Has anyone compared photos from HTC One and Note 2? - One (M7) Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Next month I will buy a new phone for my sister as her birthday's gift.
I have a Note 2, and it's the beast in almost every area except the low light photos. Low-light mode is OK, but only in moderate and moderate-low light with non-moving objects. In very low light condition, the phone automatically put the ISO too high leading to very birght but extremely noisy pictures. My sister doesn't like it because she prefers taking pictures at night.
I saw some reviews about One's camera and felt absolutely disappointed , but the photos there are no where near tho photos I saw in this forum. Maybe the articles are bias or not the final software (or bad camera skill?). So it would be better if somebody here make a comparison between HTC One and Note 2 for me to decide buying this phone or not.
I saw a new article on pocketnow.com about the comparison (no evaluation inside the article, just pictures). And again, not sure about the firmware on One.
http://pocketnow.com/2013/03/18/htc-one-vs-samsung-galaxy-note-ii-camera

hung2900 said:
Next month I will buy a new phone for my sister as her birthday's gift.
I have a Note 2, and it's the beast in almost every area except the low light photos. Low-light mode is OK, but only in moderate and moderate-low light with non-moving objects. In very low light condition, the phone automatically put the ISO too high leading to very birght but extremely noisy pictures. My sister doesn't like it because she prefers taking pictures at night.
I saw some reviews about One's camera and felt absolutely disappointed , but the photos there are no where near tho photos I saw in this forum. Maybe the articles are bias or not the final software (or bad camera skill?). So it would be better if somebody here make a comparison between HTC One and Note 2 for me to decide buying this phone or not.
I saw a new article on pocketnow.com about the comparison (no evaluation inside the article, just pictures). And again, not sure about the firmware on One.
http://pocketnow.com/2013/03/18/htc-one-vs-samsung-galaxy-note-ii-camera
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I know. It's such a disappointment given the hype by HTC.
Anyways our forum is not allowed to have any comparison thread.

You can't judge from one example. You need to do a lot of research.
I think HTC One will give better low light pictures. I mean less noise.

muayyadf1 said:
You can't judge from one example. You need to do a lot of research.
I think HTC One will give better low light pictures. I mean less noise.
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That's why I wanna an unbias example from here.

Look at the low light photos from the photo thread in One General. Then you can decide for yourself
Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk 2

NiCk.JaY said:
Look at the low light photos from the photo thread in One General. Then you can decide for yourself
Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk 2
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But I really need a comparison with the same condition...

