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Hello guys,
DXOMark just released the review for the Pixel 3.
https://www.dxomark.com/google-pixel3-camera-review/
Here is my reaction:
"This is a joke. Night-Mode: High Res always on (even without zoom), better image saturation, plus better HDR Quality. Meaning: Even better shots at daylight. AND it makes night images awesome.
DXOmark. Shame on you.
1. The Pixel 3 with always Night-Mode-Shots will easily score beyond 110+ - but obviously - we can't trust DXOmarks scores anymore. They do not show the full capability and power of a smartphone camera.
Also the comparison shots with the Pixel 2 zoom is NOT valid. Just get a port of the Pixel 3 camera api on your Pixel 2 and you will have the same super res zoom and the better zoom results, because it's just a software trick. And again, DXOmark proves that they are NOT consumer friendly. On the contrary.
Take a look at xda-developers, guys. There you can see the truth.
2. Shooting pictures with the Pixel 3 is a homerun, you point and click, easy. With other phones the chance of getting bad shots / blurry ones is alot higher if you are on the go or can't stop long enough to stand 100% still.
It doesn't matter which people I talk to, Pixel 3 users are always stunned by the quality of 99% of their pictures. The moment I turn to Samsung / Huawei / Apple users they still like their pictures, but do admit that they often have to delete images because of miserable shots.
These "pictures" here do not show the reallife - performance, because they are still images. But in the real life you do not stand still all the time. On the contrary. If you are on the move with your friends, you want to take your phone out, make a pictures quickly and be done with it. The Pixel 3 is your friend there.
3. Giving a score for video quality without offering comparison - videos (or any video material at all) is a joke.
You are giving us tabulars without any means of checking their validity. You guys should go and check out the German "Stiftung Warentest", the largest German consumer organisation comparing goods and services in an unbiased way. Their tests span dozens of pages and they enable self-testing.
Please take a note or two and improve your methods. They are NOT thorough.
All these factors MUST be taken into consideration at a smartphone camera test. But here.. they are not. Which means that this "review" is not comprehensive."
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I would like to have your opinion on the matter.
Edit 21.02.2018 16:05 - I think they just deleted my criticism, it's not available anymore on the review - comment page. Well done.
I agree with you and i want to add another thing that DXOMark is missing. About all the smartphone have extra modes only aviable for the back camera (Night mode for p20 pro for example) while with the pixel 3 those modes are aviable also for the front camera. How this cannot be counted in a camera review!? I would say thay DXOMark is giving scores only under they restricted conditions and are not valid in general.
Well, didn't you remember Huawei in October saying they didn't want to "release the test" of the Mate 20 Pro because it would crush the competition?
Companies can dictate whether or not a review is being released?
lol.
Guess who pays DXOMark the most. Mine is apple.
I don't agree with everything you said. There are some valid points in that DXO review. From my experience, the pixel has some issues of underexposing and oversharpening. This might work well when taking pics of landscapes or objects but not on people. I'm not arguing that the pixel doesn't take great shots, it really does but not in every scenario. As far as night shot goes, it's a great feature but I haven't found much use for it as I would rarely switch to that mode unless I wanted to impress someone.
malek777 said:
I don't agree with everything you said. There are some valid points in that DXO review. From my experience, the pixel has some issues of underexposing and oversharpening. This might work well when taking pics of landscapes or objects but not on people. I'm not arguing that the pixel doesn't take great shots, it really does but not in every scenario. As far as night shot goes, it's a great feature but I haven't found much use for it as I would rarely switch to that mode unless I wanted to impress someone.
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Agreed, the whole point of DXO is to test the cameras auto mode performance. I would even argue they should stop considering portrait mode and zoom with secondary cameras to really level the playing field.
But the Pixel getting the highest video score shows how tests don't always align with people's preferences. Most would agree the Pixel video recording is just average to the consumer. And the pictures people love didn't get the highest score.
