GCam for Exynos S10e - Colors are washed out. Help? - Google Camera Mods

Hello,
I'm currently using the GCam 8.1.101 ruler version (https://www.celsoazevedo.com/files/android/google-camera/dev-bsg/f/dl14/) for my S10e Exynos, and it looks really bad, there are a lot of problems, such as:
Noise on the very top and very bottom of the photo
Colors are really washed out, sometimes it feels like it is a black and white image
I was expecting more dynamic range (black zones are deep black) since I'm using the Enhanced HDR+
I mean the Gcam on my OP3 does a lot better photos, I'm not gonna lie, is this because of the Exynos version? Is there any way to solve these problems?
I'm really ok on downgrading version to stable like 6.x (I just need normal mode and night mode on back camera) but I don't know which one works better. If possible I would like to have easy to understand control on colors, shadows, exposure and lightning.
I already tried looking into the forum for other version but they all have something that doesn't work or washed out colors, so please give me any thread if you know one, thanks.
I don't mind about the non-working selfie camera or new features such as slow mode, astrophotography, etc..
If I need to put some sample photos, let me know
Thank you very much everyone.

Related

Washed out Screen Issue

Did some comparisons between the Moto G5 plus and my old ASUS Zenfone 2. As soon as I started using it the colors seemed off, everything had this weird olive greenish hue and It didn't make any sense because launcher/homes seemed fine. But I'd browse a website, play pokemon go, or look at instagram and things were just washed out and dull while at the same time parts looked fine.
Finally found a test that explains what I was seeing and it's not good news. I was running the latest firmware with the volte fix. The app i used is called "DIsplay Tester" by "Brainntrapp" and open the test was "Banding, Contrast, Saturation" test. There are so many colors just missing on the G5 Plus the gradient looks horrible. The banding you see on the G5 plus was not visible in real life but the missing colors and hardness of the gradient was. Photos were taken with a Nikon D90 and Tamron 17-50 2.8.
The screen was driving me nuts so I didn't mess around with getting a replacement or sending to Moto to fix because I couldn't live with it if it didn't get resolved. I'll just have to keep looking/waiting for a replacement to my old zenfone.
Figured if any of you were having issues you could see if yours is similar, also curious to hear if you're _not_ having this issue as well which means it may make sense to buy once production issues are fixed.
I can't really tell any difference between Vibrant and Standard, but don't see any banding as in yours and think they look pretty decent imo.
The screen is on the less vibrant side than some others, but colors appear very accurate/realistic and the sharpness of detail is very good. My Moto X Pure screen is 1440p with more color depth but it has a yellowish tint to the whites in comparison. Coming from the Pure at first I thought the G5+ screen was going to be too bland, but after using it awhile I like its softer look which seems easier on the old eyes while still being very viewable.
I agree there's a really minimal difference between vibrant and standard. However, you took screenshots which will not show any issues as the actual data being sent is correct so we can't know if your screen does or doesn't have this issue. I had to take a picture of the screen with my DSLR and included my ASUS for comparison as a way to demonstrate the issue.
In the pictures I took, the hard breaks you see between the colors in the G5 are supposed to be smooth gradients and there is a ton of blue missing from the panel as well. This isn't just an issue of the screen being generally desaturated this is an uneven distribution of missing/desaturated colors. If it doesn't bother you that's certainly fine but it's very much an issue with the screen that should be addressed as it means that it is incapable of accurately reproducing colors even if the reproduction is pleasing to some. The banding I'm referring to is in the green section on my pictures and was not visible in real life and some form of artifact from taking the photo.
Sorry, I misread and thought you were referring to the banding as the main issue. I do see the more distinct color separation or breaks when looking at it directly in the app in either color mode. Just ran Display Tester on my Moto X Pure which shows the much more gradual blending (like on your ASUS) when looking at both phones side by side, although it should costing $150 more.
So it does indicate the G5+ lacks in color depth, something I noticed right away but which hasn't seemed like a minus after using it. The sharpness and wide viewing angles still seem like good quality, perhaps because it's IPS. But now I'm wondering if the KCAL features included in the latest extended stock kernel might help adjust things to look better.
