Photo tests between other phones & Z10 in same conditions

**belfastdispatcher** · 02-03-2013, 06:45 AM

Originally Posted by qbnkelt

I like the left better on this one.

What would be good is if you were to post the pictures without identifying which is which. That way it's truly a blind experiment.

In those photos the wrong resolution was used on the Z10

**qbnkelt** · 02-03-2013, 06:48 AM

Originally Posted by f0xG3

Hmm, is it just me or the those reviewers are quite right about the Z10 bad at Low Light Conditions. Well, I'd just need a fast shooter and a decent flash anyways.

Then again, why the **** would you NOT use flash on low light -_-.

I can see times....capturing a children's Christmas pageant at church, or wanting to take a picture of a sleeping baby without waking her up, taking a picture of a flash-shy pet.

**Toodeurep** · 02-03-2013, 06:57 AM

I think the "out of the box" concept might also bring into play different philosophies on usage. I would prefer that you tried to make them both have the same setting, not "max" or "min" but the same: resolution, ratio, etc.

Also, what Q mentioned don't indetify them but don't make it a poll either. This place is like the old west right now.

**valeuche** · 02-03-2013, 07:00 AM

Originally Posted by qbnkelt

I can see times....capturing a children's Christmas pageant at church, or wanting to take a picture of a sleeping baby without waking her up, taking a picture of a flash-shy pet.

Taking photos of a night scene that I beyond the range of the flash is another obvious one. I think I take more photos in low light without a flash than with

**slparry** · 02-03-2013, 07:06 AM

Originally Posted by qbnkelt

I can see times....capturing a children's Christmas pageant at church, or wanting to take a picture of a sleeping baby without waking her up, taking a picture of a flash-shy pet.

Some art galleries and museums don't allow flash photography

**belfastdispatcher** · 02-03-2013, 07:14 AM

Originally Posted by slparry

Some art galleries and museums don't allow flash photography

That's what camera night mode is for.

**collinc93** · 02-03-2013, 07:20 AM

more pictures with res at 4:3 please, and please dont state which is which

**megajo123** · 02-03-2013, 09:27 AM

Z10 looks like the colours are a bit dull, but is that a problem with the camera itself? Or can that be changed with a software update to automatically enhance the colour. Because as far as I remember with specs they're equal.

**Kat0908** · 02-03-2013, 09:42 AM

Originally Posted by MattUK

Default settings on both, I've fiddled with nothing as I guess thats the best way to do an out of the box test.. I can look at settings if you want me to, but for now I wanted a like for like as is

If you want a truly "equal" comparison, then you should turn HDR mode off in your iphone. The Z10 currently does not have HDR and that makes a significant difference in low-light shots. Of course, one of the pluses to the iphone is that it currently DOES have HDR, my point is simply if you are looking to put them on an equal playing field. With HDR enabled on the iphone it will most certainly blow the Z10 away.

**mikeo007** · 02-03-2013, 09:47 AM

iPhone pics are looking decidedly better in all of those examples. I only see 3 shots for the fridge example though, guessing first is iphone, 2nd and 3rd are z10?

Any chance you could upload full size photos of your next test? These compressed, tiny photos make it hard to pick out any detail

**mikeo007** · 02-03-2013, 09:48 AM

Originally Posted by Kat0908

If you want a truly "equal" comparison, then you should turn HDR mode off in your iphone. The Z10 currently does not have HDR and that makes a significant difference in low-light shots. Of course, one of the pluses to the iphone is that it currently DOES have HDR, my point is simply if you are looking to put them on an equal playing field. With HDR enabled on the iphone it will most certainly blow the Z10 away.

HDR is disabled by default, so it wouldn't be the default settings if he was using it.

**peter9477** · 02-03-2013, 09:49 AM

This would be easier if you didn't keep swapping the order of the images. First iPhone/Z10, then reversed, then ?? Just saying...

(Thanks for posting them though!)

Note that a key thing for certain shots may be where the exposure level is being determined. I don't know the iPhone's algorithm or technique, but will just point out that on the Z10, dragging the focus square off-centre (onto for example the teddy bear) would not only set the focus from that area, but also the exposure setting based on the light level there. Depending on the composition of the shot, this could significantly alter the results. I know some would say "but it doesn't matter, if the iPhone does it better anyway!" but that would be missing my point here. For a particular shot, this could spell the difference between the Z10 being better or worse, so unless you were taking this into account, or doing many different types of shot (as you're trying to now) it might mean wrong conclusions.

**Kat0908** · 02-03-2013, 09:50 AM

Originally Posted by mikeo007

HDR is disabled by default, so it wouldn't be the default settings if he was using it.

Are you sure about that? I'm not sure how many times I've had to disable it for friends because they were running out of memory because of the huge picture files they were taking thanks to HDR.

**bungaboy** · 02-03-2013, 09:59 AM

Originally Posted by qbnkelt

I can see times....capturing a children's Christmas pageant at church, or wanting to take a picture of a sleeping baby without waking her up, taking a picture of a flash-shy pet.

