s7 pictures get grainy when zoomed in

TuBitMittens

Member
Joined
Jan 6, 2010
Messages
713
Reaction score
12
I just wanna say the camera on the phone is great for the most part. However as soon as I start zooming in the photos get a bit grainy. is this normal? is it because it has a digital zoom instead of optical???
 

FoxKat

Premium Member
Premium Member
Joined
Apr 2, 2010
Messages
14,651
Reaction score
4,703
Location
Pennsylvania
Current Phone Model
Droid Turbo 2 & Galaxy S7
When you say zoom in, do you mean while viewing the screen during taking the picture, or zooming in on an image taken previously. These cameras do not have optical zoom as you know, so any zooming that is done is simply doing nothing more than magnifying the actual image being captured. It's really no different than taking a magnifying glass to a printer picture while viewing. The number of pixels being captured doesn't change, only the number of pixels being stored. So graininess is the result of digital zoom.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
 
OP
T

TuBitMittens

Member
Joined
Jan 6, 2010
Messages
713
Reaction score
12
I,mean both zooming before taking and viewing after taking. so I guess it's normal?
 

leeshor

Gold Member
Joined
Jan 30, 2012
Messages
4,331
Reaction score
1,414
Location
Norcross, GA - USA
Yes it is, but a little less zooming before will give you better zooming after. Some experimenting will tell you when you have gone from optical zoom to digital zoom. Keep it in the optical range for the best results.
 

cr6

Super Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Apr 1, 2011
Messages
8,281
Reaction score
5,802
Location
NW Rocky Mtn region
Website
www.dronewolfmedia.com
Current Phone Model
Galaxy S7 Edge
Twitter
@dronewolfmedia
+1
Always try to zoom & crop after taking the picture as opposed to doing so before. It will yield a much cleaner photo overall. Just as sunny outdoor shots will yield much better cropped photos, compared to indoor lower light shots.

S5 tap'n
 

FoxKat

Premium Member
Premium Member
Joined
Apr 2, 2010
Messages
14,651
Reaction score
4,703
Location
Pennsylvania
Current Phone Model
Droid Turbo 2 & Galaxy S7
+1
Always try to zoom & crop after taking the picture as opposed to doing so before. It will yield a much cleaner photo overall. Just as sunny outdoor shots will yield much better cropped photos, compared to indoor lower light shots.

S5 tap'n
Exactly. Zooming digitally while taking the picture results in the phone eliminating a portion of the pixels around the perimeter of the center of your zooming point. What you are left with is a lower resolution image, that will appear more grainy.

Allowing the phone camera to capture the image with zero digital zoom at the closest physical distance you can position the camera from your subject while still getting a true focus will yield the greatest density of pixels and the highest resolution image to start with. From there do any zooming and cropping you need to in order to frame the final image as you require.

For example, here are 5 images of the same keyboard from shots taken with a Samsung S7. The first is 12MP with no digital zoom. The second is at 8X digital zoom. The next image is the zero zoom image cropped to the limit of the editing software. Then that cropped image is cropped again to show only the 'A'. The last is the 8X zoom cropped to the same size to slow just the 'A'.

1)
c576038fc894c05395ad315fdea02fca.jpg
(3.48MB)

2)
1ecc13044cdb95d779223181576e3bf2.jpg
(1.77MB)

3)
1acb9779ef983516948ba154ddcca937.jpg
(178KB)

4)
f3f9e97349b5ccb1f5edbcd71a2fc206.jpg
(10KB)
(Tap to view)

5)
1682bd94b15c8287be32bbcaded60e5f.jpg
(320KB)

Since the digital zoom cuts down significantly on light gathered the digitally zoomed image is darker, less white and has less contrast. Aside from the obvious color, brightness and contrast difference, you'll notice how much smoother the zero zoom cropped image is compared to the 8X zoom cropped image. You'll also see significantly less graininess in the zero zoom cropped image overall. Remember, these were both captured with the same camera lens and sensor, and under the same lighting conditions. The only thing changed from image 1 to image 2 is 8X digital zoom in image 2.

Now, simple cropping of the images does reveal one important difference in the images. The digitally zoomed image (#2), actually looks less vibrant than the cropped image of the one that isn't digitally zoomed (#3), but you'll notice that once they are both cropped to the same size the digitally zoomed image (#5), actually looks more natural than the non-zoomed image (#4).

The reason is that in order to get to a comparable visual size the non-zoomed image had to be cropped twice while the zoomed image only needed cropping once. That second cropping severely reduced the non-zoomed image's data size (see sizes listed under each image).

