I wonder if a software update will fix some of the issues with the camera like focus etc.. Does anyone know? Also, does the new Mate 7 have the same internal hardware for the camera since they are both 13mp? Guy on huawei chat said yes but I think he just read that both were same resolution.
jeffrimerman said:
I wonder if a software update will fix some of the issues with the camera like focus etc.. Does anyone know? Also, does the new Mate 7 have the same internal hardware for the camera since they are both 13mp? Guy on huawei chat said yes but I think he just read that both were same resolution.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I really do hope it does. The front facing camera is alright, can't really complain, but the rear is quite annoying.
What sort of issues are you having? I've had excellent results with the camera. I'm 100% stock, no mods, kernels or anything.
I don't use the huawei camera app or google. I use the Camera FV-5 app, because it has a ton of customizations.
I took this one this past Easter. Other than being cropped, straight from the camera on the Mate2.
p51d007 said:
What sort of issues are you having? I've had excellent results with the camera. I'm 100% stock, no mods, kernels or anything.
I don't use the huawei camera app or google. I use the Camera FV-5 app, because it has a ton of customizations.
I took this one this past Easter. Other than being cropped, straight from the camera on the Mate2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a great pic. I noticed what most seem to notice when I googled. The camera has a focus issue and won't seem to lock on. Daily I'm taking pics and you think you got a good shot then the picture is blurry. My gf took some good shots with hers but the object has to be non moving with perfect light and just stand there and wait for the focus to grab versus all the other phones I've had before. I downloaded many different apps and took the same shot with all of them but non seem to do better and some weren't even capable of using 13mp. I'll check out the FV-5, thank you.
That picture is actually quite bad. Poor saturation and quite underexposed.... but meh, it's a phone camera. Pretty flower though!
I think the HAM2 rear camera could definitely be improved in software. It's my opinion that the front facing camera actually works better than the rear camera half the time. Take video for example... try shooting video in a somewhat darkened room with both cameras - you'll find out that the rear camera suffers a horrible loss of framerate while the video from the front facing camera is smooth as silk.
The front camera also has odd tap-to-focus issues especially when flash is enabled.
With that being said it's a cellphone camera and I've definitely seen much worse. And I love the question in the original post.... no one knows the answer but Huawei and their software development team. How would any of us know what Huawei is including in their Android 5.x based update? I'll still be quite surprised if we even get one, and that's WITH the Huawei blog announcements and the so far worthless 'beta' registration site.....
TheGeekRedneck said:
That picture is actually quite bad. Poor saturation and quite underexposed.... but meh, it's a phone camera. Pretty flower though!
I think the HAM2 rear camera could definitely be improved in software. It's my opinion that the front facing camera actually works better than the rear camera half the time. Take video for example... try shooting video in a somewhat darkened room with both cameras - you'll find out that the rear camera suffers a horrible loss of framerate while the video from the front facing camera is smooth as silk.
The front camera also has odd tap-to-focus issues especially when flash is enabled.
With that being said it's a cellphone camera and I've definitely seen much worse. And I love the question in the original post.... no one knows the answer but Huawei and their software development team. How would any of us know what Huawei is including in their Android 5.x based update? I'll still be quite surprised if we even get one, and that's WITH the Huawei blog announcements and the so far worthless 'beta' registration site.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was thinking more if anyone has noticed improvements in camera in previous upgrades of other devices so someone could comment "hey when the Honor 6 got it's new OS the camera problems were largely improved" or something like that. For sure nobody can know what the Huawei peeps are doing unless there is a Huawei peep on our lil ole forum. I'm sure you're right, if we even get an update they'll act like there was never an issue with the camera and do nothing. My friend ordered the Mate 7 but I read a review that sounded like it's the same camera as ours still and that's an expensive phone.
TheGeekRedneck said:
That picture is actually quite bad. Poor saturation and quite underexposed.... but meh, it's a phone camera. Pretty flower though!
I think the HAM2 rear camera could definitely be improved in software. It's my opinion that the front facing camera actually works better than the rear camera half the time. Take video for example... try shooting video in a somewhat darkened room with both cameras - you'll find out that the rear camera suffers a horrible loss of framerate while the video from the front facing camera is smooth as silk.
The front camera also has odd tap-to-focus issues especially when flash is enabled.
