The OneM9 Camera does not suck...

[alienlandingpad]

and I'm kinda tired of reading reviews where it gets short shrift. I took about 800 photos during my NYC trip, and many are stunningly good. Just a selection here, quite a few in challenging light. I was quite happy with the results and glad not to have to carry a dedicated camera around. And yea, with the SD card slot, it makes this phone a monster. 128GB of storage, I ever worried about filling that thing up.

 

[ABOSWORTH007]

The camera does kind of suck, actually. No doubt that it can take good or great pictures but the way it responds to lighting is abysmal. I have some great pics that I've taken with this phone but the camera, more often than not, leaves me feeling frustrated.

 

[alienlandingpad]

Strange, that's not my experience at all. Controls highlights ( overcast skies) better than the P&S cameras I have. And decent in low-light. Being steady is crucial of course, no OIS.

 

[Russel McDonald]

I completely agree with alienlandingpad. When I first purchased the M9 I did struggle with getting good photos at first, but then read on line the best settings and how to take advantage of its various features. Now I get mostly really good to stunningly good pictures.

Here are some tips that work for me:
1. When in normal camera mode, (so right bottom icon on the camera screen selected as CAMERA), in settings try setting the resolution to the lowest of the 3 settings if in low light or florescent light settings. It's amazing, but setting to medium or highest resolution often produces inferior pictures in normal camera mode in such environments. I believe it must be due to the mathematics behind the post-picture processing. They messed up big somehow.

In RAW camera mode however (RAW CAMERA selected from rightmost bottom icon), definitely do the OPPOSITE. In RAW CAMERA mode, the highest resolution is instead always the best (Just hold it really still). Which is why I'm sure it's the post processing mathematics that occurs in normal camera mode that is messed up.

2. mostly stick to RAW CAMERA mode if any kind of non-daylight setting and you don't want the post image processing to muck things up. Even in daylight settings I found that I could see MANY more detailed leaves of a tree in RAW CAMERA mode than normal camera mode. Again, in RAW mode use highest resolution. Try out some comparisons yourself.
Don't worry about having to manually set anything. RAW mode does not mean you have to manually set the ISO and such. You still get all of the auto-settings by default. Just any post-image processing is skipped.

3. The M9 camera apparently has no motion stabilization. You have to hold the camera extremely still to get sharp pictures in most settings. The brighter the light the less that is true. But if any any type of low light setting, you have to brace the camera against a light pole, counter top, etc... Just holding your breath and trying to stay still even doesn't quite cut it. Instead, brace the camera against something solid in low light settings. The other day I came upon a young Western Diamondback rattlesnake while biking here in Texas. I immediately got off my bike and snapped some pictures....but I was a bit nervous obviously and couldn't quite hold steady. STILL it produced a somewhat acceptable picture. Just not good enough for my taste. If I'd had the courage (and stupidity) I would have held it on the ground close to it to get a stellar picture.

4. HDR is awesome in scenes containing a mix of shadows AND bright objects at the same time. BUT AGAIN, BRACE THE CAMERA AGAINST SOMETHING SOLID!!! Especially in HDR mode!

5. make sure to tap the screen on what you want to focus on just before snapping the picture. If not using HDR, then consider if you want a slower shutter speed and larger aperture to let in more light in which case tap something dark, or if wanting a quicker shutter speed in which case tap something bright. But in either case, something within the area on which you want the camera to focus for the sharpest details.

Oh and all that said, I had the Galaxy S6 Edge for a month before switching to the M9 (that's another story), and I can say truly that the Edge got the camera right for auto just point-and-shoot mode. Their pictures were so crisp that I could swear I was just looking through a pane of glass at the original image. With just all auto settings. And the video was incredibly crisp as well.

 

[fernandezhjr]

The camera is greatly improved since I first got my M9. I still find it to be a bit sub par in low light, but you can improve on it by learning where to best tap on the screen before snapping the shot. The camera in raw mode is simply awesome.

 

[IAmSixNine]

I thought the pics look great for a normal user.
Now if you were a professional photographer i would expect more. LOL
Someone feed that snapping turtle, he looks mean and hungry.

