I'm really confused about this camera...

[deadpenguins]

Just got the Pixel, and after initial set up I wanted to test the camera out. Now I know these aren't ideal settings, but I thought this camera was supposed to be really good. The quality in my photos is ATROCIOUS. Like, my OG Moto X is almost certainly better than this. I would test it if I didn't just put it away to ship out.

I don't care how good the pixel is supposed to be in broad daylight, my (messy) apartment is not that dark and the shot looks like I'm drowning in swamp water. I heard a little about the lens flare issue as well, but this is way worse than anything I expected. I attached a photo of the Pixel and the Nexus 5X. This is after me trying to get the best lighting I could. I took multiple shots around my apartment and they all look as terrible as this one. I just don't understand...

As a side note, my screen also looks really off, kind of like my OG Moto X. All of the text on the screen has this weird blurriness around it and the screen is generally murky green looking compared to the Axon 7 and the Nexus 5x. I read tons of reviews on this phone and nobody mentioned any of this, so I'm not sure what to make of my pretty terrible first impressions.


Top is Pixel, bottom is Nexus 5x



Edit: As it turns out, thoroughly cleaning the lens on the pixel helped redeem the shot some (mainly the flare and smudging), but I still found the shot overexposed and overall inferior to the 5x. Make sure to keep that glass clean!

 

[TeamPowerstroke]

So those are in order of what you said Pixel,5x,S7? The middle and right look like the exact same picture or you have it on a pod getting exactly everything in the same spots.(fridge and picture frame on wall)

And on the pixel picture you have it more towards the light(probably wouldnt make a difference just noticing)

I don't have a pixel but from those pictures it doesnt look that good.

 

[Jeremy8000]

Doesn't look anything like what I get with mine. Did you change any of the default settings? Turn off HDR+?

 

[deadpenguins]

So those are in order of what you said Pixel,5x,S7? The middle and right look like the exact same picture or you have it on a pod getting exactly everything in the same spots.(fridge and picture frame on wall)

And on the pixel picture you have it more towards the light(probably wouldnt make a difference just noticing)

I don't have a pixel but from those pictures it doesn't look that good.

Whoops, I accidentally loaded the nexus 5x image twice. I borrowed someone's GS7 and the pic didn't go through, so I don't have that shot anymore. I removed the second 5x shot to avoid confusion.

I'm not sure what to make of this. This wasn't just one picture, it's literally every picture I have taken with it so far that looks this off and noisy. I'm going to do some testing tomorrow outside, but I'm honestly hoping the pics look like crap to confirm that it's a defective camera...

 

[DJM626]

What kind of settings is your cam on when taking your pics? My cam is the most amazing thing and I don't change a thing with the exception of the HDR setting. Inside or outside, day or night this cam rocks. All of my friends I work with who have iPhone 7 and even 7+ are jealous of my cam and I thought I would never hear any of them say that as they kept on trying to convince me to get an iPhone 7 or 7+

 

[shady195]

Here's a few I took with mine. Lighter one was focused on my dog. Darker one focused on the black stand.

HDR+ Auto on

 

[DJM626]

Hope your dog doesn't lay like that when your subwoofer is cranked! Nice pics! Thanks for sharing

 

[CHILLYWILL_95831]

Whoops, I accidentally loaded the nexus 5x image twice. I borrowed someone's GS7 and the pic didn't go through, so I don't have that shot anymore. I removed the second 5x shot to avoid confusion.

I'm not sure what to make of this. This wasn't just one picture, it's literally every picture I have taken with it so far that looks this off and noisy. I'm going to do some testing tomorrow outside, but I'm honestly hoping the pics look like crap to confirm that it's a defective camera...

Those pictures look like you have a dirty lens. Have you made sure to clean off the lens? I mean the camera could be faulty, but A-HDR+ is much better than that. The picture at the top also looks as if you have major flare coming from your light source. You just need to change the angle of the shot a little to lose the flare.

 

[deadpenguins]

Doesn't look anything like what I get with mine. Did you change any of the default settings? Turn off HDR+?

This pic is straight out of the box and the camera lens had no smudge on it whatsoever.

 

[deadpenguins]

Those pictures look like you have a dirty lens. Have you made sure to clean off the lens? I mean the camera could be faulty, but A-HDR+ is much better than that. The picture at the top also looks as if you have major flare coming from your light source. You just need to change the angle of the shot a little to lose the flare.

I had no smudge on the camera. If there is any light source anywhere near the camera, it streaks across it like that, it can even be outside the shot, but bleed into it, probably through refraction of the glass panel in front of the lens. It's irrelevant anyway because the 5X does not have this problem at all, so I think it's reasonable that a supposedly superior camera doesn't as well.