FYI
Digital Trends did a great camera comparison and write up that you should all check out. Very fair and honest.
https://www.digitaltrends.com/photography/best-smartphone-camera-of-2018/
PuffDaddy_d said:
FYI
Digital Trends did a great camera comparison and write up that you should all check out. Very fair and honest.
https://www.digitaltrends.com/photography/best-smartphone-camera-of-2018/
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A good review, and I agreed with their picks for most categories.
What I found 'unfair' is the bokeh shot comparison (PORTRAIT MODE: TSUKIJI MARKET), where their complaint about the Pixel 3 was linked to a person the in the background positioned in the worst possible space for the AI to effectively do its work. If you compare the shot by the Pixel with the others, none of the photos include an object between the model's hand and her face, except for the Pixel (and to a much lower extent, the LG V40, displaying similar cutout mistake). Such 'obstructions' handicap faux-bokeh software significantly. The reviewers also fail to comment on the messed up skewer on the iPhone XS Max - they only noted this for the iPhone XR.
Otherwise I think it's a very fair review, and the Pixel deservedly wins overall.
Think there needs to be a thread for photos taken on the P30 Pro, given how the key feature of this phone is the camera(s).
I've also created a Google Photos gallery that people can share photos on (and video). It's non-commercial, and anyone that posts a photo obviously retains their own copyright.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/crLDcUSr9mxgJCSV8
So far the gallery has some examples of the various zoom levels (and wide angle), low-light and some very impressive shots of the sun. I am really loving the flexibility of the camera in just about all conditions.
I can't wait to see photos from others.
camera only good at zoom is a camera half good, in a perfect world it would do miracles with video aswell if it used Snapdragon 855
Any chance someone can put some super-slow-mo videos up please?
Id like to see someone post a sample too.
I saw a video on YouTube and slowMo looked absolutely horrible. Also not as slow as the phone it was compared to. Ive watched so many videos on the p30 that I doubt I could find the video again.
ThaDraGun said:
Id like to see someone post a sample too.
I saw a video on YouTube and slowMo looked absolutely horrible. Also not as slow as the phone it was compared to. Ive watched so many videos on the p30 that I doubt I could find the video again.
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This 960fps slow motion is fame with Huawei
Extremely bad quality besides s10 plus
I saw the video too
---------- Post added at 10:31 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:24 PM ----------
I dont like the over sharpness at night with night mode
Pixel xl 3 night sight is way better in term of normal details and Colours
Huawei needs to work hard to fix image processing with night mode and faces details
Sorry, but these photos do nothing for me in terms of showing what the phone is capable of. Many (most?) of the photos are shaky or way too soft even at ISO50. I do like how the colors look tho, especially in the night photos.
Here's a new video that was posted comparing the slow Mo
https://youtu.be/qffBzSC7DmY
Hopefully the p30 improves!
Here's a few samples of mine, i had the P30 Pro since launch day and it's a camera champ. But i don't recommend you go beyond the 5x optical focal length or it won't be pretty. The noise reduction in jpeg's is a bit too strong for my taste, i hope Huawei tones it down. However the raw files are very nice to work with.
1. Flower is shot in raw at iso 50 indoors.
2. Church shot using 16mm ultrawide angle.
3, 5x at the church clock, shot raw.
4. 16mm indoors at chuch.
5. Building shot at 5x in raw.
6. Hotel interior at 16mm ultrawide angle, shot in jpeg.
7. Test of ToF sensor and fake bokeh at water fountain.
8. 5x at outdoor hotel pool 50 meters above ground. Shot from below.
/ Magnus
ThaDraGun said:
Here's a new video that was posted comparing the slow Mo
https://youtu.be/qffBzSC7DmY
Hopefully the p30 improves!
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Thanks for sharing. That is a shame, but still better than the shockingly bad P20 Pro that wasn't actually 960fps...
I feel this will be a great camera replacement phone for my Mate 20 Pro of course until the Mate 30 Pro comes out... I wonder if Huawei will completely ditch 3D face and notch... will be interesting. The Mate 20 Pro is a great phone... brought me back from the Apple Darkside. I can't see Apple being able to keep up with Samsung and Huawei (even Xiaomi for that matter) in the top camera phone space, anymore.... IMO. They have just lost so much ground to make it all up with their incremental updates.... I think android has brought me back with better technology, we'll see if it keeps me.
