Galaxy Nexus - Front camera video capture? - Samsung Galaxy Nexus

Sorry for a bit of a trivial spec question, but this could be a deal-breaker for me, & I'm surprised it's not listed in any of the specs.
The front camera is 1.3mpx, but do we know what resolution it can capture video at?
In theory it could manage 1280x1024, more than enough for 720p. But looking at previous front cameras this isn't always the case - the SII for example has 2mpx but can only do VGA video capture.
Has anyone had a chance to try this out?

I think it can record only VGA videos.

After checking with several sources, I figured that it could only do VGA, but I went ahead and ordered one anyway.
Turns out it CAN do 720p front video capture! Very surprised this wasn't listed anywhere.

Surprise: Samsung Galaxy Nexus Front-Facing Camera Does 720p HD! [Video]
http://phandroid.com/2011/11/22/sur...-video/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Related

video recording quality

Hey guys, the camera seems pretty good on this phone when I'm taking pictures, however when I am taking videos it almost seems kind of grainy even though its suppose to be 1080p. Anyone else have the similar or different experiences? Please share!
Grain doesn't have much to do with resolution. What affects grain directly is light. Low light will give you more grain. Period. This is valid for professional cameras as well.
Shoot a video I good light and the quality is excellent.
Don't use 1080p it's crap and makes videos look awful. They decided to zoom the picture in about 40-60% and not allow you to zoom out. As a result everything looks grainy and out of focus.
Set ur camera to 720p look at how much you can see, how clear the image is how sharp the colors are etc and then switch to 1080p and you will find all the sudden you zoomed way in and can't zoom out and the picture quality dropped about 60%.
They claim 1080p support but it's a lie since they zoom in and give you a MUCH lower quality video than 720p does.
How do you switch to 720p mode?
efarley said:
Don't use 1080p it's crap and makes videos look awful. They decided to zoom the picture in about 40-60% and not allow you to zoom out. As a result everything looks grainy and out of focus.
Set ur camera to 720p look at how much you can see, how clear the image is how sharp the colors are etc and then switch to 1080p and you will find all the sudden you zoomed way in and can't zoom out and the picture quality dropped about 60%.
They claim 1080p support but it's a lie since they zoom in and give you a MUCH lower quality video than 720p does.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App
efarley said:
Don't use 1080p it's crap and makes videos look awful. They decided to zoom the picture in about 40-60% and not allow you to zoom out. As a result everything looks grainy and out of focus.
Set ur camera to 720p look at how much you can see, how clear the image is how sharp the colors are etc and then switch to 1080p and you will find all the sudden you zoomed way in and can't zoom out and the picture quality dropped about 60%.
They claim 1080p support but it's a lie since they zoom in and give you a MUCH lower quality video than 720p does.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm pretty sure that's just a big nasty bug. The camera sensor and chipset are all very capable of 1080. It seems like the 1080 is zoomed into the amount of area that 720 would take in the middle of a 1080 image...I won't say it's an honest mistake, as it's borderline retarded...but, if it is dumping 1080p worth of data it can certainly do 1080p video...that's only 2mp and the tough part is writing that to storage without it getting skippy...and clearly that can be done.
Though I am assuming it is writing a 1080p file...has anyone checked?
daneurysm said:
I'm pretty sure that's just a big nasty bug. The camera sensor and chipset are all very capable of 1080. It seems like the 1080 is zoomed into the amount of area that 720 would take in the middle of a 1080 image...I won't say it's an honest mistake, as it's borderline retarded...but, if it is dumping 1080p worth of data it can certainly do 1080p video...that's only 2mp and the tough part is writing that to storage without it getting skippy...and clearly that can be done.
Though I am assuming it is writing a 1080p file...has anyone checked?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
GoPro HD also does this. Few of my friend's digital point and shoots did this as well. So, it's a sensor issue, not a software one.
I posted this before:
1080p:
http://youtu.be/c4AtsXjyKhY?hd=1
720p:
http://youtu.be/buHigxvlnfo?hd=1
Pardon my breathing, sinuses FTL
I really wish there was a way an external microphone could be used while recording video.
My problem is with the recorded audio. Has anyone found an app that let's you control audio gain. Serious clipping for live music records.
Its the quality (bitrate) in which the audio is recorded. At stock, its set at 64kbps and a sample rate of 44kHZ which is pretty subpar.
There's a hacked camera apk that lets you record audio at 194kbps with sample rate of 48kHz and also raises the video bitrate by a tad as well.
A tremendous difference in quality.
The graininess is caused by poor lighting. I went to sea world with my girl this week and all the outside video's came out amazing. But, inside shots with low light all came out very grainy. I can't blame the sensor too much because like someone mention before the same happens on high end camera's. But, also remember professional shots are taking with very high end lighting equipment.
Zexell said:
Its the quality (bitrate) in which the audio is recorded. At stock, its set at 64kbps and a sample rate of 44kHZ which is pretty subpar.
There's a hacked camera apk that lets you record audio at 194kbps with sample rate of 48kHz and also raises the video bitrate by a tad as well.
A tremendous difference in quality.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't seem to find anything like what you're referring to anywhere in the market or our app section. Got a link or a file name? Thanks.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1104051
and if u search our ET4G forum, you'll see a thread about it.
MUST BE ROOTED.

