Dualing Cameras - HTC One M9 vs. Lumia Icon

anon(7901790)

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I just got a HTC One M9. Since both the M9 and the Icon have a 20MP cameras, I decided to compare the two.

I set both to RAW capture and took these pics from the same distance and under the same lighting conditions. I open both up in Adobe Camera RAW and saved them as is without any adjustments. The one thing I noticed is that the M9 doesn't save a 5MP version. Both the JPG and DNG versions are full resolution. Anyway, here are the two different images.

Lumia Icon:

WP_20150914_08_50_33forwp.jpg

HTC One M9

IMAG0009forwp.jpg

The M9's looks closer to what I saw and seems to be a bit warmer. The M9's also seems to be a bit better in saturation. Performance wise, the Icon's camera is significantly faster when compared to the M9. I haven't tried video yet. Both cameras can do 4K video capture.
 

Jazmac

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Maybe its my monitor but the Icon image is pretty good. Shows more of the natural shadows. The M9 has more detail but more out of focus or maybe I should say, less sharp on the lower left. Both are good though.
 

anon(7901790)

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Both cameras took great shots. I've looked at them on two different screens and the Icon's definitely looks cooler color temp wise. The focus on both was pretty much spot on. The M9's has a bit more saturation though.

The file sizes are considerably different. The Icon's DNG file size is around 20MB. The M9's DNG file size is around 35MB.

For me it's a wash. To me the M9's saturation and white balance are more pleasing. The Icon's speediness though is nothing to scoff at. Androids may have caught up quality wise, but still have a ways to go for responsiveness.

When I get a chance I'm going to compare 4K video.

Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
 
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Will 74

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I would love to see more comparison shots. For a while I was thinking of getting the m9, but the camera got such horrible reviews.
 

anon(7901790)

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Yes, I heard about that too. Evidently, HTC fixed several issues. So far, I've gotten some really good shots with it. The one thing I will say is RAW capture is really slow. Most notably the shot-to-shot delay, the Icon is hands down much faster than the M9. Shutter lag isn't that big of a problem, though it is noticeably slower than the Icon's.

Here is another thing I learned. The reason why the DNG files are so big is that the camera uses the entire sensor for image capture. It just displays the area that you chose (i.e 16:9). When you open the DNG in Lightroom and bring up the crop tool, you see where the image was cropped. All of the image outside of the crop area is still there! Which I think is cool! The jpeg versions of course don't have that extra info.

Another thing I've noticed is that the low light capture on the M9 is not as good as the Icon, or even the 928.

The Blue Angels are coming later this month, I think that would be a good time to compare the video capture between the Icon and the M9.
 

anon(7901790)

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My daughter and I went to the zoo the other day and I took a quick video. The video capture on both phones is really good. One fundamental difference, is that the M9 allows you to zoom in while doing 4K video capture, where as the Icon won't. The other thing is that, like the photos, the M9's video seems to be a bit brighter, warmer, and a tad more saturated.

I wanted to record the gibbons, but unfortunately, they were chilling out and not making a lot of noise. Recording a family of gibbons as they climb around, hooting and yelling, really shows off a video camera's capabilities.
 

anon(7901790)

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Ok! So here is the promised video. I did my best to shoot both cameras side by side.'


Lumia Icon

HTC One M9

Both shot good quality. However, the M9 took forever to save the video. Also, the M9's file was a whole lot bigger.
 

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