yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Nexus 5 General] RealNaveed:
Took this photo last night with my Nexus 5 using HDR+ mode
[Nexus 5 General] docfuz:
Hi everybody,

what most probably all the reviewers out there mean is that the camera/app combo is not up to the standards of a flagship phone. What I think they don't get is that the N5 is a flagship Google phone, i.e. a top model with a very low price point to reach the masses.

My wife got an iPhone 5. Is her camera better? You bet. Snappier and overall faster in focusing correctly where desired. Is the keeper ratio better? No. My N5 gets almost the same keepers.

As I shoot with DSLRs I probably have different expectations, but the iPhone 5 flash is simply faster when it comes to power calculations and firing lag after pressing the shutter.

But does the nexus cam suck? No way.
[Nexus 5 General] ali262883:
Yes i agree its slow.. Its capable of taking photos as fast as iPhone.. Google needs to do something about this
[Nexus 5 General] TheArc:
They may fix this in the upcoming android update, hopefully. But I can say, the Camera is a bit slow but not as slow but one thing to keep in mind. The pictures turn out incredible. Far better then my brothers iPhone 5 camera. We even did a video test, n5 runs allot smoother and clearer.
[Nexus 5 General] ali2012:
Nexus 5 camera is a beast!!!
[Nexus 5 General] chrisinsocalif:
Most pictures taken in a rush...not edited

A few pictures before work..

Starbucks inside Disneyland

Walt Disney Studios..
[Nexus 5 General] ali262883:
This camera takes the best natural shots I've ever seen.. What we see, exactly the same is captures.. For example I took this at my home

It looks exactly the same as it is in real life
[Nexus 5 General] darksora145:
So I took some photos of the cherry blossoms in DC yesterday and when focusing and getting the right lighting it didn't look so good. But I also had medium brightness as well to keep my phone from overheating in the heat lol. It didn't look like the shots were going to be good until I looked at them after and to my surprise it was amazing both with HDR+ on and the sun was mostly shining in front of me
[Nexus 5 General] simms22:
heres a few sgs4 pics i promised, and a self photo(because the sgs4 takes better self photos)..
[Nexus 5 General] ali262883:
Thank you
[Nexus 5 General] ali262883:
What's ur primary device for shooting?
[Nexus 5 General] simms22:
nexus 5. ill use the sgs4 if i have a long day before i charge the n5 again, or if im low on storage space on the n5 and dont feel like cleaning my device at the moment. but self shots(using the front cam) are much better on the sgs4. regular shots i like the n5 much better. they "feel" better to me. and the very details seem more accurate on the n5, the sgs4 details seem like they are computer processed and not very natural.
[Nexus 5 General] ali262883:
Ohh okay
[Nexus 5 General] Tudorrrr:
I was fooling around with a friend, but the photo turned out pretty good :D
[Nexus 5 General] rangoj:
S4 is using digital OIS, and nexus 5 is using gyroscope OIS, on two axes (X, Y). Digital OIS is reason for unnatural details on s4.
[Nexus 5 General] ali262883:
Yaa
[Nexus 5 General] TwinkyOfHope:
Great idea! I will do this next time we are all together. Will post results in the next few days. I do hope the N5 comes out on top
[Nexus 5 General] ali262883:
Please use hdr plus on nexus 5 and any mode u wish on other phones
[Nexus 5 General] Domster26:
Here is a picture of my RC helicopter taken by the N5 + my sennheiser earphones:
[Nexus 5 General] 2l8:
Search hdr+ on Google+ and you see many great images taken with N5!
[Nexus 5 General] ali262883:
Okay I had hands on iPhone 5s camera, its very good.. With hdr+ nexus 5 is slightly better, but without hdr+ its now way near iPhone 5s's camera.. The iPhone handles exposure very well
[Nexus 5 General] simms22:
Heres the official #Google Camera apk for #android http://goo.gl/4xO14H
[Nexus 5 General] neriamarillo:
Thank you! Camera app looks amazing! And it now has a lens blur option too
[Nexus 5 General] Void Power:
It changed form bad to worse. It is still slow and The UI is uglier and even more inconvenient. I really feel for left handed people. They are screwed now. Someone have to give a slap to those UI designers in Google.
[Nexus 5 General] chris0160:
Idk about most but more phones should have been tested. Before the update, my pics looked like crap, especially against the S4. My girlfriend took a picture of the Blood Moon, not the greatest image but much clearer and you could actually tell it was the moon and not some dot in a pic. The G2's camera put this phone to shame. After the update....... I'm happy, no more grainy photos
[Nexus 5 General] JDM9499:
I concur, the camera app update is much better. There's less grain. The images are of higher quality. And the shutter is much, much faster. HDr mode prior to the camera update was horrendous. It was so bad, I was embarrassed that a multi billion dollar company (Google) allowed such to take place in their flag ship device. But as I suspected, the quality and speed is not internal hardware, rather software. The camera lens/sensor is there, and great, but the software was NOT up to par with other third party apps. Meaning....the quality of the image and rendering was not all that great. Now, it's much better. Could it improve? Sure. But the Google folks are not photo oriented. The difference between companies is that Apple hired engineers to specifically make their camera hardware/software shine. And they have. Google relied on LG for hardware, meanwhile, Google engineers applied basic rendering for the software.

