[Novel accessory] Xenon flash for X1 - XPERIA X1 Accessories

Y'all, I did it. I hacked into a slave xenon flash so that the LED on the X1 triggers the slave flash automatically. It's outrageously bright and works perfectly. (The attached picture is with the xenon flash on the lowest setting) It's actually too bright for close-ups on the lowest setting, but I'll probably put some tape over the flash so I can have a closer range.
I attach the flash to the side of the X1 using velcro and the X1 stylus which slides into the slave flash.
I can't at all recommend doing this at home, because the slave flash has a giant capacitor in it big enough to throw your heart into a fatal arrythmia if you make one wrong move. Seriously.
The attached pictures are obviously before-after...

SLICK
this is one bad ass mod my friend. i bet it makes macro pics even better too.. ha. great work my friend thanks for sharing

killerskincanoe said:
this is one bad ass mod my friend. i bet it makes macro pics even better too.. ha. great work my friend thanks for sharing
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Click to collapse
Thanks, dude! It's pretty sweet - just something I've always wanted to do because the camera is very fine when there is plenty of light. Obviously packing a digital camera would be just as easy, but it has been fun to prove the concept.
I have been playing with the camera settings to try to optimize the pictures. I hoped to use the "action" setting to reduce blurring with movement but the shutter time is actually too fast (or the flash too brief), so that it only lights up the top 80% of the picture. Turns out "portrait" mode is best for whatever reason.
If anyone knows how to hack the registry to change exposure times please let me know (I looked hard and there's nothing obvious). Manually changing exposure times via the d-pad is not adequate.
I also put some of that brown packing tape over the flash, which reduces overexposure and gives the light a more natural hue (rather than whitish-blue).
This would also work well on the Expo, but attaching it to the side would be more difficult.
I'll upload some newer better pictures soon.

thats ****in nice man.. good job!
i was thinking of doing a mod like this but i wanted to find a flash thats around the same size and just replace it.. ye power would be a problem but i had an idea for that too..just cant find a flash thats the right size

grimey01 said:
thats ****in nice man.. good job!
i was thinking of doing a mod like this but i wanted to find a flash thats around the same size and just replace it.. ye power would be a problem but i had an idea for that too..just cant find a flash thats the right size
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Click to collapse
Yeah, it's IMPOSSIBLE to find a smaller slave xenon flash; I looked around forever. You can certainly find plenty of xenon bulbs, and even disposable camera xenon flash apparati, but those don't work for one reason or another. Sony actually has another xenon flash for it's old camera phones, but it's triggered by a circuit and not by LED, so I can't see how you'd make it work.
Anyway, if you develop anything let me know. The slave I use above is obviously big and awkward, and it would be great to get something smaller.
But just so you know: any xenon flash is going to require a pretty fat capacitor, so you couldn't squeeze it into the X1 as is, unfortunately.

