Considering an N4. Camera quality?

[swebb]

The camera is average compared to the current competition. Iphone, Galaxy 3, and one X are all significantly better overall. The N4 is good when the scene is well lit but suffers otherwise. Since many shots of your children would be indoors, you should look elsewhere.

 

[minnemike]

It does the job for me quite well. But really, the differences are so slight that if you are concerned over them, you should be using an actual camera for photos at that point.

 

[Hubertsng]

It does the job for me quite well. But really, the differences are so slight that if you are concerned over them, you should be using an actual camera for photos at that point.

Not really. In low light, the nexus 4 is horrible

Sent from my Nexus 4

 

[Citizen Coyote]

My camera usage is basically photographing my kids. That might be indoor or outdoor. Mostly just to keep on the phone/PC, posting to Facebook etc. and occasionally printing a few out on 6x4" photo paper. One thing I do think the iPhone 5 is good at though, is shutter speed. Gives me the ability to snap away many photos in quick succession and weed out the worst from the best. I'm not convinced from the replies here and some reviews I've read that I can achieve the same with the N4.

You can access the camera from the lock screen with the N4. I would say it takes about 4 seconds to go from phone off to ready to shoot. As for burst mode, it will take shots as fast as you can hit the button (although if you're tracking something they may not always be in focus). You can also take stills from within video mode, which is nice. Other Android phones like the HTC One X+ mentioned above also have excellent and fast cameras.

The one thing about the Nexus is it's cheap to buy (relatively speaking) and if you don't like it you should have no problems finding a buyer for it. If you're still on the fence after looking at comparison photos, I'd say go for it and see for yourself. Alternatively, since T-Mobile shops are now starting to stock it, you may be able to play with one yourself and make direct comparisons to your iPhone.

 

[sam59]

IMHO the camera's disappointing and as someone said above, shutter speeds are slow and results variable. I'd keep your iPhone. I'd have definitely bought an iPhone if they were cheaper (UK) as I take a lot of photos on my phone.
Only took 2 short video clips and they were ok. Perfectly watchable.
Think the nexus is a cheaper alternative to an iPhone rather than a direct threat to iPhone sales personally.

 

[Chris Flowers]

Thanks for all your input peeps. It is so tempting to get one and see for myself, then sell either phone depending on my experience. Might first try and get a hands on though.


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[codeda]

That is a really useful thread, thank you.

For me it is reliability. Consistency. With my s3 all my pictures just turned out good. With the n4 some of mine are good some are OK and a good chunk look awful ( mostly inside). Plus I have to fiddle with the settings all the time to get a decent one. I don't want to have to fiddle so much on the fly, I just want to take a picture.

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[Chris Flowers]

For me it is reliability. Consistency. With my s3 all my pictures just turned out good. With the n4 some of mine are good some are OK and a good chunk look awful ( mostly inside). Plus I have to fiddle with the settings all the time to get a decent one. I don't want to have to fiddle so much on the fly, I just want to take a picture.

Sent from my Nexus 10 using Android Central Forums

I think we're on the same page mate. I want the same from my phone camera. I think I'll stick with the iPhone 5 for now.


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[thepktrckt]

The other alternative would be to buy the Nexus 4 and live with both for a month or two and sell the lesser of the two. You won't be out more than $50-100 to know what OS and phone you feel is right for you rather than speculating.

 

[turb0wned]

Camera is garbage.

 

[nokia4life]

The other alternative would be to buy the Nexus 4 and live with both for a month or two and sell the lesser of the two. You won't be out more than $50-100 to know what OS and phone you feel is right for you rather than speculating.

That's what I have done I have the iPhone 5 and my nexus 4 will be here tomorrow I will sell which ever one that does not meet all of my needs.


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[badbrad17]

I think that in reality the bigger question should be, are you buying a phone or a camera. If the camera is the most important then you will be disappointed. As others have said, it takes some great shots but not super fast and on the fly. I would be willing to bet most of the shots on XDA were not the first attempt. Candid shots are far and few between. But I have found that after some playing you can certainly get by. But for me it is a phone first and a camera second or third.

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[Chris Flowers]

I think that in reality the bigger question should be, are you buying a phone or a camera. If the camera is the most important then you will be disappointed. As others have said, it takes some great shots but not super fast and on the fly. I would be willing to bet most of the shots on XDA were not the first attempt. Candid shots are far and few between. But I have found that after some playing you can certainly get by. But for me it is a phone first and a camera second or third.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums

I know what you're saying, however these days of technological convergence, consumers want a device that performs well in all areas. It's not so much a case of 'phone first anything else second' anymore for a lot of people. For example in my own usage requirements of my iPhone 5, it's used roughly 50% for data connectivity, 15% camera usage, 15% apps and games, 15% texts with actual phone usage making up about the last 5%. I barely make a call, perhaps once or twice a week. I probably receive a call a two to three times a week.


