Help camera

[katieclay]

can someone tell me why my droid x doesnt seem to take good pictures.. i am obviously missing something here.. and i cant zoom in when i do video.. help???

 

[Paycer]

1a.) Check your settings and see if the resolution that is being used for your photos is relatively high. Too low of a resolution could result in low quality or pixelation.

1b.) If you're experiencing blurriness or streaks in your shots, try selecting and using the, "Steady Shot," scene in the, "Scenes," menu at the top right. Also just try using the, "Auto," setting if you haven't already.

2.) Make sure that, when there isn't a lot of light, you're close to your subject and are using the flash. See if there's already enough light in general.

3.) You can't zoom in when using the Camcorder or taking video. I don't know if other applications allow this option, but the default app doesn't.

4.) The default camera application kind of limits the true potential of the DX's camera. The software isn't very good. I personally recommend Vignette or Camera 360 Pro. Their color correction and image stabilization appears to be far better than the default application included with the device.

Happy photo-snapping.

 

[crboone]

1a.) Check your settings and see if the resolution that is being used for your photos is relatively high. Too low of a resolution could result in low quality or pixelation.

1b.) If you're experiencing blurriness or streaks in your shots, try selecting and using the, "Steady Shot," scene in the, "Scenes," menu at the top right. Also just try using the, "Auto," setting if you haven't already.

2.) Make sure that, when there isn't a lot of light, you're close to your subject and are using the flash. See if there's already enough light in general.

3.) You can't zoom in when using the Camcorder or taking video. I don't know if other applications allow this option, but the default app doesn't.

4.) The default camera application kind of limits the true potential of the DX's camera. The software isn't very good. I personally recommend Vignette or Camera 360 Pro. Their color correction and image stabilization appears to be far better than the default application included with the device.

Happy photo-snapping.

I was very disappointed to find that my X doesn't take photos as well as my former 3.2 megapix Blackberry Storm I, or our 5-yr old 4.1 megapix Sony digicam. And I'm not saying this just to be critical (I like the X just fine). Colors are splotchy in areas and lines are just not as sharp. (The BB camera was only good in daylight, but I'm comparing daylight pictures here). I can sorta understand the Sony camera being better even at 4.1 megapix -- it has a true lens zoom and Carl Zeiss optics (and a real flash for inside). But the BB 3.2 should not be better!

With an 8 mpx camera, I was actually hoping I wouldn't need to take the Sony along with me any longer. So for it to produce splotchy colors with less definition is a disappointment indeed.

Does Vignette really take care of splotchy colors and the dull lines better than the stock app? Also, does using Vignette mean losing the nice UI? Or is it at least as good?

 

[Paycer]

I think the real problem lies in the camera's software. The actual performance of the stock application is garbage.

As I said, it seems that the pictures Vignette takes are significantly better than those taken with the stock app, and that's just with the, "Auto," settings. If you apply any variation of settings in Vignette, your pictures can turn out even better. If I remember correctly, you can combine certain settings and/or effects to create custom ones. Just tinker around with it a bit and figure out everything that you're able to do. You can buy the application and return it within 24HR if you don't like it, for a full refund.

The Vignette UI is more functional. Whether or not it's more esthetically pleasing is up to you. I think it looks just fine.

Also note that apparently, the 8MP setting in the stock camera application is what it says it is, but the 6MP option is actually an 8MP shot. It's just been cropped on the top and bottom to give that widescreen effect. while still keeping the higher resolution. I don't know this for a fact either way, as I haven't bothered to check myself, but that's what I've read from users on here repeatedly.

 

[crboone]

I think the real problem lies in the camera's software. The actual performance of the stock application is garbage.

As I said, it seems that the pictures Vignette takes are significantly better than those taken with the stock app, and that's just with the, "Auto," settings. If you apply any variation of settings in Vignette, your pictures can turn out even better. If I remember correctly, you can combine certain settings and/or effects to create custom ones. Just tinker around with it a bit and figure out everything that you're able to do. You can buy the application and return it within 24HR if you don't like it, for a full refund.

The Vignette UI is more functional. Whether or not it's more esthetically pleasing is up to you. I think it looks just fine.

Also note that apparently, the 8MP setting in the stock camera application is what it says it is, but the 6MP option is actually an 8MP shot. It's just been cropped on the top and bottom to give that widescreen effect. while still keeping the higher resolution. I don't know this for a fact either way, as I haven't bothered to check myself, but that's what I've read from users on here repeatedly.

