Taking pictures with 925 in a dark

[alvis#CB]

Hi, I got this phone for a week. I have been reading that this is he best phone to take pictures in the dark, so I turn the camera on and change the scene from auto to Night. I cant even see whats in the picture, it seems when I set it up to night the flash-light doesn't even work,the pictures look terrible. I had to set it up to auto to be able to take a picture. What is the point of the night setting if it wont even take a picture? is it just my phone? thanks

 

[Kellzea]

Hi, I got this phone for a week. I have been reading that this is he best phone to take pictures in the dark, so I turn the camera on and change the scene from auto to Night. I cant even see whats in the picture, it seems when I set it up to night the flash-light doesn't even work,the pictures look terrible. I had to set it up to auto to be able to take a picture. What is the point of the night setting if it wont even take a picture? is it just my phone? thanks

Night mode is for taking pictures at night. What you are doing is taking pictures in a black room. Only auto will work for that. You can up the exposure value, but just normal auto will get the best results. Always remember to half press then full press when taking a photo.

Also, bear in mind its a pphone camera with great low light performance, its not infra red.

 

[alvydasn]

What do you mean by half press then full press? I just touch the screen and it takes auto. Is there any difference when taking with the button? Thanks

 

[pankaj981]

^^ half press to focus and then push to click

 

[alvydasn]

Ok�� but is it any different from just taking a pic with touching a screen? I mean is the focus quality better?

 

[paddylaz]

Hi, I got this phone for a week. I have been reading that this is he best phone to take pictures in the dark, so I turn the camera on and change the scene from auto to Night. I cant even see whats in the picture, it seems when I set it up to night the flash-light doesn't even work,the pictures look terrible. I had to set it up to auto to be able to take a picture. What is the point of the night setting if it wont even take a picture? is it just my phone? thanks

I recommend the following:

1)Turn the flash off
2)Turn the focus-assist off
3)use the touch-screen-to-capture option (results in less potential camera shake than that physical button and you can tap where to concentrate the focus)
4) Keep exposure on default and 'Scenes' on Auto.

5)THE MOST IMPORTANT: Alter the ISO (this is the most important setting on the camera) dependant on how low light the situation is. 100 for strongly lit situations and use a progressively higher number as the light gets less. 200 is a nice sweet spot for a lot of indoor 'cosily lit' sort of situations. Bear in mind though that quality degrades the higher the ISO you use so you want the lowest possible ISO you can get away with.

So experiment with the ISO and you should see some spectacular results as your judgement about which number to use gets better.

 

[alvydasn]

Thanks, do you mean turn the flash off if there is a lot of light? What does turning focus assist off does? How does it help to take better pictures? Thanks

 

[paddylaz]

Thanks, do you mean turn the flash off if there is a lot of light?

No i mean if you can help it NEVER use the flash. Flashes on mobile devices always over-compensate and you get a horrible washed-out look that ruins the photo. Only ever use the flash if you ABSOLUTELY have to capture whats happening and the room is pretty much pitch black. Any other situation and the 925 is more than capable of capturing what you need. Flash is a last resort. It's the thermonuclear option you use when all else has failed.

Instead, keep the flash off, and practice in your house/flat by taking the same photo of something at different ISO's. The ISO basically sets how 'sensitive' the camera sensor is to light. So obviously the lower the light in the room/area, the higher the ISO you need. Have a go and you will see you can get some spectacular results once you suss out the right sort of ISO for a given situation.

Have a look at these photos i just took: First two are with flash. And the last one is without. Notice how dark the room looks with the flash on and how everything looks weird and polarized. This is because of the flash. Now have a look at the bottom photo....this is without flash and ISO at 200. Notice the exposure is perfect and this is EXACTLY how it looks in my room (just one bed-side table light on at 10:45pm in the evening):

 

[Firenze89]

No he actually did mean turn the flash off in low light. A flash usually ruins an image.
But sometimes, and on most smartphones, you need it just to be able to see something on a picture.

The whole point of the 925 is to be able to take low light pictures without using the flash.

Edit: Thanks a lot for the great explanation, Paddylaz =)

 

[paddylaz]

No he actually did mean turn the flash off in low light. A flash usually ruins an image.
But sometimes, and on most smartphones, you need it just to be able to see something on a picture.

The whole point of the 925 is to be able to take low light pictures without using the flash.

Edit: Thanks a lot for the great explanation, Paddylaz =)

No worries. Basically, when it comes to photography, if you had to sum it up it's about light. Thus, with photography your two 'gods' if you like are shutter speed and ISO.

Since you can't really control shutter speed TOO much without camera shake becoming a problem (let's be honest, who uses a tripod for their camera phone apart from extreme enthusiasts) it's best to stick exposure on the default/0 setting, stick the scenes mode to auto and instead concentrate on altering the ISO for whatever situation you're in. Hope this helps.

This is the difference between the iphone 5 and the 925 - the 925 can get MUCH better results, but you must understand ISO. Otherwise the results will be no better or in some cases worse than with the apple range. The IPhones in my experience are the best at auto-judging which iso to use (well, they have to be as they dont bloody give you the option to change it!) but other phones including the 925 aren't to be trusted. So with the 925, put everything on auto APART from ISO which you should control yourself. Once you get the knack you can get some awesome photos.

 

[alvis#CB]

Thanks for the great reply. One last questions does leaving focus assist light on also ruin the picture as flash does?

 

[paddylaz]

Thanks for the great reply. One last questions does leaving focus assist light on also ruin the picture as flash does?

No worries. In terms of the focus-assist light.......I'm not too sure. In fact I was asking about it a few days ago because I had never used a phone with one on it before.

I've come to the conclusion that it's best to leave it off because:
1) It doesn't visibly seem to improve the focusing abilities
2) It might disturb/ruin what you're taking a picture of as the light that emits will draw attention to you and you might not like that if you don't want your subject(s) to be aware the shot is coming.

ps. when it comes to focus it's best to take photos using the tap-screen-to-capture method. This way when you tap the screen the camera will concentrate the focus on the area you've tapped.

So for instance if you're taking a photo of your dog - you line up the shot, tap the face of the dog where it is on the phone screen and that way the camera will simultaneously take the shot WHILE concentrating the most camera focus on the specific place you tapped (which you will most likely want to be the dog's face but obviously you can experiment for nice effects...especially if you have multiple subjects in the photo.)

 

[Kellzea]

All great advise. I would add though, that i use the camera button half press to focus then full press for a scene photo. Like a car or house or sunset etc. But anything that needs the focus specifically on it, say a flower, a dog or a blade of grass then i press the screen.

The camera button will auto focus the whole image very well, but wont do a close up justice. The oposite is true for a screen press.

Which ever you use though, press lightly, as you will move the phone (slightly) and therefore create blur

 

[xchaser]

what if I wanna take pictures of the night sky (stars) what would be the best settings?

 

[Kellzea]

what if I wanna take pictures of the night sky (stars) what would be the best settings?

You are going to struggle, phone cameras are not the best for this. But try with flash and focus light off, longest exposure and iso and lots and lots of patients.

Bear in mind stars will give the phone NOTHING to focus on.

 

[xchaser]

anyone knows how I can take a picture of the night sky (stars) in what ISO setting etc.... thanks