Is the camera on the M8/W8 really that bad?

[psiu_glen]

FWIW, received an LG G3 yesterday. Reselling it but tried the camera quickly. Daylight it seems very nice. Sharp pics, good color/wb, fast to focus. Tried some comparisons with my 928 in the evening though, and ohhhh just pure garbage.

Dang it.

 

[salmanahmad]

So is the camera on the M8/W8 really that bad? Does anybody have any comparing pictures to a Lumia?

The M7 and M8 camera is highly underrated in my opinion. The low megapixel count allows for it to take photos lighting fast and because the individual pixels are larger you'll see more light.

The 4 Megapixel may not be usable for cropping however are good enough to show to your friends on the phone or upload to a social media website.

It's not a bad camera overall. Plus as long as you are viewing it on a 1080p screen there is a little bit of capacity for cropping.

But if you have a 4K screen, which barely any people do, you won't have any room to crop or zoom.

 

[z33dev33l]

The M7 and M8 camera is highly underrated in my opinion. The low megapixel count allows for it to take photos lighting fast and because the individual pixels are larger you'll see more light.

The 4 Megapixel may not be usable for cropping however are good enough to show to your friends on the phone or upload to a social media website.

It's not a bad camera overall. Plus as long as you are viewing it on a 1080p screen there is a little bit of capacity for cropping.

But if you have a 4K screen, which barely any people do, you won't have any room to crop or zoom.

Haha, crop one of those photos? Yeah, if you don't want quality at all. The iPhone takes faster and better pictures at 8 megapixels. The m8 is nigh unusable as a camera and anyone who says otherwise is compensating.

 

[salmanahmad]

Haha, crop one of those photos? Yeah, if you don't want quality at all. The iPhone takes faster and better pictures at 8 megapixels. The m8 is nigh unusable as a camera and anyone who says otherwise is compensating.

Most reviewers say that the camera of the HTC One is perfectly fine as long as you don't enlarge it on a huge TV or 4K monitor.

And honestly most of us just use mobile cameras to upload to social media or to show our friends on the phone.

The HTC One camera is by no means a bad camera sensor however you are right the iPhone 5S does have a much better one, but that's not what we are talking about here.

Try to contribute something relevant.

 

[maevinj]

Most reviewers say that the camera of the HTC One is perfectly fine as long as you don't enlarge it on a huge TV or 4K monitor.

And honestly most of us just use mobile cameras to upload to social media or to show our friends on the phone.

The HTC One camera is by no means a bad camera sensor however you are right the iPhone 5S does have a much better one, but that's not what we are talking about here.

Try to contribute something relevant.

That is exactly what we're talking about here. A one year old phone takes better pictures than the M8. The main problem is that when the W8 is released, it will more than likely be sold for 199.99. Why pay flagship price and not get a flagship quality camera. It doesn't make sense. Hell, even the rumored 820, which is supposed to be a mid-level phone, is going to have a camera that will blow the W8 out of the water. It's amazing all of the M8 users coming out of the woodworks to defend the camera on it. It's just not that good to be in a flagship phone.

 

[z33dev33l]

Most reviewers say that the camera of the HTC One is perfectly fine as long as you don't enlarge it on a huge TV or 4K monitor.

And honestly most of us just use mobile cameras to upload to social media or to show our friends on the phone.

The HTC One camera is by no means a bad camera sensor however you are right the iPhone 5S does have a much better one, but that's not what we are talking about here.

Try to contribute something relevant.

My Lumia 800 blew it out of the water 3+ years ago. I'm pretty sure my ancient HD2 was even much better.

 

[Beijendorf]

Check out the iMore 5S vs M8 camera comparison and reach your own conclusion. The M8 outperforms the 5S in some areas, and lags well behind in others.

iPhone 5s vs. HTC One M8: Camera shootout! | iMore

 

[salmanahmad]

That is exactly what we're talking about here. A one year old phone takes better pictures than the M8. The main problem is that when the W8 is released, it will more than likely be sold for 199.99. Why pay flagship price and not get a flagship quality camera. It doesn't make sense. Hell, even the rumored 820, which is supposed to be a mid-level phone, is going to have a camera that will blow the W8 out of the water. It's amazing all of the M8 users coming out of the woodworks to defend the camera on it. It's just not that good to be in a flagship phone.

I don't personally own a HTC One, I own a Nexus 5 which has a camera sensor similar to that of the iPhone 5S.

Despite having 8 megapixels I have never felt the need to zoom into shots.

But the camera of the HTC One lags behind in sharpness and only sharpness, it is a very quick snapper that excels in lowlight and given the right circumstances can take great photos even in daylight.

My Lumia 800 blew it out of the water 3+ years ago. I'm pretty sure my ancient HD2 was even much better.

Was it better in lowlight? I don't think so. Better in speed? Nope.

 

[z33dev33l]

I don't personally own a HTC One, I own a Nexus 5 which has a camera sensor similar to that of the iPhone 5S.

Despite having 8 megapixels I have never felt the need to zoom into shots.

But the camera of the HTC One lags behind in sharpness and only sharpness, it is a very quick snapper that excels in lowlight and given the right circumstances can take great photos even in daylight.



Was it better in lowlight? I don't think so. Better in speed? Nope.

The Lumia series destroys it in low light and only loses out in speed. The photos on the M8 are very low quality. I genuinely felt bad uploading some of the pictures of my kid because more than two feet out he was a blurry mess you could confuse for any other kid. I had an m8 two weeks ago and have the 1520 now in part because of how awful the camera is. I don't even know how you let that crap out on a high end phone. No wonder it doesn't take long to focus. It doesn't excel in clarity

 

[dserrano]

If you go to Pocketnow's Youtube channel there is a comparison of the M8 and Xiaomi M4. They compare the cameras with pictures and the M8 offers more solid results even when the M4 has a 13 megapixel camera. Resolution might not be as good as the other current flagships, but it works. I wouldn't say it is that bad.

