Samsung Galaxy S5 - HELP: Night Photos are Terrible at WDW

disney4life2008

disney4life2008

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I recently purchased the S5 - after reading reviews that the camera was amazing I knew I had made the right decision. However, I am WDW (now) and every (night) photo I have taken comes out dark and gray (even the MSEP is the same). I have been unable to get good photos along Main Street, the Castle, fireworks, actually nothing at all where night is concerned. For those that have the S5 and used your phone at WDW - please help me (I have tried every combo - stabilization on and off, auto focus, selective focus, etc. and nothing works - every photo comes out dark and gray). Help - what (settings should I set) or what am I doing wrong? Thanks.
 
disney4life2008

disney4life2008

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
NowInc said:
You can't really expect miracles from a cell phone camera :/
Click to expand...

That is the thing though - I am not expecting miracles but every photo is dark. Even on my old LG windows phone (very outdated) that I had used every trip for the last 4 years took amazing night photos. I am thinking its maybe the settings on the S5 but I have tried everything.
 
NowInc

NowInc

Well-Known Member
disney4life2008 said:
That is the thing though - I am not expecting miracles but every photo is dark. Even on my old LG windows phone (very outdated) that I had used every trip for the last 4 years took amazing night photos. I am thinking its maybe the settings on the S5 but I have tried everything.
Click to expand...

Seems like you may have some of the effects turned on:

http://ee.co.uk/help/phones-and-dev...amsung-galaxy-S5---change-the-camera-settings

On there is a step by step to change phone settings. I would make sure that no image effect is being applied :) Hope that helps!
 
disney4life2008

disney4life2008

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Gig 'Em Mickey

Gig 'Em Mickey

Well-Known Member
I have the S4. It's fine during day time. You just need a lot of light to get anything to come out. Stabilizing on something like a trashcan, rail, or light pole will help, but don't expect to get great shots in low light on the s5.
 
disney4life2008

disney4life2008

Well-Known Member
Original Poster

Attachments

  • 20140809_235754.jpg
    20140809_235754.jpg
    59.5 KB · Views: 65
Jahona

Jahona

Well-Known Member
Check your metering mode. I usually put it into spot mode and then tapped on some of the brighter areas around the image to use that to set my shutter speed. You can also try matrix metering but at night it may not pick the right exposure.

This was a real quick image at EPCOT with my S5. It's not amazing but from a phone I didn't expect much. It's not an even exposure and you don't have any detail in the shadows.

http://imgur.com/0sms9cq

0sms9cq.jpg


Also this is a shot of the Wishes Fireworks show. I used spot metering and selected the castle to focus on making sure I would have a somewhat fast shutter speed at night. It worked out well and did a decent job with exposure.

ozxpcu4.jpg
 
Last edited:
disney4life2008

disney4life2008

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Jahona said:
Check your metering mode. I usually put it into spot mode and then tapped on some of the brighter areas around the image to use that to set my shutter speed. You can also try matrix metering but at night it may not pick the right exposure.

This was a real quick image at EPCOT with my S5. It's not amazing but from a phone I didn't expect much. It's not an even exposure and you don't have any detail in the shadows.

http://imgur.com/0sms9cq

0sms9cq.jpg
Click to expand...

Thanks. I'm headed to epcot tonight and will try this out.
 
Last edited:
Jahona

Jahona

Well-Known Member
I've updated my post on how I shot fireworks with my S5. You can also try and use a different camera app. The one that comes with the S5 is decent but there are a few on the play store that give you more control.

As far as your photos, it doesn't look like camera shake so much as it's out of focus. I would try and tap to set focus.
 
disney4life2008

disney4life2008

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Jahona said:
I've updated my post on how I shot fireworks with my S5. You can also try and use a different camera app. The one that comes with the S5 is decent but there are a few on the play store that give you more control.

As far as your photos, it doesn't look like camera shake so much as it's out of focus. I would try and tap to set focus.
Click to expand...

Thank you very much. I got some good shots at EPCOT tonight following the advice.
 

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom