Why does HTC make sub-par cameras?

[Estylo]

I took these after reading this thread. Here are the settings I used to take these...


***Red Car (Indoor)***
ISO: 100 No Flash
Auto Focus = Off
White Balance = Cloudy
Resolution = 5 M
4:3 Standard photo size
Quality = High
Flicker Adjustment = 60hz

***Night Fire (Outdoor)***
Same settings as the above except the ISO = 400 w/ Flash

EVO 4G Photos - a set on Flickr

 

[Robbie317]

Probably a topic beaten to death (somewhere), but does anyone know why HTC makes such janky cameras on their phones? Historically it has been their weak spot - my old Cingular 8525 had a poor camera, my Touch Pro 2 had a bad camera, and now my HTC EVO has a very mediocre one. I probably wouldn't have noticed as much except now that the iPhone4 has come out, it's been all the rage. Apple finally has shown (although let's be honest, Nokia has been good at this for years) that a camera on a cell phone doesn't have to stink.

Now HTC has made huge strides in phones in the last 2-3 years and has finally become a tier 1 manufacturer. In terms of performance, development, and quality they are certainly up there. However, as I alluded to, the cameras in ALL of their phones are very average in terms of performance. It can't be a technical hurdle for HTC to make a better camera, and it sure as hell can't be cost (as iPhone4 has similar components cost as EVO and other smartphones in the high end). So what is it???

I seriously DOUBT HTC makes the camera.... They just buy up components and put them together to make a phone... I have found that I get much better pictures when I adjust the ISO away from "Auto" to a setting that works better for the conditions I am taking a picture in. The auto settings SUCK big time... Taking a picture on Auto and then switching the ISO to around 400 I get pictures 10 times better than auto....

 

[syphex]

I took these after reading this thread. Here are the settings I used to take these...


***Red Car (Indoor)***
ISO: 100 No Flash
Auto Focus = Off
White Balance = Cloudy
Resolution = 5 M
4:3 Standard photo size
Quality = High
Flicker Adjustment = 60hz

***Night Fire (Outdoor)***
Same settings as the above except the ISO = 400 w/ Flash

EVO 4G Photos - a set on Flickr

Those are pretty good. Even the fire one didn't look like it had a lot of noise in the background.

Here is one I took shortly after getting the phone. Stock settings.

 

[Jerzyiroc]

I've heard a lot of people say that the stock settings suck and I'm sure it does. But the problem is most people like myself aren't photographers or really don't really know what some of the settings either mean or how it will affect the picture. Maybe someone can post a thread explaining it briefly?

 

[Estylo]

Those are pretty good. Even the fire one didn't look like it had a lot of noise in the background.

Here is one I took shortly after getting the phone. Stock settings.

Yea this phone is so good for outdoor photos that even the stock settings are good. Night and indoor you need to play with the settings and lighting however. Nice pic!

 

[Estylo]

I've heard a lot of people say that the stock settings suck and I'm sure it does. But the problem is most people like myself aren't photographers or really don't really know what some of the settings either mean or how it will affect the picture. Maybe someone can post a thread explaining it briefly?

Hey not trying to be a smart ass here, but there are so many sites explaining the basics on Google that it would be quicker for you to just do that research yourself.

 

[Jerzyiroc]

Hey not trying to be a smart ass here, but there are so many sites explaining the basics on Google that it would be quicker for you to just do that research yourself.

Smart ass... lol jk. I know that but I figured given the fact that the camera settings has been such a big talking point with the Evo that maybe it would be good for someone to post some info on it. Most of the questions asked on this forum could be answered with Google lol.

 

[Yourdogsdead]

Those are pretty good. Even the fire one didn't look like it had a lot of noise in the background.

Here is one I took shortly after getting the phone. Stock settings.

You live in a very nice place, I could take a pic of some buildings. I don't have a mountain nearby

 

[Jerry Hildenbrand]

I think the camera is awesome for a cell phone. Took this yesterday. Bonus points if anyone can tell me where I live.

thats either the dalles or portland

 

[meyerweb#CB]

Yea this phone is so good for outdoor photos that even the stock settings are good. Night and indoor you need to play with the settings and lighting however. Nice pic!

The main thing to worry about is ISO. Tap menu, and then the icon with the gears, then ISO.

(For those unfamiliar, ISO describes the camera's sensitivity to light. The higher the ISO, the dimmer the light you can take a pic in. But also the more noise there will be in the image.)

Auto seems to work fine outdoors, but you could manually set 100 for bright sunlight, and 200 for cloudy days.

Indoors, be sure to tap the screen where you want it to focus. The software seems to use the focus point to set flash exposure. If the camera is focused on something behind your subject, your subject will be overexposed.

If you're shooting indoors and don't want flash, you'll need to manually set ISO. The camera seems to want to use ISO 100 even in dim light. I'd suggest trying 400 in normal room light. On this small a sensor, anything over 400 is going to be really noisy.

And remember you can see the pic right away. If it's too bright or dark, you can reshoot. The "sun" symbol lets you adjust brightness up or down. If the pic seems "flat" and lacking contrast, the half-filled circle can give you some help. Don't go too crazy with these settings, though. Small adjustments are usually better than large.

