Camera focus is reaaaally bad. - myTouch 3G Slide Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

My camera has terrible focus, I've tried the half-hold on the camera button and tapping on the screen, but all my pictures come out horribly blurry. Is there a different setting a should try out? I maintained that an LED flash was one of the better things about this phone when put next to the Vibrant, but its not like the camera produces anything other than blurs anyways...

take off the small camera scratch "protector" ?
little basterd gets hazed over time

Well I also noticed its only sharp when I'm literally about an inch away from the subject. I'm gonna take it up to the t-mo store, and I'm hoping I can walk out of there with a replacement, or somehow...a Vibrant!

Related

Why all the bad press about the camera on this phone?

I took a few test shots, and the images look great! What are your thoughts on the camera guys?
I found that in dimmer lighting, it is not as impressive as advertised.
I think some of the problem is that the camera needs to be kept pretty still, so more pics are blurry due to phone movement.
I might argue that my N1 camera was better. Slower, but better pics in low lighting.
Hopefully some software tweaks can help this.
WilliamStern said:
I took a few test shots, and the images look great! What are your thoughts on the camera guys?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
compared to the sgs2 it's not as good.
Personally, I'm at a loss. As far as I can tell, 'zero shutter lag' basically means they've just removed auto focus?
Sure it takes instantaneous photos, but they are often blurry and out of focus unless I tap to focus first, then hold the phone super steady and then press the shutter (which is virtually impossible due to no physical shutter button).
So yeah, not that impressive to me and I don't get this whole zero shutter lag business.
Panorama mode is a total gimmick too, pictures are very tiny... though this is a criticism of ICS camera app and not the SGN's camera setup.
I am happy with the camera so far, I like the fact I don't have to wait 5-6s on my older phone to take another shot
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App
Here is a quick snap no "Focus Tap"
http://twitpic.com/7toyrq
it has been a hit or miss for me.
so probably when they tried it they got alot of misses lol.
i think the main thing is that a lot of people are going "5MP?!... all the other new phones are 8MP!!"
sure, it may not be able to take pictures at higher resolutions or produce quite the same quality as those 8MP cameras, but the fact that it can snap pictures instantly is a big plus.
that and even if you were to take a pic at "8MP", most likely you're not a professional photographer and you're going to be re-sizing the photo anyway.
In answer to your question, it's due to the fact there are plenty of high quality cameras out there on phones slightly older than this that produce superior photos. The GN is a beast of a phone with the latest mobile technology, but the camera is still a generation or two behind. Disappointing to say the least, but not disappointing enough to prevent me from getting it.
That's why.
Are you guys seriously that dumb?
The phone autofocuses still (without using touch to focus). Zero shutter lag means no lag WHEN TAKING THE PICTURE, AFTER IT FOCUSES.
I can't believe some people have no idea how this works lol. You still need to focus the damn thing, or wait for it to autofocus.
I find that the camera is quite good for taking pictures outdoors, but under artificial light the come out a little off. Mind you this is not messing with any settings, just taking pictures out of the box. I will say that no matter where I take the pictures and under whatever lighting, they turn out much better than my Droid 1 (which I fully expected)
I love the new software I think its a step up from the SGS2 even tho its not quite the 8MP. Yes, it may not beat the pants off the iPhone4s but really its a phone and does the job I want it to..... If I need DSLR quality I will take the DSLR out. Also, for me my pics are mostly viewed on the phone for family and friends...not for family portrait books ect. This topic is just like the battery life issue some are happy and some want perfection.... I want it too... but as our devices get better so do our expectations.