Related

Camera

Hey there!
Has anyobe found a qualified report about the camera?
Are pictures good? Maybe comparison to XZ or S3?
Thank you!
can't understant well! but if u mean aboutcamera quality or pics taken whit one camera u can search web or gsm-arena hands-on theres a lot! here's link
AW: Camera
Thanks for the quick reply! In the link you posted the camera is only described, there are no details about pictures taken with it. I want to know if pictures are really that good, or if it's just another marketing-thing...
there doesnt seem to be any official reviews yet with actual pictures taken on the phone, all that is said is that its only 4mp camera but the resolution is meant to be much better and lets a lot more light in than previous htc phones
HTC camera's are usually decent, can't wait for a real review!
sturmtruppler said:
Hey there!
Has anyobe found a qualified report about the camera?
Are pictures good? Maybe comparison to XZ or S3?
Thank you!
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Click to collapse
neowin.net/news/cameras-htc-one-vs-nokia-lumia-920?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
(XDA won't let me put down url's )
Here are some photo sample between the Lumia 920 vs Htc One.
If you look in the general thread, i've linked one where it is vs the iphone 5 but it shows you image quality, click on the article link and it'll tell you more.
Hello guys first of all may I just say I don't expect anyone to trust me especially without my own evidence (I would have had some if this crap bb didn't die on me while I was down oxford street).
However though after seeing those images vs the iphone btw I thought the images on the one were better than the iphone but inferior to the lumia 920. I decided to hunt the one down again to do some camera tests.
On tuesday on the launch of the one, i went to phones 4 u oxford street (bond street) played with the one for about 3 mins and decided it was better than the z, had better audio, camera/video which is the main things i use on the phone. however that was without side by side comparison.
after seeing the images online posted by the one, i was thinking to myself when i played with it the images looked better than that, so i headed down the whole of oxford street from tottenham court road to bond street in and out of carphone warehouse, three stores and phones 4 u and vodafone like a mad man. finally I went back to the phones 4 u that did the launch and as I walked in i saw they had the one on display however it is bolted down, with both cameras and headset jack covered, so i was disappointed as i though i wouldnt be able to do camera tests. Absolutely gutted i walked out and futher up the road to the three store (opposite selfriges).
walked in and saw they had a dummy of the black version of the one, i asked the staff to they have the real phone one said the rep came earlier and will be back tomorrow about 9am, i thought damn man then one of the staff said hold on ill check if we have the demo phone in the back. She said by the way it is a pre production unit and not final retail unit, anyway she went in the back and came back an there in her hand was a silver one, totally deprived of any restrictions what so ever, so i got a feel of the phone its far better to hold in the hand than the z due to it being smooth (the egdes of the z are rough), also feels and looks smaller than it is and it looks thinner than 9.3mm aswell.
I know audio is better than the z so i got straight to work in comparing front and rear cameras on both phones side by side. I got the staff in the three store to judge which has the better camera aswell.
these are our findings and truthful findings. z was on superior auto setting and one was on its normal auto focus setting i didn't tamper with anything else.
sharpness, colour accuracy (more natural colours), auto focusing and camera speed all favoured the one not to say the camera on the z is rubbish but The z tended to lose focus on objects (same issues that plagued the xperia s/t last year that annoyed me so much) and also letters looked more blurry on the z (i got one of the booklets and was focusing on the letters, the one was far sharper than the z and even just on general objects the one had the sharper camera.
Video (both phones were in 1080p mode on auto focus setting) again was the same story the z was struggling to focus at times, while the one always maintained focus and showed the sharper image and better colour accuracy also better audio aswell.
Even the front camera had clearer more detailed images and videos than the xperia zs front camera, also i tried zooming on the rear camera of the one again it showed more detail on zoom than any other phone I have seen bar the Nokia N8, 808, Lumia 920.
Personally in my opinion and the guys in the three store the camera on the HTC one is remarkable the staff in the three store didn't even know the one only had a 4mp camera they thought it was 13mp it was so good.
This is one of the reasons I rather go hands on with things myself than look on the internet or at reviews and I am urging people to do the same.
You will be surprised about this ultra pixel 4mp camera thing today really showed me and the three staff that its really not all about the megapixels because the ones 4.3mp camera was overall better than the xperia z's 13.1mp camera.
Hey Guys everyone keeps asking about the HTC ONE Ultrapixel camera, so while I was at the London launch I took a couple photographs!
To see more http://www.flickr.com/photos/symbolizm/8499082590/
Lastly if you are looking to buy one of these great phones why not join us at the HTC ONE Users Group over at Flickr to share your photos and discuss all things 'ONE'! http://www.flickr.com/groups/htc-one/
Radiognome said:
Hey Guys everyone keeps asking about the HTC ONE Ultrapixel camera, so while I was at the London launch I took a couple photographs!
To see more http://www.flickr.com/photos/symbolizm/8499082590/
Lastly if you are looking to buy one of these great phones why not join us at the HTC ONE Users Group over at Flickr to share your photos and discuss all things 'ONE'! http://www.flickr.com/groups/htc-one/
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Not now, hahahahaha. Needs a better model
I went to three store at oxford street and pretending to know nothing about HTC one and a black sales person told me it comes with 16 gb and I disagree but still he keep saying its 16 gb but when I denied he went backdoor and come after 7 min. (dumbo) after some quick research on the net or ask senior employee and confirm its a 32 GB
never ask for any advice or technical stuff to people working in store, they can advice you on only one thing how many model of certain phone they sold and how many and which brands models they got in for repair as faulty full stop

