Database Develop

Future new Camera app from google (Supporting RAW?)

Well, i found this information VERY interesting:
http://www.androidauthority.com/new-android-camera-api-317878/
Google is working on a new camera API that will bring new features and possibly improved image quality to Android devices, including the Nexus line.
Many reviewers have panned the camera experience on the Nexus 5 as inconsistent and mediocre, with some going as far as to call the product unfinished. Google acknowledged the problems and said that a software update could alleviate some of them. Indeed, code discovered in the publicly available Android source code suggests that a new Camera API is in the works that could improve image quality and give access to new features.
Android developer Josh Brown first spotted the code, and Ron Amadeo of Ars Technica broke the news. According to the dates on the commits in the code repository, the API was in the works for about 10 months, but Google didn’t finish it in time for the KitKat release, which shipped with the old API.
Here’s a summary of what may be coming to the Android camera experience once the new API is implemented:
Support for Camera RAW format – RAW is a format that preserves most of the information captured by the camera sensor, allowing for more in-depth editing, either on the device (e.g. with Snapseed) or on a PC with software like Photoshop. JPEG and other similar formats, in contrast, are compressed for smaller size, and a lot of the original info is lost in the process.
Face detection – the API will allow camera apps to detect the faces of people in the frame, and assign each face an ID for manipulation purposes. This is a feature that many Android manufacturers have implemented on their own, but the new API will make it available in stock Android.
Burst mode – another feature present on popular devices from Samsung, HTC, and others is burst mode – keeping the shutter button pressed will take a series of shots in quick succession. This feature will go very well with the new photo enhancement capabilities of Google Plus.
Support for removable cameras – possibly something similar to Sony’s QX10 and QX100 Wi-Fi cameras.
General “improved capabilities” and “fine grain control” that may (we hope) bring improvements to image quality.
It seems that the new Camera API was in an advanced stage of development when Google decided to cut it out of KitKat. A last moment change of plans could explain why the Nexus 5’s camera feels a bit unfinished. When the new API lands, it will be backwards compatible, but for now we can only guess when we will see the update.
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AS fas as I know, to support RAW mode not only the app, but also the camera driver should support RAW mode... Do you think possible to have RAW in our Nexus? It would be awesome!

Yes RAW would be a fantastic feature, but I'll be happy just to see a focus enhancement and a better interface, more user friendly.

I don't care about raw on phone, but this seems to confirm that a software solution may be coming.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

I guess we have to wait for the nexus 7 launch..... I highly doubt a completely revamped camera is coming out any time soon especially after the kit Kat launch.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app

Isn't raw a huge file size? Correct me if I'm wrong.

davwman said:
Isn't raw a huge file size? Correct me if I'm wrong.
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Yeah it is. I highly doubt I would go and edit raw files with paint shop pro coming from my N5.

Please Read Comment 675
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2471900&page=68
Thanks

I could be mistaken but I think Google finally separated the Gallery from the Camera apk in Kit-Kat. This might imply Google is planning on updating the camera app in the Play Store. I really hope they do something soon because the camera app is pretty terrible.

I'll start giving a rat's ass about RAW once they fix the shutter lag...

I agree with most of you. I just want shutter and focus lag out of the way, then we can talk save formats. :good:

i can see it now
"why are all my photos so full of noise when i shoot in raw?"
Bad, bad idea on a phone.
---------- Post added at 12:03 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:01 AM ----------
Dragooon123 said:
I'll start giving a rat's ass about RAW once they fix the shutter lag...
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If you let the phone get an exposure and focus lock you will see the photo is taken instantly, there is no shutter lag.

MrBelter said:
If you let the phone get an exposure and focus lock you will see the photo is taken instantly, there is no shutter lag.
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True - but for the end user, the result is the same - miss the shot while the phone gets the exposure lock and focus lock, followed by instant shutter.
In bright daylight, it should not take that long to get exposure/focus lock/etc. Camera should be able to determine the subject, focus on it, lock exposure right after the user starts the camera app and points at the subject, and grab the picture as soon as the user clicks the shutter button.
Almost all cameras on other smartphones can do this, so no reason why N5 can't do this

Its beyond idiotic to be adding features to a camera app that sucks at the simple task of taking a photo. Adding raw support should come WAY after the camera app can focus quickly, correctly expose an image and has a usable simple interface. After that is mastered, then simple basic features should be added like burst mode and slo mo video. Only then should RAW support be even thought about. What good is RAW support when the camera can't correctly focus and expose images and the interface is wonky and annoying to use and the preview image is an interpolated mess?

