Thinking of Upgrading to HTC One (M8). Is the camera THAT bad?

[shanghaichica]

I've not used the phone personally but from what I've seen in the pictures thread the phone is capable of capturing some lovely shots. It's funny how we have all become Obsessed with mega pixels. I remember an old Point and shoot camera I had some years ago which 'only' had about 4 mega pixels. I was looking at some of the pictures yesterday I took with it and they were perfectly fine. I don't remember thinking that the pics were low quality then. At the end of the day it is only a camera phone. If you are that picky about image quality then you should probably have a stand alone camera.

Posted from my galaxy note 3

 

[scottysize]

I compared photos from the M8 and my G2 (13MP) and they look identical to me in every way except of course the G2's are twice the size. The difference is when you zoom in. That's when you see why 13MP is better. It's fine for just taking pictures as you normally would, but it's not a great camera. If you're looking for a great camera, look elsewhere. If you just want a phone that takes decent pictures, the M8 is as good as any, but there are better camera phones on the market.

 

[SirKnightDavid]

I've read all the haters comments on the phone too, but it didn't dissuade me from owning this fantastic phone. After using the camera, I don't know what they're talking about. I love it. I don't expect it to be DSLR quality, I don't expect to be able to zoom in greatly and still have great resolution, I do expect it to be a decent cell phone camera and in that it exceeds expectations. I love that when I press the shutter button it takes the freakin' picture instantly! So many of my previous cell cameras had a lingering delay that always seemed to "miss the moment". All in all, don't let the haters stop you, this phone is the best.

 

[Braini4c]

I upgraded to the htc one m8 from a s4 and to be honest i think the camera is decent a lot of people complain about it but for me it works good and is very simple to use unlike the camera on the s4 i had.

 

[scottysize]

I've read all the haters comments on the phone too, but it didn't dissuade me from owning this fantastic phone. After using the camera, I don't know what they're talking about. I love it. I don't expect it to be DSLR quality, I don't expect to be able to zoom in greatly and still have great resolution, I do expect it to be a decent cell phone camera and in that it exceeds expectations. I love that when I press the shutter button it takes the freakin' picture instantly! So many of my previous cell cameras had a lingering delay that always seemed to "miss the moment". All in all, don't let the haters stop you, this phone is the best.

Not haten. I just think it could and should be better. You are correct. It takes pictures. But, shouldn't it take outstanding pictures if it has 2 cameras? Or, shouldn't they have just installed 1 better camera? My two cents. Take 'em for what they are worth.

 

[luckydwg]

I have a n5 and had a s4 and the pictures I have taken on the m8 I think have been better. It would be nice to have more resolution but I have taken great pictures so far and the rest of the phone is sweet. Really digging my m8

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

 

[iN8ter]

I've not used the phone personally but from what I've seen in the pictures thread the phone is capable of capturing some lovely shots. It's funny how we have all become Obsessed with mega pixels. I remember an old Point and shoot camera I had some years ago which 'only' had about 4 mega pixels. I was looking at some of the pictures yesterday I took with it and they were perfectly fine. I don't remember thinking that the pics were low quality then. At the end of the day it is only a camera phone. If you are that picky about image quality then you should probably have a stand alone camera.

Posted from my galaxy note 3

The problem with that phone's camera is more than just the megapixels.

Saying we're obsessed with megapixels is hugely disingenuous.

There have been some pretty extensive reviews on this camera already that show how it falls short in areas outside of resolution.

 

[ironbesterer]

The camera isn't bad at ALL. It focuses super quick, shutter speed is instantaneous, and it takes great low light pics.

Sent from my Verizon HTC One M8

 

[jdfry15]

I came from the g2 as well. The one major difference is how fast the camera on the m8 will snap the pic. On the g2 it seems like it would take 3-5 seconds to focus and snap. The m8 is instant. Looking and comparing the two on my computer look similar quality wise until you try and zoom in too much. I've been pleasantly surprised thus far with the m8.

 

[Kibbster]

The camera isn't bad at ALL. It focuses super quick, shutter speed is instantaneous, and it takes great low light pics.

