Author Topic: My smartphone has a terrible camera  (Read 1032 times)

Dee_the_third

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My smartphone has a terrible camera
« on: July 26, 2022, 10:18:10 AM »
I bought a Samsung A02S - everything I read about it described it as a basic, cheap phone that was good enough and a nice long security life, and that sounded like my kind of tech device. It's weirdly sized and slow, but I can handle that.

What I can't handle is the awful, awful camera. It's grainy, it takes almost a full second to actually take the picture after pressing the shutter. I wouldn't mind so much but my kid is fast-moving right now and the cute moments are brief. With this phone I miss most of them.

What I want is some sort of 3rd-party plug in camera that I can just stick to the back of it. I don't mind a little bit of extra bulk, but I don't want to carry around a whole second device. Does such a thing exist?

bryan995

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Re: My smartphone has a terrible camera
« Reply #1 on: July 26, 2022, 08:48:56 PM »
I don't think such a thing exists that is also going to be better than your current camera ...

Best path may be to return/sell and buy a used iphone from ebay that fits your budget?
Or the brand new iphone se is $429.

Camera will be very very very good.


middo

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Re: My smartphone has a terrible camera
« Reply #2 on: July 26, 2022, 10:06:06 PM »
I have a Samsung A52 which is about twice the price from what I can see online.  The camera is excellent.  A number of people have compared my photos to iphone photos and are really surprised my phone cost so little.  They assumed it was a top end phone.

My be worth upgrading the phone rather than getting a camera?

Hula Hoop

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Re: My smartphone has a terrible camera
« Reply #3 on: July 27, 2022, 03:10:52 AM »
I have a Samsung A52 which is about twice the price from what I can see online.  The camera is excellent.  A number of people have compared my photos to iphone photos and are really surprised my phone cost so little.  They assumed it was a top end phone.

My be worth upgrading the phone rather than getting a camera?

I have the same phone and agree that the camera is excellent

chemistk

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Re: My smartphone has a terrible camera
« Reply #4 on: July 27, 2022, 06:23:30 AM »
That phone is just going to keep getting slower. Not sure which combination of internal storage/RAM you got, but the processor that Samsung uses in that is bottom of the barrel. One of the reviews I read mentioned "It's there to just keep the lights on".

The cameras, as hardware items, are going to be fine. The issue your phone has, will continue to have, and which will continue to get worse is that processor is just not built to handle much more than playing Wordle, streaming videos over Wifi, and doing 'phone things'.

Even if a third party device existed, it would suffer the same issues - the processor is going to be pretty maxed out while taking pictures and video.

You could possibly look into third party camera apps - those usually come pretty highly recommended for any phone that's not a Pixel/iPhone, although I don't have any good recommendations. You can also alleviate some of the strain by changing the resolution of your pictures to a lower setting, and turning HDR off (if that's a feature included in your camera software).

Otherwise, it might be enough of a reason to upgrade to a slightly more expensive phone. You can find some great used phones <$200 on Swappa, or you can buy a 1-2 year old higher tier phone.

Rosy

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Re: My smartphone has a terrible camera
« Reply #5 on: July 27, 2022, 07:37:28 AM »
It's criminal with what phone mfg get away with when it comes to providing a decent camera.
I agree that your best option may well be to "find a good used camera phone".

An upgrade to a new phone would take you from Walmart's $62 for your current phone to
around $450-$500 for a new, good camera phone. A google search tells me you can get one of the phones recommended here for $275 'used' at Walmart.
So I bet you can find one for around $200 if you look locally or on a site like Swappa.

The way I bought mine in the past was to look at all the reviews for best camera phones only (it is a given that the tech, battery life etc will be good if it has a good camera). I looked at all models for the past three years and then hunted for a deal for an 'older' but new  (two-year-old) phone since I wasn't comfortable buying a used phone.

I know it is frustrating now but your bargain hunting skills and most of all experiences like this one will pay off in the future.
Even now that I can afford to buy exactly the model I want, I waited for Prime Day, saving me literally hundreds on an unlocked model that T-Mobile carries but hadn't yet received the newest upgraded version - score:). 

Syonyk

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Re: My smartphone has a terrible camera
« Reply #6 on: July 27, 2022, 02:43:48 PM »
What I can't handle is the awful, awful camera. It's grainy, it takes almost a full second to actually take the picture after pressing the shutter. I wouldn't mind so much but my kid is fast-moving right now and the cute moments are brief. With this phone I miss most of them.

That's part of what drove me back to iPhone from Android, a small child.  Apple then got sick in their bed, so I'm on a flip phone and carry a discrete camera with me.

Quote
What I want is some sort of 3rd-party plug in camera that I can just stick to the back of it. I don't mind a little bit of extra bulk, but I don't want to carry around a whole second device. Does such a thing exist?

Not for random phones.  And if it did, it would probably perform similarly badly on your device as the built in Nebraska potato.

dang1

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Re: My smartphone has a terrible camera
« Reply #7 on: July 27, 2022, 07:24:33 PM »
buying used Galaxy S, the flagship Samsung phones with the best cameras, through ebay that's returnable if not happy, works

Just Joe

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Re: My smartphone has a terrible camera
« Reply #8 on: July 28, 2022, 02:13:15 PM »
https://opencamera.org.uk/

You can get the camera app from the Google Play store.

I've used it. However, I think your phone hardware is just slow and/or the camera hardware is too basic.

I like Asus smart phones. Really like their lack of bloatware and like the camera. Check the phone with your service provider though to make sure what you want is compatible. I use Red Pocket. 

Dee_the_third

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Re: My smartphone has a terrible camera
« Reply #9 on: July 28, 2022, 06:24:48 PM »
Update to any following along: I bought an iPhone. My Linux-installing, soldering iron-owning high school self is appalled but they support their phones longer than any Android manufacturer. Since my mode of technology ownership is to run it until it breaks irreparably, I expect a good long life out of this iPhone (and a great camera). Thanks all for chiming in.

Dee_the_third

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Re: My smartphone has a terrible camera
« Reply #10 on: July 28, 2022, 06:26:04 PM »

Not for random phones.  And if it did, it would probably perform similarly badly on your device as the built in Nebraska potato.

Nebraska potato 😂😂😂

Syonyk

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Re: My smartphone has a terrible camera
« Reply #11 on: July 28, 2022, 07:39:28 PM »
Update to any following along: I bought an iPhone.

Can't argue with the cameras in them!

Quote
...but they support their phones longer than any Android manufacturer.

Yeah.  The iPhone 6S, released Sep 2015, is only just now falling off OS support with iOS 16.  Seven years for a phone sure beats Android!

Just, Apple's gone evil lately. :/  I replaced a 6S with a 2020 SE (also, the 6S was several iterations of repair in, a couple batteries, and I couldn't manage to keep the dust out of the lens), and... then Apple did the whole CSAM on-device scanning thing, which they've not actually gone through with, and... *sigh*  I went back to a flip phone and I just carry a standalone camera.