yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] lennie:
this is good to hear.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] RojasTKD:
Nice, I look forward to seeing some samples.

I've seen some samples on YouTube compared to other cameras and though it looked pretty good.

Definitely, gonna be better in low light than my Axon 7 or V20's manual mode.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] BoneXDA:
Can anyone force the Note8 to use the telephoto lens in low-light?

There is no camera switch in pro mode, no way to use the tele lens and no DNG RAW capture for it. Only the auto mode and portrait seem to access the telephoto lens, but 99% of the low-light time, it prefers the wide angle one with digital zoom. That is understandable for the causal user, but for the mobile photographer with manual mode, especially with OIS for the telephoto lens, the lack of use is a disappointment. Exynos 8895 Note8 here with Samsung S5K2L2 main sensor.

Any luck with the telephoto lens in any app?
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] Torquemada288:
Still waiting for mine to arrive so it's good to hear your experience with low-light pics. 90% of the pics I delete are because of low-light conditions ruining the shot, so I was really hoping that the dual camera setup on the Note 8 would make it possible to take a decent pic after sundown (or just in a poorly lit room).
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] RojasTKD:
My Note 8 should arrive tomorrow. I'll see if I can't get some more light pics up. Also have to do some cleanup and take the shutters down after Hurricane Irma. So we'll see if I get a chance.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] Torquemada288:
Yeah, that would be awesome. Cheers.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] RiffyDivine:
I am surprised at how messy the photos in low light/no light are coming out.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] Krayziepop:
I haven't had the chance to play with the settings much yet, but this is not really a surprise given the f stop on the telephoto lens is f/2.4 - which is not great for low light shots without cranking the ISO and introducing noise, or using a really long shutter time which we all know is not condusive to taking photos on a phone. I'd bet someone hacks the camera settings at some point and finds extra options for things like this however, to give that flexibility to the users. I just don't think it will net good results using the telephoto in low light.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] RojasTKD:
Unfortunately Manny Note 8 did not arrive as scheduled due to the hurricane. It arrived lest night, my first day back to work, and I didn't get home till pm. I'll try and take some pictures for tonight.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] Torquemada288:
No worries. Take your time; I'm in no great hurry.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] Torquemada288:
The low light capabilities of the camera are simply amazing. I took a photo of a darkened room and the photo came out brighter than what it appeared to the naked eye with no flash.

My GF took the same pic with her iPhone 7 and it was dark to the point that you couldn't tell what was on the shelves. I should've done a comparison pic with my Note 3 but I was so blown away with the results, I didn't think of it.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] guthrien:
That's been my experience too, really happy with that.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] ThaiM:
FINALLY!... We're able to control the flash brightness while recording video. Coming from the Note 4, that option was not available. Great feature to have.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] TheDKGunner:
I'm pretty happy with it... Coming from galaxy s8 seems to me the yellowish is toned down a bit in the note 8.

Sendt fra min SM-N950F med Tapatalk
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] Limeybastard:
That picture is stunning.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] Torquemada288:
I know, right?

There are some bright light sources but the darks are still dark and not all washed out. The HDR seems to work equally well in low light and bright contrast situations, which is very impressive indeed.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] imatts:
One thing I must stress, is that although the low light performance is incredible, the no-light performance is... Well.. It really isn't.

I wish I had my girlfriends iPhone 7 on me to compare, but we took took the same shot side by side, and hers was LITERALLY 5X more clear than the Note 8. The grain is horrific, no matter the auto/manual/filter. Using slightly high ISO helps a tad bit, but not by much.

Also, the view finder (previewing the live image before the shot) is even worse, until the photo is taken. Here are some shots, :

8PM (an hour before its pitch black out)

7PM

And of course, the well-lit low light shots (like everyone elses) are incredible, and complimented by the high dinamic range (it was about 6PM at this point, not quite as dark, but dark enough)
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] winol:
Excellent, very pleased, the light from a tv set is enough for capturing nice photos in dark places
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] XDA_RealLifeReview:
Say "cheese", then rate this thread to express how photos taken with the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 come out. A higher rating indicates that photos offer rich color (without over-saturating), sharp detail (with all subjects in-focus), and appropriate exposure (with even lighting).

Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] jimmylips75:
Close up photo and also a close up screenshot taken with my Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note 8.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] King Cole:
Good lord I hope that's with the telephoto lens
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] :
Quite impressed with low light performance. Took this at the weekend at the back on a dark cinema whilst waiting for the trailers to start. Auto mode, no flash, no editing.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] phillthedrill:
Wow, that looks amazing. I just got the Note 8 too but I haven't had a chance to do low-light yet.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] Torquemada288:
By far, the best camera I've ever owned.

