Moto X: The camera on this phone is an absolute joke

[b_slow1]

If the Camera on your smartphone is your biggest concern, get an LG G2. There's no better overall smartphone camera at this time.

Everyone's got a "feature" that is most important to them. The Moto X has what I want, but if you need a great Camera, this is not the right phone. I don't know why this debate has even gone on this long.

 

[gtg465x]

Indoor / low light performance is definitely better with 4.4.2. Hopefully Motorola will get the update out to the American Moto X's soon.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[o4liberty]

Today is my 4th day with the X and everything was good until this morning when I tried to use the camera, all of a sudden it stopped working! I had to reinstall it from the play store to get it working. This is complete failure to me, this should not happen on a new or any device every. I was never an Apple fan but I believe Apple has better control of their apps and how they play with devices.

I gave my 5s to my son and picked up the Moto X only to realize the Android is still very fragmented in the way they operate. It time to return the X for another 5s!

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Peacen1k]

Everyone's got a "feature" that is most important to them. The Moto X has what I want, but if you need a great Camera, this is not the right phone. I don't know why this debate has even gone on this long.

This is not a debate.

Not sure why some find it so hard to understand that stating the need for better quality software for their purchased upgradeable product is not "debating" or "beating a dead horse".

 

[Rhezick]

Dang that is what I thought. I guess I have to wait for my regional carrier (ntelos) to post the update. Anyone know if Moto will post the update on their site or is it its only?

 

[Peacen1k]

Today is my 4th day with the X and everything was good until this morning when I tried to use the camera, all of a sudden it stopped working! I had to reinstall it from the play store to get it working. This is complete failure to me, this should not happen on a new or any device every. I was never an Apple fan but I believe Apple has better control of their apps and how they play with devices.

I gave my 5s to my son and picked up the Moto X only to realize the Android is still very fragmented in the way they operate. It time to return the X for another 5s!

Posted via Android Central App

Sounds like operator error.

Btw, your posting history is pretty entertaining.

 

[natehoy]

I have to say that I too am not displeased with the camera on my x. I came from a Note 3 which on paper has a killer camera, but for some reason I couldn't get a decent shot on it for nothing! They were always blurry and never seemed to focus on what I wanted.
Just snapped this quick pic of my daughter while we're chilling in the living room watching TV ... Only the light from one small table lamp and the TV itself. Not too bad IMO:
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/04/bysy2ene.jpg

Tapatalked via my moto x

I have to say that's the best MotoX shot I've seen under those conditions.

Did you use the stock software or is this something different?

Was this a "grab camera, point, shoot" or did you have to fiddle with any settings (and if you did, please share them).

Thanks.

 

[JungleLarry]

Today is my 4th day with the X and everything was good until this morning when I tried to use the camera, all of a sudden it stopped working! I had to reinstall it from the play store to get it working. This is complete failure to me, this should not happen on a new or any device every. I was never an Apple fan but I believe Apple has better control of their apps and how they play with devices.

I gave my 5s to my son and picked up the Moto X only to realize the Android is still very fragmented in the way they operate. It time to return the X for another 5s!

Posted via Android Central App

Yeah, because an Apple app has never crashed and an iPhone has never needed troubleshooting. The Genius Bar at the Apple Store is just for show.

You're delusional.

 

[Infinity]

All phones will have bugs and issues. As no phone is perfect, the question is what do you want to compromise on? In my opinion, the biggest negative with the moto x is the camera. While it can produce excellent results in optimal conditions (outside), it produces pretty poor results inside with low light. The N5, S4, HTC One, and the 5s will all do better in these situations and a DSLR or even a decent point and shoot will do even better. It comes down to compromises. If a better camera is more important to you than active notifications/always listening then the moto x isn't for you. If a camera isn't as important, than it may be the best phone available right now for you. Up until recently I've always found the iPhone to have the best camera and the smoothest user experience, but it lacks the customization that many of us love about android so it was never an option for me. Thankfully the newer android phones (HTC One, N5, moto x) are as smooth as the iPhone5/5s. Camera wise there are android phones that can compete with the 5/5s, but the moto x isn't one of them. That is a shame, as it was clear Motorola wanted the moto x to appeal to iPhone users (focus on user experience not specs and migration tool to easily switch from iCloud to Google). If the X2 has wireless charging and a better camera count me in!

 

[redeyss]

Here is with and without flash. I use the focus finder a lot to adjust white balance and am getting much better at turning out acceptable photos.

Sent from my XT1053 using AC Forums mobile app

 

[el3ctronics]

Here is with and without flash. I use the focus finder a lot to adjust white balance and am getting much better at turning out acceptable photos.