With that being said it's a cellphone camera and I've definitely seen much worse. And I love the question in the original post.... no one knows the answer but Huawei and their software development team. How would any of us know what Huawei is including in their Android 5.x based update? I'll still be quite surprised if we even get one, and that's WITH the Huawei blog announcements and the so far worthless 'beta' registration site.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It sure doesn't match my dSLR, but like you said...it's a pinhole cell phone sensor...not much wiggle room.
Okay, I love this phone. I love the camera. Just work with the settings to get what you want. Now, THE ONLY THING, is the warp zones in the front facing camera. Always try to get the faces in the center of the screen or else itll appear warped.
Try it out and see for yourself. I guess that's the downside to having a long phone. The lens in the camera has to recompensate and redistribute the photons evenly.
Sent from my MT2L03 using XDA Free mobile app
And cant forget about the alien beauty filter! Makes it look like you did some zoomers!
Sent from my MT2L03 using XDA Free mobile app
Related
Does anyone have any tips/tricks for how to take better photos with this phone? Like a 3rd party Camera app, or settings or something?
tocirahl said:
Does anyone have any tips/tricks for how to take better photos with this phone? Like a 3rd party Camera app, or settings or something?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
focus first. then take pic. especially when using the led. the gs2 has the best camera of any that were released prior to the hox. it doesnt really need anything else.
if you must have a new camera app... head down to the themes and apps section and do a search for 'camera'.
ICS camera has better clarity than Stock Sammy one
IMO, the stock camera app or sammy roms is not as good as the ICS default camera app that comes with AOSP/AOKP roms. I feel that the touch to focus(in generall any kind of focus) works better on ICS one.
Apart from that clarity of pics and videos just depends on the skill of the person shooting and the sgs2 camera h/w is in manner inferior to any smartphone camera's out there.
So, I'd suggest that if you are on stock firmware or using a samsung based rom , then try app called "Camera ICS" and see if you feel the difference.. especially in the details captured in the shot.
Hope this helps !!!
phermey said:
focus first. then take pic. especially when using the led. the gs2 has the best camera of any that were released prior to the hox. it doesnt really need anything else.
if you must have a new camera app... head down to the themes and apps section and do a search for 'camera'.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They still compare phone cameras to the Galaxy S II camera today, a year later. Its a great camera, one of the best still.
I agree to focus first, frame the picture, focus, and snap it. Let the phone do everything else.
For video, I use 720p instead of 1080p. For whatever reason the 1080p mode zooms in, and you can't zoom out. I also use the wide-6 option of still shots instead of 8. Most of the time I am viewing my shots its on my phone, or over MHL on my TV, and the wide-6 are full frame instead of 4:3.
I like the options and features of the Samsung camera vs the AOPK/CM9 camera, but have taken the same quality shots in both. Anytime I try an HDR camera or other apps, it just takes longer to shoot pictures and I don't see any better quality.
The only issue I occasionally have is foggy shots. If I get fingerprints or other grime on the camera lens it makes the shots foggy (shocker, I know). But, just wiping that clean on my shirt gives me back the crisp vibrant shots I am used to. I also occasionally get the whirring sound, and have since October. That goes away once I focus anyway.
Sent from my Galaxy S II
yeppers. i would say you are spot on. i should have added that i am on aokp and using the ics camera. so the focus first is even more important i think. and thats because it is capable of lowering the intensity of the led. but it will not lower the led if you just take the pic without focusing. the sammy apk may do the same. its been a while since i have used it.
i also like the samsung apk all around a little better. the layout is hands down better than the one on aokp. i hate it that aokp doesnt fill the screen when scanning through pics. and just like you... i have found that 720p works best.
In all honesty, get camera zoom fx and enjoy. Supports button mapping, which was an important feat. for me, else works like a champ.
Is there any way to get the ICS camera apk? I'm running task650 and team go **** yourself's 7.3.2012 AOKP rom. I think in an earlier release there was a camera app with a lot more features, but now it's pretty bare bones. A lot of my shots come out blurry.
insaneretard said:
Is there any way to get the ICS camera apk? I'm running task650 and team go **** yourself's 7.3.2012 AOKP rom. I think in an earlier release there was a camera app with a lot more features, but now it's pretty bare bones. A lot of my shots come out blurry.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Running that same version of AOKP, no blurry shots here.
See this shot from yesterday, of the wild fire near my home.
Sent from my Galaxy S II
I can get that type of quality when I'm outdoors. It's the inside shots that don't come out too sharp. I thought that I saw that ICS was going to have better camera software like the iphone's. Not saying I want to get an iphone again, but my wife's takes really good pictures.
