Why not 8 mp camera?

[jbomb11]

This odd to me? Is this a selling point for me to dump this phone when the next comes out?

Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk

 

[JediJesus95]

I have no idea but my Bionic has a 8mp camera and it sucks so I'll be fine with 5 as long as it takes nice photos.

 

[infernalman7]

True. Resolution doesn't mean anything these days. For now we know that the quality of the galaxy nexus camera is not that much worse from the 4S. Real world usage will have to wait for someone to do a full detailed review first.

Sent from phone, pardon for spelling mistakes

 

[ManBearPig618]

True. Resolution doesn't mean anything these days. For now we know that the quality of the galaxy nexus camera is not that much worse from the 4S. Real world usage will have to wait for someone to do a full detailed review first.

Sent from phone, pardon for spelling mistakes

I thought both phones took great photos with the side-by-sides that were posted. I'll be more than happy.

 

[kharrigan]

Zero shutter lag trumps megapixels.

 

[Mr. Poppalopolis]

Why do people keep complaining about this? The iPhone 4 camera was 5MP and takes way better photos than most Android phones. Don't believe the hype over having a lot of megapixels in a camera, it doesn't really mean anything.

 

[anon(512898)]

Because given the same sensor size 5mp captures more light data per pixel than 8mp, reducing noise in the image

 

[GeneralTula]

Megapixels don't mean anything when you look at the detail and definition of the phone. Read the article posted last week on this and also watch the video on the GNex and they explain this.

Basically, unless you're trying to print 4 foot posters with your phone camera, the megapixels don't matter. My Nexus S 5MP camera takes better pics than ANY of the 8MP cams I've seen yet. And the pics are in high detail and great color. Trust me, read up on the info, theres no reason 3MP should stop you from getting a phone this great. Its basically an almost 6" tablet that can make phone calls.

 

[Auzo]

I think they use a 5 MP camera for two reason and two reasons only. Cost was not a main factor imo (in regards to this 5 MP sensor vs the 8 MP sensors in most other).

1) low light performance. As was already mentioned by JB33, for a given sensor size the fewer elements you need to cram into the same space the less noise that will be picked up by each element in high gain states (i.e. low light situations) so your night pictures can look better.

2) Saving a flurry of 8MP sized pics vs 5 MP sized pics was probably enough to prevent the 0 shutter lag feature from working flawlessly especially in the broader sense (many phones will mainly use SD storage which is typically slower than internal storage). I guess we will find out if this one is true once ICS gets on other phones with an 8MP shooter.

Basically, unless you're trying to print 4 foot posters with your phone camera, the megapixels don't matter.

This isn't true. Traditionally 300dpi is standard for high quality prints. You can use that and the the size of the print you want to calculate required resolution needed. So for example, if I wanted an 8 x 10 print (not really that large) we would need a resolution of:

8 * 300 x 10 * 300 = 2400 x 3000 = 7,200,000

Pretty much about 7.2 MP is needed to make a quality print at 8 x 10

I rarely if ever make prints though so 5MP works fine for me.

 

[jdbower]

Actually, the better the source material the bigger the print you can make. Pixels are one thing, but if you're blowing up noise you won't be happy with the results. I've known people with a Nikon D2H (a 4MP camera) who have successfully made 20x30" prints. This takes a very good sensor (camera phones are just now getting to "good") and an excellent photographer (and if you're looking to blow up a camera phone print to 20x30 you probably don't qualify). Don't expect this with a camera phone, but 150dpi is still very good quality and gets you into the 8x10 range. That said, no matter how many megapixels you've got, camera phone images rarely look great at more than 4x6" or on a ~2MP 1080p TV screen/monitor without retouching. In essence, if you can tell the difference between 150dpi and 300dpi you probably don't want the image at that size anyway.

 

[Auzo]

Actually, the better the source material the bigger the print you can make. Pixels are one thing, but if you're blowing up noise you won't be happy with the results. I've known people with a Nikon D2H (a 4MP camera) who have successfully made 20x30" prints. This takes a very good sensor (camera phones are just now getting to "good") and an excellent photographer (and if you're looking to blow up a camera phone print to 20x30 you probably don't qualify). Don't expect this with a camera phone, but 150dpi is still very good quality and gets you into the 8x10 range. That said, no matter how many megapixels you've got, camera phone images rarely look great at more than 4x6" or on a ~2MP 1080p TV screen/monitor without retouching. In essence, if you can tell the difference between 150dpi and 300dpi you probably don't want the image at that size anyway.

