getting the S3. I have a nikon d7000 DSLR and know that the cell camera will never be able to get close to that beast but sometimes I don't want to lug around my dslr and having a cell that can take great pictures is a huge plus especially if you don't want to carry a point and shoot and a cell phone at the same time.
JFigure said:
The one thing holding me back from flashing cm10 is the fact that I lose the TW camera. The HDR function in it works _so_ well.
I've tried a few free versions of various HDR apps and they all suck compared to the TW one.
Does anyone have experience with any of the ones on the market and can maybe share their settings?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had previously used PRO HDR on the OG EVO, and it worked great. The EVO 3D didn't support HDR apps at all. The GS3 has a great built-in HDR option, and tried PRO HDR again - the native one is better!
So for now I'm sticking with the stock camera (I'm rooted, but running stock until CM10 has a semi-stable build..).
JFigure said:
The one thing holding me back from flashing cm10 is the fact that I lose the TW camera. The HDR function in it works _so_ well.
I've tried a few free versions of various HDR apps and they all suck compared to the TW one.
Does anyone have experience with any of the ones on the market and can maybe share their settings?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Get Camera360! I love this camera, its free and so many effects and you can actually choose between a couple different HDR modes.
Hello
im first S3 user and past about 56 smartphones in 4 years (yeah that much) most of them were Camera-phones.
after my S1/S2/ IPHONE 4S/Xperia S Camera-phones i'v noticed something really annoying in the Camera department
of the S3..:silly:
when i doing the "touch to focus" the light in the area not changing.
for example : if i shooting a landscape and i focus the ground it stay's dark until I'm moving the camera away to the ground.
also when shooting at dawn/sunrise until i move the camera completely from the light source i cant take a decent photo
because it makes it too dark and focusing in other area in the scene does not help.
Like the exposure not changing at all..
took my GF SAMSUNG S2 and a HTC ONE X and guess what? i can focus in verity of areas without any problem
and take great shots in sunny scenes,took an iPhone 4S and also without any problems.
also used HDR but it does not seems to work ether
what can cause the problem?
i described as much as i can..hope that you can figure "what the heck that guy want from us"
someone?
same for me
It seems that here is happening the same.. I haven't realized that so far, I'm paying more attention now
try a different app like camera zoom fx. I won't post th link as posting of paid app is not allowed on XDA.
:good:
Im not using a 3rd party apps but I'v try'd out and no change at all..
Thanks for the reply m8
Hello all,
I just bought a Z2 (second hand) as I wanted a phone with a high quality camera and apparently the Z2 was one of the best out there at the time of its release.
Unfortunately thus far the photos I've got from the Z2 seems pretty low quality with lots of noise and lack of detail. I've tried using manual mode and setting the ISO to 50 or 100 but the quality is still bad. Not really any different to my old cheap o Vodafone own branded phone. And the front facing camera is absolutely dreadful!
I've looked around for a solution but not found anything conclusive.
Does anyone have any advice on a way to improve the picture quality? Any particular ROMs or apps I should use. In currently on stock 6.0.1. I've read that some peoplefound that picture quality had degraded with each OS update from KK.
Many thanks
tooplanx said:
Hello all,
I just bought a Z2 (second hand) as I wanted a phone with a high quality camera and apparently the Z2 was one of the best out there at the time of its release.
Unfortunately thus far the photos I've got from the Z2 seems pretty low quality with lots of noise and lack of detail. I've tried using manual mode and setting the ISO to 50 or 100 but the quality is still bad. Not really any different to my old cheap o Vodafone own branded phone. And the front facing camera is absolutely dreadful!
I've looked around for a solution but not found anything conclusive.
Does anyone have any advice on a way to improve the picture quality? Any particular ROMs or apps I should use. In currently on stock 6.0.1. I've read that some peoplefound that picture quality had degraded with each OS update from KK.
