yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Nexus 5 General] dzotx:
Sunset

I don't know how this would look if another camera was used... but this was taken with a Nexus 5 HDR+ driving at 70+ mph behind a tinted car window...

https://plus.google.com/photos/108288046869790639090/albums/5953574063182884673
[Nexus 5 General] maniyoshi:
With my children it's impossible to have good pictures of "these goods moments"
[Nexus 5 General] Ali812:
That's terrible quality, the S4 (without OIS) would produce a better image with less noise.
[Nexus 5 General] maxpower7:
Maybe I got lucky, but I've been seeing this complaint a lot and I honestly don't understand it at all. The camera app on my N5 loads instantly. There's no lag whatsoever when I pull up the camera. In fact, it loads faster than most other phones I've used. The shutter speed is slow, but the app itself loads lightning quick. Again, maybe I just got lucky.
[Nexus 5 General] ws6kid:
Anyone use the VSCO Cam app yet?? I downloaded it but havent really tested it out yet..
[Nexus 5 General] bblzd:
Agreed. The problem seems to be when you actually want to focus and snap the picture on anything that isn't completely still.

Then the phone seems to "lag" behind the action taking pictures randomly and with much motion blur. This is especially true with HDR+ on.

The actual quality of still shots and app load time does not seem to be a problem.
[Nexus 5 General] muyoso:
There really isn't much debate to be had about the camera. The module is capable of taking fantastic shots, and sometimes it even happens. Sometimes you take a picture and it comes out great. The problem is entirely software, and not just the camera app, but the firmware of the camera module as well. The camera has some weird exposure and focus settings and seriously needs some work from Google. Also the camera app is atrociously bad, not only with the UI, but also with the functionality.

So yes, people can post pictures that are absolutely great with from the Nexus 5, because truly the camera IS capable of taking amazing pictures, but you have to either get lucky or take your time to accomplish such things because of the awful software.
[Nexus 5 General] LiquidSolstice:
I didn't do either for that shot of the coke can. I pointed, tapped once to focus, and snapped a picture. Granted, the shutter lag is a definite problem for those used to the HTC ZSL cameras, but to imply that getting a good shot essentially takes either magic or anal preparation is kind of a stupid claim.
[Nexus 5 General] muyoso:
Again, yea, it CAN take really good shots. But to post one or two and then claim that it proves the camera is either good or bad is disingenuous. The camera has some real problems, and while there are times where you can point and tap and it just works, that is certainly not the norm.
[Nexus 5 General] daewond3r:
I have. It seems to lag a little when autofocusing in low light, but does well with good lighting. In low light a quick tap on your focal point does the trick and it snaps the pic with no lag. The filters are the best in any app I've used and I like that you can adjust the intensity of them. There's a bunch of retouching tools too but I haven't played with those much yet.
[Nexus 5 General] dzotx:
Please show me an S4 picture of a late sunset in a car moving at 70 plus mile per hour behind a dark windshield.
[Nexus 5 General] maxpower7:
As someone who owns both phones, I'm going to have to disagree with that statement. The S4 has a really good camera overall, but the N5 crushes it in low light.
[Nexus 5 General] limzm:
After reading all the posts here, some people are trying to:

• Take photos of moving subjects

• Take photos of still life

• Photos of night sceneries

• Photos of low light conditions

• Trying to compare here and there (the most annoying part of this thread)

Really, I find this just amazingly subjective.

If you are happy how Nexus 5 camera works, use it and just all there is to it.

If you dislike, get one camera or a smartphone camera that can please your needs.
[Nexus 5 General] muyoso:
Or Google could just update the camera so that you can use it in a variety of situations just like the other flagship devices can. If they did that, then the CRAZY people who need to take pictures of living things will be happy, and the people who need to take pictures in low light will be happy, and the people who need to take pictures of food will be happy. Everyone wins. If the "solution" is to completely write off the camera in the Nexus device and get a point and shoot, then Google should just stop creating Nexus phones and they should ABSOLUTELY stop advertising their that device is a great camera experience. They have a VERY good camera module in the phone that is capable of taking amazing pictures, and the only thing that is standing in the way of that is their software implementation of it. It is not unreasonable that people are a little frustrated in seeing all of the potential of this camera module go to waste because Google isn't serious about Android photography with their Nexus devices.
[Nexus 5 General] maxpower7:
+1
[Nexus 5 General] limzm:
Well wasn't it announced that Google are doing something about it?