Related

display in sunlight

been searching posts for hours, have'nt yet seen this subject/problem covered. with the dark backgrounds on most of these roms, it makes it very hard if not impossible to view info on the screen outside in sunlight. i've used homescreen rebuilder to make my own w/white background and it's very good in the sun but it switches to a different homescreen. i know you can tweak some colors but any other options out there ?
S620 using ROM 3VO.2.90.092509. really love this one, very nice.
what is homescreen rebuilder?
Hi
I too have wondered about the display on my S620 while in sunlight. I was wondering if there was anything that could be done to make it easier to read the screen while outside. You mentioned homescreen rebuilder. What is that and how do I get it? I have been looking for something to make it easier to read the display while in direct sunlight. Thanks!
hey ramfan43, all the posts i've read here can't find anyone with the same gripe. google "madbeetle", click on 1st result_ madbeetle.com. it's called Homescreen Builder. actually found it on a freeware site. it's a bit limited but you have to check for yourself. i designed just a couple w/white backgrounds and really improved viewing outdoors. just switch back and forth. i literally can't see the screen to make a call. hopefully a better solution out there. can't be just me.
I am having the same issue. I can't see the screen in sunlight and I need to go in shadow to do anything.
Big Hands
Cover over like visor
Stylez said:
Big Hands
Cover over like visor
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow! LMAO Stylez...
Anyways, why is this such an issue. Wasn't it 'resolved' earlier on by mentioning to make the background brighter? Besides that, there is not much to do...the screen was not designed for the sunlight, it was designed to illuminate/create an image as much as possible, and it does that...any reflection, sunlight, or fading issues in the screen are just hardware (as far as this thread is concerned).
I say that the only permanent solution that is both cheap and easy is Stylez haha, if it bothers you that much, cover it with your hand...
OR
Just don't use it when you are outside! Being outside is when you should be one with nature, not separated both socially and physically from the real world by the means of an electronic device....
Those are my 2 (or more) cents.
Guess I threw one you guys can't solve. i've done the "cover the screen with your hand thing" it does'nt help much. thought the idea of a cell phone was so you "could" use it outside. i learn fast and when i figure out how to make my own ROM or tweak someone elses, i'll do it myself. i don't know enough yet but seems to me all that needs to be done is design with lighter backgrounds or the ability to switch the homescreen colors. anyone tell how to tweak the color on 3VO EXCA 6.5 ? very, very nice ROM.
crz6662 said:
Guess I threw one you guys can't solve. i've done the "cover the screen with your hand thing" it does'nt help much. thought the idea of a cell phone was so you "could" use it outside. i learn fast and when i figure out how to make my own ROM or tweak someone elses, i'll do it myself. i don't know enough yet but seems to me all that needs to be done is design with lighter backgrounds or the ability to switch the homescreen colors. anyone tell how to tweak the color on 3VO EXCA 6.5 ? very, very nice ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All of what you want to do with regards colours is simps, change wallpaper in settings, if using 6.5 make taskbar same colour also mentioned in a thread, if using standard taskbar then basehue changes colour.
With regards cooking own ROM goodluck
I use the opposite dark homescreens and can still use phone in sunlight via the diy hand
Thank god for OLED becoming the better choice nowadays.
stylez said:
Big Hands
Cover over like visor
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh really? Like I haven't tried that before!
Come one fellas we aint that dumb.
Cyclonezephyrxz7 said:
Wow! LMAO Stylez...
Anyways, why is this such an issue. Wasn't it 'resolved' earlier on by mentioning to make the background brighter? Besides that, there is not much to do...the screen was not designed for the sunlight, it was designed to illuminate/create an image as much as possible, and it does that...any reflection, sunlight, or fading issues in the screen are just hardware (as far as this thread is concerned).
I say that the only permanent solution that is both cheap and easy is Stylez haha, if it bothers you that much, cover it with your hand...
OR
Just don't use it when you are outside! Being outside is when you should be one with nature, not separated both socially and physically from the real world by the means of an electronic device....
Those are my 2 (or more) cents.
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Click to collapse
Should have kept the 2 cents.
Capitan Totti said:
Oh really? Like I haven't tried that before!
Come one fellas we aint that dumb.
Should have kept the 2 cents.
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Click to collapse
Nothing about being dumb Just that we don't have a proper light config and not everything on a win mo device is twaekable. oh let me say that again not everything on a win mo device is twaekable
Big Hands Rule

Camera question - Washed out pictures?

