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

[Mr. Orange 645]

You really shouldn't have to "experiment". You should just have to take a picture and be able to count on most of them being at least adequate to good. That is not the case with the Moto X and is why I returned mine. The pictures posted by others in this thread were consistent with my experience.

I understand what you are saying and your frustration. The camera is not that great out of the box. But to say you shouldn't have to experiment is expecting too much. I have a very nice Nikon DSLR camera, and I have to experiment and take several different shots in different lighting conditions to determine what works best and what just won't work. Even nice "point and shoots"require experimentation a lot of times.

All that said, this camera is capable of decent indoor shots. It actually did better indoors/low light on the original 4.2.2 software, but the newest updates bumps the ISO up to ridiculous levels. But the updates improved color reproduction, focus, sharpness, etc..., so its a trade-off.

My solution: For fast outdoor, ideal lighting shots, I use the stock camera. Love the wrist flick action and the very simple interface. For indoor/low light shots, I use FV-5 camera from the Play Store ($3.95 but worth it). I gives you manual control over the ISO, exposure, WB, and some other settings. If you take your time, you can really get a nice indoor photo. I find dropping the ISO down to 200 or 400 to take out the graininess and bump the exposure up to brighten the photo up a bit works really well.

 

[Rhezick]

That's what I thought about doing, since my carrier just got the moto x last week and as a result doesn't have the 4.4 update available yet... would something as simple as a play store app solve the problem?

 

[redeyss]

I think what he is referring to is the android 4.4.2 update that improved the nexus 5 camera. No guarantee it improves X camera, we'll have to wait and see.

Sent from my XT1053 using AC Forums mobile app

 

[gtg465x]

This would be a game changer for me! Where did you get this info?!

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

I have a Moto X with 4.4.2 on it.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[gtg465x]

I think what he is referring to is the android 4.4.2 update that improved the nexus 5 camera. No guarantee it improves X camera, we'll have to wait and see.

Sent from my XT1053 using AC Forums mobile app

No, not basing it on what the update did for the Nexus 5.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Cozume]

Re: The camera on this phone is an absolute joke

I'll try to post some shots when I get home tonight. But my issue is when the lighting isn't ideal the shots are completely grainy and the colors are muted.

Do you have HDR on? HDR is not meant to be used except in certain situations and not in low light and not with flash. If HDR is on in low lighting you will get exactly what you described.

 

[Cozume]

Googorola

Motoroogle*

* soon to be Motonovo.

 

[redeyss]

No, not basing it on what the update did for the Nexus 5.

Posted via Android Central App

Then what's the story? I'm not aware of any recent update that included camera improvements. Share the info please!!

Sent from my Nexus 7 using AC Forums mobile app

 

[gtg465x]

Then what's the story? I'm not aware of any recent update that included camera improvements. Share the info please!!

Sent from my Nexus 7 using AC Forums mobile app

Most American Moto X's haven't received the update yet. 4.4.2 is available for Canadian and European Moto X's though. I no longer have a Moto X with 4.4. I would share comparison shots if I still did. Just wait for the update to hit the American Moto X's and you'll see. Don't expect it to turn the camera into an iPhone 5S or Lumia 1020 camera, but expect some usable indoor shots where it was just too grainy and overexposed before.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Hoff Woohoo]

I thought that 4.2.2 only had Nexus specific updates?

 

[Ry]

Most American Moto X's haven't received the update yet. 4.4.2 is available for Canadian and European Moto X's though. I no longer have a Moto X with 4.4. I would share comparison shots if I still did. Just wait for the update to hit the American Moto X's and you'll see. Don't expect it to turn the camera into an iPhone 5S or Lumia 1020 camera, but expect some usable indoor shots where it was just too grainy and overexposed before.

Posted via Android Central App

Uh. I doubt the camera updates for the Nexus 5 in Android 4.4.2 translate over to Moto Xs running 4.4.2 with Motorola's camera app.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Cozume]

Has anyone tried the Camera Awesome app? Someone recommended it on another thread and it gets good reviews.


https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.smugmug.android.cameraawesome&hl=en

http://phandroid.com/2013/11/12/camera-awesome-for-android-review/

 

[gtg465x]

Uh. I doubt the camera updates for the Nexus 5 in Android 4.4.2 translate over to Moto Xs running 4.4.2 with Motorola's camera app.

Posted via Android Central App

I didn't say that. Motorola made their own improvements. It has nothing to do with the Nexus 5 camera improvements. I'm speaking from experience, not from speculation.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Cozume]

I didn't say that. Motorola made their own improvements. It has nothing to do with the Nexus 5 camera improvements.

That's awesome! So were you one of the lucky few who got the 4.4.2 update early? I know some people did.

 

[redeyss]

I didn't say that. Motorola made their own improvements. It has nothing to do with the Nexus 5 camera improvements. I'm speaking from experience, not from speculation.

Posted via Android Central App

Good deal gtg!! I will report back after update which shouldn't be too long now on my unlocked T-Mobile X.

Sent from my XT1053 using AC Forums mobile app

 

[mtndewgood]

Love this phone but to be honest it's hard to get good pictures when indoors. I believe my old Pre did a better job. My original Nexus still does a better job. The fact that you can't adjust the MP size manually gets under my skin.

 

[Infinity]

If 4.4.2 included improvements to the camera I'm surprised they didn't mention that in the release notes.

https://motorola-global-portal.cust..._detail/a_id/98281/p/30,6720,8696/action/auth

 

[Cozume]

If 4.4.2 included improvements to the camera I'm surprised they didn't mention that in the release notes.

https://motorola-global-portal.cust..._detail/a_id/98281/p/30,6720,8696/action/auth

me, too.

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The fact that you can't adjust the MP size manually gets under my skin.

what does this do? I am a camera ***** so any help you can give me would be appreciated!

 

[el3ctronics]

If 4.4.2 included improvements to the camera I'm surprised they didn't mention that in the release notes.

https://motorola-global-portal.cust..._detail/a_id/98281/p/30,6720,8696/action/auth

Exactly...that's why I'm having trouble believing that the camera was really improved. That and the fact that Motorola put their camera on the Play Store just so they WOULDN'T have to wait for a full OS update to fix it.

 

[Infinity]

me, too.

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what does this do? I am a camera ***** so any help you can give me would be appreciated!

On the moto x you can't change it to take photos or record videos in a lower resolution using the stock camera app.