No problem with indoor either.
The Galaxy Nexus has the zero shutter lag, but that is a hardware thing not software. The Galaxy Nexus camera is terrible compared to the Galaxy S II.
The included camera with AOSP based ROMs does have less options, but I don't see any difference in the quality of pictures regardless of what version of android or AOSP/Samsung based ROMs.
Do you have an example picture with issues?
Sent from my Galaxy S II
quarlow said:
No problem with indoor either.
The Galaxy Nexus has the zero shutter lag, but that is a hardware thing not software. The Galaxy Nexus camera is terrible compared to the Galaxy S II.
The included camera with AOSP based ROMs does have less options, but I don't see any difference in the quality of pictures regardless of what version of android or AOSP/Samsung based ROMs.
Do you have an example picture with issues?
Sent from my Galaxy S II
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the response. Most of the pictures that don't turn out are due to my daughter moving, so it becomes blurry. It doesn't seem like she's moving so quickly that it would make a difference. I remember my photos being better quality before, so I was thinking it was a software issue. Do you use your flash on auto? Most of the time mine is off.
BTW - cute little girl you've got there.
Thanks, looks like you got yourself a nice little bundle of cute too.
I just use auto flash and wb. The only thing I change is size. Sometimes I get a little motion blur (see attached), but overall my wife is jealous of my camera vs her iPhone 4.
I just use my phone for those spontaneous moments of fun. We have a point and shoot and a DSLR for expected moments (as much as you can with little ones).
I will say that I noticed quick the AOKP camera does not show you the actual picture preview, but the samsung camera does. The preview I get is always blurry, until I go into the gallery. At first it felt like all my shots were bad, placebo effect I guess.
If you do find a camera in the market that works better let me know. I just have found they don't work as fast as the included one, and they didn't seem to be any different on quality.
Sent from my Galaxy S II
I think I need to put the auto flash on from now on. The same thing will happen on our regular camera if there's not enough light, but it will warn you when taking the picture. I've tried other camera programs and they didn't impress me too much.
Thanks for your help.
Hi Guys,
Ever since ICS and now JellyBean roms the camera quality has worsened...virtually unusable in poor lighting, night pictures impossible and very bad focusing even in good lighting, no detail in pictures and zooming in is just a blur....cheapest no-name camphones from china shoot better pictures than this
The Amaze camera from Gingerbread roms was the best.
How can I get decent pictures again with my EVO 3D...? this is supposed to be a shooteroo
iconias said:
Hi Guys,
Ever since ICS and now JellyBean roms the camera quality has worsened...virtually unusable in poor lighting, night pictures impossible and very bad focusing even in good lighting, no detail in pictures and zooming in is just a blur....cheapest no-name camphones from china shoot better pictures than this
The Amaze camera from Gingerbread roms was the best.
How can I get decent pictures again with my EVO 3D...? this is supposed to be a shooteroo
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For night time, you just have to put on the torch before you capture the image.
As far as the rest, it is what it is.
A torch is ok when your subject is 4 feet away but doesnt fix the camera...Gingerbread Amaze camera was far better and even had a night shot modus
Have you tried taking a night shot in the street for example? You only see the few lights and everything else is pitch black...
Yeah. Because of the low light and this cameras weird autofocus parameters, I've always had to use the finger technique.
If only they added the manual switch for us. But nope, they had to be scrubs.
The zoom-in blur is due to the fact that it's not a hardware zoom, it's a software zoom, so it blows up the picture, and then cuts out the edges. The quality would be terrible anyways. But, the camera quality should be OK. Look into Pimp My ROM, I changed my cam quality and it has been pretty noticeable for me, due to ROMs having really bad camera configurations, lol.
I meant zoom in into normal pictures...
For example a picture of several people huddled together, when I enlarge (zoom in) everybody is out of focus
which pimp my rom, is it an app?
iconias said:
I meant zoom in into normal pictures...
For example a picture of several people huddled together, when I enlarge (zoom in) everybody is out of focus
which pimp my rom, is it an app?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup, it's an application available for free in the Play Store, it's basically an AIO app for tweaking your phone if you have root access. And are you talking about how, if you take a picture, it looks completely fine zoomed out, but if you try to blow it up (double-tap zoom), it looks low quality? If you are, that's also in the Pimp my ROM app, I personally don't know how to make this better by hand, I do know that PMR has it. But it has to do with it being JPEG, which is highly compressed image type, hence low quality.