Hey Guys....thanks in advance for any replies...
Can anyone give me some tips on how to take decent pictures with the Evo? In most cases I am taking pictures in dimly lit restaurants or bars (no comments please, heh heh) and most of the time the pictures are completely washed out due to the flash coming on and lighting up the subjects faces like a Christmas tree.
Does anyone know if there are settings, other software or any other tips that can be used to help me take better pictures??
Thank you!
From the camera app,there is a tab on the left side in landscape mode. If you slide it open, choose settings, then brightness a slider will open. I've found that in dim to dark conditions, best results with flash on are with the brightness set to around -2.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Theres an old photographer's trick, not the most elegant of solutions but putting a piece of scotch tape over the flash will help diffuse the light and also get rid of the harsh shadows from the flash.
bluehaze said:
Theres an old photographer's trick, not the most elegant of solutions but putting a piece of scotch tape over the flash will help diffuse the light and also get rid of the harsh shadows from the flash.
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Honestly this has started to cross my mind too. The two flashes 'sounds' like a good idea...but they are WAY TO HOT for a close up (within 6 feet or so). Now they did actually work pretty well at dusk for a test shot about 12 feet away. (So that should tell you they are too bright for close work)
I am thinking of maybe taping just one and testing.
But you could use scotch tape as posted, because the frosted look of the tape would help diffuse the light. (Remembering it will diminish ability to flash far away.)
Have to start treating this more like cameras now...they are going to require more than point and forget.
Idea
I asked the same question a few weeks ago - why doens't the EVO do light metering.
One though would be to use a LED application to turn on the LED light - maybe on low, and don't use the flash on the camera application? I know a pain to do (and a loss of coolness points) but might work?
if you really want to be photo savvy go to a photo store and get a sheet of diffusion gel, and just place a small cut out in between the flashes and the battery cover. also always shoot as low as you can go with the ISO, the problem with the EVO camera is that when in low light situations it switches to a high ISO, but it doesn't factor in the fact that the flash is going to go off, so when the flash goes off, the high ISO coupled with the strong flash means super overexposed picture. so either leave the camera at iso 100 or 200 and try shooting that way or try the diffusion i stated earlier.
the camera is just very badly coded. for instance what the camera should be doing is lighting the flash to focus, read exposure and compensate, then take the picture with the proper level flash. as it is now all it does is try to focus completely in the dark, then just flash the flash at full power while its taking the picture. it really is a terribly coded camera.
its like the people over at HTC basically just added the lcd's just to add them, i mean we already know that the LCD can be used at various levels of intensity...its a damn shame...
Are there no apps out that improve the cameras function? i figured there would be.

One Day in vs HTC Desire (low tech but realistic thoughts)

OK. Im a gadget lover but no audiophile or Android Developer. Just thought id put my opinions based on moving from a much older phone ....
My thoughts one day in having moved from a rooted/flashed HTC Desire....
The Nexus is gorgeous to look at. Feels sturdier than the GS IIs that I have seen/played with. Feels substantial. i like to know i have a phone on me.
The screen is great. blacks are very black (IMHO) and colour is vibrant. The resolution is great.
I dont have huge hands but im not having a problem with the unit size.
Battery life so far seems MUCH better than my Desire. And everything is MUCH quicker too (hardly surprising).
Ive had a couple of Force Closes but nothing too drastic. I guess this is part of the downside of ICS early adoption. Hopefully the fixes will come thick and fast.
The camera is OK. better than my Desire but i wouldnt swap an SLR for it, but hey, its a mobile phone ! Very quick to focus and shoot though.
The speaker volume is moderate. Better than my Desire but not as loud as my wifes new Expedia ARC S.
The headphones that are bundled arent bad at all. Playing mp3 through them is fine but ive also used some SONY headphones. plenty of bass and the sound is clear. Again, much better sound than my Desire.
No Flash is a pain, but hopefully this will be with us soon.
No SD card .... shame .... had put me in the frame for buying a RAZR but having seen the GN in the shop I just had to have it
Face recognition is a fun novelty. i know its not secure but it works better than i thought it would.
ICS looks nice. Mixes the best from gingerbread and Honeycomb (I have a Transformer too). Not keen on the google search on every screen but thats what other launchers are for. At least with no physical buttons we can benefit from any changes Google decide to apply - hopefully adding a search button again ?
So far very impressed. I know a lot of people will be uber-critical about some things so just wanted to put a realistic slant on things
I'd agree with most of your post. I have come to it from a Desire as well. Google Earth doesn't seem to want to work which others have noted. Apparently Flash will be supported soon. The BBC News app doesn't appear in the market for me?
Face Unlock is weird. Sometimes it won't recognise me, even in good light, yet it'll occasionally work when I'm moving in a dark room and all blurry! Very odd. I'd say it works 90% of the time though. My only gripe is it takes a second or so from pressing the power button to the camera being ready to actually see me.
jmbillings said:
I'd agree with most of your post. I have come to it from a Desire as well. Google Earth doesn't seem to want to work which others have noted. Apparently Flash will be supported soon. The BBC News app doesn't appear in the market for me?
Face Unlock is weird. Sometimes it won't recognise me, even in good light, yet it'll occasionally work when I'm moving in a dark room and all blurry! Very odd. I'd say it works 90% of the time though. My only gripe is it takes a second or so from pressing the power button to the camera being ready to actually see me.
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Agreed. i think face recognition will be a novelty that wears off.
I think some people looks for faults in everything
Two problems in my view:
1) Flash (but hopefully this will be sorted)
2) No SD ... i will just have to start trusting the cloud
wilbur-force said:
Agreed. i think face recognition will be a novelty that wears off.
I think some people looks for faults in everything
Two problems in my view:
1) Flash (but hopefully this will be sorted)
2) No SD ... i will just have to start trusting the cloud
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good thing a guy submitted a work in progress for a fingerprint unlock to CM Gerrit then. I'm assuming it works like the capacitive fingerprint readers used in laptops.