Many thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's actually false, it has been the same way from KK,LP & MM
I tried flashing the Cyberian Mod and I've seen some slight improvements
I also bought a second hand z2. the camera was awful at first just as you described but then I saw a thread somewhere here on xda that suggests scratching off the thin coating on the lens of the z2. I scratched mine with a card and now it works great.
MJ999 said:
It's actually false, it has been the same way from KK,LP & MM
I tried flashing the Cyberian Mod and I've seen some slight improvements
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't understand the Z2 has such good reviews of the camera. I have seen some pretty good photos that other people have taken on z2s though.
I've heard that unlocking the bootloader can effect the camera, though I'm not clear whether in a good or bad way.
tooplanx said:
I don't understand the Z2 has such good reviews of the camera. I have seen some pretty good photos that other people have taken on z2s though.
I've heard that unlocking the bootloader can effect the camera, though I'm not clear whether in a good or bad way.
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Click to collapse
Ofcourse in a bad way, because sony removes the BIONZ processing and some other features if you unlock your bootloader
stock
Some sample images...
I have just transferred some of my photos from the xperia z2 on to my PC to have a closer look, and I'm even more shocked by the awful quality. It looks like a budget phone from 2012!
I took a few sample shots using the 'Superior' Auto mode, then using the Open Camera App, then one on my old cheap-o Vodafone Smart Prime 6 so that I could compare.
Look at the attachments, they are in the order mentioned above, all at 8MP.
1. Superior Auto produces a dreadful contrasty, high-noise, low-detail image.
2. Open Camera does a better job, slightly more detail. I was unable to set the ISO in the app for some reason.
3. Old Vodafone Smart Prime 6 has perhaps slightly less sharp image, but overall is much less contrasty and produces a much nicer image, with natural looking detail.
WTF?! how is this top of the range Xperia producing images worse than a low end phone?!
Any help greatly appreciated.
tooplanx said:
I have just transferred some of my photos from the xperia z2 on to my PC to have a closer look, and I'm even more shocked by the awful quality. It looks like a budget phone from 2012!
I took a few sample shots using the 'Superior' Auto mode, then using the Open Camera App, then one on my old cheap-o Vodafone Smart Prime 6 so that I could compare.
Look at the attachments, they are in the order mentioned above, all at 8MP.
1. Superior Auto produces a dreadful contrasty, high-noise, low-detail image.
2. Open Camera does a better job, slightly more detail. I was unable to set the ISO in the app for some reason.
3. Old Vodafone Smart Prime 6 has perhaps slightly less sharp image, but overall is much less contrasty and produces a much nicer image, with natural looking detail.
WTF?! how is this top of the range Xperia producing images worse than a low end phone?!
Any help greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Strange , i often do photos with my z2, and i have a more natural image than others. Ok in auto sometimes they are more overexposed(but very less with marshmallow). But use manual, -0.3 or -0.7 ev,esposure misuraction multiple and touch autofocus. Better than auto mode. If you mod your z2, use cyberian mod and the quality improve a lot. The version with worse camera is kitkat...orrible quality with auto mode. Then with lollipop and marshmallow,improve a lot the camera.
djgigi94 said:
Strange , i often do photos with my z2, and i have a more natural image than others. Ok in auto sometimes they are more overexposed(but very less with marshmallow). But use manual, -0.3 or -0.7 ev,esposure misuraction multiple and touch autofocus. Better than auto mode. If you mod your z2, use cyberian mod and the quality improve a lot. The version with worse camera is kitkat...orrible quality with auto mode. Then with lollipop and marshmallow,improve a lot the camera.
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Click to collapse
Hi, thanks for your response, I'm going to try and install Cyberian but first need to figure out how to root the phone and install a custom recovery. There doesn't seem to be any clear and sure-fire way...
I've looked through loads of threads and websites and they all seem to be out dated, incomplete, very vague or unstable.
Anyone know the easiest / safest method for MM .291?
