Database Develop

Photo quality

Say "cheese", then rate this thread to express how photos taken with the LG Nexus 5X 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!

It's ok. Lots of details

I'm not a photographer by any means. So long as I can capture the moment, it's good enough.
I docked a star because the lack of OIS. It is noticeable under many circumstances, and it's sorely missed.
Otherwise, this camera is pretty darn great!

Coming from Oneplus One previously, this camera is 100x better IMO. No issues whatsoever.

Also comming from a OPO. The camera in NX5 is one of the best... I love to be able to take shots in low light without flash. HDR+ and 1.55 u size make great job.
Nexus 5X+ Nova+Root

Great cam, have to say I dont miss the OIS at all, its useless for 99% of my photography use cases. Video is a different thing, but here you can enable EIS in the build.prop and it does a decent job too.

I'm using the stock google camera on HDR+ mode for absolutely everything. Image quality even in low light is pleasantly surprising! I think I can get 85% of the image quality from my (well-aged) Pentax K-5 (built-in in-body stabilization) on the 35mm f/2.8 prime. Of course, HDR+ combines many shots in order to maintain colour saturation and reduce the appearance of noise, whereas on my Pentax I just shoot RAW and tweak one shot, so it's not a perfect comparison. But, the Nexus 5X is good enough for social media and one helluva lot lighter and easier to carry than the dSLR!
Also, I used to use a LG G4, and I prefer the look of google camera HDR+ compared to the LG camera HDR mode. Dynamic range and colour accuracy are all better on the Nexus 5X in my eyes.

amartolos said:
But, the Nexus 5X is good enough for social media and one helluva lot lighter and easier to carry than the dSLR!
Also, I used to use a LG G4, and I prefer the look of google camera HDR+ compared to the LG camera HDR mode. Dynamic range and colour accuracy are all better on the Nexus 5X in my eyes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You nailed it - as they say: "The best camera is the one that's with you."
Also interesting comparison regarding the G4, thank you!

its cool

Coming from a Z3 Compact, this camera is leagues better, there is legitimately no comparison. That being said, the pictures are quite stunning, possibly in some circumstances rivalling my RX100. I am no photographer but I am very happy with the camera in this phone.

Coming from Oneplus One previously, this camera is 100x better IMO. No issues whatsoever.

Very very good ... Better then Moto x pure which has a 21mp camera.
Not to mention the camera mods available that make this camera close to 6p cam
Sent from my Nexus 5X using XDA Free mobile app

I like the photos created with this device. It's okay for general using, posting some photos to the instagram or something else.

It would be nice if you guys put some photo examples here.

I jumped to the N5x from a Samsung ATIV S.
Damn I miss the two phase shutter button, but quality wise the N5x wins, not that the ATIV S was bad, just looking a little dated these days...

sny_tr said:
It would be nice if you guys put some photo examples here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-5x/general/excellent-camera-t3230797

Photo quality

Say "cheese", then rate this thread to express how photos taken with the Moto G4 Plus 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!

Above average

is it that good?
I keep seeing reviews and comments talking about the great quality of this camera (above the average, at the level of high end...), however, my phone does not cope very well with some situations and I do not know why. Is it defective? is it low light? I am going to post some images but right now I am going to describe the behaviour.
For some reason the main camera struggles a lot when taking pictures of thing in movement. I does not expect a shutter speed of 1/1000 but I cannot make my son to be more steady either. The image seems focused except the moving part which is always blurry. This happens in low light but also in conditions which I consider good light (exteriors, rooms with 25W LED + side lamp...)
The front camera IMHO does not deserve any compliment, it struggles a lot to focus, more than half the pictures are blurry and/or out of focus, most of them have a lot of noise like in low light. It is a bit better after turning on the flash in screen but, again, is this normal?
I will thank any comment on this.
Picture 1_room_with_side_ window_light.jpg: Room with a side window where you do not need to turn the lights on for things like writing or sewing.
Pictures 2 and 3 has very good light in my opinion and the camera struggles.
4 and 5 are made with the front camera and both are below the standard IMHO.
1of3isgood shows how I needed 3 pictures to take one OK
sunlight shows how the camera struggel even with sunlight in the scene
whatIexpect are 2 very good photos this is what I expect
I have to say, the camera is at least VERY inconsistent on it results. It is capable of a lot but it only demonstrates some times
What do you think?

I honestly think that the camera on the Moto G could have been much better. I like the camera APP interface itself, but the photo quality is mediocre. Aside from picture quality, anyone notices their camera lens getting scratched up? Mine is.

