HTC One M8 (Android) vs HTC One M8 (Windows Phone): Camera Comparison

[savingpvtbryan]

Very interesting blog post that compares HTC One (M8) on Android and Windows Phone.
[h=2]HTC One M8 vs HTC One M8 for Windows: Camera Comparison[/h]
He does a follow up here.

[h=2]HTC One M8: Sense vs Windows Phone vs Google Play: Rear Camera Comparison[/h]and finally

[h=2]HTC One M8: Windows Phone vs Sense vs Google Play: Front Camera[/h]

 

[salmanahmad]

Very interesting blog post that compares HTC One (M8) on Android and Windows Phone.
[h=2]HTC One M8 vs HTC One M8 for Windows: Camera Comparison[/h]
He does a follow up here.

[h=2]HTC One M8: Sense vs Windows Phone vs Google Play: Rear Camera Comparison[/h]and finally

[h=2]HTC One M8: Windows Phone vs Sense vs Google Play: Front Camera[/h]

It doesn't seem he mounted the cameras on a tripod, which is very important because a slight change in the direction of your camera could mean everything.

He should've used a tripod.

 

[berty6294]

It doesn't seem he mounted the cameras on a tripod, which is very important because a slight change in the direction of your camera could mean everything.

He should've used a tripod.

this. He really just seems like somebody who is repeating what his self titled geek of a friend said to him. lol

 

[GolferChris68]

Terrible blog post. I won't pick apart the whole thing, but I will discuss this statement from the first link:

"As you can see here, there’s a lot that can be said about the differences between the cameras. I included the Nokia Lumia 1020 so you can see that the amount of megapixels don’t mean anything unless you are zooming in on the photo after you take it. To prove that, remember that a 1080p display has just under 2.1 megapixels."

[FONT=Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]He's wrong. The megapixel does mean something, when it's as low as the HTC One M8. I had the M8 for Android. It was a nice phone. But the camera was a problem, precisely because of the low megapixel count. The camera hardware does fine with subjects that are close to you. But for landscapes, general photography, and subject matter that is more distant, you lose detail. A lot of detail. And you don't have to zoom in to 100% to see that loss of detail. It looks OK on the phone screen, but as soon as you start looking at it on a computer screen, TV, tablet, or any other large-screen device, the lack of detail looks awful.[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Also, he posts images that are 580 pixels wide. That proves nothing. Even when posting on somewhere like Facebook, where their awful compression can wreck photos if you're not careful, I don't post images with anything less than a width of 960 pixels. I do a lot of shooting with DSLR gear, and know the difference between a good image and a bad image, and that hardware actually [/FONT]does [FONT=Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]matter. [/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]If you're even remotely serious about images from your phone, and even if you're not that serious, you're doing yourself a disservice if you buy the HTC One M8 for Windows, instead of any of the top-of-the-line Nokia Lumia phones. You're going to get much better results with the Icon, 1020 or 1520, than you will with the M8 for Windows. The HTC "ultrapixel" concept is a gimmick. Even shooting low light, where larger pixels should provide benefits, the ultra-low number of megapixels kills any advantage you might otherwise get.[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]The HTC camera software [/FONT]might [FONT=Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]be better on the M8, but with the Android version, I hated the fact that even on a bright sunny day, a landscape shot would have tons of noise in darker parts of the image, like the blue sky. Every other camera phone manages to get this right. And the colors - on the Android version of the One M8, they are best inconsistent, and at times, truly awful. I suspect that their auto white balance algorithms are off. Maybe this is better with the M8 for Windows, but I wouldn't take a chance.[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]I apologize if this comes across as overly harsh and negative against the One M8. Outside of the camera, it's a really nice phone. But for me at least, I need a camera that is good. If I don't have my DSLR or compact with me, I want my phone to be able to take at least decent shots. Sadly, because of HTC's decision to stick with an "ultra-pixel" camera with an inexcusably small number of pixels, you're not going to get close to the image quality of the Lumia on a consistent basis.[/FONT]

 

[GolferChris68]

I would also add that if you're at all interested in shooting video, that the Icon and 1520 are better choices. Smoother video performance, and better sound recording. Some of the Icon and 1520 video is really outstanding. The M8 video I shot was always poor, though that could be a result of Android, which I have yet to see a device that takes great video without stuttering. Perhaps Windows Phone 8.1 is better with that than Android. But again, the ultra-pixel camera is going to limit you.

