[Q] Zenfone 2 camera? Owner and users, please share opinions and comparisons. - ZenFone 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

The Zenfone 2 releases in my country tomorrow, and I'm almost set on it being my next phone. Before I found out about the ZF2, my choice was going to be the OnePlus One.
I love the specs of the Zenfone 2 (who doesn't), but one aspect of the phone that's been getting mixed reception so far is the camera. While ASUS pimped the camera as one of the phone's greatest assets at CES, a couple of reviews/comparisons I've seen online describe a more disappointing (though not 'bad') camera on the phone, particularly in comparison to some of its competition.
eg. two articles from Indian tech magazine Digit, both commenting about the disappointing camera (and battery life) on the Zenfone 2.
http://www.digit.in/mobile-phones/asus-zenfone-2-ze551ml-4gb-ram-32gb-review-25861.html
http://www.digit.in/slideshows/asus-zenfone-2-performance-comparison-9.html
On the other hand, this GSMArena article has a better opinion of the camera.
http://www.gsmarena.com/asus_zenfone_2_series_handson-review-1234p4.php
What do the Zenfone 2 owners and users here think about the camera on their phones? Comparisons to the Zenfone 2's main competitors (OnePlus One and Xiaomi MI4) are welcome.

The latest update made a significant improvement in the image processing. much of the artifacting has been dramatically reduced.

Quantify said:
The latest update made a significant improvement in the image processing. much of the artifacting has been dramatically reduced.
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what?

After reading the GSMArena review and the accompanying raw, untouched 1080p video samples they uploaded, I'm now quite worried about the quality of the video recording on the Zenfone 2. This is somewhat important to me, because I'm a musician and would want to record rehearsal and practice clips quite often, at a 'good' quality to upload online.
The GSMArena 1080p sample looked quite bad, IMO.
http://www.gsmarena.com/asus_zenfone_2_ze551ml-review-1240p8.php
"The output quality is nothing like you'd expect from a 1080p video and the level of detail is more or less comparable to 480p. The camera adjusts exposure at the slightest change of scenery and the resulting videos come out a bit choppy. Colors are good, but dynamic range is rather limited."
EDIT:
Just saw these two, in GSMArena's video comparison tool. This looks rather horrid, unfortunately.
http://www.gsmarena.com/vidcmp.php3?...Camera2=300282
http://www.gsmarena.com/vidcmp.php3?...Camera2=300282

Zenfone 2 camera quality
The Zenfone 2's 13-Megapixel camera zooming quality is not impressive, but the camera works best without zoom, its video recording is good. I will give its camera 4 stars out of 5 stars.

Related

Terrible 1080p video quality

The quality of 1080p video is terrible, according to Eatmycomputer:
http://eatmycomputer.com/2011/11/20/eatmycomputer-take-the-galaxy-nexus-for-a-1080p-walk-round-town-london-town-that-is/
Maybe they got an early pre-relise device or is it always this bad? Can someone who has a Galaxy Nexus check it out?
watched it and about 10 others on 4 phones, they are all pretty crappy, even the 4s which seems to be the best...
it will never be production quality, but it is 1000x better than what i have got so far with the Desire so will be happy with that.
The quality isn't poor so much as the auto-exposure settings which is resulting in poor shots, this could be improved with software updates or by manually setting the exposure.
1080p video samples, raw and unedited:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvaL4I4NCf4
It feels like taking the video under water,
and most of the sample video on Youtube are the same.
The video quality of this phone is indeed terrible
It's a cellphone. Don't be blinded by 1080p!!11
Jerky video no matter you slice it. It is what it is.
-GNEX owner
Just tried it and it doesn't seem that bad. At least it's continuous autofocus.
Just like with photos, resolution does not equal quality.
I dont see why everyone thinks its so bad, for a cell phone its pretty damn good for everyday use since you will pretty much carry it everywhere with you, much better camera then my thunderbolt had thats for sure.
ptscon said:
Just like with photos, resolution does not equal quality.
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Yes, I don't mind having 5MP before seeing the video sample.
The "under-water" like feature for video is not acceptable at all.

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?
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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?
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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?
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.

Anyone disappointed with the Pixel XL camera?