Or is it that some people missed something?

Or is every new generation human being 'that' impatient?
[Nexus 5 General] onmike:
That is a non moving object. I think the nexus is great at that. For kids and other areas where your subjects aren't fixed I think it struggles.

I also noticed I adjusted my photo style for this camera. With iPhone I'd snap pic and be done with it. With nexus I hold camera still a few secs sheet taking pic, for the camera to actually take the pic and avoid blur.
[Nexus 5 General] aimetti:
Only way I could get a pic of my nephew on a carousel was to record a video and take pics while recording. Instant shutter and no blurry pics. If I tried to take a normal pic regardless of any setting it came out like complete crap.

Google needs to fix this pos. The hardware is clearly good enough to take great pics but as it stands now its borderline unusable.
[Nexus 5 General] jlevy73:
OP no offense but you didn't really provide any real comparison, just your subjective opinion. I think this review does a good job summarizing the pros and cons of the N5 camera. http://connect.dpreview.com/post/2158701905/google-nexus-nexus5-smartphone-camera-review
[Nexus 5 General] muyoso:
No, it hasn't been announced that Google thinks there is a problem with the camera and that they are going to fix it. There is some update to the camera coming according to rumors, but not necessarily what we all want.
[Nexus 5 General] tvdang7:
I hate the shutter lag. The nexus 4 took fast shots why can't this phone.
[Nexus 5 General] lethal111:
When the N5 first came out, I switched from the IPhone 5s and the biggest difference was the photo quality, because the N5 camera isnt as great as the 5s camera. sorry to burst your bubble op.
[Nexus 5 General] limzm:
"but not necessarily what we all want".

Exactly the point of subjectiveness .
[Nexus 5 General] Bearcatcow:
About VSCO Cam, it sometimes focuses very fast and more reliably than the stock camera app. It sometimes does not...

The interface is very minimalist as well and takes a little getting used to but once you do it's really fluid and easy to use.

The filters are great. Easy to apply and remove and are nice without being over-bearing. I prefer "Vignette" from the play store sometimes but in some occasions the VSCO ones do better.

---------- Post added at 11:21 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:03 PM ----------

It definitely has strengths and weaknesses!

IMO:

Moving subjects: 1/5

Still life: 5/5 (use HDR+)

Night scenes: 5/5 (Use HDR+)

Night & Low light conditions: 5/5 (Use HDR+)

Macro: 5/5 ?

For macro, the focus is terrible... it often refuses to focus. But if your subject doesn't move (eg flower) and you can sit there and tap to focus 20-30x, you'll get a beautiful picture :laugh:

I'll post some samples once I get to 10 posts. :)
[Nexus 5 General] bloot:
The subject moving focusing problem and the slow shooting is also present on the G2. From what I readed on that thread, LG has also promised an update for this...

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2444609
[Nexus 5 General] ws6kid:
Fix is coming in a few days via Android 4.4.1 Update!! Its official!!! http://www.theverge.com/2013/12/5/5175568/fixing-the-nexus-5-android-4-4-1-improves-camera
[Nexus 5 General] maniyoshi:
Yessss
[Nexus 5 General] kayone73:
I agree with you on both points. The stock google Android camera app is pretty terrible with awkward interface.

However the N5 camera hardware and sensor is pretty damn good. It's OIS and low light performance and IQ easily outdoes my HTC One in picture quality, but like you said, poor software keeps us from using this camera to its fullest potential.
[Nexus 5 General] maxpower7:
I can't wait to see firsthand what kind of improvements 4.4.1 brings to the table. I'm cautiously optimistic.
[Nexus 5 General] Bearcatcow:
Classify me as desperately optimistic lol.
[Nexus 5 General] disclaimernotice:
Well, the quality of the photos taken on my Nexus 5 are better than those on my Galaxy S3, at least in my opinion, so I wouldn't say that the camera of the Nexus 5 is bad per se. However, that being said, the camera APP is simply horrendous compared to Samsung's. The interface is troublesome because you have to go through so many steps just to change a setting. And it takes so long to capture a photo. I thought all post-galaxy nexus phones had instant shutter speed. What happened to the shutter speed on the Nexus 5?? I really hope it is a software issue which can be rectified in the 4.4.1 update that is apparently due to be released soon.
[Nexus 5 General] daewond3r:
I'm happy with what I see here:

http://www.theverge.com/2013/12/5/5175568/fixing-the-nexus-5-android-4-4-1-improves-camera

