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Nexus 5X Incoming, Looking for Camera App Recommendations

Started Oct 26, 2015 | Discussions
freeAgent85 Regular Member • Posts: 222
Nexus 5X Incoming, Looking for Camera App Recommendations

I have a Nexus 5X headed my way soon and have been researching camera apps, so I wondered if the denizens of DPReview could be of assistance with some recommendations.  Up to now, I've been using a Moto X (2014) and the camera on it is so bad that I haven't bothered with it.  However, I've read that the 5X has a passable camera on it so I'd like to at least give it a shot.

So far, I've see a few recommendations which I will probably check out:

  1. Manual Camera
  2. Camera FV-5
  3. Proshot

If anyone has experience with these apps, particularly on a 5X and/or Marshmallow device, I'd love to hear your thoughts.  If there's something else I should consider, let me know what you recommend!  Thanks!

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Doug Pardee
Doug Pardee Veteran Member • Posts: 9,920
Re: Nexus 5X Incoming, Looking for Camera App Recommendations

What kind of camera app are you looking for?

Me, I don't want to mess around with a bunch of settings. I've got real cameras for that. For my mobile phone, I want to be able to take out the phone, start the app, take the picture, and put it all away. In that regard, I'm a big fan of Camera360 Ultimate's "EasyCam" feature -- it's almost all I use.

If you love lots and lots of settings, check out Snap Camera HDR. It's a cutting-edge app, with more settings than you'll ever know what to do with.

Camera FV-5, A Better Camera, PerfectShot Unlimited, and ProCapture are aimed toward people who want "big camera" features on their mobile phone.

Camera MX and PowerCam are in the same general arena as Camera360 Ultimate: making picture-taking easy, plus optional features like filters, geometric transformations, and frames. As already noted, I prefer Camera360 Ultimate in this category. Camera MX has a unique "wide shot" -- panorama with distortion correction to simulate a super-wide lens. Camera MX also has some unique geometric transforms, including the "little planet" look, with live preview! PowerCam has an unusually wide choice of B&W filters if you're into B&W.

A general caution: a lot of camera apps won't take full-resolution pictures. The snaps will look fine on your phone, but they won't print worth a darn because they're less than 1 megapixel. All of the ones I mentioned above can do full-resolution except PowerCam, which for some reason only does 12 megapixels on my 13-megapixel LG G2. Check the resolution you're getting before taking any serious pictures.

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OP freeAgent85 Regular Member • Posts: 222
Re: Nexus 5X Incoming, Looking for Camera App Recommendations

Thanks for the suggestions. I am looking for apps with more manual control, but I'm not opposed to suggestions for quick/easy apps as well. I figured I would probably just use the default Google camera app for that, but who knows.

Camera360 looks interesting. I already have the Photoshop app with a bunch of the filter and effect packages, so I'll see how they compare.  I didn't know that many apps don't take full-resolution photos.  That's disappointing.  Thanks for the warning.

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edee1337 New Member • Posts: 21
Re: Nexus 5X Incoming, Looking for Camera App Recommendations

Hi! I'm the developer of ProShot. If you have any questions or feature requests, please feel free to ask
From a features perspective, ProShot does everything those other app do, plus:

+ Auto, P, M, C1, C2 modes, just like a real DSLR
+ Video, with full manual control
+ Camera roll integrated into the viewfinder, with EXIF, support or sharing, deleting, and viewing video
+ ISO-priority in Program mode (no Android app has this)
+ Shutter-priority in M, C1, C2 modes (no Android app has this)
+ Customizable aspect ratios
+ And a whole lot more

I really poured my heart and soul into making ProShot the best camera app possible, for users of all skill levels. I hope you enjoy it!

