The camera on the Nexus 5 is pretty good, but under certain conditions it was decidedly ordinary, but The Verge has received hands-on time with the Nexus 5 running Android 4.4.1 – the update which we first saw in our server logs the other day – as well as an interview with Dave Burke, Google’s Director of Engineering for Android, in which he describes what improvements users can expect in the update which is primarily about fixing the camera on the Nexus 5.
In the five weeks since the Nexus 5 launched, the Android team has been working on this camera update, which will see improvements to autofocus, speed – the app will launch up to one second faster now – and the introduction of a progress indicator that will show up when the HDR+ mode is activated.
The update fixes autofocus, the exposure, and the white balance in the Camera App. The issue with the problems on focus according to Mr Burke was due to the focus on image quality, specifically in low-light situations, which the Nexus 5 was actually quite good at, but became an issue in more well lit situations.
The increased speed at which the App launches after the update – which The Verge describes as ‘a full second faster’ – combined with quicker autofocus will add to your ability to capture those shots that previously became a blurry mess.
Mr Burke also advised that the progress indicator that will show up when the HDR+ mode is activated is only the first of many changes that will come to the camera App, with Google apparently trying to make the settings on the App a little more straight forward to access as they remove them from under sub-menus to become more prominent.
The sample shots that the team at The Verge has posted certainly look quite good, it remains to be seen just how well this update will improve the camera overall. The update will be rolling out over the next few days to Nexus 5 devices, so if you see the update let us know and tell us what you think of the update.
Question is: will it help improve the Nexus 4’s lousy camera? Here’s hoping.