Courtyard
First photo taken in our condominium courtyard.
Sorry to be the bad guy, but there are no real details. It suffers from the well known Huawei processing. This phone is good for the Instagram generation, but it takes bad photos. Not true to life.
Took delivery of mine today. Not impressed at all - the usual overprocessed, smeary Huawei ****e that's probably great for those who like to mess about with DNG and Lightroom but as an auto shooter is behind the pack for normal photos VS pretty much all the other flagships.
Hopefully the promised software update with camera improvements will reach my device soon and blow me away. Already kind of pissed that my dual SIM Amazon device is actually single SIM but to be behind on a supposedly critical update already is not helping my feelings towards this phone.
Any video samples? For me video is more important than photos and it seems the Kirin CPU can not handle video with high enough bitrate, I see occasional stutter too. One reviewer mentioned that 4K video did appear like it was actually 1440p upscaled. One other review did check video bitrate and framerate and both did appear low (I think it was 27Mbps and 28fps for a 4K video).
I wonder if these things could be tweaked by modifying camera app, to try increase bitrate.
EDIT: The video review showing P30 Pro video bitrate, framerate and panning stutter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LaeCzEMEgw
So many reviews out there seem to be sponsored, looking for real-life video examples.
leoni1980 said:
Took delivery of mine today. Not impressed at all - the usual overprocessed, smeary Huawei ****e that's probably great for those who like to mess about with DNG and Lightroom but as an auto shooter is behind the pack for normal photos VS pretty much all the other flagships.
Hopefully the promised software update with camera improvements will reach my device soon and blow me away. Already kind of pissed that my dual SIM Amazon device is actually single SIM but to be behind on a supposedly critical update already is not helping my feelings towards this phone.
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I have the opposite experience. Samples found online wasn't that impressive, but I quite like how the photos I take (in daylight so far) look., even when zoomed in. It's definitely not as sharp as say, Pixel 3XL, but very good.
I agree. The dog looks great. I'm also using a Galaxy S10+ and though I love the phone, you can barely take a pic of an animal because it smudges and smooths everything so badly. My P30 will be here soon and I'm encouraged by those pics.
Sent from my SM-G975U1 using Tapatalk
EricMartinSoCal said:
I agree. The dog looks great. I'm also using a Galaxy S10+ and though I love the phone, you can barely take a pic of an animal because it smudges and smooths everything so badly. My P30 will be here soon and I'm encouraged by those pics.
Sent from my SM-G975U1 using Tapatalk
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My advice is to not get too excited. The examples given are in searing sunlight and even then there's some smearing and oversharpening. In the case of the dog, it's just sat still - not a challenging scenario for any phone.
Apparently some people in the UK have had the new update so I'm hoping to get it over the weekend.
I currently also have an S9 and an iPhone XR and the photos from both of those devices are better so far (with the exception of low light shots).
leoni1980 said:
My advice is to not get too excited. The examples given are in searing sunlight and even then there's some smearing and oversharpening. In the case of the dog, it's just sat still - not a challenging scenario for any phone.
Apparently some people in the UK have had the new update so I'm hoping to get it over the weekend.
I currently also have an S9 and an iPhone XR and the photos from both of those devices are better so far (with the exception of low light shots).
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Maybe you should post side-by-side comparison shots so we can see how better those phones' cameras are.
Itaintrite said:
Maybe you should post side-by-side comparison shots so we can see how better those phones' cameras are.
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I want to get the 124 update before I do much more testing but here for example is a crop of some daffodils in the sunlight from the XR and P30 Pro (no AI mode).
I wish I had the .124 update before family day at the zoo but still impressed with these 10x zoom. My S10 could definitely not do this. Keep in mind that lion was through streaky zoo glass.
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?
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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.
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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.
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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?
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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...
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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...
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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?
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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.
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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.
__________
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.
__________
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.
Hi.
Like some that bought this phone I found the out of box experience on the camera a bit underwhelming and the pro app very confusing, after a bit of reading and searching and fiddling I've got it setup so I'm very happy with the results. It's not a low light or HDR monster like some camera systems but you can get some pretty nice results easily if the settings are tamed back a bit. So I thought I'd share what works for me.
