HTC M8 Rebuild and Lumia Conversion Thoughts

gordonfink

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I am considering moving over from a Lumia 830 to an M8.

I think, on the whole, it looks like a good trade. I am, however, worried a little about the camera. Is the Duo Camera and its editing features useful, or a gimmick?

Are there other camera apps that are better?

I read in the sticky thread where someone talked about the light level on the screen - does seem a tad bright, but we'll see how that works.

Thanks for any input you might have, on the camera or any other things that I might need to look for.
 
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Zachary Boddy

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Re: Camera and Other Lumia Conversion Thoughts

The HTC One M8 camera isn't terrible but you'll undoubtedly miss your Lumia 830's far superior camera.
The Duo Camera set-up isn't particularly useful it just gives a little more depth to photos and lets you do some post-shot editing that you'll probably never use. The 4UP camera (UP meaning "ultrapixels" which are basically large megapixels (i.e. 4 megapixels at 2 microns vs. 1.1 microns for most other phones and 1.5 microns for an iPhone 6) meaning each megapixel takes in much more light. The One M8 is theoretically great in low-light but in practice it's noisy, there's not a lot of detail and in bright light there's a lot of chroma (purple fringing). It's definitely not the worst camera out there but on the whole it's far more suited to the front of the phone (like on the One M9) where the better low light performance and less detail is far more forgivable.
You might light the speed however, as the shot-to-shot speed should be faster on the Lumia 830.
 

gordonfink

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Re: Camera and Other Lumia Conversion Thoughts

Thanks!

I went ahead and jumped in, figuring what the heck. It'll last me until I can swing a 950. I have way too many apps and stuff, plus 6 email accounts, on my phone, so it takes a while to restore a backup. Thought I was going to catch it on fire doing that.

I think the thing I will miss most is wireless charging.

I use the phone more for the processor than the pics I suppose anyways. I did think the 930 I had took fantastic pics, so I am anxious to get a 950 for that reason.
 

Zachary Boddy

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Re: Camera and Other Lumia Conversion Thoughts

Thanks!

I went ahead and jumped in, figuring what the heck. It'll last me until I can swing a 950. I have way too many apps and stuff, plus 6 email accounts, on my phone, so it takes a while to restore a backup. Thought I was going to catch it on fire doing that.

I think the thing I will miss most is wireless charging.

I use the phone more for the processor than the pics I suppose anyways. I did think the 930 I had took fantastic pics, so I am anxious to get a 950 for that reason.
The Lumia 950 should be much better too. Faster, better colors, better low-light performance, etc.
 

gordonfink

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Re: Camera and Other Lumia Conversion Thoughts

I did some speedtest comparisons last night. I turned wifi off, so it was just LTE. Pretty interesting:
- Lumia 930 (H and H+ in the status bar) - around 8 mps download, 1.5 up
- Lumia 830 (RM-985 unlocked) LTE - 16 down, 5 up
- HTC M8 (ATT model) LTE - 28 down, 9 up

What a difference that is. I have always thought the 930 was the perfect phone, but its lack of LTE kills me since I travel for work quite a bit. When I travel, I often tether the phone to the Surface to submit bids, etc. LTE speed is a major deal for me on the road.

This phone is looking good so far. I guess I'll learn more about it when I start taking some pics, but so far so good.

I'm surprised at how quickly I've gotten used to the onscreen keys as well. Coming from capacitive keys, I expected that to be a big deal, but it really isn't.
 

gordonfink

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Re: Camera and Other Lumia Conversion Thoughts

Well, the full conversion will have to wait a week.

When I got this phone, the outside was shambles, but the inside was perfect. So, I replaced all of the outside parts, to make it like new.

As it turns out, I was an ***** and bought a cheap LCD assembly. It appears that the outer "glass" is in fact plastic, and the adhesive they used to secure it into the frame failed after two days. The whole LCD assembly literally fell out when I picked it up.

So, now I am trying to return that one, and have bought another from someone who seems to be a better supplier.

I really like this phone. I haven't taken any pics yet, but the performance difference from an 830 is very noticeable. I suppose it's on par with the 930.

So, back the 830 for a week, when I will have the joy of tearing this whole thing apart, again. This is not a fun phone to rehab - way too many fragile connectors and parts inside.
 

gordonfink

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I finally finished this rebuild. I bought a new LCD screen that is high quality, and got it installed over the weekend.

I haven't taken any pics yet, though I plan to today. The processor speed is a noticeable bump from the 830, and the display is nicer.

I think I'll hold onto the 830 for a week or two, just in case I decide to go back, but for now, I think this M8 will become the daily platform that carries me for 4 or 5 months, until I can pull together some cabbage to grab a 950.

I got a Ghostek case for it that I like a lot too.

All in all, it's a really nice device.
 

Helder Costa1

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i've moved from 930 to m8 and apart from the camera for me is the best wp at the moment. really love it. and the camera is not that bad after all... watching a movie on that speakers it's just great...
 

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