Change from Note 4 to Nexus 6. Surprising camera results inside...

[LeoRex]

Re: Is a change from the Note 4 worth it? Chime in!

The Note 4 does have a built-in advantage in the sense that the camera sensor, the Sony IMX240 is a better overall sensor than the IMX214 in the Nexus 6. The sensor is larger, allows more light in and has more, larger pixels. So all things being equal, the Note 4 should be able to take better pictures. And not having a dedicated camera app like OEMs have is a bit limiting. The Google Camera is a jack of all trades and doesn't have a rich feature set that we see in the cameras from Samsung and LG.

That being said, I've had the phone for nearly 8 months and it takes really good pictures. While the Google Camera is fairly basic, if I want to get cute, I can always load up one of several high quality third party camera apps.... but I find myself letting the Google Camera do most of the heavy lifting since 98% of the time, I just need it to focus and shoot.

About that.... My biggest complaint about the Nexus 5 was that it focused like a drunk on a weekend bender.... sometimes it wouldn't tighten up and take a clear picture. When I got my Nexus 6, I saw a little bit of focusing issues but they were much less than the 5. But it wasn't all the fast and as good as the HDR+ mode was, it took a while to take the pic.

Now, after I/O, Google rolled out two updates to the Google Camera.... two HUGE updates by the way. They updated the UI a bit to reflect the GC camera they showed in Android M and they made improvements in several areas that I've seen:

1) Focus speed and reliability on both stills and videos have noticeably improved. There's less focus bouncing when taking videos and for stills, it nails down focus quicker and more reliably. Video still needs some improvement... I had it start a video completely blurry one time... I still have to double check and tap to focus prior to starting. I wish they used phase detection rather than contrast detection Samsung and Apple both use phase detection, which is quicker and more reliable... LG uses auto-focus in conjunction with contrast detection to improve performance.

2) HDR+..... This is the Google Camera's hidden gem... In situations where you can use it, it almost always resulted a far greater picture than you would get in standard mode. Colors were better, noise reduced, lighting differences accounted for.... but its achilles heel was the fact that it took a relatively long time to take the picture, long enough to limit when and where you could use it. With the latest updates, the speed has increased dramatically which greatly increased the situations where you can use it... Just about the only time it isn't all that usefull is action shots. And make no mistake... if you can take the pic with HDR+ on, use it.

So while I'll say the Note 4 most likely has the better overall camera, the Nexus 6 can still perform well and give excellent shots. It might not be perfect (They need to handle low-light a little bit better) or able to perform as well as as the S6 or LG G4.... but it has not let me down.

 

[zkyevolved]

Re: Is a change from the Note 4 worth it? Chime in!

The Note 4 does have a built-in advantage in the sense that the camera sensor, the Sony IMX240 is a better overall sensor than the IMX214 in the Nexus 6. The sensor is larger, allows more light in and has more, larger pixels. So all things being equal, the Note 4 should be able to take better pictures. And not having a dedicated camera app like OEMs have is a bit limiting. The Google Camera is a jack of all trades and doesn't have a rich feature set that we see in the cameras from Samsung and LG.

That being said, I've had the phone for nearly 8 months and it takes really good pictures. While the Google Camera is fairly basic, if I want to get cute, I can always load up one of several high quality third party camera apps.... but I find myself letting the Google Camera do most of the heavy lifting since 98% of the time, I just need it to focus and shoot.

About that.... My biggest complaint about the Nexus 5 was that it focused like a drunk on a weekend bender.... sometimes it wouldn't tighten up and take a clear picture. When I got my Nexus 6, I saw a little bit of focusing issues but they were much less than the 5. But it wasn't all the fast and as good as the HDR+ mode was, it took a while to take the pic.

Now, after I/O, Google rolled out two updates to the Google Camera.... two HUGE updates by the way. They updated the UI a bit to reflect the GC camera they showed in Android M and they made improvements in several areas that I've seen:

1) Focus speed and reliability on both stills and videos have noticeably improved. There's less focus bouncing when taking videos and for stills, it nails down focus quicker and more reliably. Video still needs some improvement... I had it start a video completely blurry one time... I still have to double check and tap to focus prior to starting. I wish they used phase detection rather than contrast detection Samsung and Apple both use phase detection, which is quicker and more reliable... LG uses auto-focus in conjunction with contrast detection to improve performance.

