Help camera takes terrible pics......

[Outatime]

It's not a fact. I am a photographer. My judgment is based upon extensive side by side comparisons, not what I read on the web.

 

[ALIHISGREAT]

It's not a fact. I am a photographer. My judgment is based upon extensive side by side comparisons, not what I read on the web.

Cab you please reveal the secret to getting better photos on the Gnex camera then?

Does this work for normal people? Or do you have to be a photographer?

 

[fam]

actually having a subject matter you want to shoot helps. Use a flash if youre getting bad shadows on a face outside. hold it still...youll see it focus by tapping what you want ...feel free to hit the button a bunch of times because its free...especially with people because they blink...and people are stupid so you have to counter it with more shots ;-) There are exposure settings on the stock camera app....that will help you if your subject is too bright (trying to shoot a rockstar at a concert) you can lower it up to -3. Dont shoot a subject in front of the sun unless youre wanting them to look dark.

Im sure Outatime will give you some better tips but thats what I have off the top of my head.

Picsaypro....buy the full version...its so powerful for editing....if youre cheap instagram can offer automatic saturation and a few filters.

 

[chucksings]

Since last post I have probably taken 100 or so shots and my opinion hasn't changed: the camera on the Nexus is its weakest feature and cannot even get on the playing field with my wife's Iphone. I love the Nexus. Hate its camera.

 

[AussieAndroid]

The only huge gripe I have with this camera is the white balance. It can be absolutely shocking at times and I've done side by side comparisons with my previous HTC phone and a new Nokia lumia

 

[Outatime]

You don't have to be a photographer to take good pictures.

The biggest thing I have seen that immediately degrades the image quality is a fingerprint on the lens. It makes a HUGE difference. Get in the habit of rubbing the lens on your shirt before every use. I'm not kidding, you will notice a huge improvement.

Edit: Something I just thought of, I bought an eyeglass cleaning cloth at Walgreens that I keep with me. Great for wiping off the lens and the screen.

Holding the phone steady is tricky and important. You see guys at sporting events with $10,000 cameras and lenses on a monopod for a reason. Don't expect your phone to perform better. Steady it on your knee, a wall... anything.

The only setting that I've seen that I try to avoid but will improve your indoor pics is to set the exposure to +1. Use only if necessary because it introduces some noise.

Lastly, USE THE FLASH and turn on the lights in the room. This is not going to perform in low light like a dSLR. It's a tiny sensor.

Here is a picture that I think turned out pretty good that's the worst possible situation for a camera. Inside, pointing at a window. I did use +1 exposure and the flash is on.

Spoiler

This is using the panorama function. No adjustment to settings but it's in the best possible situation.

Spoiler

 

[biffsmash]

I hate Iphones with a passion, but the Iphone 4s camera is a million times better than the GNEX Camera, and it's better than the SGS2 Camera by a mile also.

Every single time i've seen friend's snapping pictures on auto settings on iphone 4s, in dim lighting, the pictures come out excellent.

Pictures taken on my GNEX or indeed my SGS2 in exactly the same lighting come out far worse.

1 - 0 to apple on this one i'm afraid.

 

[fam]

My wife has a 4s...it is just as easy to take crap photos on it. You cant always see the film grain or the artificially over saturated colors by looking at their screen because dead Steve jobs wont let you fully zoom into photos, only enough where it wont look bad. In some circumstances the dead steve jobs phone will do a better job for someone just to push a button in certain environments...but to say the nexus isnt as good is (insert an assortment of banned word on forums here).

 

[Skeeter125]

I had a nexus and a 4s and the 4s hands down takes much better pictures. The nexus no matter what was down all the pics were grainy and just didn't look good for what they touted the camera as being on the nexus.

 

[fam]

Every response running through my head would be deleted by the mods. That is all. ;-)

 

[ALIHISGREAT]

You don't have to be a photographer to take good pictures.

The biggest thing I have seen that immediately degrades the image quality is a fingerprint on the lens. It makes a HUGE difference. Get in the habit of rubbing the lens on your shirt before every use. I'm not kidding, you will notice a huge improvement.

Edit: Something I just thought of, I bought an eyeglass cleaning cloth at Walgreens that I keep with me. Great for wiping off the lens and the screen.

Holding the phone steady is tricky and important. You see guys at sporting events with $10,000 cameras and lenses on a monopod for a reason. Don't expect your phone to perform better. Steady it on your knee, a wall... anything.

The only setting that I've seen that I try to avoid but will improve your indoor pics is to set the exposure to +1. Use only if necessary because it introduces some noise.

Lastly, USE THE FLASH and turn on the lights in the room. This is not going to perform in low light like a dSLR. It's a tiny sensor.

Here is a picture that I think turned out pretty good that's the worst possible situation for a camera. Inside, pointing at a window. I did use +1 exposure and the flash is on.

Spoiler

This is using the panorama function. No adjustment to settings but it's in the best possible situation.

Spoiler

Nice pics.

Amy tips for shooting landscape panoramas?

 

[Outatime]

Thanks!

You know, I haven't played much with the panorama function. It's pretty good though. You have to be careful if you have stuff in the foreground, it will chop it up or distort it.

But for regular landscape, I can give you the old rules of photography. Typically try to shoot in the "golden hours." An hour after sunrise or an hour before sunset. Avoid shooting into the sun. Try to add foreground interest to your photo. Like get close to some rocks or something towards the bottom of the picture with the top being the landscape you're trying to take.