Over the last few years I've had OnePlus 7t pro, LG V50, Xiaomi K20 Pro / Poco F1, HTC U12+/ HTC 10 and had a reasonable GCam on all of them and going to the Sony system was a bit of a culture shock, but the small form factor, flagship specs, SD card and 3.5mm socket are what I wanted.
BTW, I am not a Photographer or an expert by any means so if I've got anything wrong I'm happy to correct, or if anyone has more Tips and Tricks please post to this thread.
To start.
Use the Pro app AUTO mode for most pictures. It gives more consistent results than the standard camera app and can easily be set as the default.
Go to the basic camera app settings, scroll down to Launch with camera key and set to Photography Pro, this means when you hold the shutter button it'll start the Pro app by default not the Basic app.
Double click the power button and you can set the Camera app as default, that way both apps are easily accessible with the screen off, useful for video.
Make sure the Case you use allows for the 2 step shutter button, the first case I had made the button really stiff so 99% of the time I was just clicking for a shot not locking the settings with a half press.
Open up the Pro app and press the Disp option until you have the Histogram and viewfinder showing. There's plenty of Youtube videos explaining what a histogram is and how it works, it's no guarantee of a great picture but it will be an indication of a bad one.
Don't get too bogged down in all the options, I spent weeks tweaking Exposure/ISO/Shutter speeds without really understanding what I was up to and if you do understand all those options I guess this guide isn't for you!
My settings for consistent results, check out the screenshot in this link
Xperia 5 II XQ-AS52/XQ-AS62/XQ-AS72 | Help Guide | Launching Photo Pro (Photography Pro)
Drive Mode - Single Shooting
Focus Mode - Continuous AF
Focus Area - Centre
Face/Eye AF - On
JPEG
Aspect Ratio - 4:3 (12mp)
With those settings you can point, preload by half a click and get a reasonable shot most of the time. With the fancy auto multi focus wide settings I was always getting blurred pictures of my dog when he's running around due to the camera trying to focus on him then picking a random object in the frame so by the time I clicked for the picture it was a mess.
When you have a half click loaded, move the centre box around and see what the preview and Histogram is showing, if there's a hard line hitting the top at either the left or right hand side it's either too dark or too light. By moving the centre of the image slightly the camera should adjust the exposure slightly to stop the clipping.
The only other setting I tend to play with is S, click the AUTO button and scroll down to S mode. This allows changing of the shutter speed. This way you can capture faster moving objects in good light or slow down the capture speed in bad light. Here's where the Histogram is useful because if you set the Shutter too high, bright sky will clip and a bright blue sky will be white or you'll end up with a dark fuzzy picture. It's not worth going above 320 or below 80 unless it's in exceptional conditions.
I've attached some recent samples below.
Hope that helps!
Thanks for the detailed writeup. You're more on your way to be a photographer than you give yourself credit for...
Thanks! I learned more from this than reading a truly terrible book about the subject
I always use PhotoPro-Auto.
asvaberg said:
Thanks! I learned more from this than reading a truly terrible book about the subject
I always use PhotoPro-Auto.
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That's a great picture.
And you're welcome, I'm a bit tired of seeing posts saying how bad the camera is on this little phone. It does require a bit more work than a point and click phone but it's so worth it.
Nice reading and I also agree: this phone has a good camera and we just need to understand it.
IMHO the colour calibration seems to be very good.
Even in "point-and-shoot" mode with the default camera I usually get good results.
(true, I already got some surprises with light reflections at night)
After reading this post, I took the phone and turned all lights out in my inner room where I was.
Pointed to my Buddha friend and done. No much thinking. The whole process between grabbing the phone, turning lights out, taking the picture and coming back to my laptop to write this took less than 90 sec.
PS: I don't master any photography technique, and therefore I rely on the device setup and common sense.
I agree with the color calibration. It's very close to my Sony A7RIV when I've taken comparison pictures...at least comparing RAW files in Lightroom. One of my biggest frustrations with the P30 Pro was the colors of the RAW files are very off using the main sensor, and no software can easily fix it. The 5 II files are easy to work with and give good results.