just bought the z

Hi
just bought the bought the Xperia z for£500 everything seems good apart from
the camera the low light shots are terrible far worse than my Xperia t, also when I take pic on low light the screen is really grainy, when outdoors the camera takes decent photos prob on par with my t,
feel abit gutted to pay all that money for the camera to be poor, has anyone else found the camera poor or could I have faulty device? Or have I got to do to something in settings to make photos better
thanks
maka
Read the many other camera / image quality related threads then compare with yours.
Also, this is not the troubleshooting section
Sent from my gorgeous White Xperia Z
Sorry but my experience of the camera is the exact opposite of yours. It's the thing that pleases me most about the phone. Mine only struggles in very very dark rooms like if I take a picture in the room with only the tv on.
Everywhere else, I've been pretty blown away by it. Totally rips my S to shreds. Maybe you timing is poor and your blaming the camera for it. If you look at the pics and videos from the HTC One camera, you'll know what poor means.
Maybe you should switch away from superior auto, sounds like you don't give it enough time to do its thing before hitting the shutter button.
Sent from my C6603 using xda app-developers app
zodiac100 said:
Sorry but my experience of the camera is the exact opposite of yours. It's the thing that pleases me most about the phone. Mine only struggles in very very dark rooms like if I take a picture in the room with only the tv on.
Everywhere else, I've been pretty blown away by it. Totally rips my S to shreds. Maybe you timing is poor and your blaming the camera for it. If you look at the pics and videos from the HTC One camera, you'll know what poor means.
Maybe you should switch away from superior auto, sounds like you don't give it enough time to do its thing before hitting the shutter button.
Sent from my C6603 using xda app-developers app
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Click to collapse
this, superior auto needs a second or something to recognize scene... you can try with just hdr or manual settings perhaps
My camera takes decent photos outdoors...
maka12 said:
Hi
just bought the bought the Xperia z for£500 everything seems good apart from
the camera the low light shots are terrible far worse than my Xperia t, also when I take pic on low light the screen is really grainy, when outdoors the camera takes decent photos prob on par with my t,
feel abit gutted to pay all that money for the camera to be poor, has anyone else found the camera poor or could I have faulty device? Or have I got to do to something in settings to make photos better
thanks
maka
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Click to collapse
In my experience it's best to avoid using superior auto.
Hi,
- I also received my XZ for £499 + £50 cashback, got it yesterday after an express delivery from Amazon via Citylink after Herpes failed to deliver 3 days after expected with no information from them regarding it just rudeness (they arrived 2 hours after Citylink on Saturday morning, and I, put mildly, told them to get the fudge out).
- After a day playing with my first Droid, and phone since my LG Cookie, I can say that the phone is, as expected, very snappy. No games I played (MC4, Real Racing 3, GTA:III) stuttered at all and the large screen limited how much my hands blocked it out, a big problem on iTouch and iPhone 5's for me.
- The camera easily blows my brother's iPhone 5 out the water, and the front facing camera is excellent, far better then the SIII's. I'd definitely say anything about the screen has been blown out of proportion - compared the SIII and iPhone 5 there wasn't any noticeable contrast differences (on the Fruit Ninja homescreen to make it a fair test) and the screen doesn't get washed out anywhere near as much as people say it does.
- I'm also left handed, and have normal hands, but found the extra size to be helpful more then hindrance. Web browsing on it is excellent, I've found the 5 inches to breathe new life into HD adult videos.
- The loudspeaker wasn't usually muffled, to cover I had to hold it in an unnatural way, and the battery life has been excellent.
- I use stamina mode, and easily went an entire day and a half from full charge with lots of email use, web browsing, using facebook, streaming HD video over youtube and listening to youtube. I did this at the lowest brightness setting, I found that the difference between minimum and maximum isn't as large as on any Retina iDevices.
That's my thoughts on it so far. An excellent phone, and with a better UI then any Samsung's I've briefly used.
iDroid8 said:
Hi,
- I also received my XZ for £499 + £50 cashback, got it yesterday after an express delivery from Amazon via Citylink after Herpes failed to deliver 3 days after expected with no information from them regarding it just rudeness (they arrived 2 hours after Citylink on Saturday morning, and I, put mildly, told them to get the fudge out).
- After a day playing with my first Droid, and phone since my LG Cookie, I can say that the phone is, as expected, very snappy. No games I played (MC4, Real Racing 3, GTA:III) stuttered at all and the large screen limited how much my hands blocked it out, a big problem on iTouch and iPhone 5's for me.
- The camera easily blows my brother's iPhone 5 out the water, and the front facing camera is excellent, far better then the SIII's. I'd definitely say anything about the screen has been blown out of proportion - compared the SIII and iPhone 5 there wasn't any noticeable contrast differences (on the Fruit Ninja homescreen to make it a fair test) and the screen doesn't get washed out anywhere near as much as people say it does.
- I'm also left handed, and have normal hands, but found the extra size to be helpful more then hindrance. Web browsing on it is excellent, I've found the 5 inches to breathe new life into HD adult videos.
- The loudspeaker wasn't usually muffled, to cover I had to hold it in an unnatural way, and the battery life has been excellent.
- I use stamina mode, and easily went an entire day and a half from full charge with lots of email use, web browsing, using facebook, streaming HD video over youtube and listening to youtube. I did this at the lowest brightness setting, I found that the difference between minimum and maximum isn't as large as on any Retina iDevices.
That's my thoughts on it so far. An excellent phone, and with a better UI then any Samsung's I've briefly used.
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i sign that
i have same experience with my Z tho i havent used any iDevices i can confirm your statement

I am thinking to trade my htc one for a galaxy s4 for my holiday(better pics)