Jishnu Sur™ said:
Please Read Comment 675
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2471900&page=68
Thanks
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Excellent for G2, but what for N5? Are you working on it? (both 100% JPG Quality and 60fps woul be extellent!)

Yakandu said:
Excellent for G2, but what for N5? Are you working on it? (both 100% JPG Quality and 60fps woul be extellent!)
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100% jpg is billions milles away from raw floating point format like *.hdr, *. exr...
And for those that claim that raw is useless, then they must simply don't catch what's raw offers.

bleuxeon said:
100% jpg is billions milles away from raw floating point format like *.hdr, *. exr...
And for those that claim that raw is useless, then they must simply don't catch what's raw offers.
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Click to collapse
I totally agree

Jishnu Sur™ said:
Please Read Comment 675
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2471900&page=68
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for your work.. but please add an advice, for flashaholic like me, to read thread title.. cause flashing a G2 camera app does bootloop on a N5...
how noob I feel now...

I for one am extremely happy about the idea of RAW shooting. Would love to see it on the Nexus 5.
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

bleuxeon said:
100% jpg is billions milles away from raw floating point format like *.hdr, *. exr...
And for those that claim that raw is useless, then they must simply don't catch what's raw offers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Considering that XDA is about 90% noobs asking stupid questions, RAW wont be a big deal to most people out there

walie said:
...XDA is about 90% noobs asking stupid questions...
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Click to collapse
[Citation Needed]

[Q] Hope for the Nexus 6 Camera?

Alot of the reviews says, nexus 6 camera experience has been a "hit or miss" from taking a good pic even with HDR on. Would it help to install a new camera app and do some tweakings over it, or better yet use an xposed module (if any) to fix the issue?

I'm a photographer. Here's the thing.
Camera reviews on cell phones are reviewed by gadget freaks, not photographers. They're interested in specs, they think megapixels are important, they don't even mention the important stuff.
Android L is the first OS to have a decent camera api. This will allow the nexus camera - which is only inherently different from the note 4 camera in terms of software - to vastly outperform anything on the market given a good camera app.
This mythical camera app should take advantage of a few things - full manual control. Exposure compensation and AE/AF lock. Auto bracketing. Proper metering, with selections for spot through to matrix. FPS control. Video control with framerate and resolution options, and the ability to manually control or lock exposure and focus. And finally, take advantage of L's .dng output, so we can work on this in lightroom after we're done. I don't trust my $2000 camera to spit out a nice jpg processed the way I want it, I shoot raw, I sure as hell don't trust a phone.
The nexus 6 looks to have some nice hardware. Let the software take advantage of it and you'll be happy.

tripler6 said:
I'm a photographer. Here's the thing.
Camera reviews on cell phones are reviewed by gadget freaks, not photographers. They're interested in specs, they think megapixels are important, they don't even mention the important stuff.
Android L is the first OS to have a decent camera api. This will allow the nexus camera - which is only inherently different from the note 4 camera in terms of software - to vastly outperform anything on the market given a good camera app.
This mythical camera app should take advantage of a few things - full manual control. Exposure compensation and AE/AF lock. Auto bracketing. Proper metering, with selections for spot through to matrix. FPS control. Video control with framerate and resolution options, and the ability to manually control or lock exposure and focus. And finally, take advantage of L's .dng output, so we can work on this in lightroom after we're done. I don't trust my $2000 camera to spit out a nice jpg processed the way I want it, I shoot raw, I sure as hell don't trust a phone.
The nexus 6 looks to have some nice hardware. Let the software take advantage of it and you'll be happy.
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Good post. My girlfriend is a photographer but her biggest complaints were:
- The lens should've been bigger (1.5/3 at least - according to her the sheer size of this phone would have allowed for a much bigger lens, even 1.2/3).
- The dual LED flashes would likely overexpose the images due to their placement on the back of the phone. Sure, aesthetically it can look good (depending on your preference) but logically it will risk adding too much exposure to photos. The Note 4, 6+, top Nokia phones with large lenses all have the flashes further away from the lens for example (for good reason).
- The type of flash (LED) wont be as good an xenon flash (or dual). According to her the phone body is definitely thick enough to house the bigger flash; this would reduce noise in the images and provide better lighting/exposure in photos.
She also mentioned that even with a 10/10 camera app which does absolutely everything you want, the photo quality will not be much better (maybe the same as or potentially still worse) compared with the Note 4 or even iPhone 6+. Yes the hardware might be similar but the placement of the flash compared with the Note 4 will affect the way the camera captures photos with flash enabled. As, even though TW in Samsung has major issues it does have very heavily optimised camera software which will always improve - better than every camera app that I personally know of.
Front facing camera however will not complete with the Note 4. From demo's , despite being higher MP than the iPhone 6+, the results are worse. I do not know why, it could be down to the quality of the lens in the front but the Nexus 6 FF camera quality isn't much better than the Nexus 5 (it looks the same to me).