I agree the camera works great in natural sunlight, a little funky indoors under artificial light..However, since I've taken the phone out of the store i've been taking random pictures everywhere and none them have sucked so far...focus, clarity, and color are all very acceptable.
---------- Post added at 05:24 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:14 PM ----------
voxigenboy said:
i think the main thing is that a lot of people are going "5MP?!... all the other new phones are 8MP!!"
sure, it may not be able to take pictures at higher resolutions or produce quite the same quality as those 8MP cameras, but the fact that it can snap pictures instantly is a big plus.
that and even if you were to take a pic at "8MP", most likely you're not a professional photographer and you're going to be re-sizing the photo anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
even if it was a 15MP camera on my phone, i still would take a point & shoot camera for my precious moments..I guess i'm old school..I just use my phone camera for spur of the moment shots..which 5MP is more than adequate for the job.
True, but pics are still only very average even when focused. Poor, poor camera for such an uptodate phone. Google really have dropped the ball on this aspect.
One day a phone will work from all aspects - soon I hope!
It is too early for me to have a solid opinion but definitely better than the Dinc's 8MP. I really like the camera app on my Asus TF I was thinking the stock ICS cam app would be similar.
I think 1080P Video is very good for a phone, second only to iphone for my eye anyway.
---------- Post added at 05:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:11 PM ----------
Danny80y said:
.... want perfection.... I want it too... but as our devices get better so do our expectations.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
/slowclap
A bit on the nose but yes I wanted a N1 but they never came to verizon so I bought it's "cousin" the Dinc. I was awed by it and still am.
The GN...Makes it look like a ugly chunky brick with a dull screen...but so do most modern offerings.
The flash on people's skin (faces, etc) make you look orange, like you have jaundice or something.
I'm sure it will be fixed, just a bit irritating.
Speed is king, though.
The phone takes really blurry photos when I do try it.
Yes, I know what how to focus. Just seems even after it finishes focuses, the images come out blurry.
I've also compared it side by side to an i4s and it's night and day difference in quality.
http://i4c.org/86
Here's one of the better ones i've taken.
But most seem to come out blurry like this
http://i4c.org/88
my camera works great so far. occasional blurry pic but not often.
Can take some great pics.
Far better than my wife's 5mpx HTC Desire!!
For some reason, people think that zero lag means they can take a crystal clear pic instantly, without any kind of focus. Well DUH! lol!
OCCASIONALLY that'll work, but quite rare.
wonshikee said:
The phone takes really blurry photos when I do try it.
Yes, I know what how to focus. Just seems even after it finishes focuses, the images come out blurry.
I've also compared it side by side to an i4s and it's night and day difference in quality.
http://i4c.org/86
Here's one of the better ones i've taken.
But most seem to come out blurry like this
http://i4c.org/88
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To me the second one looks a bit more like motion blur instead of bad autofocus. 1/17s wasn't such a fast shutterspeed (low light) so you maybe moved the phone too much while taking the picture. It's not easy to hold such lightweight and thin devices really still.
You could try out another app like vignette which offers an option called "steady shot". Then it will take the picture when the phone is hold almost still - just may take a few seconds until it takes the picture then.

