topic Re: we need RAW capabilitiy for the camera in XPERIA archive

constructive camera settings topic!

markvo — Mon, 30 Sep 2013 18:34:06 GMT

Hey everybody,

There is a lot.of discussion out there on this forum about the z1's camera. Allot of people are complaining about the noise and a few experts try defending thencamera

Re: constructive camera settings topic!

markvo — Mon, 30 Sep 2013 18:40:56 GMT

(Accidentally hit 'post')...
And a few experts try to defend the camera's qualities. I am not an expert at all but by reading different posts I have to say my picture quality is increasing by playing with the different settings.

Why don't we all use this topic as a constructive discussion and post tips about the camera.

What settings made your pictures look good under which circumstances? Why chose for certain settings?

Share the result and let's get a hang on this camera together!

Gr, mark

Re: constructive camera settings topic!

Rictv_me — Tue, 01 Oct 2013 11:29:48 GMT

The superior auto mode is okay - not quite got to grips with it yet. I do think there is a little bit too much noise ( I think it increases ISO too much and compiounded with the flash can take over bloomed noisey pics) and sharpening artifacts.

I am sure this can be addressed with firmware.

The real issue with me is actually taking the picture and focussing....I'm not 100% comfortable with Auto mode yet.

Manual however is lots of fun!

First thing to do is set Focus Mode - I like Single Focus for portraits and Multi Focus for landscape. Not tried the other modes much.

The beauty of this in manual mode you can hold down the camera button and focus (focus icon goes light blue) and depress camera button to take the shot. I don't think auto does this? This will help take better photos.

Next thing to set is ISO / Film Speed

If it is a sunny bright day with loads of natural sunlight set the ISO low. An ISO of 50 should produce next to no noise artifacts in these conditions (hold the phone steady or you will get blurry shots!)

The darker the environment you are shooting in, the higher the ISO - this will introduce noise (and is common across all photography). Int he UK I would rarely be able to get a decent shot less than 200

Adjusting this will allow you to take a wide range of shots across many different lighting conditions.

In Manual Mode you can adjust white balance to match your shooting conditions. Because I am in the UK and it is never sunny I tend to shoot outdoor with Cloudy! Adjusting WHITE BALANCE will allow you to get a nice balance exposure that accurately captures the mood and tone of the subject.

To aid with accurate reproduction change the METERING - I like to use Average - but different circumstances may require different settings.

Unlike most phone camera you can also adjust EXPOSURE (cool feature) to compensate for high / low light conditions. You can increase the brighness of an image if you are trying to capture in dark conditions and vice verse. It's a bit of a hack but with some trial and error and help you get great shots.

I'm still playing with the camera, it's a massive step up from my old iPhone 4 but Manual mode is very satisafying.

As with all photography, you have to learn to apply the rules to your kit in order to take the very best shots.

I do feel the Auto Mode needs some improvement as some of these shots are not instantly awesome, sometimes too noisy and I feel taking an auto shot requires better haptic feedback.

Sorry if I have insulted any Pro Photographers with my Photography 101

Great phone and very cool camera that needs a few tweaks to its software / firmware to make it truly great

(BTW I have not tried a 20MB shot yet)

Re: constructive camera settings topic!

Sam — Wed, 02 Oct 2013 01:13:01 GMT

Great thread, please keep it coming as I am sure this will be of assistance to many people.

What are your thoughts about this forum? Let us know by doing this short survey.

Re: constructive camera settings topic!

bloodfire1004 — Thu, 03 Oct 2013 03:36:19 GMT

Hi, I like this thread

Currently, the settings I'm using are:

8MP 4:3
Auto ISO

Auto WB

Metering Average

Face Detection / Single Auto Focus

SCN Off

Stabilizer On

I'm still trying to see what produces the best quality but this is what I'm currently satisfied with now. Reason I'm using 8MP 4:3 is because 1.) I don't like 16:9 and 2) Based on my tests, it produces better OVERALL quality than 20MP .. maybe because of oversampling. Sure it has less detail and is slightly smaller, but it produces for me better quality. If you want, you can try yourself shooting at really low-light, one at full 20MP and the other at 8MP

I'm pretty satisfied with the camera, its a good upgrade from my Xperia P. Its almost as good as my Lumix ZS20! The only thing I would like to have on my wishlist is to have a MAXIMUM ISO setting. Currently, I find that the phone prioritizes a fast shutter speed and disregards whether it shoots in ISO 1000-2000. I want it so I can set the maximum is ISO 800 irregardless of the shooting conditions.

Re: constructive camera settings topic!

Rictv_me — Thu, 03 Oct 2013 10:07:25 GMT

I will try this setting - shooting 4:3 is a good photographic standard.

I would LOVE IT if we could capture RAW images as well as processed JPEG

Re: constructive camera settings topic!

azzido — Sun, 20 Oct 2013 09:01:00 GMT

I do like 16:9, especially when I am looking at the pictures on my phone itself or on my wide TV.
I simply hate this black borders...
I hope Sony soon will enable 20MPx 16:9 mode, or at least 13-16MPx 16:9.

Would be awesome.
However, I understand the people who prefer 4:3

we need RAW capabilitiy for the camera

Max93 — Sun, 26 Jan 2014 00:35:15 GMT

there's too much noise in dark places with z1 camera plz do something about we need the raw processing capability it wouldnt hurt to put it as an option , actualy we want something like nokia pro camera to control everything like shutter speed , iso , stuff like that and we really do u to fix the algorithm to produce less noise !

Re: we need RAW capabilitiy for the camera

Uliwooly — Sun, 26 Jan 2014 03:17:36 GMT

This has been requested before, Android doesn't support this, but it seems that it will later on

http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2309443/google-confirms-updated-android-44-kitkat-camera-api-with-raw-support

Re: we need RAW capabilitiy for the camera

Max93 — Sun, 26 Jan 2014 13:02:37 GMT

ok u answered about the raw capabitility . but what about a sony pro camera app like the nokia ones we want something like that to control everything in the camera it would be really nice coz theres too much noise when taking picture it always is i dont know why so we want sony pro camera app is it gonna happen ??

Camera wishes and issue

rsd89 — Sun, 26 Jan 2014 15:48:19 GMT

1) Add ability to choose default camera app (camera mode) (for hardware camera key and lock screen)

2) Add resolution 8MP 4:3 in superior auto mode

3) Fix automatic white balance (often white balance is not correct in the shade, indoors)

4) Fix auto focus (often photo out of focus, to focus on the desired object often need 3-4 attempts)

5) Add ability to set limited maximum ISO level for auto ISO

6) Add ability to set level of noise reduction (sometimes some noise better, than blurred details)

7) Fix settings saving, if you select scene mode and then turn them off, it reset some settings (focus mode and exposure metering)

8)Add automatic exposure compensation

9)Add automatic correction of optical distortions

And some other wishes like raw, better panorama shooting, increased resolution in some other modes, and increased contrast in HDR video,

Re: Camera wishes and issue

tyw7 — Sun, 26 Jan 2014 16:06:32 GMT

I agree with 2 as I want to take the photos with 20 mp in auto mode.

Re: Camera wishes and issue

rsd89 — Sat, 08 Mar 2014 16:20:45 GMT

sony has great X-Reality Engine,to improve your photos while viewing, but why not add this feature to camera to save enhanced photos from the camera

new app request

amd_2012 — Thu, 16 Apr 2015 04:34:15 GMT

Hi Sony

Please add new camera app for Sony. light painting app. For camera.