You're right.
foxaxel said:
I keep seeing reviews and comments talking about the great quality of this camera (above the average, at the level of high end...), however, my phone does not cope very well with some situations and I do not know why. Is it defective? is it low light? I am going to post some images but right now I am going to describe the behaviour.
For some reason the main camera struggles a lot when taking pictures of thing in movement. I does not expect a shutter speed of 1/1000 but I cannot make my son to be more steady either. The image seems focused except the moving part which is always blurry. This happens in low light but also in conditions which I consider good light (exteriors, rooms with 25W LED + side lamp...)
The front camera IMHO does not deserve any compliment, it struggles a lot to focus, more than half the pictures are blurry and/or out of focus, most of them have a lot of noise like in low light. It is a bit better after turning on the flash in screen but, again, is this normal?
I will thank any comment on this.
Picture 1_room_with_side_ window_light.jpg: Room with a side window where you do not need to turn the lights on for things like writing or sewing.
Pictures 2 and 3 has very good light in my opinion and the camera struggles.
4 and 5 are made with the front camera and both are below the standard IMHO.
1of3isgood shows how I needed 3 pictures to take one OK
sunlight shows how the camera struggel even with sunlight in the scene
whatIexpect are 2 very good photos this is what I expect
I have to say, the camera is at least VERY inconsistent on it results. It is capable of a lot but it only demonstrates some times
What do you think?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Not good as described in media
The photo quality is not as described. Image stabilization seems just not there are or not working properly.
Photo quality is good only if still photos are taken during day time with more light in. That is all.
But for the cost of around $200 its a good phone but not a camera phone.

How do I access camera debug options?

As far as I'm concerned the camera quality is really above average. Your problem seems to find his cause elsewhere.
To keep it simple, your photos may be blurry because of the lack of light indoor. Smartphone are known to have small objective (while real camera have big one) that can't gather a lot of light by themselve. It means that you'll have to sacrifice quality if the environnement is not well lit. In this case, you're phone try to make up for the lack of light by gathering more light before taking the photo which cause a more blurry photo. You can also manually set it to take it faster but you'll have to use a higher iso (which mean more noise).
If you want a good photo you need :
- light (even for a galaxy S7)
- A good objective (also the bigger the better but we're on a smartphone so...)
- A clean objective (I can't stress how this matter ! Even more if we consider that it's really use to put à finger on the objective of the moto g4)
Here you go, hope it helped, if you want to test your camera to see if it has some problem you should do it outdoor with the sun at zenith and some cloud to avoid bad shadows and blinding effects.

kayet95 said:
As far as I'm concerned the camera quality is really above average. Your problem seems to find his cause elsewhere.
To keep it simple, your photos may be blurry because of the lack of light indoor. Smartphone are known to have small objective (while real camera have big one) that can't gather a lot of light by themselve. It means that you'll have to sacrifice quality if the environnement is not well lit. In this case, you're phone try to make up for the lack of light by gathering more light before taking the photo which cause a more blurry photo. You can also manually set it to take it faster but you'll have to use a higher iso (which mean more noise).
If you want a good photo you need :
- light (even for a galaxy S7)
- A good objective (also the bigger the better but we're on a smartphone so...)
- A clean objective (I can't stress how this matter ! Even more if we consider that it's really use to put à finger on the objective of the moto g4)
Here you go, hope it helped, if you want to test your camera to see if it has some problem you should do it outdoor with the sun at zenith and some cloud to avoid bad shadows and blinding effects.
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Click to collapse
Thanks for your answer kayet95. The main point is that the camera is not reliable enough and you end up taking 5 pictures each time just to be sure one will be fine. Of course with the lighting you suggest the camera does well, it would be a complete rubbish if not, but take a look at my attachment sunlight. The window was fully open, there where sun coming into the scene and the camera struggled once.
I agree the camera is capable of taking great pictures, but it is nor reliable.

My experience is that the camera in G4Plus is above average for a phone. I think that who expects more is delusional, you need to buy a real camera to take good pictures - in low light or with any level of zoom.

One that I clicked this morning
just wanting to share a photo taken by my Moto G4 plus .
No special Arrangement , everything on Auto

I love this camera.... Sunny day and auto mode....
---------- Post added at 10:18 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:13 AM ----------
Another one. Raining and almost running by night. Just shot under the rain.... lot of noise but the connditions were really bad!!

SoNic67 said:
My experience is that the camera in G4Plus is above average for a phone. I think that who expects more is delusional, you need to buy a real camera to take good pictures - in low light or with any level of zoom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree 100%. :good:
This camera is very good for a phone camera, especially one of this price. To expect high quality pix from it in every lighting or motion situation is simply ludicrous.

Two more photos:
One tree
Royal Palace, Madrid, Spain

the color quality is good, but sometimes i cant take a picture, might be my hand is wet, or the phone lagging

The camera is capable of good pictures, however mine seem inconsistent. Sometimes take the same shot a couple times to get good one, even in good lighting. I upgraded from last year's moto g, and consistently got excellent pictures with it.
Overall I feel the camera on the g4 plus isn't quite as good as last year's moto g. I was really expecting better.

hi , i use OpenCamera and it`s much better.

Low light

At the club, at the bar, or just in your mom's basement, nighttime is when you come out to play. Rate this thread to express how the LeEco Le Pro3's camera performs when no or low light is present. A higher rating indicates that the camera sensor "sees" lots of light in dim conditions, and that the resulting photos have minimal noise. A higher rating also indicates that when the flash fires, the resulting photo is evenly-lit without any bright spots.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!

4 stars? This camera is on par with phones from 5 years ago, especially when things get dark.

4 stars as well, better or equal than iPhone 7 but weaker than the likes of Pixel, Galaxy S7/S8, HTC. Tip: Just use Google Camera App.

