Front Facing Cameras - Is your Wide angle better than Normal? - LG V40 Questions & Answers

Ok, so I really want to love this phone but I can't figure out why the front camera wide angle photos look sharp (almost too sharp) and the normal 8 Mp photos from the front camera have no detail whatsoever. Look at the attached picture and compare the clarity of the nose, eyes, and eyebrows. The difference is huge. When taking portraits, you don't have an option to take wide angle photos, so portraits from the 8Mp camera don't look good. Normal camera should be the same as the one in G7, but it's not nearly as good.
No effects / skin smoothing etc is applied, so I'm thinking mine is defective. Can you guys take some side by side normal and wide angle photos with the front camera to compare?
Thanks.
Allen K

Your “standard” camera looks unfocused, which is why it is blurrier.
That said, after some testing I do think the “wide” selfie camera looks better in general. The main thing that bothers me is the two cameras have differing color profiles. I prefer the default color profile of the wide, so that looks better to be.
The same problem applies to the rear camera as well.
Sent from my LM-V405 using Tapatalk

It doesn't seem to focus. When I tap on the screen, all it does is change the exposure / brightness, but there is no change in focusing. It seems that both front cameras have a fixed focus because neither adjust to tapping, but wide angle has a good bit more detail.
I stopped by the store and took two pictures side by side - store unit was noticeably better, though as good as I would've liked. I'm getting another G7 for my wife and will have to compare them.
Allen K
shoes22 said:
Your “standard” camera looks unfocused, which is why it is blurrier.
That said, after some testing I do think the “wide” selfie camera looks better in general. The main thing that bothers me is the two cameras have differing color profiles. I prefer the default color profile of the wide, so that looks better to be.
The same problem applies to the rear camera as well.
Sent from my LM-V405 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

From what I can tell, and based on some reviews I've watched, front cameras have fixed focus... maybe, due to this, the main lens has a larger minimum distance that needs to be maintained for a clearer shot. It still seems a bit off.. but I've been able to get somewhat better shots out of it holding the camera a bit farther away. I'm getting a G7 for my wife, so I'll be able to do some comparisons.
shoes22 said:
Your “standard” camera looks unfocused, which is why it is blurrier.
That said, after some testing I do think the “wide” selfie camera looks better in general. The main thing that bothers me is the two cameras have differing color profiles. I prefer the default color profile of the wide, so that looks better to be.
The same problem applies to the rear camera as well.
Sent from my LM-V405 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Allen K said:
From what I can tell, and based on some reviews I've watched, front cameras have fixed focus... maybe, due to this, the main lens has a larger minimum distance that needs to be maintained for a clearer shot. It still seems a bit off.. but I've been able to get somewhat better shots out of it holding the camera a bit farther away. I'm getting a G7 for my wife, so I'll be able to do some comparisons.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you help me to check the camera sensor using 'device hw info' from playstore?

I can.. what would you like to know?
harysviewty said:
Can you help me to check the camera sensor using 'device hw info' from playstore?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Allen K said:
I can.. what would you like to know?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
https://forum.xda-developers.com/lg-v40/how-to/lg-v40-pentacamera-sensors-t3870789
I just wanna make sure that what I wrote here is correct. Some say that the front camera is sl846, not Sony imx219 sensor

I can post a screenshot, but everything is exactly the same as in the image you posted in the thread you linked. It doesn't say exactly which camera model it is.. only the specs..
I can say this - I just compared the front camera with a G7, and the G7 is a little brighter and clearer, at least in semi-low light situation. It's possible that the main camera on my V40 is defective, but not bad enough to worry about it right now.
harysviewty said:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/lg-v40/how-to/lg-v40-pentacamera-sensors-t3870789
I just wanna make sure that what I wrote here is correct. Some say that the front camera is sl846, not Sony imx219 sensor
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Allen K said:
I can post a screenshot, but everything is exactly the same as in the image you posted in the thread you linked. It doesn't say exactly which camera model it is.. only the specs..
I can say this - I just compared the front camera with a G7, and the G7 is a little brighter and clearer, at least in semi-low light situation. It's possible that the main camera on my V40 is defective, but not bad enough to worry about it right now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you still have G7? Is it using 3 imx351 & 1 sl846?

