Camera focus and picture taking speed in low light? - Xperia Z3 Compact Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I was at a birthday party at a friend's house tonight and played with an iPhone 6. I was amazed at how shockingly fast and sharp the photos were in low light (night time, couple of lamps on, no flash), taking pics of the kids running around playing with each other. There was noise, of course, but the pics were taken instantly as I touched the shutter button and they came out sharp.
By comparison, my OG Moto X took an eternity to focus and take the shot, and most of them came out either blurry or very grainy.
So how does the Z3C perform in this situation? How long does it take to focus and take the shot, especially in low light with moving subjects? Anyone here have direct comparison experience with iPhone 6?
Thanks!

pchoi94 said:
I was at a birthday party at a friend's house tonight and played with an iPhone 6. I was amazed at how shockingly fast and sharp the photos were in low light (night time, couple of lamps on, no flash), taking pics of the kids running around playing with each other. There was noise, of course, but the pics were taken instantly as I touched the shutter button and they came out sharp.
By comparison, my OG Moto X took an eternity to focus and take the shot, and most of them came out either blurry or very grainy.
So how does the Z3C perform in this situation? How long does it take to focus and take the shot, especially in low light with moving subjects? Anyone here have direct comparison experience with iPhone 6?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I really also need this informatin

feels pretty slow to me. a 1-2 seconds depending on low light or pitch black. can't actually see anything in the latter scenario though.
my real world usage with this thing has left me very unimpressed with low light performance. i can't imagine it being even worse when BL unlocked

Take a look here. I don't have a Iphone 6, but I do have an GS5. After having the GS5, I feel that my Z3C camera is underwhelming. Not as sharp, fast, or vivid as that GS5's camera. I do like that the Z3C is able to capture reasonable night shots where as other phones can't.

I was playing around in the settings last but indoors. I changed the auto focus to "single" rather than tap. It seemed to pick out the subject more consistently. I also reduced to 8mp 4:3. Happier than I was in the weekend. Will play around more on Saturday. iPhone 6 does take great photo's, but it's another £150 on top.

Related

Awful photo quality

Hello.Does all the kaisers shoot so bad or mine have problems ? Look at the photo.
Is it software or hardware problem ?
Clean and polish the window on the back cover, or just pry it off. Or, remove the back cover when taking a photo.
and anyways if you want good pictures then use a professional camera no phone is meant to take really high quality pictures (except for the sonyericcson cybershots) because they aren't built around the camera but around functionality
These photos are without the back panel.
From short distance - no problems
From long distance - bad quality
From longer distance - worse quality
It's night here,and i can't shoot now.
Edit: I have separate camera,but my old Nokia 6630 shoots better than the Kaiser.
Edit2 : Look at the photos shot by the camera : here
Ever heard about amount of light and its relationship to exposure time? Your monitor is giving a lot more light than the ambient, so shorter exposure time and thus less motion blur. Wait until tomorrow, and shoot something in daylight.
kilrah said:
Ever heard about amount of light and its relationship to exposure time? Your monitor is giving a lot more light than the ambient, so shorter exposure time and thus less motion blur. Wait until tomorrow, and shoot something in daylight.
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Click to collapse
Look at these photos,which I shot a few days earlier.
Short distance photo:
Long distance photo:
kilrah said:
Ever heard about amount of light and its relationship to exposure time? Your monitor is giving a lot more light than the ambient, so shorter exposure time and thus less motion blur.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought it was motion blur as well until I read about Chromatic Aberration and realised that even when I hold the TyTN II perfectly still, these problems are still present. Certainly cleaning the lense or removing the battery cover helps but it is really indicative of a design issue with the phone. The top left of the first photo shows some of this.