My pictures all turned out horrible! (blurry and over-exposed)

Ok, let me start out by saying I know very very little about photography. I pretty much just leave it on Auto. I mean, I know how to switch between different presets (Auto, Portrait, Night, HDR, etc.) and that you can tap to focus there.... that's about it. I don't know how to set ISO levels or anything else.
Anyway, so I was at a 3-day event a few weeks ago, and was hoping that my M8 was going to be a huge quality boost over my EVO 3D. Sure, the photos would be 4MP instead of 5 (Though most of my photos were 2MP anyway since I mostly shot in 3D) but I figured the phone being several years newer and having high low-light performance would offset that.... boy was I wrong.
I noticed that my indoor photos were kinda fuzzy and blurry, even with my hand held still (thank you HTC for removing the OIS...) so I resorted to taking the same photos 2-4 times and hope I can pick a "best shot" out of the batch later when I could review all my photos on a PC. (Yes, I know I can hold the shoot button to make it auto-snap quick images, but I wouldn't have time to review and select the best out of each one for each photo I took). Even with this many of them even with perfect focus were still pretty terribly grainy/noisy, some even out of a batch of 5-6 remained blurry.
Outdoor where there is a lot of sunlight...... had it's OWN problems! Any object, sign, wall, or person clothed in white was overexposed to near comical levels! I had taken many shots, both with the subjects in focus and out (on a shaded area so it used more light on the subjects) and both on auto and flash off. This resulted in photos that were kinda badly over-exposed to photos that were so badly overexposed anything with white in it just looks like a bunch of white blobs! Even of the ones where it managed to get decent exposure on the subjects, the image was overly dark and anything not in focus which was white was still overexposed to the point of any and all detail being lost. (Seriously, it was so bad that there were signs which just looked like a solid white rectangle or circle, no words or symbols could even be noticed on them).
I took over 2000 photos (over 4 gigs worth) during those three days, mainly just mashing the shutter button at slightly different settings and angles hoping one out of every 20 or so would at least be usable... and to say that I can even get 100 to 200 "passable" photos out of these 2000+ would be a stretch!
The other day I was experimenting with the HDR option that I was advised to try which should hopefully alleviate these under/over exposed issues. Purposely shooting white objects in bright outdoor conditions in different conditions with HDR on and off. Didn't really help. The condition or light focus on which I shot them in HDR mode seemed to not matter, but the image was still fairly over-exposed. Not AS bad as when the focus is off the white object, but still pretty close (and still nowhere near as good as when the focus IS on the white object). On top of that, many of the HDR photos looked washed-out and with dulled colors (I thought HDR made colors more vivid?).
So I am at a loss, I don't know if this is a problem with my new expensive phone which I am stuck with's camera, if I am just using it horribly incorrectly, or both. (I remember several reviews mentioning over-exposure being an issue, but I didn't expect it to be worse than my EVO 3D, and it was mostly for background objects).
Does any have any tips or advice on what I can do?
Cyber Akuma said:
Ok, let me start out by saying I know very very little about photography. I pretty much just leave it on Auto. I mean, I know how to switch between different presets (Auto, Portrait, Night, HDR, etc.) and that you can tap to focus there.... that's about it. I don't know how to set ISO levels or anything else.
Anyway, so I was at a 3-day event a few weeks ago, and was hoping that my M8 was going to be a huge quality boost over my EVO 3D. Sure, the photos would be 4MP instead of 5 (Though most of my photos were 2MP anyway since I mostly shot in 3D) but I figured the phone being several years newer and having high low-light performance would offset that.... boy was I wrong.
I noticed that my indoor photos were kinda fuzzy and blurry, even with my hand held still (thank you HTC for removing the OIS...) so I resorted to taking the same photos 2-4 times and hope I can pick a "best shot" out of the batch later when I could review all my photos on a PC. (Yes, I know I can hold the shoot button to make it auto-snap quick images, but I wouldn't have time to review and select the best out of each one for each photo I took). Even with this many of them even with perfect focus were still pretty terribly grainy/noisy, some even out of a batch of 5-6 remained blurry.
Outdoor where there is a lot of sunlight...... had it's OWN problems! Any object, sign, wall, or person clothed in white was overexposed to near comical levels! I had taken many shots, both with the subjects in focus and out (on a shaded area so it used more light on the subjects) and both on auto and flash off. This resulted in photos that were kinda badly over-exposed to photos that were so badly overexposed anything with white in it just looks like a bunch of white blobs! Even of the ones where it managed to get decent exposure on the subjects, the image was overly dark and anything not in focus which was white was still overexposed to the point of any and all detail being lost. (Seriously, it was so bad that there were signs which just looked like a solid white rectangle or circle, no words or symbols could even be noticed on them).
I took over 2000 photos (over 4 gigs worth) during those three days, mainly just mashing the shutter button at slightly different settings and angles hoping one out of every 20 or so would at least be usable... and to say that I can even get 100 to 200 "passable" photos out of these 2000+ would be a stretch!
The other day I was experimenting with the HDR option that I was advised to try which should hopefully alleviate these under/over exposed issues. Purposely shooting white objects in bright outdoor conditions in different conditions with HDR on and off. Didn't really help. The condition or light focus on which I shot them in HDR mode seemed to not matter, but the image was still fairly over-exposed. Not AS bad as when the focus is off the white object, but still pretty close (and still nowhere near as good as when the focus IS on the white object). On top of that, many of the HDR photos looked washed-out and with dulled colors (I thought HDR made colors more vivid?).
So I am at a loss, I don't know if this is a problem with my new expensive phone which I am stuck with's camera, if I am just using it horribly incorrectly, or both. (I remember several reviews mentioning over-exposure being an issue, but I didn't expect it to be worse than my EVO 3D, and it was mostly for background objects).
Does any have any tips or advice on what I can do?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is an Anti-shake mode. I'd check your lenses for scratches, sometimes the coating gets scratched and causes problems. It can be removed.
Incidentally my lens is perfect and nothing at all wrong with the photos it takes.

