Driven Crazy by the Camera

[Pastorhss]

I can talk for hours about my frustrations. I'll be very brief, for the sake of sanity.

I also have a Samsung Focus and it takes great pictures. The Nokia Lumia 900 is another issue. Although I'm loving the phone, the camera is awful.

Was at a wedding yesterday. (during the day) Low light fotos are virtually useless.

Took some pictures inside of my house last night. (with lights on) The pictures were way below average. The colors were not true and the fotos blurry. When the TV screen (on) was part of the picture, it was usually just a big white square, and if anything, the images on the TV were undetectable and with terrible colors. (with the focus, I could take a picture of the TV screen even from a distance, and it was perfect)

This morning I took some more pictures from inside the house. (brightly lit by sunlight) A couple of them were ok. Most were unfocused, and if there was just a little too much light, most of the picture was just white areas.

I've gone as far as trying some suggestions found through this site for taking better pictures with the Lumia. Nothing works.

I know that phones are not made to substitute cameras, but the feature does have a purpose. I make short business trips, and would like the convenience of not carrying my digital cameras and being able to take quick snapshots during travel, at meetings, etc.

Please help. (had the Lumia 900 for 4 days)

 

[palandri]

This might help:

http://www.windowscentral.com/understanding-your-windows-phone-camera

 

[Pastorhss]

Thanks for your response palandri:

I'll review it asap. I really need to solve this.

I'll get back, later.

 

[rdifiori]

I'm coming from a Inspire 4g, which is known to have a pretty good camera. With the right settings, the Lumia is almost as good as the Inspire for me. The key to low light is to ditch the auto iso. You may even want to bump the exposure up a stop or more.

 

[Pastorhss]

Thanks rdef. I'll be reviewing palandri's link and testing your suggestions, later.

In the meantime, through this forum I found a recommendation for "Cool Camera". I interrupted my agenda 15 mins to take some fotos. What a great difference!

 

[joeaux]

It's been said in other threads but is worth saying again. The camera in the Lumia 900 is fantastic; if you take the time to learn how to use it. I think most people just want a point and shoot. If they don't get it, they complain. I'd gamble Nokia will release a software update to cater to the "Auto-Only" crowd.
-joe-

 

[palandri]

This link was just posted in another thread by Los: 10 photography tips for the Nokia Lumia 900 – Nokia Conversations : the official Nokia blog

 

[ilifecomputer]

In 2011 most camera sensors were switched to backside illumination. For some reason, Nokia decided to pass on it and sacrifice a TON of light sensitivity.

I bet people can and will take beautiful pictures with it. But let's not pretend the camera is amazing. It does kinda suck comparatively.

 

[anon(5335877)]

In 2011 most camera sensors were switched to backside illumination. For some reason, Nokia decided to pass on it and sacrifice a TON of light sensitivity.

I bet people can and will take beautiful pictures with it. But let's not pretend the camera is amazing. It does kinda suck comparatively.

I'm not sure why they didn't put the 12MP sensor from the N8 in the 900. I think it is backside illuminated. Even 2 years later, and it still holds its own against other sensors in high end smartphones, including the iPhone 4S.

It may be possible they couldn't get it to fit in the body, because the N9 (which is of similar design to the 900) only had an 8MP sensor, and it was released a year after the N8.

 

[chrisz5z]

I'm not sure why they didn't put the 12MP sensor from the N8 in the 900. I think it is backside illuminated. Even 2 years later, and it still holds its own against other sensors in high end smartphones, including the iPhone 4S.

It may be possible they couldn't get it to fit in the body, because the N9 (which is of similar design to the 900) only had an 8MP sensor, and it was released a year after the N8.

Only reason I can think they would put a subpar camera sensor in the 900 is to cut costs

 

[anon(5335877)]

Only reason I can think they would put a subpar camera sensor in the 900 is to cut costs

That would make sense, since they did price it at $99 and off contract it's only $449.

 

[tekhna]

Only reason I can think they would put a subpar camera sensor in the 900 is to cut costs

And yet the 900 still costs substantially more to manufacture than the iPhone 4S. The 900 camera is just not up to par with what comparable iOS or Android phones offer.

