The Droid Turbo Camera Quandry

[ancientdroid]

Does this "slight pause" vary with the lighting conditions? That is, if there is bright sunlight there is an almost instantaneous shot, but if there is low light and you are not using the flash there is a delay?

The slight pause is always there for me and is honestly my only disappointment with this phone so far. But I'm confident this will be resolved when Lollipop arrives.

As an example, if I go outside now in natural light and hold my hand up in front of the camera, press the screen to take a pic, then subsequently move my hand, the picture taken will not include my hand in the shot. That is quite the delay. And its not like I'm moving my hand suddenly either. This is with HDR off.

I do notice that with the flash on in lower light shots there is more of a delay but that still doesn't explain the delay in natural light. Either way it is something that needs to be addressed but not something that is going to make me return the phone.

 

[Wobblin30]

It seems like the expert reviewers take still shots, which is great if you want to pick apart things I don't really see and don't have a strong opinion on.

I want a reviewer to build a handheld mount that will hold and fire off 6 phones at once and follow their kid around the house with all of the lights on and windows open. My turbo falls flat on its face in that scenario while my other phones haven't been great either, but have been at least usable.

Lack of OIS is clearly a downfall with this camera

 

[ancientdroid]

One last comment on this. The shutter in the below photo was pressed at the exact same time on my droid turbo and my 2014 moto x.

Neither one belongs in a magazine, but my dog was able to sit up before the photo was taken on the turbo.

I'm really hoping android L resolves this.

/edit - HDR off on both cameras, and before i pressed the shutter on either i let both phones pre-focus on the dog.

View attachment 146061

That is my exact experience so far as well. And we have two Turbos in the house of which display the same behavior.

 

[wolf_walker]

Search youtube for "Motorola Droid Turbo Camera Speed"
Faster than my s4 looks like. If FedEx ever get's it's stuff together I'll find out for myself.

 

[ancientdroid]

Search youtube for "Motorola Droid Turbo Camera Speed"
Faster than my s4 looks like. If FedEx ever get's it's stuff together I'll find out for myself.

Just watched the video. The two devices I have are slower then that. I'll see if I can post a video to YouTube later this afternoon.

 

[wolf_walker]

Just watched the video. The two devices I have are slower then that. I'll see if I can post a video to YouTube later this afternoon.

I believe it but no idea why. I know on my previous phones, available lighting has a huge impact on both camera performance and photo quality, more so than regular cameras since it's a tiny little thing despite the fancy MP talk. Might also try another camera app just for the heck of it. I'll report back when I get mine. Honestly, the dog photo posted above, my S4 don't do any better if it't not really bright so that the "shutter speed" can be fast, or slow, whichever it is.

 

[Olittle]

It's a very good and real question. I made the same change you are considering, RMHD to the Turbo. Overall I am pleased but the camera is far from perfect. I'm still getting used to it but my issues have been over exposed shots in low light with flash on auto, under exposed shooting outside with the sun behind the subject (to the point of the subject basically being blacked out), blurred shots with moving subjects....pretty much if it's still and in good light it's way above average, that's it's wheelhouse.

I attribute some of the disparity in comments here to a fanboy attitude that seems prevalent with device forums....I know that will not be popular but it's my honest opinion.

I'm no Android expert, far from it but the way I read the L camera update stuff the only changes are going to be in manual settings and access to HDR+....right? If so I'm not sure it will address the issues I'm having....?

 

[mimsiesboy]

Hey to the op, go buy one, you have 14 days to return, what's better than that? This is the best android out there currently imo, you will fall in love, swept away,,, or take it back no worries, it's just a phone with a 21 mg camera on it.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[wolf_walker]

I suspect that OIS bit is an effort to combat this very issue with low light. When there is less light hitting the sensor, it has to hit it for longer to have a decent image, just the way those things work. Same reason I use a tripod with an SLR for low light stuff, less movement better photo. My expectations are relatively low for a cell phone camera, even in 2014.

 

[PowrDroid]

Hey to the op, go buy one, you have 14 days to return, what's better than that? This is the best android out there currently imo, you will fall in love, swept away,,, or take it back no worries, it's just a phone with a 21 mg camera on it.

Posted via the Android Central App

I'll probably end up getting a Turbo. My contract is up on the 30th. I'm probably going to go to Verizon EDGE and I'm not sure they will let me do that ahead of my contract expiration date. I might go to Verizon tonight with questions.

