Camera tips

[michaelkahl]

I'm sure many people already know these tips, and if so great. If you happen to know any that I forgot to mention or didn't know please add to the list.

Tip #1 - Tap to Autofocus + Hold to take the picture - this is a basic one that I'm sure many are familiar with, but for those who aren't...
Simply tap on your subject and the camera will focus. If you tap+hold on your subject the camera will focus and take the photo. I find that it's easier to steady myself too get a clear image. Pressing the optical trackball tends to shake the camera and makes my images blurry.
Image was focused on his eye below.

Tip #2 - Don't be afraid to go without the flash - Unless the image is barely visible on the screen I try to keep flash off. Using tip number one along with steadying your self (brace against a wall, flat surface, or user your arms as a bi-pod) you can get great results.
Indoors no flash

Tip #3 - Diffuse the flash - If you find yourself needing to use the flash then this tip will help you avoid overexposed faces or subjects. I simply taped a single layer of napkin to the inside of my gel case. This covers the dual led flash and helps diffuse the light so it's not too concentrated.

Diffused (below)

Not Diffused (below)

Tip#4 - Turn down the in-camera sharpness - This is personal preference but I feel that images are somewhat over sharpened.
Pull out the camera tab -> Image Settings -> dial down sharpness to your liking...if you like sharpness dial it up I guess

Tip #5 - Zoom feature - I actually think it works pretty well on this phone. Simply swipe your thumb up or down on the right-hand side of the screen.

Tip #6 - Explore metering types - You have Spot, Average, & Center. Depending on your environment and subject one may be more preferable than others. Average meters the entire image trying to find a middle ground for exposing everything. Spot metering tries to meter a specific point in the image. It won't care about under or over exposing any other part of the image, just properly exposing the point you select to meter. Center simply meters the center of your image.
Camera Tab -> Settings -> Metering -> Average is default and should work for most cases.

Tip #7 - Get Creative - There are filter effects such as sepia.
Camera tab -> Effects -> explore the options and enjoy.

Those are just a few, and I'm sure others will post stuff I forgot or didn't think about. I hope this helps, happy shooting and enjoy

 

[sillyrabbitt123]

Thanks!!

 

[DroidPower]

great tip... i'm going to take some black electrical tap and cover one LED and see how it works.

 

[Colchicine]

The best advice that non-photographers need to understand:
HOLD THE CAMERA STILL

It's especially true when a camera has a small lens. My Sony F828 was the largest non-SLR cameara when it came out, also at 8 MP. It's lens is nearly 15 times larger! There IS a difference in quality between two cameras of the same MP size. The best you can do to improve your picture quality is to minimize or eliminate vibrations, especially in low light.

 

[sillyrabbitt123]

anyway to frost the flash? like maybe that spray you put on windows to look like snow. i wonder how long it would stay on.

 

[michaelkahl]

The best advice that non-photographers need to understand:
HOLD THE CAMERA STILL

It's especially true when a camera has a small lens. My Sony F828 was the largest non-SLR cameara when it came out, also at 8 MP. It's lens is nearly 15 times larger! There IS a difference in quality between two cameras of the same MP size. The best you can do to improve your picture quality is to minimize or eliminate vibrations, especially in low light.

A steady hand goes a long way.

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk

 

[P M]

I would also recommend changing up the ISO settings...

For your experimentation, take a pictures of a still-subject and change ISO settings each time: you have ISO Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, and 1250. You will notice a graininess/noisiness to the photo will increase at higher ISO values when magnified at 100%.

ISO modifies the camera sensor sensitivity to light, so at Higher ISO values, you are able to use a faster shutter speed since there is more light available for a correctly exposed shot (due to increased sensitivity). This allows better capturing in low-light conditions or for fast-moving subjects since shutter speed is quicker (less blurring from movement).

However, because ISO increases sensitivity in general, as a negative byproduct it also amplifies unwanted background noise or residual signals of its own sensor or circuitry. This is analogous to the 'hiss' of a cheapo amp, microphone, or speakers of audio systems.

For the DINC, I try not to go past ISO200 unless i don't want to use flash indoors. Some may think the other higher ISO values are acceptable so that is really based on your preference.

The 'Auto' setting probably picks an ISO value that is appropriate for the given lighting conditions and metering chosen.

kudos to michaelkahl for giving some great tips!

I'm more than happy with the IQ of the provided camera. The sensor is perhaps ridiculously small, which is exactly why it is definitely not comparable to a DSLR image sensor which is usually about 20mm X 16mm in dimensions. Actually, cramming so many pixels on a small sensor is actually detrimental to the function of the sensor (more noise). Had some fun with FXcamera app and retrocamera (but uninstalled them due to post-processing patterns etched on the photo).

sample pix:

Taken with fxcamera and resized

Taken straight from camera and resized

 

[Swens221]

I can't always hold the camera steady because I naturally have a shake in my hands. michaelkahl: Thanks for the tip of holding the screen for the focus + picture snap combo, before this all I was getting was blurry pictures.