Major selfie cam distortion?

Okay, so I know no one likes the look of themselves when they catch glimpse of their face in selfie mode when you first open an app like Snapchat or front-facing cam is already activated when you go to take a pic etc, but, wow, I feel like a monster when I see how I look using the Note 7.
Arm fully stretched out and the pics/video look great, but why is it so disgustingly distorted up close? My head looks so long and weird. I know front-facing cams have always had a little distortion, but I've never experienced it this bad before (coming from 9 years of iPhones and brief flings with a Galaxy Note 1 and a LG G3).
Can anyone explain why? Will any of us have an ounce of self-esteem left after a few weeks of use?! lol
Sorry to say but you might just be ugly.
If i recall correctly there's a "beauty" setting that change the way your face looks, maybe it's on and you just don't like how it changes it ?
cadcamaro said:
Sorry to say but you might just be ugly.
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Click to collapse
You should be a comedian dude.
Shoubyy said:
If i recall correctly there's a "beauty" setting that change the way your face looks, maybe it's on and you just don't like how it changes it ?
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Click to collapse
Don't get me wrong, holding the phone with arm fully extended to take a selfie produces great results (with or without settings changed). I'm talking about when it's close to the face. The lens makes things look really out of shape. Never seen anything like it on a phone before.
musicconnect said:
You should be a comedian dude.
Don't get me wrong, holding the phone with arm fully extended to take a selfie produces great results (with or without settings changed). I'm talking about when it's close to the face. The lens makes things look really out of shape. Never seen anything like it on a phone before.
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I think because it is a wide angle lens so the edges of the camera lens makes you look a little weird. That's less so the case with the portion of the image that's more centered. Is the entire image distorted or only the edge portion of it?
mines super wide to what im accustomed too. Looks silly
Try to put your face in the middle of the camera, not near the edges.... Everything near the edges will look a little distorted since the camera is spheric and the image is a square, so thats just a weird effect.
When you use other apps that take 4:3 pictures you won´t notice this distortion because you are not using the edges of the camera, it will only happen in 16:9 pictures.
Basically every phone nowadays. Every one wants a wider selfie camera but don't realize wide lenses have a big byproduct. DISTORTION.
EVERYONE WANTS A WIDE ANGEL CAMARA. NOT SURE YOU KNOW EVERYONE, but if that was true then every one is an dumb *as. Wide angel is for scenery to shoot landscape not to point at once face and look like a blower fish.
My phone is useless with this wide angel camera and the idiots at Google messed up since the camera app was supposed to correct the image but doesnt work. SO we should be asking for a recall and a refund, but we are so stupid that we just deal with it. THis is a defect people. I have go pro with wide angel camera and my face doesnt look like long or fat head. COMPLAIN PEOPLE AND GET A REPLACEMENT OR A YOUR MONEY BACK> I"m a professional photographer, so I'm telling you. You all got scammed