Sent from my XT1053 using AC Forums mobile app

The image with the flash isn't half bad. But that 2nd image without it literally looks like it came out of a phone from 2008. That's what I mean by unacceptable. Aside from the camera, I really do love the Moto X. I'd even be willing to compromise somewhat on camera performance b/c I like it that much. But the camera on this device isn't just a small compromise. It's significantly worse than any other high end smartphone camera on the market.

 

[sonofevil77]

I obtained a $100 coupon for the Moto X so figured I'd give it a shot (Walnut/Black/Silver) to see how it compared to my Nexus 5. I was intrigued by active notifications and Moto Assist and thought they would be really useful features for me. I've had the phone for 3 days now and it's a really great device. My one major complaint (as in deal breaker bad) is the fact that the camera on this phone is pathetic. It's pretty much on the same level as an iPhone 4 from 3.5 years ago which is totally unacceptable.

I use my phone camera a lot...especially being that I'm a new father and without significant improvement, I can't justify switching from the N5. Now being that this is a 10 MP shooter with seemingly decent specs, I'm surprised that the camera can be this poor. Does anyone know if there are any plans for this camera to be upgraded via software anytime soon? I know they released an upgrade via the Play Store soon after release but this assessment is post update. I also know what camera software is capable of b/c the update to the N5 camera was basically night & day. I'm REALLY hoping this can be fixed b/c aside from the camera performance, this is a really great phone.

I agree but the moto x is my secondary phone so I will not be using the camera all that often.

EvilMotoX

 

[redeyss]

I find with this phone that I take MANY pics and sort thru them for a few gems. I've had S4, One, 920, and 1020 and none of them come close to the pure usability of the moto x. I thought it was all about the camera until this phone

Sent from my XT1053 using AC Forums mobile app

 

[redeyss]

Then of course here is outdoor HDR on. Very good.

Sent from my XT1053 using AC Forums mobile app

 

[el3ctronics]

Then of course here is outdoor HDR on. Very good.

Sent from my XT1053 using AC Forums mobile app

It would be harder for a camera to screw up a picture in those conditions than to capture a good one! Daytime. Bright sunlight. Landscape. Motionless subject. Snowy (allows light to bounce back upward off the surface).

 

[redeyss]

It would be harder for a camera to screw up a picture in those conditions than to capture a good one! Daytime. Bright sunlight. Landscape. Motionless subject. Snowy (allows light to bounce back upward off the surface).

Very true, here is an outside shoot HDR off moving subjects. And then second is indoors, I often get a cloudiness on indoor shots but not smudginess like the xmas tree shot in this thread. Maybe overexposure??

Sent from my XT1053 using AC Forums mobile app

 

[el3ctronics]

Very true, here is an outside shoot HDR off moving subjects. And then second is indoors, I often get a cloudiness on indoor shots but not smudginess like the xmas tree shot in this thread. Maybe overexposure??

Sent from my XT1053 using AC Forums mobile app

Yea this proves my point. The first image of your kids is still below average in ideal lighting conditions as you can barely make out any of the detail in the snow. The second image is just terrible with the same fogginess that I'm receiving in almost all my indoor shots.

 

[natehoy]

Very true, here is an outside shoot HDR off moving subjects. And then second is indoors, I often get a cloudiness on indoor shots but not smudginess like the xmas tree shot in this thread. Maybe overexposure??

The second shot is clearly overexposed and washed out. That can probably be compensated for a bit by turning on the focus/exposure control. Drag the focal point to the child's face, which is one of the brighter spots (literally and figuratively, since that's where you'd want the focus to go as well - LOL). That should dim the picture down a bit and make it an acceptable snapshot.

The good news on that photo as captured is that the kid's face is in relatively good focus, so you still have a salvageable image out of that one. Postprocess that with almost any editing software and get it dimmed down a bit which will tone down the cloudiness, then apply just a touch of color correction - it looks just a hint blued.

The HDR outdoor photo is acceptable for a phone camera, agreed. The exposure is reasonable and the contrast isn't too bad. Perhaps a bit oversaturated, but that's easy to fix. The focus isn't perfect but it's good enough for a snapshot and is well within acceptable norms for a camera phone.

These two pictures actually show that the hardware isn't too bad on this phone. Despite the software's best attempts to mess things up, the hardware sent a decently-detailed image in both cases. With a little touchup work, both of these would be good photos by phone camera standards.

I'm going to have to experiment with this camera a little more. Maybe my point-and-shoot expectations were simply too high for the new software.

 

[Haalcyon]

The Moto X is a great phone, but like most phones its a compromise. Apparently, camera/photo quality was not of paramount importance to Googorola at the time.


Sent from my iridium iPad Air LTE 

 

[BrewinginCO]

Here is with and without flash. I use the focus finder a lot to adjust white balance and am getting much better at turning out acceptable photos.

Sent from my XT1053 using AC Forums mobile app

Is it possible to control the white balance? Or are you moving the focus/exposure circle around and as you do this the phone is adjusting the white balance?