HTC G1 camera out of the box = massive fail. Realistically, how much can updates fix this?

Scurzuzu · 10-29-2008, 09:57 PM

I realize I'm spoiled: I'm putting aside a Nokia N82, which has some amazing camera hardware, in order to get my paws on a G1 and Android. And while I love Android, I'm really on the fence about the G1. It already feels outdated in my hand and I've only had it for 6 days!

My stumbling block--and I have to make a decision on this before 20 days are up so I can send it back to T-Mobile if I need to--is the camera. I can't seem to get a photo out of it that's not blurry in some way. I've tried holding the camera against things (for stability), shooting in bright light, etc., but the pictures all suck. In real life, you *never* have time to hold everything perfectly still for 10 seconds, or make sure it's really brightly lit, to focus and take a shot. That makes the camera virtually unusable for spontaneous photography in its current state.

So, here's what I don't know: how much of this can be fixed with over the air updates? I know when I first got a Nokia N95 a couple of years ago, the camera sucked then, but successive firmware updates made it faster and give better photos. Can I (optimistically) expect the same with the G1? Or am I just seeing the limitations of much cheaper hardware that no amount of updating will compensate for?

BedHead · 10-30-2008, 02:42 PM

I share your disappointment with the G1's camera. Having read the tech specs prior to ordering and seeing the quite competitive 3 mega pixel camera i felt reassured... sadly it's not that great is it.

The only somewhat decent/colourful pics i've gotten from the G1 is when i've taken shots outside in bright sunshine - something i haven't been able to replicate indoors.

In regards to how far firmware will go.. it's really touch to predict. I mean is the priority more with patching security flaws and ironing out the menu's than it is improving non-essentials like camera blurryness.

To be honest i dont know much about the updates, are they from google or t-mobile? I cant see Google spending much time trying to fix hardware issues... i dont know.. it is something i'd love to see happen but im not gonna hold my breath.

Andor · 10-30-2008, 03:03 PM

I'd like to see an update that includes the ability to change the shutter speed and turn off the auto focus - zoom would be nice too.

Would an application be capable of adding these options or do you think it would need a firmware update of some kind? I mean is the functionality already available - is it just that the application doesnt fully utilize it?

rmtuggle · 10-31-2008, 07:15 AM

I agree. The more I play around with my G1, the more lackluster certain aspects of it feel. I miss the option of things like zoom, changing picture size, adding color effects, self-timer and more that one woukd have gotten with almost any other phone. Starting to really think about rollig back to something like one of the sidekick models...

Scurzuzu · 10-31-2008, 09:55 AM

I liked Android a lot and I'm eager to see what another handset maker comes up with (or even HTC, I won't hold a grudge), but I just couldn't deal with the janky build-quality and cheap parts of the G1.

Of course the camera was where I had the biggest problem, but last night I started to notice that the flip-up screen sat kind of crooked--at the tiniest angle, not really visible to the casual observer, but if you're staring at it all the time you notice it. And it was no longer sitting flush with the rest of the case when in the closed position either. And no, I'm not an abusive phone owner.

My Nokia N82 just has a much better build quality, even though it's all plastic like the G1. It's also lighter and smaller, and I think I can live without Android for a while longer and enjoy everything the N82 can do (which is a lot--more than the G1 at this early stage in Android development, that's for sure).

Other failure points for me: the lack of a real headphone port, and the abysmal battery life. Battery life might improve with future updates, or if I keep everything that makes this a cool device turned off. I'm not confident in the former and I don't see the point in having the G1 if I have to do the latter. As far as the headphone port, I already bought an adaptor (through the store on this site, in fact), and it works great, and I thought I could live with that. But it annoyed me to see the mini-USB port cap dangling from my phone whenever I listened to music on it. It's just a poor design choice.

I'm not encouraging anyone to send back their G1 or anything, and I'm certainly not a hater on T-Mobile, Google, or HTC. (I *do* have a bit of obsessive love for Nokia N-Series phones, though.) I just thought I'd share why I decided to send it back since I started this thread.

Scurzuzu · 10-31-2008, 09:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BedHead

To be honest i dont know much about the updates, are they from google or t-mobile? I cant see Google spending much time trying to fix hardware issues... i dont know.. it is something i'd love to see happen but im not gonna hold my breath.

I may be wrong, but as I understand it Google prepares the core updates to the OS, but T-Mobile decides whether to push them out and when. I don't know that I trust any U.S. carrier to act in the interest of its customers, though. They've all been acting better the past 6-12 months (re. ETFs and contracts, mainly), but they're still pretty hostile to their customers. I don't like relying on a carrier for my phone's functionality. I'd rather the update come from HTC or Google but I think that's unlikely.

dominiqueingram1605 · 11-09-2008, 09:01 PM

i agree the camera sucks but to me thats not a good enough reason to send it back i loved everything else about the phone

pmotif · 11-17-2008, 05:25 PM

"The camera button is a two stage button. You press down half way to get it to focus and press the rest of the way to capture the shot. It is probable that you aren't pressing it down all the way. When you press the trackball, it take a picture every time because the trackball is not a two stage button so it just focuses and shoots."

Will try it later and see if I can take better pics as I've had the same blurry pics issue.

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mikedeezy33 · 04-03-2009, 02:55 PM

I agree, it is completely awful. Sometimes, the camera doesn't even take pictures, it just sits there with a blinking green circle in the corner. Honestly, this is a problem that is in the software, Google needs to fix this.

It is ridiculous and infuriating how bad this camera is. There is no indication of how long to hold down the camera button to get it to actually take a picture. Sometimes it works with a simple push, other times it takes holding the button down longer, and sometimes it will refuse to take a picture at all. And the pictures are always blurry, no matter how steady you hold the camera. The camera application really needs a lot of work, because as far as I am concerned the developers who worked on that part of Android have failed.