HTC One Camera Quality

Hi,
I am considering buying HTC One but there is just one thing that makes me rethink my decision and that is the 4MP Camera. It's a stunning device but I am a bit skeptical considering the low megapixel count of 4 in HTC One. People who have already got the phone and also people who have researched on the imaging quality of "The One", please shed some light on the camera bit.
I know it is good for low light conditions but are the daylight photos good enough if not the best that GS4/ iPhone 5/ HTC One have to offer.
Thanks a lot!
Priyankac said:
Hi,
I am considering buying HTC One but there is just one thing that makes me rethink my decision and that is the 4MP Camera. It's a stunning device but I am a bit skeptical considering the low megapixel count of 4 in HTC One. People who have already got the phone and also people who have researched on the imaging quality of "The One", please shed some light on the camera bit.
I know it is good for low light conditions but are the daylight photos good enough if not the best that GS4/ iPhone 5/ HTC One have to offer.
Thanks a lot!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Daylight images are good, but maybe not as "good" as the GS4 purely cos of less details from the lower MP sensor. HTC is probably one update away to perfecting their metering and auto-exposure, but it is still very good and don't forget really really fast
Megapixels are not a measure of image quality. Never has been, never will be. Higher MP just means bigger prints.
The size of the sensor determines image quality. The One camera takes better photos than my 8MP Nexus 4.
PcFish said:
Megapixels are not a measure of image quality. Never has been, never will be. Higher MP just means bigger prints.
The size of the sensor determines image quality. The One camera takes better photos than my 8MP Nexus 4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's cos the Nexus 4 had a pretty meh sensor I'd say stock S4 camera app is about as good as modified HoX camera For low light, nothing really beats the One though
PcFish said:
Megapixels are not a measure of image quality. Never has been, never will be. Higher MP just means bigger prints.
The size of the sensor determines image quality. The One camera takes better photos than my 8MP Nexus 4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, there's been an arms race, so to speak, with manufacturers trying to compete with one another over buzz words, "megapixels" being one of these. The Anandtech HTC One review by Brian Klug covers in excruciating detail the tradeoffs HTC made with the camera hardware vs. marketability
Priyankac said:
Hi,
I am considering buying HTC One but there is just one thing that makes me rethink my decision and that is the 4MP Camera. It's a stunning device but I am a bit skeptical considering the low megapixel count of 4 in HTC One. People who have already got the phone and also people who have researched on the imaging quality of "The One", please shed some light on the camera bit.
I know it is good for low light conditions but are the daylight photos good enough if not the best that GS4/ iPhone 5/ HTC One have to offer.
Thanks a lot!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To be fair and honest, I find the shutter speed to take long sometimes in natural and incandescent lighting indoors. I could be sitting at the dinner table and be underneath our ceiling fixture and the picture would be a little out of focus or take too long when the lighting is good. I'm assuming this can be fixed with software tweaks. It's almost as if the sensor takes in too much light sometimes, as I find myself having to turn on the flash manually in some indoor shots.
The positive side, the PHONE takes great pictures in outdoor lighting and even indoor with the right lighting or flash. The colors come out more natural and detailed than my wife's S3. Compared to my old Inspire, the One is 100x better.
Sent from my HTC One using xda premium
I've just been reading a thread on the S4 forum about the lag on the S4 camera. It can take superb landscape pictures in bright light but it struggles with moving images.
The One on the other hand is extremely fast which translates into, for the most part, images with no blurring. And of course low light pictures are far superior which is what everyone raves about.
It really depends what you want from a camera. I, like you, was worried that 4mp would be too much of a downgrade. I then started to think how I actually used my camera. I predominantly take pictures of my family and friends, kids playing in the park etc. I rarely ever view the pictures I've taken on a device that has a better resolution than 1080p and don't crop images often.
A 4mp camera is far higher resolution than 1080p.
As soon as I started snapping my kids, often indoors at dinner times with only fluorescent lighting, I was happy I plumped for the One. It really is astounding how fast it is, and the pictures look lovely on the phones 1080p display.
I would much rather have lower MP. pictures I can use than constantly having to delete blurry higher MP pictures.
Best thing to do? Check out both forums. They are a far more accurate representation of performance than reviews.
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2
Currykiev said:
I've just been reading a thread on the S4 forum about the lag on the S4 camera. It can take superb landscape pictures in bright light but it struggles with moving images.
The One on the other hand is extremely fast which translates into, for the most part, images with no blurring. And of course low light pictures are far superior which is what everyone raves about.
It really depends what you want from a camera. I, like you, was worried that 4mp would be too much of a downgrade. I then started to think how I actually used my camera. I predominantly take pictures of my family and friends, kids playing in the park etc. I rarely ever view the pictures I've taken on a device that has a better resolution than 1080p and don't crop images often.
A 4mp camera is far higher resolution than 1080p.
As soon as I started snapping my kids, often indoors at dinner times with only fluorescent lighting, I was happy I plumped for the One. It really is astounding how fast it is, and the pictures look lovely on the phones 1080p display.
I would much rather have lower MP. pictures I can use than constantly having to delete blurry higher MP pictures.
Best thing to do? Check out both forums. They are a far more accurate representation of performance than reviews.
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2
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Click to collapse