Has anyone else seen a "haze" effect when shots are taken at night with the flash? I have tried multiple camera apps and they all produce the same effect. Whenever there is very low lighting and the flash is turned on I almost get this haze on every single photo. However if pitch black this does not happen and I get a perfect photo with flash as expected.

just use a custom nougat rom and modded google camera. then the camera is decent. 4 stars from me

This is 100% stock LEX727 on 21s update.
It was kind of foggy last night.

Ascertion said:
This is 100% stock LEX727 on 21s update.
It was kind of foggy last night.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Install a nougat ROM and google camera enable auto hdr and be amazed!

The IMX298 takes some pretty sub-par night shots. I was trying to take pics of a half moon and full, hazy moon. Looked amazing to the naked eye but the Pro3 Elite couldn't capture the full details of the moon, unfortunately. See here:
https://ibb.co/hguYaG
https://ibb.co/hOoRvG <---- My best night shot with this phone to date
https://ibb.co/fBsmvG
I'm using an unrooted phone with unmodified Gcam (for 6.0) and VSCO. I also tried Open Camera but it's not as good. I wonder if Camera2 API makes a difference for low light and night shots.

sk8223 said:
The IMX298 takes some pretty sub-par night shots. I was trying to take pics of a half moon and full, hazy moon. Looked amazing to the naked eye but the Pro3 Elite couldn't capture the full details of the moon, unfortunately. See here:
https://ibb.co/hguYaG
https://ibb.co/hOoRvG <---- My best night shot with this phone to date
https://ibb.co/fBsmvG
I'm using an unrooted phone with unmodified Gcam (for 6.0) and VSCO. I also tried Open Camera but it's not as good. I wonder if Camera2 API makes a difference for low light and night shots.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So why you going to complain when this is related everywhere and we'll known. This is also why a lot of people root just to install gcam. To get a better camera experience. Judging by your comments you know this already.

cas8180 said:
So why you going to complain when this is related everywhere and we'll known. This is also why a lot of people root just to install gcam. To get a better camera experience. Judging by your comments you know this already.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It does a worse job in low light than the Zenfone 3, which has the same sensor and a poorer processor (Snapdragon 625).

Use Open Camera for low light the app makes it bright

A phone is a phone camera phone all of them have a tiny tiny sensor.
No professional or semi professional would use a camera phone for their work.
Phone camera are for those quick friends pictures when you may not have camera.
I do wildlife photography I would never use this phone for that.
This camera an fair to camera.
Sent from my LEX720 using xda premium

mchlbenner said:
A phone is a phone camera phone all of them have a tiny tiny sensor.
No professional or semi professional would use a camera phone for their work.
Phone camera are for those quick friends pictures when you may not have camera.
I do wildlife photography I would never use this phone for that.
This camera an fair to camera.
Sent from my LEX720 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A lot of smartphone sensors are just getting better and better, sometimes on par with older DSLRs. The Pixel 2, for example. As the Pixel line's Visual Core chip, and smartphone sensors in general continue improving, I don't see why you wouldn't be able to use a smartphone for some professional photography in the future.
Obviously a Pixel 2 doesn't compare to a $20k Hasselblad, but it's an interesting comparison nonetheless: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuTnYi_HW2o

Google Camera 4.4 HDR+ or Gcam 5.1 also works on Nougat and Oreo should do good job even in low light

It's below average at this point. It was already far behind the Oneplus 3 or Mi5s in 2016 in low light.
I compared it to the iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, Redmi Pro (same sensor as Redmi Note 4) and LG V30. The Le Pro 3 only beats the Redmi Pro in low light but it's not a huge victory. Even the 2015 iPhone 6s Plus is muuuch better.
The Redmi Note 5 is likely much better with its much improved camera.

433Mhz said:
It's below average at this point. It was already far behind the Oneplus 3 or Mi5s in 2016 in low light.
I compared it to the iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, Redmi Pro (same sensor as Redmi Note 4) and LG V30. The Le Pro 3 only beats the Redmi Pro in low light but it's not a huge victory. Even the 2015 iPhone 6s Plus is muuuch better.
The Redmi Note 5 is likely much better with its much improved camera.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It uses the same sensor as op3 & 3t but just lacks OIS. It's not really behind OP3/3T in hardware level. So, the only difference is the software and if you use a custom ROM with right GCam 5 port with right settings, you can actually take some really good photos even in low light conditions.

smae said:
It uses the same sensor as op3 & 3t but just lacks OIS. It's not really behind OP3/3T in hardware level. So, the only difference is the software and if you use a custom ROM with right GCam 5 port with right settings, you can actually take some really good photos even in low light conditions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I find it a shame that most who have smartphone lepro3 does not dare to post their photos taken in low light with the Google camera application to prove that it is not at all bad compared to other smartphones.
I share the link of my photos https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipNwEVDBueDHV0JINHqdoKWIIxdPbihOOz3DwoSbztu_Hn5s0KxCCKI7Jb8sf_YTIg?key=dklud2xhd09oRHlHWnY5NE43S1Z3VVVyMFNqVXpn

