camera high ISO on auto

[Danny Long2]

Hi. Not had the phone long and pretty disappointed with the camera.
Main gripe at the minute is as soon as the light is less than full on daylight it cranks the iso right up. It results in something much brighter than the scene actually is but also loads of noise!

Any ideas pls. Thanks.

 

[Rukbat]

So set it to manual. No one concerned with the quality of the pictures lets a camera decide on settings. (I just wish there was a full SLR setting app, so I could set the ISO, the speed and the opening manually, even if it resulted in an over or underexposed picture. Maybe that's what I wanted this time.)

 

[Eric Webb]

Hi,
I agree with sometimes manually setting the controls as you seem to understand how they work. But hey, automatic mode is always fastest when it works--as with Nikon or Canon cameras, lenses, and firmware. Plus, the Galaxy S10 is expensive and touts about the best smartphone camera, so...

First, can you describe the scene details or send an example of a photo you didn't like? Was there any uneven lighting or was the light dispersal fairly uniform? It seems that you understand the settings involved--so I'm not questioning your knowledge--just trying to understand the specific situation.

Second, do you use the focus locking and tracking setting since the last system updates (8 or 9)? When the focus object is right on target, the automatic setting values shouldn't be too bad--at least since the last updates.

The focus locking and tracking firmware is *supposed* to work along with the stabilization software to generate the best aperture, ISO speed and F-stop settings. This even seems to help when the focus object is *stationary* to your shooting position. Odd.

Would you also mind experimenting with this feature on and off and reporting any differences in the shot settings given your lighting and subjects?

Thanks!

 

[Mooncatt]

Such is the problem of relying on random programmers with auto modes. They don't know what effect you're going for, or how you want tricky lighting to appear in the image.

I think most cameras try to limit the exposure time in auto mode to limit motion blur/camera shake. For example, in pitch black my LG V20 maxes out the ISO, but still only goes to 1/7" exposure time in auto mode. In manual mode, I can go to a 30" exposure. You can try switching to manual, then use the exposure compensation button to fine tune while still letting the app make on the fly adjustments. If it's too bright, set the exposure compensation to a negative number (meaning you want the image under-exposed relative to what the app thinks should be a proper exposure).

 

[Danny Long2]

Hi,
I agree with sometimes manually setting the controls as you seem to understand how they work. But hey, automatic mode is always fastest when it works--as with Nikon or Canon cameras, lenses, and firmware. Plus, the Galaxy S10 is expensive and touts about the best smartphone camera, so...

First, can you describe the scene details or send an example of a photo you didn't like? Was there any uneven lighting or was the light dispersal fairly uniform? It seems that you understand the settings involved--so I'm not questioning your knowledge--just trying to understand the specific situation.

Second, do you use the focus locking and tracking setting since the last system updates (8 or 9)? When the focus object is right on target, the automatic setting values shouldn't be too bad--at least since the last updates.

The focus locking and tracking firmware is *supposed* to work along with the stabilization software to generate the best aperture, ISO speed and F-stop settings. This even seems to help when the focus object is *stationary* to your shooting position. Odd.

Would you also mind experimenting with this feature on and off and reporting any differences in the shot settings given your lighting and subjects?

Thanks!

Thanks for this helpful reply. I really don't understand the settings! I just like auto, maybe I was spoilt with my last phone. I have attached a photo to me it's bad with a lot of noise especially when pinch to zoom. Thanks

 

[Danny Long2]

Such is the problem of relying on random programmers with auto modes. They don't know what effect you're going for, or how you want tricky lighting to appear in the image.

I think most cameras try to limit the exposure time in auto mode to limit motion blur/camera shake. For example, in pitch black my LG V20 maxes out the ISO, but still only goes to 1/7" exposure time in auto mode. In manual mode, I can go to a 30" exposure. You can try switching to manual, then use the exposure compensation button to fine tune while still letting the app make on the fly adjustments. If it's too bright, set the exposure compensation to a negative number (meaning you want the image under-exposed relative to what the app thinks should be a proper exposure).

Problem is my daughter doesn't stay still for long! And when you don't understand the settings by the time I try I have missed the moment

 

[Mooncatt]

Problem is my daughter doesn't stay still for long! And when you don't understand the settings by the time I try I have missed the moment

They aren't hard to learn, so practicing should be easy. The display acts as a live preview, so you can immediately see the effect of a change (or at least a close approximation). If you'd like try it out, I'd be happy to give you some pointers. I don't shoot a lot of auto mode photos myself. After a while, adjusting the manual controls became second nature to me.

 

[Eric Webb]

They aren't hard to learn, so practicing should be easy. The display acts as a live preview, so you can immediately see the effect of a change (or at least a close approximation). If you'd like try it out, I'd be happy to give you some pointers. I don't shoot a lot of auto mode photos myself. After a while, adjusting the manual controls became second nature to me.

Hey, take Mooncatt up on the offer. BTW, the posted photo was really compressed, so I couldn't get the camera values from the file details.

And Mooncatt, why not give pointers in this thread, and help a lot of folks?

When coming from the DSLR ( and even film ) camera point of view, you're right--these things aren't that hard to master. They also help you understand how best to use auto mode.

Some things like the ISO film speed don't exactly translate to digital, but they have meaning.

Hmm...except when I recently took car photos in a garage bay. My S10 ISO was 640 and 200 within 1 second of two pictures, which look identical. So there's that.

Anyway, thanks for your offer!!!

Regards

 

[Mooncatt]

And Mooncatt, why not give pointers in this thread, and help a lot of folks?

Thanks for the kind words. I've just found that usually people that make these sorts of threads aren't keen on manual mode, so I don't want to overwhelm them with info they aren't interested in. So I figured I'd ask first.