Thanks for your reply
Does cropping render the quality very low?
Something to add, is that if you take low light video (night clubs, bars, dimly lit rooms etc) the video framerate will fluctuate between 17 and 30fps, causing it to look choppy. That is the only thing I hate about the One at the moment. Choppy video in low light. The galaxy s4 (and my old s3) do not have this issue
Galactus said:
Something to add, is that if you take low light video (night clubs, bars, dimly lit rooms etc) the video framerate will fluctuate between 17 and 30fps, causing it to look choppy. That is the only thing I hate about the One at the moment. Choppy video in low light. The galaxy s4 (and my old s3) do not have this issue
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Click to collapse
It's just different companies prioritizing different things. The One tries to get in enough light regardless of what it has to do, and that means fluctuating frame rates in low light video. The S3, S4 and Lumia do different things in where they force 30FPS, but in return you get much less light in, making the video darker. But the phone is still plenty new, and we can all hope that HTC would give us an option for what we want, shutter speed priority mode please
ArmedandDangerous said:
It's just different companies prioritizing different things. The One tries to get in enough light regardless of what it has to do, and that means fluctuating frame rates in low light video. The S3, S4 and Lumia do different things in where they force 30FPS, but in return you get much less light in, making the video darker. But the phone is still plenty new, and we can all hope that HTC would give us an option for what we want, shutter speed priority mode please
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Click to collapse
Yeah, my issue is that they prioritized something that I'm not used to lol but yeah, hopefully that issue can be fixed
Speaking of the software, if they're gonna include Zoe and all that, I wish they'd provide a Highlight studio of sorts where you can choose the transitions/music/frames etc on the phone.
Currykiev said:
I've just been reading a thread on the S4 forum about the lag on the S4 camera. It can take superb landscape pictures in bright light but it struggles with moving images.
The One on the other hand is extremely fast which translates into, for the most part, images with no blurring. And of course low light pictures are far superior which is what everyone raves about.
It really depends what you want from a camera. I, like you, was worried that 4mp would be too much of a downgrade. I then started to think how I actually used my camera. I predominantly take pictures of my family and friends, kids playing in the park etc. I rarely ever view the pictures I've taken on a device that has a better resolution than 1080p and don't crop images often.
A 4mp camera is far higher resolution than 1080p.
As soon as I started snapping my kids, often indoors at dinner times with only fluorescent lighting, I was happy I plumped for the One. It really is astounding how fast it is, and the pictures look lovely on the phones 1080p display.
I would much rather have lower MP. pictures I can use than constantly having to delete blurry higher MP pictures.
Best thing to do? Check out both forums. They are a far more accurate representation of performance than reviews.
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot for your reply.
Currently I have Galaxy S4 and I am thinking of returning it and going for HTC One. The camera is the only thing holding me back. I am super confused.
Could you please direct me to the two forums you have mentioned, being new I am unable to find them.
Thanks for the help.
Is it really 4 Mega pixels??
I thought it was 4 Ultra Pixels??
Surely that different?
"Ultra Pixel" is a marketing name for this sensor, it's still a 4MP device with bigger pixels to get more light and reach the f2.0 limit. Not more only bigger.
m.r.davies said:
Is it really 4 Mega pixels??
I thought it was 4 Ultra Pixels??
Surely that different?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's 4 Megapixel in resolution, but the sensor has more than 4Megapixels. They extra pixels are used solely to capture light, and that's why it has very good low light capabilities
Here's the technical explanation of this ST Microelectronics CMOS Sensor:
The Camera
The HTC One bucks the trend. Based on the 1/3″ form factor of a camera module and today’s state-of-the-art 1.1 µm pixels, all the latest competitive phones sport 13 Mp resolution. HTC has gone with a larger 2.0 µm pixel (confirmed) and a 4 MP sensor. They are pitching the low light sensitivity as a key feature. The device is a back-illuminated sensor fabricated by STMicroelectronics with die marks 58698A. This is the first BI sensor we have seen from ST.The camera uses the IDG-2021 gyroscope by Invensense for motion stabilization. It is a dual-axis gyro with high resolution ADCs designed specifically for optical image stabilization.The secondary sensor is a 2 Mp, 1.4 µm sensor by OmniVision with die marks OV2A9BA. It is a nice secondary sensor that we have seen before in other phones.
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The moving video is fantastic with the optical gyro.always smooth videos.
And takes great night shots with longer exposure cause it's easy to get a steady photo.
Why does mine say pn071?
Sent from my HTC_PN071 using XDA Premium HD app
Personally I love the 4MP cam in the One. I came from a long line of iPhones and although they're not perfect, I realized that the most I was going to be doing was hold these images for viewing on my computer, sharing at times. Between the 13MP GS4 and the One I thought it was an easy decision to get the One. I just don't see a need for 13MP size picture files laying around in my computer taking up space.
Now I'm just a normal consumer from a photog perspective. I have a graphic arts background, but I rarely perform treatments or heavy manipulation on my own photos. Take some shots with the One demo at your local store. You'll be amazed at the clarity, especially when zoomed in.
So, i used this device for over a month and so far the camera works great to me, i compared it to other phones i got in touch like iPhone 4s, Note 2 and the S3, video recording is just great on HTC One, it just works better in my opinion, great clarity, good autofocus.
As for photos, it's great, all the photos on 100% zoom look bad, but the HTC One photos look modest at 100% zoom so i don't really think camera is a deal-breaker, it's a great camera the thing is HTC opted for a more revolutionary camera and so far i think they've done a pretty good job.