Initial Camera Observations

Had my first day out with the V30 yesterday and just imported the photos and videos from it to my laptop for a closer look to make some initial evaluations. With some very interesting things to note and a lot to dig into further. There's definitely some realities that need to be addressed to better manage expectations.
1) I have no f'n clue what the HDR setting is doing other than making crappy photos. Which is about the same as it was on the V20. It's completely the opposite of what it was on the Nexus 6. On the Nexus 6, if you wanted the best photos out of the Google Camera you could get, you turned on HDR and forgot about it. With LG's Camera app, it's the exact opposite. Turn it off and forget it was ever there.
I still need to figure out the mess that the Google Camera app port has become and DL a copy and see how it does with this sensor.
2) If you shoot manual, there's a noise reduction on/off switch now. Unless you have some decent NR software though or know what you want to do with grainy photos (and I think it will have its uses, I just have to find the right subject), leave it on in very low light conditions. Not only does it tame grainy noise, it also tames a bit of purple fringe that will show up in high gain (high ISO) photos once the electronics start heating up around it.
3) As to that last part of #2: We have to be realistic here. This is a tiny cellphone camera packed in with A LOT of other electronics. If you're shooting several shots in a row or long exposures, either in dark conditions at high ISO, you will see amp glow or purple fringing. It's just a reality. Even DSLRs see it.
4) Digital zoom is digital zoom. If you aren't using just the standard view of each sensor, then you are going to see the limitations of a small sensor. I don't care what cellphone you're using. None of my larger/dedicated cameras have it for many good reasons. You shouldn't expect miracles from a smaller camera.
5) The wide angle sensor actually takes pretty good shots now in most conditions! The wide angle camera on the V20 was full of so many compromises that I avoided it at all costs. If I wanted a wider view than the standard lens, I would use the pano setting on the standard lens. Which is still a great option if everything in the frame is going to sit still but it takes time and patience. It still has distortion though, just not as much as before. You can't focus the wide angle in manual mode but you can in auto. Weird. It doesn't like to focus pointing directly overhead. That was hit or miss. Same rules about the NR and HDR apply here.
6) Video AF in low low light does miss sometimes. Again, just remember this phone doesn't have all the high end AF sensors that some DSLRs have to make sure focus is nailed every single time. Somewhere there's an article about the useful range of all the AF systems on the V20, I assume it still applies to the V30. I'll dig it up if I can to help manage expectations. If I remember right, laser AF is short range, maybe 7 feet.
7) During my import of files from my phone to my laptop, some of my videos lost their audio tracks. Not sure what that's about. I don't remember which ones were auto and which ones were manual but I suspect that's the problem. All videos have sound on my phone though.
8) I suck at video. Kinda hoping to kick myself in the rear with this phone and learn more about it. There's a lot more to manage and I probably won't be happy until I figure out the whole color grading thing and get the look I want. So the log file option ought to be a nice addition.
9) I remember telling someone that I swear I saw a video somewhere of a pre-unit that had the directional mics settings in manual video. Well, I can tell you that I must have imagined that because the unit I have does not have that setting. Just sliders and windcut.
10) And I don't know where LG is hiding it but I don't see 240 fps in any settings anywhere. The fastest video setting I see is 120fps. (Remember, only at 720p) I'm guessing 240 fps is reserved for the slo-mo mode and not available in manual or auto video modes.
11) Selfie camera. Yeah, I've seen the complaints. Are you sure your ugly mugs aren't breaking the camera? I posted this in the first impressions thread and I'll post it here. First thing I suggest doing is turning down the "skin toning" and skin lighting settings. Whoever renamed skin smoothing to skin toning should be shot as that's not what I thought that setting was at all. My first thought is that it adjusted the white balance of the skin to give you a rosier glow. Nope. Skin toning will butter face the heck out of you even on basics settings. Set it to zero. After that, the image held up well to some post processing and consistently gave me selfies I actually like. They actually remind me of something that might come from..... film.
I'm going to do some more shooting today and I'll try to figure out how to post examples without making you all click through to some other site. I also need to figure out how to get the videos over sound and all so I can give them honest assessments.
Ah, I just remembered something else to look out for.
