First day with my 5X - super impressed with camera.

[CuriousMike]

I was looking for a new phone to replace my Galaxy S3 (charging port broke, tired of replacing battery every morning.)

The suggestion for the 5X came in from here for the $300 Black Monday deal.

Not being a particularly hardcore smartphone user, the 5X seemed like a good upgrade from the S3.

It took me a few days to get the right SIM card from Sprint to plugin; last night, I took it to the Sprint store and had them de-activate my S3 and get the 5x rolling.

This morning I went with friends to Yosemite and of course I brought along the new phone.

I gotta say - the new camera blows away my old GS3 phone - yes, years better tech so I was expecting it to be better... but man... I'm pretty picky on photo quality as I usually rock a DSLR - but this things auto HDR mode does a fantastic job of ensuring the highlights are protected and you have shadow detail. And the panorama ... wow !

 

[looper]

Very nice pic.

I'm a low volume data user (on my desktop PC most of the time), so I'm looking into Republic Wireless. But, the best phone they have now is the Moto X 2nd Gen... camera ok.

 

[notposting]

Nice!

You might want to check out Proshot. Pretty awesome manual control app, started on WP, then transitioned to iOS and Android. Obviously, auto-everything and on-hand is half the game with cell cameras, but they can still be pushed further when you have time. The interface will probably make sense to you, as well. There is a demo version also, but I don't know what the limitations are.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.riseupgames.proshot2

(only used the WP & iOS versions so far)

 

[pete6032]

Great shot. I'm pretty jealous you can just up and go to Yosemite any time you want since you're so close!

I'm also having problems finding a Sprint SIM for my 5X. The store told me that after Black Friday they've been having problems keeping those SIMS in stock. Finally had the store just order me one. Should be here early this week.

 

[CuriousMike]

@notposting - thanks for the hint - Gotta love mobile pricing - $3 is definite impulse buy.

@pete - I had to call Sprint and get the SIM ( navigating Sprints phone center.... that was painful.) They shipped it and it took 3 days to get.

I found these details off reddit - this is how I ensured I got the right sim

"Protip: Sprint users need the new V5 micro SIM that was introduced with the Moto X Pure.

Here are all the different ways it could be referred to:

SKU: CZ2144LWC
Part: SIMGLW446C
UPC: 019962040146
Name: WW GEM LTE+GSM REM 4FF CSIM V5"

 

[luv2liv]

Wow is right.
I'm a dslr person too. Hard to believe this is from a phone

 

[dlock13]

Very nice pic.

I'm a low volume data user (on my desktop PC most of the time), so I'm looking into Republic Wireless. But, the best phone they have now is the Moto X 2nd Gen... camera ok.

Might want to check out Project Fi. It is the same style payment per usage as Republic, but you'd be able to use the Nexus 5X or 6P on it.

 

[WelshBloke]

How's the low light/indoor shots? They are supposed to be pretty good as well aren't they?

What about moving targets?

Kids running about indoors in dimish light is a difficult one.

Any chance you could 'borrow' a couple of kids and take pictures of them running about inside? Maybe whilst they try to escape?

 

[CuriousMike]

How's the low light/indoor shots? They are supposed to be pretty good as well aren't they?

What about moving targets?

Kids running about indoors in dimish light is a difficult one.

Any chance you could 'borrow' a couple of kids and take pictures of them running about inside? Maybe whilst they try to escape?

I've only taken a couple indoor shots, and they are definitely better than my GS3 and my wifes iPhone 5.

As far as moving targets, that's a function of continuous auto-focusing which I'm not sure the stock phone app has.

 

[core2slow]

very crisp. how much of that is the result of the HDR effect? Can you show one without HDR being on?

 

[WelshBloke]

I've only taken a couple indoor shots, and they are definitely better than my GS3 and my wifes iPhone 5.

As far as moving targets, that's a function of continuous auto-focusing which I'm not sure the stock phone app has.

I was hoping that it could take in a little more light that some other sensors, so taking a faster photo would mean less motion blur.

It does seem a great phone. Its the first Nexus I've been tempted by.

 

[CuriousMike]

very crisp. how much of that is the result of the HDR effect? Can you show one without HDR being on?

Unfortunately ( fortunately ? ) the camera defaults to HDR and... it worked so well, I never turned it off. It was fast to me - you take the photo, and can continue taking other photos. If you want to immediately REVIEW the photo, in the background, the phone is processing the HDR exposures so it does take a couple seconds. ( http://www.anandtech.com/show/9742/the-google-nexus-5x-review/7 )

I took a similar shot with my DSLR, and what you would see without HDR is ( assuming you're exposing for half dome ) ---
1. The sky would have less detail - the faster exposure would mean little cloud detail
2. The area of the trees shadow would be much darker; many of the trees would simply be blackish and not defined well - again, faster exposure means darker trees

The sky looks a little artificially blue to me which could be easily adjusted in the phones photo editor -- but I sorta like the colors.

 

[CuriousMike]

I was hoping that it could take in a little more light that some other sensors

By virtue of its larger sensor ( compared to typical smart phones ), it does gather more light - the few indoor shots I have show considerably less grain than my GS3 or my wifes iPhone 5.

I'd offer to do a test to show the diff's, but there must be a gazillion 5x sample photos floating around by now.

Edit: Look here at AT's review - there are examples of a scene taken in low light with MULTIPLE cameras to compare: http://www.anandtech.com/show/9742/the-google-nexus-5x-review/7

Edit: Yeah, for sure - even compared to iPhone 6. If you zoom into the area on the parking sign that says "Sept 1 - June 30" you'll get a good idea of how much less grain the 5x has.