I put the link photos taken with the samsung galaxy 7 edge to compare the photos of day and night compared to the quality of snapshots taken with gcam 6.1.021 with our smartphone lepro3.
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipNwEVDBueDHV0JINHqdoKWIIxdPbihOOz3DwoSbztu_Hn5s0KxCCKI7Jb8sf_YTIg?key=dklud2xhd09oRHlHWnY5NE43S1Z3VVVyMFNqVXpn

Btsinfo3 said:
I put the link photos taken with the samsung galaxy 7 edge to compare the photos of day and night compared to the quality of snapshots taken with gcam 6.1.021 with our smartphone lepro3.
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipNwEVDBueDHV0JINHqdoKWIIxdPbihOOz3DwoSbztu_Hn5s0KxCCKI7Jb8sf_YTIg?key=dklud2xhd09oRHlHWnY5NE43S1Z3VVVyMFNqVXpn
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your comparisons are awesome! I have one question though. On some le pro 3 photos of yours there is information Huawei x722 - that would be input model of Huawei in gcam settings, but what about google LEX722? Is it pixel II in the input settings?

AdrianTry said:
Your comparisons are awesome! I have one question though. On some le pro 3 photos of yours there is information Huawei x722 - that would be input model of Huawei in gcam settings, but what about google LEX722? Is it pixel II in the input serrings?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Precisely by setting in nexup 6p input we have the name of Huawei x722 with the version I put online.
I also installed a version of cstark27 and put the settings on pixel 3xl
https://f.celsoazevedo.com/file/gcamera/LGN2_MGC_6.1.021_MI8_V1d.apk
is for that in the exif is displayed google lex722.

Photo quality

Say "cheese", then rate this thread to express how photos taken with the Xiaomi Poco F2 Pro (Redmi K30 Pro) 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!

So i took few photos.
1) Stock cam portrait mode on object
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/50231433373/in/album-72157715505381368/
comment: very nice object separation, good detail preservation.
2) Star of this phones camera setup - macro cam
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/50230897823/in/album-72157715505381368/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/50230898113/in/album-72157715505381368/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/50231760232/in/album-72157715505381368/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/50231543996/in/album-72157715505381368/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/50232080781/in/album-72157715505381368/
comment: just wow, quality, details. Best macro shot i've seen on any phone.
3) Normal shots
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/50232298942/in/album-72157715505381368/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/50232080956/in/album-72157715505381368/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/50233393941/in/album-72157715505381368/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/50233396586/in/album-72157715505381368/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/50233610022/in/album-72157715505381368/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/50233615612/in/album-72157715505381368/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/50233617217/in/album-72157715505381368/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/50233617707/in/album-72157715505381368/
comment: very decent photos, great hdr, colors, details, white balance on point.
4) Snaps from 8k video
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/50231585333/in/album-72157715505381368/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/50232228536/in/album-72157715505381368/
comment: anbilivable these are snaps from video, great detail, low noise - love it!
Yet to test - low light.
As for these shots i grade camera 5/5

CROrION said:
So i took few photos.
1) Stock cam portrait mode on object
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/50231433373/in/album-72157715505381368/
comment: very nice object separation, good detail preservation.
2) Star of this phones camera setup - macro cam
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/50230897823/in/album-72157715505381368/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/50230898113/in/album-72157715505381368/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/50231760232/in/album-72157715505381368/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/50231543996/in/album-72157715505381368/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/50232080781/in/album-72157715505381368/
comment: just wow, quality, details. Best macro shot i've seen on any phone.
3) Normal shots
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/50232298942/in/album-72157715505381368/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/50232080956/in/album-72157715505381368/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/50233393941/in/album-72157715505381368/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/50233396586/in/album-72157715505381368/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/50233610022/in/album-72157715505381368/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/50233615612/in/album-72157715505381368/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/50233617217/in/album-72157715505381368/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/50233617707/in/album-72157715505381368/
comment: very decent photos, great hdr, colors, details, white balance on point.
4) Snaps from 8k video
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/50231585333/in/album-72157715505381368/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/50232228536/in/album-72157715505381368/
comment: anbilivable these are snaps from video, great detail, low noise - love it!
Yet to test - low light.
As for these shots i grade camera 5/5
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is it possible to take photos in raw?

@Peterrrrr said:
Is it possible to take photos in raw?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes

Could you post a few raw from outdoors daylight?

Would like to see some night shoots and video too

Coming from an S8 plus, is this an upgrade when it comes to camera?

khestoi said:
Coming from an S8 plus, is this an upgrade when it comes to camera?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Off course !

khestoi said:
Coming from an S8 plus, is this an upgrade when it comes to camera?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My pro zoom edition just arrived 3 days ago. Before I had the exynos s8+. I am waiting for the bootloader unlock by xiaiomi, but I can already tell you that even with china rom and stock camera it is a big jump

Just few point and shoot pictures (k30 pro zoom edition) with stock miui camera.
https://i.imgur.com/gISwowB.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/iwFRLG0.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/Uqqq8n7.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/S8PBRfv.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/gbLHKki.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/i8YNLfu.jpg

Hello Team
Can anybody share few photos of example documents? [newspaper, school-book, book, etc]. Taken indoor [so it means under "mean" light conditions].
For me it is interested how this phone handle such photos.