spartanm99 said:
Good post. My girlfriend is a photographer but her biggest complaints were:
- The lens should've been bigger (1.5/3 at least - according to her the sheer size of this phone would have allowed for a much bigger lens, even 1.2/3).
- The dual LED flashes would likely overexpose the images due to their placement on the back of the phone. Sure, aesthetically it can look good (depending on your preference) but logically it will risk adding too much exposure to photos. The Note 4, 6+, top Nokia phones with large lenses all have the flashes further away from the lens for example (for good reason).
- The type of flash (LED) wont be as good an xenon flash (or dual). According to her the phone body is definitely thick enough to house the bigger flash; this would reduce noise in the images and provide better lighting/exposure in photos.
She also mentioned that even with a 10/10 camera app which does absolutely everything you want, the photo quality will not be much better (maybe the same as or potentially still worse) compared with the Note 4 or even iPhone 6+. Yes the hardware might be similar but the placement of the flash compared with the Note 4 will affect the way the camera captures photos with flash enabled. As, even though TW in Samsung has major issues it does have very heavily optimised camera software which will always improve - better than every camera app that I personally know of.
Front facing camera however will not complete with the Note 4. From demo's , despite being higher MP than the iPhone 6+, the results are worse. I do not know why, it could be down to the quality of the lens in the front but the Nexus 6 FF camera quality isn't much better than the Nexus 5 (it looks the same to me).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A lens is proportionate to the sensor. On top of that? It's a fixed lens. They can make those extremely small when we're talking about phone sensors. There is also no mechanical shutter, meaning the lens can be even more compact. This is why mirrorless cameras have small lenses. This of course goes for cell phone lenses in general, but the reason is there's really no need to put a huge lens on a phone.
The dual LED flashes won't overexpose the image, don't worry. In the studio we use a ring flash - same concept - there are some versions that operate as a regular flash, and there's some versions that operate constant on. You can shoot with either. Studio LED lighting is even becoming a thing now, it's cool because you can control the color temp directly and change the brightness.. it's also always on so WYSIWYG. Either way your flash will operate TTL and will not overexpose Xenon - what a hotshoe flash uses - will just use a lot of energy and drain your batteries. LED is very efficient.
The ring flash appears to be too small to have the "ring flash effect", which is uniform lighting around a subject that is popular in fashion and hides blemishes.. I mean it's like the size of a finger. The source of the flash is too small to produce any meaningful difference between the "ring" flash and the regular samsung/iphone flashes. It's going to look about the same. If you see a difference, it's software.

I am just excited about the RAW support in 5.0. I am okay with an f/2.0 aperture on a device in my pocket. If I needed something better, my DSLR has a 50mm f/1.5 which is only a camera bag away

The problem I'm having with my Nexus 6 is lag. That is, I went into my 9 month old's room, and turned on the light. So, okay incandescent lighting, not too bright, but I wouldn't call it 'low-light', either. My little son is standing up in his crib bouncing around, and every now and again turning and smiling at me. I go for the shot with my nice Nexus 6....and in the FOUR SECONDS it takes for the camera to actually take the picture, he's looked away again. I tried several times. Each time, the camera did NOTHING for a few seconds and then took the shot when the window of opportunity was gone. WHAT THE HECK?!?!?! It didn't even look like it was doing any autofocus hunting.
THIS is very depressing. Anyone know of any camera apps that will actually, I don't know, take the picture when I actually ask it to?
Randy

I'm waiting for devs to work their magic on the camera. It has a great sensor (Sony IMX214) so the potential is there. I really wish they could use the G3's software because its great. Is there a way to make the G3's software work on the Nexus for the camera? It processes images really well and is very fast.

