Sailfish Camera app wishlist

Platform Development
1

We discussed in length yesterday about camera wrapper API and camera app needs/requirements in general.

This is a wishlist for you. This is something that we should consider along to lines of implementing a new camera wrapper. Before implementing this we should finalize Camera2 API integration. The wrapper itself should be C/C++ (Qt-less) and a thin QML wrapper should be sufficient.

Give a look to the meeting minutes from yesterday and share your thoughts :pray:.

This is a wiki that you can freely edit and please do utilize it. I started this with some content but I do not want to copy content from yesterday’s meeting without your input. Your input matters!

:+1: higher priority
:raised_hand: neutral
:-1: nice to have

Item Priority
Faster camera startup :+1:
Manual exposure option (turn off auto) :+1:
Shutter speed or at least a long exposure mode
Focus changing (auto, continuous, macro, manual) - Particularly in video :+1:
Resolution setting (photo & video) :+1:
Aspect ratio setting (including w/ non-native crop e.g. 2:1, 2.35:1) :+1:
FPS control (23.976, 24, 29.997, 30, 50, 59.94, 60) :+1:
RAW vs JPG
HDR :+1:
Multiple cameras support :+1:
Panorama capture
16 Likes
2

I wasn’there yesterday, just a small input:

RAW format would be nice.
Also a decent quality in low light
And manual controls.

1 Like
3

Added a bunch of options, some things from Advanced Camera that I like, others from other camera apps on other phones, etc.

Also on top of all of that, as a stretch goal I’d really freaking love presets (e.g. being able to create one called “Video recording” let me set a given resolution + aspect ratio + FPS, recorded at whatever is the best supported colorspace of the sensor is available).

4 Likes
4

Thank you for this opportunity to give input! I would like to point out that we (community) can’t ask everything at once. Now there is “higher priority” for everything. People who understand something about photography, please raise the things that help most the common user (70-80% of users need these and would benefit) other should be neutral or nice to have.

For me the top3 would be multiple camera support, focus changing and resolution settings, but can’t comment for majority.

Please people, be reasonable as we have given this opportunity to give input.

3 Likes
5

Yea not sure we should be the ones in control of priority setting :smiley:

2 Likes
6

Any chance to get the ability to create a panorama photo? Haven’t had this since old Nokia days and I’d consider it a nice to have with low priority, but occasionally it was fancy.
Seems not to have been discussed here since 2022.

4 Likes
7

Added it to the table, good shout

3 Likes
8

My wishlist

  1. Faster camera startup
  2. HDR-Mode
  3. Panorama-Picture

some of the other points can be put to camera-settings-page.

3 Likes
9

Why not making a poll in a while, when all ideas will have landed?

2 Likes
10

Oh yeh, good ideas: Panorama and long exposure!
Long exposure is a great refinement, allowing to take pictures in the night in the nature, or in the city, like the ones with the cars lights making long lines. :yum:

2 Likes
11

Long exposure would be great!

Manual OK, or automatically hold it open for as long as required instead of ramping up ISO which is artficial anyhow in a digital camera.

That said, I always thought there are technical (hardware) limitations for this in smartphone cameras?

1 Like
12

:+1: :+1: :+1: :+1: :+1: make my camera useful
:+1: higher priority
:raised_hand: neutral
:-1: nice to have

Item Priority
Faster camera startup :+1: :+1: :+1: :+1: :+1:
Manual exposure option (turn off auto) :raised_hand:
Shutter speed or at least a long exposure mode :raised_hand:
Focus changing (auto, continuous, macro, manual) - Particularly in video :+1:
Resolution setting (photo & video) :+1:
Aspect ratio setting (including w/ non-native crop e.g. 2:1, 2.35:1) :+1:
FPS control (23.976, 24, 29.997, 30, 50, 59.94, 60) :+1:
RAW vs JPG :-1:
HDR :+1:
Multiple cameras support :+1:
Panorama capture :+1:
1 Like
13

As this is a wishlist
:

  • Photo series (keep camera button pressed to make a foti series)
  • Faster GPS/Location Service for Geotagging (surely no real camera feature, but problematic on all previous SFOS devices - and a must for me).
  • Live Photo feature :wink:
14
Item Priority
Faster camera startup :raised_hand:
Manual exposure option (turn off auto) :+1:
Shutter speed or at least a long exposure mode :+1:
Focus changing (auto, continuous, macro, manual) (- Particularly in video) :+1:
Resolution setting (photo & video) :+1:
Aspect ratio setting (including w/ non-native crop e.g. 2:1, 2.35:1) :raised_hand:
FPS control (23.976, 24, 29.997, 30, 50, 59.94, 60) :raised_hand:
RAW vs JPG :+1:
HDR :raised_hand:
Multiple cameras support :raised_hand:
Panorama capture :-1:
15

Can this be achieved without a tripod or similar?

My mirrorless can has a quite powerful In-Body Image Stabilization (IBIS), but for clean light streak images, IBIS is insufficient to enable a few seconds expisure in a clean way without blurring the complete image; I need a tripod or stable support with remote or timed release to prevent camera shake.

Not sure about smartphones and the potential of computational image processing or optical stabilization.

So, unsure about the technical complexity to fulfill this (appealing) requirement

16
Item Priority
Faster camera startup :-1:
Manual exposure option (turn off auto) :+1:
Shutter speed or at least a long exposure mode :+1:
Focus changing (auto, continuous, macro, manual) - Particularly in video :raised_hand:
Resolution setting (photo & video) :-1:
Aspect ratio setting (including w/ non-native crop e.g. 2:1, 2.35:1) :-1:
FPS control (23.976, 24, 29.997, 30, 50, 59.94, 60) :raised_hand:
RAW vs JPG :+1::+1::+1:
HDR :+1:
Multiple cameras support :+1:
Panorama capture :+1:
Proper night mode :+1:
17

Oh, this is more or less my first posting in this community. I am fairly new to SailfishOS and I am most likely buying the new community phone.

Part of my work with mobile device management and I am a hobby photographer, often saying: «The best camera is the one you have with you ». So getting a good camera and a great camera app is important for me.

Here are some of my suggestions for improvements in a wanted order (look at like a suggested roadmap and that all of it implemented on the release of the phone).

  • Speed improvements: In opening the app, on autofocus and shutter
  • RAW support
  • Autofocus with face detection
  • Portrait mode
  • Live Photo with Long Exposure
  • Share with Immich and online photo services
  • Timelapse
  • Manual photo
  • Panorama

I see others have come with suggestions for new features and functionality for video recording.

18

My number one wish is that this bug causing backlit pictures to come out extremely dark, as well as the bug with the auto white balance (same thread, second post) is fixed.

And indeed, speed improvements to everything from startup to actually taking pictures would be much appreciated. Whenever both I and an Android or iOS user take out our phones to snap a few pictures, their phone is already back in their pocket with a few dozen quick shots taken, while the Sailfish Camera application (or the ‘lighter’ version you can start from the lock screen) is still loading.

2 Likes
19

I agree to all wishes mentioned here but my biggest wish is that there will no error occure when switching between native camera app and an android camera app. As long as this wishlist is that long I would like to use great camera apps from android world. But I have to switch sometimes, because native apps have to use the camera.
(sfos 5.0
0.68, Xperia 10iii)

20

My wish is a shutter button that does exactly what it promises: freeze the image and save it. If the user wants to refocus, there is already another UI (tap the screen).

The annoying bug on the 10iii where it does not take a picture if something is moving is a Sony firmware bug, but also a Jolla feature miss. If an image can be displayed then the shutter button implemented by Jolla should save the image independently of what the Sony firmware says.

The Jolla camera app also deactivates screenshots when the camera app is open, which would have been a workaround. My Android (Samsung S9) tablet does not deactivate the screenshot function in camera mode, why would SFOS do that?

5 Likes