Can someone help me understand the RAZR camera?

[AWDkid]

So I've always been a huge Android person and I just recently got the razr maxx. I LOVE the phone and am so glad I didn't get the iphone. The phone takes amazing videos but the only thing I'm not to happy about is the camera.

My pictures come out OK but the iPhone IMO takes way better pictures. Now there supposed to me the same 8mp? I'm just a little confused. I also go into settings and it says I'm on 6mp but if I turn it to the 8mp widescreen honestly I see no difference and the picture itself is not full screen.

I'm just confused on the way the camera works and if I'm doing something wrong that I'm not getting the best quality pictures. Like I I said I love the phone just am disappointed in the camera.

 

[Sydman]

Megapixels don't really mean anything until you start zooming in or making larger prints of the pictures. The camera lens and machinery that Apple uses is just better, plain and simple really.

I think this phone takes wonderful pictures outside, however inside with low light it is pretty pathetic. Then again I don't buy phones for taking pictures so it has never really bothered me.

However I can surely see the frustration, you could try and download Camera Zoom FX a lot of people around here seem to like that better than the stock camera software.

 

[AWDkid]

Megapixels don't really mean anything until you start zooming in or making larger prints of the pictures. The camera lens and machinery that Apple uses is just better, plain and simple really.

I think this phone takes wonderful pictures outside, however inside with low light it is pretty pathetic. Then again I don't buy phones for taking pictures so it has never really bothered me.

However I can surely see the frustration, you could try and download Camera Zoom FX a lot of people around here seem to like that better than the stock camera software.

Yea I did download that and it does seem to work a little better. I'm a huge car guy and just love taking pictures of automotive things. I'm addicted to instagram and also don't like how the DROID works on that(given the app was designed for iPhones) you can't edit a whole Android picture you have to crop it and 90% of the time it can't even fit the whole picture and it distorts it.

That I'm not too too worried about that because I think they will fix that in the future. I guess I'll just have to play around with zoom FX

 

[bsweetness]

I was also frustrated by the camera when I had my MAXX. Motorola consistently uses cameras that aren't nearly as good as most of the cameras on the top smartphones out there, and it's been one of my only frustrations with them over the past few years. Sydman is 100% correct. Megapixels really don't mean anything unless you're looking to print out a picture at a large size, or use a digital version of the shot on an extremely high-resolution display. It's the hardware - notably the lens and the sensor - that make all the difference in the world. My nearly ten-year-old 5MP Sony Cybershot takes better pictures than pretty much every smartphone camera out there, and it's because of the dedicated hardware it has.

I wouldn't hold out much in the way of hope for improvements to the quality of the camera in the future from Motorola. If they weren't able to do anything major with the ICS update, it's not likely that anything will be coming later. While the major limitation on the camera is the hardware, which is something no update can improve upon, differences in the software processing certainly can help, and for that, third-party camera apps are definitely the way to go. I've gone through every major camera app out there over the years, and I gave pretty much all of them a try on the MAXX. Camera Zoom FX is a good one, but in my experience, Camera ICS was easily the best for general use. If you like the free version, there's a paid version - Camera ICS+ - that adds more features. For shots that are completely still (because the HDR layering won't work properly most of the time if anything is moving), HDR Camera is a great compliment to Camera ICS. You can get some really stunning pictures from it. It also has a paid version - HDR Camera+ - with more features. I purchased the paid versions of both and was glad I did. It would be great to have the features of both of those apps in a single app, but at least they're there as options. Don't expect miracles out of either (or out of any camera app), because the major limitation of the camera is the hardware, but for me, both went a long way towards producing better shots from the camera on the RAZR/MAXX.

 

[AWDkid]

I was also frustrated by the camera when I had my MAXX. Motorola consistently uses cameras that aren't nearly as good as most of the cameras on the top smartphones out there, and it's been one of my only frustrations with them over the past few years. Sydman is 100% correct. Megapixels really don't mean anything unless you're looking to print out a picture at a large size, or use a digital version of the shot on an extremely high-resolution display. It's the hardware - notably the lens and the sensor - that make all the difference in the world. My nearly ten-year-old 5MP Sony Cybershot takes better pictures than pretty much every smartphone camera out there, and it's because of the dedicated hardware it has.

