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Pro Photographer shoots with Note 2

The other day when my niece and my sister-in-law went to a Taylor Swift concert, they wouldn't let my niece to bring in her camcorder (which is almost like a toy). They have to go all the way back to the car to put it away. Now the funny thing is that they let all the smartphones in and my sis-in-law iPhone 5 takes much much better video than that $40 toy camcorder.
 
casarosa said:
The Note takes wonderful photos however like many others I find it very difficult to take photos and video in bright sunshine looking at that screen Puerto De Mazarron January 2013 - YouTube is why I prefer my cannon and viewfinder
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For those more into photography, I'd like to know if the built in setting for outside photography really can make a difference for this type of scenario that casarosa mentioned. If so, I may start using that more often... even though I'm likely getting the Note 3
 
9/11 Memorial Lights. Shot with mobile.

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The screens on these phones are some of the best in the world. if you can't use them to take pics in day light, it means you can't use any LCD on any camera for such purpose. I only use LCD to take pics even on my main camera.
 
SHIVA77 said:
The screens on these phones are some of the best in the world. if you can't use them to take pics in day light, it means you can't use any LCD on any camera for such purpose. I only use LCD to take pics even on my main camera.
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Depends on the phone though. Samsung's Super AMOLED screen looks amazing indoor and in shade but it is actually one of the worst under direct sunlight. I have both the iPhone 4 and Nexus 4 and both uses IPS screen and they are both brighter (and easier to see) under direct sunlight than the Note II.

BTW, it is posted in another thread, if you are under direct sunlight, using AUTO is actually brighter than setting brightness all the way to the brightest. I didn't believe it at first, but after trying it out, it is true!

Even though the screen is not as bright as IPS screen, I think it is still usable under direct sunlight. I wouldn't try to watch a movie under the sun, but taking a picture is not a problem for me.
 
The concept of LCDs and direct sunlight usage is nothing new. I don't think any camera LCD would do better than our phones. Often times I do switch between Auto and 100% in sunlight and don't notice a difference.
 
The 100 makes sense to me. Less kit than the separate camera I'd be carrying. Expecting better than the cell phone, less than the Cannon DSLR - a niche need.

Back on-topic. :)
 
Hi Shiva,

Quick question. I know you said you don't like in-app processing, but would you be able to share what settings you do use in CameraZoom? Ie. Fixed focus vs macro, etc

The reason I ask is some of the earlier pics you posted have amazing clarity on the sky, specifically the moon. I've tried so many times to get a good shot of clouds and the moon (get some amazing full red moons out here in outback Australia), but the picture always comes out either significantly blurry, or doesn't even show the details (just looks like clear sky).
I assumed it was just a limitation of the Note2's camera, or a lack of lighting on an object so far away. But after seeing your pictures, I have high hopes :-)

Thanks
 
HyDekar said:
Hi Shiva, Quick question. I know you said you don't like in-app processing, but would you be able to share what settings you do use in CameraZoom? Ie. Fixed focus vs macro, etc. Thanks
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I try to explain this in some of my notes above, although I haven't read what I wrote in a while. So, please excuse if I wrote this before.

The most important thing, the core, in my mind, of what could make a good mobile image is lack of blur. If you look at mobile images posted on social media there is a lot of blur, no matter what camera, unless there is plenty of sunlight in the image and even then you could get blur in some instances.

So, the anti-shake on the stock app is bogus. The best anti-shake I have come across so far is the one that comes with CameraZoom paid version. It will not take the image, until the image is stable, even if it takes 6 or 7 seconds before it clicks. It will simply not click until camera is steady for about 1/2 second.

So, CameraZoom gives me a solid base, an unblurry mobile image for me to work on in Photoshop.

If you are shooting in low light, you may want to put the camera in Night Mode. There are two night modes. One's called Night Shot, which makes very little difference. The other is under Scene Mode and called "night." That makes a big difference for low light no flash photography, but be warned your image will be very noisy.

The rest is just using the settings in Photoshop to your liking. I also use a separate noise reduction filter (independent software) in PS.
 
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