 

[msm0511]

and I'm kinda tired of reading reviews where it gets short shrift. I took about 800 photos during my NYC trip, and many are stunningly good. Just a selection here, quite a few in challenging light. I was quite happy with the results and glad not to have to carry a dedicated camera around. And yea, with the SD card slot, it makes this phone a monster. 128GB of storage, I ever worried about filling that thing up.

Just out of curiosity, what is that first pic? Is it an aerial view edited?

 

[alienlandingpad]

Hey IAmSix, I bet a pro could do better, certainly. I was with my wife th whole time, she was there to enjoy the city, so could not get too crazy with setup. But that was the point - how well does the phone work as a casual camera, and it passed the test I think. Only thing I expected was the 'volume button as shutter release' trick was not as cool as I expected, as it tended to shake the camera. And the motion to wake-to-camera did not always work.

Oh, yeah, the snapper is Dag Hammerskjold plaza is bronze. Looks pretty authentic!

 

[alienlandingpad]

Just out of curiosity, what is that first pic? Is it an aerial view edited?

Not sure what shot you are looking at MSM - there were no arial shots, though some were off a friend's roof. The first shot in the gallery I linked is of some petrified wood at the national history museum. A low-light shot, braced carefully by hand. (It was tough not getting my finger in the shot). Other lowlight shots are the Star of India (the lovely saphhire), our 25th anniv dessert (fancy restaurant that), the wooden statue. And of course the times sq at night shots.

 

[alienlandingpad]

I completely agree with alienlandingpad. When I first purchased the M9 I did struggle with getting good photos at first, but then read on line the best settings and how to take advantage of its various features. Now I get mostly really good to stunningly good pictures.

Here are some tips that work for me:
1. When in normal camera mode, (so right bottom icon on the camera screen selected as CAMERA), in settings try setting the resolution to the lowest of the 3 settings if in low light or florescent light settings. It's amazing, but setting to medium or highest resolution often produces inferior pictures in normal camera mode in such environments. I believe it must be due to the mathematics behind the post-picture processing. They messed up big somehow.

In RAW camera mode however (RAW CAMERA selected from rightmost bottom icon), definitely do the OPPOSITE. In RAW CAMERA mode, the highest resolution is instead always the best (Just hold it really still). Which is why I'm sure it's the post processing mathematics that occurs in normal camera mode that is messed up.

2. mostly stick to RAW CAMERA mode if any kind of non-daylight setting and you don't want the post image processing to muck things up. Even in daylight settings I found that I could see MANY more detailed leaves of a tree in RAW CAMERA mode than normal camera mode. Again, in RAW mode use highest resolution. Try out some comparisons yourself.
Don't worry about having to manually set anything. RAW mode does not mean you have to manually set the ISO and such. You still get all of the auto-settings by default. Just any post-image processing is skipped.

3. The M9 camera apparently has no motion stabilization. You have to hold the camera extremely still to get sharp pictures in most settings. The brighter the light the less that is true. But if any any type of low light setting, you have to brace the camera against a light pole, counter top, etc... Just holding your breath and trying to stay still even doesn't quite cut it. Instead, brace the camera against something solid in low light settings. The other day I came upon a young Western Diamondback rattlesnake while biking here in Texas. I immediately got off my bike and snapped some pictures....but I was a bit nervous obviously and couldn't quite hold steady. STILL it produced a somewhat acceptable picture. Just not good enough for my taste. If I'd had the courage (and stupidity) I would have held it on the ground close to it to get a stellar picture.

4. HDR is awesome in scenes containing a mix of shadows AND bright objects at the same time. BUT AGAIN, BRACE THE CAMERA AGAINST SOMETHING SOLID!!! Especially in HDR mode!

5. make sure to tap the screen on what you want to focus on just before snapping the picture. If not using HDR, then consider if you want a slower shutter speed and larger aperture to let in more light in which case tap something dark, or if wanting a quicker shutter speed in which case tap something bright. But in either case, something within the area on which you want the camera to focus for the sharpest details.

Oh and all that said, I had the Galaxy S6 Edge for a month before switching to the M9 (that's another story), and I can say truly that the Edge got the camera right for auto just point-and-shoot mode. Their pictures were so crisp that I could swear I was just looking through a pane of glass at the original image. With just all auto settings. And the video was incredibly crisp as well.