12) If you shoot in manual and have the RAW option turned on, it isn't like on a real camera where you get the RAW file and a processed version of the RAW file. It shoots two photos. This does two things. One, it means you will see lag as it is shooting two photos for each press. This gets worse with longer shutter speeds. Two, this means unless you're shooting a still life that the RAW and JPG will not match. If you're shooting action like I was last night, you will get two completely different photos.
Interesting. Thanks for you observations.
I'm a pixel owner and I love the camera. It's ace. I really want to like the v30, but so far the real world observations and initial reviews haven't sung the praises of the camera. Are you happy with the camera or is it not worth the hype?
The camera is better than the V20 and I liked that a lot. Here's the issue in a nut shell. This phone is for those that aren't happy to just let the device to everything for you like an Apple product would. If that's what you want, that's what Pixels are about. Pixel is Google's iPhone. If you want control over the creative process, that's why the V's exist. The V series is more akin to using a DSLR and Pixels are more like a point and shoot. The Pixel series they're kinda hoping you're ok with whatever the phone spits out. The V series you tweak the initial settings and decide what the phone is even going to shoot so you can tweak it more to your liking later. The V30 gives us even more control than the V20 does.
CHH2 said:
The camera is better than the V20 and I liked that a lot. Here's the issue in a nut shell. This phone is for those that aren't happy to just let the device to everything for you like an Apple product would. If that's what you want, that's what Pixels are about. Pixel is Google's iPhone. If you want control over the creative process, that's why the V's exist. The V series is more akin to using a DSLR and Pixels are more like a point and shoot. The Pixel series they're kinda hoping you're ok with whatever the phone spits out. The V series you tweak the initial settings and decide what the phone is even going to shoot so you can tweak it more to your liking later. The V30 gives us even more control than the V20 does.
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Click to collapse
Interesting. Thanks for the summary
I would like to but V30, all because camera. But I don't know is this camera one of the best in 2017 or it is just average camera. I see many bad comments on internet. And is front face camera really bad?
isko01 said:
I would like to but V30, all because camera. But I don't know is this camera one of the best in 2017 or it is just average camera. I see many bad comments on internet. And is front face camera really bad?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I probably still have a few more days of testing but just based off of what I've seen in my standardized shooting at the museum, LG has pulled off a miracle with this tiny little sensor.
Like I said above, you have to have realistic expectations and know what the limits are of your gear. That's what a really good photographer does though. They know how the gear works and how to use what it does but also know when it's time to use something else or accept not getting a shot.
This is a tiny sensor. The largest sensor on this whole phone is only 1/3.09". It's smaller than the main one on the V20 but it looks better. That in itself is amazing but I'm not expecting a sensor that's 1/3 the size of the sensor of my smallest camera to match it. Yet that's what some people seem to expect . Which is asinine.
Really the only "failing" I had yesterday was trying to shoot overhead in extremely dark conditions with the wide angle camera and shooting performers wearing all black on an outdoor stage in the dark with just stage lighting (which was changing colors constantly) while moving around quickly. Neither of those surprised me at all. The second condition really is the realm of DSLRs still. The first one, I'm ok with too. That said, what I did get from the second condition, I'm still surprised with.
I've only had one day with it but I think I'm going to get some surprising images out of this camera. Now to teach myself more about video editing.
And again, about the front camera. Once you set those stupid settings to the bottom, you can get more skin detail out of a photo than most people would like to see. Every crease and furrow in my brow line and forehead ,pock mark in my nose, and hairs on my head and beard. From shooting models, I can tell you a lot of people wouldn't want to see that level of detail on their face. So I have no idea what people are complaining about. It's an f'n vanity camera that most people wouldn't want to use to its full potential.
Uploaded a couple of shots. All shots are my normal workflow with a cellphone camera. Shot with the V30 and the jpegs processed in Snapseed. First one is shot with the main camera overhead in a room not known for being well lit at the museum I used to work at. In fact the only real lighting is from some LEDs in the pearl at center. The LEDs are designed to be very soft so they don't degrade the paint and woodwork. The other two shots are selfies taken with indirect sunlight being the only light source indoors. The one with back background is indirect sun through clear glass. The one with the light background is indirect sunlight through very milky glass.
Main camera: https://www.flickr.com/photos/chimphappyhour/36870848874/
Dark background selfie cam: https://www.flickr.com/photos/chimphappyhour/37322765870/
Light background selfie cam: https://www.flickr.com/photos/chimphappyhour/23728950428/