Nexus 5X poor video stabilization. Something we have to live with? Can it be fixed?

Hello,
Im looking to upgrade my Nexus 5 and ive been going through lots and lots of reviews, videos, pictures of many of the new phones out right now. Z5, S6, Nexus 5X.
I really like the Nexus 5X despite some of it shortcomings but one thing i REALLY have a hard time accepting is how shaky the picture is when recording video compared to iphone 6s, Sony Z5 and others.
Here is a video showing it against the Moto X pure:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_zth08zFLw
The Nexus 5x i horrible Is that something we will just have to accept because it lacks OIS or is it possible to fix software wise in a camera update or using a 3rd party camera app. I must say that in its current form its unusable.
Regards
Jacob
indeed it is shaky...
haven't tried it but this one has video stabilization - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.sourceforge.opencamera
Maybe someone with a nexus 5x could try opencamera to record a video and post the result?
Yeah I was hoping 1080p would at least get decent software stability. It has enough pixels for it. ?
Sent from my Sprint Galaxy S5.
Does anyone know? Anyone tried opencamera?
Just my $.02. It was my understanding from the Launch event that it doesn't have image stabilization. Something about how it didn't need it with the upgraded light gathering capability of the camera.
The Moto X pure doesn't have OIS either, it's done in software
I'll just splurge for a gimbal. LOL
Sent from my Sprint Galaxy S5.
gomylle said:
Does anyone know? Anyone tried opencamera?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just tried it and it seems decent. Good thing is that OpenCamera properly implements the sensor orientation detection, so the preview and resulting files are correct. It has experimental support for Camera 2 API, which needs to be enabled in order to expose the EIS setting.
At high resolution (4k), there's significant lag that's recorded in the videos with the EIS enabled. Google did say the 808 couldn't handle it; maybe they weren't just blowing smoke?
At 1080p, it seems to help reduce the shakiness by a fair amount; it's no OIS replacement for sure, but I'd say better than not having anything.
Funny how google said larger pixels negated the need for OIS. Did anyone really believe them? Did HTC not try the super mega sized pixels before?
Evo_Shift said:
Funny how google said larger pixels negated the need for OIS. Did anyone really believe them? Did HTC not try the super mega sized pixels before?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From pics I saw it does fine without OIS. But videos would have benefited. And yes they coined it as "ultra-pixels".
Sent from my Sprint Galaxy S5.
Look at this. Amazing:
http://www.frequency.com/video/nexus-5x-stabilized-4k-footage-using/244831773?cid=5-9852
Hi
Evo_Shift said:
Funny how google said larger pixels negated the need for OIS. Did anyone really believe them? Did HTC not try the super mega sized pixels before?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OIS is only really of benefit for photos at shutter speeds less than 1/60th second, unless you have a zoom lens, where it is helpful at higher shutter speeds, as the more you are zoomed, the more amplified any body shake is. For smartphones with their wide angle view, camera shake is not too much of a problem for most typical situations, and any daytime scene OIS is completely pointless as the shutter speed is plenty high enough to freeze out any camera shake. The larger pixels help as the ISO can be higher without too much noise meaning a faster shutter speed can be used.
For video the situation is different as images are taken over time, so it's the movement in camera position between each picture that needs to smoothed, although the fashion these days on most documentaries and TV shows is to deliberately shake the camera around until it's a nauseating mess with whip zooms into the mix Still it's a good indicator I find for knowing the program is trash and not worth watching :victory:
OIS in smart phones helps a little with video, but the tiny lens optics and limited movement means they don't do nearly as well as a dedicated camcorder with OIS, which gives some amazing results. The link to the stablised 5X video is using a $300 device, so if anyone is that serious about their smart phone video, then for that money we might as well take a much bigger step in image quality and convenience and features and get a dedicated camcorder.
The elephant in the room with the Nexus 6P is EIS, this is the poor mans image stabilizer, yes it does help stabilize the video to a certain degree, but to do this it has to crop the image. It appears to be doing this the cheap way in software (hence needing the powerful chip), taking a 1080P video, then zooming into so it can have a window of view to pan around in, this means the resulting video has less resolution, see the clips here https://youtu.be/HV4rcFuUlUc?t=246 and compare the detail between the two, there is a drop in resolution on the 6P. Better EIS systems capture a larger image at the sensor, then would track and pan a 1920x1080 window across it so no resolution drop, but that requires more low level work with the camera hardware and dedicated chips to do a good job.
Record a 1080P video with the 5X, upload to YouTube and get it to apply stabilization and it will do the same thing, may even turn out better than the 6P EIS as it doesn't need to be done in real time so a bit more care can be taken.
Will the 6P stabilize 4K video? I somehow doubt it has the power to do that, so for 4K it's an even playing field between the two.
Regards
Phil
PhilipL said:
Hi
Record a 1080P video with the 5X, upload to YouTube and get it to apply stabilization and it will do the same thing, may even turn out better than the 6P EIS as it doesn't need to be done in real time so a bit more care can be taken.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm, aren't those phones using the much higher resolution of the sensor (at least about 4k) to stabilize the video by changing the captured frame on the sensor corresponding to the phones movement? At least i thought that's the reasoning why this works only up to 1080p (which would be preserved, in that case).
I think this could be quite useful for the next Nexus http://techcrunch.com/2015/01/09/imint-wants-to-bring-real-time-video-stabilization-to-android/

