The N9 camera overexposed problem !
 

After using N9 for about 1 months,

I find a very obvious problem of N9 camera module,

when there is high light in the darkness,

the glare problem is very clear,

comparing to iPhone4/4S or Samsung Galaxy S2, or N900,

It is very clear :

http://i41.tinypic.com/mmymux.jpg

Do you find the same problem ?

I think the N900's camera is a little bit sharper than N9's when the light is enough.

But when the light is lower, the N900 performs much better than N9.

Even iPhone 4/4S and Samsung Galaxy S2 performs better enough than N9 in low light conditions.

Do you think so ?　

Re: The N9 camera glare problem !
 

n9 camera is definitely not the wow factor even though how much it was hyped.

Re: The N9 camera glare problem !
 

Agree. Bright light ruins all photos.

Re: The N9 camera glare problem !
 

The camera itself (hardware) is fine, it's the camera app's inability to decently measure correct exposure that is the problem.

Fortunately there are lots of manual options in the menu including the ability to manually set exposure compensation. Use that and you'll get much better night photos.

http://static.zooomr.com/images/1012...d9519bce_b.jpg

Re: The N9 camera glare problem !
 

You remind me with Howie Mandel xD

ONTOPPIC:
I'm sure BlessN9 will find its way to Harmattan.

Re: The N9 camera glare problem !
 

@OP

Most of your claims in your prior "N9's camera is poor compared to N900's" thread didn't smell right.
And Damien Dining was in agreement (tweeted him)....
I suspect you're coming from an un-solid (technically) place again...
But I'll wait for commentary from others who own both, & can weigh-in.

Re: The N9 camera glare problem !
 

Fantastic picture! Would you mind sharing what settings you were using for that picture (ISO, white balance, compensation, etc.)? I've been struggling to optimize the N9 for shots like that, and a little help would be useful.

Thanks!

Re: The N9 camera glare problem !
 

This seems to be the settings he may have used...
Scene: Automatic
Flash: Off
White Balance: Automatic
Exposure Compensation: 0.7 (maybe up to 1.3)
Color Filter: Vivid
Light sensitivity: ISO 800
Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Resolution: High 7Mpx

Looking at the Data on the File:
Scene: Auto
Flash: Off
White Balance: Auto
Exposure Compensation: -1
Color Filter: Auto
Light sensitivity: ISO 174 so auto

Re: The N9 camera glare problem !
 

That's helpful - appreciate it. Of course, based on my fledgling photography experience, it seems a great deal of how well the exposure turns out is based on where exactly you choose your focus/exposure point. With the N9, it seems that these are one and the same point (which, for general purposes, is somewhat reasonable).

Re: The N9 camera glare problem !
 

I left EXIF data intact so it's all there.

I have found two ways to get better night pictures.

The first one is to limit max light sensitivity (ISO) to 100 or 200. This eliminates most of the grain/noise, but sometimes leaves you with pictures that are too dark. I think there may be some shutter length limit in play.

The second one, and IMHO the better one is to set negative exposure compensation which basically tells the camera to make darker pictures.

Keep the camera in auto-everything by tapping "auto", then disable flash and tap the exposure compensation setting. Slide it to -1. Then aim your phone and take a look, everything should be noticeably darker. If your light source is still overpowering everything, add more negative exposure compensation by moving the slider left (-2 is max). If the scene is to dark, slide it more to the right. Once you're happy with the result, close the menu and take a picture.

If you're not sure, take multiple pictures, you can later review them and figure out what works and what doesn't.

Re: The N9 camera glare problem !
 

I think the camera app does some sort of average exposure metering. The ability to set center-weighted or spot metering would be an excellent addition to the camera app.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metering_mode

Re: The N9 camera glare problem !
 

^ Enhancement request/s dude! ;)
http://harmattan-bugs.nokia.com/
All the better when you've got solid logic to back-them-up, as you do.
You could even tweet Damien the tracker no's once they're lodged, as a small nudge :)
I'm going to be bug/enhancement submission crazy once I finally have my N9.

Re: The N9 camera glare problem !
 

Having owned both, out of the box the N9's camera is far better than the N900's, in low light and generous light. There isn't really anything to argue about there. With Bless900/Fcam that may be different, but it's impossible to fairly judge since neither is available for the N9.

As has been said earlier in the thread, the N9 does have trouble with exposure in less-than-bright light; this can be clearly seen in its tendency to blow out low-light images with its own flash.

I'm definitely not a photography expert so I am probably wrong here, but might the OP's examples be partially due to the N9s larger lens? Taking a direct photo of a bright and close light source in a dark room seems like a pretty reliable way to overexpose a shot.

Re: The N9 camera glare problem !
 

I think your picture is not typical for the problem I said.
Because there is no strong light source in your photo.

I admit that N9 had and strong post editing functions,

And in many cases, we can get fair enough photos after editing,
like this one :
http://i42.tinypic.com/f40fx5.jpg
By setting the exposure compensation to +2.0EV, and enhance the Brightness and Contrast in post editing, I got this nice picture, for a smartphone.

But you must notice that there is no strong light source in these photos. When meeting the strong light source, the picture becomes unacceptable.

Here are some examples :

A fruit shop in night, the glare just cover the fruits :
http://i44.tinypic.com/2r3jxvp.jpg

On the street, the glare is very obvious :
http://i39.tinypic.com/wl7gk2.jpg

This is a large LED screen on the wall of the mall, but you cannot even identify it from the photo :
http://i44.tinypic.com/qxuy5x.jpg

I think we cannot use a standard of DSLR camera or even Nokia N8 to compare to N9, it is not fair. The N9 camera module is much smaller, or you can say compact in size.

But comparing to iPhone 4/4S or Samsung Galaxy S2, or N900, the glare problem is very obvious.

Many details get lost when meeting the strong light source, and these details cannot be find back even by strong post editing function of N9. So I am wonder is there any way to fix it through a software update ?

Re: The N9 camera glare problem !
 

Unfortunately no amount post-editing cannot save overexposed images. You would have to set negative exposure correction or lower ISO before you take the shot.

Re: The N9 camera glare problem !
 

Yes, you are right. I think it should be called "overexposed".

The N900 and N9 had at least 1.5EV difference in this situation.

here is another sample :
http://i42.tinypic.com/rsepm8.jpg

The Luma 800 (using the same camera module as N9) performance is worse than iPhone / Galaxy S2.

Re: The N9 camera overexposed problem !
 

Yes, setting the exposure compensation to -1.5EV works on these situations. But even after doing this, the image quality and focus accuracy of N9 is still not as good as N900. I think it should be caused by the CMOS size.

Damian Dinning had replied me several days ago on Twitter,
I asked why there is about 1.5EV difference in low light condition between N9 and N900.

And he answered it is due to the different light metering method between N9 and N900. There are cons and pros for both in different situations.

Re: The N9 camera overexposed problem !
 

Perhaps... Def. nothing to do with the N900's CMOS being bigger though.

Re: The N9 camera overexposed problem !
 

I prefer a better sensor over low light performance... Tell that to Mr. Dinning