Thanks, I was thinking more along the lines of a new camera app than a complete rom pimping app...
If you remember Amaze camera from Gingerbread used to be very good.....
I asked in the Yoda thread if it was possible to install that in ICS but its not---
iconias said:
Thanks, I was thinking more along the lines of a new camera app than a complete rom pimping app...
If you remember Amaze camera from Gingerbread used to be very good.....
I asked in the Yoda thread if it was possible to install that in ICS but its not---
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've honestly never used the Amaze camera, the camera on my ROM seems to be working completely fine to me, then again I always resize my images for size issues, which tends to fix up the blurs in the process.
So I finally got the phone and it is beautiful. Though when I use snapchat I mostly use my front facing camera, and it is really not that good. Is this bothering anyone else, or is it my phone? There is a lot of distortion/noise on the picture and even my S3 front facing is better. The main camera is really great though.
Xernoxis said:
So I finally got the phone and it is beautiful. Though when I use snapchat I mostly use my front facing camera, and it is really not that good. Is this bothering anyone else, or is it my phone? There is a lot of distortion/noise on the picture and even my S3 front facing is better. The main camera is really great though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can confirm that on snapchat the front camera quality goes right down.
Seems better in the camera app, could be snapchat issue?
pauliebb said:
I can confirm that on snapchat the front camera quality goes right down.
Seems better in the camera app, could be snapchat issue?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I tried the camera app, and while taking the picture it is exactly like on snapchat, but when you look at it after the shot is taken most of the noise is gone. Still on snapchat the noise is still there. It is a lot better in light, but terrible in medium light.
Xernoxis said:
Yeah I tried the camera app, and while taking the picture it is exactly like on snapchat, but when you look at it after the shot is taken most of the noise is gone. Still on snapchat the noise is still there. It is a lot better in light, but terrible in medium light.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah same here. Have actually been searching around the internet these last couple of days to see if anybody else has the same issue.
Front camera is fine in the day, but when inside, even with artificial lighting (nothing major like florescent lights) it goes grainy, like blue and red pixels flying about the screen.
And yes, the picture does improve when the picture processing takes place on the camera app and on Instagram.
But unfortunately, this picture processing does not happen on Shapchat so you get very bad shots in the dark.
It's not a huge issue for me as in most cases, say good to above advantage lighting conditions. the front camera is good enough for small things like Snapchat. But when things do get dark, the image processing can improve things when taken on the camera app.
Oh and the rear camera? Well, no complaints there :good:
I will post some shots later when it gets a bit dark here and see if you can compare
Cheers
Adam
Same here! Its annoying that in anything but perfect natural light is goes rubbish.
I found the new "video chat" type function is pretty poor on forward facing camera too. Slightly better on skype, but still not fantastic. The people I am speaking to on iPhones, it is crystal clear, but on my side its pretty awful. Have you noticed the audio when recording a snap video is pretty poor too? This could be where I am holding it, as my fingers tend to be at the bottom of the phone, so maybe I am blocking a mic?
On my Note 4 I could take surround pictures which were up and down and left and right. I complete 360 degrees. On the note 4 I had to download a samsung add on. Does the V10 have anything like this. I'm not familiar with LG phones.
I don't see this option available specifically for the LG V10 or even LG phones.
But go to the Play Store, look at the app you used to use - then scan down to the list of similar apps. There's certain t be an app there that will do the same for the V10.
Good Luck
You need to download the Google Camera for that.
The LG v10 camera is just incredible though. It has time-lapse, panoramic, great manual tools if you really want to be technical with it, etc.
I found a cool use for the camera at a recent concert... Using the "groupie" front facing camera and rear facing camera side by side I was able to take a shot of the band playing a song and all my friends reactions at the same time. You can get really creative if you want.
BrettFavor said:
The LG v10 camera is just incredible though. It has time-lapse, panoramic, great manual tools if you really want to be technical with it, etc.
I found a cool use for the camera at a recent concert... Using the "groupie" front facing camera and rear facing camera side by side I was able to take a shot of the band playing a song and all my friends reactions at the same time. You can get really creative if you want.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Except the front cams take TERRIBLE quality pics. That's one thing I'm a bit po'd about with the phone. Even if the smoothing slider is set to zero, it seems like there is still a fair amount of it going on.
plastic_green_head said:
Except the front cams take TERRIBLE quality pics. That's one thing I'm a bit po'd about with the phone. Even if the smoothing slider is set to zero, it seems like there is still a fair amount of it going on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah ... still good enough though.
