The camera sucks

[sterdroids]

Just tried to snap some pics of the kids IMPOSSIBLE to get what you want. The LAG is so bad.

Put your focus on "infinity"... anything past about 2-3 feet looks great on infinity anyway... and use the button on your screen in the lower right instead of the pushbutton on your camera and the pics will be nearly instantaneous when you hit the button on the screen....

Thanks for the help but I still get a lag The best I can do now it Action mode if i anticipate my kids jump before they do.

 

[windstrings]

Thanks for the help but I still get a lag The best I can do now it Action mode if i anticipate my kids jump before they do.

That may help some if your outside... for any shot where the "target" is moving for that matter... but for inside, I'm afraid it may kill your low light quality as the faster shutter speed will mean the aperture will need to be open even wider to get a "good" shot.. so unless this low light thing is pure software... the action shot may remove the physical abilities of the camera to open wide enough to let enough light in.. you can experiment and see.

I did some experimenting and I see what you mean....
Although I don't think its a bad lag for a phone camera.. I do like the button on the screen as I think its a tad faster and since it has such a light touch, its easier to not move the camera in the shooting process.

I moved my hand in front of the lens about 1.5 feet out and discovered if I snap the shot as my hand is entering the field of view, the actual picture takes about 1.5 seconds later.

But moving my hand about 3 inches per second I made a rough guestimation as my hand would move about 4 - 5 inches by the time the shot actually took.

If I moved my hand 6 inches per second, I would miss the shot as my hand would be off the lower screen by the time the shot took.

Anyway... its definitely not a 3 shot per second camera, but I'm very impressed with those shots of the pyramid and then shot overlooking the pool and the ocean. When you zoom them up, you can see every crack and stone as well as the tiny leaves in the canopy above.

If you look to the extreme right in the pool shot, you can see the pickets of someones banister rails outside thier overhanging deck.. seems there is good clarity from edge to edge... the quality of the lens seems quite remarkable for a phone.

 

[640k]

chitzen itza ftw. we were there in march. where'd you stay?

I've seen documentaries on the Mayans and Chichen Itza so I knew quite a bit about it before I went.

HOWEVER... when I walked up and saw it in person, the hair on my arms stood up. I was in total and utter AWE! Even while I type this I am getting goosebumps. It is one of those things you just have to see to feel.

Our guide was really into it and even offered his own hypotheses on why some things were done the way they were which made it that much better.

We stayed at the Riu Caribe and had such a fantastic time we might go back in May if we can afford it.

our guide was a little too much into history and after about the 2nd hour of listening to him, we tuned him out. i think, for me, it would have been alot more awe-inspiring if it weren't for all of the street vendors.

we stayed at the valentin imperial maya when we went. i HIGHLY recommend that resort to anyone who's never been to Mexico. it was AMAZING!

 

[Anomander]

Nice shots AW. What was that cenote called that you got a picture of? I believe I have the same shot which I shot back in 2006. That place was incredible and the water was pretty warm. I too was impressed with Chichen Itza. More so because the Mayans did it all without a wheel! Thanks for posting those pictures. Not bad with the Droid. I do think the camera is not to bad in full light. Hopefully the update makes it even better.

EDIT:
Not quiet the same angle as AW, but pretty close. That place was a lot of fun. Picture was taken with a Kodak DX6490 (4MP). Boy how times change when a camera phone now has MP then a decent camera from 3 years ago!

 

[kcorridan]

Red eye is killing me

How do you get rid of it? I see nothing in settings or menu. Thx.

 

[MAzing87]

Attached are sample shots I took with the Droid in Mexico. These are most acceptable if not somewhat impressive taken at 3mp. Motorola surely slipped a SW update when they fixed the focus issue.

Click on them to view them full size.

The Droid did that? :icon_eek:

Those are some amazing pictures. I'm going to play around with my phone to see what I can get.

 

[windstrings]

Attached are sample shots I took with the Droid in Mexico. These are most acceptable if not somewhat impressive taken at 3mp. Motorola surely slipped a SW update when they fixed the focus issue.

Click on them to view them full size.

BTW.. did you have the camera on any special settings?
Like "infinite" focus?...... I figure for a shot over a few feet, infinite would be safest.. that way you don't give the software any chance of screwing up the focus.

 

[sterdroids]

Thanks for the help but I still get a lag The best I can do now it Action mode if i anticipate my kids jump before they do.

That may help some if your outside... for any shot where the "target" is moving for that matter... but for inside, I'm afraid it may kill your low light quality as the faster shutter speed will mean the aperture will need to be open even wider to get a "good" shot.. so unless this low light thing is pure software... the action shot may remove the physical abilities of the camera to open wide enough to let enough light in.. you can experiment and see.

I did some experimenting and I see what you mean....
Although I don't think its a bad lag for a phone camera.. I do like the button on the screen as I think its a tad faster and since it has such a light touch, its easier to not move the camera in the shooting process.

I moved my hand in front of the lens about 1.5 feet out and discovered if I snap the shot as my hand is entering the field of view, the actual picture takes about 1.5 seconds later.

But moving my hand about 3 inches per second I made a rough guestimation as my hand would move about 4 - 5 inches by the time the shot actually took.

