So my question is really what are the most ideal settings I should adjust on my phone to take the best possible pictures? Right now I have everything on default but I wanted to know everyone else's set up so I can take amazing pictures.
bump anyone ?
Bump, bump
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
There are no such thing as the best settings...it all depends on what you are shooting, and what you want to produce.
Sent from my Verizon Galaxy S III
dtdmdrums said:
There are no such thing as the best settings...it all depends on what you are shooting, and what you want to produce.
Sent from my Verizon Galaxy S III
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So is it best to just keep my camera defaulted then? because as of now I have it on auto contrast white balene etc. And if thats the case what are some good settings for low light conditions like inside restaurants and stuff?
blackguy101 said:
So is it best to just keep my camera defaulted then? because as of now I have it on auto contrast white balene etc. And if thats the case what are some good settings for low light conditions like inside restaurants and stuff?
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I honestly think this is something you have to adjust on the fly. Adjusting everything manually is definitely not the fastest way to take a picture so sticking with the auto settings is probably your best bet when it comes to quick shots. There are certain presets (indoor, incandescent, cloudy, out doors) that can be used to modify the "auto" settings. Try some of those out. I would just try different settings in different scenarios. You're very unlikely to be in the exact same scenario every time.
Camera settings
As far as "best" all around settings, the following hold true:
*Self portrait: OFF (unless you are taking a self portrait)
*Flash: Auto (for ease) but turn the flash ON in bright sunlight if shooting people within 8 feet, to fill in the harsh shadows)
*Shooting Mode: Single shot if you want to not get carried away and have a million shots to sift through, or Multi shot if you are not good at quick shooting and want to have lots of shots to choose from.
*Scene Mode: None. (for best all around use) the other settings just force higher or lower f-stops and shutter speeds, if you don't know what effect those have on an image, then "none" would be a good choice.
*Exposure Value: 0 for most shooting. + for shooting with bright backgrounds (snow, sand, bright windows etc) and - for dark backgrounds (dark stages with spotlight, concerts with lighting, black walls, etc) The normal light meter wants to blend all light values to 18% gray, so if you shoot a gray wall, a black wall and a white wall, they would all come out looking basically the same with 0 EV.
*Focus mode: Auto for almost everything
*Timer: Off. Unless you are wanting to use a self timer
*Effects: none. They are fun to play with for a couple of minutes, but you probably won't use them much in the real world, and you have a lot more control over effects in an external photo editing program.
*Resolution: 3264x2448. anything else is a waste of the camera specs. Yes, you can use smaller resolution if you are only shooting things to be used on the web, but what if you have a nice shot, and you had the camera set to 640x480? Storage is cheap and plentiful, keep the resolution to the max!
*White Balance: Auto Most cameras now have a very good auto balance.
*ISO: Auto Again, most cameras are good at this. You will get more noise and "grain" with higher ISO settings, but you will get the image. If you keep it set at 100, you will get blurry or unusable photos in low light. Remember, this is a PHONE, not a DSLR camera.
*Metering: Center weighted for most shooting. Spot if your subject and background vary greatly (similar to EV+-)
*Anti Shake: On, what the heck, let technology work for you.
*Auto Contrast: Off. if you are shooting a gray, dreary day, let it be dreary, not corrected to high contrast. Again, you can have much more control of the final image in a photo editing program (even one on the phone)
*Guidelines: off if you are easily distracted, on if you would like some help keeping horizons straight, or to keep the center of interest in the "Rule of thirds" this will help you to NOT put peoples heads in the Center of the photo with all that sky wasting space above them all the time
*Image Quality: Superfine. Why would you want to buy a Lamborghini and only drive it 10 MPH (KPH)?
*GPS tag: your choice. Most photo folders can group photos by location, kinda nice. I leave mine on.
*Shutter Sound: On, unless it bugs you, but it helps you know when the shutter fires as well as letting the subject know when they can quit posing/smiling. If you are trying to shoot secret pictures in the locker room, then silence it Also, Android Lost and other phone finding apps can shoot photos from the front and rear cameras if your phone is lost or stolen, a quiet shutter won't scare the thief.
*Storage: Memory card! Too many things can happen to your phone, keep your pictures on the external card. and back them up with something like dropbox, or manually.