But when you're as ugly as I am ... this is a good thing ;- )
SaintlySins said:
Yeah ... still good enough though.
But when you're as ugly as I am ... this is a good thing ;- )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha. I guess it really erks me because the G4's front cam took far, FAR better pics.
The V10 has a great camera but there is a learning curve to it. The Note 4 you just picked up and started shooting and it was great, the V10 has more cool features but requires a bit more manipulation. But it is still one of the best out there.
plastic_green_head said:
Haha. I guess it really erks me because the G4's front cam took far, FAR better pics.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Given these are 2 5MP cameras and not the 8MP of the G4...you really can't compare them
Zei said:
Given these are 2 5MP cameras and not the 8MP of the G4...you really can't compare them
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I disagree. I have other devices with a 5MP camera and they are fine for what 5MP can offer. Reason being, they don't have the stupid smoothing feature that the V10 does with no way to completely disable it.
When my wife got her Samsung Galaxy 10e I noticed how bad my pictures actually looked on my phone. I have tried cleaning my lens and what not but everything still seems blurry/smudged compared to her pictures. Is there a way to up the quality or does the 10e just have a better camera?
Well yes, realistically the S10e does have a better camera, especially if you're using the V30's stock camera app.
would the 10e app be able to go on the v30?
akira022 said:
would the 10e app be able to go on the v30?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can't use the 10e app on the v30, I was talking about the GCam port. Still even then, I think 10e should be better. Maybe not by much, but it's simply just a superior sensor.
Got it, thank you very much ^_^
adsubzero said:
Well yes, realistically the S10e does have a better camera, especially if you're using the V30's stock camera app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
adsubzero said:
You can't use the 10e app on the v30, I was talking about the GCam port. Still even then, I think 10e should be better. Maybe not by much, but it's simply just a superior sensor.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The stock camera app is way better then G-Cam port.
Sent from my LG-H932 using XDA Labs
akira022 said:
When my wife got her Samsung Galaxy 10e I noticed how bad my pictures actually looked on my phone. I have tried cleaning my lens and what not but everything still seems blurry/smudged compared to her pictures. Is there a way to up the quality or does the 10e just have a better camera?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried putting on AI? These are old photo just trying out the AI. It's backed up to Google photos at reduced quality.
Sent from my LG-H932 using XDA Labs
BROKEN1981 said:
The stock camera app is way better then G-Cam port.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most definitely not. It has more features, it has a manual mode and the video is unarguably better, but the gcam kills it with pic quality.
There hasn't been a single scenario in my entire time using this phone where the stock app was better.
adsubzero said:
Most definitely not. It has more features, it has a manual mode and the video is unarguably better, but the gcam kills it with pic quality.
There hasn't been a single scenario in my entire time using this phone where the stock app was better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hahahaha awesome joke. Thanks!
If it was sooooo good, custom ROM's users would not be begging for the stock LG camera app to get ported.
Sent from my LG-H932 using XDA Labs
BROKEN1981 said:
Hahahaha awesome joke. Thanks!
If it was sooooo good, custom ROM's users would not be begging for the stock LG camera app to get ported.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Like I said, more features (manual mode) and better video recording. Gcam doesn't support 4k video for the V30.
But photo quality better in the stock app? Yeah, in your dreams...
adsubzero said:
Like I said, more features (manual mode) and better video recording. Gcam doesn't support 4k video for the V30.
But photo quality better in the stock app? Yeah, in your dreams...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We agree to disagree.
I personally want to take the best photos I can, so I use stock LG camera app. Many others who run custom ROM's feel the same and would rather have the LG camera app then G-Cam.
Sent from my LG-H932 using XDA Labs
adsubzero said:
Like I said, more features (manual mode) and better video recording. Gcam doesn't support 4k video for the V30.
But photo quality better in the stock app? Yeah, in your dreams...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Gcam has historically had issues. Green tint on front camera, slow to process successive shots. Crashing. No seamless switching between lenses.
None of that applies or has ever applied to LG camera.
I've kept up with all the threads. I'm the one who told cstark to start his own camera thread since so much interest was being shown for his versions. Exciting times back then.
Yes, those problems are being/have been addressed in most recent Gcam versions -- but it's also a pain to find those versions that work.