Dahenjo said:
The sharpness and wide viewing angles still seem like good quality, perhaps because it's IPS. But now I'm wondering if the KCAL features included in the latest extended stock kernel might help adjust things to look better.
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That's part of why this confuses me so much. The sharpness and viewing angles are amazing for an IPS panel I'm not sure if IPS has anything to do with the colors (the ASUS is also IPS). I'd be very curious if KCAL helps as it seems like it should be able to, it could also be as simple as a bad color mode on the panel driver? I'd love to see a comparison from a custom rom to stock. I'm very split on thinking it's a software issue or it's a hardware issue. I don't have enough knowledge or experience to really do anything useful, but I'm hoping that providing the info gives others an ability/info to understand and look into it.
KCAL greatly improves the 'banding, contrast, saturation' result in Display Tester, which now looks as good as your ASUS or my MXPE once I found a good range of settings. Even on KCAL's initial settings the color gradients looked drastically better, so whatever was causing the lousy color depth definitely seems to be corrected by it as the screen looks excellent now.
I'm running on stock using the extended kernel btw. Maybe someone using a custom ROM can post on whether the colors are noticeably better than on stock and also test it in DT for comparison. Seems it'd be more of a driver or configuration error or bug than something hardware related, so maybe Lenovorola will be able to fix it with an update.
Dahenjo said:
KCAL greatly improves the 'banding, contrast, saturation' result in Display Tester, which now looks as good as your ASUS or my MXPE once I found a good range of settings. .
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Please share your current Kcal config .
How can I activate srgb mode on Moto G5 Plus
kaushal4595 said:
How can I activate srgb mode on Moto G5 Plus
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What we have to help with the washed-out screen is KCAL support available in both custom kernels (ElementalX and Extended Stock) on this forum. After installing either kernel you'll need to use either EX Kernel Manager app or Kernel Adiutor app (both at Playstore) to access the color control settings. I also found the Display Tester app mentioned above useful for checking how the settings I made looked. My screen looks terrific now.
I found that setting Saturation to 45 brings the best improvement, while setting Value to 135 brings another slight improvement.
sticktornado said:
I found that setting Saturation to 45 brings the best improvement, while setting Value to 135 brings another slight improvement.
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That's indeed a very good setting. Thanks!
Saturation 50
Value 115
Contrast 140
Is what I've been using lately
sticktornado said:
I found that setting Saturation to 45 brings the best improvement, while setting Value to 135 brings another slight improvement.
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I tried that and looks pretty good. Going to tweak contrast and see too. We should start a thread sharing tweaks
There is no way to fix this without root or Custom Kernel?
So if I'm getting it right I have to run kcal v1.2 on my moto g5 plus and from there I have access to color controls, is that correct?
Unfortunately, I have this same issue, although I didn't realize it, because my wife used the phone on the wifi to talk on Facebook so I ran out of time to return it.
What makes it worse is that it's the amazon-ads version so I can't even root it.
I put this phone right next to 3 other phones (with all LCD screens to be fair) and the difference is kinda shocking. The G5plus looks like it's been bleached, all the colors are faded, like I pulled some sliders to make it less vibrant and more black/white.
My wife didn't notice it, since she was using a basic phone until she got herself a new phone and told me, that "how come this looks more colorful?" That's when I took a better look at the G5plus.
After using it as my daily driver for a week, this phone got some serious color issues. Interestingly the pictures I took looked awful on this phone, but when I looked at the same pics (uploaded to google photos) on my PC, they look ok, not missing any colors.
Another issue I noticed. I turned off auto screen brightness OFF, because it just doesn't work.
I walk out to sunshine and the screen won't brighten and when I walked inside it won't darken so I ended up manually changing the brightness.
Here is the interesting (or rather annoying) part: When I turn the brightness up, it seems like it makes the whites more glowing, while the dark /black (let's say a shadow of a tree) just either stays too dark or turns more grey, instead of brighter. It's like the brightness control is controlling the exposure and contrast only.