Cheers!
tooplanx said:
Hi, thanks for your response, I'm going to try and install Cyberian but first need to figure out how to root the phone and install a custom recovery. There doesn't seem to be any clear and sure-fire way...
I've looked through loads of threads and websites and they all seem to be out dated, incomplete, very vague or unstable.
Anyone know the easiest / safest method for MM .291?
Cheers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On general thread there is the method https://forum.xda-developers.com/xperia-z2/general/tool-rooting-23-5-1-291-supersu-t3437280
djgigi94 said:
On general thread there is the method https://forum.xda-developers.com/xperia-z2/general/tool-rooting-23-5-1-291-supersu-t3437280
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Click to collapse
Yeah, I've looked through that but the instructions are vague, files seem to be missing, and people have said they have had problems with it.
tooplanx said:
Yeah, I've looked through that but the instructions are vague, files seem to be missing, and people have said they have had problems with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You must install flashtool and use some guides to flash 575 kernel. Then the guide is simple. I use often this guide ,but when i'm on recovery to flash 291 kernel and supesu, i don't flash them but a new rom. It's the best way
djgigi94 said:
You must install flashtool and use some guides to flash 575 kernel. Then the guide is simple. I use often this guide ,but when i'm on recovery to flash 291 kernel and supesu, i don't flash them but a new rom. It's the best way
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where can I find the correct flashtool? Are we talking about a PC based flashtool or android based?
Thanks
tooplanx said:
Where can I find the correct flashtool? Are we talking about a PC based flashtool or android based?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
PC, there is a guide to install marshmallow to z5 but the first part of guide, explain how to install correctly flashtool http://www.xperiablog.net/2016/03/12/install-xperia-marshmallow-using-flashtool-and-xperifirm-guide/
Soooo.... rooted and installed Cyberian... camera is still god awful!
Is there a known issue with the z2? It seems that half of owners think the camera is brilliant and half think it's rubbish. I've seen evidence that would point towards there being a quality control issue at Sony, with a large quantity of faulty handsets being sold? (See this post, amongst others)
My back camera is definitely sub-par, performing worse than a low-end phone, and as for the front camera.... well, it looks like a blown up 0.2mp image.
Some more examples attached. They alternate rear camera, front camera.
I'm surprised Sony hasn't faced a large lawsuit around this issue.
tooplanx said:
Soooo.... rooted and installed Cyberian... camera is still god awful!
Is there a known issue with the z2? It seems that half of owners think the camera is brilliant and half think it's rubbish. I've seen evidence that would point towards there being a quality control issue at Sony, with a large quantity of faulty handsets being sold? (See this post, amongst others)
My back camera is definitely sub-par, performing worse than a low-end phone, and as for the front camera.... well, it looks like a blown up 0.2mp image.
Some more examples attached. They alternate rear camera, front camera.
I'm surprised Sony hasn't faced a large lawsuit around this issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First: use 4:3 resolution instead 16:9. 4:3 is the resolution of sensor. 16:9 pictures are worse. There is a 12 mp resolution in cyberian Who improve a lot pictures. Why did you don't try it? if this persist, control that sensor have the lens antireflex corrupted. This is second hand z2. So this is possible
djgigi94 said:
First: use 4:3 resolution instead 16:9. 4:3 is the resolution of sensor. 16:9 pictures are worse. There is a 12 mp resolution in cyberian Who improve a lot pictures. Why did you don't try it? if this persist, control that sensor have the lens antireflex corrupted. This is second hand z2. So this is possible
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've tried all modes and they all produce pretty poor photos. These are actually taken using Open Camera which gives a significant improvement in pic quality over the stock app.
Hello, my one makes even worse photos than yours, i have the cam glass scratched, is it the problem?
tooplanx said:
I've tried all modes and they all produce pretty poor photos. These are actually taken using Open Camera which gives a significant improvement in pic quality over the stock app.
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Click to collapse
See the lens if they are damged
Checked closely both back and front lenses for damage but they both look fine. The phone in general is in a 'like new' condition.