Hello there i am going on a holiday and i am thinking to trade my htc one for a galaxy s4?
This because of the great daylight pictures of the s4..
Is this a wise decision?
Because for the rest i love the htc one...
I can always trade it back after my holiday...
Dude. Don't be insecure about your own decisions.
~ Taylor_Swift
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note II GT-N7100 using XDA Premium HD
john291 said:
Hello there i am going on a holiday and i am thinking to trade my htc one for a galaxy s4?
This because of the great daylight pictures of the s4..
Is this a wise decision?
Because for the rest i love the htc one...
I can always trade it back after my holiday...
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Click to collapse
Get a compact camera / DSLR if you want great daylight photos.
It is an extra piece to carry, but its worth it. I´d never go on vacation without my (or my parents) dslr if i know there will be some beatiful places
shox22 said:
Get a compact camera / DSLR if you want great daylight photos.
It is an extra piece to carry, but its worth it. I´d never go on vacation without my (or my parents) dslr if i know there will be some beatiful places
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Click to collapse
Hello there
Yes i am thinking about that option still too..
But i like to carry not to much...
Or maybe its an option to show what the htc one can do...
But the daylight pics of the samsung are good.
Decisions
Compact camera is the way
I somewhat compared my friend s4 and my One, in full daylight scene
I can absolute say that the real touch to focus of One is clearly superior than s4 fake touch to focus ( like all samsung i owned,they focus in the touched point,but only aprox)
Also the suoeramoled screen can mask somehow your eyes and photos seems brighter and more vivid.. But on pc.. The one capture more color due to more light
Maybe you also have to adjust a bit exposure, or use hdr to make good photos
So apart for maybe little better detailed photos, the change is not a good idea
Things changes if you think to crop or print them in very big papers..
Return back to One after holidays? Lol no..
Get a good camera instead and use it for years and years..
erto90 said:
Compact camera is the way
I somewhat compared my friend s4 and my One, in full daylight scene
I can absolute say that the real touch to focus of One is clearly superior than s4 fake touch to focus ( like all samsung i owned,they focus in the touched point,but only aprox)
Also the suoeramoled screen can mask somehow your eyes and photos seems brighter and more vivid.. But on pc.. The one capture more color due to more light
Maybe you also have to adjust a bit exposure, or use hdr to make good photos
So apart for maybe little better detailed photos, the change is not a good idea
Things changes if you think to crop or print them in very big papers..
Return back to One after holidays? Lol no..
Get a good camera instead and use it for years and years..
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Click to collapse
Thx man...
I am gonne think about what you said......:good:
theres no better camera than your eyes mind and memories. stick with your htc
john291 said:
Thx man...
I am gonne think about what you said......:good:
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And dont forget that can acquire like 300% more light, making low loght picture really better.. Who said very sunny day?
My think is
High sunlight, s4 can be better for details( but just a little) but also one can make awesome photos, for sure they are ok for record a nice moment
The rest is a favor of One, low light conditions, better video, awesome audio and zoe
Hope i clarified something not driving your decision in a bad road
If you can really trade back, then why not? The S4 will give you better pictures. If buying a standalone camera is not an option, and you can return to the better phone (the One), then why wouldn't you use what would give you the best picture?
It's a straight forward answer, considering the S4 has a better camera, why ask for people's opinion?
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app
Id definitely buy a proper camera for your holiday and the One for maybe some nights out.
john291 said:
Hello there i am going on a holiday and i am thinking to trade my htc one for a galaxy s4?
This because of the great daylight pictures of the s4..
Is this a wise decision?
Because for the rest i love the htc one...
I can always trade it back after my holiday...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pick which one you want. They are both great phones. Don't base your opinion on others, seriously. No one here has "the answer" and no one here can tell you which one is right for you. You will get mostly people here that say One, and mostly people in the S4 section would say S4. Niether is a bad choice, that is for sure.
I tried both and the decision was the One hands down. My one formed a huge group of dead pixels and I had to exchange it last night, I spent some more time with the S4 while I was there and it solidified my decision in the One.
As far as pictures go, it is negligible at best. Lets be honest, they BOTH SUCK! . They are great ONLY in the mobile camera department, but the cheapest of point and shoot camera's would wipe the floor with both of them. Both of them have pro's and con's compared to each other in taking pictures and there will be some times 1 will take a better picture and other times the other will. That is about it.
And think about the maximum brightness of the s4 display in the sun.
You wont be happy with it, thats sure.
Why does another one of these topics have to be made? There is plenty of threads and even articles on the matter. Even photos up against each other.
Buy an used S4 on ebay or swappa in good condition and with all accesories and original box try both phones for a while and then sell back that smartphone you decided won't to keep, at the end you'll probably won't spend as much money as buying a compact camera.
if i want to take better pics i would buy an actual camera

So camera noise is normal. Can it be fixed or is it a hardware problem?