OP freeAgent85 Regular Member • Posts: 222
Re: Nexus 5X Incoming, Looking for Camera App Recommendations

edee1337 wrote:

Hi! I'm the developer of ProShot. If you have any questions or feature requests, please feel free to ask
From a features perspective, ProShot does everything those other app do, plus:

+ Auto, P, M, C1, C2 modes, just like a real DSLR
+ Video, with full manual control
+ Camera roll integrated into the viewfinder, with EXIF, support or sharing, deleting, and viewing video
+ ISO-priority in Program mode (no Android app has this)
+ Shutter-priority in M, C1, C2 modes (no Android app has this)
+ Customizable aspect ratios
+ And a whole lot more

I really poured my heart and soul into making ProShot the best camera app possible, for users of all skill levels. I hope you enjoy it!

Very cool.  I'll check out ProShot tonight   My 5X arrives today!

 freeAgent85's gear list:freeAgent85's gear list
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edee1337 New Member • Posts: 21
Re: Nexus 5X Incoming, Looking for Camera App Recommendations

freeAgent85 wrote:

Very cool. I'll check out ProShot tonight My 5X arrives today!

Awesome! Please let me know what you think

Victory3
Victory3 New Member • Posts: 2
Re: Nexus 5X Incoming, Looking for Camera App Recommendations

Why not just use the Instagram photography directly.

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Tech & Fun

OP freeAgent85 Regular Member • Posts: 222
Re: Nexus 5X Incoming, Looking for Camera App Recommendations

edee1337 wrote:

freeAgent85 wrote:

Very cool. I'll check out ProShot tonight My 5X arrives today!

Awesome! Please let me know what you think

I haven't really taken my phone out to take real photos yet, but your app is really nice!  I stumbled across the manual focus slider, which was pretty cool (not sure I'll use it much, but it's neat nonetheless).  It seems easy enough to use in full-auto mode but the manual controls are easy to access.  I also saw your Halloween easter egg.  Nice touch.  I think ProShot will probably serve all of my needs

 freeAgent85's gear list:freeAgent85's gear list
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edee1337 New Member • Posts: 21
Re: Nexus 5X Incoming, Looking for Camera App Recommendations

Yep, that's the goal: to have a great auto mode, manual control at your fingertips, all in a sleek package that doesn't feel overwhelming. I'm really glad you're liking it

OP freeAgent85 Regular Member • Posts: 222
Re: Nexus 5X Incoming, Looking for Camera App Recommendations

edee1337 wrote:

Yep, that's the goal: to have a great auto mode, manual control at your fingertips, all in a sleek package that doesn't feel overwhelming. I'm really glad you're liking it

I don't know if it's a recent update or what, but the app seems to be freezing up all the time now.  Frequently when I open it, the controls don't work/don't display and I have to restart it.  The gallery feature is also not working for me.  I'm not sure what's up with it.

 freeAgent85's gear list:freeAgent85's gear list
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edee1337 New Member • Posts: 21
Re: Nexus 5X Incoming, Looking for Camera App Recommendations

freeAgent85 wrote:

edee1337 wrote:

Yep, that's the goal: to have a great auto mode, manual control at your fingertips, all in a sleek package that doesn't feel overwhelming. I'm really glad you're liking it

I don't know if it's a recent update or what, but the app seems to be freezing up all the time now. Frequently when I open it, the controls don't work/don't display and I have to restart it. The gallery feature is also not working for me. I'm not sure what's up with it.

Hmm, that definitely shouldn't be happening. This is the first time I've heard of this issue, do you have any other details you can share? Have you tried clearing your cache and / or reinstalling the app?

OP freeAgent85 Regular Member • Posts: 222
Re: Nexus 5X Incoming, Looking for Camera App Recommendations

edee1337 wrote:

freeAgent85 wrote:

edee1337 wrote:

Yep, that's the goal: to have a great auto mode, manual control at your fingertips, all in a sleek package that doesn't feel overwhelming. I'm really glad you're liking it

I don't know if it's a recent update or what, but the app seems to be freezing up all the time now. Frequently when I open it, the controls don't work/don't display and I have to restart it. The gallery feature is also not working for me. I'm not sure what's up with it.

