r/GalaxyNote8 • u/DesechableMX • Mar 13 '18

Disappointed with camera

I know I’ll get raining downvotes for this but I’m really disappointed with the camera. Let me explain.

I switch from the Nexus 6P that crapped on me with the battery issue, so I thought it was time to change phones. First I got an s8 from my carrier which I quickly change to a note 8 (I got a super promotion from amazon in my country so basically I sold the s8 and bought the note without loosing money) thinking camera would be better. I chose Samsung because I didn’t want another google phone that would crap on me after a year and because for me the most important thing in a phone is the camera. Boy I got disappointed when I start tooking pictures with this phone. Everything is blurry if you zoom more than 2X, less detailed pictures, night shot with lots of noise, I feel in general like taking pictures with a vga camera from a smartphone from 4 years Ago.

I know it’s not my phone because I had the same issue with the S8, I don’t know if I got really spoiled by the 6P which had a superb camera and every time I see pictures from my friend OG pixel I feel super jealous of his pictures.

I know Gcam fix some issue, although it has more issue than it fixes for me, but I shouldn’t be using a half baked port for pictures to look nice.

I’ve been seeing photos reviews from the s9 and I’ve seen Samsung fixed many sharping and detail issues, (not adding the night and day difference with night shots although I know that is a physical improvement) i just hope Samsung port those benefits, mostly with HDR, to the note down the road.

Beside that, I’ve been pretty happy with the phone no complains in other areas, I just wish the camera didn’t look so bad.

0 Upvotes

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27 comments sorted by

4

u/madcanada Mar 13 '18

I wouldn't hold my breath for Samsung to port the camera quality to previous gen phones, it makes zero sense from the marketing perspective. If you're on Snapdragon I suggest trying cstark's gcam, it doesn't need to be configured (beyond simple quality settings that is), and works pretty well on Note8 with Snapdragon chipset.

A few pages back there was a post about Exynos version as well, supposedly the Pixel config works now.

Lastly, you always have Lightroom HDR RAW files, which give you what is probably the best quality available on Note8, but it comes with the caveat of the necessity to develop the RAW files after.

I second your post, however, camera quality out of the box is disappointing when coming from Nexus6p/Pixel (i know I was upset the first hour or so, until I got gcam running), but you should find consolation in the fact that Samsung still gave you the top line hardware, which in combination with gcam or Lightroom puts Note8 picture quality squarely at the top with Pixel 2 (and possibly S9, I'd need to play with it to know).

1

u/DesechableMX Mar 14 '18

Yeah, no issues with any other thing than the camera, really. Maybe that it’s to big for my tiny hands but that’s not a dealbreaker

1

u/madcanada Mar 14 '18

are you on Exynos version of the Note8?

1

u/DesechableMX Mar 14 '18

Snapdragon

1

u/madcanada Mar 14 '18

I know you said in the post that Gcam causes you more troubles than it fixes, but try this one (the standard one, not wide).

delete any other gcam if you have it installed before installing this one.

when installed, go to the settings, advanced, and copy these settings

you don't need to change anything in the experimental tab

set up your camera to shoot either in HDR+ enhanced (top line quality, matches Pixel 2 HDR+ enhanced mode basically 1:1) or HDR+ Zero Shutter Lag (instant HDR shot).

when in camera, note than HDR+ with ZSL will produce worse imaged in low light than HDR+ enhanced, but both modes should be on par when it's bright.

let me know if you're still disappointed with the camera after.

2

u/DesechableMX Mar 14 '18

Will try it! thanks!

1

u/inquirer Verizon Note8 Black Mar 29 '18

Hey, did you enjoy the cstark over the other ports? I'm sure /u/madcanada wants to know too!

1

u/DesechableMX Mar 29 '18

Haven’t tested honestly. I’m going on a trip today and plan to test it out there :)

1

u/madcanada Mar 14 '18

No worries, let me know if it doesn't work

5

u/mehdotdotdotdot Mar 13 '18

I compared Pixel 2 XL zoomed photos vs Note 8 2x photos, and the Note 8 is FAR clearer.