slow camera in low light situations

I had an iphone 5 for about a year, got tired of it, and sold it. Got htc one and I am disappointed with the htc one camera performance. It takes a long time for it to focus and snap a picture in low light conditions. It probably takes 2-3 times longer to capture a shot in low light compared to the iPhone. Subjects in the picture get exposed to a flash for about a 1 or 2 seconds before the picture is actually taken. Is this just my phone, or the camera sucks in general?

[Q] Pixelated photos

I have my phone taking pictures at the highest resolution, but if the object or person I'm shooting is more than a few feet away, the photo is pixelated when blown up to fill my screen. This is especially problematic when I'm taking pictures with the flash in a darker room.
Is there a setting on my camera that will ensure my pictures don't end up pixelated. My friend has a Canon camera that's at least six years old, and that old school gadget can take photos which can be blown up many times its size and it still doesn't look pixelated.
Any advice?
Stockmoose16 said:
I have my phone taking pictures at the highest resolution, but if the object or person I'm shooting is more than a few feet away, the photo is pixelated when blown up to fill my screen. This is especially problematic when I'm taking pictures with the flash in a darker room.
Is there a setting on my camera that will ensure my pictures don't end up pixelated. My friend has a Canon camera that's at least six years old, and that old school gadget can take photos which can be blown up many times its size and it still doesn't look pixelated.
Any advice?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Every phone camera has the same problem, besides that Motorola software for image processing and the lack of OIS could be a game changer in some situations.
I actually have mad pretty decent pics with this camera, but don't expect much on low light conditions.
Guess I'm not clear on why this happens, even in medium light. When I'm trying to take a group shot of my friends, who may be ten to fifteen feet away, the pictures come out pixelated. If I'm at full resolution, why wouldn't it be photo quality?