TL;DR: Unhappy with noisy photos/videos from camera. Not sure if I'm being unreasonable, or if this device has hardware/software issues. Your thoughts?
I'm curious as to what other people's thoughts are on the Pixel camera? The pictures and videos on this phone do not seem up to par with what Google represented, or else I possibly received bad hardware. Here's my experience so far...
I ordered the device from the Google Store and received it early December. First thing I did was update the firmware and updated the apps, which included the Google Camera app. Every photo I took, in varying degrees of lighting, seemed to have a great deal of noise or pixelation. Even 4K video in daylight looked like I ran it through a noise filter in editing software. I contacted Google Support and they ran through a series of tests while the engineer was remote viewing my screen. We deleted the Google Camera app's cache/data, put the device in safe mode, and performed a factory reset. After each step the photos looked no better than before. The engineer then stated my hardware was defective and issued an RMA for the device. Now that I'm on my second Pixel XL, I can't say the camera is any better and I'm still disappointed with the results, but I'm reluctant to contact Google again because I feel like it's more than likely a software/firmware issue at this point.
How could both devices (brand new, second was not a refurbished device) have the same hardware defect and this not be a widely reported issue? I've read articles about the "Halo" issue and people having pink lines on the camera viewer, but Google claimed it was software related and I believe they already released a fix. I've also flashed ROMs before on old devices that didn't have proper drivers, which resulted in similar experiences similar to my current problem when I knew for a fact the hardware was just fine.
Anyway, sorry for the meandering post, but I'd love for anyone to share their thoughts about the camera. Does it live up to your expectations and take photos worthy of the highest rated smartphone camera of all time?
In well lit environment, high megapixel cameras win for me due to detail. But for low light, this camera is awesome
Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk
Pictures sometimes turn out fantastic, and sometimes average.
The camera seems to not know what to focus in on which leads to weird looking images. Also, for some reason, my pictures all have a somewhat yellow tint.
Maybe my expectations for "the highest rated smartphone camera...ever" was set a bit too high.
Mr Hoff I would have to say no, as the camera works awesome I would say its the best smartphone camera on the market, and that is even without ois to boot.
As much as I don't wanna admit it but iPhone 7 camera is definitely a better all around camera. There's no debating it. Yes the pixel can beat it out in perfect circumstances taking still photos.. but the iPhone exceeds in more areas.
The pixel is horrible at capturing the slightest movement without blurring the picture. I heard this is because the camera uses a slow shutter speed compared to other devices.
Same thing goes for videos. Taking a video of someone standing there talking.. the pixel will likely win..But try to follow a moving person or object and that's where you notice the lack of OIS and the pixel looses by far.
I take riding pictures (BMX) with a normal DSLR but always have my cell phone to take some pics to.. the pixel doesn't do much better than my s5 did
aholeinthewor1d said:
As much as I don't wanna admit it but iPhone 7 camera is definitely a better all around camera. There's no debating it. Yes the pixel can beat it out in perfect circumstances taking still photos.. but the iPhone exceeds in more areas.
The pixel is horrible at capturing the slightest movement without blurring the picture. I heard this is because the camera uses a slow shutter speed compared to other devices.
Same thing goes for videos. Taking a video of someone standing there talking.. the pixel will likely win..But try to follow a moving person or object and that's where you notice the lack of OIS and the pixel looses by far.
I take riding pictures (BMX) with a normal DSLR but always have my cell phone to take some pics to.. the pixel doesn't do much better than my s5 did
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Yep. This is my biggest issue as well. I have a newborn and half my pictures are blurry due to him moving his arms when I'm taking pics.
Here's what I'm referring to. Granted this is low light, but when the camera does hit the light you can really see the noise I'm referring to. This can't be normal.
4K Video taken tonight: https://goo.gl/photos/MCTbfb96Cpw74bkFA
If you're having issues with motion blur (will be more prominent in middle and low light) disable HDR for those shots. It keeps the "shutter" capturing longer. Your image quality will take a hit but the motion blur should be reduced.
Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk
I'm disappointed but I'm so used to my rx100 so it's not fair at all
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biggiestuff said:
I'm disappointed but I'm so used to my rx100 so it's not fair at all
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I have an rx100m3 as well, which is partly why I'm wondering if I'm being unreasonable. Guess I'll have to keep carrying that with me when I want higher picture quality.
Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk
chrisstl said:
I have an rx100m3 as well, which is partly why I'm wondering if I'm being unreasonable. Guess I'll have to keep carrying that with me when I want higher picture quality.
Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk
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I'm pretty sure that plays a huge part in it. There isn't a smart phone camera that can compare. Once you've become accustomed to the quality of the Sony, it's hard to downgrade. I take it with me to anything that is going to involve low light.
Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk
The low light is absolute garbage, worse than the Note 4 I had before it.
I loved my note 7, the panoramas were amazing on that phone. Thought camera was great on pixel but after more use I have some quirks I dislike. If I want to take quality photos or video I bring my Nikon D3300.
Are you guys trying to compare a DSLR vs. a smartphone camera in low light?
Ok, consider this. Low light shots require a lot of light collection. How much bigger is a DSLR lens vs. a smartphone lens.
I'm looking at the Pixel XL lens, and it's about 2.5mm in diameter. That's about 5 mm squared of area.
A DSLR lens would be about 2 inches wide, that's 50.8mm in diameter or about 2000 mm squared of area.
The difference in light captured in low light, with the same exposure, is a factor of 400!
It is a miracle that enough light is even captured by a tiny smartphone camera lens for low light shots. If I were completely unaware of the actual quality of pictures but was only given the specs of both cameras, I would say that they couldn't even be compared!
nabbed said:
Are you guys trying to compare a DSLR vs. a smartphone camera in low light?
Ok, consider this. Low light shots require a lot of light collection. How much bigger is a DSLR lens vs. a smartphone lens.
I'm looking at the Pixel XL lens, and it's about 2.5mm in diameter. That's about 5 mm squared of area.
A DSLR lens would be about 2 inches wide, that's 50.8mm in diameter or about 2000 mm squared of area.
The difference in light captured in low light, with the same exposure, is a factor of 400!