rmagruder said:
The problem I'm having with my Nexus 6 is lag. That is, I went into my 9 month old's room, and turned on the light. So, okay incandescent lighting, not too bright, but I wouldn't call it 'low-light', either. My little son is standing up in his crib bouncing around, and every now and again turning and smiling at me. I go for the shot with my nice Nexus 6....and in the FOUR SECONDS it takes for the camera to actually take the picture, he's looked away again. I tried several times. Each time, the camera did NOTHING for a few seconds and then took the shot when the window of opportunity was gone. WHAT THE HECK?!?!?! It didn't even look like it was doing any autofocus hunting.
THIS is very depressing. Anyone know of any camera apps that will actually, I don't know, take the picture when I actually ask it to?
Randy
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Click to collapse
Do you have HDR+ enabled? If so that's why your focus takes so long. It's taking 3 pictures in a row and is great for still images. I find the camera with HDR+ off plenty fast.
---------- Post added at 01:17 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:15 PM ----------
On another note is raw format already being supported on the 6 or is it coming in an update. I'm no photographer but I'm extremely pleased how well the camera functions. I've only had nexus devices. The last phone I had with a decent camera was the Nokia n 5

Smallsmx3 said:
Do you have HDR+ enabled? If so that's why your focus takes so long. It's taking 3 pictures in a row and is great for still images. I find the camera with HDR+ off plenty fast.
---------- Post added at 01:17 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:15 PM ----------
On another note is raw format already being supported on the 6 or is it coming in an update. I'm no photographer but I'm extremely pleased how well the camera functions. I've only had nexus devices. The last phone I had with a decent camera was the Nokia n 5
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No, HDR+ was NOT on, nor was the flash. I just wanted it to snap the stupid picture with as little muss n fuss as possible

I extracted the lib files and camera apk/odex from my g3 is there anything else I would need to make it work? I can get the framework from my system files if needed. I want to see if this will help the camera at all considering it had a lot of potential.

Pilz said:
I extracted the lib files and camera apk/odex from my g3 is there anything else I would need to make it work? I can get the framework from my system files if needed. I want to see if this will help the camera at all considering it had a lot of potential.
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Click to collapse
Let us know how it goes

rmagruder said:
No, HDR+ was NOT on, nor was the flash. I just wanted it to snap the stupid picture with as little muss n fuss as possible
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Click to collapse
Then something is broken on your phone. Completely stock N6, not even root let alone disabling encryption, without HDR+ or Flash... the phone takes pictures within half a second every time.

Smallsmx3 said:
Let us know how it goes
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's still FC's even after I moved the camera.apk and camera.odex into the system/app and I wrote over the Nexus's libs with the G3's. I'm not sure why its FC's maybe I can install the framework.apk from my G3 and see if that works.

Try some low light shots....

tripler6 said:
I'm a photographer. Here's the thing.
Camera reviews on cell phones are reviewed by gadget freaks, not photographers. They're interested in specs, they think megapixels are important, they don't even mention the important stuff.
Android L is the first OS to have a decent camera api. This will allow the nexus camera - which is only inherently different from the note 4 camera in terms of software - to vastly outperform anything on the market given a good camera app.
This mythical camera app should take advantage of a few things - full manual control. Exposure compensation and AE/AF lock. Auto bracketing. Proper metering, with selections for spot through to matrix. FPS control. Video control with framerate and resolution options, and the ability to manually control or lock exposure and focus. And finally, take advantage of L's .dng output, so we can work on this in lightroom after we're done. I don't trust my $2000 camera to spit out a nice jpg processed the way I want it, I shoot raw, I sure as hell don't trust a phone.
The nexus 6 looks to have some nice hardware. Let the software take advantage of it and you'll be happy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any chance for Slo Mo video (at least 120fps) with this "mythical camera app"?

rmagruder said:
Try some low light shots....
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Click to collapse
I found this thread after searching for a better camera for my n6. Realized after reading your post that it is the low light shots that suffer from severe shutter lag. Pics in good light are perfect. Ugh. My original moto x Dev. Took awesome pics compared to this low light garbage

Cwoomer said:
I found this thread after searching for a better camera for my n6. Realized after reading your post that it is the low light shots that suffer from severe shutter lag. Pics in good light are perfect. Ugh. My original moto x Dev. Took awesome pics compared to this low light garbage
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The pics are great when you are in a very well lit place. The moment you start to lose even a little light (semi lit), the camera really struggles. I'm very disappointed to start, but I'm going to stay patient and wait for Google to fix this.