One thing Ive noticed when I was taking photos of documents/book pages was that it blurs on the periphery. It's clear on the center, but becomes *very subtly* blurry on the outward edges as if you've moved your hand for a split second. I shoot in a well lit room with light (bulb and natural light, and I shoot from the above (natch) so Im not sure why the focus is not uniform and. has blurring on the edges. Also using gcam btw: Twichaya2.

BystandrX said:
One thing Ive noticed when I was taking photos of documents/book pages was that it blurs on the periphery. It's clear on the center, but becomes *very subtly* blurry on the outward edges as if you've moved your hand for a split second. I shoot in a well lit room with light (bulb and natural light, and I shoot from the above (natch) so Im not sure why the focus is not uniform and. has blurring on the edges. Also using gcam btw: Twichaya2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I noticed the same thing in the photo comparison tool from gsmarena.com: https://www.gsmarena.com/piccmp.php3?idType=5&idPhone1=10220&idPhone2=10097&idPhone3=9816
I wonder how pronounced the effect is in real world usage, keeping in mind that for some photos of humans, the face is at the edge of the frame.

this is why I asked for real examples. I have seen the same "issue" with many other cameras.

General GCam vs Asus photo quality

This thread explores the photo quality possibilities of the Z8. I'll post occasional info and tests about the stock camera, comparisons with GCam mods, etc, with example pictures to illustrate my findings. I hope you'll find some of this useful and post examples of your own that we can learn from.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Latest posts
Nikon SLR vs Zenfone photo quality test, June 2023
Asus & GCam Night Shots, in-depth comparison
Brightening GCam to match the Asus Camera - 2
Brightening GCam to match the Asus camera
Asus vs GCam vs Nikon - DSLR quality from the Z8?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Wichaya GCam V1.6
Wichaya has recently released an updated version of GCam, “GCam_8.1.101_Wichaya_V1.6”, that is now almost as good as the stock Asus camera.
The previous GCam version's shots were always too dark, lacked shadow detail and looked dull compared to the Asus stock camera's excellent pictures. With the latest V1.6 pictures are almost identical with the stock Asus camera, most of the time.
My only criticism of Asus shots is that they are over-sharpened. Foliage looks great but it can have an unnatural flattened appearance; fine textures can look like sand and coarser textures can be exaggerated too much. Unfortunately the Asus camera does not allow any adjustments.
GCam does not suffer from over-sharpening and the settings can be fine-tuned. Occasionally it will under expose and may not give as much shadow detail as the Asus shots, and the white balance can be a bit too warm, but overall the latest version is a fantastic improvement.
Many thanks to Wichaya for this upgrade!
Available here: https://www.celsoazevedo.com/files/android/google-camera/dev-wichaya/f/dl6/
I used the “Wichaya8.1_ZF8_V5.xml” with it from here: https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/working-gcam.4280045/page-8

I'll never understand why people think stock cam takes better pics than GCam. Whenever I take shots side by side, Gcam's always have more detail.

I wanted to test this latest GCam 1.6 with this V5 config file and Asus A12 .113 firmware stock camera. Just to see for myself, and well here are some pictures and details. It's like previously said, stock camera has a lot of sharpening added. It blows the fine details out and gives some edges a "halo effect". GCam without HDR was useless at least on this spot.
Overall, I like the Asus white balance a lot better, closer to reality like with my own eyeballs. GCam is much too cold. Is there a configuration setting that tunes the GCam WB? GCam HDR+ Enhanced catches in some cases a lot better detail, but takes some seconds to capture. HDR+ still has more detail, but also more noise and in my opinion worse white balance. Asus camera can oversharpen a lot and add halos around every edge. Denoise and sharpen blurs details.
https://imgur.com/a/cxgK8nj
edit: Jeez imgur destroys the pictures, maybe just download them.
Also the full pictures if someone wants to zoom, my photo editor might have processed the zooms a bit.

Jgruar said:
I wanted to test this latest GCam 1.6 with this V5 config file and Asus A12 .113 firmware stock camera. Just to see for myself, and well here are some pictures and details. It's like previously said, stock camera has a lot of sharpening added. It blows the fine details out and gives some edges a "halo effect". GCam without HDR was useless at least on this spot.
Overall, I like the Asus white balance a lot better, closer to reality like with my own eyeballs. GCam is much too cold. Is there a configuration setting that tunes the GCam WB? GCam HDR+ Enhanced catches in some cases a lot better detail, but takes some seconds to capture. HDR+ still has more detail, but also more noise and in my opinion worse white balance. Asus camera can oversharpen a lot and add halos around every edge. Denoise and sharpen blurs details.
https://imgur.com/a/cxgK8nj
edit: Jeez imgur destroys the pictures, maybe just download them.
Also the full pictures if someone wants to zoom, my photo editor might have processed the zooms a bit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for taking the trouble to explain and illustrate your findings comparing the Asus camera and Wichaya's latest GCam version. I also prefer the look of the Asus shots but dislike both how they over-sharpen some areas and smooth out other areas.
The Gcam shots on my Zenphone 8 generally look more natural (= not over-sharpened) but are often a bit too dark, and can also be a bit too warm. So there may be manufacturing variations that affect the white balance. The Asus shots also have a lot more shadow detail, which I prefer.
Unfortunately I haven't been able to find a combination of Ram Patcher setting that would bring the Gcam shots closer to how I'd like them to be. If Wichaya can advise how to increase shadow detail without affecting the highlghts I'd be grateful!