 

[Firedogee]

I suspect that OIS bit is an effort to combat this very issue with low light. When there is less light hitting the sensor, it has to hit it for longer to have a decent image, just the way those things work. Same reason I use a tripod with an SLR for low light stuff, less movement better photo. My expectations are relatively low for a cell phone camera, even in 2014.

Good point, and now that I look it up I don't think the Turbo even has Digital Image Stabilization. Being a photographer, do you have any thoughts on this?

Sent Turbo-fast from my bulletproof 64GB Droid Turbo

 

[Clocks]

Good point, and now that I look it up I don't think the Turbo even has Digital Image Stabilization. Being a photographer, do you have any thoughts on this?

Sent Turbo-fast from my bulletproof 64GB Droid Turbo

I understand it does have digital stabilization for 1080 video.

 

[Firedogee]

I understand it does have digital stabilization for 1080 video.

What about still photos? That is what we were discussing right?

Sent Turbo-fast from my bulletproof 64GB Droid Turbo

 

[wolf_walker]

I'm a lot more some geek with a $500 camera than I am photographer. But I am a big fan of photo taking and have done/do a lot of it.
I've never been a fan of digital image stabilization, or any digital altering really, but it's a necessary evil with the compromises that
are made with a cell phone camera. I'll look into it a bit, and if goofy fedex ever gets here I'll have some hands on with the DT.

 

[Clocks]

Search youtube for "Motorola Droid Turbo Camera Speed"
Faster than my s4 looks like. If FedEx ever get's it's stuff together I'll find out for myself.

That's about how fast mine is too.

 

[PowrDroid]

That's about how fast mine is too.

Is this the video where the phone's display takes up almost the whole screen? And is only about 30 seconds long?

If I saw the same video as you, it appears to be indoor shots with lots of light. I would say that is acceptable shutter speed but somewhat on the slow side.

 

[Clocks]

Is this the video where the phone's display takes up almost the whole screen? And is only about 30 seconds long?

If I saw the same video as you, it appears to be indoor shots with lots of light. I would say that is acceptable shutter speed but somewhat on the slow side.

This one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kEK_xl80jI

 

[PowrDroid]

This one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kEK_xl80jI

Yup, that's it. Looks like he has a white screen draped in front of the vertical edge of a fireplace chimney with the lights cranked way up. I mean, what is that white square in the bottom half of the phone's display? Under these conditions I hope the shutter would be fairly fast.

 

[BlueBlazer60]

As I understand it, this update to the camera, via Lollipop, will allow for added functionality and features. However, (correct me if I'm wrong) it also means that Moto or Google or some other app developer will need to update their camera app so as to be able to access these improvements. In other words, when I get Lollipop on my new Droid Turbo, my camera will not instantly turn into a new beast.




.

Someone more knowledgeable than I would have to speak to your point. I have never coded an Android app. But if as the article states Lollipop camera changes are opening up areas that in the past required using an app to access it might not be as difficult as you expect. My guess would be that if Lollipop allows direct access to the additional camera function that at the very least Google camera would be enhanced for the new functions.

Any knowledgeable app developer care to explain what would have to occur to have the expanded camera access available to a Turbo user?

 

[wolf_walker]

Yup, that's it. Looks like he has a white screen draped in front of the vertical edge of a fireplace chimney with the lights cranked way up. I mean, what is that white square in the bottom half of the phone's display? Under these conditions I hope the shutter would be fairly fast.

One of the problems with this conversation, as you pointed out, is that unless one has a light meter or manually locks all the settings(which may not even be possible), the point is rather moot as no two cases are the same short of pitch dark and maybe full outside sun overhead brightness. You could do a fair replication with a given, say hundred watt, light of the same color temp/brand/etc in a photobox the same angle/distance/etc but beyond that, it's all apples and oranges imo despite being the same hardware. This is why one person has a faster shutter than another or has better perceived shot quality I suspect rather than a difference in the devices. If you want to get a taste of such go read a review for a mid level point and shoot at dpreview dot com and look at the lengths they go to get comparable results from device to device.
Occasionally I've seen photography guys review cell cameras, but not often.
I'd say if it's not "do'in-it" for you, try a different one. But don't expect consistent miracles from a tiny little
$20 digicam. It's amazing they do as well as they do with so little to work with.