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the camera on Inc is horrible

In most cases, it leaves me with useless shots.

I dont know anything about settings, i just want to hit the camera button and snap a photo.

This is what I think is the case for most that are not satisfied with the camera. Unfortunately, camera settings must be adjusted manually in order to get a good shot. The camera and phone itself just cannot know what you are trying to take a picture of....so any kind of auto setting will not work.

I have yet to see a camera app on the market that really helps with this. An app with like 12 presets based on lighting, distance of object, etc. After choosing a preset, all camera settings are adjusted appropriately. Most people don't know what ISO to set their camera at (among other settings)......an app like this would solve the issue.
 
This is what I think is the case for most that are not satisfied with the camera. Unfortunately, camera settings must be adjusted manually in order to get a good shot. The camera and phone itself just cannot know what you are trying to take a picture of....so any kind of auto setting will not work.

I have yet to see a camera app on the market that really helps with this. An app with like 12 presets based on lighting, distance of object, etc. After choosing a preset, all camera settings are adjusted appropriately. Most people don't know what ISO to set their camera at (among other settings)......an app like this would solve the issue.

Was at a party and turned the corner to find 2 chicks kissing. One of them was pretty smokin maybe 19yrs old, the other was maybe 25'ish and "eh". Either way they were flappin tongues and it didnt look like it would last!

Whipped out my phone, tapped camera icon .. 2 seconds to auto focus and BAM the hallway lights up and everyone sees me, the perv, snapping a pic ... so camera in pocket i played it off and just walked away.

Got to a safe spot and looked in Gallery ... pic was trash. Over-exposed, too much flash, colors were washed ... CRAP!

The last thing im thinking about in that situation is my ISO or presets ROFL!

I was like 6ft away from subject in a dark'ish space.

Again i dont complain much because the phone is amazing, and as a bonus it has a camera.

But had i whipped out a $50 pocket camera it would have gotten a shot on "full auto" mode. I wish my phone were that smart, seems like it could be improved with software.
 
Was at a party and turned the corner to find 2 chicks kissing. One of them was pretty smokin maybe 19yrs old, the other was maybe 25'ish and "eh". Either way they were flappin tongues and it didnt look like it would last!

Whipped out my phone, tapped camera icon .. 2 seconds to auto focus and BAM the hallway lights up and everyone sees me, the perv, snapping a pic ... so camera in pocket i played it off and just walked away.

Got to a safe spot and looked in Gallery ... pic was trash. Over-exposed, too much flash, colors were washed ... CRAP!

The last thing im thinking about in that situation is my ISO or presets ROFL!

I was like 6ft away from subject in a dark'ish space.

Again i dont complain much because the phone is amazing, and as a bonus it has a camera.

But had i whipped out a $50 pocket camera it would have gotten a shot on "full auto" mode. I wish my phone were that smart, seems like it could be improved with software.

Ya, I agree....it takes time to get the good shot.
 
Dodger, check the white balance in the app(s) you're using. Keep playing with those settings until white shows as white to you. I've often had a problem with digital cameras (whether they be cameras or camera-phones) not 'seeing' white correctly. Often the best fix is to take it off 'auto' and choose a setting yourself.

Thanks for the tip, I'm thinking you're really onto something there. Basically, I only notice this when it's cloudy out and there's a lot of snow here, so maybe it's being confused by all the white snow and lack of ambient light, so I will give it another shot tomorrow. (I also wiped the lens for the first time, so maybe that will help as well)

I'm using the stock camera and am wondering if, nine months after launch, now that the dust has settled somewhat, can anyone definitively say there's a better camera app out there that addresses and fixes some of the problems we've been having with the stock camera? (and I'll use the search engine to look as well to see if I can find something out myself)
 
I find that once I mess with the manual settings, the pictures look a lot better. Auto white balance isn't that great to me. As for the iPhone 4, I find that their pictures tend to be oversaturated most of the time, not sure if that's why people think the pictures look "better." I think the Nokia N8 takes the best pictures, evidence here: Shootout: Nokia N8 v Canon 550D DSLR | The Handheld Blog
 
I use the Vignette camera app. I don't know that I can say unequivocally that it takes better pictures than the stock app, but I can say that *I* like the UI better - and the pictures it takes are completely acceptable to me.
 