Google Ansel Adams and observe the way he took photos. He was the master of landscape photography.

THIS PHOTO WAS NOT TAKEN WITH MY NEXUS!!!! I'm providing it as an example of composing landscape photography. I hope we're not getting too far off topic here...

Spoiler

 

[fam]

As long as you dont mention a crapple product youre on topic ;-)

 

[Outatime]

As long as you dont mention a crapple product youre on topic ;-)

LOL that's a deal

I laugh to myself every time I look at that fall picture I posted above. It's so calm and serene. I should have had my wife take a picture of me taking it. I was literally hanging over a log, feet in the air, shoulder laying in the mud up to my neck. My dSLR about 2" above the water.

 

[Techno Tonis]

Now that Android has instagram, let me tell you something - I am posting shots that BLOW away the average shot of a iPhone 4s user, and I am by no means a professional photographer. I barely stick to the rule of thirds, the most expensive camera I own is a 7 year old 35mm SLR, and I am telling you - this camera takes great shots if you know how to use it.

That being said, if you don't have steady hands....well this camera will look less than stellar.

My key to great photos? Take a couple shots of the same image, see which one looks the best, figure out how you did that. Rinse, repeat.

 

[Sandroidfan]

A lot of talks on camera here. In my opinion, Nexus can take decent pictures if handled properly. Wouldn't say it's the best, but not crappy at all like some of you are saying.

Phonearena put out another camera test with best phones out there. Nexus didn't get top spot, but did better than all new mighty One X and difference between them are small to most non-photographer folks.

Camera comparison: One X vs Galaxy S II vs Nexus vs N8 vs iPhone 4S

 

[Tim K]

You don't have to be a photographer to take good pictures.

The biggest thing I have seen that immediately degrades the image quality is a fingerprint on the lens. It makes a HUGE difference. Get in the habit of rubbing the lens on your shirt before every use. I'm not kidding, you will notice a huge improvement.

Edit: Something I just thought of, I bought an eyeglass cleaning cloth at Walgreens that I keep with me. Great for wiping off the lens and the screen.

As I posted WAY back in the early days of this thread....lots of people were complaining about blur and streaks in their pics. I told them the same thing. People didn't want to believe it. I posted a few examples where I rubbed my finger across the lens in different directions to prove it. Also, this is a terrible scenario to try to photograph but I wanted to prove a point...

Streak Right

Streak Left

Clean Lens

 

[Lohung]

hmm.... interesting

 

[VMac]

Remember this is a zero shutter lag camera...you will have to treat it a little different and its a learning curve.

Exactly that. People, even the "expert" reviewers, are so used to pressing the shutter button (which shakes the phone) and then having a second to steady the phone before the shutter actually activates. Now, they finally get something they've been asking for, and they don't know how to deal with it (or even realize it), and they blame the camera.

I can't believe so many still aren't getting this. The camera is great. The notes above are what nearly everyone with negative reaction is experiencing. So funny that the iphone camera is actually inferior in this aspect (shutter lag) but that is leading to the perception that it is superior.

 

[Neera]

How about that, our Galaxy Nexus got a TIPA (Technical Image Press Association) award!

TIPA - TECHNICAL IMAGE PRESS ASSOCIATION - This year's awards

Best Mobile Imaging Device: Samsung GALAXY Nexus

The Samsung GALAXY Nexus smartphone features intelligent applications including many high-end imaging features. The new HD Super AMOLED display offers an impressive resolution of 720p (1280x720). This innovative display allows users to view photos and videos in a high resolution with a wide angle of view. The built-in camera delivers decent photo quality for everyday use, capturing still photos with 5 MP resolution, including panorama mode, plus Full HD 1080p videos. The zero-shutter-lag helps to capture snapshots spontaneously. The Samsung smartphone comes with intelligent image editing effects such as silly faces and background replacement. Based on the Android 4.0 "Ice Cream Sandwich" operating system, the GALAXY Nexus offers a modern OS environment for sophisticated imaging related apps.

 

[Demache]

How about that, our Galaxy Nexus got a TIPA (Technical Image Press Association) award!

TIPA - TECHNICAL IMAGE PRESS ASSOCIATION - This year's awards

I don't know if its necessarily good enough to deserve an award, but its definitely a technical achievement, since the shutter lag was a problem that plagued phone camera's for years.

 

[colchiro]

I'd be interested in a review of these lenses on the SGN: Fisheye, Macro, Wide Angle and Telephoto Phone Lenses

 

[Lohung]

I'd be interested in a review of these lenses on the SGN: Fisheye, Macro, Wide Angle and Telephoto Phone Lenses

What tha....

 

[MerkurMan]

While I agree that the sensor could be more sensitive, and the digital post processing leaves some to be desired, I've managed to work around the camera. It could be a lot better, but it's not so terrible that I wasn't comfortable using it as my primary camera on my last vacation.

These are all straight off the phone, just resized.

 

[fam]

merkurman those are nice....

I dont bother taking the dslr on most places either nowadays unless I am doing a shoot or I need a real zoom lens...
from the zoo Saturday (and a couple car pics)..take a gander at the bronze gorilla statues...the detail is pretty awesome for a phone