Isn't this the big Question?
Never have I been so fuzzy about choosing a phone. I have got hold of LG G2 (which got warm, produces antutu scores of louzy 20 000, has aggressive noise reduction on photos and a screen that did not survive a 20 cm droptest after 24 hours - now in repair) and currently a 48 hour old Z1 that produces a little less noise and does not get overly hot dueing captures after the last update, but eats away battery when capturing photos. These new devices. I was actually seriously considering requesting my old xperia S back!
After googling for 12 hours I could not find answers to the following question, so I sent the questions to Sony and are waiting for an answer:
1. Is it a sensor\hardware or a software issue that produces this amount of grain and noize, particulary in the 50% peripheral part of the picture?
I used the perfectly evely lit computer screen matrix to test before and after the update. There is an actual improvement. A macro shot before the update showed marked noize in the periphery. It still does after the latest update, but it is far from as bad! It is still worse than note 3 i suspect.
This makes me inclined to say that the lenses (under macro shots at least) has peripheral distortion. The best optics one always gets when having as few lenses as possible in the objective. I guess there are quite a few in z1 compared to the competition?
2. Some rumour say that different batches of phones are of different quality. Needless to say: this has been the case on some previous massproduced gadgeds, and different fabrics might have different production quality. I have read that low quality items often are sold slightly cheaper on Ebay. So; anyone got some more "evidence" to prove such a suspicion for Z1? If so: what batches should we try to avoid?
krimskram said:
I think this is the big question. Never have I been so fuzzy about choosing a phone. I have got hold of LG G2 (which got warm, produces antutu scores of louzy 20 000, has aggressive noise reduction on photos and a screen that did not survive a 20 cm droptest after 24 hours - now in repair) and currently a 48 hour old Z1 that produces a little less noize after the last update, but eats away battery when capturing photos and occasionally gets so warm that it shuts down the camera app. Crikey! These new devices. I was actually seriously considering requesting my old xperia S back!
After googling for 12 hours I could not find answers to the following, so I sent the questions to Sony and are waiting for an answer:
1. Is it a sensor\hardware or a software issue that produces this amount of grain and noize, particulary in the 50% peripheral part of the picture?
Without uploading any picture: the computer screen matrix is evenly lit and "perfect". A macro shot before the update showed marked noize in the periphery. It still does after the latest update, but it is far from as good. This makes me inclined to say that the lenses (under macro shots at least) has peripheral distortion.
2. Some rumour say that different batches of phones are of different quality. Needless to say: this has been the case on some previous massproduced gadgeds, and different fabrics might have different production quality. I have read that low quality items often are sold slightly cheaper on Ebay. So; anyone got some more "evidence" to prove such a suspicion for Z1? If so: what batches should we try to avoid?
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So I have used a g2 and the z1 quite a bit. The Z1 seems to have better software. I don't care about benchmarks as they all cheat anyway. But the better software definitely makes the z1 feel snappier. I haven't noticed any major difference in apps though. The lg launcher is slow.
The camera on the g2 is OK. It is decent all round and in good light can be stunning. It takes consistently decent shots. The camera on the z1 feels totally broken even with the latest software update. I suspect there must be a hardware fault. I have yet to take a single picture I am happy with in any light conditions and it is useless in low light.
Does anyone else think we have a hardware issue here with the Z1?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4
The Jones said:
So I have used a g2 and the z1 quite a bit. The Z1 seems to have better software. I don't care about benchmarks as they all cheat anyway. But the better software definitely makes the z1 feel snappier. I haven't noticed any major difference in apps though. The lg launcher is slow.
The camera on the g2 is OK. It is decent all round and in good light can be stunning. It takes consistently decent shots. The camera on the z1 feels totally broken even with the latest software update. I suspect there must be a hardware fault. I have yet to take a single picture I am happy with in any light conditions and it is useless in low light.
Does anyone else think we have a hardware issue here with the Z1?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4
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Click to collapse
Well not mine, I also used G2 and now z1. My z1 takes better photo in low light.
Maybe its your z1 only...
Sent from my C6903 using xda app-developers app
marc_ecko28 said:
Well not mine, I also used G2 and now z1. My z1 takes better photo in low light.
Maybe its your z1 only...
Sent from my C6903 using xda app-developers app
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Click to collapse
Maybe. I do wonder if I have a faulty unit. It is so poor and shots have no detail, a ton of noise, poor focus.
Sent from my LG-D802 using Tapatalk
That's a real issue of viewpoint. In and by itself the Z1 camera isn't "bad" and the 245 firmware update fixed many issues, such as the purple fringing and the oversharpening. It doesn't however, bring the camera into "amazing" land.
Sony's much-touted DxOMark scores aren't all that cut out. While video pulls the device in second place, after the Nokia 808 and before the iPhone 5s, if you look at images alone it's 6th place, after Nokia, iPhone, and the Samsung Galaxy S4. In terms of clarity, if you neglect autofocus, the iPhone 5, non-S, beats it as well.
That's still great for a phone camera, it's just sad that the much hyped November model, running on excellent hardware, gets beat by the June model from Samsung. If you do a lot of video in good light and shoot only manual then you have a decent camera phone. If you want to go out and replace your point and shoot with this thing on a field trip or vacation, there are six or seven older phones that beat the Z1 in picture quality.
Now, I believe that 99% of those issues are software issues. Technically Sony's approach is sound. The BIONZ processor is one of the best IP on the market in this bracket, the Exmor RS backlit sensor used in the Z1 is also used in the iPhone 5s and RX100, and a powerhouse. So that stuff is there. The mini G-lens has great spatial properties and is one of the best when it comes to luminance. What doesn't seem to work so well is all in the software portion of the equation.
I am not giving up on Sony. I have great hardware, I hope firm- and software will catch up.