Or . . . . . stalking an English banger? LoL

**m0de25** · 02-03-2013, 10:06 AM

To the OP, stop switching iPhone and Z10 sides from left to right, lol! (the first couple of samples had the iPhone on the left, then you pulled a swticharoo on the 3rd batch)

Anyway, thanks for the effort in loading these up. Once you resolved the size issue to get the Z10 up to par, looks like the remaining difference in image quality is just a white balance and post processing tweak (colour saturation and noise reduction), easily resolved by software. The other difference can possibly be attributed to where you focused the exposure. Hopefully BlackBerry jumps on these teaks in the next update. If they know what good for them... ASAP

**GTiLeo** · 02-03-2013, 10:25 AM

looks like the color on the Z10 is a little duller, maybe with some photo editing it would make the colors more vibrant or else the clarity is there. maybe the image contrast setting is to close to the dark side and with some software tweeks can be altered for improved images

**Hawkeberry** · 02-03-2013, 10:26 AM

the iPhone one without flash is quite impressive.

**Iller20** · 02-03-2013, 10:45 AM

The iPhone shots are better in comparison, there should be no debate over that. And regarding spec wise, it's not so much the MP but rather the image lens, which is superior on the iPhone's. The z10 camera does take nice photo's but the low light pics are somewhat average.

**jarrodmeyer** · 02-03-2013, 11:21 AM

Originally Posted by MattUK

iPhone 5 / Z10
With Flash / Without
Attachment 133730 Attachment 133732
Attachment 133731 Attachment 133733

What you might not realize is on the first Z10 photo here the strip of light coming in from the right seems to be significantly impacting the photo as the camera software tries to adjust the image to cope with the extra backlighting.

Its always incredibly important to match the image frame as closely as possible to avoid exactly that.

**netwerx1** · 02-03-2013, 11:29 AM

Maybe nobody else noticed, but the Z10 appears to have Flipboard, WhatsApp, and Instagram installed...side-loaded Android apps? Are they working well? Sorry for the side-track...

**kdklein** · 02-03-2013, 11:51 AM

Originally Posted by f0xG3

Hmm, is it just me or the those reviewers are quite right about the Z10 bad at Low Light Conditions. Well, I'd just need a fast shooter and a decent flash anyways.

Then again, why the **** would you NOT use flash on low light -_-.

Because it ruins your photos 9 out of 10 times.

**Gonzo_02** · 02-03-2013, 11:52 AM

Well, I think its obvious the Z10 camera is not as good as the iPhone 5, but my question is I see some posts around saying that it can be fixed/made better with a software update, is that even possible? I see it as a hardware issue not a software issue.

**mikeo007** · 02-03-2013, 11:54 AM

Originally Posted by Gonzo_02

Well, I think its obvious the Z10 camera is not as good as the iPhone 5, but my question is I see some posts around saying that it can be fixed/made better with a software update, is that even possible? I see it as a hardware issue not a software issue.

To a point, but all the software tweaks in the world can't make up for inferior optics.

**rapha194** · 02-03-2013, 12:52 PM

Gentlemen, let's be honest and want to believe that the camera can improve signifcamente with just a software upgrade.

NEVER a software update will let this get with a quality camera next to an Iphone 4s or Galaxy s2. I dare say that is less than the iPhone 4 camera. The photos of the Z10 has more grainy than the cake that my mother makes Brigadier

They put a sensor and lens crappy!! Make no mistake!! Blackberry had no money to bet big on a hardware camera.

TOP Today a phone line can not take photo median or worse than a phone that costs half the price.

Today we want a phone that you can take a ride ... Birthday ... travel with the family and he has conditions for taking good shots .... even if it is to post on social networks.
Phone is for anytime ... it is your pocket companion.

Nobody walks with a DSLR Camera neck!!

PS: Sorry my English ... I used google translate

**m0de25** · 02-03-2013, 01:05 PM

Originally Posted by rapha194

...
NEVER a software update will let this get with a quality camera next to an Iphone 4s or Galaxy s2. I dare say that is less than the iPhone 4 camera

Um... I know a lot about photography and photography equipment. Without knowing whether or not the BlackBerry camera lens and sensor hardware is inferior or not, I can assure you that nothing I've seen in these examples cannot be tweaked with processing. Specifically, white colour balance, colour saturation, sharpening, noise reduction, etc. ALL CORRECTABLE WITH SOFTWARE and algorithm tweaks.

If the sensor/lens IS inferior, you may not get things as sharp and detailed as the "top phone cameras" out there, and your captures may not excel in dark scenarios, but with a little bit of software tweaks, you can get close. At least close enough so that no one will complain. I can take these Z10 samples into PhotoShop or Lightroom and make them look almost identical to the iPhone shots. I can turn the whites into whites, bump the colour up, reduce the noise... and voila.

If you have ever played with RAW camera files (untweaked image information where quality depends on sensor and optics) and compared it to the camera JPEG output (essentially the RAW information that has been processed by each camera manufacturer according to what they think their consumer wants), you get a better understanding of this.