 

[makya53]

When I want a good pic I use a camera...the camera on my phone is a great bonus.

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk

 

[Jerzyiroc]

The main thing to worry about is ISO. Tap menu, and then the icon with the gears, then ISO.

(For those unfamiliar, ISO describes the camera's sensitivity to light. The higher the ISO, the dimmer the light you can take a pic in. But also the more noise there will be in the image.)

Auto seems to work fine outdoors, but you could manually set 100 for bright sunlight, and 200 for cloudy days.

Indoors, be sure to tap the screen where you want it to focus. The software seems to use the focus point to set flash exposure. If the camera is focused on something behind your subject, your subject will be overexposed.

If you're shooting indoors and don't want flash, you'll need to manually set ISO. The camera seems to want to use ISO 100 even in dim light. I'd suggest trying 400 in normal room light. On this small a sensor, anything over 400 is going to be really noisy.

And remember you can see the pic right away. If it's too bright or dark, you can reshoot. The "sun" symbol lets you adjust brightness up or down. If the pic seems "flat" and lacking contrast, the half-filled circle can give you some help. Don't go too crazy with these settings, though. Small adjustments are usually better than large.

Awesome tips. What do you mean by "noisy". I've seen that term being used a lot but i'll be honest I have no idea what that means.

 

[meyerweb#CB]

There are a couple of different sorts of "noise." The most typical is a grainy appearance, like the image is made up of real big, unevenly sized pixels. It destroys detail. Another common form is color noise, where dark areas are, instead of black, full of little dots of color.

Many digital cameras (not sure about phones) employ automatic "noise reduction" that reduces these effects, but at the cost of losing detail in the photo. For example, instead of seeing the texture of someone's hair, noise reduction will smear it into a solid area of color.

 

[Jerzyiroc]

Ahhh gotcha. Thanks a lot for that info man. I've been messing with the settings for the last few minutes and I can definitely see the difference. What I found to make it easier to really notice what the settings can do is I take a picture with each setting at its extreme. Like I took a pic of my living room with w/o flash with the ISO at 100, then the same pic at 1250 and man it's a huge difference. I'm gonna be doing that with the other settings so i can get an even better idea of what the settings can do so maybe I can figure out how to set them in whatever given condition. Thanks again man!!

 

[Cory Streater]

The main thing to worry about is ISO. Tap menu, and then the icon with the gears, then ISO.

(For those unfamiliar, ISO describes the camera's sensitivity to light. The higher the ISO, the dimmer the light you can take a pic in. But also the more noise there will be in the image.)

Auto seems to work fine outdoors, but you could manually set 100 for bright sunlight, and 200 for cloudy days.

Indoors, be sure to tap the screen where you want it to focus. The software seems to use the focus point to set flash exposure. If the camera is focused on something behind your subject, your subject will be overexposed.

If you're shooting indoors and don't want flash, you'll need to manually set ISO. The camera seems to want to use ISO 100 even in dim light. I'd suggest trying 400 in normal room light. On this small a sensor, anything over 400 is going to be really noisy.

And remember you can see the pic right away. If it's too bright or dark, you can reshoot. The "sun" symbol lets you adjust brightness up or down. If the pic seems "flat" and lacking contrast, the half-filled circle can give you some help. Don't go too crazy with these settings, though. Small adjustments are usually better than large.

Great info.

 

[ldudiaz]

Probably a topic beaten to death (somewhere), but does anyone know why HTC makes such janky cameras on their phones? Historically it has been their weak spot - my old Cingular 8525 had a poor camera, my Touch Pro 2 had a bad camera, and now my HTC EVO has a very mediocre one. I probably wouldn't have noticed as much except now that the iPhone4 has come out, it's been all the rage. Apple finally has shown (although let's be honest, Nokia has been good at this for years) that a camera on a cell phone doesn't have to stink.

Now HTC has made huge strides in phones in the last 2-3 years and has finally become a tier 1 manufacturer. In terms of performance, development, and quality they are certainly up there. However, as I alluded to, the cameras in ALL of their phones are very average in terms of performance. It can't be a technical hurdle for HTC to make a better camera, and it sure as hell can't be cost (as iPhone4 has similar components cost as EVO and other smartphones in the high end). So what is it???

Here are some pictures taken with my EVO, factory camara settings. Picasa Web Albums - Lisandro - EVO 4G

 

[ldudiaz]

Here are some pictures taken with my EVO, factory camara settings. Picasa Web Albums - Lisandro - EVO 4G

 

[epbb]

thats either the dalles or portland

Wow, didn't think anyone would get it! Yup, that's the Ross Island bridge in Portland. Took the pic from the south waterfront. Instead of points ill give you a thanks. Lol

 

[Darth Mo]

Anyone notice that when setting auto-ISO that it never switches from 100?

 

[Jerry Hildenbrand]

Wow, didn't think anyone would get it! Yup, that's the Ross Island bridge in Portland. Took the pic from the south waterfront. Instead of points ill give you a thanks. Lol

Heh. Did a lot of work with the USDA to automate salmon counting in your area. Just couldn't remember which one I seeing