Pilz said:
I'm waiting for devs to work their magic on the camera. It has a great sensor (Sony IMX214) so the potential is there. I really wish they could use the G3's software because its great. Is there a way to make the G3's software work on the Nexus for the camera? It processes images really well and is very fast.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The G3 is the best camera on a phone because of the hardware.. not sure if the software has much to do with it because I've switched camera apps on that phone many times and the pics still come out amazing

dannieloco said:
The G3 is the best camera on a phone because of the hardware.. not sure if the software has much to do with it because I've switched camera apps on that phone many times and the pics still come out amazing
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The G3 uses the IMX135 sensor while the Nexus uses the IMX214 which is a better sensor. So in theory the Nexus 6 is capable of better photos if the software can back it up. The G3 still uses the lib's and framework from LG no matter what camera app you are using from what I understand.

Anyone know anything about the Slo Mo capabilities? Im wanting to buy the N6 but the Slo Mo feature is really important to me. Hopefully it is possible with the sensor which everyone seems to regard as a pretty high quality sensor.

best camera app for nexus 6?

What do you think is the beat camera app for the nexus 6??

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2917061
What's your favorite Camera App(s)?

how many times has this question been asked? and how many threads on this are there? did you bother to search?

snap camera seems the fastest... not sure on the quality of the HDR
#notaphotoexpert

Geko-x said:
What do you think is the beat camera app for the nexus 6??
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Click to collapse
For the N6? Manual Camera! Lovin this app! It's still a work in progress, but it is a very cool app.
Manual Camera
Other articles on the app:
http://www.droid-life.com/2015/01/1...ext-purchase-if-you-own-a-nexus-5-or-nexus-6/
http://androidcommunity.com/manual-camera-brings-dslr-experience-to-your-android-phone-20150116/
http://www.androidauthority.com/manual-camera-control-picture-580907/

I switched from Manual camera to Camera FV-5, which also uses the new APIs (so it can output DNG). It is a lot more polished and stable than Manual Camera.

BartmanJax said:
For the N6? Manual Camera! Lovin this app! It's still a work in progress, but it is a very cool app.
Manual Camera
Other articles on the app:
http://www.droid-life.com/2015/01/1...ext-purchase-if-you-own-a-nexus-5-or-nexus-6/
http://androidcommunity.com/manual-camera-brings-dslr-experience-to-your-android-phone-20150116/
http://www.androidauthority.com/manual-camera-control-picture-580907/
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Click to collapse
Manual camera capture in 4:3 and you cant change quality and HDR seems very broken or non functional.
Very slow shutter rate, aosp and google camera is so much faster, Manual Camara not worth it at all.

Android-Desire said:
Manual camera capture in 4:3 and you cant change quality and HDR seems very broken or non functional.
Very slow shutter rate, aosp and google camera is so much faster, Manual Camara not worth it at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It seems you have missed the idea of the app. It's called MANUAL CAMERA!
You don't change "quality" settings. You don't have HDR mode. Those are AUTOMATIC modes. This is a MANUAL application that allows you to adjust MANUAL settings like ISO, Shutter Speed, Over/Under exposure, white balance, etc. If you want all the "programmed" or "automatic" settings that come in the camera app, then use the camera app!
And if your shutter rate is slow, it's because you have a SLOW SHUTTER SPEED selected!!!!
Complaining about an app that is doing what it's supposed to do, is epitome if stupidity!
ARGH!!!!!!!

FireFly3k said:
The app works perfectly fine on my Nexus 6 and I really like the manual options. Too bad it's not possible to edit the raw images on the phone yet.
And the low fps isn't a problem on a phone for me because the auto focus isn't that fast anyway.
A timer for timelapse photos could be a nice feature.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Edit RAW with Photo Mate R2 in PlayStore.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app

Manual Camera was updated to v2.1 today, and it is now showing as incompatible on the N6. Anyone else seeing this?

seem problem incompatible N6
Edit : the fix should be available for download in an hour or two in play store
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

i have a noob Q, why is it until now there is no app for Android for slo-mo? or like funny faces camera with voice changer like in the iOS, is it from android itself or the hardware or the developers ?
because i see the apps for iOS and i just wonder just WHY !

prestige2 said:
i have a noob Q, why is it until now there is no app for Android for slo-mo? or like funny faces camera with voice changer like in the iOS, is it from android itself or the hardware or the developers ?
because i see the apps for iOS and i just wonder just WHY !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google kinda dropped the ball on it. Hopefully it will be functionality added in at some point.