2) HDR+..... This is the Google Camera's hidden gem... In situations where you can use it, it almost always resulted a far greater picture than you would get in standard mode. Colors were better, noise reduced, lighting differences accounted for.... but its achilles heel was the fact that it took a relatively long time to take the picture, long enough to limit when and where you could use it. With the latest updates, the speed has increased dramatically which greatly increased the situations where you can use it... Just about the only time it isn't all that usefull is action shots. And make no mistake... if you can take the pic with HDR+ on, use it.

So while I'll say the Note 4 most likely has the better overall camera, the Nexus 6 can still perform well and give excellent shots. It might not be perfect (They need to handle low-light a little bit better) or able to perform as well as as the S6 or LG G4.... but it has not let me down.

Thanks for the very detailed reply...

If you look at the pictures above, I can only say one of two things: either my Note 4 is defective, or my Nexus 6 is truly a better camera. I took these lowlight shots for the forum

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/7807278/Nexus 6/Camera Comparison with Note 4/lowlight 2.PNG



How can anyone think the Note 4 picture is actually better?

In this picture, I see them as actually being equals
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/7807278/Nexus 6/Camera Comparison with Note 4/lowlight 3.PNG


And in this one picture, yes, just this one, I see the Note 4 pulling ahead.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u...parison with Note 4/closeups of the boxes.jpg


Generally speaking, I see the Nexus 6 giving me better quality.... Quite strange, right? I bought the Nexus 6 thinking it would be worse, but I guess Samsung isn't doing such a great job with their optimizations. On my Note 4 I got it with KK, then 2 updates for Lollipop. Each was worse than the last. I'm now back onto KK because it performs a lot better. Tomorrow I'll take some more detailed pictures during the day, hopefully. By the way, all of these pictures from TODAY were with HDR on. With HDR off, I don't like the quality on the Nexus 6. But the Note 4 does a terrible job with HDR for some reason... The best example is the glass & metal candle holder (the one with the star).

 

[Clocks]

I think your note 4 was defective.

 

[zkyevolved]

Could be... I would actually expect my Note 4 to be defective after having them both and everyone praising the Note 4... I'll think about asking for a replacement, which I know they'll give me. Then I could do a 3 way comparison! Old Note 4 on KK, New Note 4 on Lollipop and Nexus 6 on 5.1.1. But to be honest, I'm actually enjoying my Nexus 6. Stock and fast and no lags. Awesome sound quality. I'm still testing battery life seeing I got it on Monday... It drained SUPER fast on Monday, but I hadn't charged it then. Let's see today

 

[LeoRex]

I wouldn't say it's defective... Just that the while the Note may have a better camera, depending on the parameters picked by the camera, you might not always get the better shot.

The gap isn't that wide. The camera is the Nexus 6 may not be the best, but it can still take excellent pictures.

 

[Diskoman]

I've had the N6 since about 2 weeks after launch, and a few Notes. The Note 4 does have a better overall camera, but the difference is very small due to the OIS. In fact, Google's HDR+ and Panorama bests the Note 4. The Note 4 has a clear advantage in auto focus, and in focusing speed. The recent camera update on the N6 really helped a lot though, and I was VERY pleased with the photos and video I got at a recent concert. It still focuses and saves photos slower than the Note 4, but there's not such a huge difference anymore.

To me, the advantages of the N6 outweigh those of the Note 4, especially if you don't use the S Pen much. It takes very good pictures now, and 5.1.1 makes it fly. Just future proof yourself and get the 64GB version.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[zkyevolved]

Yes, I've noticed the focusing speed "issue." Which isn't really an issue, it's just the camera.

