Nonrealistic color!

[Rubidad]

Greetings,
Last night I witnessed a very colorful sunset that glowed orange with pink and red tints. I fast ran for my 925 and took many shots with all different aperture, shutter speeds, and other assorted settings. NOTHING I did came even close to recording what I was seeing!!!
I grabbed my 520 with similar results.
I then grabbed my Panasonic Lumix TZ5 and had much better results, although, it too failed to record exactly what I saw. This is an almost 10 year old compact camera!
I'm sorry, but the Lumia cameras are unimpressive and, quite frankly, quite a disappointment.
Am I doing something wrong?

 

[MDK22]

There are multiple variables as to why (or why not):

Which version of WinPhone are you running?
What camera app (Nokia camera, camera beta, Microsoft camera) were you using ?
FLASH on or off ? (s/b OFF, the flare will offset some of the color)
Lens is clean ?

... and lastly, the fact that you have a lesser camera than the Lumia 1520, Lumia Icon / 930, or Lumia 1020 (which allows raw .dng images to be captured & post processed).

Sunsets are difficult to visually reproduce, for the color ... the specifics are beyond my expertise.

 

[blue1k]

It takes some skill and experimenting both on the camera and editing. The Lumia cameras can take some impressive sunsets. Here are a few of mine. Message me if you would like some suggestions. It took me a while to learn this camera and to keep learning editing skills to finally be happy with my results.

Sunset 1 by Blue1k, on Flickr

Eagle Mountain Sunset by Blue1k, on Flickr

Sunset by Blue1k, on Flickr

Flower Sunset by Blue1k, on Flickr

 

[Muessig]

In certain conditions point and shoot really won't cut it, and in a situation like you describe, at sunset where the light is failing you're into tricky photo taking territory.

Click my signature and have a read through the guide for taking Photo's on a phone and see if it helps you at all.

Failing that, posting samples of the pics you took will help us to advise you.

 

[Rubidad]

Thanks for the response. Yes, sunsets can be quite challenging. I ruined many a roll of 35mm film in the past!!!
Before posting, I carefully read your guide to see if I was overlooking some settings. Yes, even my dedicated camera failed to record the exact colors I saw, but came much closer than lumias.

 

[Rubidad]

Thanks for the input.
I tried the Nokia camera, the Nokia beta and the MS Camera. I also shut off the flash. The shots did show good detail, but failed to come close to the witnessed color. I'm sure the newer 1520 and 1020 should do a better job

 

[Rubidad]

Wow. Those are wonderful shots, almost look HD!!!
The scene I tried to capture did not have as much light as your pics. It's the inaccurate color that surprised me.

 

[Nogitsune Micah]

I'm confused As to why you would go and get the 520 to take the photo. That seems off....

Anyway those were some great photos.

 

[johnskrilla]

blue1k I just sent you a private message and I want to know what settings you are using.

 

[RumoredNow]

I'd like to see a sample from the OP for the 925, the 520 and the lumix...

 

[Rubidad]

I'd like to see a sample from the OP for the 925, the 520 and the lumix...

Sorry, I was so disappointed that I deleted them all.....

 

[Editguy1900]

I'm always amazed at the shots that I get from my 925. It's definitely close to a good point and shoot.

 

[johnskrilla]

Sorry, I was so disappointed that I deleted them all.....

Take another one and post it

Sent from Seattle

 

[Rubidad]

Take another one and post it

Sent from Seattle

Sorry for the tardy reply. Here's another try to catch the colors. Of note: the picture looks MUCH different on my laptop than on the 925. Perhaps I need to adjust the display on the phone! However, the violets and reds are subdued on both
I really appreciate any suggestions. The more colorful pic is from a Casio QV 2000UX ( a camera that I wish I still owned). These are the colors I saw, but did not capture on the phones or camera at my most recent attempt

 

[Thomas Schindler]

Auto White Balance is pretty often way off.
To shoot sunsets/sunrises, its common to set White Balance to "Daylight" and underexpose for 1-2 stops, depending on your preferences.
If you want a warmer result, as I do, use "Cloudy".

This should help a lot.

 

[waazzupppp]

I was going to say, make sure to look at the images on a different screen... If you don't have your Lumia display calibrated to match the monitor you are using, the colors will not match. It's just like processing in the image in Photoshop... If you don't have the correct color matching for the printer you are using, your prints won't match the screen.

 

[Rodrigo Mendes]

I was going to say, make sure to look at the images on a different screen... If you don't have your Lumia display calibrated to match the monitor you are using, the colors will not match. It's just like processing in the image in Photoshop... If you don't have the correct color matching for the printer you are using, your prints won't match the screen.

That's right.

Lumia 925 have AMOLED display too. So there's no colour fidelity like LCD displays. And especially Lumia 925, which have a very warm colors. But this can be change in Settings..

 

[Rubidad]

That's right.

Lumia 925 have AMOLED display too. So there's no colour fidelity like LCD displays. And especially Lumia 925, which have a very warm colors. But this can be change in Settings..

Yes, I will change the settings to vivid for the next sunset!