(I have owned Associated Photographics (.com) for 25 years )
MontyPyFly said:
As far as "best" all around settings, the following hold true:
*Self portrait: OFF (unless you are taking a self portrait)
*Flash: Auto (for ease) but turn the flash ON in bright sunlight if shooting people within 8 feet, to fill in the harsh shadows)
*Shooting Mode: Single shot if you want to not get carried away and have a million shots to sift through, or Multi shot if you are not good at quick shooting and want to have lots of shots to choose from.
*Scene Mode: None. (for best all around use) the other settings just force higher or lower f-stops and shutter speeds, if you don't know what effect those have on an image, then "none" would be a good choice.
*Exposure Value: 0 for most shooting. + for shooting with bright backgrounds (snow, sand, bright windows etc) and - for dark backgrounds (dark stages with spotlight, concerts with lighting, black walls, etc) The normal light meter wants to blend all light values to 18% gray, so if you shoot a gray wall, a black wall and a white wall, they would all come out looking basically the same with 0 EV.
*Focus mode: Auto for almost everything
*Timer: Off. Unless you are wanting to use a self timer
*Effects: none. They are fun to play with for a couple of minutes, but you probably won't use them much in the real world, and you have a lot more control over effects in an external photo editing program.
*Resolution: 3264x2448. anything else is a waste of the camera specs. Yes, you can use smaller resolution if you are only shooting things to be used on the web, but what if you have a nice shot, and you had the camera set to 640x480? Storage is cheap and plentiful, keep the resolution to the max!
*White Balance: Auto Most cameras now have a very good auto balance.
*ISO: Auto Again, most cameras are good at this. You will get more noise and "grain" with higher ISO settings, but you will get the image. If you keep it set at 100, you will get blurry or unusable photos in low light. Remember, this is a PHONE, not a DSLR camera.
*Metering: Center weighted for most shooting. Spot if your subject and background vary greatly (similar to EV+-)
*Anti Shake: On, what the heck, let technology work for you.
*Auto Contrast: Off. if you are shooting a gray, dreary day, let it be dreary, not corrected to high contrast. Again, you can have much more control of the final image in a photo editing program (even one on the phone)
*Guidelines: off if you are easily distracted, on if you would like some help keeping horizons straight, or to keep the center of interest in the "Rule of thirds" this will help you to NOT put peoples heads in the Center of the photo with all that sky wasting space above them all the time
*Image Quality: Superfine. Why would you want to buy a Lamborghini and only drive it 10 MPH (KPH)?
*GPS tag: your choice. Most photo folders can group photos by location, kinda nice. I leave mine on.
*Shutter Sound: On, unless it bugs you, but it helps you know when the shutter fires as well as letting the subject know when they can quit posing/smiling. If you are trying to shoot secret pictures in the locker room, then silence it Also, Android Lost and other phone finding apps can shoot photos from the front and rear cameras if your phone is lost or stolen, a quiet shutter won't scare the thief.
*Storage: Memory card! Too many things can happen to your phone, keep your pictures on the external card. and back them up with something like dropbox, or manually.
(I have owned Associated Photographics (.com) for 25 years )
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Click to collapse
This must have been a lot to write but this is EXACTLY what I was looking for =) thank you so much I really appreciate the time you have put into that post
MontyPyFly said:
As far as "best" all around settings, the following hold true:
*Self portrait: OFF (unless you are taking a self portrait)
*Flash: Auto (for ease) but turn the flash ON in bright sunlight if shooting people within 8 feet, to fill in the harsh shadows)
*Shooting Mode: Single shot if you want to not get carried away and have a million shots to sift through, or Multi shot if you are not good at quick shooting and want to have lots of shots to choose from.
*Scene Mode: None. (for best all around use) the other settings just force higher or lower f-stops and shutter speeds, if you don't know what effect those have on an image, then "none" would be a good choice.
*Exposure Value: 0 for most shooting. + for shooting with bright backgrounds (snow, sand, bright windows etc) and - for dark backgrounds (dark stages with spotlight, concerts with lighting, black walls, etc) The normal light meter wants to blend all light values to 18% gray, so if you shoot a gray wall, a black wall and a white wall, they would all come out looking basically the same with 0 EV.
*Focus mode: Auto for almost everything
*Timer: Off. Unless you are wanting to use a self timer
*Effects: none. They are fun to play with for a couple of minutes, but you probably won't use them much in the real world, and you have a lot more control over effects in an external photo editing program.
*Resolution: 3264x2448. anything else is a waste of the camera specs. Yes, you can use smaller resolution if you are only shooting things to be used on the web, but what if you have a nice shot, and you had the camera set to 640x480? Storage is cheap and plentiful, keep the resolution to the max!
*White Balance: Auto Most cameras now have a very good auto balance.
*ISO: Auto Again, most cameras are good at this. You will get more noise and "grain" with higher ISO settings, but you will get the image. If you keep it set at 100, you will get blurry or unusable photos in low light. Remember, this is a PHONE, not a DSLR camera.
*Metering: Center weighted for most shooting. Spot if your subject and background vary greatly (similar to EV+-)
*Anti Shake: On, what the heck, let technology work for you.
*Auto Contrast: Off. if you are shooting a gray, dreary day, let it be dreary, not corrected to high contrast. Again, you can have much more control of the final image in a photo editing program (even one on the phone)
*Guidelines: off if you are easily distracted, on if you would like some help keeping horizons straight, or to keep the center of interest in the "Rule of thirds" this will help you to NOT put peoples heads in the Center of the photo with all that sky wasting space above them all the time
*Image Quality: Superfine. Why would you want to buy a Lamborghini and only drive it 10 MPH (KPH)?
*GPS tag: your choice. Most photo folders can group photos by location, kinda nice. I leave mine on.
*Shutter Sound: On, unless it bugs you, but it helps you know when the shutter fires as well as letting the subject know when they can quit posing/smiling. If you are trying to shoot secret pictures in the locker room, then silence it Also, Android Lost and other phone finding apps can shoot photos from the front and rear cameras if your phone is lost or stolen, a quiet shutter won't scare the thief.
*Storage: Memory card! Too many things can happen to your phone, keep your pictures on the external card. and back them up with something like dropbox, or manually.
(I have owned Associated Photographics (.com) for 25 years )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for answering as well, i posted some questions in the photo thread but everyone seemed to be a douche and ignored. One question is whats the difference between HDR and normal shot? And macro focus is for close up shots right?
Wow, awesome post.
I am a pro photographer (canon eos body and all L lens) and I agree with the post 100%
---------- Post added at 08:06 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:03 PM ----------
Intercrew said:
Thanks for answering as well, i posted some questions in the photo thread but everyone seemed to be a douche and ignored. One question is whats the difference between HDR and normal shot? And macro focus is for close up shots right?
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Click to collapse
Yes macro is a closeup setting.
HDR takes two shots and combines them for more dynamic range, but you have to hold the camera very still for it to work right.
---------- Post added at 08:16 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:06 PM ----------
MontyPyFly said:
(I have owned Associated Photographics (.com) for 25 years )
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Nice site, that 61 vette brings back memories.
I had a 58 vette about 100 years ago... ;-)
jmorton10 said:
Wow, awesome post.
I am a pro photographer (canon eos body and all L lens) and I agree with the post 100%
---------- Post added at 08:06 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:03 PM ----------
Yes macro is a closeup setting.
HDR takes two shots and combines them for more dynamic range, but you have to hold the camera very still for it to work right.
---------- Post added at 08:16 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:06 PM ----------
Nice site, that 61 vette brings back memories.
I had a 58 vette about 100 years ago... ;-)
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Click to collapse
Hmm, so would HDR be better suited for a photo?
blackguy101 said:
This must have been a lot to write but this is EXACTLY what I was looking for =) thank you so much I really appreciate the time you have put into that post
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Click to collapse
The killer part was when I was about 3/4 done I was clicking to correct a spelling error and the screen went away!!! I still don't know what happened, But I found it again eventually. But if I didn't, you wouldn't have gotten any answer
---------- Post added at 09:18 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:02 PM ----------
jmorton10 said:
Nice site, that 61 vette brings back memories.
I had a 58 vette about 100 years ago... ;-)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks Don't you wish you still had it? Cha-Ching$!
jmorton10 said:
Wow, awesome post.