If this is what happens in 5 weeks, I can't wait to see what happens in 10!
[Nexus 5 General] resynx:
About damn time. Can't wait for this update to hit..I'm still shocked the Google even released the N5 with the camera in this state :eek:
[Nexus 5 General] ws6kid:
4.4.1 OTA update is out for download!!!! http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2556906
[Nexus 5 General] RussianBear:
This update has improved the camera (photos, at least) beyond recognition. Never posted in any of these threads before, but just had to do this lol
[Nexus 5 General] maxpower7:
Agreed. The difference is night and day.
[Nexus 5 General] muyoso:
It apparently still has issues.

https://twitter.com/nerdtalker/status/408771852618592256

https://twitter.com/nerdtalker/status/408766092329230337

Kind of blends with my theory that we are going to be seeing a lot of updates before our camera experience is awesome. At least one more tinkering with focus and exposure settings most likely and then a UI overhaul please Google be merciful and overhaul your crap camera app.
[Nexus 5 General] RussianBear:
one twitter post? albeit, i have no clue who that guy might be. as far as i can tell, the af has been greatly improved, along with the shutter speed.
[Nexus 5 General] maxpower7:
Thus far, Brian Klug and I are having very different experiences with this update. It's made a world of difference for me with focusing.
[Nexus 5 General] muyoso:
He is the Senior Editor of Smartphones over at Anandtech. He wrote the Nexus 5 review.

---------- Post added at 09:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:18 PM ----------

I have also noticed it focusing much better than before, but it probably does still have a few issues. Took the Moto X a couple of updates before its camera settled into a good spot, probably something similar with ours will have to happen, and add on top of that that we need an entirely new camera app because the one we have is an absolute disaster and then add on top of that that there are some features which are sorely lacking like slo-mo video, 4k recording, 1080p60, all of which our phone is perfectly capable of.
[Nexus 5 General] RussianBear:
gotta wait. i'm perfectly contempt with my purchase :)
[Nexus 5 General] muyoso:
Content, unless that is you are disgusted and angered by it. ;)
[Nexus 5 General] RussianBear:
touche. most russians are contempt, but i should've definitely used the latter lol
[Nexus 5 General] maxpower7:
Have you tried shooting a 1080p video since updating to 4.4.1? Looks a lot like 60fps to me. Maybe I'm wrong, but it's much, much smoother than before. 60fps smooth to my eyes.
[Nexus 5 General] muyoso:
Its not 1080p60. It's just that Google fixed the preview lag. It would drop frames like crazy before.
[Nexus 5 General] hotleadsingerguy:
It has nothing to do with lack of patience...Google specifically marketed this phone as being the perfect companion to their image services. This is bad advertising, since it doesn't even match many of the phones already on the market. Updates are great, but the camera has major issues that quickly remove it from contention with the other players.
[Nexus 5 General] Dani897:
try it with the 4.4.1 update... they also claim it will continue to get better... just wait ofr android 5.0 and .raw images... it's clear the camera has focus speed problems but on the occasion you get a clear shot it is quite good and with 4.4.1 it is better..
[Nexus 5 General] limzm:
You spoke about advertisement but I personally

don't even look at them

as I know the real purpose of advertisements.

I get a device to use it for I know it's trustworthy. I don't compare the actual device with advertisements so what I use is what I expect it to be.

Of course, blame Google for producing the wrong image about the Nexus 5 - if that's what you want to hear/see.

It's that expectations imbued or it's that demanding expectations which is the problem.
[Nexus 5 General] Apokalypzx:
The phone is $350 to $400 on Google play. At that price we're lucky it has a camera. Lol.

Haven't installed the new update since I'm not stock, but I really don't care. I'll take anything...I came from a Gnex.

The idea of getting RAW in the future is awesome though.
[Nexus 5 General] MrAndroid12:
stop buying into that myth buster. Sensor and MP are both important for lossless zoom
[Nexus 5 General] redalertlb:
Honestly I came from a galaxy note 3 which is supposed to have one of the better cameras on the market and the nexus honestly isn't that bad at all I mean yes the auto focus is funky sometimes but with my note it was just as weird so to each his own. I'm not a photographer but I took a pic the other day and its the first pic from any phone I've ever had to capture the clouds in the background without tweaking the photo at all. Just my 2¢
[Nexus 5 General] danarama:
As an amateur photographer who follows a lot of professional photographers, its not a Myth..