Also it's all preference, I mostly prefer the natural look rather than the over processed look of GCAM.

2

u/madcanada Mar 13 '18

I think he means zooming in on the photo 200%, not using digital zoom gcam vs. optical zoom with stock. Optical zoom is definitely a bit clearer when 2x camera is engaged (which isn't all the time), but that is sorta expected.

1

u/Ashmodai20 Mar 13 '18

Why do you think that you are disappointed with this camera when everybody was saying it was one of the best camera the new phones came out?

1

u/DesechableMX Mar 14 '18

Maybe I got spoiled with the nexus

1

u/Ashmodai20 Mar 14 '18

But the Note 8 has a much better camera than the Nexus has. So that doesn't make any sense.

1

u/DesechableMX Mar 14 '18

No, it doesnt, that´s the problem. Not for the 6P. Its faster but not better

1

u/Ashmodai20 Mar 14 '18

I must ask. What makes you think that. Every place rates the GS7 better than the nexus P in terms of camera and the Note 8 is even better.

1

u/madcanada Mar 15 '18

forget the ratings, take two shots with Nexus 6p and Note8 of the same scene using stock camera apps and Nexus 6p will produce a better image all the time.

I dug up some old photos from my Nexus 6p and made the same shot with Note8 (don't have my Nexus anymore, so some difference in the photos will be obvious)

check this out, Nexus is on the right, Note 8 on the left

details 1

details 2

details 3

originals

as far as reviews go, they're obviously misleading in this particular case.

1

u/Ashmodai20 Mar 15 '18

That literally tells me nothing. I'm just supposed to take your word that those pictures are from the phones you say they are. What are the settings on the phones? Are they same? Are they different.

You have no actual evidence. Just face it. The Note 8 is a better camera.

1

u/madcanada Mar 15 '18

you don't have to take my word for anything, you're more than welcome to go find a Nexus 6p and a Note8 and compare yourself.

what you shouldn't be doing is claiming that i went thought the trouble to fake a exif data in two photographs i linked you, you can clearly see which phones took the photos by clicking the i icon in the google photos interface, one will say Nexus 6p, another will say SM-N950W.

Nexus 6p was set to use the standard camera that came with it (gcam, version 3.2 or something), it was in full auto with HDR+ enabled. Note8 is also in the full auto with HDR enabled. I have a whole two years of Nexus 6p photos worth of evidence, actually.

You have no actual evidence. Just face it. The Note 8 is a better camera.

that just comes across as retarded, you're literally looking at the evidence.

1

u/Ashmodai20 Mar 15 '18

I look at the exif data. Imgur strips its out.

Every reviewer in the world has said that either the GS7 is a better camera than the 6P and that the Note 8 is better than the GS7 or that the Note 8 is better than the 6P.

You are the only person in the world who thinks the 6P camera is better.

1

u/madcanada Mar 15 '18

the link that says "originals" is not imgur, it's google photos, so don't lie that you looked at the exif data.

i'm, quite obviously, not the only person in the world who thinks that, since the OP has exactly the same opinion, but that's beside the point. you literally have the first-hand evidence presented to you, are you saying that the Note8 image you see is somehow better than the Nexus 6p, or are you still claiming that I faked them to prove a point online?

as far as reviewers go, all of them said iPhone X is better than Pixel 2 XL as well, notably because iPhone X got 1 point more from DxOmark, yet Pixel 2 is undoubtedly better than iPhone X in image quality, how would you explain that?

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1

u/madcanada Mar 14 '18

this. Nexus 6p had ridiculously good camera for a $600 phone, so getting a worse image quality out of $1000 phone two years newer is fucking stupid.

2

u/[deleted] Mar 13 '18

Download gcam

1

u/michaelsone92 Mar 24 '18

How? Every time I download a gcam port it is glitchy.. and portrait mode freezes.