For camera enthusiasts, that's not enough. I think now the backlash has caught on and Google has finally realized that phones are now even being used for professional usage. And to win over part of the market, a GREAT....not good....final output image is necessary. And why not? Google again is a multi-billion dollar company and employs some of the most smartest folks in the world. So why not make their flagship device rock?

Is it there yet? Can it compete toe-to-toe with the iPhone 5s? Both are the same megapixel. The lens elements and glass at such a small diameter don't matter all that much....so what's left? Software. Plain and simple. Google is getting there and this latest software update proves it. The Nexus 5 camera today got much better. It can improve and grow. But it's now even more usable. Especially the HDR mode.

So if you were excited about how it performed before, it's even better now. Should you use the Nexus 5 exclusively for all life's important events? No. Not even with the iPhone 5s. Don't expect professional results, ever. The sensor is far too small. Save up for a decent Micro 4/3 or DSLR for those results. For now, the Nexus 5 finally can take better photos faster for social media use. :)

Cheers!
[Nexus 5 General] ali262883:
I see quality being hit slightly.. Earlier the quality was bit better
[Nexus 5 General] JDM9499:
I have to disagree. Before, the rendering of the image was way, way to pixelated and noisy in low-light. With the recent update, the final image files are less compressed and the straight lines in the images are not jagged. It may appear smooth to most, but that's something you can work with in post processing and later sharpen. The final image almost appears as if it's close to being RAW. The HDR image looks like the original Nexus 5 camera app used to be - overly compressed with pixelation and noise when viewed at 100%. However, HDR has improved so much that now I will be able to finally use it.

With that said, do keep in mind that any camera phone is not meant to produce high-quality professional results. The reason why the LG G2 and or the Galaxy line of cameras give a higher quality final output is simply because of higher megapixel. In the case of the iPhone, well, they just hired far superior software engineers, because the technical hardware is almost the same as the Nexus 5 in terms of specs. So, that's why I mentioned the Nexus 5 can still improve.

But again, in my professional opinion it has improved. Just maybe not enough for a majority of folks to realize. As a "pixel peeper" myself, I see a difference. Not HUGE, mind you, but a good difference in the right direction.
[Nexus 5 General] ali262883:
Finally i was able to take photos of children with HDR+.. its more fast now and better :) Kinda liking the new update :) <br />

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[Nexus 5 General] benzso63:
Try this https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.neaststudios.procapture.free&hl=en

It will make a big difference. :good:
[Nexus 5 General] aikelo:
Did you try filming at the concert?

If so how was the sound quality?
[Nexus 5 General] -df-:
I have a couple of complaints about my N5, but have to say I'm very happy with the camera, it is a little slow (my old S3 was much faster), but with HDR+ turned on it seems fine for me, and this is with taking photos of a 20 month old, 10% might have blur, but 90% of them are perfect (with the N5).

My wife has the S4 and wants to sell it because the N5 takes better pictures (hers keeps coming out blurry/bad exposure most of the time unless the conditions are perfect). I very much regret recommending the S4 (i9505) for her when she bought it (blindly recommended it on release day as all the Galaxy devices I've had in the past were top notch).
[Nexus 5 General] Tomatot-:
Hi, i filmed during a concert and so the sound is from good to horrible.