[Q] focusing issue

Hello guys! Currently using the LG G3 for a couple of months now. I just found that the focus of this phone is completely garbage when it comes to close up and macro shots. I already tried searching google and android forums including XDA (maybe I'm bad at searches, I don't know LOL). I'm not sure if mine is a dud but whenever I bring an object near point blank range, it seems to have difficulty focusing on it. I tried comparing it with a Note 3 and iPhone 5S by bringing a lightning cable tip and USB cable tip near the camera.. Both focused on the objects except the G3. It seems to be fixed on the background objects, I even tried on a white canvas and close up focus still does not work! I even tried wiping the laser beside the camera, cleaning it with a microfiber cloth. Still doesn't focus at very near objects.
Help? Please? Will appreciate the replies! I hope I'm just missing a feature or just maybe forgot to turn something off. I really don't want to switch phones because so far this is the best. This is a deal breaker for me though if this doesn't work out well.
EDIT: problem is still there. i thought turning over the phone and making the laser autofocus stay at the bottom would help solve my problem with this phone. still nothing. i tried putting a pencil close to the lens like "in your face" close, and it really can't focus on it! Note 3 and iPhone 5S was able to focus on it but not the LG G3..
Probably the laser angle can't change, so if it's super-close to the camera lens the laser doesn't actually hit the object, thus it never focuses.
TheStickMan said:
Probably the laser angle can't change, so if it's super-close to the camera lens the laser doesn't actually hit the object, thus it never focuses.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I suspect the same thing. If that is the case, then I'm quite disappointed with LG for this. Everything is spot on about this smartphone except this tiny (but irritating) issue. I'm already considering selling it just because of this. I take pictures of objects, most of the time super close, so people can see the smaller details. Using other camera apps didn't help. Really a hardware stretch I guess.
How close are you taking these pics? I've taken pics of my food and it focused okay. Of course if impromptu macro shooting is something you do often... this'll be a deal breaker for you.
TheStickMan said:
How close are you taking these pics? I've taken pics of my food and it focused okay. Of course if impromptu macro shooting is something you do often... this'll be a deal breaker for you.
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Click to collapse
Sometimes I take photos of small gadgets' details like the voltage of the charger, tip of the usb port etc. to show a few people like what comes with the package and stuff. Still undecided though, I'm about to trade to an M8 but i told the guy to hold on. Have to read more about this.

Anyone else noticed a lot of light bleeding into images..