Enjoyed the OP but I use the Program Mode. I live in the tropics in a mountain value and I use the EV control a lot. The rest of my settings are usually the same as given in the OP.
Here is a link to a YouTube video from a photographer who makes it quite clear that the camera system on the Xperia 5 II is not a "professional grade" system but has a place for people who enjoy producing photos.
I just wanted to add that every digital camera I've bought, stand-alone or phone, since 1998 has been defective....for 10 days to two weeks. Once I'd used it for a few hundred photos and read manuals and tutorials the cameras improved markedly.
This is probably going to be am unpopular opinion but does anyone else think that the Pixel 6 camera sucks? Pics straight out of device are a) over sharpened and b) flat. The canned filters are poor too. Enhance does nearly nothing, dynamic is a circuis like sharpening and contrast+saturation, and the rest are such ugly color casts which makes them useless. None of the filters have a "strength" slider to control the magnitude of the effect. Yet the sky filters that have the exact same names and function all have strength sliders. WTF Google?
I was hoping that Google has taken SnapSeed and incorporated it into the default camera in some dumbed down format so as not to confuse the general user. Wishful thinking. Not only that, I can't seem to find a way to tweak the default settings to my liking.
On an ongoing trip the images from my wife's 18 month old Fruit 12 max wiped the floor with the Pixel 6. This is from man Apple hater who will never own a fruit themed device.
To summarize my experience with the Pixel 6 so far; ****ty fingerprint reader, ****ty camera. Alas I dislike Samsung products almost as much as the fruity ones. If OnePlus had not decided to take heavy handed approach to Oxygen OS 12 I would be rocking a OnePlus 9 instead and be content.
I've noticed the over sharpened on some pics and just a general overall look I didn't like right away with the pixel 6. This last week I have done a bunch of night sight pics in the same location I did last year with my pixel 2 and the pixel 6 absolutely looks better in every way. I'm sure the improved night sight is the updated hardware but google needs to work on their eye candy AI for the new sensors in other situations.
Try shooting raw and with night mode (even for daylight) then download adobe lightroom mobile (free version is enough), open the raw file in it, click the auto button and export the picture. Then compare to stock jpeg. You will be amazed. The hardware and image stacking on this phone are top notch. This is the first phone i have seen that has actually usable raw files. The stock jpeg on the other side is something i also don't like due to overprocessing.
GroovyGeek said:
This is probably going to be am unpopular opinion but does anyone else think that the Pixel 6 camera sucks? Pics straight out of device are a) over sharpened and b) flat. The canned filters are poor too. Enhance does nearly nothing, dynamic is a circuis like sharpening and contrast+saturation, and the rest are such ugly color casts which makes them useless. None of the filters have a "strength" slider to control the magnitude of the effect. Yet the sky filters that have the exact same names and function all have strength sliders. WTF Google?
I was hoping that Google has taken SnapSeed and incorporated it into the default camera in some dumbed down format so as not to confuse the general user. Wishful thinking. Not only that, I can't seem to find a way to tweak the default settings to my liking.
On an ongoing trip the images from my wife's 18 month old Fruit 12 max wiped the floor with the Pixel 6. This is from man Apple hater who will never own a fruit themed device.
To summarize my experience with the Pixel 6 so far; ****ty fingerprint reader, ****ty camera. Alas I dislike Samsung products almost as much as the fruity ones. If OnePlus had not decided to take heavy handed approach to Oxygen OS 12 I would be rocking a OnePlus 9 instead and be content.
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Sent the Pixel 6 back and get a refund.
It is the simplest solution.
Not really, since real alternatives are scarce..
I really enjoy the camera. It's been taking phenomenal pictures for me. They will update the camera more as well and with Google's history I see it being very good.