core issues with N6 video before slo-mo can happen
prestige2 said:
i have a noob Q, why is it until now there is no app for Android for slo-mo? or like funny faces camera with voice changer like in the iOS, is it from android itself or the hardware or the developers ?
because i see the apps for iOS and i just wonder just WHY !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My sense is there are some very serious issue preventing slo-mo. That is, slo-mo you want to share because it would be close to garbage as it stands.
I shoot video frequently and was very unhappy when I got my N6.
- signal to noise (S/N) is not good on this device at this stage of the game. It simply is noisy, and it is correctable in software. Until then, slo-mo will be very nasty if anyone is brave enough to try to encode it.
- exposure compensation in video mode is poor - if you shoot a video of a person sitting in front of a blank wall (or a sky) and slowly pan up and down - you can see the exposure compensation "clicking" in stairstep manner as the device adjusts to brightness changes. It needs to be silky smooth or video looks like crap. It can be corrected in software.
- you can workaround the exposure issue by using a third party app which locks exposure compensation - but shooting video with locked exposure compensation is not a good solution.
my opinions.

@warriorpluto I couldn't agree more...I was hoping that there be at least a working port of maybe lenovo, sense 6 camera,z2 or z3 camera...maybe when more devices get lollipop well be able to enjoy the nexus camera...but I suppose for now the google camera shall do for now lol smh

Z camera is good enough. The only one u can take picture wit no lag. But no HDR .
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app

Manual Camera
Geko-x said:
What do you think is the beat camera app for the nexus 6??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Manual Camera just came out a few weeks ago, but it's by far been the best for me (a camera junkie).
It's best used if you're used to the settings on a DSLR, but has an awesome auto setting and the fastest auto-focus i've seen yet on the N6.

So is the best camera app "Camera FV-5" with Cinema FV-5?

Just cleaned up in here. You guys can take the political debate to a different forum, please. I have absolutely no idea why this subject got brought up in camera thread (actually I do, but I'll deal with the certain member(s))......on a development site.
No need to discuss what I just cleaned in here. Please keep it on topic.

jlehenbauer said:
Manual Camera just came out a few weeks ago, but it's by far been the best for me (a camera junkie).
It's best used if you're used to the settings on a DSLR, but has an awesome auto setting and the fastest auto-focus i've seen yet on the N6.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I liked the Manual Camera, but there is no option for video mode and front camera mode..

[Q] Will the Lollipop update fix the terrible camera?

As we all know the sensor and lens on the Z3 are some of the best on the market right now. However, for some reason, Sony, who make maybe the best compact cameras out there, seems to have failed miserably in regard to the camera software in its phones. All photos come out with little detail, soft focus, artifacts and overprocessed. Do you think that will get fixed in 5.0(2)? Will the camera finally be comparable to, say, the Galaxy Note 4 or some of the Lumias?
Regards.

what terrible camera?
i'm no Ansel Adams, but i think the Z3c has a great camera, especially once you get the hang of it.

seklerek said:
As we all know the sensor and lens on the Z3 are some of the best on the market right now. However, for some reason, Sony, who make maybe the best compact cameras out there, seems to have failed miserably in regard to the camera software in its phones. All photos come out with little detail, soft focus, artifacts and overprocessed. Do you think that will get fixed in 5.0(2)? Will the camera finally be comparable to, say, the Galaxy Note 4 or some of the Lumias?
Regards.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In theory yes. With Lollipop we will be able to take RAW images with the camera due to the new api. RAW images are unprocessed, straight from the sensor. The Sony camera sensor is good but the software image processing isn't. Taking photos in RAW eliminates the poor image processing so the images should be much much better.
Sent from my D5833

I actually agree on this, especially when taking photos. All the other devices I used before my Z3 Compact did not try to focus again after I already touched focus a certain area, but my Z3C actually does so as I press the shutter button. It also has trouble trying to focus on really close objects, only able to get precise focus 1/10 of the time.

I personally use google camera for simple, clear, low-processed pictures. The drawback is that the photos cannot be saved on the sd card w/o root.
Or, you can very well use the manual mode - this one also is pulling some nice photos, w/o blur,

ro_explorer said:
I personally use google camera for simple, clear, low-processed pictures. The drawback is that the photos cannot be saved on the sd card w/o root.
Or, you can very well use the manual mode - this one also is pulling some nice photos, w/o blur,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Atleast on the regular Z3 you can choose to save photos and videos on the sd card directly.
Camera, the three blocks, settings icons.

I'm currently playing around with the app ABetterCamera and so far images are taken faster and low light photos look much better. They have an option to choose where to store the photos and if you choose external card it gives you the message Android doesn't allow that...BUT there is an option to choose custom folder which I pointed to the SDCard and it worked!