Yes, I got the G7 yesterday. How can I tell the model number of the camera? I don't think the Device Info HW app tells me that. It only shows specs.
harysviewty said:
Do you still have G7? Is it using 3 imx351 & 1 sl846?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Found it. Attached photo is for the V40. G7 lists imx351 and sl846.
Interesting to note that the 16mp rear wide angle cameras have a different focal length between V40 and G7 - 2.18mm vs. 2.38mm. Both are f/1.9.
harysviewty said:
Do you still have G7? Is it using 3 imx351 & 1 sl846?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Allen K said:
Found it. Attached photo is for the V40. G7 lists imx351 and sl846.
Interesting to note that the 16mp rear wide angle cameras have a different focal length between V40 and G7 - 2.18mm vs. 2.38mm. Both are f/1.9.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you so much for your help. ?
Do you find any difference in picture quality from both of these phones (the identical sensors)?
Wait... Different focal length?, I hope this isn't like LG G6 variants
https://forum.xda-developers.com/lg-g6/how-to/lg-g6-wide-angle-camera-2-versions-one-t3712985/page1

Not sure about the focal length differences...but they're definitely not the same.
When taking a close-up selfie, the main camera on the G7 is much clearer than the V40's. But V40's wide angle is sharper than the main camera, and despite lower resolution, is much closer in clarity to the G7 only front camera. At a distance, the difference is a bit harder to notice.
That said, I did compare my phone to another V40 in the store, and the store demo was clearer, so I think mine might just be defective. I'm just not sure if it's worth trying to replace, since I would likely have to pay restocking and I don't want a refurbished unit from LG.
Allen K
harysviewty said:
Thank you so much for your help.
Do you find any difference in picture quality from both of these phones (the identical sensors)?
Wait... Different focal length?, I hope this isn't like LG G6 variants
https://forum.xda-developers.com/lg-g6/how-to/lg-g6-wide-angle-camera-2-versions-one-t3712985/page1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Related

camera thread?

