In todays smartphone wars there is a better camera phone coming out on a monthly basis. We are continuously hearing about phones with more megapixels, better lenses and deeper colors. However, you can get brilliant pictures out of your current camera phone too by following the golden rule of
'Manual Settings.' In times where DSLR cameras are replacing digicams and everyone is a budding photographer the one camera that is being ignored is the one always in your pocket, by applying a 10th of your knowledge of manual setting you can get brilliant images on your phone. However, the scope of this article is Android camera settings as the iphone does not let you configure manual settings, while the iphone can get great picture quality most of the times with the auto configured camera but with these manual settings on Android you will be surprised byhow AWESOME your 5 megapixel camera can be :)
 |
| Clicked on my Galaxy Nexus |
The settings below are as reflected on the SAMSUNG GALAXY NEXUS running on Android 4.01 Jelly Bean, the setting may wary on other Android Phones. 1. WHITE BALANCEThis is one setting that can completely change the tone and colors of your photograph. By default it is set at AUTO which is the phone’s best judgment to take the photo. The flash will go off depending on the situation, the shutter might go faster or slower, and the sensitivity of the sensor might change. Most users never change this setting and this is the biggest reason why the quality of your photos drops.
Below, is an explanation of the various modes available under White Balance and how to use them :-
a) INCANDESCENT: This is the mode that you should be using when your indoors and the dominant light in the room is yellow light being emitted by light bulbs. Switching to this mode will help your phone camera accordingly adjust to the surroundings for more natural colors.
b) DAYLIGHT: The name here is self explanatory, this mode works best when your clicking pictures outdoors in the day. The camera captures the most natural outdoor colors in this mode, you can get really good shots using this.
c) FLUORESCENT: We spoke about yellow light from bulbs in the first mode above. This mode is for a setting which has more white light, the kind that is emitted from tube lights or CFLs. Changing your camera to this mode will help it adapt to its white light surroundings and capture shots that make most of the white light.
d) CLOUDY: Rainy, dark cloudy days have a charm of their own, you can capture beautiful shots by switching your phone camera to this mode, it also works best for most evening shots just before the sun sets.
2. EXPOSUREThis is a setting that most new DSLR users love to play with, it helps you control the amount of light that falls on your camera lens accordingly making your picture brighter on darker. This setting is more complex and advanced on DSLRs but on your phone you can change it in one click. You can increase or decrease the exposure by upto 3 levels on your jelly bean phone.
This setting is very useful for shots with low light where you do not want to use flash but want a more natural click, just increase the exposure to the amount that works best for your shot and capture the perfect non flash shot :-)
3. SCENE MODE
This setting helps your camera determine what surroundings are you in, it could be a party or enjoying a sunset at the beach. Just let your camera know where you are and it accordingly adapts.
a) AUTO: Most people leave this setting unchanged on their phones and it works fine as your phone automatically adapts to your surroundings, but just like manual setting do the magic in DSLR changing this setting can dramatically improve your shots.
 |
| Clicked on my Galaxy Nexus |
b) ACTION: This mode is useful when you are clicking pictures of moving objects. It may be a running child, moving car or a football game. Changing your camera to this mode will help it understand that your trying to capture a moving object.
c) NIGHT: Again self explanatory, the GALAXY NEXUS has a camera optimized for low light photography and changing to this mode will give you really nice night shots.
d SUNSET: This is the mode to be in while strolling along a beach after a long day at work, it helps captures the last strokes of light as the sun sets far into the ocean .
e) PARTY: This mode is optimized for parties with a lot of disco lights throwing colors all around. Try it in your next night out :)
NOTE: 'SCENE MODE' AND 'WHITE BALANCE' CANNOT BE USED IN COMBINATION, CHANGING ONE WILL BLOCK YOU FROM CHANGING THE OTHER, USE AS PER YOUR JUDGEMENT AND LIGHT CONDITIONS. Lastly use flash wisely. Personally I hate pictures with flash and avoid using it whenever possible. With the manual settings explained above you can get beautiful shots without flash.