As the title suggests. When taking a pic, for example of a wall with a window next to it, the light from the window bleeds into the images like rays and although certain pictures would look cool with this effect, I have no desire for an image I can see clearly with my eyes to be altered by the camera, took the same pic with a galaxy s5 and an iPhone 5 and they dealt with the light just like you would expect your eyes to.
I'm finding this in most shots unless its very well lit, I haven't changed any of the settings on the phone, I'd expect HTC to have got the camera right, third time lucky etc.
Have tried other shooters, like snap camera (which is a great app) but I get the same thing.
Extremely irritating, especially seeing as its meant to be a decent camera this time.
Focus is on the plant.
After altering the image, this is the best I could get..
Try cleaning your camera lens, there may be some oil on it that causes the flares.
chong81 said:
Try cleaning your camera lens, there may be some oil on it that causes the flares.
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Click to collapse
Have done mate, its not that. Like I said when there's perfect lighting the camera is spot on, but if the conditions aren't just right the camera just has a brain fart.
Have you tried manually lowering your ISO setting? That usually helps with lighting blowout.
Try ISO 200 as a start point, if too dark give ISO 400 a try.
I just took some similar pics yesterday, low light with a natural light source coming in thru a window in the background. While they were not they greatest, they did come out good, no light streaks like that.
spikeydoo2006 said:
Have you tried manually lowering your ISO setting? That usually helps with lighting blowout.
Try ISO 200 as a start point, if too dark give ISO 400 a try.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been playing with the settings, raw does enable a greater degree of control, its just that my wife was sat next to me taking the same pic with a galaxy s5, full auto and I was sitting there with my brand new m9 with a sad face her pic came out perfect, she was quite smug and I was annoyed..
Anyway, having had a play about i managed to take some decent pics especially zoomed in ones of my wife's engagement ring, something I've been unable to do on any other phone before, I don't mind working to take a pic, I just find it unusual that it doesn't compete with other devices automatically. There's nothing wrong with the device
Some other pics I took
dladz said:
Have done mate, its not that. Like I said when there's perfect lighting the camera is spot on, but if the conditions aren't just right the camera just has a brain fart.
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Click to collapse
It looks like lens flare. That means a light is shining into your lens when you're taking the shot. Try putting your hand above it, assuming its lights above like you would shield your eyes from the sun. This has the effect of making a lens hood like you see in DSLRs. It also concentrates colour.
---------- Post added at 07:21 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:16 AM ----------
dladz said:
its just that my wife was sat next to me taking the same pic with a galaxy s5, full auto and I was sitting there with my brand new m9 with a sad face her pic came out perfect, she was quite smug and I was annoyed..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This tells me two things
- she did not take the picture in the exact same position as you. So you could also try moving a bit, to avoid lens flare and try again.
- gs5 is default set to centre weighted metering. If you've not changed it. So metering isn't the problem. the m9 does not offer any choice here, its centre weighted and that's it.
I don't mind working to take a pic, I just find it unusual that it doesn't compete with other devices automatically. There's nothing wrong with the device
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what i learnt about m9 is this auto focus thing, aim it, let it get focus THEN click. As opposed to tapping to focus like with most other devices. Tapping to focus will mess up photos with the m9 and drive you nuts
One Twelve said:
It looks like lens flare. That means a light is shining into your lens when you're taking the shot. Try putting your hand above it, assuming its lights above like you would shield your eyes from the sun. This has the effect of making a lens hood like you see in DSLRs. It also concentrates colour.
---------- Post added at 07:21 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:16 AM ----------
This tells me two things
- she did not take the picture in the exact same position as you. So you could also try moving a bit, to avoid lens flare and try again.
- gs5 is default set to centre weighted metering. If you've not changed it. So metering isn't the problem. the m9 does not offer any choice here, its centre weighted and that's it.
what i learnt about m9 is this auto focus thing, aim it, let it get focus THEN click. As opposed to tapping to focus like with most other devices. Tapping to focus will mess up photos with the m9 and drive you nuts
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It was the same position because I took the picture.
I hear you with the auto focus, I am used to clicking the screen and have been taking much better pics, I'm just using raw for all my pics now, haven't took a bad pic since.
Also was a little annoyed that there is no focus alteration and the manual focus only goes so far. Either way overall its still a good camera, just not what I'm used to.
Focus alteration ? you mean focus on something other than the centre.
and what did you find missing with manual focus ?
One Twelve said:
Focus alteration ? you mean focus on something other than the centre.
and what did you find missing with manual focus ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Focus alteration as in a different metered focus type, ie; centered, spot etc.
With manual focus although I really do like it, i found with objects which are really close up, the slider only goes so far, i'm being nitpicky about that but it's just something i noticed, to see what i mean, try to focus on something close up, the slider just doesn't got that far.
yes its limited to centre weighted.
With close up shots if you use the macro settings you will be able to get closer. thought manual would accomodate this. for a 4mm lens you should be able to get up as close as 5cm.
One Twelve said:
yes its limited to centre weighted.
With close up shots if you use the macro settings you will be able to get closer. thought manual would accomodate this. for a 4mm lens you should be able to get up as close as 5cm.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's a lot better than other handsets, by far, was trying to take a pic of my wife's engagement ring, was quite hard to do and up close was just not possible. Got a few good ones though.
dladz said:
It's a lot better than other handsets, by far, was trying to take a pic of my wife's engagement ring, was quite hard to do and up close was just not possible. Got a few good ones though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Random comment but Opo does a really good job at macros its actually one of my favorite camera phones for macros. But yeah Macro focus for this phone could be a tad bit better
Teo032 said:
Random comment but Opo does a really good job at macros its actually one of my favorite camera phones for macros. But yeah Macro focus for this phone could be a tad bit better
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure if I've tried it yet, still good it a whirl. Cheers mate

