HTC 8X Photo Guide: Making the most of your Windows Phone camera

With Windows Phone 8 devices, we have two heavy weights with respect to cameras; the Nokia Lumia 920 and HTC 8X. While the Nokia Lumia 920's photographic camera seems to take taken center stage these days, the HTC 8X's camera is not a slouch. The 8X's photographic camera is a very capable camera within it's own correct but the settings can be a picayune confusing. Just as nosotros did with the Lumia 920 Photo Guide, we wanted to walk you through the 8X'due south settings.

The full general principles are the same but HTC'south photographic camera carte is slightly different that what we run into with the Nokia Windows Phones. Hopefully in clarifying some of these settings, you tin can tweak things appropriately to get the most out of your HTC Windows Phone photography.

Hardware

The HTC 8X is fitted with an eight megapixel BSI sensor and a 28mm lens. The aperture is fixed at f2.0 which is a fairly wide opening to allow for more light to reach the sensor. Combined with the BSI sensor, which is designed to allow more light to reach the sensor, the 8X does an admirable chore of low calorie-free photography. Blueprint wise, the only thing separating the 8X with the Lumia 920 is the optical stabilization we see on the Nokia.

HTC 8X Night Sample

While the larger aperture and BSI sensor helps the HTC 8X with low light photography, without a stabilization feature y'all can get slight blurring from camera motility.  When yous shoot in low light conditions, the camera uses a slower shutter speed to allow for adequate calorie-free to attain the sensor.  When shooting at 1/5th of a second, the slightest move can cause mistiness in your images.  In these cases you can try to steady the photographic camera by hand or invest in a tripod that volition help steady the 8X.

Speaking of the shutter.... The shutter on the 8X is not mechanical just instead electrical. The camera lacks moving parts like you would see on a stand-lonely camera. To perform the shutter operation, the sensor is powered up for a specific time that, coupled with the f2.0 discontinuity, will attain proper exposure.  The brighter the lighting conditions, the quicker the shutter fourth dimension.  The lower the light.... the slower the shutter time.

To take a photo, as with most Windows Phones, you have to ways to activate the shutter. First upwardly is the shutter button. Pressing it half manner downwardly will achieve proper focus from the center of the screen and the light metering system will figure out what proper exposure is. The 2nd mode is to tap the screen in the area you lot want to focus in on. In one case you tap the screen, the camera volition focus in on that spot, the metering system will figure out proper exposure and the photo is captured.

With the larger aperture on the 8X, the lens'south depth of field is a little on the shallow side. Depth of field is basically how deep the camera focus reaches within the photo. Shallow depth of field has your subject in focus simply what is behind them is slightly out of focus. You can apply this to tap the screen on subjects in the foreground or background to have either nicely out of focus which pulls viewer'due south attending to the in focus subject.

In using the 8X for a while at present, I've plant two oddities with the autofocus arrangement. First, the tiniest of smudges will give the autofocus system fits and tin can produce a glare to your photos. Secondly, at times the 8X struggles to focus on objects at close distances. Non sure why but in these cases, I accept the 8X focus on an object in the altitude then return to the closer subject and things come up into focus nicely.

One time the 8X captures the epitome, it all heads over to an independent imaging processor that applies adjustments and saves it all in .JPG format. The dedicated imaging processor saves a chip of time in betwixt shots. Other Windows Phones share the main processor betwixt the camera and everything else. The difference with the 8X's processing speed won't set whatever state speed records but is noticeable.

While the internal processing is decent with the 8X's camera, in that location's always times where you need to tweak things based on the lighting nowadays or your subject. Yous can ever take advantage of post processing software such every bit Thumba or HTC'due south Photo Enhancer or you tin can suit accordingly with the 8X's camera settings.

Settings

HTC offers a fiddling more control over the 8X's camera than what we run across with the Nokia Lumia 920. HTC also uses a slightly different terminology. The concept is universal but, for instance, instead of Exposure Value and number values... HTC refers to it equally Exposure and uses descriptive terms (east.chiliad. Lowest, Normal, Highest). One setting that is missing from previous HTC cameras is a scene manner. I'm going to assume that the 8X uses more than or less an auto scene fashion to switch between close-up shots, sports, and nighttime shots.