Hmm, that definitely shouldn't be happening. This is the first time I've heard of this issue, do you have any other details you can share? Have you tried clearing your cache and / or reinstalling the app?

I tried clearing the cache/data and it didn't appear to do anything to help the blank gallery. I'll try doing a full reinstall when I get home. The gallery worked fine previously, so I'm not sure what happened. Other apps' galleries work, and I can see the photos in the Photos app.

EDIT: And it just crashed/froze again while I was looking at the settings menu.  Something's definitely up with the install.

 freeAgent85's gear list:freeAgent85's gear list
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edee1337 New Member • Posts: 21
Re: Nexus 5X Incoming, Looking for Camera App Recommendations

freeAgent85 wrote:

edee1337 wrote:

freeAgent85 wrote:

edee1337 wrote:

Yep, that's the goal: to have a great auto mode, manual control at your fingertips, all in a sleek package that doesn't feel overwhelming. I'm really glad you're liking it

I don't know if it's a recent update or what, but the app seems to be freezing up all the time now. Frequently when I open it, the controls don't work/don't display and I have to restart it. The gallery feature is also not working for me. I'm not sure what's up with it.

Hmm, that definitely shouldn't be happening. This is the first time I've heard of this issue, do you have any other details you can share? Have you tried clearing your cache and / or reinstalling the app?

I tried clearing the cache/data and it didn't appear to do anything to help the blank gallery. I'll try doing a full reinstall when I get home. The gallery worked fine previously, so I'm not sure what happened. Other apps' galleries work, and I can see the photos in the Photos app.

EDIT: And it just crashed/froze again while I was looking at the settings menu. Something's definitely up with the install.

Is this after reinstalling?

OP freeAgent85 Regular Member • Posts: 222
Re: Nexus 5X Incoming, Looking for Camera App Recommendations

edee1337 wrote:

freeAgent85 wrote:

edee1337 wrote:

freeAgent85 wrote:

edee1337 wrote:

Yep, that's the goal: to have a great auto mode, manual control at your fingertips, all in a sleek package that doesn't feel overwhelming. I'm really glad you're liking it

I don't know if it's a recent update or what, but the app seems to be freezing up all the time now. Frequently when I open it, the controls don't work/don't display and I have to restart it. The gallery feature is also not working for me. I'm not sure what's up with it.

Hmm, that definitely shouldn't be happening. This is the first time I've heard of this issue, do you have any other details you can share? Have you tried clearing your cache and / or reinstalling the app?

I tried clearing the cache/data and it didn't appear to do anything to help the blank gallery. I'll try doing a full reinstall when I get home. The gallery worked fine previously, so I'm not sure what happened. Other apps' galleries work, and I can see the photos in the Photos app.

EDIT: And it just crashed/froze again while I was looking at the settings menu. Something's definitely up with the install.

Is this after reinstalling?

No.  Reinstalling fixed the issue.  I think it may have been caused by an interaction with one of my other apps.  I have a Synology NAS and use the DS Photo app to auto-backup everything I shoot on my phone to my NAS.  I also had it set to automatically delete photos after uploading them.  I suspect that I switched over to view my gallery in ProShot as a photo was being deleted, or a photo was deleted as I was viewing it.

 freeAgent85's gear list:freeAgent85's gear list
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edee1337 New Member • Posts: 21
Re: Nexus 5X Incoming, Looking for Camera App Recommendations

freeAgent85 wrote:

edee1337 wrote:

freeAgent85 wrote:

edee1337 wrote:

freeAgent85 wrote:

edee1337 wrote:

Yep, that's the goal: to have a great auto mode, manual control at your fingertips, all in a sleek package that doesn't feel overwhelming. I'm really glad you're liking it

I don't know if it's a recent update or what, but the app seems to be freezing up all the time now. Frequently when I open it, the controls don't work/don't display and I have to restart it. The gallery feature is also not working for me. I'm not sure what's up with it.