Despite I see youtube videos talking about its 4K video capability, I think this phone makes terrible videos, especially how the camera applies too much contrasts and the HDR doesn't help it.
I also believe, that it's not all and every single device have this problem, because I'm sure I'd seen more complaints. It's just horrible quality control, and that's Lenovo for you.
I tried color tuning apps, but nothing seem to work. It probably requires a root but since it's an Amazon phone, it won't help it. So the phone works great as a phone, it just have an awful screen and a mediocre camera
This phone may have been enough in 2016 and 17 with these weaknesses as a budget, but seeing all the new budget Chinese phones coming out this year, I would not recommend this phone unless you can pick it up for $100 or less.
This phone is going into my drawer as soon as my new LG G6 arrives and the G5plus will be only used as a backup phone. There is no way I would keep using this as a daily driver unless I have no other choice.

Initial Camera Observations

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

Camera/Photography thread - tips, apps, advice

Hi, guys,
I'm coming from an Xperia Z3C, which had a camera that was pretty bad. Even though some bash the XZ1C camera, it's a lot better than what I used.
I'm no photographer and I dont' know the apps, so I'd like everyone to share what they know and use.
doriandiaconu said:
Hi, guys,
I'm coming from an Xperia Z3C, which had a camera that was pretty bad. Even though some bash the XZ1C camera, it's a lot better than what I used.
I'm no photographer and I dont' know the apps, so I'd like everyone to share what they know and use.
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Click to collapse
Despite people putting down the stock camera, I find it does take good a picture, although using a small tripod gets the best results. This is far from idea for a phone, but just resting the phone on something solid dramtically imporves the picture.
The focusing seems to be better if you turn off 'object tracking' and although HDR is supposed to be automatic in the auto mode, I tend to shoot in manual with HDR enabled. The predictive capture is a good & useful tool. I wasn't sure when I first saw it introduced, but it does a burst shot when it gets triggered by a smile and dramtically increases your chances of getting a great picture.
My favorite post proccessing app is SKRWT. I love taking landscapes and this is great for straightening things or there are some funky mirror effects.
Didgesteve said:
Despite people putting down the stock camera, I find it does take good a picture, although using a small tripod gets the best results. This is far from idea for a phone, but just resting the phone on something solid dramtically imporves the picture.
The focusing seems to be better if you turn off 'object tracking' and although HDR is supposed to be automatic in the auto mode, I tend to shoot in manual with HDR enabled. The predictive capture is a good & useful tool. I wasn't sure when I first saw it introduced, but it does a burst shot when it gets triggered by a smile and dramtically increases your chances of getting a great picture.
My favorite post proccessing app is SKRWT. I love taking landscapes and this is great for straightening things or there are some funky mirror effects.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What about the resolution? Many people avoid the 19MP resolution for different reasons.
doriandiaconu said:
What about the resolution? Many people avoid the 19MP resolution for different reasons.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
19MP is the only resolution. It's the native size of the sensor, meaning you get one=one. Anything else is derived from a software interpretation.
People seem to be obsessed by letterbox, perhaps because that's the way they watch TV. If you don't like the square shape of a 19MP picture, then edit it afterwards, but a least get the best quality you can to start with.
I've taken some decent shots with Open Camera. I like its DRO mode (dynamic range optimization). Haven't had much luck with stock camera app, although I'm a fan of the wide angle selfie camera.
the camera is good not more... not a lot of choices in creative mode, iA can't be customized, "macro" focus at 10 cm... at least it's pretty fast
I use the stock app, mainly in manual mode without object tracking (with that setting on I find the focus is a little inaccurate, maybe just an impression).
Overall i would say the app has all you need to take a photo plus a couple of nice features (like autofocus burst mode and predictive capture).
Any tips on what kind of exposure and ISO to use in manual mode? My pics always come out blurry.
Edit: For example, would the tips here apply? https://forum.xda-developers.com/xperia-xz/how-to/xperia-xz-camera-how-to-optimize-manual-t3534640
Sounds like most people are saying choose a low ISO and EV a little below 1.
I'm particularly interested in tips or settings that don't require a tripod, because I don't own one. And I think it's unrealistic to expect people to use a tripod to take decent phone pics.