Yeah, would be really great if we could combine the good parts from both softwares. I don't know much about the GCam settings, if someone wants to share what we are able to change and how?

Tom100% said:
Thanks for taking the trouble to explain and illustrate your findings comparing the Asus camera and Wichaya's latest GCam version. I also prefer the look of the Asus shots but dislike both how they over-sharpen some areas and smooth out other areas.
The Gcam shots on my Zenphone 8 generally look more natural (= not over-sharpened) but are often a bit too dark, and can also be a bit too warm. So there may be manufacturing variations that affect the white balance. The Asus shots also have a lot more shadow detail, which I prefer.
Unfortunately I haven't been able to find a combination of Ram Patcher setting that would bring the Gcam shots closer to how I'd like them to be. If Wichaya can advise how to increase shadow detail without affecting the highlghts I'd be grateful!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Give this a look: https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/app-arnova8g2s-google-camera-port.3862448/post-84805697

MRDA1981 said:
Give this a look: https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/app-arnova8g2s-google-camera-port.3862448/post-84805697
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, it's certainly interesting and gives some insight into how complex changing the default settings can be (for Arnova8G2's GCam). It shows how to increase the exposure time - this would brighten both the shadows and the highlights.
I would like to increase only the shadow detail. This is the main difference between Wichaya's GCam and the Zenfone 8's stock camera which gives the shadows a welcome boost.

I did a quick test to see how the Zenfone 8 and Whchaya V1.6 GCam performed in Night mode.
All examples are cropped from 16MP files.
I took one shot in the normal camera mode, then in night mode, and an extra shot with the GCam’s RAW (DNG) mode to compare side by side.
The Asus camera’s normal mode always tries to smooth lightly textured areas and so has made the road and areas of soil look unnaturally smooth. The GCam normal shot (HDR+) records the textures faithfully and is more colourful but a little too bright. Both cameras blow out the bright lights at the front and side of the building.
The Asus Night shot is excellent as it holds all the textures, minimises the highlight blowouts and is quite sharp and well exposed. The GCam Night shot is quite good but a bit too bright. It’s more colourful, not quite as sharp as the Asus shot and the highlights are blown out.
So it appears as though the Asus Night mode gives the best result.
However, take a look at the enlarged cropped area of the “Asus-GCam Night modes” comparison. The Gcam Night shots is not as sharp as the Asus Night shot, but the Asus is way very over-sharpened, so much so that the light pebbledash texture of the wall is unnaturally exaggerated. The ideal, in my opinion would be somewhere in-between these two. The GCam DNG edited shot is almost ideal as it is sharp but does not over exaggerate textures, however the highlights are blown out...
To sum up I’d say that the Asus Night mode will give the best results, but can sometimes look a bit artificial depending on the range of textures involved.

Hello,
thank you for another comparison of image quality. At night the scenario from the day is repeated, the stock camera is oversharpened and the Gcam is unsharp with little detail. Is it possible to modify the Gcam in general to produce sharper images? This is a question more for the author @michelinoO

Dave.a said:
Hello,
thank you for another comparison of image quality. At night the scenario from the day is repeated, the stock camera is oversharpened and the Gcam is unsharp with little detail. Is it possible to modify the Gcam in general to produce sharper images? This is a question more for the author @michelinoO
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you look in Wichaya's GCam settings, Advanced, Ram Patcher you'll see setting to vary lots of parameters, including sharpness...