 

[salmanahmad]

Terrible blog post. I won't pick apart the whole thing, but I will discuss this statement from the first link:

"As you can see here, there?s a lot that can be said about the differences between the cameras. I included the Nokia Lumia 1020 so you can see that the amount of megapixels don?t mean anything unless you are zooming in on the photo after you take it. To prove that, remember that a 1080p display has just under 2.1 megapixels."

[FONT=Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]He's wrong. The megapixel does mean something, when it's as low as the HTC One M8. I had the M8 for Android. It was a nice phone. But the camera was a problem, precisely because of the low megapixel count. The camera hardware does fine with subjects that are close to you. But for landscapes, general photography, and subject matter that is more distant, you lose detail. A lot of detail. And you don't have to zoom in to 100% to see that loss of detail. It looks OK on the phone screen, but as soon as you start looking at it on a computer screen, TV, tablet, or any other large-screen device, the lack of detail looks awful.[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Also, he posts images that are 580 pixels wide. That proves nothing. Even when posting on somewhere like Facebook, where their awful compression can wreck photos if you're not careful, I don't post images with anything less than a width of 960 pixels. I do a lot of shooting with DSLR gear, and know the difference between a good image and a bad image, and that hardware actually [/FONT]does [FONT=Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]matter. [/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]If you're even remotely serious about images from your phone, and even if you're not that serious, you're doing yourself a disservice if you buy the HTC One M8 for Windows, instead of any of the top-of-the-line Nokia Lumia phones. You're going to get much better results with the Icon, 1020 or 1520, than you will with the M8 for Windows. The HTC "ultrapixel" concept is a gimmick. Even shooting low light, where larger pixels should provide benefits, the ultra-low number of megapixels kills any advantage you might otherwise get.[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]The HTC camera software [/FONT]might [FONT=Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]be better on the M8, but with the Android version, I hated the fact that even on a bright sunny day, a landscape shot would have tons of noise in darker parts of the image, like the blue sky. Every other camera phone manages to get this right. And the colors - on the Android version of the One M8, they are best inconsistent, and at times, truly awful. I suspect that their auto white balance algorithms are off. Maybe this is better with the M8 for Windows, but I wouldn't take a chance.[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]I apologize if this comes across as overly harsh and negative against the One M8. Outside of the camera, it's a really nice phone. But for me at least, I need a camera that is good. If I don't have my DSLR or compact with me, I want my phone to be able to take at least decent shots. Sadly, because of HTC's decision to stick with an "ultra-pixel" camera with an inexcusably small number of pixels, you're not going to get close to the image quality of the Lumia on a consistent basis.[/FONT]

I may not be as huge of an expert as you and I do agree that megapixels do matter however for the average Joe, I believe the HTC One's camera should suffice.

I didn't understand your argument about viewing back photos on a bigger screen, the M8's photos should look equally good despite the screen size of any device as long as the resolution is 1080p.

I admit that HTC One's camera may not look as great on a 2K or 4K display but how many people have such a display?

I've seen some very amazing photos taken with the M8. Though yes I would admit that if one is serious about smartphone photography, HTC One is not the phone to buy.

But it's not a bad camera by any means, and the test that the person conducted it highly inaccurate and flawed.

I would also add that if you're at all interested in shooting video, that the Icon and 1520 are better choices. Smoother video performance, and better sound recording. Some of the Icon and 1520 video is really outstanding. The M8 video I shot was always poor, though that could be a result of Android, which I have yet to see a device that takes great video without stuttering. Perhaps Windows Phone 8.1 is better with that than Android. But again, the ultra-pixel camera is going to limit you.

Actually the Icon and 1520 have too much noise cancellation, on a windy day you can barely hear any of your voice, so sound recording quality isn't the best on those devices. In addition to this the M8 can shoot 60 FPS footage at 1080p which is pretty smooth.

The best sound recording quality, and most reviewers agree, is on the Nexus 5.

The quality of recording/smoothness of the footage isn't based on what OS the phone is running, be it Android or Windows Phone.

 

[Nogitsune Micah]

Those pictures are horrible. Lord Jesus...

 

[antiochian2010]

Even throwing ApplePhone into the mix, the HTC falls to the bottom of the heap. I remember not liking the camera at all on the HD7, but again, I saw some gorgeous pics out of the Titan II. And for all of Nokia's great camera development, the Lumia 800 & 900 cameras were garbage - even with the Zeiss lens.
Still, I hope the phone does great. And even after displaying PureView photos in the thousands and demoing to most everyone I know, I am completely assured that most out there buying phones are not worried about having a great camera..