If the music is not very very loud we can listen to the music quiet well, not as good as in studio of course but it's listenable I'd say :p

Whereas when it's a bit too loud it sucks haha. But it's like 100x times better than Nexus 4 mic which is horrible. I couldn't compare with other phones but I think the Nexus 5's mic is quiet good.
[Nexus 5 General] Cuppeerr:
The bass distortion is HORRIBLE. But hey that's expected when you were as close as I was lol. When there wasn't as much bass it was actually pretty good:)

Here's a link to the youtube playlist with my uploads from the concert:)

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPgLiTu3ZYakjuHsPraY3h5sEWuCLE6RI
[Nexus 5 General] Andrew149:
The note 2 takes incredible shots.
[Nexus 5 General] daewond3r:
I suggest everyone check out VSCO Cam. I downloaded it this morning and I'm getting awesome results. Great focus and no shutter lag. Also, the filters are lightyears better than anything I've seen.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vsco.cam
[Nexus 5 General] bleuiko:
This app has trouble focusing.
[Nexus 5 General] maxpower7:
The camera app on this phone is undeniably slow, but I'm willing to live with it for now because this is a Nexus phone and the shutter speed (and hopefully the camera app itself) will inevitably be fixed down the line. The photo quality, however is FANTASTIC if you're using HDR+ mode, especially considering that it's just barely slower than regular mode. Interestingly enough, my HDR photos have been turning out less blurry even though the picture taking is slower.

This photo was taken at night in really low light.
[Nexus 5 General] daewond3r:
Are you touching a spot to focus on? I notice it can lag a little when auto focusing (in lower light), but if you touch on a spot to focus it's quick and nicely focused (even in low light).
[Nexus 5 General] michaelnel:
I installed the "Camera Awesome" app from SmugMug, and the camera seems to work well with that. I think the camera hardware in the N5 is OK, just the standard app is pretty bad.

Either way, it's not that important to me. I have seldom used the camera functions on any smartphone I have used, even though I am an avid photography hobbyist. None of the cell phone cameras I have tried even begin to approach what my real cameras can do.
[Nexus 5 General] EcPercy:
The OP is full of crap honestly. The camera is definitely

NOT

better than my old S3. It "might" be possible that the hardware is good, but the camera focuses so slowly that I only get blurry pictures out of this thing.

So while you are tired of people saying the camera is crap... I think there is a valid reason that people are complaining.
[Nexus 5 General] onmike:
IPhone 5S and iPhone 5 blow the nexus 5 camera away. There is not even a comparison there.

The nexus 5 can take great pictures outdoors in good light of stationary objects. I fine even try for anything else.
[Nexus 5 General] Detailed:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qp6clWG-b5c .... I'm just gonna leave this here and put it @ max res. That's the N5 vs 5S Camera. iPhone 5s has the same camera quality as the N5 with HDR modes on both (HDR+ on N5 substantially increases quality over standard). 5S does have the Dual-tone LED flash which wins on that, as well as a fast camera being able to record 720p @ 120fps and the ability to take so many photos with it's burst mode. But in quality itself, they are on par (Again, with HDR).
[Nexus 5 General] anthonyly:
isnt google suppose to roll out an update to fix the camera?
[Nexus 5 General] adio01:
You can't just exclude certain types of shots when comparing cameras. Sure, I agree with you that the Nexus 5 is capable of taking amazing shots in stand still when you have the time to focus. Otherwise like everyone else is saying the software is bad and needs to be fixed which makes it a sub-par camera experience.
[Nexus 5 General] LiquidSolstice:
I don't know what the hell is wrong with some of you people, but I took this shot casually without planning it and without sitting there trying to hold the camera stupidly still.

I'm really, really happy with the camera on this phone. I have yet to take a blurry shot (the OIS seems to be doing it's job) and the level of detail is pretty fantastic.
[Nexus 5 General] themohd:
I have to admit that the N5 is best phone I've ever used, even though I have a Note3, I prefer the N5 as a daily driver.

However, when it comes to the camera, well the quality of the still photos is great, but the video recording is much much much below the expectations, the framerate is too tricky.

But the overall quality is good :)
[Nexus 5 General] dancer810:
yeah, video recording make me cry:crying:
[Nexus 5 General] dijonemon:
The camera on the N5 is absolutely fine for static shots, but for me it's next to useless. I only ever really use the phone camera to take photos of my kids. I've yet to get a decent shot, as they're too young to understand they need to keep still long enough for the camera to focus.

For 3rd party apps, ProCapture is slightly better, but only slight. Camera Zoom FX is buggy as hell on 4.4.

