Video Camera disappointment

[Bigfire]

Had a sad moment this weekend while at a wedding. Wanted to use the HD video recorder during a wedding reception and noticed my buddy who has the Droid X recording without the flash turned on and a clear view of what was going on on the dance floor. Looking at my EVO screen I couldn't see a damn thing no matter what setting I changed. Apparently Motorola figured out the idea of using the camera/camcorder in low light.

I really hope more goes into these camera features for smartphones going forward for usability in low light. Most people that use their smartphones for pics or vids are using them when out and about, ie low light in bars etc. I would probably give up a little in quality for daylight pics to have better low light resolution, and I'm assuming I'm not alone on that.

 

[Jerzyiroc]

Ya unfortunately low light videos are a disappointment. It also doesn't record at 30fps during good lighting conditions either which to me was even more disappointing (then again the developer of the rom I use is looking into increasing it to 30fps). Keep in mind too though these are the first phones with 720P capabilities. I guess we kind of expected a little too much maybe. Camera technology for phones has really improved within the last year alone but HD recording on phone is really new. Hopefully they can address it with the Evo through software updates or maybe the camera is just limited by hardware. My hope is next year the new slew of phones will have a really good low light sensor along with the dual core processors n stuff.

 

[boggs3010#AC]

Always some one going to have better. HTC can not be the best at everything.

 

[youngzayiles]

Yeah for anything of importance its probably best to just carry a real camera..

 

[05 TypeS DC5]

Yeah for anything of importance its probably best to just carry a real camera..

+1, even though the phone says 8 mega pixels, my digital camera can take better pictures.

 

[sveilien]

+1, even though the phone says 8 mega pixels, my digital camera can take better pictures.

And this is a major flaw in the perception of digital camera marketing: the idea that more megapixels should mean better quality. It just means that for a given DPI, the image will be larger. It can still be a large, crappy picture. Quality is based on optics, sensor size and processing.

 

[youngzayiles]

And this is a major flaw in the perception of digital camera marketing: the idea that more megapixels should mean better quality. It just means that for a given DPI, the image will be larger. It can still be a large, crappy picture. Quality is based on optics, sensor size and processing.

Exactly which is why a camera will always be more reliable then a phone.. Weddings, b-days etc Id suggest still using a digital camera if you expect excellence, although the evo camera will get u by in most scenarios..

 

[Bigfire]

The reason in starting this thread was NOT to compare a cell phone camera to a dedicated digital camera. Thanks for the words of wisdom team OBVIOUS, but my OP discusses my disappointment in how the Droid X had a clear video in low light without using the flash.

There may be some differences in optics between the two, but for based on the difference in what I saw through the screen (nothing) and what he saw was embarassing.

 

[Jerzyiroc]

Ya I just saw this video : YouTube - Motorola Droid X shooting 720p video at night

Gotta admit I got a little envious there. Not a deal breaker by any means and it shouldn't be for anyone, but I have to admit that's MUCH better than the Evo in low light.. Not only is the light better than the Evo it's still recording at around 25fps which for me is the most impressive thing. Hell the Evo can barely record 23 fps in daylight forget about night

 

[Trust]

Had a sad moment this weekend while at a wedding. Wanted to use the HD video recorder during a wedding reception and noticed my buddy who has the Droid X recording without the flash turned on and a clear view of what was going on on the dance floor. Looking at my EVO screen I couldn't see a damn thing no matter what setting I changed. Apparently Motorola figured out the idea of using the camera/camcorder in low light.

I really hope more goes into these camera features for smartphones going forward for usability in low light. Most people that use their smartphones for pics or vids are using them when out and about, ie low light in bars etc. I would probably give up a little in quality for daylight pics to have better low light resolution, and I'm assuming I'm not alone on that.

There is an option to turn on the LED flash as you record video. Did you not see that option?

 

[Jerzyiroc]

There is an option to turn on the LED flash as you record video. Did you not see that option?

Honestly, I think after seeing the video I just posted, wouldn't have mattered much. I mean look at that. It's capturing the low light really good and STILL holding 25fps. THATS impressive. The Evo can barely do 23 fps in daylight. At night it just falls apart. O well.. maybe they'll address it. I kno the developer of the ROM I use is trying to address it. Hopefully something can be done.

 

[Trust]

Honestly, I think after seeing the video I just posted, wouldn't have mattered much. I mean look at that. It's capturing the low light really good and STILL holding 25fps. THATS impressive. The Evo can barely do 23 fps in daylight. At night it just falls apart. O well.. maybe they'll address it. I kno the developer of the ROM I use is trying to address it. Hopefully something can be done.

Meh, I bought a phone not a camcorder. I have yet to record anything on video lol.

 

[youngzayiles]

Meh, I bought a phone not a camcorder. I have yet to record anything on video lol.

Yeah Im with u on that but if you want the best video in a phone get a nokia... They take some nice pics And video... Bad ***..

 

[Robbie317]

Yeah for anything of importance its probably best to just carry a real camera..

+1 more.. I think my EVO works great for basic on the fly pictures but when going to a wedding or special event I am either taking my Nikon Digital SLR or Canon HD Camcorder....

The EVO camera comes in handy for "Oh my god you got to see this." type things you see when your out and about not expecting to see something... Can't afford to carry my SLR and Camcorder every where...

 

[Bigfire]

Well being of the male gender, I don't have a purse to carry around make up and extra cameras....I bought a gigantic smartphone with all the bells and whistles hoping to use the bells and whistles. The phone advertises 720p recording but isn't even close to viable unless under optimal lighting.

And yes I saw that there is an option to turn on the 1,000,000 candle power LED. Not exactly the thing I wanna do when trying to casually get some video of the speeches 20 feet away....but again thanks for the tip captain obvious.

 

[ywenz]

the worst part the evo's video feature is the audio. Mono, AM radio quality. I don't know what the folks at HTC were thinking. If they made decision to put a protruding lens on the back of the body, you'd think they had put some folks on the design team that was at least somewhat passionate about the camera feature.

I'm wondering if the EVO shares the same sensor with any other smart phone? I'm assuming it's the poor HTC firmware responsible for the subpar image/audio quality. There would need to be a substantial hack to be able to change that fact.

 

[meyerweb#CB]

Learn to use the adjustments the camera software offers, and you can probably match the D-x

Sent from my Evo 4g on Sprint

 

[Cobravision]

For video? No way. And like someone else said, the audio is pretty bad. If I want to take video and hear what people are saying, I have to pull out my Flip. Speech is mostly unintelligible on my Evo.

That said, the Evo has replaced my point and shoot for picture taking, and I do the 480p video with the H.264 codec because it's less jerky than the 720p (the smaller file size doesn't hurt since I upload them to YouTube).

 

[Trust]

Well being of the male gender, I don't have a purse to carry around make up and extra cameras....I bought a gigantic smartphone with all the bells and whistles hoping to use the bells and whistles. The phone advertises 720p recording but isn't even close to viable unless under optimal lighting.

And yes I saw that there is an option to turn on the 1,000,000 candle power LED. Not exactly the thing I wanna do when trying to casually get some video of the speeches 20 feet away....but again thanks for the tip captain obvious.

Your expectations are too high if you think a mobile phone is going to replace a dedicated cam corder and digital camera.- Captain Obvious

 

[ywenz]

Your expectations are too high if you think a mobile phone is going to replace a dedicated cam corder and digital camera.- Captain Obvious

not an unrealistic expectation given the other smart phones with capabilities that do just that. EVO is vastly behind the curve in this regard.