Yeah I find the camera terrible too.
My dads Note 2 takes much better pictures. If I put them side by side at a certain distance and take a picture of a piece of paper, on one I can clearly read what is written on it, and on the other it's all blurrines. I didn't expect this camera to suck that big especially compared to such an old low-res camera.
If that was not enough, colors are much more innatural on the sony, while the note 2 reproduces them much better...

michyprima said:
Yeah I find the camera terrible too.
My dads Note 2 takes much better pictures. If I put them side by side at a certain distance and take a picture of a piece of paper, on one I can clearly read what is written on it, and on the other it's all blurrines. I didn't expect this camera to suck that big especially compared to such an old low-res camera.
If that was not enough, colors are much more innatural on the sony, while the note 2 reproduces them much better...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unless you print out the pictures or look at them on the same screen it's really not possible to compare color reproduction from camera to camera.
Try ABetterCamera app, for me it takes better shots.

lol1rfs said:
Atleast on the regular Z3 you can choose to save photos and videos on the sd card directly.
Camera, the three blocks, settings icons.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you use the sony camera yes you can, but he was using Google camera that can't save to Sdcard.

Back camera is mostly ok. But the front camera is the worst! I cannot wait to sony fixes this soft skin efect bug. It's driving me nuts!!

I think the camera Lumia 925 that I had, much better than the camera's compact Z3. To be honest, the camera of this device did not please me so much.

android167 said:
Back camera is mostly ok. But the front camera is the worst! I cannot wait to sony fixes this soft skin efect bug. It's driving me nuts!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can actually turn the "soft skin effect" off in the menu and if you want better pictures from the front camera make sure the "HDR" option is always enabled.
---------- Post added at 01:26 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:22 PM ----------
FSRBIKER said:
Unless you print out the pictures or look at them on the same screen it's really not possible to compare color reproduction from camera to camera.
Try ABetterCamera app, for me it takes better shots.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Camera FV-5 is a better choice. It allows 100% JPG Quality, 100% Thumbnail quality AND uncompressed PNG format option for taking shots.

seklerek said:
As we all know the sensor and lens on the Z3 are some of the best on the market right now. However, for some reason, Sony, who make maybe the best compact cameras out there, seems to have failed miserably in regard to the camera software in its phones. All photos come out with little detail, soft focus, artifacts and overprocessed. Do you think that will get fixed in 5.0(2)? Will the camera finally be comparable to, say, the Galaxy Note 4 or some of the Lumias?
Regards.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I personally will not get my hopes up that Sony will do anything to the camera software to improve image quality just because 5.0 supports RAW format. Sony may not even include RAW support in their version of 5.0.
So many times, phone manufacturers pick and choose which features of android to implement or substitute that feature with their own.

seklerek said:
As we all know the sensor and lens on the Z3 are some of the best on the market right now. However, for some reason, Sony, who make maybe the best compact cameras out there, seems to have failed miserably in regard to the camera software in its phones. All photos come out with little detail, soft focus, artifacts and overprocessed. Do you think that will get fixed in 5.0(2)? Will the camera finally be comparable to, say, the Galaxy Note 4 or some of the Lumias?
Regards.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The formal answer is "no" - it will NOT fix the poor image processing. RAW format is not supported by Sony in Android 5.0
http://www.xperiablog.net/2015/03/1...-does-not-support-manual-camera-settings-raw/

PuffDaddy_d said:
The formal answer is "no" - it will NOT fix the poor image processing. RAW format is not supported by Sony in Android 5.0
http://www.xperiablog.net/2015/03/1...-does-not-support-manual-camera-settings-raw/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's sad, I had my hopes up that they would finally do something about it. How can a camera company make a phone camera so bad I can't understand.

Daryll99 said:
You can actually turn the "soft skin effect" off in the menu and if you want better pictures from the front camera make sure the "HDR" option is always enabled.
---------- Post added at 01:26 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:22 PM ----------
Camera FV-5 is a better choice. It allows 100% JPG Quality, 100% Thumbnail quality AND uncompressed PNG format option for taking shots.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You cannot. Try to turn it off, take a picture, then take a picture when it's on. There is apsolutely no difference.

camera is not terrible, doesn't need to be fixed. because iphone has better camera doesn't mean it's terrible, it's just second best after Gs5 in android (third after iphone)

ilgreco112 said:
camera is not terrible, doesn't need to be fixed. because iphone has better camera doesn't mean it's terrible, it's just second best after Gs5 in android (third after iphone)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hardware is indeed great, but software is very bad, and since the combination of both make the picture, the camera needs to be fixed (software part).
I mean look at all the phones using SONY sensors, they take excellent pictures on AUTO. Z3? Nope, rarely. Manual is super, but sometimes you do not have the time to fiddle around with the settings. And no DNG RAW in 5.0.2? Well, totally wasted potential of this phone's camera.