 

[anon(5335877)]

And yet the 900 still costs substantially more to manufacture than the iPhone 4S. The 900 camera is just not up to par with what comparable iOS or Android phones offer.

Well first, the Lumia 900 is manufactured in Korea, so that may make a difference.

Secondly, Apple gets large discounts because they put in such huge orders.

 

[AngryNil]

Only reason I can think they would put a subpar camera sensor in the 900 is to cut costs

Isn't it the same sensor as the 800's? I was under the impression that the camera suffered from the physical design that started with the N9. The N8 has a chunky protrusion, and the PureView is even crazier. Just glancing at the N9's profile and camera sensor let me know that the camera wasn't the focus.

Those mockups of a Lumia PureView we saw a while ago don't seem too far-fetched to me. If you're after the camera, you'll either be dealing with a module sticking out the back, or you really have to design around the module. The N9 chassis wasn't designed with a PureView or N8 camera module in mind.

 

[sting7k]

I'm not sure why they didn't put the 12MP sensor from the N8 in the 900. I think it is backside illuminated. Even 2 years later, and it still holds its own against other sensors in high end smartphones, including the iPhone 4S.

It may be possible they couldn't get it to fit in the body, because the N9 (which is of similar design to the 900) only had an 8MP sensor, and it was released a year after the N8.

You're crazy if you think the camera on the 900 compares to even the iPhone 4. It's not BSI and it is vastly inferior to my iPhone 4's camera. No amount of settings will fix the weak non-BSI sensor.

I even had the camera "app" completely lock up and then failed to launch and I had to reboot the phone at a wedding 2 weeks ago. I was glad I had my iPhone in my jacket pocket then as backup.

 

[invertme]

The BSI sensor is only a small part of the problem. Even in good light situations the camera is very MEH. Yes you can tinker with the camera a bit to make it better but you shouldn't have to. It should just take good pictures out of the box like almost every modern phone does.

If the next Nokia phone (WP8) doesn't have an AMAZING camera I'll not be buying another Nokia phone again.

I do love my Lumia 900 but the camera is a deal breaker - totally and completely.

 

[PhilR8]

It's been said in other threads but is worth saying again. The camera in the Lumia 900 is fantastic; if you take the time to learn how to use it. I think most people just want a point and shoot. If they don't get it, they complain. I'd gamble Nokia will release a software update to cater to the "Auto-Only" crowd.
-joe-

Can you post some pictures that you've personally taken? Preferably more than one, and some taken in a variety of settings/situations.

 

[socialcarpet]

Well first, the Lumia 900 is manufactured in Korea, so that may make a difference.

Secondly, Apple gets large discounts because they put in such huge orders.

Exactly. Apple has a HUGE economy of scale advantage that no one can match. There is no single smartphone model in that class that is made in numbers that the iPhone is as far as I know. Apple makes at least 20x more iPhones than Nokia does Lumia 900's in a year and they have been making this model, or very similar models that share many parts for years now AND they make them in giant Chinese factories where they are notorious for keeping strict control over costs.

But Nokia will catch up with the Lumia, they are no strangers to mass production and leveraging the economy of scale, in fact it's something that Nokia has been known to be very very good at itself for years.

 

[chrisz5z]

Isn't it the same sensor as the 800's? I was under the impression that the camera suffered from the physical design that started with the N9. The N8 has a chunky protrusion, and the PureView is even crazier. Just glancing at the N9's profile and camera sensor let me know that the camera wasn't the focus.

Those mockups of a Lumia PureView we saw a while ago don't seem too far-fetched to me. If you're after the camera, you'll either be dealing with a module sticking out the back, or you really have to design around the module. The N9 chassis wasn't designed with a PureView or N8 camera module in mind.

your right, but didn't they fix the 800's problems with software? So why not carry over the same fixes to the 900?

 

[anon(5335877)]

You're crazy if you think the camera on the 900 compares to even the iPhone 4. It's not BSI and it is vastly inferior to my iPhone 4's camera. No amount of settings will fix the weak non-BSI sensor.

I even had the camera "app" completely lock up and then failed to launch and I had to reboot the phone at a wedding 2 weeks ago. I was glad I had my iPhone in my jacket pocket then as backup.

I don't see where I ever said that the 900 has a good camera. I was talking about the 12MP sensor in the Nokia N8.