Just need to find a big-ass spider so I can post some examples.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] :
Please tell me you set fire to that nope...
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] burrzoo:
Just a little TOO CLOSE for me!
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] lennie:
that's an awesome background/screensaver.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] Limeybastard:
I'm aware that during low light the images will appear grainy or noisy, but I can see the grain even in medium light condition. Image is set at 4.3 ratio highest bit rate for pics.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] Sunlit777:
How about wide color

So, what is the use of a wide color gamut capable display if the camera still shoots sRGB jpg?! I have not found any info on the color space profile of Note 8 jpegs and videos, can anyone chime in?
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] ksekhar:
It was very dark at that hour and taken with telephoto camera not wide angle one.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] meryguadelupe:
have you edited this photo in some app or this is original unedited pic? looks not natural tho
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] ksekhar:
Google photos auto
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] jooniloh:
Now, this is by far not the best *quality* photos, but it does show off the functionality quite well. I took this photo of a room in my apartment with absolutely no lights on other than some light leaking into the hallway behind me from a neighboring room, and a pure red heat lamp for a tank (pictured). I went full manual, mounted the camera with some objects on a table, and set it to a 10 second shutter, thinking that I wouldn't be able to pull off holding it by hand. Then I held it by hand. These are the two photos I got (one braced on a table, one by hand) with a 10 second shutter in a DARK room (the braced one is zoomed in).
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] jooniloh:
Here's a shot of that same room from out in the hallway where there's a little light (so you can see about how dark it is).
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] Limeybastard:
What happened to the scalable function between 0-100% when using photo filters like Vignette and Stardust etfc? Gone?
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] loQon:
I love the camera, works great for me
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] Novad91:
same

Mine to even in really good lighting, using highest resolution.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] aakanayev:
Few observations after a month of use:

Picture quality overall is great, however the stock app tends to overblow the highlights in high contrast scenes. This is the effect of the small sensor size and it's prominent on all cellphones, however both Pixel 2 and iPhone X I've tested don't have that issue. However, installing and using the Google camera port helps the issue dramatically, so it's the HDR algorithm employed in the stock app, not the actual sensor.

Stock camera app is, however, both faster and more reliable in terms of snapping every day photos. Furthermore stock app has marginally less noise than Google Camera, but it also captures marginally less details. Stock camera also has less saturation and sharper gradients than Google Camera, likely a product of the algorithm as well.

The telephoto camera is decidedly worse than the wide angle one, even in bright light. You're trading off the dynamic range for zoom, and it's not just the difference in the lenses.

Lightroom HDR raw files (40mb 3.2MP image that contains 10 bit of colour) are mind-blowing. As an owner of full-frame Canon 6D I was blown away by the colour retention in Lightroom Camera app. On a DSLR you'd absolutely have to use bracketing to get those colours (although you'd get a 20 MP image), it's very impressive that a cellphone can do that. If only it shot out a 12 MP raw file.

Overall Note 8 has a very versatile camera with awesome picture quality, but certain scenes require he use of Google Camera for HDR+ algorithm to get the best results.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] soraxd:
I havent seen anyone else mention this which makes me wonder if only I care, or only I have this issue, but the front camera is extremely pale. the back camera has rich color but the front camera seems so washed it makes everyone look sickly pale. I've compared it side by side with an S8 and only the Note has this issue.

its not just the camera app but also during Skype camming, so its either hardware or rom software.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] winol:
I am more than happy with the low light photos, they are even brighter than what you see with your own eyes! I never use the front camera, but is also very good
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] thdaddy34:
I have the same issue with my front facing camera. For some reason it doesn't take great pictures. The rear camera on the other hand is amazing. I wonder if the blur on the front facing camera is caused by the lender being dirty or something.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] lalew25:
I'm disappointed in the camera

I just picked up the Note 8 thinking I would like having all those extra features over the Pixel 2 XL, but I thought the cameras would be closer in performance. The pic taken with the Pixel 2 has better lighting and noticeably more detail, especially when blown up.