I just got this phone yesterday, made Few photos and I am coming from a Galaxy note 20 ultra... I have to say I am impressed with the camera but for sure it does not live up to the hype on the internet. My Galaxy note 20 ultra makes as good if not better photos and to top all that I was comparing my photos last night with a friend's Huawei 40 pro ... And his photos were as good and in some cases better (some mine were better but less so) 5han the Google pixel 6... Just say both those phones are over a year old.
neptun2 said:
Try shooting raw and with night mode (even for daylight) then download adobe lightroom mobile (free version is enough), open the raw file in it, click the auto button and export the picture. Then compare to stock jpeg. You will be amazed. The hardware and image stacking on this phone are top notch. This is the first phone i have seen that has actually usable raw files. The stock jpeg on the other side is something i also don't like due to overprocessing.
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Did you ever try Photoshop Express fpr RAW processing?
Yes i tried but the engine is the same between lightroom and photoshop express hence results are same. PS has better retouch capabilities if you need these.
neptun2 said:
Yes i tried but the engine is the same between lightroom and photoshop express
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Tbats what I was hoping
neptun2 said:
Try shooting raw and with night mode (even for daylight) then download adobe lightroom mobile (free version is enough), open the raw file in it, click the auto button and export the picture. Then compare to stock jpeg. You will be amazed. The hardware and image stacking on this phone are top notch. This is the first phone i have seen that has actually usable raw files. The stock jpeg on the other side is something i also don't like due to overprocessing.
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Thanks for saying this. So I didn't have to.
I find the camera pretty crappy if I'm honest. Detail in all of my pictures, including in well lit areas, are mediocre at best.
Night mode is absolutely useless too. If I compare it to my old Huawei Mate 20 Pro night mode pictures, there is no comparison.
Thinking of getting rid of the Pixel and getting something with an actual decent camera.
Pixel shots have a very specific look. It's not always realistic but it's beautiful. Live HDR and zero shutter lag are so nice.
If you're coming from a OnePlus phone, it can be a literal night and day difference in quality.
Is it possible that it is the selfie images that is breaking the camera?
What hype was there with this camera? Sure it has a new sensor that was talked about quite a bit, but everyone was saying that they picture quality was NOT different than the older Pixel models.
It is different but you need to try raw shooting to see the differences. Google's jpeg processing is far too aggressive regarding noise reduction so the small details are lost and stock jpegs look similar to older pixels. I will take some pictures these days to show the difference between stock jpeg and one converted from raw.
Here are links to stock jpeg from phone and one generated from raw file via adobe lightroom:
JPEG from raw:
jpeg from raw.jpg
drive.google.com
Stock jpeg:
stock jpeg.jpg
drive.google.com
For me the raw file generated by the pixel 6 (especially with night mode) is very good. It has a lot of detail and low amount of noise. In this case i have not applied any post processing except the auto button in adobe lightroom mobile hence no noise reduction and sharpening at all. If you prefer sharper and cleaner picture this raw file can handle both without any problem. Comparing the two pictures main problems with google's stock jpeg looks to be following:
1. Too much sharpening
2. Too aggressive HDR bringing up some nasty noise from the shadows
3. Too aggressive noise reduction. IT is not only very aggressive removing some fine details but it is also applied in different levels in different zones causing patches which are more smeared than the rest of the picture. For me this looks very ugly.
As i doubt that google will give us and settings to adjust jpeg processing my advice to everybody looking to get the most from the camera is to shoot raw with night mode on even in daylight and process the raw file the way they like it. It is always good to also have the raw file as backup because software constantly improves and in future you may get even better results from the old raw files.
I don't like the main camera for close subjects, the depth of field drop off is too shallow for my liking and the focus area is small causing soft edges due to the large sensor.
People who take pictures of food a lot might have a love hate relationship.
It is also annoying to scan qr codes due to the soft edges.
And what about that main camera for video calling on duo or whatsapp? Is it crappy only for me or are you guys experiencing the same?
neptun2 said:
Try shooting raw and with night mode (even for daylight) then download adobe lightroom mobile (free version is enough), open the raw file in it, click the auto button and export the picture. Then compare to stock jpeg. You will be amazed. The hardware and image stacking on this phone are top notch. This is the first phone i have seen that has actually usable raw files. The stock jpeg on the other side is something i also don't like due to overprocessing.
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Wow, you have just made my day