Camera compression.

**daglesj** · 12-03-2012, 07:11 AM

I have asked this on other forums for other devices to no avail but maybe this time it could be different.

Is there any way that someone could dig around inside the Playbook to see if the compression settings for jpegs could be adjusted?

So many times I find that manufacturers apply way too much compression to pictures taken and they only end up good for on a small screen.

I think it would be a really neat feature if it could be adjusted to improve the image quality. Pulling back the compression by just 25% could prove worthwhile.

Maybe could also be applied to video as well?

**SlcCorrado** · 12-03-2012, 07:21 AM

Have you tried taking 1080p video with your PB? Its ridiculously good

Always fun to mess with settings though

**daglesj** · 12-03-2012, 07:39 AM

Well yeah its not bad but usually most devices like these have the settings put to a high level to maximise the capacity.

However, I would prefer to have just 100 usable good shots than 10000 compressed to nothing ones. My Palm Pre2 has a 5MP camera but the shots are all compressed to the max. Most don't even reach 800KB in size and they should be at least 1800-2200KB. They look great on the tiny screen but then you transfer them to a PC and they look awful. Nothing wrong with the lens, the sensor at all. It's just some muppet in the tech dev dept decided to apply jpeg compression at 80%+.

I know that the Playbook isn't primarily a photo/video device but no harm in seeing if its capabilities could be tweaked further.

**SlcCorrado** · 12-03-2012, 07:48 AM

Definitely

**pacoman03** · 12-03-2012, 10:20 AM

One thing to do to maximize resolution is to shoot in 4:3 rather than 16:9. 4:3 pics are a full 5 megapixels while 16:9 are about 3.5. Basically, 16:9 pics take the 4:3 pic and lop off the top and bottom.

**jeroen_13** · 12-03-2012, 11:19 AM

the image quality could be better !

**daglesj** · 12-03-2012, 11:32 AM

Originally Posted by pacoman03

One thing to do to maximize resolution is to shoot in 4:3 rather than 16:9. 4:3 pics are a full 5 megapixels while 16:9 are about 3.5. Basically, 16:9 pics take the 4:3 pic and lop off the top and bottom.

It's not about resolution. MP count is fine. I'd be quite happy if the Playbook only had a 3.2MP camera as its main cam.

Its the compression that kills any camera. I have an old Nikon 3.2MP camera from around 2004 and it still blows many 8MP phone cameras out of the water for sheer clarity of picture due to it not having overbearing compression applied.

**itmccb** · 12-03-2012, 06:30 PM

Compression is the least of it's problems.

**daglesj** · 12-04-2012, 01:01 PM

I guess the real issue is that the Playbook is too locked down that no one could get to the settings to adjust them.

Shame really. Could be interesting to see what the Playbook could do image and video wise with the compression turned down as far as the CPU would allow.

**StampyBeaverbrook** · 12-06-2012, 06:43 PM

Doesn't compressing use more computing power? I think the bigger issues are lense and sensor sizes. Cramming more megapixels on a tiny sensor will create problems with noise, and a better lense and sensor will add to the price and thickness of the tablet. The only real solution is to get a camera.

**daglesj** · 12-07-2012, 05:27 AM

Yes but the thing is...we cant change the lens, the sensor etc. etc. Stuck with them. So what else could we do to improve the situation with what we have?

We could potentially change the amount of compression applied to the image once its taken however. That would improve the quality of the final image by also reducing noise and artefacts.

Often the compression settings are the only real difference in a companies budget digital camera at $100 and the ones costing $400+. Same sensor, internals etc. just turn down the compression and a couple of other tweaks to make the $400 one look better.

As for reducing compression on video using more power, I was meaning that less compression on the video means a higher data rate being pushed through the tablet and it having to cope with that. Being able to push more data to the storage without stuttering/blocking. Down to the MBps write speed of the storage in the Playbook.

All rendered moot though, as the Playbook is too locked down I guess.

**jackpots** · 12-07-2012, 10:06 AM

Originally Posted by StampyBeaverbrook

Doesn't compressing use more computing power? I think the bigger issues are lense and sensor sizes. Cramming more megapixels on a tiny sensor will create problems with noise, and a better lense and sensor will add to the price and thickness of the tablet. The only real solution is to get a camera.

It does take processing but not that significant as the image processing is hardware on the SoC.

The issue for RIM and small device manufacturers is understandable as memory space on a multi-use device is at a premium. Notwithstanding, lense and sensor is important, and a current user cannot affect that change, but having three or so compression and RAW settings should be doable. Actually I think that it was an oversight for not having it there in the first place. What else is new...I digress.

In short,
Lense quality...as good as best in class
Sensor...as good as best in class
Flash....missing, but cost could have been the factor
Focus...fixed only, no auto focus/ gross oversight
App...missing some basic settings like compression and RAW