Why Samsung wants to use a lousy camera in the Nexus

[dimsdale]

Death-by-Smartphone Spurs Camera Makers
Death-by-Smartphone Spurs Camera Makers - Bloomberg

-?All manufacturers, including Samsung, need to focus on the value proposition of a camera and what differentiates it versus a smartphone,? Reid Sullivan, a senior vice president of Samsung, said in an interview.-

 

[skarletknite]

i think you nailed it here. in the article, an upcoming samsung point and shoot: "The DV300F..... adds a feature called Motion Photo that lets users eliminate blurry backgrounds when capturing a moving subject in the foreground."

this condition exactly is horrible on my camera on my GN, no matter what method you choose to take your shot. a fast shutter speed does me no good if everything in the photo is blurry. i own a dslr but its a big rig and not practical carrying around everywhere, and for me, neither is a point and shoot. i dont expect a ton out of smartphone cameras but on the GN, IMO it stands out as by far the weakest component of the phone, a real step backwards. (and that's in optimal lighting). very happy with every other feature of the device...

 

[estebancam]

I don't think this is why, it wouldn't make sense. Apple has their iPhone with a GREAT camera, and Samsung must compete. However....

I have not contemplated purchasing a dedicated point and shoot until now... because I am not really too happy about the picture quality with the Galaxy Nexus. I am satisfied with it, but not happy, ESPECIALLY indoors. Man does it suck indoors. Horrible.

I would have been happy with the lens they used on the GSII. That would have been great.

 

[yapkuen]

This would only make sense if Samsung had a monopoly on the smartphone market, which they don't.

 

[DancesWithFarts]

my GN camera is fantastic.

 

[mack]

I personally like it. I take pictures indoors all the time with no issues. Sure, it could be better but I've not had issues I guess because I'm used to the fascinates camera?

 

[DaPoets]

honestly every digital camera I have had takes crappy indoor pictures and stellar outdoor ones. My Gnex is at my expectations for indoor shots and exceeds them for outdoor or well lit areas. Panoramic shots are nice too.

 

[chevyguy8893]

Mine does very well in taking photos. I have done indoor and outdoor shots with low light, night, and daylight and the pictures come out clear. I will agree that there are better cameras on phones, but I have to say this one does pretty well. Every camera has it's downfall in the eyes of the consumer regardless of it being a point-and-shoot, DSLR, or camera phone; not everyone can be pleased.

 

[pauldroidr2d2]

I have never expected a top quality camera on a smartphone. That is why I have my Nikon digital camera.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

 

[SSHGuru]

I've found the camera is fantastic on the Gnex.

In fact I had a friend over with an SG II which is supposed to take better pics and my pics were better - his were over saturated.

 

[yosteve]

I don't mind the camera. As im saying ready 1, 2, i'm hitting the button several times so I get a clear shot. I really love that I can edit the picture too.

However, what I don't like is the Note and the S2 get better cameras that's the part I don't understand. That's like entry level getting heated seats while the flagship didn't. It'd be a different story if we all across the board had the same cameras.

 

[Droid800]

I don't mind the camera. As im saying ready 1, 2, i'm hitting the button several times so I get a clear shot. I really love that I can edit the picture too.

However, what I don't like is the Note and the S2 get better cameras that's the part I don't understand. That's like entry level getting heated seats while the flagship didn't. It'd be a different story if we all across the board had the same cameras.

This has been discussed in several other threads. The reason the Nexus didn't get a higher quality camera was because of software limitations with the zero shutter lag. A larger sensor would have degraded quality of both the pictures and the software experience.

 

[jackrv]

I've downloaded HDR Camera+ and Pro HDR Camera. I found both can improve picture taking (pure stills only obviously due to needing 2-3 shots to build an HDR scene). Pro HDR Camera to me seems to excel at indoor shots with bright lighting, and HDR Camera+ took better shots outdoors with natural light. I'm still playing around with different environments, but the camera in itself is a bit lacking.

It is more than fine for what I would use it for, like a "OMG, I just saw this, take a look at this" picture rather than a photo spread of nature shots. I'm not complaining personally, but yes I can see where people are disappointed compared to the cameras in other recent phones.

 

[dimsdale]

I don't think this is why, it wouldn't make sense. Apple has their iPhone with a GREAT camera, and Samsung must compete. However....

Exactly. Apple doesn't sell cameras. So they have no conflict of interest in putting a great camera on the phone. Samsung wants to sell you a camera and a phone. So better make sure that the phone doesn't do too good of a job as a camera.

 

[yapkuen]

Exactly. Apple doesn't sell cameras. So they have no conflict of interest in putting a great camera on the phone. Samsung wants to sell you a camera and a phone. So better make sure that the phone doesn't do too good of a job as a camera.

But if they make the camera on the phone crappy, they won't sell a camera OR a phone because some competitor that only sells phones will make the sale on a phone with a great camera, and then users won't buy the camera or the phone from Samsung.

 

[anthony2558]

I've found the camera is fantastic on the Gnex.

In fact I had a friend over with an SG II which is supposed to take better pics and my pics were better - his were over saturated.

They were prob over saturated cause you were looking at the picture on his over saturated screen the SGSII has.

 

[yosteve]

This has been discussed in several other threads. The reason the Nexus didn't get a higher quality camera was because of software limitations with the zero shutter lag. A larger sensor would have degraded quality of both the pictures and the software experience.

I hope for our sake, ics update on other phones doesn't prove you wrong. The feature could be software only.

 

[Droid800]

I hope for our sake, ics update on other phones doesn't prove you wrong. The feature could be software only.

It had something to do with the software being incapable of handling image data greater than 5 megapixels. You also have to understand that part of the zero lag feature is also the ability to quickly snap off pictures without any lag in between. With a larger sensor, the software would be unable to cope with moving that quickly.

As for other phones; they very well could, but more likely than not will not, because they'll likely have a huge number of OEM customizations in the software. This, being a nexus can only use the AOSP software.

 

[craigrn16]

I have seen the GS2 take pics and its way better than the GNex. I don't understand why they didn't just use the same camera or sensors or whatever it is. My old Thunderbolt took terrible pics but I at least knew how to set up the right settings so that it took descent pics. Cant do that on here. Its camera options are a joke anyway. I did figure out how to not have it blurry buy giving the camera time to focus before taking shots but that defeats the purpose of the quick point and shoot.

 

[SSHGuru]

Well for some people you should just use a real camera.

However for the vast majority of the population the pictures the Nexus takes are good enough.