Asus vs GCam vs Nikon. DSLR quality from the Z8?
Modern smartphones cameras have tiny imaging sensors yet take amazingly good pictures. The Zenfone 8’s imaging sensor is only 7.5 x 5.5mm and is crammed with almost 64,000,000 light sensitive cells. It requires a serious amount of “computational photography” processing to create pictures that exceed the actual capability of the camera’s tiny sensor.
About 20 years ago I bought one of the first cellphones that had a built in camera, the Nokia 7650. The photos were only 640 x 480 pixels but looked good on the phones 176 x 208 pixels display! Todays phones take high quality HDR pictures that look good on large screens, so I thought it would be fun to compare a picture taken with my Zenphone 8 and Nikon DSLR. This has an 24MP sensor that’s 10x the size of the Z8’s.
Z8 compared to DSLR
The DSLR has fewer megapixels but they are larger and gather much more light which results in higher quality pictures without the need for the intense processing necessary in smartphone cameras.
I took all of the attached shots during a 10 minute period to try to keep the lighting reasonably consistent and used the Z8’s stock camera and the Wichaya V1.6 GCam mod to shoot both Jpegs and DNGs. I shot only RAW files (NEFs) with the Nikon.
I edited the Asus DNG, Gcam DNG and the Nikon RAW files to reasonably match the Asus stock camera’s Jpegs to give some consistence to the comparisons.
I expected the Nikon would come out on top, but I wasn’t certain because of the outstanding results I’ve had with the Z8. The Nikon won, but the edited 64MP Gcam DNG came a close second. In some ares the Asus and GCam shots were actually better than the Nikon’s.
Notes
I’ve kept the comparisons the same size - I was impressed that the 16MP Asus Jpg that even when enlarged to 130% compares quite well with the edited 24MP Nikon RAW seen at 100%. But enlarging the Asus Jpeg makes the usual over-sharpening of fine foliage details more obvious.
The 16MP GCam at 130% is also impressive but is under exposed and lacks shadow detail that’s usual for Wichaya’s GCam.
The large 64MP Asus and GCam Jpgs both lack shadow detail, but at least the Asus isn’t over-sharpened and is actually a bit softer than the GCam.
The best results were obtained with the edited GCam 64MP DNG. I’ve shown how it compares to the edited Nikon RAW in two comparative enlargements. A very impressive result.
Of course in different circumstances the results will vary, but this test in daylight with deep shade and sunlit highlights shows the astonishing capability that computational photography has with tiny sensors.
I did this test for my own amusement and out of my interest in computational photography, but for most normal snaps it probably makes little difference whether you prefer the normal 16MP Asus or GCam Jpegs.
Computational Photography and Mainstream Cameras
Mainstream camera manufacturers don’t seem in a hurry to introduce computational photography into their mirrorless cameras because this would narrow the gap between expensive professional and cheaper consumer equipment. But eventually they will have to give in and this could revolutionise the amateur and professional photography scene. Can’t wait!

Tom100% said:
I expected the Nikon would come out on top, but I wasn’t certain because of the outstanding results I’ve had with the Z8. The Nikon won, but the edited 64MP Gcam DNG came a close second. In some ares the Asus and GCam shots were actually better than the Nikon’s.
Notes
The best results were obtained with the edited GCam 64MP DNG. I’ve shown how it compares to the edited Nikon RAW in two comparative enlargements. A very impressive result.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just worked out that the 64MP Gcam that came a close 2nd to the Nikon DSLR was shot at 2 stops of under exposure (f1.8, 1/850sec, ISO 25 compared to f8, 1/60sec, ISO 100).
If the phone had taken only a single shot the image would have been very dark with mainly the highlights showing. Because of "computational photography" the phone takes a lot of the same shots quickly, perhaps 15 or more, which it then adds together using “image stacking” and uses several digital enhancement techniques to create the final HDR image.
The "Asus Smartphone for Snapdragon Insiders" scored 131 in the DXOmark Photo category. It costs twice as much as the Zenphone 8 but has the same main Sony camera and Qualcomm chip as the Z8, which has a Photo score of only 120.
I guess only the computational photography software had been upgraded to give the superior Photo score. Hopefully Asus will share some of the magic sauce in future upgrades to my Z8.

Brightening GCam to match the Asus camera
Shots taken with the Asus camera have an edge over GCam shots, they have lots of "pop", are well exposed and have good shadow detail. GCam shots have a more natural appearance but are generally darker with less shadow detail.
The Asus camera over-sharpens and exaggerates textures such as foliage and grass, etc. This creates the "pop" effect that looks good on a smartphone but can look artificial and over-processed when viewed on a laptop or PC screen. Unfortunately Asus does not have any settings to reduce this effect so I’ve been experimenting with Wichaya’s GCam to try brighten its shadow detail to look more like the Asus shots.
In GCam’s Advanced section the Ram Patcher has settings to fine tune the processing. Some settings are self explanatory, such as Sharpness and Saturation, but it’s not clear how other adjustments affect the picture, either when used singly or in combination.
Adjusting Ram Patcher settings is not straightforward. There are hundreds of possible combinations, and some settings are predictable up to a certain point and then produce erratic results.
Other Mods sometimes explain what their setting do but use different terms that may not directly apply to Wichaya’s Ram Patcher. As far as I can tell there isn’t a setting that will directly increase shadow detail without affecting the midtowns or highlights. I’ve came to the conclusion that it will take a combination of settings to do this.
Test Results
In a recent test I found that a combination of HDR Range Minus and HDR Range Plus can lift the shadow detail and bring GCam closer to the look and feel of the Asus camera.
The examples below show the same scene taken with the Asus camera, the darker looking GCam V1.6 (plus xml), and the GCam with custom HDR Range Minus “-4” and HDR Range Plus “4” settings to brighten the shadows. I'll be using this setting over the next few weeks in different situations to see if it can be improved.
I noticed a peculiar effect in the Asus Camera’s shot: The sun is high in the sky towards the left side of the building - in the GCam shots the sky in this area is almost white. In the Asus shot the sky behind the building appears to have been over processed to make it a much darker, and this looks quite artificial in the area I've marked in red. The GCam sky has a more natural appearance.
If you have found other ways to improve the quality of the GCam compared to the Zenphone 8’s camera I be happy if you could share examples and details here. Thanks.

