Question about software vs. hardware in a camera...

[Paisley]

i'll be so bummed if this becomes an argumentative thread so maybe just looking for some logistics.

What is it about software vs. hardware that might cause photos from a camera to appear washed out. Is it definitely one or the other?

for example, a good number of moto x photos i've seen, whatever any other issue is, sometimes the colors tend to be washed out. Guy Kawasaki even posts them on his twitter like "yeah, check this out!" lol (wha??)

Anyway, back to the logistics question, what is it that washes things out, the software or the hardware? and is a software thing like that extremely hard to modify? Why so?

thanks.

 

[dpw2atox]

I think I saw several people speculate based on the hardware used that there are issues with the post processing in the firmware for the camera. If this is the case, a software update "should" be able to fix the camera issues.

 

[Scott Kenyon]

It's both. If you have a crappy camera sensor, you're going to have crappy photos. That's just life and why tablets don't take great pictures. Tablets usually skimp on the camera to keep the cost of production down.
If your software is terrible at processing the photo, your photos will be horrible. You really can't have one or the other, you need both to be good or great to have good or great pictures.

 

[thegrants82]

I gave up my Maxx HD because of the terrible camera....I loved my Motorola but the camera was just so bad. Went to the Verizon store today to see the new maxx and guess what? The camera is a joke. The Moto X uses the same crappy camera as the new droids of course. Trust me on this one, after all of the complaints with the camera on the last generation of Droids Motorola didn't do a freaking thing. The camera on the Moto X and for that matter all of the Droids is a total show stopper. My opinion on why? Hardware, cheap crappy hardware.

 

[Paisley]

I gave up my Maxx HD because of the terrible camera....I loved my Motorola but the camera was just so bad. Went to the Verizon store today to see the new maxx and guess what? The camera is a joke. The Moto X uses the same crappy camera as the new droids of course. Trust me on this one, after all of the complaints with the camera on the last generation of Droids Motorola didn't do a freaking thing. The camera on the Moto X and for that matter all of the Droids is a total show stopper. My opinion on why? Hardware, cheap crappy hardware.

Thanks, yeah, i keep seeing people hoping for a software change, but i feel like i've read people say they never did on other phones, so i would be stunned if they did anything about this. I saw Guy Kawasaki talking to the person who worked on the camera, it was actually quite sad. And this was after i believe, word got out about it, and he was being a trooper about it trying to ask her to talk about the exciting camera in order for her to explain that there are always challenges and at the same time proclaim that it was good. lol. not good.

Okay, then it's got to be the hardware. otherwise they would not have put out 3 new droids with that camera if it were software that were a problem for a while.

 

[SteelGator]

Can somebody that has one of these new Moto phones try a 3rd party camera like camera zoom and see what impact that has? That should help us see the impact of the software.

Being washed out is not surprising considering the RBGC sensor. I would think software should be able to pull more color out.

 

[thegrants82]

Thanks, yeah, i keep seeing people hoping for a software change, but i feel like i've read people say they never did on other phones, so i would be stunned if they did anything about this. I saw Guy Kawasaki talking to the person who worked on the camera, it was actually quite sad. And this was after i believe, word got out about it, and he was being a trooper about it trying to ask her to talk about the exciting camera in order for her to explain that there are always challenges and at the same time proclaim that it was good. lol. not good.

it's got to be the hardware. otherwise they would not have put out 3 new droids with that camera if it were software that were a problem for a while.

Another person and the sales person were also stunned at the blurry garbage that I was taking with the maxx at the store today. For the life of me I really am blown away that Motorola did this again. Try taking a picture of anything moving....it's just terrible.

 

[Paisley]

Another person and the sales person were also stunned and the blurry garbage that I was taking with the maxx at the store today. For the life of me I really am blown away that Motorola did this again. Try taking a picture of anything moving....it's just terrible.

yeah, it's so odd. surely it would not have costs them soooo much to put a slightly better whatever needed to go in there. A great number of people will be turned off by the camera. People that unlike myself, like a lot of the other options out there. Esp new parents or people who are into taking pictures with their friends.

Although i've seen a few very good moving shots with the camera.

