Trick for correcting low light shots (maxx hd, razor hd, M)

[supermandrew]

This is a really quirky trick, but it freaking works awesome.

If you simply pop off the camera in little to no light with the Maxx HD, RAZR HD, or M and let the camera flash do its own thing, the resulting blur and lack of detail is disappointing. I figured out a trick this evening to correct that issue natively in the phone. No apps needed.

You can manually keep the flash on as long as you want. This is the whole issue with the HD series camera. The components are fine, but the software doesn't keep the flash on long enough for the camera to dial in the clarity. Hopefully Jelly Bean will fix this. Here its what you do.

Turn the lights out in the room.

Assign the volume button to "capture mode" in the camera settings.

If you put the shooting mode in "night shot" it helps, but you don't have to.

Hold down on the volume button with your middle finger (if you are doing this one handed) and double tap the screen, keeping your finger on the screen with the second tap.

The flash will light up and stay on as long as you keep your finger down. This whole while you are still holding down on the volume/capture button.

I found the right exposure time to be approximately 3.5 to 4 seconds. So count to four, don't take your finger off the screen, and release the capture button.

This sounds like a lot of work, but it is really not. You are really just manually focusing and forcing the flash to stay on until the camera can lock in a better image. I took about fifty photos with this method and pulled out a detailed image almost every single time. In fact, I could zoom in on my phone and count individual hairs on my arm where there was a blurry mess before under the standard functionality.

I will get some sample photos up tomorrow.

UPDATE 10/31/12

Sorry for the delay. Here are some sample photos. The first set were all taken in the same conditions (pitch black room) using the automatic flash and letting the phone do its own thing. Notice the inherent blur in each shot, especially when zoomed in. I made the photos public and downloadable. Feel free to download the full resolution.

Auto Flash pictures by Bozo_Bailey - Photobucket

Now, here are some shots under the exact same conditions but manually controlling the flash.

Manual Flash pictures by Bozo_Bailey - Photobucket

If you download the full photos and zoom in you can really get an idea of the details that come out of manually controlling the flash.

 

[geoff5093]

Can't wait to see some shots!

 

[PowrDroid]

I will get some sample photos up tomorrow.

Looking forward to seeing them.

 

[supermandrew]

Here is an update on my original posting of this thread. I exchanged my Maxx HD for an S3. It is nearly silly to trade a phone for a peripheral feature such as the camera, but I use the camera A LOT!! I have a two year old that is always up to cute stuff, and I need a reliable camera on my phone because it is often my "go-to" device. Also, I play in a band that often plays in low-lit clubs and the Maxx HD suffers terribly in slightly less-lit conditions.

Anyways, I've had the S3 for about a week now and am completely happy with my decision. I miss the form factor and interface of the Maxx, but the S3 is a sleek device in on its own accord and it has some useful tools the Maxx does not. I hope this helps anyone debating between the features of both of these devices.

 

[PowrDroid]

Sorry for the delay. Here are some sample photos. The first set were all taken in the same conditions (pitch black room) using the automatic flash and letting the phone do its own thing. Notice the inherent blur in each shot, especially when zoomed in. I made the photos public and downloadable. Feel free to download the full resolution.

If you download the full photos and zoom in you can really get an idea of the details that come out of manually controlling the flash.

I downloaded the pics and looked at them in full resolution (actual pixel size). I chose the pics of your outstretched arm/hand. If you look at the area of the 'heel' of your thumb you can see the vast difference in focus. With the auto flash version you know something isn't right about it, but it doesn't look too bad--until you compare it to the manual flash version of the same shot. In the manual flash version you can see the very fine details of the texture of you skin, the miniature cross-hatch pattern of the epidermis. You can clearly see individual hairs on your wrist. In the auto flash version these features are blurry.

Of course now we'd all like to see the same shot in the same conditions using the S3...

 

[supermandrew]

I will post some shots for my s3 here in the next few days. Been busy with school and haven't been able to get back to this thread. Having the phone another week now, my experience is still solid. The 1 facet of the phone I was worried about, the phone part, has been fine. I have not experienced any dropped calls or degradation in service quality across the board. I live in Colorado where it is very mountainous and uneven terrain. That being said, I am still doing fine. In fact, I noticed the data speeds up the phone to be a little bit better than they were on my Maxx. For instance, when I would load a high definition YouTube video on my maxx HD I would see a little bit more buffer time then I would have hoped for. On my s3, I generally buffer for two two three seconds and the video plays unbuffered for the rest of the video.

 

[geoff5093]

I will post some shots for my s3 here in the next few days. Been busy with school and haven't been able to get back to this thread. Having the phone another week now, my experience is still solid. The 1 facet of the phone I was worried about, the phone part, has been fine. I have not experienced any dropped calls or degradation in service quality across the board. I live in Colorado where it is very mountainous and uneven terrain. That being said, I am still doing fine. In fact, I noticed the data speeds up the phone to be a little bit better than they were on my Maxx. For instance, when I would load a high definition YouTube video on my maxx HD I would see a little bit more buffer time then I would have hoped for. On my s3, I generally buffer for two two three seconds and the video plays unbuffered for the rest of the video.

We want to see photos with the MAXX HD, not the GS3.

 

[PowrDroid]

We want to see photos with the MAXX HD, not the GS3.

See post #1, above for links to photos with the Maxx HD.