I'm really confused about this camera...

[anon(596177)]

Just got the Pixel, and after initial set up I wanted to test the camera out. Now I know these aren't ideal settings, but I thought this camera was supposed to be really good. The quality in my photos is ATROCIOUS. Like, my OG Moto X is almost certainly better than this. I would test it if I didn't just put it away to ship out.

I don't care how good the pixel is supposed to be in broad daylight, my (messy) apartment is not that dark and the shot looks like I'm drowning in swamp water. I heard a little about the lens flare issue as well, but this is way worse than anything I expected. I attached a photo of the Pixel and the Nexus 5X. This is after me trying to get the best lighting I could. I took multiple shots around my apartment and they all look as terrible as this one. I just don't understand...

As a side note, my screen also looks really off, kind of like my OG Moto X. All of the text on the screen has this weird blurriness around it and the screen is generally murky green looking compared to the Axon 7 and the Nexus 5x. I read tons of reviews on this phone and nobody mentioned any of this, so I'm not sure what to make of my pretty terrible first impressions.


Top is Pixel, bottom is Nexus 5x

View attachment 245643View attachment 245646

Glad you got the blurriness easily taken care of! The flare can definitely be annoying, but it is, in most cases, easily avoided by re-aligning your shot. Google is also releasing an update soon to help alleviate some of that flare.

What about your screen? Have you gotten that fixed or has it gotten better? The screen should be very crisp, and not greenish and blurry like you were describing. If you get a chance, go to a verizon store and take a look at their floor models. If your screen doesnt compare to those, I would consider a replacement.

 

[D13H4RD2L1V3]

Yeah, some cameras are more sensitive to smudges than others.

I usually keep my lens covers clean at all times. I guess I just feel the need to?

 

[ihbsbA]

Nothing but gorgeous pics here...

 

[LeoRex]

Its an issue with the white balance, depending on the type of lights you have in your house, it can make it worse..

Yeah... most def.... however my wife decorated our house, the color scheme, etc... it is BRUTAL when it comes to white balance no matter what camera is used. If WB is on auto, most every picture comes orange/yellowish.

Same goes for the LCD monitors in my office... if one is in frame, it causes the WB to go way too warm.

 

[Ten Four]

It isn't just smudges and flare that makes the Pixel photo look worse than the Nexus 5X shot. Compare the exposure and colors in the rug and the hardwood floor where there is no flare. The Nexus 5X shot looks far superior on my screen. With the dog shot the Pixel looks overexposed compared to the Nexus, and there is noticeable noise and artifacts on the wall near the bookshelf. Nexus 5X definielty looks better in these shots.

 

[88horizon5speed]

Just got the Pixel, and after initial set up I wanted to test the camera out. Now I know these aren't ideal settings, but I thought this camera was supposed to be really good. The quality in my photos is ATROCIOUS. Like, my OG Moto X is almost certainly better than this. I would test it if I didn't just put it away to ship out.

I don't care how good the pixel is supposed to be in broad daylight, my (messy) apartment is not that dark and the shot looks like I'm drowning in swamp water. I heard a little about the lens flare issue as well, but this is way worse than anything I expected. I attached a photo of the Pixel and the Nexus 5X. This is after me trying to get the best lighting I could. I took multiple shots around my apartment and they all look as terrible as this one. I just don't understand...

As a side note, my screen also looks really off, kind of like my OG Moto X. All of the text on the screen has this weird blurriness around it and the screen is generally murky green looking compared to the Axon 7 and the Nexus 5x. I read tons of reviews on this phone and nobody mentioned any of this, so I'm not sure what to make of my pretty terrible first impressions.


Top is Pixel, bottom is Nexus 5x

View attachment 245643View attachment 245646

It seems as though one picture has the light included and the other doesn't, that light will brighten the photo and make it look terrible, as it does

 

[thatguy97]

Here's a few I took with mine. Lighter one was focused on my dog. Darker one focused on the black stand.

HDR+ Auto on
//uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161109/c2348f0423991e3de5f60334270b2ea2.jpg

//uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161109/85a97a3adf7a5670f71ca3bcd7657f65.jpg

Looks like hdr+ overexposes

 

[D13H4RD2L1V3]

Looks like hdr+ overexposes

Not always.

HDR+ attempts to balance both the highlights and shadows while also controlling saturation to create a more pleasing image, along with reducing noise.

 

[thatguy97]

Not always.

HDR+ attempts to balance both the highlights and shadows while also controlling saturation to create a more pleasing image, along with reducing noise.

True it's just that to my uneducated eye it's seems to bright.

 

[Richard Servello]

Looks pretty great to me

 

[deadpenguins]

The same lights are on in both shots, but I discovered from wiping off the glass panel on the pixel helped clear up the shot. I couldn't even see the debris that was causing that in this shot!

 

[D13H4RD2L1V3]

True it's just that to my uneducated eye it's seems to bright.

Well, it's just one scenario. It's hard to judge HDR+ just from one image.

From experience and what I've seen from other users, HDR+ works really well 99% of the time as it usually creates a more pleasant shot with well-balanced shadows and highlights without creating an overly brightened photo like conventional Android HDR.

The previous penalty you had was that it took a significant amount of time processing an HDR+ shot. Now, because it's essentially taking multiple shots in the background and then saving when you hit the shutter, it's near-instant.