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[badbrad17]

I know what you're saying, however these days of technological convergence, consumers want a device that performs well in all areas. It's not so much a case of 'phone first anything else second' anymore for a lot of people. For example in my own usage requirements of my iPhone 5, it's used roughly 50% for data connectivity, 15% camera usage, 15% apps and games, 15% texts with actual phone usage making up about the last 5%. I barely make a call, perhaps once or twice a week. I probably receive a call a two to three times a week.


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Right yet for someone else it could be completely different. I want everything too but for me updates are more important than the camera. And customization is more important than anything. So the Nexus 4 is perfect for me. There is no perfect device in all areas. The closest is the S3 and Note 2 in terms of covering all features but HTC still does everything better without the battery and SD card. IPhone lacks customization etc. You always make some concession at some point.

I just took a bunch of photos in my house with my kids. We were goofing around and just all taking pics. Honestly the camera on this phone is pretty good. I hope they do a bit more to the software after the next update. If they do the camera will rock. As mentioned the editing software in the stock gallery app is great. I'd never used it before but it gives lots of added features.

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[nokia4life]

Right yet for someone else it could be completely different. I want everything too but for me updates are more important than the camera. And customization is more important than anything. So the Nexus 4 is perfect for me. There is no perfect device in all areas. The closest is the S3 and Note 2 in terms of covering all features but HTC still does everything better without the battery and SD card. IPhone lacks customization etc. You always make some concession at some point.

I just took a bunch of photos in my house with my kids. We were goofing around and just all taking pics. Honestly the camera on this phone is pretty good. I hope they do a bit more to the software after the next update. If they do the camera will rock. As mentioned the editing software in the stock gallery app is great. I'd never used it before but it gives lots of added features.

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You have a good point


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[Chris Flowers]

Right yet for someone else it could be completely different. I want everything too but for me updates are more important than the camera. And customization is more important than anything. So the Nexus 4 is perfect for me. There is no perfect device in all areas. The closest is the S3 and Note 2 in terms of covering all features but HTC still does everything better without the battery and SD card. IPhone lacks customization etc. You always make some concession at some point.

I just took a bunch of photos in my house with my kids. We were goofing around and just all taking pics. Honestly the camera on this phone is pretty good. I hope they do a bit more to the software after the next update. If they do the camera will rock. As mentioned the editing software in the stock gallery app is great. I'd never used it before but it gives lots of added features.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums

Agreed that everyone's needs and requirements are different, but an unwritten line is drawn under what is an acceptable quality for each component of a device in line with technological advances and periods in time.

Too many N4 owners in this thread alone have stated its 'garbage' and for a device in this moment in technological time, it's a poor effort by LG and Google to put out a device to compete amongst others which clearly have much better cameras.

It may tick all your boxes for satisfaction, but it would appear that it's below par for the current standard amongst camera phones and its hard to find a review that disagrees.


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[teleclimber]

Does it have to be an N4? The advantage of Android is that if a phone doesn't hit all your points, you can look at other phones.

The Sony Experia Z (I think) is supposed to have an awesome camera.

Edit: personally the N4 hits all the right points for me. But I do agree that it's not the best camera of all phones out there. Still, I have taken pics I am very happy with.

 

[DeadpoolJunior]

I think the camera on this phone is pretty good but there are better options. Honestly, my brothers HTC One S (which is considered mid-range in specs) has a better camera. Can I get great shots from my Nexus 4? Yes. You can get great shots with any phone. I've even seen some good ones from the Galaxy Nexus thread and their 5MP camera. But overall, I would still say get the N4. If a camera is your end all be all, then as others said you might just want to get a point and shoot. But if you want a great phone with a good camera, you can't go wrong with the N4 in my opinion. Check the thread for pictures on this site. For every 2 or 3 bad ones, I see a few amazing ones as well. Also, there are plenty of third party camera apps that really bring out the true quality of this camera (as well as really showing off the shutter speed you wanted which rivals the iPhone 5 in my opinion).

So in general if the camera is about 90% of your concern, id say keep the iPhone 5 you have. It takes amazing pics and is a great phone. But the dropoff between the N4 and the IP5 camera is really not that huge. Some of these folks are saying it takes horrible low light/indoor pics....its a PHONE CAMERA. What phone besides the Lumia takes great low light shots? Look at any comparison video..the differences are minuscule.

 

[djorourke]

I've got two young kids that I chase around with my Nexus 4.

I came from a Galaxy S3. The difference was quite noticeable for me. The auto focus in the default camera app is a little slow, and the image quality isn't quite as good as it was on the GS3.

If you switch from an iPhone, you'll notice a difference.

I hasten to say that it's not a deal breaking distance. I use my Nexus 4 camera every day. I get great shots of my boys. I find the 3rd party app Camera Zoom FX focuses faster than the native camera app. It's a tradeoff, but a very small one. The differences aren't significant, but they're there.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

 

[gavo360]

I've come from a 4s to the n4 and the camera isn't too far behind the iPhone just the n4 needs abit more work to get as good a shot. I find the inbuilt editor using auto colour helps bring the picture to a good standard.