In my experience the Incredible's camera is just about as good as the iPhones camera if you get used to handling it so that the pics don't come out so blurry from movement. It is slower in adjusting to changing light sources. Take a picture of the same object twice in a row and you will see that the second image is always better. There are a few of tricks I've learned.
If you are using the optical track pad, don't press and release - just press until the picture snaps.
If you have a protective case that has separate openings for the camera and flash, the flash will reflect off of the material in between the two creating a washed out picture. This is especially true if the case is clear because the light travels through the case as well. I cut out the section between the flash and camera and washout is gone.
The other thing is that the flash is much too bright and very white. To fix that, I put a small piece of tissue paper over the bulbs, underneath the cover to dissipate the light a bit and that has helped immensely.
I suggest taking a lot of practice pictures and really get used to using the camera. Check out the results on your computer to see what worked and what didn't. I think you will find the more you use it, the better you will be at taking clear pictures.
 
In low light play with the iso settings, I can get real good pictures at night. Also different camera apps work better than others. Motion seems to be what causes the most problems


Which camera app do you prefer over the stock?

Also, I am wondering if the compression on the jpg's from the main camera was was increased during the Froyo upgrade. When I look at the file sizes of pictures pre-Froyo they are in the 3MB range which I would expect for 8MP. Now they are about 1.5MB on average. I understand that they vary based on the content of the photo but it also seems like the are being saved at 70-80% quality to save space. Has anyone else noticed this?

[EDIT]Mental note, drink coffee BEFORE posting[/EDIT.
 
Yea, I am not pleased with the quality of the camera on the DinC, but then I just remind myself it a phone....use my camera for picture taking trips.
 
Yea, I am not pleased with the quality of the camera on the DinC, but then I just remind myself it a phone....use my camera for picture taking trips.

The camera works much better if you hold your finger on what you would like to focus on until the picture snaps.
 
I have a problem when the flash washes out the subject. I have to stand farther back. Not ideal in most night time conditions. But it is a phone so I should just be happy with the good pics I get during daylight conditions.
 
I have a problem when the flash washes out the subject. I have to stand farther back. Not ideal in most night time conditions. But it is a phone so I should just be happy with the good pics I get during daylight conditions.

Did anyone find a good way to "soften" the flash? I wish I could turn one of the two LED's off for 99% of the pics.
 
I notice that the stock camera app takes nice and clear pictures, but the colors are always off. For example,

5451906977_362cb5d533.jpg


That guitar is red with a metal flake...looks copper in every picture I take
 
Did anyone find a good way to "soften" the flash? I wish I could turn one of the two LED's off for 99% of the pics.

Just like with a real camera the easiest way: Hold a plain white piece of paper over the flash. Kinda annoying to do with a camera phone, but if your at home and want a really good picture its the way to go.
 
I notice that the stock camera app takes nice and clear pictures, but the colors are always off. For example,

5451906977_362cb5d533.jpg


That guitar is red with a metal flake...looks copper in every picture I take

Either my eyes are off or your screen is, it just looks metallic red to me, nowhere near the orange of copper.
 
The red is much, much deeper in person. The color is washed out. Here is a picture of the guitar that I got from the seller before I bought it

!CE6qeC!CGk~$(KGrHqF,!lcE1F1IqYejBNTczOGlrQ~~_3.JPG
 
I've found that something is messed up with the way the gallery scales down the images for the screen. They always look a little bit blurry, until you zoom in just a little bit. As soon as you do that, the picture quality looks significantly better.
 
I have noticed that it does not take into account for moving objects well. the subjects need to be perfectly still in order to get a picture.
 
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