 

[shady195]

Do you still have the clear protective film on the back glass, because that will 100% cause what you're seeing.

 

[Hardcase19]

I don't recall a separate film on that area of the phone, wasn't it just the film that covered the entire phone with the pull tab?

 

[shady195]

Hope your dog doesn't lay like that when your subwoofer is cranked! Nice pics! Thanks for sharing

No problem, its unfortunate it seems the forums compress tehm quite a bit. Theres some pixelation that the originals don't show.

As far as the subwoofer goes, my dog doesn't seem to mind it. Little jerk will lay right in front of it for a whole movie and stare at it. Things a beast though, built it a few years ago.

 

[shady195]

I don't recall a separate film on that area of the phone, wasn't it just the film that covered the entire phone with the pull tab?

I recall mine having a film there. Maybe im crazy and it did not.

Either way that totally looks like something interefering with the lens. The light flare and the lack of contrast looks liek a dirty lens/something over the lens.

 

[deadpenguins]

I recall mine having a film there. Maybe im crazy and it did not.

Either way that totally looks like something interefering with the lens. The light flare and the lack of contrast looks liek a dirty lens/something over the lens.

I don't see any film over just the camera, but I did just clean the glass again and a lot of the blur is gone from my photos. It looks much better now. I guess once I get my case I won't have to worry about accidentally smudging the lens as much, but it does annoy me a little that it's so hampered by debris that I can't even see with my eyes. Thanks for sharing your photo as comparison!

 

[shady195]

I don't see any film over just the camera, but I did just clean the glass again and a lot of the blur is gone from my photos. It looks much better now. I guess once I get my case I won't have to worry about accidentally smudging the lens as much, but it does annoy me a little that it's so hampered by debris that I can't even see with my eyes. Thanks for sharing your photo as comparison!

Sometimes its the simplest answers we overlook.

Anytime I think the picture looks bad, I ALWAYS wipe the glass just to be sure, then I try again, if it still looks like crap its usually a case of shakey hands. While it may have a fast shutter, slight movement in a dark shot can certainly cut the sharpness down a bit.

I have yet to take a bad picture with the Pixel in real world use.

 

[Amele]

The only problem with the camera, imo, is that in low artificial light, I get an kind of orangey cast over everything. Doesn't happen outside, doesn't happen in near dark, where it's not as good as Note's but not awful, but in my granddaughter's bedroom with the overhead light on, which isn't really bright,
or in the living room under same conditions (two places where the overhead lights are on but not blazing) it's all orangey. And doesn't clean up well with editing tools, either. Not a huge deal as I usually am taking pictures earlier, before the lights are on, or outside, but annoying.

 

[Jeremy8000]

The only problem with the camera, imo, is that in low artificial light, I get an kind of orangey cast over everything. Doesn't happen outside, doesn't happen in near dark, where it's not as good as Note's but not awful, but in my granddaughter's bedroom with the overhead light on, which isn't really bright,
or in the living room under same conditions (two places where the overhead lights are on but not blazing) it's all orangey. And doesn't clean up well with editing tools, either. Not a huge deal as I usually am taking pictures earlier, before the lights are on, or outside, but annoying.

I haven't messed with it, but at the top of the screen when in camera mode, 2nd from the far right, is a thermometer icon. If you tap on it, it brings up options to adapt for the lighting environment, be it cloudy, sunny, fluorescent, or tungsten (or, of course, automatic selection). I'd suggest trying those to see if any help correct for the color temperature issues you're having.

 

[shady195]

The only problem with the camera, imo, is that in low artificial light, I get an kind of orangey cast over everything. Doesn't happen outside, doesn't happen in near dark, where it's not as good as Note's but not awful, but in my granddaughter's bedroom with the overhead light on, which isn't really bright,
or in the living room under same conditions (two places where the overhead lights are on but not blazing) it's all orangey. And doesn't clean up well with editing tools, either. Not a huge deal as I usually am taking pictures earlier, before the lights are on, or outside, but annoying.

Its an issue with the white balance, depnding on the type of lights you have in your house, it can make it worse..

I will admit, the pixel is pretty bad with white balance in this particular situation, but its easily fixed in a quick post edit.

 

[ratsttam]

I don't see any film over just the camera, but I did just clean the glass again and a lot of the blur is gone from my photos. It looks much better now. I guess once I get my case I won't have to worry about accidentally smudging the lens as much, but it does annoy me a little that it's so hampered by debris that I can't even see with my eyes. Thanks for sharing your photo as comparison!

Some lenses are a LOT more sensitive to smudges and dust than others. When I had the HTC M9, if there was any sort of fingerprint on the lens, it would look absolutely terrible. A simple wipe and it would look like it was taken with a completely different camera. The results would be similar to what you had. It's like finger grease would grab the light.