Why are my photos grainy when I zoom in? (example within)

[Tigersoul]

Well, I love my phone aside from a couple of quirks. One of the main features I bought it for was the supposedly superior camera, but there has been a fly in the ointment. Here is a shot I took from the beach with my wife and dogs:

Now at first glance, the image looks alright, though the edges are a bit jagged on the details. The problem is if you try to zoom in on that image on the phone, those jagged edges are very pronounced. Now far am I from being an Apple ******, but on my work-phone (an iphone 4S), this does not happen. If I expand a a portion of an image taken on that phone, which has around the same number of megapixels, it simply zooms in smoothly to the image.

I don't have a lot of theories, but something I've pieced together is that the 920 defaults to an aspect ratio that unnaturally "stretches" past the native 4:3 ratio of the lens. Is this the reason these photos cannot be zoomed in on without losing clarity? And if so, how do you fix that?

One final question -- can photos already taken on the 920's default settings be fixed to allow smooth, focused zooming in? I've got a chunk of travel pictures from Spain where I only took my 920 and I'd hate it if they're all mediocre in terms of clarity or printing.

 

[BeaverJuicer]

This has been covered in detail before. Please read any of the thousands of threads about the Lumia camera.

 

[Tigersoul]

Sorry, I did searches for grainy zoom a few times...I'll try again. If anyone has a link handy (or a better string to search on), much appreciated.

 

[Huime]

It's less than 1mb, can you show us the original size as well?

 

[uselessrobot]

I'm a bit confused by the problem you're having. The image you posted is 959x540. The native resolution for Lumia 920 photos is 3552x2000.

Zoom in on that image you posted and you're going to see very distinct pixels. That's merely a consequence of the low resolution of the photo. Some apps and phones blur out the distinct pixels when you zoom in others don't. Photoshop, for example, reveals very sharp blocks when I zoom in. The Lumia 920 does soften edges when you zoom in, although the iPhone may do so more aggressively. I personally dislike that because I'm not seeing the true image.

I've done comparisons of photos between my Lumia and a friend's iPhone 4, full resolution and sized to 100%. Both feature processing noise. The Nokia is definitely a bit more aggressive, but it's not a huge difference. And once you print the photos or size them down to a usable resolution they're at least on par with anything else on the market.

 

[vlad0]

I don't have a lot of theories, but something I've pieced together is that the 920 defaults to an aspect ratio that unnaturally "stretches" past the native 4:3 ratio of the lens. .

Nothing unnatural about it.. Nokia are the only ones who use custom made sensors and optics to accommodate for the 16:9 ratio... that is why when you are taking a video with your 920 it looks much wider than your 4s.

Here:

http://i.nokia.com/blob/view/-/1824212/data/2/-/Download-pureview-820.pdf

 

[smoledman]

I've got the same problem. Even on max resolution, I still get the grainy on zoom-in.

 

[GizmoEV]

Download the full size original picture to your computer and then check it out. You'll see that it is a quality pic then. Alternatively, you could install the HD Photo Viewer on your phone. It renders the full photo resolution on your phone rather than the lower quality version.

 

[tipu2185]

Download the full size original picture to your computer and then check it out. You'll see that it is a quality pic then. Alternatively, you could install the HD Photo Viewer on your phone. It renders the full photo resolution on your phone rather than the lower quality version.

I don't agree with you here. Though default viewer on my lumia 920 shows picture more grainy than it actually is but even when transferred to PC pictures are actually grainy.

 

[Muessig]

Hey guys, take a look at this post: http://forums.windowscentral.com/windows-phone-8-guides-how-tos/226625-so-you-want-take-better-pictures-%5Bguide%5D.html . It seems you're downsizing the picture and wondering why it's not crystal clear when you zoom in? Setup your SkyDrive settings as detailed in the first post there, and you should see a difference. If you're wondering why there's a bit of noise on your picture even in good light it's because your phone has a 1/3" BSI sensor and while that's pretty darn good you will notice a bit of noise in some areas like the sky etc. It's something you'll get on all camera phones to a certain degree.

 

[tipu2185]

If you're wondering why there's a bit of noise on your picture even in good light it's because your phone has a 1/3" BSI sensor and while that's pretty darn good you will notice a bit of noise in some areas like the sky etc. It's something you'll get on all camera phones to a certain degree.

Can you kindly explain why would there be noise because of 1/3" BSI sensor. I don't know much about optics, but I know S4 certainly clear pictures as compare to my Lumia 920. Zooming in does not show grainy picture. And I am talking about when transferred to PC.

 

[Muessig]

Both cameras have a 1/3 BSI sensor - the Lumia 92X and the S4. If you're comparing pictures on a PC screen from both phones and you're saying that the S4 has very little noise compared to the 920 then that's probably due to post-processing image algorithms. We know that Nokia have been working to make soft daylight pictures sharper and Samsung have great camera software too, but I'm not talking about the specifics of two devices. I'm simply saying that with a 1/3 BSI sensor you are going to get noise, even if it's just a little bit. The algorithms that improve sharpness, colour, edge enhancement, noise levels will then process the image. I've looked at full-res pictures from the S4 and from the 920 and I'm not convinced that the S4 produces no noise at all.

Here's a couple of useful links: Samsung Galaxy S4 vs Nokia Lumia 920 Camera Comparison | TechnoBuffalo
Camera sensor size: Why does it matter and exactly how big are they?

I'd argue in those pictures the 920 was less noisy in certain situations, and again sure the S4 has its strengths too. You have to work to your camera's strengths at all times.

 

[GizmoEV]

I don't agree with you here. Though default viewer on my lumia 920 shows picture more grainy than it actually is but even when transferred to PC pictures are actually grainy.

Grainy and jagged edges (ie pixelated) are two different things. I was talking about pixilation. Graininess doesn't change much with resizing a picture so, no you won't see much if any improvement in that aspect on a computer.

 

[Microsoftjunkie]

Your pictures or thumbnails, when you view them from either camera roll or album, are not full resolution due to Microsoft restricting full resolution. The only way to be sure is to do like the other poster has said and download HD Photo viewer or download Proshot, which also lets you view photos in Full resolution. The sample you provided is not full resolution so it will automatically look grainy.