I am a pro photographer (canon eos body and all L lens) and I agree with the post 100%
---------- Post added at 08:06 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:03 PM ----------
Yes macro is a closeup setting.
HDR takes two shots and combines them for more dynamic range, but you have to hold the camera very still for it to work right.
---------- Post added at 08:16 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:06 PM ----------
Nice site, that 61 vette brings back memories.
I had a 58 vette about 100 years ago... ;-)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so when shooting with the hdr setting are the 2 pictures suppose to merge as 1 if done correctly? Or will 2 pictures always show up in the gallery?
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda premium
Hi guys, I have a quick question about the camera photo dimensions.
Is there any reason why the maximum resolution photographs do not appear full screen? They appear in a 1.33 ratio, whereas I'd prefer them to be full "hd" 1.77 resolution (filling the screen).
Putting the resolution down to 6 megapixels seems to fix this, but is there any other way around this?
dunderball said:
Hi guys, I have a quick question about the camera photo dimensions.
Is there any reason why the maximum resolution photographs do not appear full screen? They appear in a 1.33 ratio, whereas I'd prefer them to be full "hd" 1.77 resolution (filling the screen).
Putting the resolution down to 6 megapixels seems to fix this, but is there any other way around this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes there is a reason. 8mp is a 1.33 format and your screen is 1.77, just as you say. You cant put a round peg in a square hole.
8mp = 3264w X 2448h
6mp = 3264w X 1836h
In the 6 MP mode, you are chopping off the top and bottom of the frame to fill the wide screen of the S3. (and loosing 2 MP of data in the process)
If you notice, the number of pixels in the width are not changing from 8 to 6mp, just the height. So if you ever decide to print an 8x10 from your 6mp photo, you will end up chopping off another couple of mega pixels from the sides, so your really printing an 8x10 out of about HALF the cameras potential.
When you zoom in during playback, you can fill the screen without actually chopping off the top and bottom information. It may bother you, but I think keeping the maximum amount of pixel data far out weighs the squarer image size.
That said; if you are never going to do anything but look at exactly what you shot on the phone, then feel free to shoot in 6mp mode and see the full image on your screen.
Good thread, I'm surprised there isn't more talk about the camera and it's potential.
So far, the only thing I've changed from the default settings is the *Image Quality: Superfine.
Are there any tips for nighttime or darker shots to be less noisey? I've found the camera to be excellent in the day time, but I can't for the life of me get those kind of pictures at night
Not really, you get better images at lower ISO settings, but at night, with the lower ISO setting you get much longer shutter speeds which create more noise...... You still have to remember, this is a PHONE
Everytime I hit record the camera instantly jumps tp 16:9 mode which is cropped from 4:3 native mode of the camera, is there anyway to avoid this?
Go into camera settings, go down to Video Size, change the size.
16:9 is a pretty standard aspect ratio these days and is what most TVs, computer monitors, and such are built as. Certain phones also are, but its more likely that they are slightly wider, or slightly longer. S9+ has an aspect ratio of 18:5.9. Granted, considering 99% of people film in portrait mode rather than landscape, aspect ratio goes out the window.
I think Instagram defaults to 4:3 even for stuff filmed in widescreen or portrait but you can change it before uploading it.
I went through all of the video size option, the only one that won't crop as much will be the square 1:1 mode because it's cropping it on the horizontal side. You will retain the same vertical height as the preview.
4:3 video
I can't believe people aren't more up in arms about this. I certainly to not need to hear any explanations about aspect ratios and standards (I'm not some idiot asking "why are there black bars on my video" ).
The fact is, there's no way to record video using the native resolution if the sensor (at least not on my Galaxy note, Android Pie (9)).
This is pretty f'ing unconscionable. Someone in marketing probably gave developers the "make it simpler" directive, which has resulted in crippled video.
I'm going to look for 3rd party video apps and report back if I find anything.
---------- Post added at 04:52 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:16 PM ----------
Pro Cam X Lite uses the full 4:3 sensor, but at limited resolution. I went ahead and purchased the Pro version and now I'm getting 2880 x 2260. No Still not native res (4032 x 3024), but I'm happy that it's wide angle 4:3 at a decent resolution.
