New owner not impressed with Lumia camera

[grunge100]

The camera seems to work real nice with daylight shots, but at night the camera seems to struggle.

This picture was taken in night mode, the room was fairly well lit.



All of my night pictures turn out this way. Am I missing something, some setting that I may of overlooked? All help is appreciated. Or is this camera not what it's supposed to be.

 

[kb4000]

What is your main complaint? The blurriness? Since I have never seen how this picture should look it's hard to tell what the problem is. Mine works great at night.



Sent from my Lumia 928 using Tapatalk

 

[grunge100]

Exactly, the pictures seem to be blurry. What are your setting that you use for low light pics?

 

[grunge100]

Another one taken in low light, not dark by any means, using Nokia pro cam. The pic is not sharp at all, my old Trophy can rival this photo--which is really crummy.

 

[Penny_1]

Exactly, the pictures seem to be blurry. What are your setting that you use for low light pics?

Here's what I would try using Nokia Pro Cam:
- Manually set ISO to 200. You want to stick within the 100-400 range for most shots. Never go above 800.
- Hold the phone very still when taking the photo.

The grain you are getting is largely from ISO shooting up. A smartphone will default to raising the ISO because it doesn't expect the user to hold the phone very still. If you manually set the ISO to a lower number, the software will instead increase the exposure time to compensate. This will reduce the grain, but you have to hold the phone still or you will get blur. Let us know how it goes.

 

[grunge100]

Night mode, ISO 200 with flash



Night mode, ISO 200 without flash: 2.8 second exposure



Do these look better? I am wondering if it is the hardware?(something is not functioning correctly) I bought this off contract at ebay, and I do not like getting hosed.

Thanks for your feedback.

 

[rcazador]

Night mode, ISO 200 with flash

View attachment 48890

Night mode, ISO 200 without flash: 2.8 second exposure

View attachment 48891

Do these look better? I am wondering if it is the hardware?(something is not functioning correctly) I bought this off contract at ebay, and I do not like getting hosed.

Thanks for your feedback.

2.8 seconds without motion blur? Thats a crazy long exposure.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

 

[azcruz]

Well, if you're taking shots at 1/10 or below what can you expect? Not even a point and shoot or DSLR can save you from that, but a tripod will

 

[grunge100]

LOL. Steady hands.. Do you think the camera is functioning correctly?

 

[grunge100]

azcruz, I do not know what to expect. I just got this phone so maybe my camera expectations are a little over the top.

 

[azcruz]

It is not the device, it is the condition of shooting and the scene. As previously mentioned, the ISO will cause a lot of noise to show up in your photos. At ISO 200 the shutter needs to be open longer (for more light to get into the sensor) and object shake (not in this case as it is still) or photographer shake (due to lack of tripod) are the common issues.

 

[Penny_1]

Night mode, ISO 200 with flash

View attachment 48890

Night mode, ISO 200 without flash: 2.8 second exposure

View attachment 48891

Do these look better? I am wondering if it is the hardware?(something is not functioning correctly) I bought this off contract at ebay, and I do not like getting hosed.

Thanks for your feedback.

First of all, if you were holding the phone in your hands, I am amazed that the second photo looks as clear as it does with a 2.8 second exposure. That is some impressive steadiness.

I think these photos look MUCH better, and what you should probably expect from the camera. If you are at all disappointed with these results, keep in mind that you are presenting the camera with a fairly challenging shooting situation. Very few smartphones would be able to offer comparable results, and that's just the way it is with smartphone technology at the moment.

So no, I don't see anything wrong with these shots that would indicate you got a bad device. Take the phone out tomorrow in the daytime and try shooting in a few different situations to see how it comes out. I can tell you right now that one of the great strengths of the 928 is macro photography, so hopefully you should be able to see some satisfying results there.

 

[Funky Cricket]

I never change modes, use the default camera and I have great shots night or day. They rival my point and shoot cannon.

I'm not sure how you are taking the pictures or what modes, but I have no issues. try the same shots side by side with a different phone camera and see if they compare (also, try default settings as well, with out manually changing modes or the default camera, maybe it's a setting you set).

 

[grunge100]

I appreciate your input, I will continue to mess around with the settings to get better photos. This phone camera takes really nice outdoor photo's but the indoor ones are a different story (using auto settings) I may have been expecting too much, but that's ok. BTW I have a Cannon SX260 point and shoot, and the 928 cannot rival it indoors at all.

 

[Muessig]

I don't know if you'd find this helpful or not, but take a look at this thread: http://forums.windowscentral.com/gu...so-you-want-take-better-pictures-[guide].html

 

[grunge100]

Muessig, Great write up, I will be experimenting later this evening. Cheers

 

[PB_H]

I appreciate your input, I will continue to mess around with the settings to get better photos. This phone camera takes really nice outdoor photo's but the indoor ones are a different story (using auto settings) I may have been expecting too much, but that's ok. BTW I have a Cannon SX260 point and shoot, and the 928 cannot rival it indoors at all.

Are you serious ? the Canon is almost as big as the phone and it's only a CAMERA and you want to the 928 to rival the SX260 -
-you have unrealistic expectation.
BTW the 928 doesn't fly either so don't try taking a trip anywhere soon on or in it :wink:
Compare:
CANON SX260 12.1MP ~ 6.17mm X 4.55mm sensor ~ F3.5 - F6.8 aperture ~ 4000 x 3000 Max image resolution ~ w/ a superb OS (Optical Stabilizer)
vs
Nokia 928 8.7 MP (effective 8PM/7.1MP ) ~ 4.80mm X 3.60mm sensor ~ fixed F2.0 aperture ~ 3556 X 2448 Max image resolution.

Enjoy the camera on the 928 it's quite good
but the Canon doesn't make very good phone calls.

 

[Jazmac]

Lumia 928 camera doesn't do pics as well as the 920 as a rule IMHO, but they are better than others. Take advantage of the links Mussing dropped. They helped me.

 

[Funky Cricket]

My cannon takes better shots, it's just a camera (and has optical zoom), but for shots to print as 4x5 for the photo album, I can't tell the difference. Best smart phone camera I have ever used.

 

[psiu_glen]

Here is something I did a while ago. You can see the grain and blur...but the bottom half is the screencap of the viewfinder as it looked at the time.

3 months (L) and 3 years (R)





Also...I don't feel like the update to GDR3 and update to Nokia Camera (from Pro Cam) have helped...it seems a bit off lately, but hard to put my finger on why.