Picture quality analysis (2D)

[NeoteriX]

I've been desperately trying to figure out the sensors used in the Evo 3D to no avail (via the dmesg command in the android terminal emulator app). No such luck yet.

I was looking at the Evo 4G and Evo 3D and noticed that the lens/aperture for the 4G actually looks to be bigger than the 3D. In theory a larger lens/aperture will allow more light to come in...

 

[NeoteriX]

The low light on the Evo 3D isn't bad (and I think it's an improvement over the 4G), and I'll have to do some side-by-side testing with my 4G, but I'm still undecided as to how it compares with the iPhone 4.

At the very least, the physical shutter button helps me steady my hand quite a bit.

Some recent low light shots with my 3D:

 

[novox77]

I dont know if anyone saw but HTC has recognized there is a problem by being able to replicate the problem on there end on a company 3D phone -

Engineers are looking into the problem and hopefully sooner than later we will have an OTA for that and other issues -

Interestingly enough it also effects the video camera in low light settings as well which is not a good thing either!

Source?

 

[novox77]

The low light on the Evo 3D isn't bad (and I think it's an improvement over the 4G), and I'll have to do some side-by-side testing with my 4G, but I'm still undecided as to how it compares with the iPhone 4.

At the very least, the physical shutter button helps me steady my hand quite a bit.

Some recent low light shots with my 3D:

[image 1: asians in a club]
[image 2: ravioli]
[image 3: yummy dessert]

Images 2 and 3 made me hungry. club scene, not so much

Yeah, those shots look pretty good. I had a situation where my shutter speeds were really slow in low light, so I was getting blurred shots, but sometimes they turn out fine, like yours. Wish there was a shutter priority mode on the camera.

As for the apertures between E4G and E3D, I noticed that as well. Still, it's hard to say what the ACTUAL aperture is. That's determined by the fan blades that can create various aperture sizes and resides behind the lens. Not sure if the EXIF info tells us aperture. I don't think it does.

Maybe the pixel density on the sensors are the same between the cameras, so they don't need the same size aperture. That would imply that the resolving power of both phones are comparable, with Evo 3D having better focus but performing slightly worse under low light. This is consistent with the findings in my OPs.

 

[NeoteriX]

Source?

I've seen this too, so I'm a little annoyed I can't find the source anymore. I remember seeing someone post the email message they received from HTC.

Images 2 and 3 made me hungry. club scene, not so much

Yeah, those shots look pretty good. I had a situation where my shutter speeds were really slow in low light, so I was getting blurred shots, but sometimes they turn out fine, like yours. Wish there was a shutter priority mode on the camera.

I think my shutter speeds were slow too, it's just really the steady hand and making sure to shoot still objects (instead of people).

As for the apertures between E4G and E3D, I noticed that as well. Still, it's hard to say what the ACTUAL aperture is. That's determined by the fan blades that can create various aperture sizes and resides behind the lens. Not sure if the EXIF info tells us aperture. I don't think it does.

Unfortunately, the EXIF only includes focal length and ISO information.

I don't think (though it's merely an uneducated guess) there are aperture blades on cameras like these -- it seems to me that it's a single fixed aperture; basically that there is the sensor with a small lens above it, and that's it.

On this note, with a fixed aperture value, you can theoretically mimic shutter priority by adjusting the eV/exposure value on the phone -- decreasing it if you wanted a faster shutter speed. The obvious result is that you'll get a darker image, which is exactly what you would expect if you wanted less motion blur in a situation with less light (holding the aperture and ISO constant).

Maybe the pixel density on the sensors are the same between the cameras, so they don't need the same size aperture. That would imply that the resolving power of both phones are comparable, with Evo 3D having better focus but performing slightly worse under low light. This is consistent with the findings in my OPs.

You might be right about the decreasing sensor size though... Assuming an 8MP sensor on the Evo 4G with a 1.4

 

[novox77]

...has anyone else noticed the "Auto Enhance" option in the settings? It seems to be turned on by default.

Anyone have thoughts on whether this feature is actually useful or not?

Then, to make things more complicated there's actually a separate "Auto Enhance" feature in the HTC gallery app. It looks like it does auto levels (perhaps more).

I finally saw a difference with this "auto enhance setting," and it's convoluted.

It only appears in the settings when the camera is in 2D mode, but it appears to only take effect when in 3D mode. It is a noise-reduction filter. I took two 2D pics, one with enhance, other without, under low light. Both images were grainy.

Then I took two 3D pics (same conditions as before), and one was grainy, while the other one had a very artificial cleanup to it. There was a paper towel in the scene, which has texture. in the enhanced photo, the texture was all smoothed out. Solid white sheet. The same denoising affected the other subjects as well.

Nothing else seems affected by "auto enhance." no visible difference in contrast, levels, color, sharpness.... I think it's just noise reduction, and it works on the 3D shots, even though the setting only appears when in 2D mode. buggy....

 

[Vanquished]

I was playing around with the camera in my backyard yesterday. All of the shots were originally in 3D, so I'm not sure if that effects the over-all quality when converted to 2D. The photos look pretty decent I think (even cooler in 3D...).

There was quite a bit of sunlight, these were taken around 1pm. I'll take some low light photos to see how they turn out. Of all of the pictures I have taken thus far though, I think the quality is pretty good for a camera phone. I'm also relieved that I don't have the green tint problem some others are having.

 

[BryantFarm]

I just don't understand why an 8mp isnt sharp? I had a Nikon 8mp that took super photos. Yesterday I was trying to get photos of my kids in the pool playing George Washington with their hair. The photos are all blurry! I was steady - they were pretty still - and still - the photos are terrible!
EVO 4G

Can't seem to insert the photo - sorry!

 

[BryantFarm]

Trying to upload the photo

 

[novox77]

I just don't understand why an 8mp isnt sharp? I had a Nikon 8mp that took super photos. Yesterday I was trying to get photos of my kids in the pool playing George Washington with their hair. The photos are all blurry! I was steady - they were pretty still - and still - the photos are terrible!
EVO 4G!

Because sharpness is not determined by megapixels. It's determined by the resolving power of the glass in front of those megapixels. And it's determined by focus, and other factors like hand shake.

This is why 8mp is overkill for cell phone cameras.

 

[z50king]

Trying to upload the photo

wow that water looks amazing! is that the camera making it so blue or does it always look like that? i wish we had water like that anywhere around here

 

[flyjbaker]

I returned my phone for a new one. I really wish I would have returned the phone within the 30 day period. I might just keep hammering them with this issue until they give up and refund my money and I will go back to the 4G. ANyway, the pic below is the absolute first pic taken with my new replacement phone!!!!!!

 

[NeoteriX]

I returned my phone for a new one. I really wish I would have returned the phone within the 30 day period. I might just keep hammering them with this issue until they give up and refund my money and I will go back to the 4G. ANyway, the pic below is the absolute first pic taken with my new replacement phone!!!!!!

The green tint you see is a known software issue with the phone. HTC indicates that the next software update should rectify it. It only happens in particular circumstances with significant light, and you can usually fix it (temporarily) but altering the white balance when you see the green.

 

[flyjbaker]

The green tint you see is a known software issue with the phone. HTC indicates that the next software update should rectify it. It only happens in particular circumstances with significant light, and you can usually fix it (temporarily) but altering the white balance when you see the green.

I sure hope so...I guess we will see....