Seriously, I'm not sure I'd really want more detail than that. I'm actually quite please with how all of these images turned out so far. I'll try to work up some more shots from the main and wides.
Can you post some pics in a room at night with just a lamp on or something in auto mode?
EVOme said:
Can you post some pics in a room at night with just a lamp on or something in auto mode?
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I'll have to see what I can set up. That's not really a normal shot I have set-up or sitting around. I might be able to do something at work tomorrow before everyone else gets in and the whole place is blasted with light. Unfortunately, I no longer work at the museum but I might be able to make something work.
isko01 said:
I would like to but V30, all because camera. But I don't know is this camera one of the best in 2017 or it is just average camera. I see many bad comments on internet.
And is front face camera really bad?
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Click to collapse
I'm not hijacking this thread, but you asked a specific question. There's another thread where the camera is discussed, along with other features, and @keithleger took all his in "auto" mode, to compare the two V30 back cameras, and he also compared it to the Note 8 camera which he's decided to sell.
Camera
-Excellent camera but not on par with Pixel line or Samsung. Don't get me wrong, it is a great camera and in the sunlight it is fantastic but low light it does not do as well as Note 8. Video or Stills. But it is very adequate for my needs and I prefer having the wide-angle lens over the zoom lens any day.
-The one thing that really bothered me was shutter lag at times. Sometimes when I snapped a photo it was almost instant and others I had to wait a second or so. Long enough to think I might not of pressed the button. Not sure if others have had this issue but it is troublesome. It was not isolated to taking multiple photos fairly quickly either. Sometimes first shot.
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However, he's selling the Note 8 to keep the LG V30.
He posted an album of his first weekend pictures, as well as the comparison shots to the Note 8. The V30 outside shots look FANTASTIC, and even though the Note 8seemed to do better indoors the LG V30 won at least one of the indoor shots, in my opinion.
As for selfies, he gives the same advice as @CHH2.. Turn off the enhancemet crap on the selfie camera.
keithleger said:
For selfies, if you set the skin tone and lighting effects to 0 then it is ok.
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CHH2 said:
Selfie camera. . First thing I suggest doing is turning down the "skin toning" and skin lighting settings.
Skin toning will butter face the heck out of you even on basics settings. Set it to zero.
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See, they say the same thing. The only reason I'm mentioning the other thread -- and I do not mean to hijack @CHH2 camera thread -- is because @keithleger has direct comparisons to the Note 8 camera was well as the f/1.6 and wide angle cameras on the V30. Plus he only shot in auto, and didn't do any post processing (to my knowledge).
I appreciate all the work @CHH2 has put into this thread!
CHH2 said:
I'll have to see what I can set up. That's not really a normal shot I have set-up or sitting around. I might be able to do something at work tomorrow before everyone else gets in and the whole place is blasted with light. Unfortunately, I no longer work at the museum but I might be able to make something work.
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Thanks! You don't have to go out of your way. I will have my phone tomorrow.
EVOme said:
Thanks! You don't have to go out of your way. I will have my phone tomorrow.
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I shot this real quick this morning. It's completely SOOC. Yes, you might notice something rather odd and be asking yourself, "Why didn't he rotate the image?" Well, I didn't rotate it because on my phone the image is upright and correct. Somewhere between the phone and Flickr, it got rotated. I'll be deleting this one at the end of today as it's not really something I'd normally shoot even as a reminder or novelty.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/chimphappyhour/36882784984/
And just because I got lucky this morning, a little close up:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/chimphappyhour/37593620881/
Going to add one more photo. This one shot in probably one of the most challenging places to shoot, a jazz club. This is probably the cleanest shot I've taken in there with a cellphone. I'm impressed.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/chimphappyhour/36883443574/
CHH2 said:
I shot this real quick this morning. It's completely SOOC. Yes, you might notice something rather odd and be asking yourself, "Why didn't he rotate the image?" Well, I didn't rotate it because on my phone the image is upright and correct. Somewhere between the phone and Flickr, it got rotated. I'll be deleting this one at the end of today as it's not really something I'd normally shoot even as a reminder or novelty.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/chimphappyhour/36882784984/
And just because I got lucky this morning, a little close up:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/chimphappyhour/37593620881/
