What kind of chip will the SGN camera have?

[headbanger51]

So everyone was making a big deal of the camera being only 5mp, with the counter argument begin something along the lines of, "MPs aren't important, as long as it has a solid chip and lens." I haven't seen any articles or posts anywhere that break down what the Nexus has in this department. The closest thing I found was an article on thisismynext.com (or maybe engadget) where they list the chip with the camera, but state nothing about whether it's an upgrade or not and its overall quality.
The camera is kind of a big deal to me, and the more I've read about things people are discovering about the Nexus, the more I'm apt to at least wait until it has hit the market for a couple of weeks and I see a lot of hands-on reviews and opinions from users on this forum. I don't know...I still may buy it outright, but some of the build quality concerns make me a little nervous. Anyway, thanks.

 

[jbdan]

I think I read somewhere it's made by Sony. I can't imagine Google or Samsung putting an inferior camera on this phone. I could care less about megapix's....it might not be Nokia/iPho good, but I bet it's dam good.

 

[Stigy]

Honestly no one is going to know until the final build is in reviewers hands to compare photos against low-end P&S cameras as well as the iPhone 4 and 4s.

A quick Google search brings up a bunch of reviews from test units and some nice insight about the camera. I don't think anyone is going to be 100% sure until its released. But also remember, and its been brought up many times, on a small sensor like this less MP is better because you're reducing the number of light sensors on a tiny chip.

galaxy nexus camera - Google Search

 

[nj02vette]

The camera processor "chip" used is actually the OMAP4460. It has built in camera capabilities for up to 20MP.

I don't have any information on the actual CCD sensor used. Honestly, I'm not sure there's much difference in the sensors at this size. It's far more dependant on image processor (auto-focus/settings), lens, shutter speed and other intangables such as flash performance.

 

[mills23]

So everyone was making a big deal of the camera being only 5mp, with the counter argument begin something along the lines of, "MPs aren't important, as long as it has a solid chip and lens." I haven't seen any articles or posts anywhere that break down what the Nexus has in this department. The closest thing I found was an article on thisismynext.com (or maybe engadget) where they list the chip with the camera, but state nothing about whether it's an upgrade or not and its overall quality.
The camera is kind of a big deal to me, and the more I've read about things people are discovering about the Nexus, the more I'm apt to at least wait until it has hit the market for a couple of weeks and I see a lot of hands-on reviews and opinions from users on this forum. I don't know...I still may buy it outright, but some of the build quality concerns make me a little nervous. Anyway, thanks.

I agree, I want a good camera too.

 

[theineffablebob]

The sensor on the SGS2 is either a Sony or Samsung. Depends on the region.

 

[quantumrand]

The whole thing is that smartphones don't have lenses capable of taking advantage of 8+MP sensors. They just don't let in enough light. Because the lenses let in so little light, sometimes you're better off using a lower MP sensor since a 5MP sensor will be more sensitive to light than an 8MP sensor of the same size.

I'd imagine the Galaxy Nexus sensor is a backlit CCD type, possibly even the Sony Exmor R, as someone previously mentioned. It sounds like it's really optimized for the limitations of a smartphone platform, rather than a small point-and-shoot sensor stuffed into a smartphone like most phones do.

 

[headbanger51]

Thanks all...I guess we'll just have to wait and see until someone gets their hands on one with free reign.

 

[mcbtrain929]

I think I read somewhere it's made by Sony. I can't imagine Google or Samsung putting an inferior camera on this phone. I could care less about megapix's....it might not be Nokia/iPho good, but I bet it's dam good.

i thought the camera on the galaxy s was garbage. plus, you couldn't even zoom on it.......really??

 

[Stigy]

i thought the camera on the galaxy s was garbage. plus, you couldn't even zoom on it.......really??

You can't zoom on (read: almost) any camera phone these days. Optical zoom that is.

Digital zoom is pretty much the same as taking a picture at 1x zoom and then cropping it after the fact. Just an FYI.

 

[oatmeals]

Here are some comparison shots between the Galaxy Nexus and IPhone 4S. Keep in mind the photo of the watch take with the Iphone 4S was taken with shaky hands. Also pay close attention to the shot of the construction site and the contrast of the blue tarp at the bottom right corner.

http://thisismynext.com/2011/10/19/galaxy-nexus-vs-iphone-4s/

 

[jbdan]

i thought the camera on the galaxy s was garbage. plus, you couldn't even zoom on it.......really??