The Pic on the Right is from the Pixel 2 XL and the one on the left is the Note 8.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] Nick216ohio:
Wow the pixel cam just craps on all other phones cams. Samsung best features. LG best audio. Pixel best Camera. Wish we could have all 3 together!
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] lalew25:
I agree

Now I can't decide which phone to keep. Camera and battery life are 2 of the most important things for me but I also want SD card support and wireless charging.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] Nick216ohio:
Yeah comparing the two I'd still take Note 8 over Pixel. There's a lot of 3rd party camera apps with different settings. That can offer better pics taken then stock cam. Not saying it will outbeat Pixel but will get better results.

This phone has great battery life+ Wireless Charging+ SD support= Note 8 over pixel.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] lalew25:
Low light comparison

As an update to photo quality the Note 8 definitely takes in more light with extremely low light conditions. I'm getting almost 2 hours more screen on time with the Pixel 2 XL however (5.5 hrs vs 7.5 hrs). 2 great phones, in different ways.

Pixel 2 XL photo is on the left this time. Why does the upload process keep rotating the Note 8 pics>
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] BanBoo:
I'm a bit disappointed that you have to take live focus shots with tele lense instead of the wide angle... But I'm getting used to it. Overall image quality is really good and par to my previous P10 Plus.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] samson09:
3rd party spod better than stock? Name one please?
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] Limeybastard:
Looks like you didn't focus on the K9 nose?
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] sstanton86:
So I'm new to the note 8, and although the screen and phone are amazing... I have been left wanting a bit more out of the camera. Admittedly I had the pixel 2 XL before making the change so I completely appreciate I've been spoilt.

It's not to say the camera is bad, but I just find images can look very painted, almost like an oil painting. Is this normal in low light?

I really wanted the live focus/portrait mode to be good, but it really isn't that good. Images seem incredibly soft especially at night (again where they look like paintings). In the day they can look good, but you need to be in very favourable conditions otherwise they'll look soft.

Because I've just got the phone I wanted to ask whether there were any updates to the camera since it was released last year? Can we expect any updates or has that ship sailed?

Just from reading reviews and using the camera myself it's clear to see the potential is there, and it could easily be beating the iPhone x/8 plus every time, but it just needs some software tweaking with the way the photos are processed.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] lalew25:
Pictures look better in the preview before you take the photo, it's in the processing

I currently have both the Note 8 and the Pixel 2 XL, check out my comparison pic on post #24. The Note 8 shows an excellent picture on the screen before you snap the photo so its not a hardware issue or a dirty lens. It's a failure somewhere in the software, something lost in the processing. I had the S8 Plus before and the camera seemed better on it but still not as good as the S7 Edge I had prior to that.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] sstanton86:
Of course, that's what I was saying. It looks l like just some elementary tweaking needs to be done - as all the hardware is in place, it just needs refining via software. But again the question still stands, this phone has been out since last summer, so why haven't we seen any drastic software tweaks for the Camera?

The live focus can produce good images outdoors, but it's activation is so finicky and sometimes even if I don't move it'll say the conditions aren't right despite being fine a moment before. The other thing is how bad the quality of it is when you're indoors, it'll be a water colour mess or it won't activate. Even the iPhone 8 plus would!

Even though I have the pixel XL 2 I still keep coming back to this as I do find the overall phone is better. But if they haven't released a camera software update yet... will they ever? :crying:
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] rowihel2012:
I have mate 10 pro

Just bought note 8

Camers is not great at night shots like mate 10 pro

Note 8 shot soft washed images at night

Light reflections is really bad in note 8 camera
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] jasonG998:
if you root the phone and use zero camera mod on the note 8 and reduce edge and noise from 5 each to 2 and 2 the quality gets closer to using the google camera app for this phone. But the google camera app is still just that bit crisper when zooming on photos.

what we need is a fully working google app with 4k video option and 60fps for 1080p and the purple haze in dark photos using HDR oh and the flash firing at the correct time with HDR off
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] elboricua77:
I've owned the Note 8 since the day it released and the phone has been great. The pictures, like many have stated, are processed in a way where they don't look full potential unless you are in perfect conditions and live focus does not like to work most of the time (for me at least.) Needless to say, it is still a great camera, especially when taken into "pro" mode which is where I do most of my shooting. Hopefully in a future software update samsung tweaks the photo processing a bit, but besides that, no complaints. I take many pictures with my phone when I don't carry my DSLR, sometimes editing them in lightroom and getting great results. I'll try and post some pics I have soon.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] fastmike:
Actually just bought the Note 8 to replace my S7 Edge. Most of the time, S7 pics are better then Note 8 when transferred to PC to be viewed at 100%. That is a clear disappointment! But still confident that can be corrected in a future firmware. But not too sure that Samsung will do it since they want the S9 to be a clear step over the 8 series... wait and see
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] iphonedownload:
While I already knew it was going to be good, it was better than I expected. Crystal clear, but even more is the depth of the photos. Rich color, great black depth.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] Limeybastard:
I agree. My S7 edge appeared nicer also, photo wise. Plus had more editing functions that are missing on the N8.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] EMJI79:
Are you talking about post processing editing function?

Did you dig into "pro editing" in the gallery app? It is a bit hidden but there is quite a few options.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] Limeybastard:
Yes post processing, on the Note 8 they removed the slider function whereby you could adjust intensity of a theme. After pressing those three circles, a slider would appear on the S7.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] EMJI79:
Is it that that you're talking about:
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] EMJI79:
Choose "Open Photo Editor Pro".
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] Limeybastard:
This first picture you posted was what I'm looking for. Can't get the slider to appear at all. Where it shows the slider "deep" for example.

Edit. It works , thanks. The extra step of opening it in photo editor pro wasn't present on my S7 edge. Cheers
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] :
i don't care about s9 camera specs, mine is fine enough
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] Cristiano Matos:
Some good photos. All in auto mode with HDR on.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] volcolm:
My experience with Qualcomm based phone (Freedom Mobile):

I was going to post after having a bit more time with it, but PQ is pretty low on either two of the rear cameras. It doesn't matter what settings are applied, there's just too much noise on this device, a little less at 6.0M vs 12.0M. The only times I've been able to capture a clear photo is with the phone on a supporting surface.

One thing in particular that's really been cheesing me off is that the tracking square will be on an object I'm trying to focus on, yet (square tracking correct object) keeps focusing the background instead of what I tell it to.

I can get away with taking photos in auto but the device doesn't seem to detect/apply settings correctly, usually resulting in 1 good photo out of 30.

I'm really missing my Xperia's camera TBH.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] foo:
To be honest, I was disappointed by the camera's performance. I mainly shoot raw with my APS-C sensor camera, so it was obvious that the much smaller sensor of the note 8 can't compete with this. But I was surprised how little dynamic range this sensor can capture. It renders shooting in raw almost pointless, because there is not much you can really improve here. This was a little disappointing.

The camera does a nice job when the light is good, but tbh this was already the case with my Note 4, so the improvement is not really visible for me - at least it's not huge.

The camera also tends to a very aggressive sharpening algorithm when shooting JPEG.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] Makonator:
Same here, camera is mostly good, but s7 edge was better. Most noticable is when you turn flash on and there is a resonable light in the room, than picuture turn's blue...something is wrong with flash on note 8
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] winol:
TBH, I almost never use flash, but when I have used it, no bluish tint whatsoever
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] Makonator:
https://imgur.com/a/8ipswCx

this is when there is a certan light in the room.

Mouse pic is from close range and than is ok, but this other pictures were much better on s7 edge.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] Makonator:
Ok, this was my fault. I've bought used note 8 that have had cheap protecton for camera lens. I didn't see it until today. When I took it off flash is perfect :)

Sry note 8, u are awsome :)
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] ebusuhejbi:
You like my cat? I like my camera :laugh:
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] winol:
Nice cat, but dogs are the very best!!
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] iceepyon:
Been using the Note 8 for about 10 months and I can honestly say that it is the best camera I have seen on a phone.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] dollarpapa:
I got a Note 8 my main driver and I "inherited" a Huawei P20. I use both, although my Note has my sim card. Of course the P20 camera does very well in low light and certain situations, but not as quick as the Note 8 camera. P20 also lacking refinement, so the stock camera app feels almost like a 3rd party app, while the Note camera app is just smooth and well integrated.

With my P20, sometimes I come out with blurry shots, not sure why, while with the Note 8 it's almost a sure thing to produce a good image. Low light is not everything and shouldn't be used as a measuring standard, although the Note 8 is definetely no joke in low light situations and without switching modes and messing with the settings.

With all this said, I'm torn apart between the 2, it's really depending on the situation and place which one will produce a better shot. One thing for sure, both beats iPhone 7 cam, as I browse through my google photos album I can almost dell which one was taken by the iphone7 without pulling up the photo info. My best shots though - and laugh all you want - were produced by my old Note 5 , couple years ago. All I gotta do is browse my photo gallery and without knowing, I pause by pictures I really like -and so do others I'm showing my album- and soon as I pull up the info on it, it's surely taken by the Note 5.
[Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Real Life Review] babak:
today Italy

It looked like night :)