Note 4 camera and moving objects (i.e. kids)

[meg2013]

I have read a few posts about this, but I haven't seen anyone post a solution they loved.

I adore my note 4, but I'm about to go exchange it for an iphone 6 (I know, I know). I love android and all the functionality, and the note 4 is great. But - I can't, for the life of me, get it to take good pictures of objects that are always slightly in motion - most specifically, my kids indoors. I have a million pictures with kids' faces blurry. I have tried sports mode. I have tried playing with the ISO. I have tried doing burst mode (helped a tiny bit). I am still just getting tons of blur. My phone camera is the primary camera I always have with me. I borrowed my mom's iphone 6 to see if it's just me, and I can get clear, fast pics, pretty much every time with her phone camera, no adjustment needed.

Help me! I by far prefer the note, but if I can't get good pictures, it will have to go.

 

[LaTuFu]

Do you have HDR on or off when you're taking these shots?

I don't know how to specifically answer your question, unfortunately. I started out having similar struggles when I got mine. But after downloading all of the available modes, and working with the camera frequently, I now get pretty solid results with it.

 

[sanch3z90]

Is this what you're talking about? If yes, the trick it to keep the phone steady in one position. Do not follow the moving object, the moving object pretty much has to pass/run in front of you, do not follow it tho.

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[meg2013]

No, I just mean when you are indoors (so no bright sunlight, I get good results outside!), and you are trying to get pictures of slightly moving objects in relatively low light. What can I do with the settings to make this better? I have tried HDR on and off.

 

[fragologist]

I have read a few posts about this, but I haven't seen anyone post a solution they loved.

I adore my note 4, but I'm about to go exchange it for an iphone 6 (I know, I know). I love android and all the functionality, and the note 4 is great. But - I can't, for the life of me, get it to take good pictures of objects that are always slightly in motion - most specifically, my kids indoors. I have a million pictures with kids' faces blurry. I have tried sports mode. I have tried playing with the ISO. I have tried doing burst mode (helped a tiny bit). I am still just getting tons of blur. My phone camera is the primary camera I always have with me. I borrowed my mom's iphone 6 to see if it's just me, and I can get clear, fast pics, pretty much every time with her phone camera, no adjustment needed.

Help me! I by far prefer the note, but if I can't get good pictures, it will have to go.

I am having the same issue and so is my wife. I lobve this phone and taking pics isn't high on my list most needed features but it is for my wife. She loves the note but wants to switch back to iphone for the picture quality. I have downloaded every feature mode from samsung and tweeked every feature I can think and it takes blurry pics when anything is in motion, I hope a software update can fix this.

 

[fragologist]

Do you have HDR on or off when you're taking these shots?

I don't know how to specifically answer your question, unfortunately. I started out having similar struggles when I got mine. But after downloading all of the available modes, and working with the camera frequently, I now get pretty solid results with it.

Please be more specific about the modes/settings you used. Thanks

 

[NVNJ]

Ok good. It's not just my phone. I'm with the op. I love this phone but it takes bad pics when anything is in motion even slightly. It's amazing how many great writeups this phone has for its camera. In my opiniom, it has got nothing camera wise on my old iPhone 5s or even my 4s for that matter.

Also I thought this phone had image stabilization? If I take a pic of a still object and my hand isn't 100% still the pic comes out blurry.

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[fragologist]

I read this about the galaxy s5...but this option does not exist on the note 4. Is there a 3rd party camera app with this feature?

How to Fix Slow Galaxy S5 Camera Performance

 

[NVNJ]

Here's an example. Took a pic of my TV.
Guy walking across is blurry.

Also a car shot.

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[fragologist]

Here's an example. Took a pic of my TV.
Guy walking across is blurry.

Also a car shot.

Posted via the Android Central App

Same exact problem I have. I've tried it with HDR off and on. Even burst mode and still doesn't work. Apparently from the article I posted earlier, the image stabilization might be the problem...if that makes any kind of sense.

 

[NVNJ]

Same exact problem I have. I've tried it with HDR off and on. Even burst mode and still doesn't work. Apparently from the article I posted earlier, the image stabilization might be the problem...if that makes any kind of sense.