Software is something they will change, even though Sony have a bad track record in Software you should have seen the Xperia S, I had it for a few days before I had a refund, software was unbearable with the random reboots. There getting better every time.
I was not very happy with camera until last week but I received latest update and I can't be happier
Sent from my C6903 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
I'm still amazed that these threads are popping up. It's like I'm using a completely different product from the rest of you, I swear.
Sure, low-light images can be a little noisy and grainy but guess what; so are ones from my point-and-shoot - there are very few stand-alone cameras in this bracket (around the £150 mark) that are entirely noise free in low light. The noise is far from "terrible" especially with the most recent firmware, and the up-side to it all is that I'm able to take picture in far lower lighting than I've even been able to on a phone before.
Here's the thing: Superior Auto, though now very much improved, still uses an ISO that borders on the insane. In low light, just put the phone on manual (I'd recommend 4:3) and snap away. Less noise and very detailed results. Indeed, the latest firmware means that both 20mp and 8mp manual shots are very respectable in low light.
I was walking around the National Railway Museum in York yesterday, taking pictures with both the QX10 and the Z1 - in many instances, the Z1 was sharper or, at least, just as sharp. And the lighting was poor.
I also did a side-by-side with my old C905 the other day. Until this point, I would've (still) put it up against any smartphone camera on the market (to me, it was Sony's last "great" camera phone). The Z1's 8mp shots were consistently better, with the exception of the Zenon Flash shot.
In response to the OP, however; the G-lens is highly convex. This results in some barreling in the corners of the image and means that the centre will always be ever-so-slightly sharper than the rest of the image (the effect is small, however). Nothing can be done about this - many point and shoot cameras and DSLR's are the same. I've had quite outstanding results from mine.
Sounds like your camera might be better than mine. Maybe what we should to is to compare shots where everyone takes a photo of the same item? I cannot think of anything easier an more available perfectly lit surface than a computer or notepad screen completley white on max luminance.
Anyway, even though my camera has some obvious distortion, it is nothing more or less than what is revealed in the numerous reviews. However - some morons have posted, what seems to be, og DSLR photos on the xperia blog an some other places claiming it to be produced with a Z1. I guess some people live to annoy other people.
Regarding the last awesome cameraphone from Sony I will give xperia S my vote. It did get a lot of pepper but it shined after several updates, and after I realized there was a prefabric screenprotector that were scratched, not my screen. Not using 2 screen protectors did help. The camera on X S excelled i macro shots and were great allround. For most users sony HOWEVER decided to kill the phone with the last update making it slow and less responsive. It lost the premium feel. An obvious sales trix. Sony replied to my question about the slow XS that "It is to be expected as your phone is too slow to effextuvley handle our new update". Well well.
Xperia S had a troublesome birth and death. For most of the time it shined. I hope this is what we are experiencing with the Z1.
krimskram said:
Sounds like your camera might be better than mine. Maybe what we should to is to compare shots where everyone takes a photo of the same item? I cannot think of anything easier an more available perfectly lit surface than a computer or notepad screen completley white on max luminance.
Anyway, even though my camera has some obvious distortion, it is nothing more or less than what is revealed in the numerous reviews. However - some morons have posted, what seems to be, og DSLR photos on the xperia blog an some other places claiming it to be produced with a Z1. I guess some people live to annoy other people.
Regarding the last awesome cameraphone from Sony I will give xperia S my vote. It did get a lot of pepper but it shined after several updates, and after I realized there was a prefabric screenprotector that were scratched, not my screen. Not using 2 screen protectors did help. The camera on X S excelled i macro shots and were great allround. For most users sony HOWEVER decided to kill the phone with the last update making it slow and less responsive. It lost the premium feel. An obvious sales trix. Sony replied to my question about the slow XS that "It is to be expected as your phone is too slow to effextuvley handle our new update". Well well.
Xperia S had a troublesome birth and death. For most of the time it shined. I hope this is what we are experiencing with the Z1.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had an Xperia S and, yes, it did take very detailed shots. It's white balance wasn't always the best, however, and it was fairly terrible in poor lighting. I high contrast shots, though, the C905 would give better results - I did quite a bit of testing between the two
For examples of my work with the Z1, please look here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/sets/72157635983420745/
jluster said:
That's a real issue of viewpoint. In and by itself the Z1 camera isn't "bad" and the 245 firmware update fixed many issues, such as the purple fringing and the oversharpening. It doesn't however, bring the camera into "amazing" land.
Sony's much-touted DxOMark scores aren't all that cut out. While video pulls the device in second place, after the Nokia 808 and before the iPhone 5s, if you look at images alone it's 6th place, after Nokia, iPhone, and the Samsung Galaxy S4. In terms of clarity, if you neglect autofocus, the iPhone 5, non-S, beats it as well.
That's still great for a phone camera, it's just sad that the much hyped November model, running on excellent hardware, gets beat by the June model from Samsung. If you do a lot of video in good light and shoot only manual then you have a decent camera phone. If you want to go out and replace your point and shoot with this thing on a field trip or vacation, there are six or seven older phones that beat the Z1 in picture quality.
Now, I believe that 99% of those issues are software issues. Technically Sony's approach is sound. The BIONZ processor is one of the best IP on the market in this bracket, the Exmor RS backlit sensor used in the Z1 is also used in the iPhone 5s and RX100, and a powerhouse. So that stuff is there. The mini G-lens has great spatial properties and is one of the best when it comes to luminance. What doesn't seem to work so well is all in the software portion of the equation.
I am not giving up on Sony. I have great hardware, I hope firm- and software will catch up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, that is really annoying thing with Sony, they obviously haven't learnt anything from Xperia Z launch, release substandard firmware in the final release to public that everyone uses to review, therefore gets reviews that are not as good as they could have been, which will loose them sales. If they want to reach their goal of Number 2 Android selling phone. They have to wake up, trawl through the main forums, and review sites and make sure the phone they release is top notch, and make tiny tweaks later on.