 

[z33dev33l]

If you go to Pocketnow's Youtube channel there is a comparison of the M8 and Xiaomi M4. They compare the cameras with pictures and the M8 offers more solid results even when the M4 has a 13 megapixel camera. Resolution might not be as good as the other current flagships, but it works. I wouldn't say it is that bad.

Pocketnow? You mean one of the most biased review sites ever?

 

[salmanahmad]

I seriously won't argue with you anymore since I don't even have a HTC One but if you think Pocketnow is biased, check MKBHD's review.

 

[z33dev33l]

I seriously won't argue with you anymore since I don't even have a HTC One but if you think Pocketnow is biased, check MKBHD's review.

Plain and simple though, if you feel the M8 camera is good, you either have not used a high end phone in the last three-four years or you have **** poor vision.

 

[salmanahmad]

Plain and simple though, if you feel the M8 camera is good, you either have not used a high end phone in the last three-four years or you have **** poor vision.

Nope. The camera is good.

If you think the camera is the best then yes you are wrong. But you can't say it is bad.

Basically if your main preference is photography then the HTC W8 may not be the ideal choice but if you take a photo every now and then or you take 1080p footage every now and then, the camera of the HTC One will suffice.

Go see some of the photos people have taken with it.

In all honesty it doesn't just matter about the quality of the camera, what also matters is the skill of the photographer.

I've seen people take great photos with an iPhone 3GS and then I've seen people who can't take decent photos with a proper point and shoot.

 

[z33dev33l]

Nope. The camera is good.

If you think the camera is the best then yes you are wrong. But you can't say it is bad.

Basically if your main preference is photography then the HTC W8 may not be the ideal choice but if you take a photo every now and then or you take 1080p footage every now and then, the camera of the HTC One will suffice.

Go see some of the photos people have taken with it.

In all honesty it doesn't just matter about the quality of the camera, what also matters is the skill of the photographer.

I've seen people take great photos with an iPhone 3GS and then I've seen people who can't take decent photos with a proper point and shoot.

You can take interesting pictures with a low quality camera and on a tiny screen if you squint the right way you may be able to say you can't see just how low the resolution is. That said, if you couldn't tell how low quality the resolution is, you'd have been just as well off sticking to a 480p or lower screen because from someone who has actually owned the phone, it's bad. Build quality feels nice enough, screen is great and the auto brightness is bar none the best in any device I've used. Were it not for the OS, I might consider it despite it's camera failing miserably but when it's beat out by phones that are 4+ years old in that regard, I can't take it seriously. I'll copy the Mona Lisa in oil pastel and you do the same in grape jelly. Let's see which turns out better.

 

[salmanahmad]

You can take interesting pictures with a low quality camera and on a tiny screen if you squint the right way you may be able to say you can't see just how low the resolution is. That said, if you couldn't tell how low quality the resolution is, you'd have been just as well off sticking to a 480p or lower screen because from someone who has actually owned the phone, it's bad. Build quality feels nice enough, screen is great and the auto brightness is bar none the best in any device I've used. Were it not for the OS, I might consider it despite it's camera failing miserably but when it's beat out by phones that are 4+ years old in that regard, I can't take it seriously. I'll copy the Mona Lisa in oil pastel and you do the same in grape jelly. Let's see which turns out better.

Not everyone agrees with you.

 

[z33dev33l]

The 930 is a general fail. Not sure what they were thinking letting that into the public hands.

 

[salmanahmad]

The 930 is a general fail. Not sure what they were thinking letting that into the public hands.

Dude I'm not bashed Lumia 930, it's not a general fail and I think it's a great device.

The only reason HTC One probably wins in lowlight is because it has an f2.0 aperture vs the f2.4 on the 930.

I'm pretty sure a 920 and 925 will straight out beat HTC One.

My point is that if a HTC One for Windows Phone is released the camera will suffice for those who do only occasional shooting.

Mhmm Windows Phone on a HTC One sure would look good though, not that HTC Sense looks bad on it.

 

[z33dev33l]

Dude I'm not bashed Lumia 930, it's not a general fail and I think it's a great device.

The only reason HTC One probably wins in lowlight is because it has an f2.0 aperture vs the f2.4 on the 930.

I'm pretty sure a 920 and 925 will straight out beat HTC One.

My point is that if a HTC One for Windows Phone is released the camera will suffice for those who do only occasional shooting.

Mhmm Windows Phone on a HTC One sure would look good though, not that HTC Sense looks bad on it.

I'll bash it. The screens are awful. I've seen people have issues on phones in the past but I played with 6 different 930s all of which had either a yellow or people tint or the gradient issue. The sound quality is not on par with the 1520. The camera isn't either. Everything loads much slower than the 1520 as well. There's some sad comparison videos and the resuming screen is up way too often. Then there's the creaking and cracking backs... It was not a worthy successor to the 920.

 

[Existence_Inc]

@zeedev33l:
We get it, you don't like the M8 camera. You're obviously not the person that will go buy one. That's okay, but it obviously works for the people who own them. Different strokes and all that. I have seen pictures taken by the M7 and I think it is just fine for what I would use it for, but I don't require professional quality photos from a phone. I also have a 930 (Icon) and have had no issues with the screen, frame, camera, plastic back, etc.

In the end, the M8 doesn't have the best camera, and people who want the best camera, there are plenty of options, like the Lumia 1020. For the people who want a good camera, this device will be more than suitable. I'd gladly trade some camera quality for expandable storage, so I guess I am the target market for the product.

~Ex