Camera question

[BlackMill]

So I've been wondering this for a while now. Many phones out right now are capable of taking a picture while you record video. Many of these same phones also record in 1080p. My question is....does taking a picture while recording in 1080p have a higher quality shot than taking a picture with - lets say an 8mp - camera? I tested to see for myself and found that the picture taken while filming in 1080p seemed to be better but if at all possible I'd like to know whether this makes sense or not. Thank you.

 

[dezymond]

From my experience with my Galaxy Nexus, no. Picture quality is roughly the same and possibly even worse as the camera doesn't take the time to really focus as it would a still image.

 

[FoxKat]

1080P (1920X1080) is only 2MP of resolution. In some phones, it doesn't matter what resolution the camera is taking video at when you shoot a still. In others, it would only produce a still with the same resolution as the video. Check your phone's specifications. If the camera is 8MP and you have it set in the system settings to take the highest resolution still images, an 8MP camera is capable of producing an image that is 3264x2448 pixels (7,990,272 to be exact). If you're shooting a still during a video shoot, you're probably only getting the 2MP resolution.

For example, the images below are a couple at full resolution on an 8MP (Nikon) camera (click on the image to see it in its resident size).

http://www.dailymobile.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/nokia-n86-8mp-camera-sample-01.jpg

http://www.dailymobile.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/nokia-n86-8mp-camera-sample-03.jpg

Image Size Calculator/Convertor is a handy little picture size calculator. You enter the dimensions in pixels, then choose the output resolution and it will tell you how large the print will be. You will see that at 96dpi (typical LCD or LED Monitor), the image for a 8MP photo will be 34" X 25.5 ". That same image at 1080P would be only 20" X 11.25".

 

[BlackMill]

1080P (1920X1080) is only 2MP of resolution. In some phones, it doesn't matter what resolution the camera is taking video at when you shoot a still. In others, it would only produce a still with the same resolution as the video. Check your phone's specifications. If the camera is 8MP and you have it set in the system settings to take the highest resolution still images, an 8MP camera is capable of producing an image that is 3264x2448 pixels (7,990,272 to be exact). If you're shooting a still during a video shoot, you're probably only getting the 2MP resolution.

For example, the images below are a couple at full resolution on an 8MP (Nikon) camera (click on the image to see it in its resident size).

http://www.dailymobile.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/nokia-n86-8mp-camera-sample-01.jpg

http://www.dailymobile.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/nokia-n86-8mp-camera-sample-03.jpg

Image Size Calculator/Convertor is a handy little picture size calculator. You enter the dimensions in pixels, then choose the output resolution and it will tell you how large the print will be. You will see that at 96dpi (typical LCD or LED Monitor), the image for a 8MP photo will be 34" X 25.5 ". That same image at 1080P would be only 20" X 11.25".

I never realized that. The fact that 1080p is actually only 2mp raises the question...why is everything so much crisper when I record a 1080p video yet when I take 8MP shots they don't seem as nice? For the sake of that question let's focus on one type of phone, like my Razr HD. Sorry if my questions are silly.

I'd include my photo's for reference but they refuse to upload.

 

[FoxKat]

OK, so those shots are BOTH the same resolution (see below)...



They're 2592X1458, or 3,779,136 (just under 4MP or 27" X 15.19" ). Click on those images, then click on this one... http://photos.appleinsider.com/4scamera-111005-1-full.jpg

I think you'll see the difference.

You must have your camera set to max out at 4MP. Either that, or it's a 4MP camera (not likely).

 

[BlackMill]

OK, so those shots are BOTH the same resolution (see below)...

View attachment 64161

They're 2592X1458, or 3,779,136 (just under 4MP or 27" X 15.19" ). Click on those images, then click on this one... http://photos.appleinsider.com/4scamera-111005-1-full.jpg

I think you'll see the difference.

You must have your camera set to max out at 4MP. Either that, or it's a 4MP camera (not likely).

I apologize somewhere along the lines I think I uploaded the same picture. Here is the dimensions when I bring up their details on my computer: (8MP is on left)