It is a miracle that enough light is even captured by a tiny smartphone camera lens for low light shots. If I were completely unaware of the actual quality of pictures but was only given the specs of both cameras, I would say that they couldn't even be compared!
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I'm certainly not comparing a DSLR vs a smartphone. And also an rx100 isn't a DSLR either. My disappointment, which I didn't really mention, was mentally comparing my iPhone 6+ and the Pixel XL. I think I'm having issue with the HDR overcompensating and causing noise.
Edit: To clarify my rx100m3 comment, I just wished that a smartphone camera quality could improve to the point where I would be comfortable leaving the rx100m3 at home sometimes. I thought the Pixel would bring me closer to that dream, but it hasn't.
Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk
chrisstl said:
I'm certainly not comparing a DSLR vs a smartphone. And also an rx100 isn't a DSLR either. My disappointment, which I didn't really mention, was mentally comparing my iPhone 6+ and the Pixel XL. I think I'm having issue with the HDR overcompensating and causing noise.
Edit: To clarify my rx100m3 comment, I just wished that a smartphone camera quality could improve to the point where I would be comfortable leaving the rx100m3 at home sometimes. I thought the Pixel would bring me closer to that dream, but it hasn't.
Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk
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I think this is not a general consensus, but this is what I got out of reviews of modern flagship phone cameras.
iPhone 7, Galaxy S7, Pixel cameras have similar capabilities in terms of hardware. What makes a difference is the software processing and noise reduction.
Galaxy S7 seems to have the best algorithms for noise reduction, and the fastest autofocus in very dark scenery. That means less noise, and sharper photos in the dark for the Galaxy. Pixel has an excellent HDR, with good color reproduction in HDR screnery, where dark and bright objects are present simultaneously. iPhone has a good all around camera not excelling at any particular feature.
That said, all smartphone cameras are not even close to large dedicated cameras - the sizes of lenses and sensors are literally two orders of magnitude better in low light. At the current level of technology, you cannot replace a large camera with a smartphone in low light.
Honestly, there's really not much of an upgrade from the 6P to the Pixel camera.
I've actually been pretty impressed. Coming from the S7 Edge the Pixel does not offer huge improvements in any single area, but subtle improvements across the board. When it comes to the camera, I spent weeks and hundreds of shots in different settings trying to decide which camera was better as I was weighing the decision of which device to keep. Ultimately, I found them both to be great but the Pixel seemed to do a little better when taking shots of my kids who are 1, 3 and 5 and are thus always moving and very active. I'm quite surprised with some of the comments in this thread because I've been quite pleased. When comparing photos to those of my wife's iPhone 6s+, the gap becomes a little larger and the Pixel is significantly better in most every situation, especially with moving targets. I cannot comment on comparisons to the iP7 because I don't have one and would only base my opinion on the many reviews I've read and watched over the last month or so. The one aspect of my S7 Edge camera I really miss is the wide angle FFC and probably the S7 Edge low light performance overall.
In all honesty, I do have mild regrets about keeping the Pixel and selling the S7Edge. Overall I think the S7 is a slightly better device with its design, waterproofing, form factor, and features. But the Pixel is solid enough to get me through to Pixel XL 2 or Galaxy S9.
chrisstl said:
I'm certainly not comparing a DSLR vs a smartphone. And also an rx100 isn't a DSLR either. My disappointment, which I didn't really mention, was mentally comparing my iPhone 6+ and the Pixel XL. I think I'm having issue with the HDR overcompensating and causing noise.
Edit: To clarify my rx100m3 comment, I just wished that a smartphone camera quality could improve to the point where I would be comfortable leaving the rx100m3 at home sometimes. I thought the Pixel would bring me closer to that dream, but it hasn't.
Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk
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The RX100 is darn good and can give some of the lower DSLR/mirrorless camera competition. The video you posted is the incredibly hard for a sensor this size and we know the pixel is not great at low light. RX100 is also a excellent F/1.8 lense on it.
I think you are just expecting too much out of a sensor much smaller than the RX100s. Assuming the IMX 378 has the same aspect ratio to the RX100 it is 4.1 time smaller in area.
IMX378 - 7.81mm diagonal (28mm^2 assuming same W/H ratio as RX100)
RX100 III - 8.8mm x 13.2mm, 15.86mm diagonal, 116.16mm^2
If you are comfortable shooting manual and RAW try it on the pixel (manual camera is simple and effective). It will at least show you the limits of the sensor and should help you understand when and why it will fall on it face in certain lighting conditions. It will also so you why HDR+ is so amazing.
nabbed said:
I think this is not a general consensus, but this is what I got out of reviews of modern flagship phone cameras.
iPhone 7, Galaxy S7, Pixel cameras have similar capabilities in terms of hardware. What makes a difference is the software processing and noise reduction.
Galaxy S7 seems to have the best algorithms for noise reduction, and the fastest autofocus in very dark scenery. That means less noise, and sharper photos in the dark for the Galaxy. Pixel has an excellent HDR, with good color reproduction in HDR screnery, where dark and bright objects are present simultaneously. iPhone has a good all around camera not excelling at any particular feature.
That said, all smartphone cameras are not even close to large dedicated cameras - the sizes of lenses and sensors are literally two orders of magnitude better in low light. At the current level of technology, you cannot replace a large camera with a smartphone in low light.
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I would not agree that the S7 has better image processing. It is by far the worst by overdoing the noise reduction and overcompensating with too much sharpening. It is a better sensor/lense underneath though.
rancor22 said:
The RX100 is darn good and can give some of the lower DSLR/mirrorless camera competition. The video you posted is the incredibly hard for a sensor this size and we know the pixel is not great at low light. RX100 is also a excellent F/1.8 lense on it.
I think you are just expecting too much out of a sensor much smaller than the RX100s. Assuming the IMX 378 has the same aspect ratio to the RX100 it is 4.1 time smaller in area.
IMX378 - 7.81mm diagonal (28mm^2 assuming same W/H ratio as RX100)
RX100 III - 8.8mm x 13.2mm, 15.86mm diagonal, 116.16mm^2
If you are comfortable shooting manual and RAW try it on the pixel (manual camera is simple and effective). It will at least show you the limits of the sensor and should help you understand when and why it will fall on it face in certain lighting conditions. It will also so you why HDR+ is so amazing.
I would not agree that the S7 has better image processing. It is by far the worst by overdoing the noise reduction and overcompensating with too much sharpening. It is a better sensor/lense underneath though.
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I am sorry, but do you own any of the phones/cameras in question? Do you speak from experience or from rumor mill?