I had a big night shootout in Frankfurt with XZ1c and Galaxy s8. Im not good in photography and all shoots are in Auto mode. Couple of shoots are manipulated in Adobe Lightroom in Auto light and color corections. They names started with LLR....
What You think?
https://photos.app.goo.gl/YUQIYsKXGg5tGugK2
propov said:
I had a big night shootout in Frankfurt with XZ1c and Galaxy s8. Im not good in photography and all shoots are in Auto mode. Couple of shoots are manipulated in Adobe Lightroom in Auto light and color corections. They names started with LLR....
What You think?
https://photos.app.goo.gl/YUQIYsKXGg5tGugK2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm no photography expert, but I could see the difference instantly on most of these. The XZ1c photos were blurry and seemed improperly exposed. The S8 wasn't perfect, but it was generally a lot sharper. This basically mirrors my experience with the XZ1c and my previous phone that had a better camera, HTC 10.
Has anyone installed AOSP and got the Pixel's camera apk working on the xz1c? This is my main motivation for going the root -> rom route.
Take a picture of a green lawn or of leafy trees, and there's often an unpleasant, slightly smeary watercolor-like effect. Is it possible that using another camera application would prevent this processing effect?
Hello,
I am sorry in case this has been covered so far. I did not find it.
I have a custom ROM (RR6), but would like to use the stock Camera mainly for the slow motion 960fps video recording. It seems to be possible via this topic:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/cr...-apps/app-xperia-xzs-panorama-camera-t3577514
But even if it worked, it would replace the custom ROM's Camera, which I'd like to keep. Is there a way to run these two Cameras side by side?
Or should I use another 3rd party app that does the slo-mo job?
Thanks a lot for anz advidce!
vhatp said:
Hello,
I am sorry in case this has been covered so far. I did not find it.
I have a custom ROM (RR6), but would like to use the stock Camera mainly for the slow motion 960fps video recording. It seems to be possible via this topic:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/cr...-apps/app-xperia-xzs-panorama-camera-t3577514
But even if it worked, it would replace the custom ROM's Camera, which I'd like to keep. Is there a way to run these two Cameras side by side?
Or should I use another 3rd party app that does the slo-mo job?
Thanks a lot for anz advidce!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yea thats my concern as well. I am not sure if drm fix can re-enable the 960fps slow mo or is it gone for good after unlocking bootloader. If only we can get gcam and stock camera run together

Galaxy A70 has 8MP Main camera and not 32MP? Attention everyone

I've been using the A70 for about a week. I interacted with some A70 owners and they said that the phone had 8MP main camera and not the 32MP main camera. I gave a try to some hardware info apps and all showed 8MP camera at the back and 5.2MP camera on the front. What's wrong here? The phone is showing wrong info or it just has an 8MP camera. Can everyone confirm this?
I have also made a video on it. I'm just trying to get an answer from all the Galaxy A70 owners about their experience with this phone.
You can check it here: https://youtu.be/tOM9oNWV_rQ
I wish I'm wrong on this, Everyone please drop your comments.
No, it really is a 32mp camera module. Samsung, for whatever reason, have crammed the 32mp option in a submenu inside the camera app. Tap on the format button and choose 3:4H. Now you'll be able to use the full resolution of the camera.
Just be aware that - I don't know why - HDR does not work in 32mp mode.
All I can say is that pictures taken in low light conditions are amongst the worst I have seen. Absolutely terrible picture quality worthy of a 100$ budget phone not a premium 400$ phone.
Even my 3 years old A9 Pro 2016 has better low light capability.
Sufyan3D said:
All I can say is that pictures taken in low light conditions are amongst the worst I have seen. Absolutely terrible picture quality worthy of a 100$ budget phone not a premium 400$ phone.
Even my 3 years old A9 Pro 2016 has better low light capability.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I second that. I don't know why Samsung had to cripple their camera module this hard via software. Using Gcam though, the camera does produce great results in low light!