Really why can't Sony get their sensor to work as well as Apple? Surely they should be able to get the most out of their sensors than anyone else?
The only substandard part of the hardware that I have noticed moving to Sony is the accelerometer and GPS accuracy, the rest has been robust and fixed with firmware updates.
If you want to get the best from the camera, you must run in manual mode. Because the software makes some pretty bad decisions a lot of the time.
Timaustin2000 said:
I had an Xperia S and, yes, it did take very detailed shots. It's white balance wasn't always the best, however, and it was fairly terrible in poor lighting. I high contrast shots, though, the C905 would give better results - I did quite a bit of testing between the two
For examples of my work with the Z1, please look here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/sets/72157635983420745/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice shots! I've been scratching my head though with one of the shots you had, the one of the food / burger stall.
It seemed REALLY sharp and detailed so I looked in the exif data and saw it was ISO 64 / 100! Shutter speed was just a mere 1/8s so I'm wondering how did that happen with that particular low-light scenario?
The other pictures I can relate to
Here are a couple shots I took (though not as good as yours I am thinking)
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B6YHwWcrqzNhbEtLUGFKNmk1SVU&usp=sharing
All taken in Manual Mode too (plant / garden shots are taken in 153 firmware)
bloodfire1004 said:
Nice shots! I've been scratching my head though with one of the shots you had, the one of the food / burger stall.
It seemed REALLY sharp and detailed so I looked in the exif data and saw it was ISO 64 / 100! Shutter speed was just a mere 1/8s so I'm wondering how did that happen with that particular low-light scenario?
The other pictures I can relate to
Here are a couple shots I took (though not as good as yours I am thinking)
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B6YHwWcrqzNhbEtLUGFKNmk1SVU&usp=sharing
All taken in Manual Mode too (plant / garden shots are taken in 153 firmware)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The burger stall image was actually taken with Superior Auto (I know!). It decided to throw the phone into "Spotlight" shooting mode and that was the result. A very good result.
By the way, I really like your Garden party image. Well exposed, nicely detailed.
I completely agree with the comments, above, about Sony missing a trick by releasing hardware with incomplete software. There was a very distinct feeling of the camera firmware being unfinished on release. It is now firing on all cylinders but the review damage has been done.
You can see the difference when you look at GSM Arena's initial review of the phone and their following camera comparisons, post update. One is "disappointed", the others are full of praise.
And Sony have no-one to blame but themselves, for that.
Timaustin2000 said:
The burger stall image was actually taken with Superior Auto (I know!). It decided to throw the phone into "Spotlight" shooting mode and that was the result. A very good result.
By the way, I really like your Garden party image. Well exposed, nicely detailed.
I completely agree with the comments, above, about Sony missing a trick by releasing hardware with incomplete software. There was a very distinct feeling of the camera firmware being unfinished on release. It is now firing on all cylinders but the review damage has been done.
You can see the difference when you look at GSM Arena's initial review of the phone and their following camera comparisons, post update. One is "disappointed", the others are full of praise.
And Sony have no-one to blame but themselves, for that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, basically everyone so far think it is a software issue.
I took some afternoon shots driving in 80 . The camera performs - now- without noise and got a crisp picture at what must be a really low shutterspeed. WTF?!
A situation Im never likøey to ever use the camera in again. Sigh, at drive by shooting it excels.
At indoor shots, it is agamble. Even with thenew firmware. It i proves markedly by manual exposure.
A total conclusion: it would be interrestimg having raw file possibilties. The camera is markedly better after the firmware update, and having the features in the camera button I am very pleased, however, where Im likley to use the camera most , indoors, it really needs an overhaul. I dont aleays have the time to enter manual mode! It is annoying that it defaults to full auto. Let me diecide!
Any other opinions
krimskram said:
So, basically everyone so far think it is a software issue.
I took some afternoon shots driving in 80 . The camera performs - now- without noise and got a crisp picture at what must be a really low shutterspeed. WTF?!
A situation Im never likøey to ever use the camera in again. Sigh, at drive by shooting it excels.
At indoor shots, it is agamble. Even with thenew firmware. It i proves markedly by manual exposure.
A total conclusion: it would be interrestimg having raw file possibilties. The camera is markedly better after the firmware update, and having the features in the camera button I am very pleased, however, where Im likley to use the camera most , indoors, it really needs an overhaul. I dont aleays have the time to enter manual mode! It is annoying that it defaults to full auto. Let me diecide!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, any other opinions?
krimskram said:
So, any other opinions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One: you can set your camera to launch in Manual from the launcher dock without having to re-set it. Just add a "shortcut" to your homescreen, select camera and select manual. Pop that in the docked section at the bottom of the screen and you'll always have quick access to it.
Just a shame they don't give you the option to launch camera in manual by long-pressing the camera button.
Oh, and to the fella above who says that there are "6 other models" from earlier in the year that will beat the XZ1 in good light? With respect, I'm going to disagree: There's no way that an S4, One or G2 can beat the Z1 in good light - and I'm not sure I could point to any other Android that does. (note: the iPhone 5 isn't as good but the 5s comes darned close,... in good light. Thought it over-saturates light a *****).
The S4 over-saturates, the G2 has even worse post-processing than Sony (it's artifact central on a G2 - FAR too much artificial sharpening) and the One? Well, it's the One, isn't it? Yuck. And the Z1 has better detail and dynamic range than all of the above in good light - it has been remarked on numerous times in a good many reviews.
The only place it really falls down is exposure - sometimes it blows out light objects if left to it's own devices. But you have an exposure toggle to fix that so problem solved.
In all honesty, I don't think I've ever been as happy with a phone camera. In any light.