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Wow man! I have restored faith in the camera. That office shot is very sharp. For the grasshopper, are you using one of the installed filters or is a post render?
Thank you for taking those.
EVOme said:
Wow man! I have restored faith in the camera. That office shot is very sharp. For the grasshopper, are you using one of the installed filters or is a post render?
Thank you for taking those.
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You're welcome. For photos, I never use the filters in the camera apps. I always use Snapseed. It has a lot more control and much more power once you learn how to apply the various filters in combination. The grasshopper only had typical post processing that most photographers would apply; a tad sharpening that is only really noticeable when zoomed in, B&W conversion, bump in contrast, and a bump in shadows to make them a tad darker. Oh, and a crop, maybe threw away a little more than half the overall pixels from the frame as I didn't want to scare it off.
And yeah, for being such a tiny sensor, I'm impressed with the low light shooting. I still want to try shooting in the basement of the jazz club. That's usually territory that I need at least my smaller dedicated camera if not my DSLR. I won't get to try that again until this next weekend.
Decided to try something a little different. This isn't final by any means but this shows what playing around for a couple of minutes in Snapseed with just a couple quick shots can get you: https://www.flickr.com/photos/chimphappyhour/37605204891/
Looking forward to showing this to my curator friend and watching him fall off of his barstool when I tell him it was all done on one cellphone in under five minutes. (He's pretty much a film guy as is the guy who is the inspiration for this photo. Bonus points if you can name the photographer I'm copying for this photo.)
Main camera: https://www.flickr.com/photos/chimphappyhour/36870848874/
Dark background selfie cam: https://www.flickr.com/photos/chimphappyhour/37322765870/
Light background selfie cam: https://www.flickr.com/photos/chimphappyhour/23728950428/
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What camera was used for those selfies? I'm not a fan of selfies but love the ones you've taken. I'd like to experiment with it and my fiance would too.thank you. Btw love you test album. Talent for sure
lg3FTW said:
Main camera: https://www.flickr.com/photos/chimphappyhour/36870848874/
Dark background selfie cam: https://www.flickr.com/photos/chimphappyhour/37322765870/
Light background selfie cam: https://www.flickr.com/photos/chimphappyhour/23728950428/
.
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What camera was used for those selfies? I'm not a fan of selfies but love the ones you've taken. I'd like to experiment with it and my fiance would too.thank you. Btw love you test album. Talent for sure[/QUOTE]
I used the front selfie camera with all of those silly settings at the bottom of the frame turned off, set to zero, whatever their values are. Then I just did some quick processing in Snapseed. That's pretty much it. I don't get too complex. And thank you.
Finally figured out a work around so I can hear the audio on the videos I'm importing from the phone to my laptop and can't believe I didn't think of this before. Pulled the videos from their folder over into an empty Chrome browser window and Voila! they played complete with their soundtrack!
So the following is from shooting in a dark jazz club. (Notes, not footage yet. I'll try uploading something to youtube when I figure out what, when, and how.)
Probably the most important observation I see about video from the V30 (and this actually applied to the V20 too) is that loud music can end up jostling the OIS and introduce more shake than it removes.
Another observation is that recording video while in Auto mode, you better make sure you have plenty of somewhat decent light. Tonight while playing around, the screen would be plenty bright all the way up until I hit that little red record button. Then the screen squeezes down and went dark enough that the footage was unusable. Shooting in manual video mode, I was able to get some footage. It wasn't exactly ideal settings that I was shooting with though so the footage is so-so. (Best settings I could get were ISO 3200 and a shutter speed of 1/25. My understanding is that since I had my frame rate at 24fps, I should have had a shutter speed of 1/50 but that just wasn't happening inside that place.)
In manual video mode, it really doesn't like ISO 3200 for some reason. I'd play with a setting and come back and the ISO would be set to 3150 for some reason. I'd bump it back up to 3200, go do something else, come back to 3150. I would have to make sure that's the last thing I tweaked before hitting the record button.
The audio picks up pretty much all the sounds I'm hearing. I need to sit down with headphones and see if there's extra noise being introduced. I suspect dragging the videos into the Chrome browser is exactly the best quality test. It just lets me know the audio tracks are intact in the file which I was a little worried about at first.
I still have a lot more playing around with the video as most of it is new to me.

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