Fairphone 4: Camera software

Question to the fairphone 4 users: In many Fairphoen 4 reviews I read that the pictures were not very good, but Camera Software would be going to be updated.

Now, some year later, I would like to ask you: How is the Camera Software nowadays? Did it improve remarkably in the last years?

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Use a modded Gcam app, the pictures are pretty okay I guess. Nothing that will blow your mind. Assuming the lighting is good, they will look decent. In poor lighting however, the camera is pretty laughable.

There are Samsung phones for 300 bucks with a superior camera, unfortunately.

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There already were a few updates that improved the camera. I bet more are still coming. There is still room for improvement.

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It has the camera of a 200 dollar phone now instead of a 150 dollar phone. Progress!

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Thanks for the fast feedback. Are there any known other smartphones using the very same sensor? So one could compare the software performance?

I believe the camera is almost identical to the Pixel 3.

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Hi there!
Yes I agree with you that the stock camera software still needs improvement. Honestly I donā€™t use it. I prefer to shoot raw (DNG) therefore I use Open Camera. Which tents to act sluggish and slow, especially the C-AF. Iā€™m FP4 user since January 1st 2023 and had to reset the app twice so far. The Sony IMX 582 has been used in a long list of devices prior to FP4. How the sensor handles the image data is the job of the camera app (obviously, right?), I personally hope to see further improvements asap.

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NO. Further more, mine has deteriorated to the point where it has to be rebooted once a day at least.
If you are still considering PLEASE do not buy one. You will be frustrated by the stupid things that make it unfit even as bl00dy phone never mind a cameraā€¦

Oh. What does Support say to the reboot problem you mentioned? Is it a problem they know? Can they provide a solution? Does it last?

Does your NO refer to my question whether tha camera improved?

I think the question always is: what are you used to and what pictures will you mainly take.
For me and my use cases (and using a GCam port) its good enough, others are still disappointed and will probably never be happy whatever improvement will be done.

There are several topics in the forum, maybe read a bit and here are example pictures

The camera is OK-ish. Nothing to blow your mind, and holiday photos are OK-ish in good daylight only.

It does the job, though. You can use different camera apps if you want more from it, but I havenā€™t found one app to do everything I need. I usually use the stock camera app and switch to a GCam mod in tricky lighting conditions. The use of the 3rd party apps has greatly improved since they opened the Camera2 API to give access to the wide-angle lens.

For example, it works well for scanning product barcodes if you track calories or open menus in bars/restaurants.

Camera integration in some apps, for example Whatsapp, is a bit disappointing:

  • takes a bit to load, or auto-focuses is slow
  • sometimes, I need to take a picture twice because the shutter button does not work in the first try (Whatsapp)

You donā€™t buy the phone for the camera. And if the camera is essential to you, itā€™s not the right phone.

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No to the whole phone.
These issues are an ongoing ticket to which the ā€˜answerā€™ seems always to be ā€˜reset your phoneā€™. My answer to that is fine, but send me a temp replacement so I donā€™t lose a days income through having to do that and rebuilding the damned thing each time. No answerā€¦
I decided tonight to buy another make, a model that at least functions fully as a phone & transfer everything across so I finally get reliability. Iā€™ll be pushing for a replacement & when I get it it will be sold to offset the reliable phone & case Iā€™m buying.
Iā€™ve been responsible for many FP4 being purchased & sadly now I feel very sorry I did so.

Yes I will not recommend a Fairphone except to a Fair Trade freak although it seems Shift phones are into that business to.

Still my FP3 is fine and a daughter has my spare FP3 which she finds more attractive and useful than the FP4 she had, with a wobbly battery :frowning: [Thatā€™s in for a checkup :slight_smile: ]

Iā€™m pretty sure Iā€™ll be buying the FP7 in a few years, so lā€™ll see how the user experience plays out via this forum.

It does all seems a bit risky financially and scary functionally, but so far so good
:crossed_fingers:

All the best.

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Camera software has not improved substantially in the time Iā€™ve had my FP4. Realistically, Fairphone has not only outsourced development, but seems to have very limited work being done by the outsourced team. There are minor changes and fixes, but they often seem like they are half-hearted improvements that may have only taken a few hours of work and come after months of poor communication through an opaque support process: for example, it appears that the Camera2 wide angle was simply a permissions setting change (that some custom roms had already included), but also didnā€™t include lens correction parameters.

48MP as listed in the specs for both the main and wide angle cameras remains a poorly-implemented gimmick at best and a scam at worst. It barely works in the stock camera app with the main camera in a special mode that is hard to stay in, offers seemingly no improvement in image quality, and is still inaccessible outside of stock. It simply doesnā€™t exist anywhere for the wide angle. I donā€™t expect there to ever be any improvements on this points: FP can just continue to advertise the technically-correct 48MP spec while not actually having the software make 48MP viable or having lenses of a quality to make it worthwhile. (Edit: actually, FP also includes ā€œtack-sharp 48MP ultra-wide lensā€ in its marketing, despite that 48MP never being available unbinned, even in their stock camera. Why is FP so shamelessly disreputable in their marketing?)

Low-light performance remains the worst Iā€™ve seen on a modern smartphone, or even smartphones from years before the FP4.

The camera is bad enough that itā€™s actually inspired me to stop taking photos with my phone, and start carrying an actual camera more often.

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Hi there! I would like to buy a fairphone but Iā€™m looking for a phone with a good camera. Those new iPhones got quite good ones but I obviously donā€™t want to buy one. Are there perhaps any Fairphone models with good cameras? Could someone give me any advice?

Feel welcome Lululu

youĀ“re not the first one asking this question and there are several topics around this question in this forum :wink:
HereĀ“s one example (about the FP3):

Wanna get more? Just try out that search funtion top right of this page

But also an honest answer to your question in a nutshell:
The FairphoneĀ“s not a all-in-one device suitable for every purpose. The pictures it takes are quite good but if youĀ“re looking for something better: Take a real camera :wink:

Yes, there are much more devices out there that can do better pictures, got more features, are cheaper, better, whateever.

Keep in mind: The Fairphone is a mobile phone with the idea of sustainability; no swiss army knife but a good allrounder.
I personally donĀ“t think it can challenge an iPhone when it comes down to pictures and their quality but it got other qualities in it that easily outmatch an i(donĀ“t-like-it)Phone :wink:

Best
DonFnord

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Welcome to the forum, please do a search

https://forum.fairphone.com/search?q=Camera%20FP4

I moved your post to the most recent discussion, so please also see above or as indicated in other topics in the forum. Without knowing what your normal use case is, when you compare with the recent IPhones, you will most likely not be happy with FP4 camera software.

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Hey guys!

I have a question about FP4 camera too. I was playing around with FP4Ā“s camera app in a shop and noticed that I wasnĀ“t able to find an option to shoot raw in a pro mode. Has that option been removed completely or has the switch been moved somewhere? In FP3+ you can toggle it on and off at the top of the screen when you switch to pro mode.

Thanks.

I donā€™t think itā€™s available in the default app. Itā€™s available in the Gcam ports though! I think.