Help Sony Xperia Z3 ISO setting?

[Android Question]

Ok so i read about using manual mode on the Z3 because using manual has better quality pics? Well i had a nosey at this ISO setting and apparently it makes the picture better, i'm just wondering when is the right time to change the setting?

Or can someone please tell me what's the best way to take a crisp clear picture on the Z3? Sometimes my camera is blurry when the picture is taken, it can be really frustrating for me not to get a crisp clear picture.

The front camera (selfie) can be really blurry aswell and then sometimes the picture comes out clear? The camera on this phone makes no sense to me.. :/ If anyone can help me that be great. Thanks for reading.

 

[chanchan05]

Actually, sounds like more you don't really understand what ISO is. It refers to the camera's sensitivity to light. The higher the setting, the more sensitive it is to light. In that sense as well, if you have high ISO in a bright environment, you get grainy pictures.

Here's a short explanation: http://www.digitaltrends.com/photography/what-is-iso-camera-settings-explained/

The thing here is, on any device, using manual mode for camera settings will give you better quality photos all the time as compared to using auto mode. However there is are 2 catches: you should know what you are doing, and you need to set up the camera for nearly EVERY shot. It's too bright or facing the light source? Lower the ISO. Away from light? Raise it a bit. The target is moving fast? Raise the shutter speed. Have a good view you want to take a picture of? Set to wide angle, medium iso, low shutter speed, white balance settings, etc.

In other words, using manual also takes away the ability to simply pull out your phone and snap a shot of acceptably good quality right away. If you last took a photo say, in a darkly lit pub, with the appropriate settings, when you whip it out for a groupfie with friends on a beach, it's going to come out blurry since it's going to have very high ISO from last used settings.

The best way to take a crisp clear picture on the Z3, or any camera for that matter, is to understand what each of the settings do, and practice, finding out what manual setting works best for each situation. However, as mentioned above, keeping it in manual mode has many inconveniences, in exchange for the ability to take the best picture in the situation.

My advice is, to just keep the thing in auto mode, and only use manual mode in instances you have the luxury of time to set it up properly before taking a shot. You should also practice taking random pictures of whatever in manual mode and practicing adjusting the settings as you do. You'll get faster at adjusting them, and you'll start to have intuition regarding what setting to use in a particular situation. That's basically also the reason why photographers are always shooting stuff and tinkering with their cameras and shooting again.

 

[El Presidente]

It depends on the situation. In good light, use a lower value and the picture should be less grainy.

The darker it gets, the higher the value, but the picture will get granier.

 

[EternalChaos72]

Ah ok thanks you two for the replies, makes a bit more sense to me now.

It was me that posted the opening post there, i dunno why it just said android question instead of my actual username :/

 

[Slug]

Welcome!

Ok so i read about using manual mode on the Z3 because using manual has better quality pics?

Manual Mode makes use of the full 20.7MP sensor resolution whereas Superior Auto, while simpler, restricts output to a max of 8MP.

i had a nosey at this ISO setting and apparently it makes the picture better, i'm just wondering when is the right time to change the setting?

Manually altering the ISO setting can improve IQ, but it depends very much on the situation.

Way back in the days of film photography, a particular film stock had a fixed ISO rating which related to its sensitivity to light. The higher the number the more sensitive, and thus better-suited to low light conditions, the film. Each step indicated an increase in sensitivity, with (usually) a corresponding increase in 'graininess' visible in the image. The same principle applies in digital cameras, although it's achieved electronically by increasing the gain in the sensor rather than using different coatings on a film base. Less light is required to trigger each photosite (pixel), but the by-product is more electronic noise in the image. This can be creative and add atmosphere, but too much simply muddies the image and becomes distracting.

There's no "right" answer, frankly. Experiment with the settings and see what suits both your style and your subjects. Photography is an art, not an exact science.

Or can someone please tell me what's the best way to take a crisp clear picture on the Z3? Sometimes my camera is blurry when the picture is taken, it can be really frustrating for me not to get a crisp clear picture.

One of the first pieces of advice I was ever given was, "squeeze the shutter button gently, don't stab it to death!" Shake is the #1 enemy when it comes to small light cameras.

 

[EdwardSmith36]

Hey there, Even I face this problem every now & then but it's not a big issue for me. When ever I get this problem, I just go to settings of camera & reset the default settings. Now I can see crystal clear images through my camera.