We have taken a few steps and with our camera and our wonderful Android. I hope that this have something lighter like holding and shoots somewhat more accurate than before. But it’s time to start to get better performance issue. If we control and know, minimally, some parameters can improve our Android camera, within its capabilities, rather our catch.

The technique helps us grasp the picture, make no mistake, but the photograph we do. We who decided to give it to click and capture a particular moment. So let’s start with two basic and necessary points: the exposure and white balance .

Exposure control in Android

In our Android camera, especially in newer models, we can control many parameters. One of them, the exposure is determined by the application of other factors. Those of you who like photography in general might have heard of the so-called “triangle of exposure” .

Exposure triangle

There are many images but this, in my opinion, makes clear the issue. Exposure theoretical perfect -eye with this – is the balance of three factors: shutter speed, aperture and sensitivity ISO . Of these three factors will discuss in more detail in later chapters.

But it is a theoretical exposition. We could debate thousand hours on that. For that reason I chose the above image of a statue of Gandhi in India. Lots of black spot, and yes, it really would be underexposed part (Silhouette) and well exposed (more or less) the portion of the sky. Ie we have a scene with a properly exposed part and an underexposed area. Despite what we will then decides whether either exposes you, remember.

From the inside of the operating system we can see that Android offers many possibilities to configure.Among them, the exposure control and white balance.

developer.android.com

Did you take every camera applications? No. Are all cameras from our smartphones with Android exploit these possibilities? No. It depends, in either case, developers and manufacturers.This is the advantage and disadvantage of Android, in my view, facing tighter as iOS ecosystem.

Recalling some developments brought Jelly Bean , the gesture control in the chamber is improved and the menu was hiding being much cleaner display. There is a large blue button for shooting and a large white circle to the approach that appears when you click the blue. Next to the blue shutter button is another target, we make when pressed shows the available options. In this case we can see the options for exposure compensation within the lower middle option, the exposure compensation will talk a little later.

Setting options available

The exhibition “correct”

But how to measure exposure our Androids? Usually they almost all of our current devices, measuring exposure of the party focus. This means that perform a measurement of light (in the area of ​​small square, so to speak) of the scene and make it continuously reflecting it in the live histogram usually find in many apps camera.

Well, although measurement makes our phone is a help for errors. Nevertheless, depending on where we are pointing we can see through the live histogram display if it is towards therightLeft give us underexposed and if it is right decision will overexpose. At the same time we will be seeing the whole screen, so if we did not know, it’s our problem. Easy solution: Compensating the Exposure. If we make peaceful scenery shots and have no undue haste, we can choose to see shots taken and exposure compensation. It is, again, the easy solution. Some applications camera, plus native Bean Jelly, for example, 5 Lite camera application allows it.

FV-5 Lite Camera

But that’s the easy solution also applies, of course. If we can and have time for decision would be better to set the parameters of our exposure triangle mentioned as correctly as possible. Camera applications such as the Samsung Galaxy Camera allow much customization.

Customizing ISO , aperture and shutter speed on the Samsung Galaxy Camera

Adjusting to the exhibition

I’ll start with the sensitivity ISO . We put the lowest you can – normally be ISO 100 – because we know that in general, the yield of ISO is not very good. The shutter speed will not a very slow speed to ensure that no jitter in the decision. The opening will give us the more open (eg f / 3.5) less depth of field and more light in the decision and the more closed (eg f / 8), greater depth of field but lower luminosity. Basically, with the shutter speed and aperture play with these two values ​​to obtain proper exposure.

However, to help us in our task of measuring exposure (and the white balance and more) Android provides developers types of scene numbers to measure exposure automatically applying certain predetermined as we stand before a landscape parameters, snow or by night. Just like the case shown, mainly in compact.

developer.android.com

In most camera applications we can lock the focus if for a couple of seconds on the part of the frame you want to focus and blink once or frame turns green, we focus and exposure locked. So hold still, we can reframe the shot and finally released for shooting.

In many applications, it is possible to separate this process focus and shot . So we can focus by pressing a finger to an area of the scene for the camera to focus there and then press. This makes sense if what we want is that the reason for the picture to be focused and more or less exposed regardless of the information you have around. However, model the photograph of Gandhi’s principle which has been measured to heaven to have it more or less exposed, danod in a silhouette of the statue. This makes sense, because if we know something about photography, we know that usually the difference in a sunny sky in front of the floor area, usually about two or three steps of exposure, hence degraded neutral density filters are used.

A little tip if bright light in front of us: given how small the eye of our camera, we can place oursunglasses – as a neutral density filter – in front of the lens for quite curious results.

White Balance

Well, despite those scene modes discussed above operate in many cases, sometimes in spite of them we will need, in addition to having to adjust exposure, adjust the white balance.

Photography irebic – White balance tungsten

The white balance allows us to adjust the color temperature depending on the light conditions that we have in capturing. Furthermore, in case you did not know the white balance influences exposure, too. To understand well, because the principle is the same, read the article by Engadget Photo:”Exhibit by adjusting the White Balance” .

Press the white circle and from the options out we go to putting AW which is corresponding to the white balance to choose the option that is closest to the situation in which we (auto, sun, shade, interior, with artificial lights or tungsten). We do not need to choose a white balance “right” when it comes to being creative as in the previous image or the next where the white balance has been forced warmer to highlight the mysterious atmosphere of the shot.

Photography keoni101 – made ​​with a HTC EVO

The automatic option is a possibility that usually works quite well outdoors but indoors it is best to choose one of the options concerning interior incandescent lights or tungsten but always have limitations, since we can not get an accurate and proper balance Manual white.