On the fence on this one...
Got a Note1 right now, obviously, no OIS, the flex doesn't have it either.
I use the camera app FV-5, and have EXCELLENT result. I use my device a TON for the
camera, to document problems with machines I work on, including some macro shots, indoor
lighting most of the time, so the camera quality is important to me.
Could someone post a few photos? Would be nice if someone was using the FV-5 app, in
macro mode so I could see how well it holds up.
TIA!
p51d007 said:
On the fence on this one...
Got a Note1 right now, obviously, no OIS, the flex doesn't have it either.
I use the camera app FV-5, and have EXCELLENT result. I use my device a TON for the
camera, to document problems with machines I work on, including some macro shots, indoor
lighting most of the time, so the camera quality is important to me.
Could someone post a few photos? Would be nice if someone was using the FV-5 app, in
macro mode so I could see how well it holds up.
TIA!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would suggest the Note 3 if you enjoy taking a lot of pictures!
p51d007 said:
On the fence on this one...
Got a Note1 right now, obviously, no OIS, the flex doesn't have it either.
I use the camera app FV-5, and have EXCELLENT result. I use my device a TON for the
camera, to document problems with machines I work on, including some macro shots, indoor
lighting most of the time, so the camera quality is important to me.
Could someone post a few photos? Would be nice if someone was using the FV-5 app, in
macro mode so I could see how well it holds up.
TIA!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just made a Flex camera thread. I take a lot of pictures as well. The camera seems pretty good. Probably not as good as the G2 though.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=50687586
THANKS!
I'll check it out
sweets55 said:
I just made a Flex camera thread. I take a lot of pictures as well. The camera seems pretty good. Probably not as good as the G2 though.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=50687586
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Everyone's opinions are different I realize, but my person opinion of the flex camera is that it is so incredibly bad that I almost returned the phone for that reason only. I love taking pictures, and assumed it would have a good camera because it is so similar to the G2. Upon getting it home, I took several pictures and took the same pictures next to my wife's new xperia Z1s. The Sony makes the LG look like a complete joke. The whites on my pictures are as blue as blue can be. Anything dark is blotchy as all hell. The pictures in general look grainy, especially on the G Flex screen, but even if I take them off of the phone they look bad. Out door pictures are better, but inside the flash only makes matters worse as far as the blues. Its just hands down the worst cell phone camera I have used in years. I tried a few different apps on the market in hopes that it would help, but I found most to be really slow, or not any better than the stock app. If you are a picture taker, personally, I'd recommend anything other than the G Flex. Aside from the screen and the camera, it is a good phone that could be made great with vanilla android if the community every figures out the bootloader... but if your interests are the camera... pass on this one. Its down right awful. If you're not concerned about the phone's size, check the xperia out. The camera on my wife's phone is phenomenal. In any situation it takes beautiful photos from the stock app with zero effort.
Check out these Flex pictures in the review. They look pretty good to me for a camera phone that is.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ubergizmo/sets/72157640981795754/
LG G Flex Review
http://www.ubergizmo.com/2014/02/lg-g-flex-review/
therealciviczc said:
If you're not concerned about the phone's size, check the xperia out. The camera on my wife's phone is phenomenal. In any situation it takes beautiful photos from the stock app with zero effort.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The problem I have with the Z Ultra, is no LED/flash. The low/poor lighting might be an issue, from some of the
sample photos I've seen. The Xperia Z1/ZU only are 5" screens.
My Note1 is a 5.3, looking to go to a 6" screen this round.
LG G Flex 30 Day Challenge, Day 10: The Camera
http://www.phonedog.com/2014/02/28/lg-g-flex-30-day-challenge-day-10-the-camera/
sweets55 said:
Check out these Flex pictures in the review. They look pretty good to me for a camera phone that is.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ubergizmo/sets/72157640981795754/
LG G Flex Review
http://www.ubergizmo.com/2014/02/lg-g-flex-review/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
great... now I'm hungry for desserts and a burger....
I like the camer compared to the htc one... but i dont like how i get the blueish tint. And fixes for this or camera app that doesnt do that?
If you don't mind rooting and flashing, this is great news.
Jishnu Sur said
We will see what we can do once you get KK. Sharpness, colors everything.. Low fps fix and what not 
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda app-developers app
Sent from my LG-D959 using Tapatalk

Force camera vs. Hasselblad

I played around some today comparing the Force camera to the Hasselblad mod. As was expected, the Force did better in non zoom situations and the HB in zoom situations. I think there's still some room for the HB camera to improve through software updates.
These two photos are full zoom plus crop, which isn't terribly easy for a cell phone camera. Naturally the HB blew it away.
First pic is Force, second HB.
Next two photos are full zoom, no crop. Again, HB has the advantage. First pic is Force, second HB.
But in non zoom situations the Force has the upper hand.
First pic is Force, second is HB.
The flip of the previous photos. First pic is Force, second is HB.
Another full zoom plus crop. Not the same shot as it was a moving train.
First pic is HB, Second pic is Force.
benjamminh said:
The flip of the previous photos.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
benjamminh said:
But in non zoom situations the Force has the upper hand.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What device took what?
I labeled them in the posts now but I thought it would be pretty clear.
benjamminh said:
I labeled them in the posts now but I thought it would be pretty clear.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. My Moto is never overestimate the intelligence of a person.
Your photos prove what I've been trying to tell people on G+. The HB is good when zooming but the Z Force takes better photos otherwise.
I do think there's potential with software updates for the HB to improve.
One more comparison, again a zoom.
Just ordered a Hasselblad out of sheer curiosity. Moto Mods are such a cool concept compared to the shoddy implementation by LG, it'll be hard to switch to any other phones unless Moto releases a new mod enabled device.
karendar said:
Just ordered a Hasselblad out of sheer curiosity. Moto Mods are such a cool concept compared to the shoddy implementation by LG, it'll be hard to switch to any other phones unless Moto releases a new mod enabled device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
did you find a deal? or just decided to go with it?
which Moto Z are you putting it on?
CadillacMike said:
did you find a deal? or just decided to go with it?
which Moto Z are you putting it on?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got it as a seller refurbished item from eBay... 179$ US with shipping and duties, came to 100$ cheaper than if I got it in Canada.
I'm putting this on a Z-force droid! I wanna sell my RX100 camera, so I'm hoping the combination of the Hasselblad and Moto Z will be sufficient.
it's a real shame that the hasselblad doesn't actually help to get a better picture
hows the camera speed when using the mod?
The Hasselblad mod is definitely much much better than the force camera it has better stabilization, wider aperture and almost a full manual adjustment not to mention the raw imaging which take us to a new dimension
Sent from my XT1650 using XDA-Developers mobile app
Try Camera FV-5 with the stock camera....do not have the mod so I cant test it, but that does full manual controls plus raw capture
You can't really compare the Moto Z camera's "Zoom" to the Hasselblad's "Zoom" as these are two different technologies. One is digital zoom while the other is optical. The only way to truly compare the two would be to not use zoom on the Moto Z and use the zoom on the Hasselblad mod and crop the Moto Z picture to match the zoom on the mod - then compare the two images side by side.
Yes and no because you can also crop the zoomed in Hasselblad shot. But I agree it's generally better not to use the digital zoom on a cell phone camera.

Really two cameras ?!

