Not seeing camera improvement after Portico for international 920 (RM-821)

[Quist2012]

As soon as a 4G version of the Portico update came up on Navifirm, I installed it in hopes of fixing my less than stellar camera performance.

The update improved loads of stuff, especially Internet connectivity, battery life, Skype, etc., but the camera was the same. Since my battery life went from max 18 hours to 48+ hours, I really wanted to convince myself that the camera had improved. But after multiple less than stellar shots, I really did a comparison.

First, I compared the photos with those from my SGS3, and even with their fuzziness, they beat out the SGS3 by a very small margin (mainly because the way the 920 handles contrast, white balance and the range of the sensor from dark-to-light). Secondly, I compared my photos from before Portico (on stock 1242 firmware for an unbranded Sweden phone) with those after Portico (Belgium Proximus) - I could see absolutely no difference. Thirdly, I tried reinstalling Belgium Proximus without doing a restore from my cloud backup and still saw no difference.

Last, but not least, I tried multiple other ROMs from the new batch that came up last night. No camera improvements were seen with unbranded Belgium, unbranded Hong Kong or T-Mobile Germany. Compared to the massive improvements being shown in pictures from the North American update, I'd characterize my camera improvement as non-existant.

So any of you who have done the Portico update on your international Nokia Lumia 920 (RM-821), do you see any major improvement in the camera?

 

[project8570]

I updated my firmware to the Proximus firmware a couple of days ago, and i'd have to say that if there has been any improvement then it's minimal. My camera is by no means terrible, but it's certainly not as sharp as I'd like it to be, before or after the update.

 

[thyttel]

Sv: Not seeing camera improvement after Portico for international 920 (RM-821)

I already told you I didn't see any improvement either. How much proof do you need?

And merry Christmas

 

[Tahiti Bob]

Maybe that's why the international update is delayed.

 

[johninsj]

Re: Sv: Not seeing camera improvement after Portico for international 920 (RM-821)

I already told you I didn't see any improvement either. How much proof do you need?

And merry Christmas

Well, lots of people do see improvements and posted before and after shots as proof. So it's possible you have a hardware issue with your camera.

 

[Quist2012]

Re: Sv: Not seeing camera improvement after Portico for international 920 (RM-821)

I already told you I didn't see any improvement either. How much proof do you need?

And merry Christmas

Merry Christmas

I'm really wondering how widespread this is. It may indeed be the reason for the delay, but it looks like they're pushing it out anyway - perhaps even without a camera fix.

 

[Quist2012]

Re: Sv: Not seeing camera improvement after Portico for international 920 (RM-821)

Well, lots of people do see improvements and posted before and after shots as proof. So it's possible you have a hardware issue with your camera.

Yeah, but almost all of them have been on the North American version. It's been earily quiet on the international front, but that may be due to a flashing aversion which is understandable.

 

[thyttel]

Sv: Not seeing camera improvement after Portico for international 920 (RM-821)

Well, lots of people do see improvements and posted before and after shots as proof. So it's possible you have a hardware issue with your camera.

Or not!

 

[ballanda]

I flashed the Australian rom yesterday before ever using my unlocked 920. Just took a few side by side shots with my brother's SGS3 and the Lumia got it's butt kicked. Best way to describe it is the Lumia camera looks like a dream sequence from a movie. too washed out and hazy. Very disappointed with this camera. Stability on videos is fantastic though. I hope there is an international camera fix soon!

 

[Huime]

hope you did not get a defective item, mine is soft but definitely ok on 4:5 orintout

 

[naeem151287]

I flashed the APAC HK ROM last night with the Portico update and I am definitely seeing an improvement in the camera. My previous firmware was CV GB and the shots were very soft. Now I am getting the same shot that I see when the focus locks after you half press. The colour reproduction is excellent as well. https://skydrive.live.com/pagenotfounderror

 

[chaichaichai]

Greetings from Hong Kong. Flashed the latest rom yesterday and didnt see much improvement either. But instead, i found the touch focus of the camera became very weak. The photos taken with touch screen focus were even more blurry than those taken with the camera button.

For battery drain problem, i also foind it more or less the same, with whatsaspp as the major evil.

But i did not have the reboot problem. As far as i know, it seems that the at&t 920s are more vulnerable to random reboots.

 

[devize]

I compared photos with two 920s, one with Portico and one without and don't see any improvement.

Edit: Actually, I take that back. Having just looked on my computer at a couple other photos I took the one with the Portico update definitely looks sharper when zoomed in. Colour reproduction is better now.

Portico:
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/11970059/WP_20121226_006%20%281%29.jpg

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/11970059/WP_20121226_004%20%281%29.jpg

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/11970059/WP_20121226_003%20%281%29.jpg

Non Portico:
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/11970059/WP_20121226_015.jpg

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/11970059/WP_20121226_007.jpg

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/11970059/WP_20121226_005.jpg

 

[dukrem]

Just updated my Australian 920, but being night time it's difficult to accurately assess the performance of the camera thus far. There does seem to be a slight improvement in sharpness and detail, especially when comparing photos of text, but it's nothing huge. I'll have another go tomorrow in daylight, I should be able to do some comparisons with images I've taken on the old f/w weather permitting.

 

[Quist2012]

I compared photos with two 920s, one with Portico and one without and don't see any improvement.

Edit: Actually, I take that back. Having just looked on my computer at a couple other photos I took the one with the Portico update definitely looks sharper when zoomed in. Colour reproduction is better now.

Thanks for posting. I can't seem to see your pictures though (the website seems to be declining access).

 

[dukrem]

There are definitely changes for me with the Australia portico update, not necessarily all good though. The PR1.1 update has added a huge amount of noise to the shots, you can even see it in the example below, which was taken in very bright conditions with iso 100 (determined by auto settings). Comparatively the original nokia f/w had barely any noise at all. The update has also done nothing for the colour saturation issues which still result in oversaturation in some shots and undersaturation in others (my lawn looks no where near this good in reality).

That said there is a bit more sharpness evident particularly looking at the grass and roofs.

There seems to be some underlying issue with the camera here, it shouldn't require such aggressive sharpening that such a large amount of noise is introduced. I wonder if the OIS could be creating some focussing difficulties.


Portico (top), Original (bottom)

 

[devize]

Thanks for posting. I can't seem to see your pictures though (the website seems to be declining access).

Try now. Links updated