Video quality

Your friends are never going to believe what you did. The only way to prove it to them is with that video you took. Rate this thread to express how videos shot on the Samsung Galaxy S7 come out. A higher rating indicates that videos are smooth (and not choppy) and that auto-focus works very well, and that the camera adjusts quickly to different lighting conditions while recording.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!
I am really dissapointed here ...
4k - probably good I tried it but have no intention to use it - maybe in few years ..
1080 60fps - too much detail lost
1080 30fps - it looks like painting ... terrible - my s4 is doing nicer videos ... or even my iphone 6
720 240fps - well iphone does better
Here's a 4k video taken on my s7 on Friday night of my son racing his Sworkz s104 Evo A final
---------- Post added at 06:32 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:32 AM ----------
StickyGeko said:
Here's a 4k video taken on my s7 on Friday night of my son racing his Sworkz s104 Evo A final
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
https://youtu.be/9gQqgtUCxZ8
Here's mine shot in 4k with post-processing added in Sony Vegas Pro:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiDiSAoFMiU
Non post-processed version are also available here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kiV0O7GvfU
Video from a concert this past weekend.Straight out of the camera.Shot in QHD.Given the conditions I was very impressed with the video and sound quality.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SZaK8hdQt0
I compared the video quality of Samsung Galaxy S7 vs Lg G3. For the same HD video on youtube, LG G3 provide crisp and colourful output, while S7 video is saturated and pixelated. I am disappointed with S7.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aldBSkz6UCo
Check this CInematic 4K Video which is filmed with the Galaxy S7
rdcamero said:
Video from a concert this past weekend.Straight out of the camera.Shot in QHD.Given the conditions I was very impressed with the video and sound quality.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SZaK8hdQt0
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Video is set private!
Jairus24 said:
Here's mine shot in 4k with post-processing added in Sony Vegas Pro:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiDiSAoFMiU
Non post-processed version are also available here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kiV0O7GvfU
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pretty damn good man !
Hmm.. it's funny to see that those that are disappointed do not share an example, while the enthusiastics do.
This way it's impossible to compare.
Jairus24 said:
Here's mine shot in 4k with post-processing added in Sony Vegas Pro:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiDiSAoFMiU
Non post-processed version are also available here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kiV0O7GvfU
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
how do you add the cinematic look
I moved several weeks ago from iphone6+ to S7.
Yesterday I attended a live music show and recording on S7 were horrible (distorted) compared to previous iphone 5 and 6 experience I had.
Here are 2 from yesterday that are bad
https://youtu.be/YZG2LqMMraM
https://youtu.be/Kba-CLtZJlE
and 2 good with 5 and 6
https://youtu.be/LyrlLPP2zpE
https://youtu.be/fiJofpOj9ko
video issue
s3icc0 said:
I am really dissapointed here ...
4k - probably good I tried it but have no intention to use it - maybe in few years ..
1080 60fps - too much detail lost
1080 30fps - it looks like painting ... terrible - my s4 is doing nicer videos ... or even my iphone 6
720 240fps - well iphone does better
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My video doen't work at all, I have got phone and tablet galaxy, all the time some bugs coming up
supremeweb said:
My video doen't work at all, I have got phone and tablet galaxy, all the time some bugs coming up
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What not working?
4k at night: https://youtu.be/EW8qM1ggYB8
240fps at day: https://youtu.be/0Q5HAggaDwg
For me it is much better then lg g3 does, i never try iphone
While the sharpening look really bad in photos, Galaxy S7's video quality is superb.
Hello. Video stabilization doesn't work at all. Even if I use HD with the setting checked...
The video shakes at every step I make.
Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk
Still sound is awful shooting concerts, iphone is superb in this feature... so annoying
[email protected] said:
Hello. Video stabilization doesn't work at all. Even if I use HD with the setting checked...
The video shakes at every step I make.
Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I read somewhere that the video stabilization option in the menu is for electronic image stabilization. Supposedly OIS is always on and doesn't react the same with EIS enabled.. Try shooting a video with that box unchecked and see if it's any better
my thoughts on S7 video recording
Over the last 2+ years, I had an S5+ (G901F). The one with SD805 and the IMX240 (same sensor powering Note 4). Recently, due to an accident which resulted in destroying my S5+, I bought an S7 (Exynos version...and quite possibly an ISOcell sensor or whatever Sammy calls it these days) I don't think I ve got the IMX260 powering my unit, so I can't make any comments regarding the hardware...
OS wise - it was 4.4.4 and 6.0.1 on my S5+ and Android N (pre-installed) on my S7.
Since I am a hardcore video shooter with my phone, I can share my impressions of the S7. In short, I was rather disappointed.
Video rec modes remain the same for both i.e. 4K, 1080p 30/60, 720p...don't care
I was expecting similar output (if not better) from my S7 compared to my S5+. But no. After triple-checking on the camera/video/photo settings, I was still recording videos where compression artifacts are clearly visible. Usually in darker areas (but not always the case) - sometimes even in areas that you d believe the camera is focusing on. I m not saying that this is a sensor issue, but rather more of a post-processing / compression issue. If I freeze the video at certain parts, I can see in a frame, compression artifacts such as the ones you d get from a highly-compressed JPEG. Which makes me wonder why didn't I see any of those whilst I was checking on the video quality produced by the S7, compared to other flagship models.
I am not sure if that quality drop between the two flagships is justified by the fact Samsung decided to move from 16MP -> 12MP, or the software i.e. Nougat vs Marshmallow (...or both). For all I know, frame quality under video recording, has significantly dropped in the S7, compared to the much older S5+. (don't know what the case was for S6, never actually tested it...) Just to clarify - this is definately not a stabilization issue (phone position is fixed whilst shooting).
The good parts - obviously - the S7 is very good under low light conditions (both video rec and photo shoting). Focus and photo shooting is amazingly fast. Two areas that it clearly smokes the S5+ as far as the camera is concerned. But that's about it really. And I d rather have the 'slower' S5+, rather than the heavily grained videos the S7 produces. Being able to shot better in the dark is always a bonus, but not so important to me. I m usually shooting [email protected] Sometimes 4K, but under good light only (due to lack of HDR whilst at 2160p). [email protected] video shooting quality seems like a 'tie' between the S7 / S5+. Both very smooth and similar amount of details preserved in the video. But yet again, I m not shooting high-speed moving objects so as to justify shooting at 60fps. But I m expecting better quality per-frame whilst at 30fps. And at 30fps, the S5+ produces better results.
Also, the video trimmer under S7/Nougat seems to lack the Rotate feature. Don't know if it was moved under the Movie Maker app (which I haven't yet downloaded). Video processing seems to be much slower now. Trimming under 4.4.4 was at least twice as fast compared to what it is now! I am really curious if trimming under more recent versions of Android actually re-compresses the output file. If that's the case, that would be discraseful to say the least...can anyone confirm this? I will at some point test this myself and post the results.
Just to clarify. I m not saying that recorded videos using the S7 are bad - I m saying that it lacks the quality per-frame of the ones shot by the S5. I very rarely recall seeing compression artifacts in videos captured by my older S5+ and that is why is pretty obvious to me now. And I can't explain it. If it's not a sensor issue, could it be that the compression ratio has been increased? If that's the case - it's a good thing - as it could be fixed in a later release. Has anyone witnessed video quality degredation from Marshmallow ->> Nougat?
Please share your thoughts.