A70 Front Camera Upgrade from A7 (2017)... !?

Using A7 (2017) and thinking of upgrading to A70, but not sure technical specs wise if the Front-Selfie Camera, would be much better than A7 (2017).
The Culprit = Aperture.
A7 (2017) - 16 MP, f/1.9
A70 - 32 MP, f/2.0
Now I take loads of selfies and low aperture is very important for me. The new A70 has one stop higher aperture as compared to my 2 year old phone but yes the megapixels is big but tht hardly matters in how much light the module lets in.
So according to specs, shall I conclude the front shooter is equal or maybe slight worse than my current phone ?
Need inputs.
The difference between f1.9 and f2.0 is not very significant, the quality would depend more on the noise in the chip I'd have thought. In whole f-stop numbers, you'd need to go down from 2.0 to 1.4 to double the amount of light allowed in by the lens, f2.0 to f1.9 isn't even a third of a stop, even if these were real f-stop numbers anyway.
Andre
UPDATE: I got the chance to demo Live A70 and I was shocked with the performance.
The selfie camera takes photo as if heavy beauty mode is applied by default. The rear camera takes "Greyish" pictures and even video colors were way off.
Compared to my A7 2017 it was a clear downgrade and even the Samsung representative in the store agreed with my inputs...
So am sticking with my current phone for now and possibly will switch to Oppo Reno !!
So you took a couple of quick photos with store demo unit and decided that camera is bad? I'll rather trust reviewers who spend days with the device before giving impressions and actually provide picture and video samples and comparisons with other devices.
Glotttis said:
So you took a couple of quick photos with store demo unit and decided that camera is bad? I'll rather trust reviewers who spend days with the device before giving impressions and actually provide picture and video samples and comparisons with other devices.
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I thought something was fishy with that demo unit... as it was on Demo mode and while taking selfies there was no option to disable beauty mode.
I again tried a demo in a local shop with consumer mode - and I am happy to inform that the pics and video all seem normal and satisfactory.
BTW, Greyish tone in pics can be widely seen in reviews too!
Camera is not great at all. It is normal as other low cost phones. Also
Bluetooth is breaking a bit with head phones.
audio for receiving calls is poor.
cannot connect to external monitor with type-c to hdmi which I feel is a basic feature.
it is high cost product.
Overall for this price, it is not a good product.
Until unless some one want new phone like me, its good to wait and check for other models.

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