 

[88horizon5speed]

The light is on in both shots, yes, but the camera has more of the light in the photo from the pixel, you can see it on the right right that there is light marks, that's because the camera is aimed more towards the light. You can see the photo shows more in that direction

 

[LeoRex]

Some things to note.. HDR+ Auto mode on the pixel is different than the same mode on the 6P and 5X.

On the Pixel, Auto uses the same exposure and ISO setting as a standard shot as the camera is continuously taking pics. The auto mode on the Nexus underexposes when it takes the HDR+ set.

Compare a darker scene with a bright source with Auto vs On and you'll see the difference.

So it's not quite as able to handle wide dynamic range, but you get a lot more speed... And still have the full HDR+ if you switch to On.

 

[shady195]

Looks like hdr+ overexposes

True it's just that to my uneducated eye it's seems to bright.

Not always.

HDR+ attempts to balance both the highlights and shadows while also controlling saturation to create a more pleasing image, along with reducing noise.

Both photos were HDR+ Auto

However the "brighter" one I told to focus on the black, so the camera is going to copensate to get the best exposure for the area that was selected and then stiches the photos to try and even out the exposure across the entire image.

its working as expected IMO

 

[thatguy97]

Both photos were HDR+ Auto

However the "brighter" one I told to focus on the black, so the camera is going to copensate to get the best exposure for the area that was selected and then stiches the photos to try and even out the exposure across the entire image.

its working as expected IMO

I'm not a camera buff so I'll take your word for it, I have a nexus 6 and the camera is terrible.

 

[D13H4RD2L1V3]

Both photos were HDR+ Auto

However the "brighter" one I told to focus on the black, so the camera is going to copensate to get the best exposure for the area that was selected and then stiches the photos to try and even out the exposure across the entire image.

its working as expected IMO

That's normal as this is known as spot metering, meaning that the camera will adjust exposure for where you tapped to focus on.

Most phone cameras utilize spot metering, though a few utilize matrix or average metering.

 

[CHILLYWILL_95831]

That's normal as this is known as spot metering, meaning that the camera will adjust exposure for where you tapped to focus on.

Most phone cameras utilize spot metering, though a few utilize matrix or average metering.

I am a fan of auto HDR+, but believe it works best when you need a quick shot under balanced lighting. It will work well with low light, but there can not be a lot of other light sources in the frame as it will overexpose those sources. I've found that if you tap your subject in low light then the Pixel performs quite well with A-HDR, but you'll always get better results with HDR on. Google did well with both modes, however I believe that the Pixel should default to the last mode I used rather than A-HDR+.

Many complained about the HDR mode on the Nexus 6p, as it was too slow. And, this is why we have A HDR+ as a default on the Pixel. It's fast and, for the most part, gets it right 90% oh the time.

 

[D13H4RD2L1V3]

I am a fan of auto HDR+, but believe it works best when you need a quick shot under balanced lighting. It will work well with low light, but there can not be a lot of other light sources in the frame as it will overexpose those sources. I've found that if you tap your subject in low light then the Pixel performs quite well with A-HDR, but you'll always get better results with HDR on. Google did well with both modes, however I believe that the Pixel should default to the last mode I used rather than A-HDR+.

Many complained about the HDR mode on the Nexus 6p, as it was too slow. And, this is why we have A HDR+ as a default on the Pixel. It's fast and, for the most part, gets it right 90% oh the time.

I'd say keep HDR+ turned on either fully or in "auto" unless you specifically want to turn it off for a specific scenario.

You will usually end up with a more pleasing shot although do expect some delay in processing the image in HDR+ On mode.

Google did very well with HDR+ and I find it to be one of the best implementations of high-dynamic range processing on any phone out there, right up with Apple's also-excellent HDR processing.

I do agree that the camera should retain the last settings used, though I can see why Google opted for that. HDR+ is great. Really great.

 

[LeoRex]

So many reviews of the 6P complained that the HDR+ pics took too long compared to other phones' HDR modes... granted, they rarely, if ever, went back in to understand WHY they took so long... So Google said "Fine! Here, we tweaked it to be a little bit faster... happy now?"

And you are right that Auto will not be able to handle a bright source in a dark scene as well as On will... but that's by choice. HDR+ usually underexposes the image to handle those bright sources better... but doing that required the 'shutter speed' thing to be a little bit more deliberate... part of that delay on the 6P was the camera sensor doing some light metering on the brightest part of the image and compensating to reduce the overall exposure and ISO settings to avoid blowing that source out. The new Auto mode just guns it off the current camera settings... which, in a dark scene, might mean that that window in the background, or the sky, etc... might be overexposed.

As I mentioned, it's pro/con... the new Auto mode is a LOT faster and you are best off leaving the phone in that mode and only switching to On when the scene calls for it. Perhaps in an upcoming update, they tweak things a little bit so that if Auto detects that it's in a situation where it might want to use the full HDR+ mode, it'll slow down a bit and do the full version.

--

As my bud here says... Google's HDR+ is an incredible feature. Its ability to reduce noise is unmatched by any phone out there, and when it processes the final picture since it is using information in the actual picture, there are far fewer artificial processing artifacts than what you see coming out of any phone... LG, Samsung, Apple, any of them.