Thank you. I plan to try the paid version of Vignette on your (and others') recommendation. It's worth it if the clarity/color is better (though it's disappointing the stock app isn't very good). I've just tried the "lite" version and the UI seems fine. I wish the free version allowed for a little higher resolution, just enough to see how good the quality is. But if, for some reason, I don't like it, it's not a lot of money spent.

I really appreciate your response.

 

[Hrethgir]

The quality of the pictures has been a little bit of a letdown for me, but it is cellphone, not a camera. But even then, it takes good enough pictures to keep me satisfied. I have it set to 8MP, but never had the Steady Shot on, I'll give that a try and see if it helps clean up the pics a little bit. Eventually I'll probably try the Vignette app. Grabbed the Lite version, but the resolution on it is so low, I immediately deleted it. It isn't the UI of the stock cam I had a problem with, it was the quality of the pics, and I can't make a judgement on whether it's better or worse comparing 8MP to VGA or whatever the Lite version will let you take. I'm pretty sure it's under 1 MP, anyways.

 

[bigbadwulff]

Macro and close-ups seem to do better for some odd reason.

 

[quickaudi]

I was very disappointed to find that my X doesn't take photos as well as my former 3.2 megapix Blackberry Storm I, or our 5-yr old 4.1 megapix Sony digicam. And I'm not saying this just to be critical (I like the X just fine). Colors are splotchy in areas and lines are just not as sharp. (The BB camera was only good in daylight, but I'm comparing daylight pictures here). I can sorta understand the Sony camera being better even at 4.1 megapix -- it has a true lens zoom and Carl Zeiss optics (and a real flash for inside). But the BB 3.2 should not be better!

With an 8 mpx camera, I was actually hoping I wouldn't need to take the Sony along with me any longer. So for it to produce splotchy colors with less definition is a disappointment indeed.

BS. I had a Storm 1 and the X destroys it in picture quality.

 

[crboone]

BS. I had a Storm 1 and the X destroys it in picture quality.

Well, I have a Storm I and the X has splotchy color. Just because your experience is different doesn't mean I'm not having issues w/my camera. There's no need to BS my posts -- I'm trying to have an informative discussion and to resolve the issues with my camera, which others have been kind enough to assist.

My X does *not* destroy my Storm in daylight picture quality. However, now that I have just installed Vignette, hopefully it will work better.

 

[bigbadwulff]

I too had a Storm and the pics seemed better with it to me also.
Color saturation just seems off as does the focus(ever so slightly)

 

[crboone]

I too had a Storm and the pics seemed better with it to me also.
Color saturation just seems off as does the focus(ever so slightly)

I suppose it is possible that the better Droid X camera reveals imperfections more. But color saturation does seem to be the issue with mine as well. With less mpx maybe it's not as noticeable (?).

 

[Paycer]

If you want to try and get an idea of what full resolution Vignette shots look like, check out the, "Post pictures you have taken with your Droid X," thread. Some people will say what application and/or settings they used for their shot(s).

http://androidforums.com/motorola-droid-x/123502-post-pictures-you-have-taken-your-droid-x.html

 

[bigbadwulff]

Vignette is missing out on purchases if you asked me. their trial version is at such a low resolution you can't tell what it will be like on high resolutions. They need to do a trail version with a certain number of pics on high resolution.

 

[Hrethgir]

I tried the trick of putting the stock cam app in Steady Cam, and it does seem to be a crisper picture. Only taken a few pics so far, but looked pretty sharp.

 

[nhlawhonjr]

i must have changed somthing on my droid x. my camera doesn't work any more. can someone help please.

 

[Hrethgir]

i must have changed somthing on my droid x. my camera doesn't work any more. can someone help please.

Have you tried rebooting the phone? That might help.

 

[crboone]

I'm still a little disappointed after taking almost 600 pictures during vacation. I know the stock camera app produces 16:9 photos in 6.0MP, but Vignette was clearly marked as 8.0MP. But when viewing the photos, they are only 6.0MP. Maybe it's just my own ignorance that 16:9 can't be 8.0MP, but still -- I wish I had known that from the application itself. I might have taken some regular shots at 8.0MP instead of all wide-screen.

Also, almost all of my photos taken in bright sunlight are stunning (except there is some color bleeding, particularly with greens -- and I took a lot of nature pictures with a lot of green color). Once I go inside somewhere (even brightly lit buildings), or once it hits 5pm outside (this time of year), the quality degrades noticeably.

Can anyone recommend camera settings for "almost" bright daylight? I'm sure I just don't know what I'm doing.

 

[quickaudi]

@crboone - try the steady cam; I had problems with medium light levels inside, and that seems to have helped; worth a shot, anyway