HTC 8X Shut-up Samples

Oh.. quick annotation on irresolute the settings on your Windows Phone camera. Temporary changes don't require you to hit the save push before exiting the settings menu. If you want to permanently salve whatsoever changes you make, just tap the salve button in the settings card. If you simply want to temporarily change the settings, go ahead and make the adjustments and the changes stay in place as long every bit you stay in the camera app. Once y'all get out, the saved settings are defaulted to the next time y'all open the camera.

Furnishings

The HTC 8X has an furnishings setting that allows you to apply filters to images equally you capture them. The effects are previewed on screen to give you lot a experience for things. The effects are Grayscale (black and white), Negative (looks like an old film negative), Sepia (gives images that antique feel) and Solarize (loftier saturation and contrast).

HTC 8X Camera Furnishings (clockwise from upper left): Grayscale, Negative, Solarized and Sepia

You tin't stack effects or apply effects to photos already captured through the camera app.  You tin can employ similar effects filters through HTC's Photograph Enhancer app to existing photos though.  1 last note on the effects filters is that the camera volition non save a raw copy (upshot free) of the epitome to the phone.  This would be a nice feature to allow you to have a copy of the picture that is un-effected.  As is, y'all'll demand to shoot to pictures of your bailiwick.  One with the effects and 1 without.

Resolution

Image resolution is basically the size of the epitome. The larger the image, the improve the resolution for publishing and the larger the file size. The 8X maxes out resolution at 8MP (3264x2448 pixels) and bottoms out at VGA resolution (640x480). The default resolution is 6MP (3264x1836) which besides utilizes the xvi:9 aspect ratio that matches the screen size of the 8X.

The downside to the xvi:9 aspect ratio is that is slightly stretches the native aspect ratio of the image sensor (four:three)and can cause slight image softness. Not enough to ruin a photo simply sometimes noticeable. To match the paradigm sensor'due south ratio better, use the 8MP resolution.

I would highly recommend saving your resolution to 8MP to make use of the matching aspect ratio and the larger images the 8MP produces. The 8MP likewise gives you a little wiggle room if yous need to crop the image a little while maintaining a larger image.

White Balance

White Balance is the process of removing unrealistic color casts or residue and then colors can be rendered properly in the photograph. Imbalances tin be caused by different lighting that can cause warm or cooler tones or past ascendant colors within the picture itself.

HTC 8X White Balance Settings (clockwise from the left): Cloudy, Daylight, Incandescent, Florescent

The default white balance setting on the 8X is on auto where the camera chooses the best setting. Simply alas, you can have the helm and exercise things manually here likewise. You can choose the following lighting weather condition; Cloudy, Daylight, Fluorescent, and Incandescent lighting.

Color Temperatures: Cooler (left) and Warmer (right)

Each camera seems to handle white residual a little differently than the next. While the 8X handles indoor lighting atmospheric condition better, outdoors the balance is a little on the cooler side. If you get a slightly warmer or libation color rest to your photos, you can apply post-processing software to conform the colour balance.

Exposure, Contrast, Saturation and Sharpness

While HTC'southward internal processing volition use exposure, contrast and saturation adjustments to your photos, if the need arises yous can tweak how these adjustments are practical. The adjustments are increased or decreased in descriptive terms such every bit Higher, Lower, Highest, and Lowest.

HTC 8X Exposure Settings (left to correct): Everyman, Normal, Highest

Exposure: While the HTC 8X's camera will decide proper exposure based off the calorie-free metering, you tin adjust this setting by increasing or decreasing exposure. Just choose the lower terminate of the setting to under expose or darken the prototype and the higher end to over expose of lighten the epitome.