Camera in medium/low light

With it looking like the nexus 6 will perhaps be a bigger moto x, can anyone tell me what the camera is in medium light?
My note 3 takes really poor pictures and lags taking shots indoors unless in bright sunlight. Most of the time I get a blurr where my son has moved before its taken the shot.
I'm considering ditching samsung as the note 4 sounds to be just the same.
Any info much appreciated
With normal shots it gets grainy in places with shadows in any lighting situation. In low light situation it is very grainy, in fact the Moto G 2014 take less grainy pictures in low light. This is also software things related to post processing technology, not so much the hardware.
In order to get great pictures with this phone and prevent grains, I use HDR mode, which will significantly improve the details in the shadows and also significantly reduce grains.
Unfortunately the camera is still not good, particularly in low light situations. My old S4 and even an iPhone 5S have way better cameras...
I've been disappointed in the camera and feel like it's performing worse than my old phone (Moto X 2013). I've tried different settings without success, but I haven't tried a different app. What I've read says it uses the same sensor as the G3, which does quite well with pictures, so I'm guessing it's either the optics or software. If it's the latter, then it could improve.
Sent from my XT1096 using XDA Premium HD app
I wish they would have included OIS, if I rest the phone on something and hold it completely still I can get pretty decent shots
After repeated attempts, including stabilizing with a rail, this was the best picture I could get in an outdoor setting in overcast daylight. The others were blurrier and noisier. This one is still pretty bad (zoom in to see how bad). Hopefully they'll update the camera software and improve things.
Sent from my XT1096 using XDA Premium HD app
I don't have the phone, I should not comment, but I have seen at least 100 samples from different sources, anyone can if wants, and to my eyes the camera might be slightly better in capturing details under bright light, but it is significantly worse in low light when compared with previous generation's X. Yes, it's normal, as the previous OMV sensor was meant to capture more light, but this Sony one doesn't, but that can't be a reason to not match G3's or S4's IQ while they all have the same sensor! Okay, not same IQ, but at least this sensor should give those phones some minimum competition right? But nah, it doesn't! I literally have no idea what and how Motorola messed up with the sensor! Also notice that the camera is still inconsistent. One shot looks pretty fine, and the other looks awful! Exposure too is all over the place!
In simple words, in 2014, this picture quality is not acceptable. And I am extremely sad and disappointed with that.
Lipito said:
Unfortunately the camera is still not good, particularly in low light situations. My old S4 and even an iPhone 5S have way better cameras...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree. Motorola still hasn't "caught up" to the competition when it comes to cameras. The S4 takes far better pictures. If MOTOROLA is producing the Nexus 6 then that also gives me pause, despite the beefy specs.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using XDA Free mobile app

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