Irrespective of MP number, picture quality isn't great for sub $400 phone. Can they fix with software update? or need to change phone?
um009 said:
I've been using the A70 for about a week. I interacted with some A70 owners and they said that the phone had 8MP main camera and not the 32MP main camera. I gave a try to some hardware info apps and all showed 8MP camera at the back and 5.2MP camera on the front. What's wrong here? The phone is showing wrong info or it just has an 8MP camera. Can everyone confirm this?
I have also made a video on it. I'm just trying to get an answer from all the Galaxy A70 owners about their experience with this phone.
I wish I'm wrong on this, Everyone please drop your comments.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually wrote a post about this, didnĀ“t see yours, was too eager to write my first post here I guess. The camera uses a new Samsung technology which only works if you choose 4:3H aspect ratio, there is no way to choose file size for each respective ratio. The pictures are hardware 4 x 8MP rendered and since the technology is new all third party camera and HW info apps only view the 8 MP .. not the x4 tetracell technology which works and is implemented in an abysmal manner.
---------- Post added at 11:23 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:34 PM ----------
Jason379 said:
No, it really is a 32mp camera module. Samsung, for whatever reason, have crammed the 32mp option in a submenu inside the camera app. Tap on the format button and choose 3:4H. Now you'll be able to use the full resolution of the camera.
Just be aware that - I don't know why - HDR does not work in 32mp mode.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What if one usually only uses 16:9 aspect ratio? .. limited to 8 MP? ... I call that false advertising.
Jason379 said:
I second that. I don't know why Samsung had to cripple their camera module this hard via software. Using Gcam though, the camera does produce great results in low light!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you tell us wich version of Gcam u use, and where to find it ?
Edit: See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0D1U0aSgKE for example.
Seems like at the moment Gcam is only better for taking photo's in low light......
Snoete said:
Can you tell us wich version of Gcam u use, and where to find it ?
Edit: See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0D1U0aSgKE for example.
Seems like at the moment Gcam is only better for taking photo's in low light......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
I used this version of Gcam:
S10_1_MGC_6.1.021_BSG_Arnova_TlnNeun_V1.3.030119.0 645.apk
You can find it on Androidfilehost, for example. Works like a charm on my A70. Lots of settings are actually possible - just don't try to 'force 4K on front camera' mode - it'll make the app crash all the time. Other than that, Gcam really is way better than the stock camera app and HDR+ works really really good, too. Only downside - pics are limited to 8MP at the moment, but when using RAW, it's not a big deal at all.
Jason379 said:
Hi,
I used this version of Gcam:
S10_1_MGC_6.1.021_BSG_Arnova_TlnNeun_V1.3.030119.0 645.apk
You can find it on Androidfilehost, for example. Works like a charm on my A70. Lots of settings are actually possible - just don't try to 'force 4K on front camera' mode - it'll make the app crash all the time. Other than that, Gcam really is way better than the stock camera app and HDR+ works really really good, too. Only downside - pics are limited to 8MP at the moment, but when using RAW, it's not a big deal at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I downloaded the samd apk, does your night mode shots also crash the app ?
Download this Gcam mod to get full working night mode on the A70:
MGC_6.1.021_MI8_V2e
https://androidfilehost.com/?fid=1395089523397887533
Make sure you make a few necessary changes in app settings by following this video:
https://youtu.be/0cRMt39V8Po
Getting great low light shots with this mod. Other Apks crash when taking a photo in night mode.
Hi,
I must say that, whatever the causes, the pictures taken by this device are simply horrible.
I am not one of those so called photographers that is looking for the absolute colour reproduction and the sharpness of 10X real life.
I just want to have some pictures for moments I want to remember.
But even for that, this device doesn't do the job
All pictures are blurry, out of focus...
I can't even set the picture quality in the settings of the camera app.
I just can set the aspect ratio (in the Photo part) and the video resolution in the settings.
But no way to set the number of pixels I want for the pictures.
That is another dark side of this device that looked so promising on paper but doesn't deliver at all.
So goes Samsung... and device will be sent back to Amazon.
NexusPenguin said:
Hi,
I must say that, whatever the causes, the pictures taken by this device are simply horrible.