I said "this" phone. Hope I'm right

 

[Android26]

Here are some comparison shots between the Galaxy Nexus and IPhone 4S. Keep in mind the photo of the watch take with the Iphone 4S was taken with shaky hands. Also pay close attention to the shot of the construction site and the contrast of the blue tarp at the bottom right corner.

Galaxy Nexus vs. iPhone 4S comparison photos | This is my next...

I think they're both really good.

The thing is, the picture quality we're seeing on our computers simply cannot convey what you'd truly see on the phone itself. I think those pictures would look jaw droppingly gorgeous on the SAMOLED+ HD. Plus, some of the "color inadequacies" we think we see on our computers may be non-existent on the phone itself.

 

[magpullin]

Here are some comparison shots between the Galaxy Nexus and IPhone 4S. Keep in mind the photo of the watch take with the Iphone 4S was taken with shaky hands. Also pay close attention to the shot of the construction site and the contrast of the blue tarp at the bottom right corner.

Galaxy Nexus vs. iPhone 4S comparison photos | This is my next...

What I noticed was that the shot of the people indoors was much better with the SGN. The construction site seems better defined with the iphone, but as you look across the water to the barge or whatever it is with tires around it the tires are much more defined with the SGN. So IDK, hard to say.

 

[Sandroidfan]

What I noticed was that the shot of the people indoors was much better with the SGN. The construction site seems better defined with the iphone, but as you look across the water to the barge or whatever it is with tires around it the tires are much more defined with the SGN. So IDK, hard to say.

I saw that site and posted here before as it looked pretty good to me. Then someone pointed out that focus points on those construction site shots are different between iPhone4S and GNex. If Nexus camera focused on window, that might explain why iPhone4S shot looks tad sharper at farther out the window.
But on close objects shots, I would say nexus does fairly well if not better than iPhone4S. But we don't know how they handled Nexus camera with setting and it's probably still pre-release version.

 

[BigRedNole]

I say this all the time as an amateur photographer. You don't buy a phone for the camera and you don't buy a camera to use as a phone.

You can have a 100MP camera with a sensor that is only good for 2MP. No matter what happens, it will not take a good picture. What has to happen is that the sensor matches the size (MP) of the camera. A sensor designed for 5MP will take a much better picture than the same 5MP sensor with a 8MP camera. All the parts have to match and function properly together.

Camera issues on a phone:
Aperture: The lens is not designed for taking real pictures. You cannot control how open or closed the lens is on a phone.
Exposure: To my knowledge, you cannot manually control how long the lens stays open allowing light to the sensor. Exposure and aperture work together to make great pictures
ISO: This assists in allowing faster exposure. I do not see any ISO settings on a phone.
White Balance: Used for different lighting situations to bring out the true color of the subject. WB levels are different for almost all situations.

Those are the biggest ones. There are more and I do not see this ever happening a camera on a phone. The simple problem is that the lens is far too small for photography. Why do you think DSLRs have heavy, clunking, giant lenses? Better opportunity for better photography.

 

[mills23]

We are not expecting it to take pix like a pro but we do want them to be useable.

 

[Deleted User]

I say this all the time as an amateur photographer. You don't buy a phone for the camera and you don't buy a camera to use as a phone.

There is no reason, as evidenced by the iPhone 4S, that you cannot have a good camera on a phone. It will never be a great camera, but it can be an adequate camera to capture moments when a camera is not handy or practical. I, too, am a photographer and I have a lot of heavy camera gear, as well as a pocket camera, but there are STILL times when I am without my cameras.

What has to happen is that the sensor matches the size (MP) of the camera. A sensor designed for 5MP will take a much better picture than the same 5MP sensor with a 8MP camera.

This is getting off topic, but the sensor IS the camera when you are talking about megapixels. These cameras don't interpolate the images to different sizes. A sensor that outputs a 5mp image is going to be in a 5mp camera.

Aperture: The lens is not designed for taking real pictures. You cannot control how open or closed the lens is on a phone.
Exposure: To my knowledge, you cannot manually control how long the lens stays open allowing light to the sensor. Exposure and aperture work together to make great pictures
ISO: This assists in allowing faster exposure. I do not see any ISO settings on a phone.
White Balance: Used for different lighting situations to bring out the true color of the subject. WB levels are different for almost all situations.

The aperture is almost irrelevant because the sensor is so small that you have almost infinite depth of field. It just needs to be big enough to deal with low light. The exposure, ISO and WB can be controlled on cameras. WB and ISO often directly, the exposure time is sometimes not directly controllable but there are always indirect controls (selecting a sports mode, or night photography, or upping your exposure compensation or whatever).

Again, it's never going to be great - I agree with you. But it can still be an important part of capturing moments and memories, so being good is very important.