Hi Russell,thanks for the hints. I have not played much with RAW mode yet, I think the only program I have to manipulate those is Gimp, not the easiest to use. But I'll give it a try when I have some time to goof around. I definitely missed OIS (which I have on my mini DLSR) and you are spot on there - I did a lot of bracing, especially the museum shots (there is one soapstone shot in extremely low light which was just a smudge when I tried to shoot offhand).

 

[Lecrae116]

I completely agree with alienlandingpad. When I first purchased the M9 I did struggle with getting good photos at first, but then read on line the best settings and how to take advantage of its various features. Now I get mostly really good to stunningly good pictures.

Here are some tips that work for me:
1. When in normal camera mode, (so right bottom icon on the camera screen selected as CAMERA), in settings try setting the resolution to the lowest of the 3 settings if in low light or florescent light settings. It's amazing, but setting to medium or highest resolution often produces inferior pictures in normal camera mode in such environments. I believe it must be due to the mathematics behind the post-picture processing. They messed up big somehow.

In RAW camera mode however (RAW CAMERA selected from rightmost bottom icon), definitely do the OPPOSITE. In RAW CAMERA mode, the highest resolution is instead always the best (Just hold it really still). Which is why I'm sure it's the post processing mathematics that occurs in normal camera mode that is messed up.

2. mostly stick to RAW CAMERA mode if any kind of non-daylight setting and you don't want the post image processing to muck things up. Even in daylight settings I found that I could see MANY more detailed leaves of a tree in RAW CAMERA mode than normal camera mode. Again, in RAW mode use highest resolution. Try out some comparisons yourself.
Don't worry about having to manually set anything. RAW mode does not mean you have to manually set the ISO and such. You still get all of the auto-settings by default. Just any post-image processing is skipped.

3. The M9 camera apparently has no motion stabilization. You have to hold the camera extremely still to get sharp pictures in most settings. The brighter the light the less that is true. But if any any type of low light setting, you have to brace the camera against a light pole, counter top, etc... Just holding your breath and trying to stay still even doesn't quite cut it. Instead, brace the camera against something solid in low light settings. The other day I came upon a young Western Diamondback rattlesnake while biking here in Texas. I immediately got off my bike and snapped some pictures....but I was a bit nervous obviously and couldn't quite hold steady. STILL it produced a somewhat acceptable picture. Just not good enough for my taste. If I'd had the courage (and stupidity) I would have held it on the ground close to it to get a stellar picture.

4. HDR is awesome in scenes containing a mix of shadows AND bright objects at the same time. BUT AGAIN, BRACE THE CAMERA AGAINST SOMETHING SOLID!!! Especially in HDR mode!

5. make sure to tap the screen on what you want to focus on just before snapping the picture. If not using HDR, then consider if you want a slower shutter speed and larger aperture to let in more light in which case tap something dark, or if wanting a quicker shutter speed in which case tap something bright. But in either case, something within the area on which you want the camera to focus for the sharpest details.

Oh and all that said, I had the Galaxy S6 Edge for a month before switching to the M9 (that's another story), and I can say truly that the Edge got the camera right for auto just point-and-shoot mode. Their pictures were so crisp that I could swear I was just looking through a pane of glass at the original image. With just all auto settings. And the video was incredibly crisp as well.

What do you recommend for sunny daylight pics and do you have any image adjustment settings?

 

[fernandezhjr]

Hi Russell,thanks for the hints. I have not played much with RAW mode yet, I think the only program I have to manipulate those is Gimp, not the easiest to use. But I'll give it a try when I have some time to goof around. I definitely missed OIS (which I have on my mini DLSR) and you are spot on there - I did a lot of bracing, especially the museum shots (there is one soapstone shot in extremely low light which was just a smudge when I tried to shoot offhand).

No need to transfer pics to your PC to take advantage of raw mode. You can do it on your phone by downloading Adobe Photoshop Express from the Play Store. It will open the dng files and then you save them as a jpg image. Raw mode point and shoot takes better pics than standard point and shoot, so just opening the dngs and saving as jpgs gives you better pics, but you could also use PSX to enhance.