I am not one of those so called photographers that is looking for the absolute colour reproduction and the sharpness of 10X real life.
I just want to have some pictures for moments I want to remember.
But even for that, this device doesn't do the job
All pictures are blurry, out of focus...
I can't even set the picture quality in the settings of the camera app.
I just can set the aspect ratio (in the Photo part) and the video resolution in the settings.
But no way to set the number of pixels I want for the pictures.
That is another dark side of this device that looked so promising on paper but doesn't deliver at all.
So goes Samsung... and device will be sent back to Amazon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed, this phones's cameras suck.
You can choose high resolution mode (32mp) by tapping on the small 3:4 button then choosing 3:4H (H stands for high quality or high resolution).
There is an update rolling in India right now which promises to improve camera quality.
Sufyan3D said:
Agreed, this phones's cameras suck.
You can choose high resolution mode (32mp) by tapping on the small 3:4 button then choosing 3:4H (H stands for high quality or high resolution).
There is an update rolling in India right now which promises to improve camera quality.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds very promising. In the meantime, use the app 'open camera' for 100% JPG quality or even full size RAW output. It's got fully manual controls, too.
Yes, it looks like camera software improvements are coming soon:
https://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_pushes_first_software_update_for_the_galaxy_a70-news-37147.php
We'll have to wait to see how much it's improved...
SAMSUNG A70 CAMERA Poor Quality images and videos
I just bought Samsung a70, and the camera gives very poor images for 738 kb sizes only. I bought that mobile from samsung site, how to return the mobile. any help.
i am more than disappointed with the main camera...it is below any standards for modern phones...even my no name chinese phone couple of years old is making better photos....it is a shame for samsung to produce such half hearted pathetic camera...photos are smudgy, soft, and lack sharpness...auto focus is sluggish and in most cases you don't know is it even work...my old phone has clear green square signs all over screen which shows if photo is in focus or not, here you don't know what is going on...samsung is trying to impress all of us with 32mp number, but it is pathetic as well...i have tried some of the gcam camera and results are clearly better....so, it is obvious samsung is treating customers badly and sell them inferior camera not only to direct competition regarding price, but camera which is even worse than cameras in 50 dollars no name chinese phones...to say i am feeling cheated is understatement...
to be honest, live focus/blur/portrait mode is doing very good job?? how come? it looks like samsung is artificially made camera bad and not even try to make things better through software changes...
i would like to hear your thoughts about it? are you feeling cheated and disappointed about main camera in a70?
Tactman said:
i am more than disappointed with the main camera...it is below any standards for modern phones...even my no name chinese phone couple of years old is making better photos....it is a shame for samsung to produce such half hearted pathetic camera...photos are smudgy, soft, and lack sharpness...auto focus is sluggish and in most cases you don't know is it even work...my old phone has clear green square signs all over screen which shows if photo is in focus or not, here you don't know what is going on...samsung is trying to impress all of us with 32mp number, but it is pathetic as well...i have tried some of the gcam camera and results are clearly better....so, it is obvious samsung is treating customers badly and sell them inferior camera not only to direct competition regarding price, but camera which is even worse than cameras in 50 dollars no name chinese phones...to say i am feeling cheated is understatement...
to be honest, live focus/blur/portrait mode is doing very good job?? how come? it looks like samsung is artificially made camera bad and not even try to make things better through software changes...
i would like to hear your thoughts about it? are you feeling cheated and disappointed about main camera in a70?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Back camera is simply bad.
Front camera is very good and specially in night. All I would like to change in that phone is the back camera which I do not really understand why Samsung are doing this....
Samsung A70 32MP camera (top camera) is not working
All cameras the 8MP, 5MP and the front camera are working. Im sure they are working because I tried blocking each one depending on settings. But I cant seem to find the settings on how will the top camera will work. I tried the 3:4H ratio already but its the middle camera that is being utilized. For the wide angle, it is the bottom back camera. How can I utilize the top camera at the back?
Engrfusi said:
All cameras the 8MP, 5MP and the front camera are working. Im sure they are working because I tried blocking each one depending on settings. But I cant seem to find the settings on how will the top camera will work. I tried the 3:4H ratio already but its the middle camera that is being utilized. For the wide angle, it is the bottom back camera. How can I utilize the top camera at the back?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well, top camera's job is depth. You can use it with live focus.