HTC 8X Contrast Extremes: Everyman (left) and Highest (right)

Contrast: Contrast is the difference in luminance and/or color that makes an object in an image distinguishable. Contrast is determined past the difference in the color and brightness of the object and other objects inside the same field of view. Information technology can requite the subject of an image a trivial pop, making it stand up out from other elements in the moving-picture show. Contrast can also flatten a field of study, blending it in with the residue of the photo.

The 8X default contrast setting is a happy medium. If you want more dissimilarity in a photo, choose the higher stop of the settings. Demand less, go with the lower finish of the scale.

HTC 8X Saturation Settings (left to right): Everyman, Normal, Highest

Saturation: Saturation is basically the intensity of the colors of a photos. The more saturation, the more than vibrant the colors can be. The opposite end of the spectrum would exist zero saturation which would exist essentially a black and white photo.

The 8X'due south default saturation setting strives to attain natural colors with images. If you're in the mood to have blinding colors, tweak the setting to the high end of the scale. More subdued colors, accept things to the depression end of the scale.

HTC 8X Sharpness Extremes: Lowest (left) and Highest (right)

Sharpness: While the 8X's lens will achieve proper focus and capture a sharp epitome, there is an anti-aliasing filter in place in forepart of the sensor. Information technology's a clear filter that slightly softens the paradigm and the internal software is designed to compensate for that softness. But sometimes the internal processing might not get things just right. Or y'all may just want a softer or sharper image.

To fine tune the sharpness or discover a desired level, gear up the sharpness setting on the high end of the calibration to acuminate things up. To soften your photos, ease the settings towards the low cease of the scale.

ISO

ISO is basically the low-cal sensitivity setting for the sensor. On a bright, sunny 24-hour interval you won't need the sensor to exist as sensitive so you would use a lower ISO setting. Darker lighting, a higher ISO would be chosen for.

8X ISO Samples: ISO 100 (left) and ISO 800 (correct)

The 8X'south default ISO setting is Auto and the photographic camera volition cull the best ISO level based on a handful of variables. However, you tin override the Auto and ready the ISO level manually. The ISO levels available on the 8X includes 100, 200, 400, and 800.

One thing to keep in mind with using a college ISO level yous increase the digital dissonance or grain in the photo. Technically speaking, when we utilize a higher ISO, we are amplifying the signal we receive from the lite photons on the sensor. Every bit we amplify the signal, we too amplify the background electric noise that is present in any electrical system. All of which causes the grainy appearance in some photos.

ISO Racket on the 8X: ISO 200 (left) and ISO 800 (right)

The racket is more than prevalent in low calorie-free photos because the sensor struggles to capture light from the darker areas of the photo. To help gainsay the dissonance, HTC does a decent overnice job of applying noise reduction to their internal image processing.

Face Detection

By default, Face Detection on the 8X is on. Face Detection detects faces in your photo and focuses in on the faces. Even if yous tap to focus, the Face Detection characteristic will endeavor to keep all the faces it detects in focus as best as possible.  If you're trying to take 1 person out of focus and the other in focus, you might desire to disable this feature.

Video Settings

The video settings on the HTC 8X are merely near the same as the photograph settings. You accept settings for Effects, White Remainder, Contrast, Saturation and Sharpness. These all function just as they do when capturing still images.

The video settings also includes a resolution setting that allows yous to choose between 1080P, 720P, VGA and QVGA resolutions.

The HTC 8X is a very capable photographic camera. It performs nicely in low light situations and in tweaking the settings you can assist the photographic camera accommodate to other lighting situations. The Effects settings allow you to add a unique bear on to your photos.

Fifty-fifty if the 8X'southward pictures needs a little fine tuning once captured, HTC's Photograph Enhancer has an motorcar adjust feature (along with more creative filters) and the Edit feature in your Pictures Hub can also aid with the pocket-size adjustments. If you lot want to stray from the native editing apps on the 8X, there's Thumba Photo Editor, .....

All in all, the 8X's camera is a nice camera. Hopefully laying out the 8X'southward settings volition offering a little insight into things and help brand the most of your Windows Phone photography.

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Source: https://www.windowscentral.com/htc-8x-photo-guide-making-most-your-windows-phone-camera

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