If I moved my hand 6 inches per second, I would miss the shot as my hand would be off the lower screen by the time the shot took.

Anyway... its definitely not a 3 shot per second camera, but I'm very impressed with those shots of the pyramid and then shot overlooking the pool and the ocean. When you zoom them up, you can see every crack and stone as well as the tiny leaves in the canopy above.

If you look to the extreme right in the pool shot, you can see the pickets of someones banister rails outside thier overhanging deck.. seems there is good clarity from edge to edge... the quality of the lens seems quite remarkable for a phone.

Thanks buddy! I appreciate the help! I will try it both ways guesstimate where i need to etc.. And maybe take a vacation WITHOUT the kids then i can great shots and not have to worry. Just take landscape pics

 

[atomicwedgie]

640k... Chichen Itza - Yes, the vendors crowding not only the entrance but approaching us while we were touring the grounds was a big turn off. After visiting the markets I grew cold and hard to their insistence so it was easy to blow them off but it did detract from the whole "This was is an ancient archeological structure" feeling. Our guide talked just enough as within an hour he let us roam but stayed available for questions.

Was the valentin imperial maya all inclusive?

Anomander... Sagrado is the name of it. I didn't go in because like any good moron, I forgot my swim trunks (along with water, etc) at the hotel. I realized all of this 2 hours into the 3 hour bus ride. Yes your point about how crude their tools were and the fact that they also built a 71 mile road of rocks and crushed lime were hard to fathom.

All of my shots were done at 3mp (so as not to push the CCD or the software) and infinite focus. All other settings were default. I found I could take a shot every 3 or so seconds without issue. Oh, and use the onscreen button! I dunno why but it seems to make a difference.

I have a few videos that amazed me and I will post a link to those tomorrow and add a few more shots taken with the Droid to my gallery.

 

[windstrings]

All of my shots were done at 3mp (so as not to push the CCD or the software) and infinite focus. All other settings were default. I found I could take a shot every 3 or so seconds without issue. Oh, and use the onscreen button! I dunno why but it seems to make a difference.

I'm assuming the onscreen button enabled a perfectly still shot.
The drawback to having a true instantaneous take when you hit the button is camera movement.. the smaller the camera, the easier it is to make a mistake.. similar to aiming with a gun... less mass = easy movement.

I was wondering however... did you "try" the 5mp setting or just assume it could be too much for the CCD?.. that makes sense.. but for all we know, they factored in enough to allow for an honest 5mp shot.. but maybe not?
I realize you can't take shots as fast, but I'm wondering if the pic quality could be better on 5mp mode or if in fact its worse.

You really got me wondering now cause I zoomed up those pics you took and was amazed at what I could see.. now I'm wondering what 5mp would do?

 

[atomicwedgie]

I'm assuming the onscreen button enabled a perfectly still shot.
The drawback to having a true instantaneous take when you hit the button is camera movement.. the smaller the camera, the easier it is to make a mistake.. similar to aiming with a gun... less mass = easy movement.

Once again sir, your point is valid although several times I did all I could to be steady while hitting the hard-button and results varied. This could still be attributed to your theory.

I was wondering however... did you "try" the 5mp setting or just assume it could be too much for the CCD?.. that makes sense.. but for all we know, they factored in enough to allow for an honest 5mp shot.. but maybe not?

Yes I did try and was disappointed in what I saw. Lots of pixelation, color noise, etc. This lead me to think that perhaps they're actually using a lens not capable of 5mp and scaling it up in the software.

NOW... the first few 5mp shots were NOT taken in the same bright light but it was no means dark either. We were just in a semi-shaded area. If I had half a brain, I would have saved what I took instead I deleted them as I went to leave room for more good shots since my card was filling up.

While my lightbooth test proved to me that 5mp shots were dirtier than 3mp, those are taken in artificial daylight and perhaps (as I said) new software was pushed recently that we are unaware of.

Guess we need to do another live shot comparison to know.

 

[mth04]

Hello everyome. Please try to keep this on topic. Posts removed for obvious reasons. Have a great night

 

[jaysonstaurt]

Couple pics I took over the weekend. They're not bad but as some have said this camera takes some getting used to.

 

[atomicwedgie]

Couple pics I took over the weekend. They're not bad but as some have said this camera takes some getting used to.

Hey Jason, I don't think those are bad at all! Especially since it's obviously an indoor shot. What settings were you on?

By the way I used to be BIG into R/C. Mad Force, super modified T-Maxx's a Stampede with a punched .21 on it. Then I decided I hated fixing stupid fast trucks constantly and got into building high-end rock crawlers. Going slow costs less over the long term. LOL

 

[640k]

640k... Chichen Itza - Yes, the vendors crowding not only the entrance but approaching us while we were touring the grounds was a big turn off. After visiting the markets I grew cold and hard to their insistence so it was easy to blow them off but it did detract from the whole "This was is an ancient archeological structure" feeling. Our guide talked just enough as within an hour he let us roam but stayed available for questions.

Was the valentin imperial maya all inclusive?

Yes, all inclusive and adults only. They had little shows and carnivals and the food was amazing. PM if you want to see pics, I won't bother crowding this thread with them.