Tips & examples for close up photography using the Galaxy S2 Camera pt2

Below are the first attempts at close up photography I've tried using the Galaxy S2 Camera that have been post-processed using Photoshop. Admittably, I have some way to go!!! Both images have been cropped to tighten the shot, and the images have been colour adjusted. For example, you can see that we can get a sharper image of the daisies by taking a further away shot with better focus, and blowing up the subject. We can also use colour adjustments on 'shadow', 'highlights' and 'midtones' to bring out the desired detail.

Some general tips for Close up shots that I most definately need to apply in future are to: 1. rest or clamp the camera to something if at all possible to avoid blur and increase focus. 2. Play around with the 'Exposure value' and 'ISO' settings for each intended shot. 3. Take the shot further back in the highest resolution. 4. Get the lighting right by using an A4 white sheet. 5. Don't be afraid to take far more shots then I think I'll need.

Tips & examples for close up photography using the Galaxy S2 Camera pt1

When taking extremely close up shots with the Galaxy S2 you will likely want to choose 'Macro' setting, or opt to manually focus. In my experience Macro works well, and requires you tap where on the screen you want superfine focus.

When taking outdoor shots in bright settings, it will help to select 'Outdoor Visibility' from the camera settings menu. 'Outdoor Visibility' will illuminate your screen to make it easier to see what you are shooting, though bare in mind that what you see on screen will not correspond to the luminance of the actual photograph taken. Below are some examples of close up shots I've taken using macro. These shots were not cropped and represent the original distance from the subject.

As you can see from the latter shots, even though I used 'macro' and pressed on screen the focal subject for focusing, the images are not as sharp as I would of liked. Instead the background seems to be sharper than the foreground subject. A recommendation in future would be to take the shot from slightly further back, so as to sharply focus the foreground subject, and crop the image in post-processing.

Some general close up photography advice would be firstly to use a white sheet or black sheet to increase or reduce illuminance on the subject.

Another trick I've heard of but have yet to try, is to choose a low ISO setting, and turn on the flash. This means that you can be left with sharper and more illuminating photos.

For each image below, you can click on them for full resolution:

Day shot - Macro - 'Mushroom'

Day shot - with Flash - 'Mushroom'

Day shot - Macro - 'Mushroom'

Day shot - with Flash - 'Mushroom'

Day shot - Macro - 'Daisies'

Day shot - Macro - 'Daisy'

Day shot - Macro - 'Daisy'

Galaxy S2 Camera Pictures Live Wallpaper

As you begin to take better pictures with your Galaxy S2 phone, you might want to create a collage of the latest photos. This useful app, called 'Camera Pictures Live Wallpaper' which is free from the Android App Market, creates a floating slide of the images in your DCIM folder, and it works well on the Samsung Galaxy S2.

Galaxy S2 Homescreen

Comparing the Samsung Galaxy S2 Camera with the Nokia N8

The Nokia N8 is considered for many the current market leader smart phone for taking photos with it's massive 12 megapixel carl weizz lense and powerful flash. However, how does it compare to the the Galaxy S2 camera? Have a look at this comparison blog post which pits the two phones together for a number of shots.

http://sgs2vsn8camera.blogspot.com/2011/08/samsung-galaxy-s2-vs-nokia-n8-camera.html

We can see that the Galaxy S2 performs very well against the N8, but we can also take note the importance of adjusting settings for the best photo possible. For instance, night shots with the N8 outperform, however tweaking the SGS2 settings such as turning on the 'autocontrast' may make a big difference.

The sharpness and shutter speed of the Galaxy S2 also compared favourably against the N8, with settings like 'Macro' in 'Focus Mode' settings making a noted difference for close up shots. Finally, the blogger noted that the N8 seemed to pump up the colour compared to the SGS2 for some daylight shots, so it may be worth opting for a 'Scene Mode' such as 'Beach/Snow' to add warmth to shots.

Samsung Galaxy S2 HDR Photo Apps

After a week with my SGS2, I've decided to play around with filtering and photo techniques abit more. I've seen some great results with HDR photography and wanted to experiment myself. HDR or High Dynamic Range imaging, creates a greater range of luminance and contrast between shades of colour in photos. HDR photos can be achieved purely through the post processing of images, or through the combining of 3 or more photo shots with slightly different ranges into one. As the latter is the preferred option, i opted away from Android apps like the popular 'Camera 360' which uses post processing, and instead chose 'HDR Camera+' from the app market. Below are my first results. The first photo is without HDR, whereas the remaining 3 images are taken with 'HDR Camera+', whereby I've chosen 'High Contrast' in the 'Local Contrast' options of the settings menu. Click on each photo for a full resolution view.

Rosses Point (Sligo, Ireland)

Rosses Point (Sligo, Ireland) HDR Photography

Rosses Point (Sligo, Ireland) HDR Photography

Rosses Point (Sligo, Ireland) HDR Photography

Lessons learned:

As you can see, the results are dramatic. Though on reflection, i will probably opt for a subtler contrast next time, as the luminance is alittle overkill.

I'd also warn that unlike professional camera's with HDR features which take each individual SDR shot in rapid succession for combining, the 'HDR Camera+' app has approximately a .5 delay between each of the three shots, which means that unless you hold your camera incredibly still and use only static images, you will not have the same crispness to the images that you may wish for. I will research means to reduce this lapse, and test similar apps to see if this is a universal issue.

Shane

Testing different 'Scene Mode' options with the Galaxy S2 Camera

Using the Galaxy S2 Camera, you have the option to choose from the original camera settings with autoflash enabled, or you can choose from either presets:

1) 'Scene Mode'
2) 'Shooting Mode'
3) 'Effects

Note that you can only choose from one of the preset ranges above. For instance when you choose from the 'Scene Mode' settings, you will not be able to choose many of the other settings in the menu. Note that for many of the 'Scene Mode' options listed below, you do not have the option to use a flash, and for others, you will not have the option of auto-flash. Below is a selection of images taken of the same object, in the same position and lighting, using different preset options from the 'Scene Mode' I began by resetting the camera settings. Thus with Autoflash enabled. I took a 8mp photo using the following presets, where 'AF' = Autoflash, 'F' = Flash on, and 'NFO' = No Flash Option

Beach/Snow 'NFO'

 

Orig Cam Settings 'AF'

Portrait

Portrait 'F'

Landscape 'NFO

Night 'NFO'

Sport 'NFO'

Party Indoor

Sunset 'NFO'

Dawn 'NFO'

Fall Colour 'NFO'

Candlelight

Backlight

  Backlight 'F'