 

[CuriousMike]

Look at the AT article yourself, but I snapped the
iPhone 6
and the
Nexus 5X

and created this comparison

 

[WelshBloke]

Look at the AT article yourself...

I'm happy to take your word for it to be honest. I much prefer user reports rather than review sites.

 

[CuriousMike]

I'm happy to take your word for it to be honest. I much prefer user reports rather than review sites.

Sure, I'm happy to answer your questions.

But, if you are worried about whether it will capture moving objects ( such as children ) - I'm not sure what smartphone has continuous auto-focus.

Today, if little Timmy is in soccer/football and I want to have great photos of him in action, I'd pull out the DSLR. Well, i tend to pull the DSLR out for everything...

 

[ChronoReverse]

Looking at the camera parameters, continuous-picture is an available focus mode and it seems to work in 3rd party apps (A Better Camera for example). Not sure if Google Camera does though.

 

[WelshBloke]

Sure, I'm happy to answer your questions.

But, if you are worried about whether it will capture moving objects ( such as children ) - I'm not sure what smartphone has continuous auto-focus.

Today, if little Timmy is in soccer/football and I want to have great photos of him in action, I'd pull out the DSLR. Well, i tend to pull the DSLR out for everything...

I'd probably pull it out for the bolded as well if only for the zoom. Theres plenty of times indoors that I've wished that my phone would take better shots of moving targets. Lots of blurry heads around the dining table when youre taking candid shots are annoying.

 

[quikah]

Edit: Look here at AT's review - there are examples of a scene taken in low light with MULTIPLE cameras to compare: http://www.anandtech.com/show/9742/the-google-nexus-5x-review/7

Edit: Yeah, for sure - even compared to iPhone 6. If you zoom into the area on the parking sign that says "Sept 1 - June 30" you'll get a good idea of how much less grain the 5x has.

Less grain, but there is a purple flower looking halo around the bright light and a blue blob hanging off the light behind the sign in the 5x photos.

 

[CuriousMike]

Less grain, but there is a purple flower looking halo around the bright light and a blue blob hanging off the light behind the sign in the 5x photos.

Yes - and that is likely a function of the lens on the phone causing the flare.

It's totally likely that the lens on the 5x is more susceptible.

My guess is the phones were all shot at ever-so-slightly different angles to the scene - and that can dramatically increase flare. Looking at the other phones, both iPhones seem to control the flare best - all the other 'droid phones seem to suffer to some degree.

 

[monkey333]

Might want to check out Project Fi. It is the same style payment per usage as Republic, but you'd be able to use the Nexus 5X or 6P on it.

This x10000000.

I switched from Sprint with some weird hitch, but running smooth now, love fi.

 

[quikah]

Yes - and that is likely a function of the lens on the phone causing the flare.

It's totally likely that the lens on the 5x is more susceptible.

My guess is the phones were all shot at ever-so-slightly different angles to the scene - and that can dramatically increase flare. Looking at the other phones, both iPhones seem to control the flare best - all the other 'droid phones seem to suffer to some degree.

It is a pretty bad artifact, really it puts the camera into junk status for me if this is a regular problem with it. Would like to see more low light samples to see if it is just a fluke.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Look at the AT article yourself, but I snapped the
iPhone 6
and the
Nexus 5X

and created this comparison

Yes but that's the Nexus 5X on HDR+. Essentially the phone is snapping 3 photos and likely stitching them together to reduce noise. The single shot is noisier than the iPhone.

As for HDR on the iPhone, I'd like to see a comparison but my experience hasn't been that it reduces noise much.

With that said if anyone has a OnePlus One and has tried Clear Shot it works wonderfully in low light. 10 photos stacked to reduce the noise--it works fantastically.

My point is you're not really comparing sensor quality anymore but rather noise reduction algorithms. The best comparison is always a single shot comparison, which is what they do in DSLR reviews.

By virtue of its larger sensor ( compared to typical smart phones ), it does gather more light - the few indoor shots I have show considerably less grain than my GS3 or my wifes iPhone 5.

I'd offer to do a test to show the diff's, but there must be a gazillion 5x sample photos floating around by now.

Edit: Look here at AT's review - there are examples of a scene taken in low light with MULTIPLE cameras to compare: http://www.anandtech.com/show/9742/the-google-nexus-5x-review/7

Edit: Yeah, for sure - even compared to iPhone 6. If you zoom into the area on the parking sign that says "Sept 1 - June 30" you'll get a good idea of how much less grain the 5x has.

The whole larger sensor = more light should be carefully treaded upon More light typically means you have more exposure. The key to remember here is that exposure is light per unit area * time * film speed. The light per unit area is the same so all things equal, a small sensor will shoot at the same exposure as a large sensor. The difference is the larger sensor gets more light per pixel and therefore higher quality pixels and more detail. What the 5X and 6P are doing compared to other phones is really just giving you less noise at the same exposure.

I feel like the argument is often incorrectly stated and people are thinking larger pixels gives you a better exposure. It does not. With that said if hypothetically a larger on the 5X/6P sensor gives you a 1 stop noise advantage over the competition, then you could shoot at ISO1600 on the 6P/5X and ISO800 on the competition, and bump the shutter speed up on the 6P/5X to double that of the competition which could help capture kids running around. This is assuming the competition has the same aperture though.

With that said cameras have improved since the GS3 and since the iPhone 5. You have faster lenses (f/2.0 in this case) and larger pixels. Furthermore processing power has increased substantially and likely image processing algorithms have been refined. All help with reducing noise in photos which is key to low light photography.