32MP one is in the middle of them. It's the main camera.
And bottom camera is wide angle as you knew.
NexusPenguin said:
Hi,
I must say that, whatever the causes, the pictures taken by this device are simply horrible.
I am not one of those so called photographers that is looking for the absolute colour reproduction and the sharpness of 10X real life.
I just want to have some pictures for moments I want to remember.
But even for that, this device doesn't do the job
All pictures are blurry, out of focus...
I can't even set the picture quality in the settings of the camera app.
I just can set the aspect ratio (in the Photo part) and the video resolution in the settings.
But no way to set the number of pixels I want for the pictures.
That is another dark side of this device that looked so promising on paper but doesn't deliver at all.
So goes Samsung... and device will be sent back to Amazon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this phone a70 is a total lie.
it has a 8 magapixel awful camera.
it is absolutely not 32 megapixel by hardware. maybe it is 32 megapixel by software.
photos have no details, overprocessed, photos are washed out. like a watercolor paint. there are no textures. all textures are washed out.
colors are either too washy or either too bright.
low light performance is among the worst.
SAMSUNG, DO YOU KNOW THE WORD CALIBRATION???
and by 6 months this lier company released to market after A10,A20,A30,A40,A50,A60,A70,A80,A90 the s variants.
A10s,A20s,A30s,A40s,A50s,A60s,A70s etc.
now they have released the 1 variants.
A11,A21,A31,A41,A61,A71 etc etc
this samsung company is a total lier. hoax company.
trying to dominate the market by flooding with fake phones almost all the same hardware... market lies.
incomplete products, incomplete software, full of bugs, full of bloatware...
and i forgot they have the M10,M20,M30 as well as M20s,M30s....
pufffff LIER HOAX COMPANY SAMSUNG.

camera issues

Hey, iv got my S20 today. Been playing around with the camera and can honestly say I'm truly disappointed. The quality is awful. It finds it really hard to focus on things and the image quality is pants.
Iv just come from a p20 pro which I think was brilliant, I actually rate the camera on the p20 (a 2 yr old phone) 100x better than the S20.
Am I missing something or doing something wrong?
Waiting to fix focus with some updates... The quality is not awful, I think... Not so good as I expected too, but I have a hope that with some next updates, things will get better at some point... maybe
It's bad... Gutted iv got 10 days to return it. Guessing it ain't going to be fixed within that time
On wich software is your phone running? Samsung did fixed the issue with software updates on my phone.
Newest I think, iv got April 1st security updates.
today I cannot focus on my ID , driving license (to send it to my bank) , all photos was blurry in daytime condition shame
I noticed the same camera issues with my S20
liberty1002 said:
I noticed the same camera issues with my S20
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Got an s20 plus and the same situation in here, Can even focus anything, or any text on the main camera, as the front camera too. Disappointed, came from the mi9 with Gcam that took awesome pics.
Glad its not just me then, now I don't know if I should keep it or not. The main thing I use is the camera
For my s20+ samdung improved the Camera, esp the autofocus in the past 3 updates.. But still fail to fix the white balance in low light.
Photos taken esp food is always too warm or with red tint. Had to manually adjust white balance with adobe lightroom or snapseed.
I just wish samsung will fix the white balance as it is very obvious it's a firmware bug.
Autofocus is still bad but it improved woth firmware updates. Doesnt really bug me as i always press on the location to focus though..