I agree with you 100%. I was merely pointing out resolution as a limiting factor to max printed output in the absolute sense. The picture you presented actually proves my point. The author indicates that the original photo has been up-sampled using Photoshop. They are in effect increasing the resolution through post processing. If he used the original file exactly you would notice artifacts in that blow up.

Further I believe that this type of post processing wouldn't lend it self well (the linked results are amazing frankly) to any cell phone camera because like you pointed out they are a far cry from being near the quality of high end DSLRs

 

[Poopai]

People downplay resolution too much here. Being able to zoom in and see detail is a big deal.

 

[anon(525422)]

I rarely if ever make prints though so 5MP works fine for me.

Does anyone?

Let's face it, aside from the phone/camera fanatics in these forums, the vast majority of photos from regular phone owners are just going to get posted to Facebook/Twitter, then viewed by their friends on other mobile devices or on shoddy desktop monitors. At best they'll get displayed through an HDTV with horribly adjusted contrast, sharpness and color balance. For the masses, a quality 5MP camera is more than enough for 90% of their camera needs.

 

[MowDownJoe]

People downplay resolution too much here. Being able to zoom in and see detail is a big deal.

Very true. Until we get smartphones with an optical zoom, it helps to have those 3 extra megapixels if you love to use the zoom. I'm sure without zoom it'll take beautiful pictures, but zoom in too much, and I imagine the picture getting grainy.

 

[kharrigan]

If the phone came with a 2 megapixel camera, I'd see the argument. But 5 versus 8? I say that it's easier on storage and also bet that it's a nice 5 mp camera. I like nice.

 

[CynicX]

People downplay resolution too much here. Being able to zoom in and see detail is a big deal.

Still depends on the optics used. A telescope with a 4 MP camera will take a better picture of the moon then binoculars with a 10 MP camera attached. Detail and all....When you are dealing with a camera in a phone the optics aren't much to talk about so I'd rather have them improved then more MP.

The iPhone 4s has done something interesting/smart. You can no longer zoom in while taking a picture. Since it would just be digital zoom anyway (vs optical) you can edit the pic after its taken and zoom into any part of the pic you'd like. Confuses people that don't know much about photography though.

 

[potatolover1102]

The problem here in opinion is that the Apple gods have bestowed upon the sheep an 8 mp camera! Sadly to all the laymen this means all phones should have an 8mp camera or they are inferior no matter the quality. This will stick out like a sore thumb to regular people when they see all other phones iphone and android included coming with an 8 mp camera and will see it as a downfall and not be pleased despite the incredible performance it will provide! This will hurt them even if only a few ignorant people turn the other way. I have no doubt the camera will be better than my last few 8mp phones but sadly others only see numbers.

 

[mikestorm]

I completely get the 'megapixels don't mean anything argument' but I think Goog/Sammy didn't take the marketing aspect into consideration when they went with a 5MP sensor.

Low hanging fruit for any unimaginative tech blog gadget reviewer (eyes on your Bonnie Cha) who is looking to round out their pros and cons list when it's time to publish said review. "Con: 5 MP camera TROLOLOL!!!!1"

Putting aside people comparing phone features to a RAZR or even a TB and doing the 8 > 5 math and having something like that influence a purchase decision

 

[Mr. Poppalopolis]

Honestly, I am glad they chose a 5MP camera. Not only will it take better pictures, but that means the phone is less likely to sell out when it's released...

Also it's a Nexus, so it's gonna get developer attention no matter how many or few people have it.

 

[Andrew Ruffolo]

Does anyone?

I do, I have a 12 picture photoframe above me right now that almost all the pictures were taken with a camera phone (5MP to be exact). They look great on 4x6, which is my preferred photo paper. Very easy to wirelessly print from my phone, too with HP's ePrint printers.