 

[dwd3885]

My guess is software. Did anyone ever think that maybe Moto engineers just can't write up good camera post-processing software? Seems to be it.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

 

[Paisley]

My guess is software. Did anyone ever think that maybe Moto engineers just can't write up good camera post-processing software? Seems to be it.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

i dunno, when you produce something over the year that keeps coming out quite flawed can you not just hire new people? (not being cheeky, legitimate question). Judging by the number of cellphone makers that make better camera, clearly there is a lot of talent out there.

 

[dwd3885]

i dunno, when you produce something over the year that keeps coming out quite flawed can you not just hire new people? (not being cheeky, legitimate question). Judging by the number of cellphone makers that make better camera, clearly there is a lot of talent out there.

Maybe, but then what's the excuse for poor hardware? Price is the same as other phones so they have good sensors available to them.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

 

[Paisley]

Maybe, but then what's the excuse for poor hardware? Price is the same as other phones so they have good sensors available to them.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

could cost much less money, although that confuses me too. A lot of ppl will not get your phone if it doesn't have a decent camera. I'd love to see the cost justification, i wonder if they just estimated loss vs. gain for it. it's the most plausable explaination that i can think of. Cuz software writers come and go, and it's been years.

still though, even with a loss/gain, surely there's got to be a value on making your re-introduction a real re-introduction. and surely a little value on some pride. *shrug*. Must cost a LOT less.

 

[rajeshr68]

Check my comparo shots in the other thread:


Moto X Camera vs Galaxy S4 Camera

and

Moto X - Stock Camera App vs Camera Zoom FX vs Pecan

 

[jephanie]

I played around with an Ultra the other day and I was quite pleased with the camera's results. So my guess is that the software will get a tweak to clean up the post-processing issues experienced in certain conditions.

 

[thegrants82]

I played around with an Ultra the other day and I was quite pleased with the camera's results. So my guess is that the software will get a tweak to clean up the post-processing issues experienced in certain conditions.

Take a picture of something moving with the ultra or any droid. The pics that I was taking with the Maxx were in very well lit conditions of kids running around.....ALL of them were terrible just like my old Maxx HD. This isn't software, asked anyone who has owned a droid before. No app cane fix a Motorola camera. Better yet wait two weeks until the real user reviews start coming in. Don't take my word for it and yes its the same camera as the Moto X.

 

[Paisley]

Another person and the sales person were also stunned at the blurry garbage that I was taking with the maxx at the store today. For the life of me I really am blown away that Motorola did this again. Try taking a picture of anything moving....it's just terrible.

fingerprints galore on the floor models though. I went to verizon on my way home today to check out the droids, took a picture, then looked at the lens. blech.

 

[jephanie]

Take a picture of something moving with the ultra or any droid. The pics that I was taking with the Maxx were in very well lit conditions of kids running around.....ALL of them were terrible just like my old Maxx HD. This isn't software, asked anyone who has owned a droid before. No app cane fix a Motorola camera. Better yet wait two weeks until the real user reviews start coming in. Don't take my word for it and yes its the same camera as the Moto X.

The Galaxy Nexus has a substandard camera but when the phone was released, the software was abysmal. The first update the phone got went a long way in improving the image quality results. I have faith that the same will happen here.

 

[Premium1]

I see pics taken with the x and they don't look bad at all so it seems weird there seems to be such variations between reviewers. Also the review units seem to change some I mean even Phil and others said the screen looked a lot better so maybe it was the preproduction software that was being used? I guess only time will tell but from what I saw it is not as bad as people are making it out to be. But maybe that's because I'm not a professional photographer and most cameras on phones work well enough for what I need.

 

[shea-bird]

I think the general consensus has been that the camera is adequate, but nowhere near the top end or where it should be. Like all others have said...come on Moto, just get it right!! Also, yes there are software issues that can be fixed...but a lot of their problems seem to be with bad sensors. A million updates can't totally fix bad hardware.

 

[robstunner]

Camera is just fine on my opinion, the colors are just more "washed out" that the s4. I say "washed out" because most of these top end cameras on phones are over saturating the image. Just get snapseed if you want like that. As for moving photos: meh, only time I ever do that is biking or
Boarding and that's where the gopro steps in front and center.
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