Sent from my SM-G985F using Tapatalk
Well I've got 28 days now as the return centre has closed lol let's see how it goes
I have noticed several things that really annoy me and are making me think about selling it after 2 weeks. Does anyone else notice:
1. Extreme saturation of the colors on picture. Contrast is way too high. I have not been able to fix this.
2. Autofocus is really poor
3. In bright light outside, people almost are orange when using video. Gras is extremely green, it is so ugly.
4. When sending video on Whatsapp, quality decreases extreme. Meaning color is almost gone, quality very low. (I mean way more than the usual decreae because of dropping)
Really dissapoimted given the price of this device.
bucksbunny said:
I have noticed several things that really annoy me and are making me think about selling it after 2 weeks. Does anyone else notice:
1. Extreme saturation of the colors on picture. Contrast is way too high. I have not been able to fix this.
2. Autofocus is really poor
3. In bright light outside, people almost are orange when using video. Gras is extremely green, it is so ugly.
4. When sending video on Whatsapp, quality decreases extreme. Meaning color is almost gone, quality very low. (I mean way more than the usual decreae because of dropping)
Really dissapoimted given the price of this device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Grass is Extremely Green?: It was doing that to me too but it wasn't the Camera. It was because in Display I had Screen mode set to Vivid and not Natural. If you have Vivid on ever Picture is going to look oversaturated. It's the screen doing that not the Camera.
bucksbunny said:
I have noticed several things that really annoy me and are making me think about selling it after 2 weeks. Does anyone else notice:
1. Extreme saturation of the colors on picture. Contrast is way too high. I have not been able to fix this.
2. Autofocus is really poor
3. In bright light outside, people almost are orange when using video. Gras is extremely green, it is so ugly.
4. When sending video on Whatsapp, quality decreases extreme. Meaning color is almost gone, quality very low. (I mean way more than the usual decreae because of dropping)
Really dissapoimted given the price of this device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try turn off scene optimization, this will boost collars also.
Or HDR and see if u like it better.
WhatsApp always decrease picture and video quality, if u want it 100% than u should select document and search for your photo or video.
apieschapie said:
Try turn off scene optimization, this will boost collars also.
Or HDR and see if u like it better.
WhatsApp always decrease picture and video quality, if u want it 100% than u should select document and search for your photo or video.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know this.
Tried the adjustment of the screen but problem remains.
And as I stated in my post; i know quality decreases on whatsapp video messaging (wich makes sense). But in this case the video's go to totally different to no colour, lighting changes, etc. etc.
I know you can expect some quality decrease, but this is absurd.
I keep trying new things but I'm still shocked at the camera, every photo looks blury. I'm not getting a crisp photo no matter what i do.
Iv given up with the 64mp mode as they are the worse pictures! So one of the phones biggest selling points rite there is useless.
10mp does auto focus faster but the lag between pressing the shutter button and it actually taking causes photo blur
Its pretty ok i think
bucksbunny said:
I have noticed several things that really annoy me and are making me think about selling it after 2 weeks. Does anyone else notice:
1. Extreme saturation of the colors on picture. Contrast is way too high. I have not been able to fix this.
2. Autofocus is really poor
3. In bright light outside, people almost are orange when using video. Gras is extremely green, it is so ugly.
4. When sending video on Whatsapp, quality decreases extreme. Meaning color is almost gone, quality very low. (I mean way more than the usual decreae because of dropping)
Really dissapoimted given the price of this device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try to send the photos taken with extreme contrast. If it's still appears on other ppls phone with extreme contrast.
I had this issue.. I noticed photo abnormally warm and over saturated. Then after I transfer the photo to pc, it looks just fine.
Then i saw somewhere on xda, try changing the display setting from vivid to natural. It's much better.
Sent from my SM-G985F using Tapatalk
vash_h said:
Try to send the photos taken with extreme contrast. If it's still appears on other ppls phone with extreme contrast.
I had this issue.. I noticed photo abnormally warm and over saturated. Then after I transfer the photo to pc, it looks just fine.
Then i saw somewhere on xda, try changing the display setting from vivid to natural. It's much better.
Sent from my SM-G985F using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't anymore. After three weeks I sold mine. Dissapointed in Samsung. Looking for a K30 Pro now or even an Iphone 11.
bucksbunny said:
I can't anymore. After three weeks I sold mine. Dissapointed in Samsung. Looking for a K30 Pro now or even an Iphone 11.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here, got rid of mine, got a p30 pro... amazing.
I read on sammobile that they don't think they can fix some of the issues with the exynos chip. Some of the side by side comparison tests with the Snapdragon may as well be a different phone

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