 

[Lars]

Same things hold true for video. Avoid moving the camera at all. A good rule of thumb. If you have to move the camera during a video shot there is probably not enough movement in the shot to justify video so just take a still and be done.

The sensor appears to be a cheap CMOS sensor from the looks of the stills. It is essentially a video type sensor that takes stills. This results in fast access but poor cross pixel balance. Lower power and on chip camera processing vs a general CCD type.

 

[nick99wj]

sometimes when i hold me finger on the screen it does nothing...when i lift of it focuses and SOMETIMES...takes the pic.

do i have a faulty phone or is there something i'm doing wrong.

just putting a finger ont he screen and holding does nothing, but it does take a pciture every once in awhile

 

[Rodent]

sometimes when i hold me finger on the screen it does nothing...when i lift of it focuses and SOMETIMES...takes the pic.

do i have a faulty phone or is there something i'm doing wrong.

just putting a finger ont he screen and holding does nothing, but it does take a pciture every once in awhile

I got a replacement phone and the camera doesnt even work half of the time now, just freezes after taking the picture but it doesnt save it and the camera app stops working

 

[J_Willy_C]

This is somewhat related to the camera -- anyone know the method of taking a screen shot of the what is currently displayed on the screen of the Incredible? I could not find any reference within the U.G.
THanks

 

[necosino]

I got a replacement phone and the camera doesnt even work half of the time now, just freezes after taking the picture but it doesnt save it and the camera app stops working

Take it back and get a new one; this is a semi-known issue.

 

[sugyrbabe]

I am also having the camera freezing issue and I am thinking about returning my phone which makes me very sad since none of the calander features will transfer over and I will have to put all of that stuff back in my phone again. Not to mention the apps. This stinks!!

 

[Rodent]

Take it back and get a new one; this is a semi-known issue.

Ok guess I will queue up another replacement and hope I get a better one. Are they making revisions to anything to help fix the problems with the phoen?

 

[nhindian]

I have a question.

The pictures I took look great on my phone, accurate colors and all that. But when I do anything to extract it (MMS, Facebook, drag&drop when it's connected to PC), the colors look completely washed out and frankly, quite awful.

Here's an example:
http://img524.imageshack.us/img524/8525/imag0219.jpg

 

[DroidPower]

always consider how are the images are being viewed and/or what kind of display, or did the photos loose any resolution during the transfer to MMS or Face-book. I take it your camera is set on 8mp. The higher the resolution/mega pixel, the bigger/larger a photo can be keeping its clarity. A small photo on your camera screen taken with a 2mp looks the same as one taken witha 8mp, only when you go to increase the viewing size of a photo will the 8mp keeps its clarity, while the 2mp starts getting distorted, so check your settings.

 

[nhindian]

It's set at 8MP :/

 

[falcon26]

Thanks for the tip on taking pictures my hand shakes (Probably too much caffeine) and using the tap to take the picture instead of the joystick helped alot thanks....

 

[Raven93]

Thanks did not know about tapping on the screen for the focus point

 

[DigitalBird]

Thanks! While I'm preparing for holiday (and any other scenery) photos, I sorely didn't know about the tap to take a shot hint.

 

[michaelkahl]

Glad to hear that people are still getting help from this thread

 

[tmarr]

I have a question.

The pictures I took look great on my phone, accurate colors and all that. But when I do anything to extract it (MMS, Facebook, drag&drop when it's connected to PC), the colors look completely washed out and frankly, quite awful.

Here's an example:
http://img524.imageshack.us/img524/8525/imag0219.jpg

Facebook kills photo quality to reduce size.

 

[captainm27]

I also have the same trouble when pressing and holding. Sometimes, I press and hold and nothing happens, though I can see the lens auto-focusing. Do you have to keep it pressed for, say, 5 seconds for the photo to take? What exactly is happening when you press and hold and keep it there, and nothing happens?

 

[michaelkahl]

I also have the same trouble when pressing and holding. Sometimes, I press and hold and nothing happens, though I can see the lens auto-focusing. Do you have to keep it pressed for, say, 5 seconds for the photo to take? What exactly is happening when you press and hold and keep it there, and nothing happens?

Good question, and I wish I had a better answer. It seems that the software can get flaky at times. I'm not 100% sure whats going on. I do however know that sometimes when I press the screen nothing happens. When I release, it auto-focuses and takes the picture.
I wish I knew what caused this