1080p 60FPS uses secondary camera with wider FOV

Hi guys,
one thing I just noticed, and I'm curious wether this is the case for everyone and if there's a specific purpose behind this: When using the rear facing camera, and switching into video mode. The 3 setttings 720p, 1080p and 4K all seem to use the same of the two cameras, the "left" one when looking onto the back of the phone. They all have the same field of view which is cropped in pretty far.
Interestingly enough, the 1080p 60FPS mode uses the other sensor, the "right one" next to the flash, and has a much wider field of view - which I actually much prefer over the cropped in FOV of the other modes.
Is there any reasoning behind this, has anyone noticed a difference in quality between the two sensors in regards to video capture?
Just thought I'd share this to see what's your take on this.
Cheers!
ef_x said:
Hi guys,
one thing I just noticed, and I'm curious wether this is the case for everyone and if there's a specific purpose behind this: When using the rear facing camera, and switching into video mode. The 3 setttings 720p, 1080p and 4K all seem to use the same of the two cameras, the "left" one when looking onto the back of the phone. They all have the same field of view which is cropped in pretty far.
Interestingly enough, the 1080p 60FPS mode uses the other sensor, the "right one" next to the flash, and has a much wider field of view - which I actually much prefer over the cropped in FOV of the other modes.
Is there any reasoning behind this, has anyone noticed a difference in quality between the two sensors in regards to video capture?
Just thought I'd share this to see what's your take on this.
Cheers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Didn't notice until you just said. That's awesome. There should be a wide angle camera mode where we can use it!
Great find! Gonna use this more often now :good:
I've noticed this around a week ago as well, and I think the reason for this is because it's something to do with EIS.
Other settings are cropped so it's stabilized, whilst it could be potentially harder to stabilize 60fps electronically?