Photo quality

Say "cheese", then rate this thread to express how photos taken with the LG V20 come out. A higher rating indicates that photos offer rich color (without over-saturating), sharp detail (with all subjects in-focus), and appropriate exposure (with even lighting).
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!
With good lighting, the camera takes pictures comparable to the note 7. But the note 7 starts faster and focuses faster.
koppee1 said:
With good lighting, the camera takes pictures comparable to the note 7. But the note 7 starts faster and focuses faster.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah I had the note 7 myself and completely agree what you said, except for the pic quality, I still found that the pics were better on the S7 edge/note 7 compared to the V20 I had , I loved my blue coral Note 7, but traded it in and got the V20 and realized I was wanting the camera opening quickness, better pics, led,AOD, wireless charging, and waterproofing(I kayak a lot), so I just returned my V20 for the sliver S7 Edge, then the next day I got the 100.00 bill credit for going back to Samsung, since I had the Note 7:good:
Yeah, I miss the note 7 camera (and stylus). With the note 7, I could actually start the camera and take a very quick shot through heavily tinted windows and it comes focused and great. I can't seem to do that with the v20..
Over all the camera is good.. But it falls behind over the Samsung ones. I'll keep this though and wait for the note 8...
Wonder how the Mate 9 camera will compare.
My wife's relatives were in town. For the first time, my wife let me take pics with my device. She didn't really like the quality on the Note 4, but she did trust the LG V20. Pics came out great. YMMV of course... lighting, conditions, settings. But Auto Mode does a pretty good job.
What would everyone recommend for the HDR Settings? Auto, On, or Off?
I've tried a bit of testing... The only time manual was better for me was when I lowered the iso and took a longer shutter speed to lessen grain. But auto does a good job.
What I don't like is when you zoom in. Then everything seems like a water color painting. Although my wife's iPhone 6 does the same when you zoom in. I'm not sure.. But I don't think the note 7 did that....
Can you post sample photos?
Took this with the v20 wide angle camera and have to say I am quite impressed. Shot the phone with manual mode and HDR on.
Here are a few photos I've taken with the regular lens, HDR, and 4:3 16MP.
Both photos have a decent amount of light in them, but I thought they turned out pretty well.
P. S. Sorry for them being sideways
Thanks
Capable of taking some good photos, but this is the most inconsistent phone i've ever owned. Photos are grainy when they have no reason to be (more than sufficient lighting). Shutter speed drops to 1/9 most of the time, causing huge blurry messes.
They need to send an update out to fix this, zero reason this sensor/lense should have these issues. My g5 takes much better photos in nearly all situations
haruyukisama said:
Took this with the v20 wide angle camera and have to say I am quite impressed. Shot the phone with manual mode and HDR on.
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Click to collapse
HDR mode is not available when using manual controls.
do all photos look like an oil painting when you even slightly zoom in or is it just me?? would this even be possible to fix with a software update in the future?
ronattack said:
do all photos look like an oil painting when you even slightly zoom in or is it just me?? would this even be possible to fix with a software update in the future?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I noticed this too..But then I went to a Samsung store and tested the s7..and it was similar. I don't remember that hastening to my note 7 though...unless I'm mistaken
I think the camera is terrible on the V20. Its okay in bright light, but even indoor lighting it struggles with. Everytime I try to grab a photo of my son I regret buying this phone.
Very disappointed in the camera
I took advantage of the T-Mobile S6 trade in while I really liked my camera on the S6 I was ready for an improvement and it was a toss up between the s7 or the v20 for a free trade in I couldn't pass it up. Problem is since I gave my S6 away I cant replace my V20 with the S7 or anything else Im stuck with it I can return it within the 15 days but that wouldn't help my situation I believe since I got the free bill credit trade in from the S6.
Apparently I made the wrong decision based upon the camera it's terrible! I've tried every setting manual or auto every lighting condition and I can confirm like the others here grainy or blurry photos. Only great lighting will yield decent photos but not one photo so far is even better than my S6 sadly. Is this maybe cause its the t mobile variant? Other reviews online and photos I've seen I Was impressed.
This camera went backwards for me. Everything else about the phone I really like however this camera which is my #1 priority is ****. If I zoom in I see the water painting look. If I use the front camera all pics look like a water painting without even zooming in. One thing I did notice is the wide angle lens the color accuracy looks better than the regular lens in auto and it's less grainy WTF! I've tried 4:3 and 16:9 does not make a difference. pissed about this. T-Mobile said there surprised by this but reading here obviously I'm not the only one seeing this. T mobile said they would look at it and if they see what I'm saying they could replace the phone with another V20 but what will that do? is this maybe a t mobile specific issue? will a software update fix this?
Yes low.light pictures suck
Has anyone tried turning off HDR? I've been reading the forums on reddit and by turning off HDR, the quality of the photos, according to the users, increased tenfold. So, that's definitely something to try.

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