Tom100% said:
The examples below show the same scene taken with the Asus camera, the darker looking GCam V1.6 (plus xml), and the GCam with custom HDR Range Minus “-4” and HDR Range Plus “4” settings to brighten the shadows. I'll be using this setting over the next few weeks in different situations to see if it can be improved.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Couple of settings i have seen in other xml setups.
HDR range Minus
-0,375
HRD Range Plus
8.5(default) / 10.0 / 11.5
HDR Range Minus
-0.875
HDR Range Plus
8.5(default) / 10.0 / 11.5
I use my phone (not AZ8) on -0.375 / 10.0. I like that shadows is little bit darker but i have to test that -4 / 4 setting

Dayuser said:
Couple of settings i have seen in other xml setups.
HDR range Minus
-0,375
HRD Range Plus
8.5(default) / 10.0 / 11.5
HDR Range Minus
-0.875
HDR Range Plus
8.5(default) / 10.0 / 11.5
I use you my phone (not AZ8) on -0.375 / 10.0. I like that shadows is little bit darker but i have to test that -4 / 4 setting
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the information - I'll try out those settings. I found that there are a wide variety of settings that brighten and lighten the shadows but the HDR Range Plus/Minus seem to give the most control.
Edit: I tries out the settings they didn't make much difference. The best results so far I've shared in my latest post: Brightening GCam to match the Asus Camera - 2.

Is there a way to use the Asus Cam on a custom ROM?
I run lineageOS and tried to backup the Asus CAM before wiping the phone via ADB but only got a file with a few kB. Does anyone have a working APK?

flymetothemoon said:
Is there a way to use the Asus Cam on a custom ROM?
I run lineageOS and tried to backup the Asus CAM before wiping the phone via ADB but only got a file with a few kB. Does anyone have a working APK?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know about technical things like this, but I do remember reading how the Asus camera couldn't be extracted from the Asus system. Can't remember where I read it, though.

Brightening GCam to match the Asus Camera - 2
I've always preferred the brighter, more punchy look of the Asus Zenfone 8 camera to Wichaya's V1.6 GCam. Unfortunately the Asus shots are over-sharpened and can look somewhat unnatural when viewed on laptop and monitor screens.
Wichaya's GCam does not over-process the images but usually gives darker results, so I've been experimenting with the Ram Patcher settings to try to brighten them up...
In my last post, "Brightening GCam to match the Asus Camera", I listed some Ram Patcher settings that lightened the GCam shadows to try and resemble the Stock Asus Camera. Further experiments have yielded improved results and I've attached samples cropped from 100% enlargements of a few pictures. Those with more subtle highlights are the Gcam shots.
The setting I now use are shown in the Ram Patcher screengrab. I discovered that the HDR Effect Intensity alters the overall contrast of the image and I've adjusted it to give more shadow and highlight detail.
No combination of setting can make GCam shots exactly match the Asus shots since the intense computational processing that goes on under the hood is different. But I like these GCam shots and for me they provide a good alternative to the Asus shots.
I now use Asus for general/family pictures and GCam (RAW+Jpg) for more important or creative shots that I might process afterwards.
---
Reviews I've seen about the Asus Zenfone 9 camera indicate that it still over-sharpens the images. Hopefully Asus might provide some setting to reduce this in future upgrades.

Asus and Gcam Night shots, in-depth comparison
I’ve been having another look at pictures taken at night with the Asus stock camera and the Wichaya GCam on my Zenfone 8. The results can vary a lot between the two cameras, particularly if there are large areas of dimly lit shadows.
The Asus camera over-sharpens fine detail which gives pictures taken during the day or at night an over-processed appearance. Viewed on a phone they look great, but when viewed on larger screens they can look a little unreal. GCam applies less sharpening - pictures look good on phones and have a more natural appearance on larger screens. Which you prefer is personal preference.
Asus vs GCam Night Shots
The difference between pictures taken at night with the GCam and Asus cameras is more pronounced than in daylight shots. You can view the attached examples to judge for yourself…
I sometimes use the Asus Night camera for general shots in low light. I can access it quickly (using Zenfone shortcuts) to capture fleeting moments. But when I have the opportunity to take a more artistic or creative shot at night I will use the GCam HDR+ Enhanced mode. This is set to capture jpg and dng files together - the jpg looks sharp and accurately exposed, and if I want the very best quality I can edit the dng files later.
The quality of the edited GCam Night mode dng is almost as good but it has a longer "hold still" time, so it's not my first choice for quality and convenience.
The Night Sight mode can also be used for daylight shots but it still doesn't give any sharper or more detailed result than the HDR+ Enhanced mode. The edited dng files from both look just the same, so the HDR+ Enhanced mode is still the best choice.
However in very extreme low light situations I may try the GCam Night Sight mode, which has the longest "hold still" time. But so far I’ve been happy with the quality achieved by the HDR+ Enhanced option.
The examples are from the central area of the picture to make comparisons easier...
I”m using
Wichaya's 8.1 v1.6: GCam_8.1.101_Wichaya_V1.6
Wichaya-8.1.101-ZF8-amrazing33.xml
The HDR+ modes and Ram Patcher settings are shown in the screenshots.
In GCam Settings I have the Multiframe HDR+ Enhanced set to Very High.

Did someone try night sky photos?
I could not get good star photos with gcam, but with Asus cam they look decent.