Digital zoom is for babies anyway. We don't zoom above our capabilities and Digital zoom is not real zoom. Its fake and is limited and wholly flawed

Digitial zoom will always appear lossy. You can test this on your Nexus 5.

What's the Nexus 5 zoom? 4x right? OK so 8 MP camera, 2 MP display. Zooming with 8 MP camera using 4x digital zoom should look the same on the 2 MP display. But it doesnt.
[Nexus 5 General] MrAndroid12:
I agree with the zoom part
[Nexus 5 General] danarama:
Sorry, you were too quick. I edited some more in.
[Nexus 5 General] MrAndroid12:
I already know that
[Nexus 5 General] danarama:
Already know what? That you were too quick? Or that I edited more in?
[Nexus 5 General] dzontra11:
Agree, definitely.
[Nexus 5 General] ChongoDroid:
Cropping on the sensor is pointless, if you want to crop.. crop in post.

Lossless zoom is not possible unless done optically.

Source: professional photographer ;)
[Nexus 5 General] roydondsa:
nexus 5 camera better than xperia z and z1 in terms of colors and quality

my frnd has xperia z and z1 and today I did a test by shoooting photos from both cameras and my nexus 5 and I and my frbds and I agreed that nexus 5 lens were better in terns of capturing colors but sharpness wise they are little better so I wanna say that nexus 5 is not at all bad if u think I am fooling than try for ur self
[Nexus 5 General] pakritidis:
I believe that the Nexus 5's camera is much better than I expected it to be. I'm satisfied from the UI of the camera.app and from the improvements that have taken place in shooting in low brightness conditions
[Nexus 5 General] ash1684:
Guys, what are we talking about here?

My girlfriend have a Samsung Galaxy S4 (Int version) and whenever we go in a place without a "perfect" light condition (pubs, pizzas, rainy days, sunset beatch, etc...), she tells me : "oh, you snap the picture... mine can't do it".

Naturally it's also thanks to HDR+ and OIS, and (especially with HDR+) it's hard to snap a pic of moving objects but, naturally, you must have(!) some compromise on a smarthphone camera...

Agree on the fact that google could do a better software optimization and add some more basic options, but looking at the final product i see really nice pictures (and i'm talking comparing them to other top smarthphones).

When you buy a phone you know it will not be a reflex and with that in mind i can tell that with REAL experience (and not with technical numbers comparisons for exemple megapixels...) i'm super-happy!!!

That's naturally my own opinion and experience
[Nexus 5 General] FuMMoD:
You can obviously tell who doesn't know anything about cameras when their main argument is megapixels lol.
[Nexus 5 General] ilostmypistons:
I've got more complements on pictures I've taken with my Nexus 5 than all other phones I've had in the past combined and I've own lots of phones
[Nexus 5 General] TheArc:
As part of a device I get, it must have a great camera. If the hardware is good and the camera is awful I would never purchase it. But the nexus 5 wasnt a bad choice. I see potential in it.

Why mock this devices camera, this phones camera is perfectly fine. All you noobs saying its horrible make me sad, so sad that I want to cry out in a bucket till its full and have a shower using my tears.

So enough about the s***ty camera responses, its not a crap camera.

My findings below.

Pro's:

The Nexus 5 takes super crisp and clear pictures, yes it could be better but its actually fantastic. The stability sensor kicks in when its needed in motion pictures but its quite clear.

The colours are bright and look rich, but not super rich. Though adding a bit more contrast would help make the picture look far more lively than it is. But the picture colour quality is quite satisfying.

The camera focus's well after getting the 4.4.2 update, well at least for me. Note: I haven't installed any mods for my camera, its completely stock.

The camera also has good lighting, it is controllable but it seems quite reasonable for me, I don't see any flaws there.

Con's:

The Nexus 5's shutter rate, its extremely slow. Coming from a device equipped with a dual core 1ghz process with 700mb of ram and a 5mp camera. It took pictures much faster than this phone. Its absolutely horrible, it lags. I personally think the animation effect when taking a picture causes most of the lag.