Hello guys, I'm really disappointed and I need your explanations please !
I bought my Galaxy Note 9 (960F variant) from an official Samsung store so I'm sure I'm having a genuine one
As you know, there are two cameras in the rear. I thought that the main one is in the middle, and the 2X optical zoom powered is the one at the left.
Well, yesterday I was playing with my phone, and I masked the camera on the left with a paper. So I thought that I can take pictures in normal mode with the camera on the middle, but the 2X option should give me a blank picture only because of the mask. But no ! Both modes (1x and 2x) are using the same middle camera !
It's normal ?! So what is the purpose of the left sided camera ? Is the 2X really an optical zoom or just a software one ?!
Please do the test and answer me !
Maybe this explains is it
https://www.trustedreviews.com/reviews/samsung-galaxy-note-9-camera
My side camera works only on live focus. Everything else I tested works on the center only. I have a snapdragon, the same setup as my wife's Note 8 too. It's the way they are designed.
kaalalto said:
Hello guys, I'm really disappointed and I need your explanations please !
I bought my Galaxy Note 9 (960F variant) from an official Samsung store so I'm sure I'm having a genuine one
As you know, there are two cameras in the rear. I thought that the main one is in the middle, and the 2X optical zoom powered is the one at the left.
Well, yesterday I was playing with my phone, and I masked the camera on the left with a paper. So I thought that I can take pictures in normal mode with the camera on the middle, but the 2X option should give me a blank picture only because of the mask. But no ! Both modes (1x and 2x) are using the same middle camera !
It's normal ?! So what is the purpose of the left sided camera ? Is the 2X really an optical zoom or just a software one ?!
Please do the test and answer me !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's the same thing with the Note8. It all depends on the lighting and if anything blocking the other camera. It works by design. So when you hit 2x it seems it's blocked and gives you 2x digital zoom instead.
So it's truly an optical zoom ? I ask because if it's "just" a software one, I won't never use it to preserve picture quality !
kaalalto said:
So it's truly an optical zoom ? I ask because if it's "just" a software one, I won't never use it to preserve picture quality !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yep, AFAIK, it is true optical zoom. The camera just changes back to main camera if something is blocking the secondary one.
Um I try to not cover it ,but it still using the main one
JalenHo said:
Um I try to not cover it ,but it still using the main one
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here !
I hope I didn't started a "cameragate" scandal !
There are no official specifications from Samsung explaining the purpose of each camera ?!
It depends on the lighting
Try and go outside, on a sunny and bright day, point at the clouds or something, and zoom
Then cover the center camera, it should be using the 2x lens (can confirm with my SM-N960F)
kaalalto said:
Same here !
I hope I didn't started a "cameragate" scandal !
There are no official specifications from Samsung explaining the purpose of each camera ?!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You didn't, it's working properly. You are just confused. Cover the middle one and see. Take multiple pics @ 1x and then at @ 2x on both cameras with and without covering. Covering the camera just out it into a different mode so as to not take bad pics by default. The difference is clear of you understand the 2 technologies and have any eye for photography. It's working completely correctly and very nicely.
Yeah like the others stated, it's not supposed to work completely independently and take pictures even with no light to the sensor, it's supposed to be smarter than that, if it's working correctly.
Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
Hey all, I worked this out.
In a low light situation the wide camera is used for the 2X zoom (So technically Digital zoom)
In a situation with more light, it switches to the dedicated 2X camera.
You can test this by putting your finger over the camera and showing it a bight light, then dark. I'm guessing this is because the main (Wide) camera is better at low light.
willhemmens said:
Hey all, I worked this out.
In a low light situation the wide camera is used for the 2X zoom (So technically optical zoom)
In a situation with more light, it switches to the dedicated 2X camera.
You can test this by putting your finger over the camera and showing it a bight light, then dark. I'm guessing this is because the main (Wide) camera is better at low light.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, although you mean digital zoom for low light situations.
My issue is that sometimes the camera still decides to use digital zoom in good lighting instead of the second camera because it decides that a slightly overcast day or sunset is "low light" or the subject is too close. I'm guessing the second camera can't focus as closely and its optics aren't quite as good as the main camera. In more inconsistent conditions I can sometimes see the viewfinder image jump between the two lenses and usually settle for the digital zoom. Doesn't seem to be used at all in Pro Mode. (I also wish Pro Mode had burst capture)
If you look at the EXIF data you can see which lens is used for your photo. The wide lens is 4.3mm and the telephoto lens is 6mm. The mushroom images were taken 20 seconds apart with "2X" in Auto mode; in the second shot the camera decided to use the wide lens with crop, and the EXIF shows 4.3mm compared to the first image. The crop version just looks like an upscale and has more aggressive nose reduction and edge enhancement; it's not too bad compared to some phone cameras which add too much sharpening or use a simpler interpolation filter. The third image of the grasshopper/locust was in very bright daylight, but the camera decided to use the main camera with 2X crop.
https://imgur.com/a/MYpRogb
With video it tends to be even more obvious which camera is used because if you take 4K in low light with 2X enabled it looks more noise-reduced and interpolated.
I get that Samsung tried to make its camera app "smart" but the 2x button implies that it's using the 2x lens and doing otherwise is deceiving.
If I knew that a zoomed photo would use digital zoom then I'd rather take the full shot and crop later so that I can have more flexibility in framing.
While this is unlikely to ever happen, here's how I feel this should be fixed:
1) Add an option to force switch cameras in all conditions (perhaps in pro mode only?)
2) Hide the 2x button unless the telephoto camera will actually be used. Still allow pinch to digital zoom.
I've looked around but couldn't find any 3rd party camera apps which are able to use the zoom lens. Does anyone know of one?
I've tried a few shot it seems if the lighting isn't good enough it will stick with the primary camera., in good lighting it does work though.
Just do two shots with each and compare the level of detail, it should be obvious.

Is the secondary front facing camera real?