___
Stock LG camera of course has manual mode. See screenshot. For ease of use + excellent pictures, LG camera is better than any Gcam.
There are some instances (low light) you can take superior pictures to LG cam -- but I've seen tons of side by side shots on LG V30 Telegram thread where LG cam was as good as Gcam. You could not tell the difference.
IF you can have two cameras, sure -- add Gcam also if you want to experiment. But I will NEVER have Gcam as my only camera on my LG V30.
If I can only have one camera, I want LG camera. But on custom ROMs, you can only have one camera and it can NOT be LG camera.
One of the most frequent questions in the custom ROM threads is "how do I get LG camera back?"
I used to run custom ROMs all the time, but on those previous phones I could still have the stock camera also.
I understand the interest in Gcam, and the expectation porting it will come same superior camera capability Pixels have.
But I don't take a lot of low light time lapse pictures. I keep my LG camera in AI auto mode and I'm using Anxious V30 camera mods., which give me advanced features of G8/V40. So, it's not exactly "stock" LG camera.
I'm sorry guys, but it seems that my experience has been very different to yours. I couldn't find a single scenario where the stock app had a better photo.
Comparable? Yes. But in most of the cases the Gcam had more accurate colors, better dynamic range (losing less detail in shadows and highlights), and just overall more detailed photo when pixel peeping.
This is when using the new AI mode, otherwise there was no competition, since the stock cam can't even get close to the google's HDR+. And in the night? Yeah, the Gcam trumps it.
If you can prove me wrong, please do, I'm really interested. Make a comparison.
I'll also see if I can snap a few interesting photos.
Ok, here are two series of photos. You be the judge.
GCam HDR+:
Stock Auto:
Stock AI:
Now first of all, let me just say the AI mode surprised me a little bit here, while the stock auto is completely trash (in these examples), so I'll not even compare it.
In the first series of photos there's not much difference really, but you can see more details in the GCam , especially in the building in the distance, the road etc.
The trees (on the left) do look a bit better on the stock AI, but the colors are much better and more realistic looking on the GCam overall.
Now for a wide angle shot.
GCam HDR+:
Stock Auto:
Stock AI:
Now here is what I'm talking about. I cannot find a single way in which the stock cam is better than GCam here.
It's not even a comparison. If you have better eyes, please point it out for me.
akira022 said:
When my wife got her Samsung Galaxy 10e I noticed how bad my pictures actually looked on my phone. I have tried cleaning my lens and what not but everything still seems blurry/smudged compared to her pictures. Is there a way to up the quality or does the 10e just have a better camera?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Samsung and LG compete with each other for best camera -- with Pixels and iPhones also. At least best rear camera. Long been noted the 2017 V30 selfie camera was not great -- but LG did improve it with software updates (portrait mode, etc) in latter Oreo updates compare to Nougat release.
However, the Samsung Galaxy S10e is a 2019 phone. It's probably going to be somewhat better, because better technology. But LG V30 camera is still good. If your pictures look horrible in comparison, maybe something is wrong with your phone?
Also, what firmware are you using? You want at least the latest Oreo firmware for the camera upgrades vs Nougat.
---------- Post added at 08:29 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:49 AM ----------
adsubzero said:
Ok, here are two series of photos. You be the judge.
GCam HDR+:
Stock Auto:
Stock AI:
Now first of all, let me just say the AI mode surprised me a little bit here, while the stock auto is completely trash (in these examples), so I'll not even compare it.
In the first series of photos there's not much difference really, but you can see more details in the GCam , especially in the building in the distance, the road etc.
The trees (on the left) do look a bit better on the stock AI, but the colors are much better and more realistic looking on the GCam overall.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use AI Auto mode, and I use Anxious V30 mod -- which ported features from G8/V40. So, my LG Camera is not fully stock.
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PREFACE
I work professionally in broadcast video. I have been a video editor and producer. My job right now involves QC of video content from a variety of TV networks -- so I have seen a lot of video effects, processing. I understand cinematographers on films sometimes want a washed out, darker look if the script deals with depressing content. ("The Accidental Tourist" used muted color scheme because the protagonist shut down his emotions due to murder of his son and subsequent divorce. Yet an amazing movie.) I understand brighter, more vibrant colors are called for in adventure movies like "Romancing the Stone". Both of these are creative decisions.