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:

LoneWolfArcher

Silver Member
Joined
Dec 29, 2009
Messages
1,808
Reaction score
481
Exactly. Zooming digitally while taking the picture results in the phone eliminating a portion of the pixels around the perimeter of the center of your zooming point. What you are left with is a lower resolution image, that will appear more grainy.

Allowing the phone camera to capture the image with zero digital zoom at the closest physical distance you can position the camera from your subject while still getting a true focus will yield the greatest density of pixels and the highest resolution image to start with. From there do any zooming and cropping you need to in order to frame the final image as you require.

For example, here are 5 images of the same keyboard from shots taken with a Samsung S7. The first is 12MP with no digital zoom. The second is at 8X digital zoom. The next image is the zero zoom image cropped to the limit of the editing software. Then that cropped image is cropped again to show only the 'A'. The last is the 8X zoom cropped to the same size to slow just the 'A'.

1)
c576038fc894c05395ad315fdea02fca.jpg
(3.48MB)

2)
1ecc13044cdb95d779223181576e3bf2.jpg
(1.77MB)

3)
1acb9779ef983516948ba154ddcca937.jpg
(178KB)

4)
f3f9e97349b5ccb1f5edbcd71a2fc206.jpg
(10KB)
(Tap to view)

5)
1682bd94b15c8287be32bbcaded60e5f.jpg
(320KB)

Since the digital zoom cuts down significantly on light gathered the digitally zoomed image is darker, less white and has less contrast. Aside from the obvious color, brightness and contrast difference, you'll notice how much smoother the zero zoom cropped image is compared to the 8X zoom cropped image. You'll also see significantly less graininess in the zero zoom cropped image overall. Remember, these were both captured with the same camera lens and sensor, and under the same lighting conditions. The only thing changed from image 1 to image 2 is 8X digital zoom in image 2.

Now, simple cropping of the images does reveal one important difference in the images. The digitally zoomed image (#2), actually looks less vibrant than the cropped image of the one that isn't digitally zoomed (#3), but you'll notice that once they are both cropped to the same size the digitally zoomed image (#5), actually looks more natural than the non-zoomed image (#4).

The reason is that in order to get to a comparable visual size the non-zoomed image had to be cropped twice while the zoomed image only needed cropping once. That second cropping severely reduced the non-zoomed image's data size (see sizes listed under each image).

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

You need to use canned air on your keyboard.
 

FoxKat

Premium Member
Premium Member
Joined
Apr 2, 2010
Messages
14,651
Reaction score
4,703
Location
Pennsylvania
Current Phone Model
Droid Turbo 2 & Galaxy S7
You need to use canned air on your keyboard.
Haha, I was wondering how long it would take for someone to comment on the dirty, dusty keyboard. The fact is, the camera makes it look horrendous, but if you look at this pic, the dust is nearly undetectable.

cfbab97f7eb15387fad29f40a4826d39.jpg


It's just when you get right up close to it that it begins to like like the back of your closet floor.

34c31ffdd245f8d8e57373e2c33ddd5f.jpg


Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
 

LoneWolfArcher

Silver Member
Joined
Dec 29, 2009
Messages
1,808
Reaction score
481
Haha, I was wondering how long it would take for someone to comment on the dirty, dusty keyboard. The fact is, the camera makes it look horrendous, but if you look at this pic, the dust is nearly undetectable.

cfbab97f7eb15387fad29f40a4826d39.jpg


It's just when you get right up close to it that it begins to like like the back of your closet floor.

34c31ffdd245f8d8e57373e2c33ddd5f.jpg


Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

Hehehe, you should see mine right now!
 

Jonny Kansas

Administrator
Staff member
Rescue Squad
Joined
Jan 21, 2010
Messages
16,740
Reaction score
7,355
Location
Michigan's Upper Peninsula
Website
www.google.com
Current Phone Model
Pixel XL
Twitter
jonny_ks
Hehehe, you should see mine right now!
I'm at work with my second monitor and wireless keyboard and mouse hooked up. The wireless one is dirty enough, but the actual keyboard on the laptop only sees any use when I have to take the laptop off the desk, which isn't very often. It's pretty disgraceful.
 

mountainbikermark

Super Moderator
Staff member
Premium Member
Joined
Sep 5, 2010
Messages
7,552
Reaction score
4,019
I just wanna say the camera on the phone is great for the most part. However as soon as I start zooming in the photos get a bit grainy. is this normal? is it because it has a digital zoom instead of optical???
Yes it is because it is digital zoom instead of optical.

Support Our Troops!!!
Beast Mode 4
<><
 
OP
T

TuBitMittens

Member
Joined
Jan 6, 2010
Messages
713
Reaction score
12
that's a lot to take in lol. yea i wish the zoom was a bit better for images that were far away but I guess that's what actual cameras are for? as long as there's nothing wrong with it..
 
Top