So the phone has 2 front facing cameras. The 24 megapixel camera is working fine. But is the 2 megapixel one working for you? I tried covering the camera and there is no difference in portrait blur. It looks like it's just some software blur instead of a real one.
The secound one i used for the bokeh effect.
I know. I have enabled bokeh and covered the second camera but the background is still blurred. Also it does a really bad job identifying what's in the background and what's in the front.
Try with covered lens on Aperture mode. You will see the difference.
Sent from my SNE-LX1 using Tapatalk
There is no aperture mode for the front facing camera.
ShareACoke said:
There is no aperture mode for the front facing camera.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My bad. Didn't read "front camera"... Yep on front one no difference if you cover the second sensor.
Sent from my SNE-LX1 using Tapatalk
Thanks for your answer. Do you know any way to check whether it is real or not?
That's very interesting.. i tried every mode, that i could, but as i can see, i don't really know, how to test it out :/
I just got a Mate 20 Lite. Funny if it is a fake camera.
Both secondary "cameras" are "depth sensors".
Anybody with Pie who got the depth sensor working?
Second cameras are working but they are working in conjunction with software. Software utilizes the additional information that is collected from the depth cameras but it does not solely rely on that information. And if you cover it you may not be able to see any difference because thanks to machine learning the software is really good at identifying subjects from the background. There is never a real bokeh on these smartphones because of the tiny lenses and sensors that are being used in them. So you are always in need of some software trickery to achieve good blurr. Another option is to get really close to your subjects but in many cases that is not useful.
Both the secondary cameras, front or rear, are real. But they are only used to the boken effect most of the time.
They are used to capture the depth of a cenary, imrpoving the effect in the final version.
You probably wont notice a difference if cover the secondary sensor, but in some cases can have impact.
Most of the work isn't done by that sensor, but by the câmera software, thats why you don't see any real difference in the images.
That secondary câmera can also be used to improve the quality of some photos, for instance, in the night.
So, is a real câmera? Yes, it is.
But like in any other dual câmera smartphone, is used for some situations, not all the time.

Photo details lower quality. Compared to 4xl

Pulled a sidegrade over from my 4xl to the 5. All was good until I started playing with the camera and images.
In almost every shot micro detail is worse than my pixel 4xl.
This can be seen in things like text or tree branches. The wide angle is even worse. Is this a software issue? Or the difference in dedicated processing chip?
My bet the reason is the lack of telephoto lense. (Which was replaced by the wide angle lense that most of people were asking for last year)
I mean if you are talking about doing zoom in the area of the photo where you put all the focus. Then, yes, definitely must be the telephoto lense.
Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk
thesebastian said:
My bet the reason is the lack of telephoto lense. (Which was replaced by the wide angle lense that most of people were asking for last year)
I mean if you are talking about doing zoom in the area of the photo where you put all the focus. Then, yes, definitely must be the telephoto lense.
Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, I'm talking about standard camera shots from the main sensor.
I have returned my 5 now but in side by side comparison the 4xl had more details preserved than the pixel 5 when looking up close.
For example I took a photo of a desk with a ruler on it from about 6ft away and the 4xl preserved the millimetres markings where as the 5 was blurred.
Another was longer distance shots of trees or anything that had finer branch like or line details and again the 4xl was cleaner and sharper than the 5.
On a screen side by side it's hard to tell. Untill you blow the picture up.
There's a lot of camera issues starting to pop up. Coming from 3XL I also noticed a bit of softness. I've also noticed that low light portrait photos and normal front facing photos in low light are not detailed at all .Slow mo resolution video is not up to what it's advertised too. Hopefully there is a camera update coming soon.
86rickard said:
Sorry, I'm talking about standard camera shots from the main sensor.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I hope I'm not wrong with this. But that's exactly what I was talking about.
We can agree that the telephoto was improving photos with Zoom (like 3X Zoom) and in some other camera modes.
But I'm also thinking that the telephoto was slightly improving the normal 1X shots in the "focus area" of the photo. I believe some telephoto lense sample was added to the HDR+ shots.
I might be wrong but I think I read something about that.
Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk
Wrong thread, sorry!

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