New camera app

[gtt1]

Has anyone loaded the latest camera app?

If so is it any improvement over the stock app?

 

[1210saad]

I don't see any improvements in the picture quality but I guess the GUI has improved a bit.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

 

[zorak950]

I didn't like it at first, but after paying with it a bit I think it's just equally good. The default settings can be a bit odd, so it's good to check all that first. The new panorama method works better, but the lens blur mode smells slightly of gimmick. As for the UI, I think I liked the old one slightly more, but that's probably just because I'm still adjusting.

 

[ysbg]

They added gridlines, I think that can be useful.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[anon(301129)]

I posted the below on the N5 forum however I also tried it on our N4 and the results are the same.

Personally on first impressions, they stripped it down too much. No more white balance which I used extensively.
I have a bar that has mixed low lighting so I used to select the florescent light setting and force flash. This gave me excellent photos. Last night I tried to force flash the new app and it gave me very blue color temp photos. I uninstalled the update and use the old app for the night and all was good.
I noted that the default zoom is a much wider angle. I have not tried zooming yet.
I reinstalled the update today and will continue testing.
So far I give this app a 2 out of 5. I am hoping for better results but i am skeptical.

 

[gtt1]

Thanks everyone, guess I will give it a try, but it doesn't seem like much benefit.

 

[chokka21]

Camera App updated yesterday. I tried it out but couldn't get the Lens Blur to work effectively. The really good thing about it is that with the update the picture you get is the picture you see - finally! Most frustrating taking a picture when, previously, the viewfinder describes a cropped picture. However, the cons of this update far outweigh the pros for me. Too much has been taken away, reducing the camera to an absolute point and shoot. I tried some indoor evening shots with fluorescent lighting and the new camera app couldn't capture, for example, the nuance of colour in the curtains or cushions. It simply brightened it all up, washing the colours out. I reverted to the stock camera app and got quite a good representation of the same, both with and without flash/HDR+. (I tried the white balance setting for florescent lighting for the shot but found without took a better picture in this instance). That was the decider for me. I have no patience with a camera that doesn't reasonably accurately represent the colours of the subject. This new camera app is not subtle enough; no white balance anymore; no being able to take a still while taking video; no scene shot options (though I never use those to be honest); no timer; no option to select an aspect ration other than 4:3, which is rubbish for landscape shots; and poor representation of picture in indoor lit conditions, with or without flash/HDR+. (Haven't tried outdoors but as I said, the indoor test is enough for me to give this a miss). This update is a serious step backward. I have uninstalled it. I would love for the viewfinder to actually show the picture I am taking but I guess I will just have to put up with this annoyance in the current stock app. I only hope any system update coming through will not force feed this whole update onto the phone. That would be very upsetting.

 

[_Zguy__]

Seems to be much quicker especially with the HDR, the field of view really confused me at first but its nice to see everything now. Shame the light effects and color temp are gone.

Ive been trying the blur and haven't gotten perfect results. Taking pictures of drinks on a bar will usually leave the back half of the glass blurry and with multiple drinks it will recognize to keep them in focus but will fail to define them correctly in the right shape

 

[anon5664829]

Quality of pictures is much better. Like far better.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[lion7718]

From the little I've used it, it seems alright...I do miss the little blue dot for taking pic though.

 

[ChromeJob]

I posted the following on Andew's article:

This isn't an "update." It's making a stripped down version of the stock Nexus Camera app available to other devices.

Problem is that it's missing some settings and options available on my stock Nexus 4 with the 4.4.2 camera app. Well, that's not the problem. The problem is that my 4.4.2 N4 sees this as an "update" on the Play store to that stock app, so if I leave Auto Update enabled, my stock camera app is overwritten with a "lite" version with less flexibility. Yes I do like (and use) those settings and options, and no, Google, I do not want to lose those.

That's a big ol' #FAIL from Google. Don't override my better, stock application with a new "lite" version on the Play store for other device users. Duh.

Frankly, I'm a little pissed that the reporters (and perhaps Google) are calling this an "update." It's not an update. It's a "lite" version of the stock Nexus camera, and dammit I don't like the Play store trying to "update" my stock app with this craptastic version (that's what I call a product update with less features and a gimmick that doesn't really work well).