Yet, I also know big box stores sell HD TVs under fluorescent lighting in "demo" mode where all colors are oversaturated because the the display with the most color is deemed the "winner". When I get a new TV home or help a friend with a new TV, I have to calibrate the brightness, colors and chroma intensity to be "realistic" so content can be viewed how it was actually meant to be seen.
I worked for YEARS for a worldwide news organization, so when I see their news studios on TV I know exactly how they should look based upon seeing them in real life.
My point is, I'm an amateur photographer, but I have professional experience in a related field.
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You noted the first series of photos don't have much difference, but that's the only ones I have had time to look at. I'm not ignoring the 2nd set, I will look at them later.
I'm only going to discuss GCam and the AI Cam, which is what I use.
On my desktop PC monitor with "full resolution" of the pictures chosen on that website, between the two:
The parked red car looks the same in both. The parked green car looks the same in both.
TIE.
The yellow building facade looks more "vibrant" yellow in GCam -- but without seeing in person, is it really that brighter shade or is it the slightly duller shade in real life? Plus, it is an overcast day.
Do you WANT the yellow facade to "POP" out like that compared to the surrounding buildings, if it doesn't naturally? If so, then that's a creative decision.
The green foliage on the left and right and on the bushes down the street look more "realistic" green, more "natural" with LG Camera. My opinion. The Gcam looks slightly off. But again, I did not see the scene in person. POSSIBLE WIN FOR LG CAM.
Since my tendency is toward realistic, you see what I'm getting at?
Now if these were "dusk" shots and you wanted to compensate for the lower light, the brighter facade would win and the off-color of the foliage wouldn't matter so much.
I will have to look at the other set of pictures later.
While I was intensely interested in GCam (I was there at the beginning here in V30 forum when cstark make his ports), the issues really bothered me: Green tint on front camera (aka perpetual "Matrix" mode), slow to process or crashing on quick successive shots. No seamless switching between lenses. Early editions needed three different shortcuts to launch which camera you wanted!
One of the most frequent questions besides how to get LG Camera on custom ROMs was how to find a good version of GCam with the least problems. I've actually helped people with that based on other users recommendations, but I also understood it was because those people were FORCED to use Gcam.
Due to all this I decided a long time ago when I needed to take a picture, I was going with the trusted stock camera.
In the meanwhile, LG kept improving the stock camera with Oreo updates (use at least the last Oreo) and then TotallyAnxious released her Magisk mod which included LG stock camera features/improvements based on G8/V40 updated camera. She kept improving that with updates through the months.
I understand most recent Gcam versions (last couple of months) have solved the early issues, but for me I don't see any reason to switch.
@ChazzMatt Just wanted to discuss these points:
- Both the red and the green car are oversaturated on the AI cam.
- The GCam's white balance is much closer to true life (I was there lol), AI cam is way off.
- The yellow parts are oversaturated on the GCam, that's true, but the AI cam is not accurate either, it's more like something in between. Though I could have toned down the saturation in the GCam settings, I prefer it this way.
- If you open up the photos in a new window (after loading the full res) then you will actually get the full resolution. Zoom in and you start to pick up differences, eg. how the AI cam just destroys the detail in some parts of the photo, as I said in the first post.
I know you said you prefer the realistic look, but in these two series of photos, the stock cam is all over the place with the white balance and saturation is not accurate either (just check the blue street sign in the second photo and also the cars).
The greens on the trees do look more accurate on the stock cam, but that's about it, as I see it.
I'll always take better details, but in these examples the stock doesn't beat GCam with the overall accuracy either.
The GCam did have a lot of issues in the beggining but a couple of latest versions work perfectly without any issues I could find.
If not being able to swith lenses while the image is processing is an issue, then I guess there's that, lol.
EDIT:
And this is all day time photography, at night the GCam is on a whole new level.
I like the way Gcam does HDR+ highlights. I do not like the black crush. ( I am still fooling with settings to address this)The pictures tend to be vivid though, (and i think, a bit more compelling) from the gcam. I do not expect photos from a phone to supplant those from a proper camera, but I would eke out the best quality I can. I took a quick photo in the front yard with stock cam, and gcam in HDR, and HDR+ respectively. You can see some nasty color banding in the LG in the sky, very unnatural.
These were taken with the G7. I have not yet picked a gcam for the v30. That is unless Mr. Chazz could be convinced to part with an Anxious module.... By the way, if video is important to you at all, I encourage you to try opencam, and the HEVC codec. Worlds of difference in clarity. In particular, the wide camera stock nearly looks out of focus in comparison to opencam.