So far, I'm really disappointed with the camera because I'm getting far worse pictures than I did on the Nexus 4 - but only because it is so slow, the pictures are all blurred. As I said, static pictures absolutely no problem at all. Fantastic when things are in focus.
[Nexus 5 General] joannn:
Camera Working Gr8

I agree totally. I got a Nexus 5 last weekend and I already clicked more than 30 clicks at my sisters marriage and its quality wise just perfect almost like a professional camera.:good:
[Nexus 5 General] rangoj:
Guys, what do you think on this.

HDR+ is almost the same as superzoom on OPPO F 7.

Samples are here:

https://plus.google.com/102934731639817717115/posts/CamZ3VxhR1J

Check the link and give me the comment.

Google just give the wrong name for his mood... And didn't care to much about marketing.

They also work in same way, taking few photos and working with RAW.
[Nexus 5 General] ali262883:
Very happy to hear this :)
[Nexus 5 General] ali262883:
Nexus 5 outperformed note 3's camera.. After this i don't think u ppl need any proof of nexus 5 having a great camera.. <br />

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[Nexus 5 General] neriamarillo:
New camera is awesome!!!
[Nexus 5 General] TheCybertronian:
Like this
[Nexus 5 General] eshopper:
Much closer.. try taking just the head..camera doesn't focus.. was possible before.. and what happened to the various scene modes?
[Nexus 5 General] vin4yak:
Google is taking the updates step by step... May be all scene modes/photos while recording aren't compatible or may be they are bugged with the new camera.. that's why they must have disabled it! All the strings which are required for those settings are still present on the XML file while androidpolice extracted.. So we can say that it's going to be enabled in the next update.

After all we are Nexus users and we want to taste the latest releases and that's what Google did! If you are unhappy with the update go to Settings-Apps-Camera-Uninstall Update!

---------- Post added at 05:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:24 PM ----------

Here's a macro shot. It was taken with a distance of 1.5-2 inch from the object(lightning cable)..

I'm not sure why would anyone want to get any closer than this.

- Sent from an IceCold Hammerhead!
[Nexus 5 General] ali262883:
Went crazy today.. Decided to go below the tracks.. Captures some photos..

This is What's inside the bridge

Pitch black.. Still amazing quality..
[Nexus 5 General] TheCybertronian:
Pretty close
[Nexus 5 General] neriamarillo:
This looks like that skunk's mug shot [emoji23]
[Nexus 5 General] ilostmypistons:
Honey badger
[Nexus 5 General] TheCybertronian:
It's a honey badger
[Nexus 5 General] romgnascher:
I spent the day on the slopes yesterday with the new camera app. It's OK overall, but I find it to be incredibly unstable. I took a lot of photos and videos throughout the day. I had lots of "can't connect to camera", the app outright freezing. At one point, I finally had to "uninstall updates", go back to the old camera and reboot the phone before my camera became usable again.

Granted, I am not stock. I am running the latest PA beta and Franko kernel. The old camera was rock-solid under this configuration.

My wife's phone however is bone stock ... she doesn't even have the bootloader unlocked. When she initially received the camera update, the camera was immediately inoperative. She tried to use the camera and was getting the "Can't connect to camera" error. I had to clear the app data, and then it worked. I also have the perception that this camera app is a total battery hog. It seemed every time I used it, I ended up losing a percent or two of battery.

So ... functionality and UI design aside ... as a software update, this is a total fail. The camera app is a critical piece of software on people's phones. If you issue a replacement app, you had better make sure you're releasing stable software that "just works" ... especially on a bone-stock flagship phone.

As for the UX/functionality changes of the new camera, I am not a fan. I was very happy with the overall interactions of the older design ... it was very easy to access all functions of the phone ... especially one-handed. I find the new design to be fairly clumsy, and the massive new shutter button yielded many photos of my feet, etc...

Let's hope Google iterates on this update quickly, because this release seems half-baked and rushed.
[Nexus 5 General] eshopper:
at that range (1.5-2 inch to object) my camera app is not focusing .. thats the issue i'm posting.. if any closer then ur literally sticking ur camera on the object :rolleyes:

ps: i'm using stock OS
[Nexus 5 General] eshopper:
For instance I'm posing the pic of a single alt key of a standard keyboard.. the camera just didn't focus manually out automatically..

Sent from my Nexus 5
[Nexus 5 General] vin4yak:
Mannnn how can the camera focus with such less distance?? Even I can't focus when I'm so close to the object... I tried uninstalling the update but it's the same.. No changes in focus for me... May be there's some lint stuck on the lens? Try cleaning it...