Yeah maybe the image stabilization. It's like non existent. I did some research and it seems that this is a common issue with the Note 4. Curious if others watching this thread can chime in.

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[meg2013]

Thanks all. At least I feel like I'm not crazy. I went to talk to the best buy guys about my problem and they were like 'but it's 16 mp.' It can be high mp but still have motion blur if the shutter speed isn't fast enough especially in indoor light. I just wish there were a good fix. I love everything else about it, and really don't want to be on iPhone, but....

 

[NVNJ]

Thanks all. At least I feel like I'm not crazy. I went to talk to the best buy guys about my problem and they were like 'but it's 16 mp.' It can be high mp but still have motion blur if the shutter speed isn't fast enough especially in indoor light. I just wish there were a good fix. I love everything else about it, and really don't want to be on iPhone, but....

There is blur even with the slightest movement. That to me is a problem. A rather big problem. I need to find out if it's a Note 4 issue in general or only a select few. I'm going to follow this thread and reach out to Samsung in a few days if I can't get anything solid here.

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[SteveISU]

Very minimal on the Nexus 6

 

[George Collins1]

Here's a test of the Note 4 vs IPHONE 6 cameras: http://www.cnet.com/news/samsung-galaxy-note-4-camera-shootout-versus-iphone-6-plus-lg-g3/

You can try going into settings, and changing the ISO from Auto to 400 or 800. Depending on the metering mode you use, if there is a bright light source (like a TV screen) it can fool the auto ISO into thinking it's a brighter scene, but the shutter speed will be slow to try and capture the dark parts of the scene. This would result in blurred movement. Indoor pics can be tough even with high-cost camera gear, especially when it is pretty dark, has areas of high brightness and much darker areas in the same scene, etc.

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[meg2013]

Thanks georgecollins1. I tried those tricks, no luck. If something is completely stationary, it's fine. Or if it's bright light, it's fine. But get a moving child inside, and no way.

 

[dralex1981]

The only way to eliminate motion with my 2 year old daughter in low light situations is to force the flash on. That works always. Like you said, there are no issues in bright light situations. When the flash is on, the shutter speed is significantly faster and there are no motion issues. Try this. It worked for me

 

[muzzy996]

Not sure if people realize this but essentially what is being described is the exposure programming's propensity to use shutter speeds that are too low to capture stop action in low light situations. The images in NVNJ's post in post 9 of this thread show no movement of the TV itself but obvious movement in the images the TV produces. This indicates the shutter speed was high enough to be stable for still shots (the TV isn't moving) but not high enough for stop action.

As for the iPhone vs this camera its likely that if the iPhone is producing better action shot results in low light that its exposure metering is pushing higher shutter speeds which result in that stop action.

Personally, I just don't reach for a cell phone camera in low light indoor shots for anything but stills/portraits. If I know I'm going to photograph action indoors I'll bring or reach for my DSLR, set the ISO to a high enough setting to give me a shutter speed of over 1/120 or higher and I'm good (unless its sports in a gym at which point I'll push to much higher shutter speeds).

Not sure what the solution is for the Note 4. I poked around in a few camera apps and haven't found anything yet to gain full control over shutter speed which really is what is required to solve the issue people in this thread are having.

 

[triangle85]

Camera is the only Note 4 dissapointment. I read tons on reviews before i bought mine but boy was i disappointed when i took first indoor shots of my daughter. My girlfriends iPhone 6 is much better at taking indoor photos. I hope they will fix it with future software.

 

[NVNJ]

Camera is the only Note 4 dissapointment. I read tons on reviews before i bought mine but boy was i disappointed when i took first indoor shots of my daughter. My girlfriends iPhone 6 is much better at taking indoor photos. I hope they will fix it with future software.

It's mind boggling how the camera has received so many great reviews. It's starting to seem obvious that it's a camera issue and not just a select few phones. Hopefully we can get this corrected with a software update. I have a 2 month old and nothing and would like to capture some great shots of him.

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