Another thing is the camera app itself, I thought Android was about being customizable. The camera app is horrendous when it comes to customizability. It has no live effects, no user input for contrast, saturation, lightness. The app is too stock. The sense camera is probably the best phone camera app out there.

Conclusion:

After all the info above, take into consideration that the Nexus 5's camera is great. The functionality provided from the manufacture which in this case is Google is bad. Why? Well its just too slow. No burst mode, it lags. The camera should be updated, with new optimized modules and possibly a new Google camera built for the n5.

So for all you users saying the Nexus 5's camera is bad. You just suck at taking photos in general. Don't take it hard but its true. The camera is great, but there's just that small "1" second delay which gets to you. Other than that, the camera experience is great. Far better than most devices out there.

Another thing, a phone always has flaws but you must focus on the good things about it. Why fill up the forum which cons about the phone when there is actually more good to consider.

In other words, this phone is a beast ?. If you're butthurt about my speech, please cry into a bucket and then fill up your pool and swim in it. Maybe it'll take your mind off things.
[Nexus 5 General] pkny:
Are you guys getting a halo affect off of reflecting objects?

I just saw this recently when trying to take interior shots of my car. Installed wireless charger and bluetooth receiver so i don't have to plug any wires into the phone when i get in. Love the wireless charging.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/3jxd357v58maaev/2014-02-21 00.58.44.jpg

https://www.dropbox.com/s/wkdcvdfwmz7vxni/2014-02-21 00.59.17.jpg

THis is using flash/night mode and HDR+ on the following picture
[Nexus 5 General] Oliie23:
Nope, but it looks pretty cool to be honest.
[Nexus 5 General] RainMotorsports:
You can't shoot into a light source and expect the sensor to not register what the glass is seeing. I mean that really is a type of lens flare and the tiny little elements of questionable quality that make up a smartphone lens probably are not helping. Also no telling what types of coatings they invested in to prevent flaring. Different angles, quicker shutter speeds (which would require lower nosier ISO's) might yield different results. Really exposing for the brightness of the lights would lessen the effect but then make your background way too dark which is likely the reason you used HDR+ to compromise for the hotspot versus dark environment.
[Nexus 5 General] lombardo8:
I am on holiday now and I took my Canon 500D along with me as I usually do. I dumped it on the first day as my Nexus 5 in HDR mode took better quality pics than my DSLR. The HD videos are fantastic quality too.

I have the basic 18-55mm lens and know nothing about DSLRs so I basically use it like a point and shoot.

I am now going to put the DSLR up for sale when I return home as it has now become totally useless. I hope I get back half the £500 I bought it for 3 yrs ago
[Nexus 5 General] Dakura:
Blue colors are too much in my opinion, it takes warm colors well but cold colors suck. Its probably because of software tho, i guess google isn't hiring someone that understands from photography, you can't expect to code a marvelous camera app if you aren't a professional photographer no matter how good you code.
[Nexus 5 General] eshopper:
Well the HDR mode is really good and defines the worth off camera however if you are not using hdr the camera sucks compared to other high end phones.. low light imaging is really good.. However lacks the other pretty features which you find in equivalent handsets..

Camera is not as snappy as the phone..

Attached couple of pics taken in low light.. both original and edited.. check out..
[Nexus 5 General] kenshin33:
don't.

just don't, go learn how to use it (or don;t, as point and shoot, it works well).

the camera on any phone is nice compact and portable but it doesn;t register comparerd to the cheapest DSLR you can get your hands on.

I'm no expert but from the top of my head tow advantages the DSLR has : sensor size (the two are UNIVERSES apart) and RAW.

(1st picture to give a sens http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2012/07/ho...view-a-point-and-shoot-and-a-full-frame-dslr/).

If the phone does what you need it to do, that is fine. But, there's no way in hell it's better than a device that the sole purpose of its existence is taking pictures.

(by the way HDR is just gimmic that is reproducible in software : combine multiple shots with diffrent exposures, or just one RAW (the beautiful things about RAW format is that you can still manipulate a lot of things after the picture was taken, --exposure, white balance ..etc. something you can do with jpegs but not to the same extent --)
[Nexus 5 General] SynchroDrive:
To be honest, I think the camera is great. I think the software needs a bit of working.
[Nexus 5 General] bloot:
Of course camera does not suck, anyone who have tried it would know it. It makes fantastic photos, but Google's camera software could be vastly improved, frankly.