Note 10+ camera - smeared looking photos

Is anyone having camera issues?
For whatever reason, when I try to take a photo of my dog, the face looks smeared. Roughly 80-90% of the time. While on my iphone it looks great...I'm kinda bummed out about this and wondering if this is either an issue with my unit, or if this is a common thing with Samsung.
Also, just for some more info, I've tried turning on/off hdr, scene optimizer, and whenever I am ready to take a picture, it looks stunning. Then I hit the shutter button, and it turns out like poop. Barely half the quality of what it looked like before I hit the shutter button.
Here are two pics to compare so you can see what I mean. If anyone has any info regarding this please let me know, thanks.
Samsung
Iphone
resetoriginal said:
Is anyone having camera issues?
For whatever reason, when I try to take a photo of my dog, the face looks smeared. Roughly 80-90% of the time. While on my iphone it looks great...I'm kinda bummed out about this and wondering if this is either an issue with my unit, or if this is a common thing with Samsung.
Also, just for some more info, I've tried turning on/off hdr, scene optimizer, and whenever I am ready to take a picture, it looks stunning. Then I hit the shutter button, and it turns out like poop. Barely half the quality of what it looked like before I hit the shutter button.
Here are two pics to compare so you can see what I mean. If anyone has any info regarding this please let me know, thanks.
Samsung
Iphone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have always seen this happen on Samsung phones (S8, S9, and S10) when taking pictures in certain lighting situations. Especially inside when taking pictures of a rug or anything slightly fluffy. It is as if it is trying to apply the beauty mode to everything.
Try to get the AF to lock on to the animal's eyes.
A good pro cam can most times; it's a small but high contrast target.
-If you don't grab the eye(s) you lose the shot-
I haven't done any research how this cam's AF works; normally you would point focus AF although it may still target the hair as it's a high contrast target too.
There are a lot of high contrast targets in this shot, the dog's nose, that chair, the dog's hair and the floor boards. Try to limit potential AF targets by keeping the composure simpler and less cluttered with high contrast targets if you intend on capturing a face with the eyes in focus.
Getting closer to the subject makes an AF lock on the eye more likely. Try punching up the yellow focus/tracking square.
Worse with this cam's large aperture it makes for a shallow DOF which means a spot on focus is needed. The aperture setting is fixed so you can't stop it down to something reasonable like f/5.6 however this cam is sharpest at it's fixed aperture. Backing up therefore may help get more of the subject in focus. You need to learn to see through the camera's eye, as it sees rather than your eyes.
It is much more limited than the superb human visual system...
Manual focus is sometimes the only sure fire way to do it. In the pro mode it does have manual focus but lacks the smooth ring control of a good piece of glass found on stand alone cam systems.
A trade off... it's only a smartphone.
First, nice looking dog.
A couple of questions.
What were the lighting conditions?
Was your dog moving?
Sent from my SM-T727V using Tapatalk
Samsung applies way to much noise reduction destroying the details of a photo. This is why it appears like that. Also, there's nasty shutter lag with the stock cam...so you press the shutter to take the pic but it doesn't happen right away simply because hdr is always on no matter if you have the switch off or not. Basically Samsung have rendered there stock camera useless. Get the latest GCam port from arnova....all problems solved.

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