I'm very disappointed with the Z3C camera too... I mean, considering the specs, I was hoping for a lot much better pictures.
I´ve just got mine, I did a lot of research before buying a new phone (I had a Note 2), and the main reasons why I bought this phone are: size/specs, battery life and camera. I also considered buying the Moto Maxx (Brazilian Droid Turbo variant) but the Z3C compactness (is this a word?) made me chose it and I'm kind of regretting it a little bit... lol

Which Sony Xperia 1 II Camera App Works BEST For Auto Shots??!

Can anyone tell me if the regular Main camera or Photo Pro in Auto Mode is BEST for getting the best quality shots on this phone?? I know Cinema Pro is basically the Manual Mode camera app on this phone, so disregarding that. But for getting the very best auto shots, which of those 2 is best?
I'm guessing no one can answer this until the phone is released, but if someone saw a review or can answer based on past experience, please feel free to reply as well!!
Thanks in advance!!

This new review by WIRED Magazine indicates that (see quote below) the Photo Pro app is superior to the default camera app on the 1 II, but I'd still like some confirmation that the Photo Pro app can work/act as a FULL auto camera app when set to Auto Mode.
A few of the inconsistencies I found in the default camera app, like frequently over-exposed photos, can be avoided by switching to Sony's Photography Pro app, which comes pre-installed on the phone. It offers far more granular controls than what you get on most other smartphones—even those with dedicated manual modes in the camera app. You'll find an interface that's very similar to the one on Sony's professional cameras, allowing you the option to set things like the shutter speed, ISO, focus area, auto or manual focus, auto-exposure lock, and continuous shooting mode.
Thanks!

I'm curious of this too. I know there'd be some people wondering why we'd be getting this phone to use auto, but there'll certainly be occasions where a quick auto-shot would be preferred rather than fiddling around with settings

cd993 said:
I'm curious of this too. I know there'd be some people wondering why we'd be getting this phone to use auto, but there'll certainly be occasions where a quick auto-shot would be preferred rather than fiddling around with settings
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah. I used to not mind using Manual Mode (etc.) on past Xperia phones, but at this point, I don't wanna deal with it anymore. Just give me a STRONG Auto Mode that can compare with the Pixel line, and I MAY reconsider buying another Sony phone again.
I'm gonna pass on the Xperia 1 II though b/c 1) NO 5G bands in the U.S. (yet they're still selling it at the full $1200 price here..........NOT cool!) and 2) Still NO dedicated Face Unlock. More and more ppl are using this feature on other phones, so I think Sony needs to realize that and implement one ASAP. (And 3) A minor thing.......... but I keep seeing reviews sayin' the max brightness isn't very bright. Come on Sony! Quit holdin' back!!)

This is something that I would also really like to know. I am by no means anything more than a casual photographer and most pictures I take are of friends, family, me, my partner and our dog (aside from the occasional scenic photo on holiday).
To take a high quality portrait photo or selfie am I best off using the standard stock camera or should I be using the pro camera as my go-to?

Photo quality is not great. the 24 mm lens gives good results, comparable in both apps. the 70 mm lens gives comparable results in both apps but is pretty soft. On a white towel I got a bit of a white with yellowish spots. the 16 mm lens is a bit overprocessed in both apps, but the shots I took indoors at ISO 400 looked acceptable in the normal app and very bad in in the Pro app. No texture at all. I hope that future firmware upgrades will improve the quality, it's like 4 years back in time. The worked with the Alpha team.....seriously?

Sho-Bud said:
Photo quality is not great. the 24 mm lens gives good results, comparable in both apps. the 70 mm lens gives comparable results in both apps but is pretty soft. On a white towel I got a bit of a white with yellowish spots. the 16 mm lens is a bit overprocessed in both apps, but the shots I took indoors at ISO 400 looked acceptable in the normal app and very bad in in the Pro app. No texture at all. I hope that future firmware upgrades will improve the quality, it's like 4 years back in time. The worked with the Alpha team.....seriously?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well that is disappointing! The one or two reviews I've seen indicate that Photo Pro App can be used in Auto if you desire AND is superior to the stock camera app too.
What about just putting everything in Photo Pro app on auto and comparing it again to the stock app? Maybe that will improve the results of Photo Pro app?