Help Same phone different camera pictures??

[naughtyraver]

Hi everyone! I am having problems with my note 3. I recently purchased a refurbished samsung note 3 from the o2 website which arrived acouple of weeks ago and noticed my camera looks grainy colours look watered down compared to my mums samsung note 3. Here are afew pics taken on default settings on both stock cameras in the same conditions. The only difference is shes running kitkat 4.4.2 and i am runninf lollypop 5.0, but this was the case before i upgraded, infact i upgraded to see if it would change but its still the same.

This is the second refurbished phone I have got from o2 as the previous one had bad vertical lines in low light conditions TRUST ME it was bad. One thing I would like to say is when moving around with my mums note 3 camera, the picture looks so smooth while mine looks very grainy. Does this phone need to go back? Because I cant imagine the same phone on the same settings could produce the opposite photos.

 

[Xuthus]

The pictures on your phone seem to lack contrast compared to those on your mums. This can sometimes be caused by dirt obstructing the camera lens. Dirt there won't appears as specific spots in the picture as it is too far out of focus for that, but it does reduce the contrast of the picture. Try cleaning that area.

 

[naughtyraver]

Hi thanks for the response. I have checked the lens and there is no dirt on there. Would this be classed as a faulty camera?

 

[johnpjackson]

What if it's dirt/lint, etc. that made its way into the camera, behind the outer lense, from the camera's previous owner?

 

[artcwolf]

it's not just you, my wife's phone comes out granulated and blurry all the time. we'll take the exact same pic. i've played with all the settings and still no change.

 

[Xuthus]

It possible to adjust the contrast in software and I'd check the camera settings to see if you have anything set differently. I still suspect the lens on the camera, though. The area I suggested cleaning should be a clear cover over the lens. If that is not dirty it is possible the lens underneath is dirty, or has a manufacturing flaw. Maybe even something as simple as failing to clean the surface of it at the factory before fitting. Unfortunately I don't think you can get into that easily to clean it.

Unfortunately I have previously found "refurbished" phones to be sub-standard. In my case I had a Galaxy Nexus where the screen had a noticeable colour cast as it got towards minimum brightness. Others had noted the same but Samsung said it was within spec. What I did notice was the problem phone was made in Vietnam and the original, that had a much better screen, was made in Korea. I suspect the "home" factory in Korea makes the latest stuff and then, when replacements are needed to old models for insurance etc. the job gets given to a lesser factory.