Question Regarding Front Camera Quality

[fitchalcyone]

Good morning, everyone; first-time poster but have been following this site for a while (great resource, I might add). I received my yellow 920 from AT&T a little over a week ago now, and minus a few small things that I wish carried over from the 900, I love this device. Thankfully I haven't experienced any of the quirks that are often echoed on here, with maybe an exception in regards to the camera.

Now, I know there's a lot of talk regarding "softness" in the 920's daylight photos, but does this only apply to the rear camera? (While I'm still having some trouble getting good pictures to consistently come out on this unit compared to my 900, I guess that's a topic for another day.) I have yet to take a photo on my front-facing camera that isn't "blurry," and I'm really confused as to why. Granted, my low-light shots exhibit a lot of noise, but even in well-lit settings or places I've done the same thing on my 900 before, I find the pictures to lack the same clarity, and I'm not sure if this is the "softness" that people are referring to. On top of that, would whatever imaging software setup Nokia is using on the rear camera apply to the front as well? Also, looking at Nokia's spec sheets for the 900 and 920, the 920's front camera shoots at a higher resolution - wouldn't this in a sense influence quality between the two or is this completely unrelated?

I apologize for not being too technically versed when it comes to cameras, I just know that I am one of those that indeed take a lot of front photos and they are not turning out how I thought they would have. Thanks for reading, any help or suggestions would be much appreciated.

 

[George Ponder]

Both cameras are driven to a point by the same software but may have different processes for handling the image after it's captured. For example, I'm not sure if the front facing camera on the 920 makes use of the Pureview algorithms the rear camera does. With both having independent sensors and lenses some of the software aspects may not fit both cameras physical traits.

While most of my attention is focused on the rear camera, if memory serves me correctly the front camera is a fixed focus lens that is really designed for pictures arms length away. So... anything beyond three-four feet would be out of focus.

The front camera has a lower resolution than the rear but that wouldn't effect focus.

Curious.... what are you taking photos of with your front facing camera?

 

[fitchalcyone]

Thanks for the response, I think I understand what you mean with the differences between the two.

As for what I'm taking pictures of, it's just pictures of myself. For the time being, my fiancee and I are in different spots on the map, so during the times we are not able to Skype or make phone calls, we usually fill in those spots with sending such pictures. As is any feature on a phone, one part will inevitably matter to one person more than another, and it just so happens to be that I use this particular "feature" a lot. Sadly, I tried two demo 920s at an AT&T today, and they both exhibited the same quality. It's a medium disappointment to me, as this front camera seems like a step back compared to my 900. I'm hoping this could be something remedied on the software end as well.

 

[ynight]

That of you two sounds really sweet...

 

[fitchalcyone]

Haha, it may be a little corny, but it helps get by in our circumstance.

To give a little more perspective, here is an example of what I'm talking about. The first (longer hair) is from my 900 and the other is from the 920. The 920 lacks a lot of definition to me, which is a bummer. Does anyone with both models notice this, too?