If you have a Nexus, don't install this over your stock camera app -- that's my two cents.

 

[zorak950]

What did your stock camera have that this doesn't?

 

[anon5664829]

I posted the following on Andew's article:



Frankly, I'm a little pissed that the reporters (and perhaps Google) are calling this an "update." It's not an update. It's a "lite" version of the stock Nexus camera, and dammit I don't like the Play store trying to "update" my stock app with this craptastic version (that's what I call a product update with less features and a gimmick that doesn't really work well).

If you have a Nexus, don't install this over your stock camera app -- that's my two cents.

This is a massive update. Get over your self this is the first release and its not like the features are gone forever.


My god the sense of entitlement certain people have...

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Citizen Coyote]

I haven't had any problems with it, works fine for me. I do miss the selectable white balance though. I hope they add that back in. I do consider it an update even with a removed feature, because it overhauled the atrocious circle UI and gave us a full frame/WYSIWYG viewfinder.

 

[zorak950]

As far as I know, the only things missing are white balance and scene mode. I never used either one, though white balance was a nice option to have. I'm not even sure what scene mode did.

 

[Hungerdunger]

Time lapse is also missing from the Video.

 

[zorak950]

Oh, and the camera timer. I forgot about that one. Okay, yeah, I see CJ's point. I don't really mind the simplification since I never used the stuff that's gone now, but I can see how someone could be frustrated. It's a simple matter to uninstall the update and turn off auto-update for Camera, but it's annoying to have to go backwards just to not lose features if you care about them.

I wonder if the developers plan to add all that stuff back or if the Google Camera app is just going to be more basic and streamlined going forward.

 

[anon5664829]

Oh, and the camera timer. I forgot about that one. Okay, yeah, I see CJ's point. I don't really mind the simplification since I never used the stuff that's gone now, but I can see how someone could be frustrated. It's a simple matter to uninstall the update and turn off auto-update for Camera, but it's annoying to have to go backwards just to not lose features if you care about them.

I wonder if the developers plan to add all that stuff back or if the Google Camera app is just going to be more basic and streamlined going forward.

Of course it will get its feature back. This is a brand new UI hr should wait before complaining his *** off.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[ChromeJob]

What did your stock camera have that this doesn't?

This is a massive update. Get over your self this is the first release and its not like the features are gone forever.

My god the sense of entitlement certain people have...

Massive? First release? The Nexus camera app has been in 4.2, 4.3, 4.4....

Missing: Exposure fine control, timer (very handy to tap, then steady before taking pic), White balance, Scene mode, still image capture while recording video. Also, improvements in performance in 4.4.1. These are still a subset of all the features that my HTC Amaze camera app had, but I was happy with these basics on a Nexus device. A new version that drastically reduces the feature set is not a very user friendly "update."

Nexus 5 review | Android Central
Nexus 5 camera samples and first impressions | Android Central
Android 4.4.1 update coming with Nexus 5 camera fixes [update] | Android Central (SPOILER: 4.4.1 was a big update to the Camera app)

Sense of entitlement, in a pig's eye.

Oh, and the camera timer. I forgot about that one. Okay, yeah, I see CJ's point. I don't really mind the simplification since I never used the stuff that's gone now, but I can see how someone could be frustrated. It's a simple matter to uninstall the update and turn off auto-update for Camera, but it's annoying to have to go backwards just to not lose features if you care about them.

Glad you came around to seeing my point. Apology accepted. (tongue firmly in cheek) ...,

Of course it will get its feature back. This is a brand new UI hr should wait before complaining his *** off.

Unless you are on the development team for this app, perhaps you'd like to tell us where you get this irrefutable information?

BTW, brand new UIs don't usually cause regression in feature set without some reason. And before you ask, yes, I work in software development.

 

[zorak950]

You can still mess with exposure, you just have to turn the option on in the Camera settings. Also, you can turn off auto-update on an app-by-app basis. The option is in the overflow menu in Google Play when you're on the app page (in fact it's like the one thing still there).