I wouldn't hold out much in the way of hope for improvements to the quality of the camera in the future from Motorola. If they weren't able to do anything major with the ICS update, it's not likely that anything will be coming later. While the major limitation on the camera is the hardware, which is something no update can improve upon, differences in the software processing certainly can help, and for that, third-party camera apps are definitely the way to go. I've gone through every major camera app out there over the years, and I gave pretty much all of them a try on the MAXX. Camera Zoom FX is a good one, but in my experience, Camera ICS was easily the best for general use. If you like the free version, there's a paid version - Camera ICS+ - that adds more features. For shots that are completely still (because the HDR layering won't work properly most of the time if anything is moving), HDR Camera is a great compliment to Camera ICS. You can get some really stunning pictures from it. It also has a paid version - HDR Camera+ - with more features. I purchased the paid versions of both and was glad I did. It would be great to have the features of both of those apps in a single app, but at least they're there as options. Don't expect miracles out of either (or out of any camera app), because the major limitation of the camera is the hardware, but for me, both went a long way towards producing better shots from the camera on the RAZR/MAXX.

Thanks a ton man. I really like that hdr camera app. I think I might buy the full version. Kinda sucks hearing about Motorola using "not as good hardware" I think with the hdr app I'll be pretty happy. As for the camera itself like I was asking earlier should I be shooting in 6 or 8mp? Seems almost like the 6mp shoots better but I think that's because the 8mp images aren't full screen.

Thanks again

 

[bsweetness]

Thanks a ton man. I really like that hdr camera app. I think I might buy the full version. Kinda sucks hearing about Motorola using "not as good hardware" I think with the hdr app I'll be pretty happy. As for the camera itself like I was asking earlier should I be shooting in 6 or 8mp? Seems almost like the 6mp shoots better but I think that's because the 8mp images aren't full screen.

Thanks again

Whether you shoot in 6MP or 8MP entirely depends on the aspect ratio you want. If you want wide shots (that fill up the whole screen), you'll shoot in 6MP. If you want pictures that are the traditional shape, you'll go with 8MP. The quality of each will be pretty much the same with the MAXX, but the 8MP shots should be larger (and in turn can be blown up to a bigger size, cropped in closer, or viewed at a higher resolution without becoming as blurry).

So, it's really up to you and what aspect ratio you prefer.

 

[AWDkid]

Whether you shoot in 6MP or 8MP entirely depends on the aspect ratio you want. If you want wide shots (that fill up the whole screen), you'll shoot in 6MP. If you want pictures that are the traditional shape, you'll go with 8MP. The quality of each will be pretty much the same with the MAXX, but the 8MP shots should be larger (and in turn can be blown up to a bigger size, cropped in closer, or viewed at a higher resolution without becoming as blurry).

So, it's really up to you and what aspect ratio you prefer.

Thanks a bunch man. Hopefully this helps other people out too..

 

[Caesars]

All this being said, what do you guys feel is the best smartphone camera for quick "staying on phone" shots and pics we plan to print. I have seen some reviews saying the OneX but I've not seen one in person.

As stated above, indoor my maxx takes good shots, however outside...../sadpanda.

 

[bsweetness]

All this being said, what do you guys feel is the best smartphone camera for quick "staying on phone" shots and pics we plan to print. I have seen some reviews saying the OneX but I've not seen one in person.

As stated above, indoor my maxx takes good shots, however outside...../sadpanda.

Aside from the ridiculous Nokia PureView (which is hands down the best out there), the HTC One series have the best cameras as far as widely available smartphones go. But the Galaxy S3 isn't far behind those.

 

[AWDkid]

Aside from the ridiculous Nokia PureView (which is hands down the best out there), the HTC One series have the best cameras as far as widely available smartphones go. But the Galaxy S3 isn't far behind those.

I kinda want the s3 haha.

 

[thaDroidz]

Upload both a 6 & 8 to the PC and check the differences, it the only way to see..

----posted MAXXED OUT WITH dessert----

 

[mysticalmalissa]

Yea I did download that and it does seem to work a little better. I'm a huge car guy and just love taking pictures of automotive things. I'm addicted to instagram and also don't like how the DROID works on that(given the app was designed for iPhones) you can't edit a whole Android picture you have to crop it and 90% of the time it can't even fit the whole picture and it distorts it.

That I'm not too too worried about that because I think they will fix that in the future. I guess I'll just have to play around with zoom FX

Check out StreamZoo. I gave up instagram when I found it. =)