Hopefully it can be better improved upon with future updates. Regardless, I'm really enjoying the phone and camera. I find it takes better pictures in HDR mode than the Note 4. Without HDR+ it takes very VERY fast pictures, but the quality is just all right. Better for food pictures or something like that. But more than enough. Now, the REAL pros of the Nexus 6 for me are: speed (wow does this guy fly), fluidity (no hiccups, not even once), screen size (huge!). I didn't mind the Note 4 size, but if we could get the 6 inches into a smaller form factor, great. if not, this is my limit for body size. Any larger and I won't be able to keep it in my pocket! I had the Lumia 1520, awesome device, but HUGE. I couldn't sit down with it in my pocket; very uncomfortable. Then I see my mom with her 4" device and I laugh haha. So small!

 

[bigsmoke79]

Been watching this thread with interest currently have a note 4 and I like it but having recently bought a nexus 9 I fancy maybe coming back to the nexus 6 had one when it launched but I think 5.1.1 is alot better on it now.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Clocks]

Been watching this thread with interest currently have a note 4 and I like it but having recently bought a nexus 9 I fancy maybe coming back to the nexus 6 had one when it launched but I think 5.1.1 is alot better on it now.

Posted via the Android Central App

If you're OK stepping from a "great" camera to a "good" camera, and losing about an hour of screen on time, then the nexus 6 blows away the note 4 in every other way (in my opinion).

 

[zkyevolved]

If you're OK stepping from a "great" camera to a "good" camera, and losing about an hour of screen on time, then the nexus 6 blows away the note 4 in every other way (in my opinion).

I can't agree with you about the camera. I find focus times slower, yes, but image quality to actually be superior. Take a look at any of the pictures I've painstakingly taken and reviewed, cropped and posted.

I think a lot of people have been misinformed about the Note 4's "superior" camera and the same goes for the Nexus' "inferior camera."

Today I took this SUPER picture while playing with a bunch of kids at a camp and with my dog. I mean... Come on... How is this picture NOT superb?



Screen on time yes, it's less than on the Note 4. It also feels a bit warmer, but actually, the temperature is cooler. So I guess heat dissipation wasn't a biggie for them. What I mean is that my device feels hotter in the hand. I played 5 minutes of a game on my Note and 5 of the same game on the Nexus, monitored their batteries & CPUs while both were in Airplane mode to be able to get the same settings and configuration (so wireless radios and notifications don't mean anything) - and Note 4 went to 50 degrees C while my Nexus was a 40 in the same time, but my Nexus felt warmer.

I also played locally a 20 min video and I actually lost 1% more on the Note 4 than on the Nexus in the same time, same video, etc.

Highly unconclusive, but it makes me feel like the Nexus is def. a step up over the Note in almost every way, especially since the price drops and the new Android M - people have been saying that speed of the camera and quality has been greatly increased. So... That's also something to look forward to.

For me, the design and look of the Nexus 6 is far superior to the Note 4. I was also doubting between the Nexus 6 and the LG G4 - damn, that's an ugly device (in my opinion), and the leather backings are what save it. But I'm against the leather unless it's synthetic (poor animals ... :-\ )...]

 

[Clocks]

I'm glad you're having a better experience with the camera over the note 4. I still see clear variations (with the note 4 winning) day to day as my wife and I will frequently snap the same photos at the same time of our son (she uses the note 4 as a daily driver). But I have to say it's a serious step up from the nexus 5.

 

[zkyevolved]

I'm glad you're having a better experience with the camera over the note 4. I still see clear variations (with the note 4 winning) day to day as my wife and I will frequently snap the same photos at the same time of our son (she uses the note 4 as a daily driver). But I have to say it's a serious step up from the nexus 5.

Hmm... I have to admit, all of my shots were of things that were standing still (except for my parrot and my dog). I'll have to take them both out to get some action shots before I sent my Note 4 back! Haha.

 

[Clocks]

Hmm... I have to admit, all of my shots were of things that were standing still (except for my parrot and my dog). I'll have to take them both out to get some action shots before I sent my Note 4 back! Haha.

I wouldn't recommend doing a side by side of the front camera the note 4 front camera looks as good as many rear cameras do on other phones. I see selfies my wife takes with our son and my first thought is always "how did you manage to frame that picture with your hand twisted around so you could use the rear camera?"

The nexus 6, not so much