Video camera problem

I looked at several reviews of a50 and a70. All video examples has a problem. Autofocus can not find the optimal setting, so the video is jerky! Most bloggers did not pay attention to this moment! But this is not normal for a $ 485 phone. What do you think about it? Are there owners of the device? Maybe an update has already been released that fixes the situation? Example in youtube 6-iwSS_hX0Q in 5:37 (sorry, i cant permissions for publish links)
karpo518 said:
I looked at several reviews of a50 and a70. All video examples has a problem. Autofocus can not find the optimal setting, so the video is jerky! Most bloggers did not pay attention to this moment! But this is not normal for a $ 485 phone. What do you think about it? Are there owners of the device? Maybe an update has already been released that fixes the situation? Example in youtube 6-iwSS_hX0Q in 5:37 (sorry, i cant permissions for publish links)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes,seems to be issues with the cameras,no EIS as far as I know,the 32mp lens uses software to account for only really being 8mp. Im not a camera guy so don't know that much about it but most of what I've seen and read indicate the cameras aren't that good
manus31 said:
Yes,seems to be issues with the cameras,no EIS as far as I know,the 32mp lens uses software to account for only really being 8mp. Im not a camera guy so don't know that much about it but most of what I've seen and read indicate the cameras aren't that good
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks fo reply! I means video camera only. Photo camera, in my opinion, is not bad. But the video, which is approaching, then moving away, is a real problem. I'm not ready to give $ 500 for the quality of the video, as if my hands were shaking. But I expect that the problem can be solved in one of the updates.
This is a stabilisation issue I think, not a focus one. Ideally the camera software could do some work to stabilising 1080p video using the spare/latent area from the 4K chip, but it would still require some heavy processing which perhaps the chipset is not up to?
Andre
andrewilley said:
This is a stabilisation issue I think, not a focus one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
May be, I incorrectly described the problem when I said about shaking hands. The frame in the video is approaching, then moving away. Then approaching again. That is looks as the zoom is not fixed. Poor stabilization may be an indirect cause of this behavior. That is, shaking may interfere with the correct setting of autofocus. But I am convinced that the actual reason is poor autofocus.
It's really simple.
4K video = no EIS
1080p video = EIS
As you can see in this review https://youtu.be/rwrDrG23gRA?t=344 (5:43) stabilization is just fine.
Glotttis said:
4K video = no EIS
1080p video = EIS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's what I was hoping (see my last post). Good to see someone showing 1080 recording while walking, which is sufficient for most users I suspect. To get stabilisation in 4K you either need a much larger raw chip resolution, or optical stabilisation (probably not on mid-range devices).
Andre
Here's another A70 1080p rear camera video, he tests many scenarios. Looks OK to me for this price range https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ju52xFjYz4
If you need to shoot a lot of high quality videos then get S10 which is twice the price. Mid range phones will never have camera as good as high end flagships, that's just impossible.
Glotttis said:
It's really simple.
4K video = no EIS
1080p video = EIS
As you can see in this review https://youtu.be/rwrDrG23gRA?t=344 (5:43) stabilization is just fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure still. My example in start post shows 3 shooting modes:
1. 4k
2. 1080p
3. 1080p Wide angle lens
3rd shooting mode gives good quality only. The second mode is also a little jerky
p.s. I think, my xiaomi mi5 probably did not have that problem. But i just can not check it now. So I am unpleasantly surprised by this effect
Wider angle shooting always makes shots look steadier, regardless of any other technology. The more you zoom an image in, the more any camera shake is exaggerated.
Andre

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