Hmm, that definitely shouldn't be happening. This is the first time I've heard of this issue, do you have any other details you can share? Have you tried clearing your cache and / or reinstalling the app?

I tried clearing the cache/data and it didn't appear to do anything to help the blank gallery. I'll try doing a full reinstall when I get home. The gallery worked fine previously, so I'm not sure what happened. Other apps' galleries work, and I can see the photos in the Photos app.

EDIT: And it just crashed/froze again while I was looking at the settings menu. Something's definitely up with the install.

Is this after reinstalling?

No. Reinstalling fixed the issue. I think it may have been caused by an interaction with one of my other apps. I have a Synology NAS and use the DS Photo app to auto-backup everything I shoot on my phone to my NAS. I also had it set to automatically delete photos after uploading them. I suspect that I switched over to view my gallery in ProShot as a photo was being deleted, or a photo was deleted as I was viewing it.

Very interesting! Well, glad to hear it's resolved

trevmar Senior Member • Posts: 2,470
Re: Nexus 5X Incoming, Looking for Camera App Recommendations

edee1337 wrote:

Hi! I'm the developer of ProShot. If you have any questions or feature requests, please feel free to ask

Just purchased ProShot for our 5X. An amazing app. I set the video to 24p, 1/12 shutter and HD recording and everything just works!  In almost total darkness (ISO goes as high as 2000 on the scene I took). Those settings are my torture test for video cameras - and ProShot just worked! Right 'out of the box.'

Particularly impressed that photos of LCD screens look so good - the Auto white-balance is really spot-on!

Thanks for all the work you have put into this camera app! I have used a lot of similar apps, over the years, and none get close to ProShot (I am giving a few extra points here for the menu system ease-of-use and for its similarity to my Panasonic cameras). 

One question though. When I first switched the app on it wanted access to Google Play to check the license. How frequently is this test done, as sometimes I am travelling away from Internet service?

..Trevor..

darkwings Junior Member • Posts: 36
Re: Nexus 5X Incoming, Looking for Camera App Recommendations

I also purchased ProShot for my Nexus 5X and discovered there is one problem with it that you should be aware of if you are going to take RAW photos.

It does not encode the proper date/time in the DNG files and therefore if you import them into lightroom or view them on a PC sorted by Date Taken, they're going to be out of order. I contacted ProShot support and unfortunately this is a bug in the Android OS so they can't fix it (yet). They referred me to this thread:

https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=157238.

It's important to note that within the thread I linked above, this is a problem with more than ProShot. Manual Camera and Camera FV-5 were also mentioned but since I don't have those I can't confirm it.

Much to my dismay, the error in the date/time is not easily fixed after the fact. I dug into the EXIF data and found that DateTimeOriginal, GPSDateStamp and GPSTimeStamp are all incorrect and unfortunately are inconsistently incorrect. So there's no way to easy fix them. For ex. if the time was always off by a fixed value, I could run a tool (exiftool ) and change all the photos at once. But the error was a random value.  Interestingly enough the file name of the DNG files has the correct date/time. But the exif data is wrong.

Other than this problem, I do like the app.

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bsinc1962
bsinc1962 Contributing Member • Posts: 986
Lightroom mobile

Just noticed that Lightroom mobile has added manual controls to their app.

The controls seem easy to use with good results.  Also you can add a direct shortcut to your homescreen so that you can open the LR camera without having to open the app.

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trevmar Senior Member • Posts: 2,470
Re: Lightroom mobile

Yes, but they don't seem to have video integrated very well. Manual shutter control is so important for smooth motion.

Patrick T. Kelly Veteran Member • Posts: 4,629
Re: Nexus 5X Incoming, Looking for Camera App Recommendations

Edee, has your ProShot be updated to run with Android 7?

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Patrick T. Kelly
Oaxaca, Mexico

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