Todd9 said:
---------- Post added at 04:52 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:16 PM ----------
Pro Cam X Lite uses the full 4:3 sensor, but at limited resolution. I went ahead and purchased the Pro version and now I'm getting 2880 x 2260. No Still not native res (4032 x 3024), but I'm happy that it's wide angle 4:3 at a decent resolution.
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Click to collapse
2 years, 2 months later...
Have you found a better solution? What smartphone do you currently have?
Hi everyone,
I've had enough of my pixel 2 XL and it's endless issues. Looking at getting the S9 plus but can someone confirm you can use the telephoto lens whilst video recording at 60fps in 1080p or 4k?
Thanks!!
All resolutions support 2x zoom but not on 60 fps.
---------- Post added at 10:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:45 PM ----------
Ronny220 said:
Hi everyone,
I've had enough of my pixel 2 XL and it's endless issues. Looking at getting the S9 plus but can someone confirm you can use the telephoto lens whilst video recording at 60fps in 1080p or 4k?
Thanks!!
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Click to collapse
All resolutions support 2x zoom but not on 60 fps.
mioss said:
All resolutions support 2x zoom but not on 60 fps.
---------- Post added at 10:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:45 PM ----------
All resolutions support 2x zoom but not on 60 fps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To clarify, you can use the 2x zoom lens with any resolution and frame rate, but you can't switch between the two lenses during recording at 60fps. If you wanted to use the 2x lens at 60fps, you'd have to switch to it before hitting the record button.
Sent from my SM-G965W using Tapatalk
Sorry i wasn't clear had a hard day
Devhux said:
To clarify, you can use the 2x zoom lens with any resolution and frame rate, but you can't switch between the two lenses during recording at 60fps. If you wanted to use the 2x lens at 60fps, you'd have to switch to it before hitting the record button.
Sent from my SM-G965W using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
At 60fps mode phone records with standard lens, no matter if you switch to 2x before hitting record button
Is there any apk where I can shoot 60fps full HD with both cameras? I want to use optical zoom at 60fps
thanks
I want to know about how much noise a 30 sec exposure on iso100 with the ultra wide 0.6x lens, makes on the sensor.
The picture must be taken in a dark room and aperture and focus doesn't matter, since it's sensor noise I'm interested in.
1 picture jpg
1 picture raw
I can pay 10$ for the service in Paypal.
Best
Thue
Thuekr said:
I want to know about how much noise a 30 sec exposure on iso100 with the ultra wide 0.6x lens, makes on the sensor.
The picture must be taken in a dark room and aperture and focus doesn't matter, since it's sensor noise I'm interested in.
1 picture jpg
1 picture raw
I can pay 10$ for the service in Paypal.
Best
Thue
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Click to collapse
I took one in a very dim bathroom. Came out terrible.
---------- Post added at 08:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:02 PM ----------
hendogg_af said:
I took one in a very dim bathroom. Came out terrible.
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What's your email I'll send it to you
hendogg_af said:
I took one in a very dim bathroom. Came out terrible.
---------- Post added at 08:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:02 PM ----------
What's your email I'll send it to you
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Click to collapse
Thanks!
I have send you a PM
Got some really interesting shots from hendogg - lots of dead/stuck pixels (easy to remove afterwards), but impressed by the relative little noise on a 30 sec iso100 "warm" sensor.
Thuekr said:
Got some really interesting shots from hendogg - lots of dead/stuck pixels (easy to remove afterwards), but impressed by the relative little noise on a 30 sec iso100 "warm" sensor.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you post the picture?
I buy my phone a week ago. So what do you want to see actually? Do you want to take night sky 30 seconds with 100 iso on super wide angle? Or mountain or my village?
isko01 said:
I buy my phone a week ago. So what do you want to see actually? Do you want to take night sky 30 seconds with 100 iso on super wide angle? Or mountain or my village?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I meant the picture from the other user that he gave to you. But if you can post some star photos or some photos in low light you have made with the phone, I will greatly appreciate it. I will also post some for comparison these days
16mm 3 RAW files tonemapped and merged in to 1 jpg.
I'm satisfied with the low noise high detail. 1, 4, 20sec iso100 exposure
https://lfgss.microco.sm/api/v1/files/50568a83945a5b4af1a59589da845595b1b201bd.jpg