By the looks of it, you're holding the phone <1 inch from that ALT key... There's no way it can focus..
[Nexus 5 General] joannn:
Its a phone not a professional Camera

I agree. No,doubt Nexus 5 has awesome resolution power and its primary camera is clicking like a professional camera although it is a phone first.Personally i am giving 8 out of 10 marks for its camera only.

:good:
[Nexus 5 General] JaimyLuca:
Some people whine about nothing. If people want a really outstanding good camera, buy a Canon/Nikon/whatever.

So you are right, the Nexus 5 makes good photo's. Nothing to complain about.
[Nexus 5 General] ali262883:
Definitely.. If its not the best camera its definitely not the worst too.. It can take as good photos as other smartphones available..
[Nexus 5 General] eshopper:
Check this Marble pic taken from my old S3.. N5 is supposed to be much superior in terms of hardware and software.. and this was taken pretty close where you can find texture of my skin and nails very clearly
[Nexus 5 General] eshopper:
I'm not here to argue the camera sucks.. what i meant is there is lots of potential for software up-gradation / betterment..

I dont like to say N5 is awesome or best just because I own and hold it in my hands. I'm giving a unbiased view here.

all said and done, i dont wanna hype or praise the new camera update just like everybody else here.

ps: camera really sucks if HDR mode is not used. :rolleyes:
[Nexus 5 General] TheCybertronian:
New camera works fine for me.
[Nexus 5 General] eshopper:
bro its working fine for everyone but thats not the point i am trying to convey.
[Nexus 5 General] TheCybertronian:
You said the camera sucks without HDR I disagree.

---------- Post added at 04:42 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:37 PM ----------

No HDR look I can see my print lines...
[Nexus 5 General] ali262883:
Can anyone compare it with s5?
[Nexus 5 General] CitizenLee:
The S5 will wipe the floor with it. My old Note 2 does... :cool:
[Nexus 5 General] ali262883:
Never.. Note 2 no ways.. Not even s4..
[Nexus 5 General] CitizenLee:
Haha, well it's just my opinion but I had the Note 2 since October 2012 and took well over 1000 photos with it and can confidently say the image quality is better than anything I've taken with the Nexus 5. I'm not saying the N5 takes rubbish photos, but they do lack contrast, vibrancy and sharpness compared to Note 2. The Note 2 stock camera also has a lot more features and modes. I should add that this is comparing in good light conditions, as neither are great in low light.
[Nexus 5 General] The-Droidster:
Yes, it will if you keep watching it on the Super Amoled ****. Put them on a MAC or PC side by side and then report back. Note 2 does not stand a chance.
[Nexus 5 General] ali262883:
I absolutely respect ur opinion :)

Everyone has the right to follow their choice.. But then yes.. The photos look good due to the amoled display.. Still personal choice..

Thanks :)
[Nexus 5 General] CitizenLee:
I have an IPS monitor, so have no need to compare on phone screens.

At the end of the day, no matter how big or small the difference, they're both toys compared to DSLRs anyway :)
[Nexus 5 General] ali262883:
Hmm..
[Nexus 5 General] The-Droidster:
Ofcourse you can't compare a 1/3.2" sensor with a full frame dslr. ;)

Hammered from my Hammerhead!
[Nexus 5 General] CitizenLee:
Indeed, it would almost be like comparing a £500 Samsung Galaxy S5 to a £250 Nexus 5 :p

Jokes aside, I'm not bad mouthing the N5 in anyway, just sharing my experience with the camera on two devices I've owned, and to my eye and on my screen I prefer the photos taken with the Note 2. The fact that Galaxy cameras use phase detection auto-focus is another big plus point, as the contrast detection used by the N5 is much slower, hence why it takes ages / struggles to focus.

It really comes down to price though, and if you're paying a premium for a flagship device like a GS5 then you're obviously going to get more bells and whistles like better camera, Wolfson DAC, APT-X support, expandable storage, removable battery etc, etc.. but who buys a Nexus for all that crap? It's why I ditched Samsung... although I do miss APT-X :laugh:
[Nexus 5 General] ali262883:
For me.. Except the slow speed the cam is better than note 2 and s4.. I've personally tested..
[Nexus 5 General] CitizenLee:
Well we all see things differently, so we'll just have to agree to disagree on this one :highfive:
[Nexus 5 General] ali262883:
Yaa :)
[Nexus 5 General] ali262883:
Nexus 5 hdr+

S5

Nexus 5 HDR+ has a much sharper image
[Nexus 5 General] TheCybertronian:
Contrast and colors look more accurate too