LG G4 Photo Quality in low light.

[vbozzo1]

Hi,

So I recently bought a LG G4 and was excited to check out it's low light potential, at least until I saw the results. I have posted some pictures I took recently in admittedly a modestly lit club and one city view shot and for some reason the flash blows out the picture whenever I take a picture in low light. This is odd given how much reviewers have RAVED about the low light picture quality so I am hoping someone can tell me if I am doing something wrong when taking the picture or if the camera module or flash is just defective and I need to return the phone. Any help is much appreciated. I took these photos in auto mode at 16 MP resolution with the flash set to auto.

 

[D13H4RD2L1V3]

Don't shoot with the flash.

I never use the flash because it overexposes the image and ends up making the photo look worse overall.

I took a low-light photo without the flash and it's pretty good. I can show it to you as soon as I transfer the photo.

 

[itguyjax8430]

Hi,

So I recently bought a LG G4 and was excited to check out it's low light potential, at least until I saw the results. I have posted some pictures I took recently in admittedly a modestly lit club and one city view shot and for some reason the flash blows out the picture whenever I take a picture in low light. This is odd given how much reviewers have RAVED about the low light picture quality so I am hoping someone can tell me if I am doing something wrong when taking the picture or if the camera module or flash is just defective and I need to return the phone. Any help is much appreciated. I took these photos in auto mode at 16 MP resolution with the flash set to auto.

Do you have something on the lens of the camera like a plastic or something?

 

[D13H4RD2L1V3]

These are completely unedited photos that came straight out of my G4. I put it in Auto mode because that's what everyone most likely uses.

 

[bluemoongreg]

Took some photos last night in a dimly lit theater prior to a movie, & outdoors with only a bit of ambient light. The ones taken without flash were excellent, but the ones with flash on were only so-so due to being washed out. Even the ones with flash were a great deal better than the examples you posted though... makes me think there is something else going on with your particular device. Maybe something on the lens as suggested, or simply a bad unit. I'd definitely get a replacement if turning off flash doesn't help & the lens is clean/unobstructed. The G4 can certainly do better.

Hope you're able to get it sorted out quickly so you can catch some great photos!

 

[vbozzo1]

Hey guys, thanks for all the responses. I think I MAY have figured this out and you guys may want to note this when buying a case for your phone. My case is clear and surrounds the entire phone including the flash module. I just went into my room and took a photo with the case on and then 3 successive photos with the case off with the same lighting. Notice any difference? So it appears that the case is magnifying the flash output?!? Is this possible? :-\

 

[D13H4RD2L1V3]

I use my phone naked, but it seems removing the case helped.

Change your case. I don't understand why they would make a case that covers the flash.

 

[vbozzo1]

I use my phone naked, but it seems removing the case helped.

Change your case. I don't understand why they would make a case that covers the flash.

D13HRD2L1V3, just to be clear the case does not cover the flash. There is a hole exposing the flash. My hypothesis is that the clear material that the case is made of is acting as a reflective agent thereby magnifying the flash causing the flash to not behave normally. Curious to hear other responses to my post to see if I am on to something. Now the question is what do I do to protect my phone without compromising the camera flash to magnification? I bought this case for the ability to show the phones design off without subjecting it to endless nicks and scuffs which it does very well but it seems to have the unexpected feature of distorting the camera flash. :-\

 

[anon(782252)]

D13HRD2L1V3, just to be clear the case does not cover the flash. There is a hole exposing the flash. My hypothesis is that the clear material that the case is made of is acting as a reflective agent thereby magnifying the flash causing the flash to not behave normally. Curious to hear other responses to my post to see if I am on to something. Now the question is what do I do to protect my phone without compromising the camera flash to magnification? I bought this case for the ability to show the phones design off without subjecting it to endless nicks and scuffs which it does very well but it seems to have the unexpected feature of distorting the camera flash. :-\

Which case do you have? There was a thread here or over at XDA that talked about clear cases causing problems with the flash and camera.

 

[D13H4RD2L1V3]

D13HRD2L1V3, just to be clear the case does not cover the flash. There is a hole exposing the flash. My hypothesis is that the clear material that the case is made of is acting as a reflective agent thereby magnifying the flash causing the flash to not behave normally. Curious to hear other responses to my post to see if I am on to something. Now the question is what do I do to protect my phone without compromising the camera flash to magnification? I bought this case for the ability to show the phones design off without subjecting it to endless nicks and scuffs which it does very well but it seems to have the unexpected feature of distorting the camera flash. :-\

Find a bumper

 

[RicKaysen]

Don't know about the third shot, but the first one looks like your finger is partially covering the lens and the second one is a dust mote caught in the flash.

 

[bluemoongreg]

Nice troubleshooting! It does stink that you'll have to change or mod the case, but good news that the device is in good order.

I'm going naked, at least until I can find a good bumper-only case.

 

[vbozzo1]

Which case do you have? There was a thread here or over at XDA that talked about clear cases causing problems with the flash and camera.

I have the Ringke Fusion case for the LG G4. It is smoked around the edges and the back of it is clear. Please post the link to it if you find it as I am curious what the resolution was. Obviously ditch the case but I am curious if there is a clear case I can pick up that would not have this same issue. I could pick up a colored case that was not clear but then the design of the phone cannot be seen. Odd that I did not have this issue with my Nexus 5 which has a flash and I used a clear case on. Only thing I can think of is that the LG G4 flash is stronger than the Nexus 5 flash. :-\

 

[lostchild]

Yeah ditch that case, but I would also turn off flash unless you really need it. The low light pics look really good without the flash. The flash made the center point bright but everything else around it so dark.

 

[dpham00]

Glad you figured it out.

Sent from my Verizon LG G4

 

[rdt595]

Sometimes I find that if my finger is too close to the flash module it will cause light to bounce off of it.

Posted with LG G4 via the Android Central App

 

[erwaso]

D13HRD2L1V3, just to be clear the case does not cover the flash. There is a hole exposing the flash. My hypothesis is that the clear material that the case is made of is acting as a reflective agent thereby magnifying the flash causing the flash to not behave normally. Curious to hear other responses to my post to see if I am on to something. Now the question is what do I do to protect my phone without compromising the camera flash to magnification? I bought this case for the ability to show the phones design off without subjecting it to endless nicks and scuffs which it does very well but it seems to have the unexpected feature of distorting the camera flash. :-\

I read about the Clear Ringke case doing this to the flash

 

[Shepx13]

Please be aware that any case (but especially clear) that is too close to the flash module runs the risk of these issues. It doesn't matter the phone, although some are more prone than others depending on how the flash positioned on the phone.

When companies are testing their phones before mass production, they are not using cases on them.

 

[Kko 5]

I read about the Clear Ringke case doing this to the flash

Hmmmmm.....Thank you so much cause I was thinking to order one Ringke clear case. I had no idea it can alter the photo quality

Posted via my LG G4

 

[erwaso]

I think the theory is the clear case reflects the flash back into the lens, makes sense. Read through all the reviews before purchasing. 10 mins of reading is worth it to avoid the hassle of returning lol