Sent from my Verizon HTC One M8

Agree with this.
I'd also add probably the best macro performance I've seen on a phone camera as well.

In all honesty though the landscape type photos actually require some skill if you don't want something under or over exposed.
That should be what HDR mode is for but unfortunately HTCs HDR mode requires more skill again to avoid making the landscape even worse.

This is where the camera lets itself downIMHO
Some more pixels for more detail would be nice but personally for me, the pictures are fine and don't require more detail as long as you don't zoom or crop.
But the sad truth is I avoid using the camera for landscapes because even with lots of practice there's still a good change of the photo turning out crap, I've written the camera off for HDR and landscapes because I find getting good pictures in that situation is beyond my skillset.
Where-as the camera is perfect for portraits and macros so that's all I use it for now, trying to use HDR was just making me miserable.

 

[nyoung3708]

Absolutely love the camera. I have an active 2 year old and getting a picture that wasn't blurry used to be a difficult thing to do. The M8 has great autofocus and takes very clear, unblurry shots. It beats the pants off my wife's S4 in this department. Yes the detail isn't as sharp if you zoom in, but as far as viewing pictures on a phone/computer the pictures are very detailed and work great.

 

[CHILLYWILL_95831]

I love my HTC One M8 but yeah, the camera is pretty bad compared to other high end smartphones. It's low light performance is good, but not so much better than iPhone 5s or Galaxy S5 to make up for the resolution drop. Unfortunately resolution isn't the worst part. The severe purple fringing and lousy exposure metering is the worst part. Its bad, ranging on unacceptable. If you take pictures with areas of extreme contrast like tree branches against a bright sky, you WILL be disappointed. On the plus side, for less challenging shots the images look "ok," and the duo lens feature is actually pretty cool.

The zoe features and focus adjustment almost make up for the sensor. If HTC could nail the purple fringing issues and exposure challenges, and bump up the resolution even a bit, they would have a killer offer.

Posted via Android Central App

So you don't have an M8? The M8 is not plagued with any of the issues including the purple and pink tinting of the OG one! I love the camera and the phone is pretty impressive!

Posted via Android Central App

 

[jev425]

Agree with this.
I'd also add probably the best macro performance I've seen on a phone camera as well.

In all honesty though the landscape type photos actually require some skill if you don't want something under or over exposed.
That should be what HDR mode is for but unfortunately HTCs HDR mode requires more skill again to avoid making the landscape even worse.

This is where the camera lets itself downIMHO
Some more pixels for more detail would be nice but personally for me, the pictures are fine and don't require more detail as long as you don't zoom or crop.
But the sad truth is I avoid using the camera for landscapes because even with lots of practice there's still a good change of the photo turning out crap, I've written the camera off for HDR and landscapes because I find getting good pictures in that situation is beyond my skillset.
Where-as the camera is perfect for portraits and macros so that's all I use it for now, trying to use HDR was just making me miserable.

I agree with you on macro and portraits and even some indoor pictures it does a good job although at times the colors are a bit off but nothing dramtic.

I think the landscape pictures don't really require much in the way of skill(in auto mode) so long as you have decent/good camera hardware and software. I have the M8 and my nexus 7 tablet does a better job metering the sky and landscape in these types of pictures where there is bright and dark areas.

 

[iN8ter]

So you don't have an M8? The M8 is not plagued with any of the issues including the purple and pink tinting of the OG one! I love the camera and the phone is pretty impressive!

Posted via Android Central App

The M8 does have White Balance issues. Look at the photos in that Flickr account used to host the review photos by that Tech Blogger.

The sky in some of the images is clearly tinted.

The camera also has huge issues with getting blown out images with a direct light source in the image, among other things. HDR doesn't seem to remedy the issue. This happens in both Low-Light and Daytime images, BTW. This was a particular weak point in the HTC One's camera which remained with the M8.

The Resolution issue is just what it is and since you cannot improve the camera hardware you either can deal with it or you can't.

Some of the other issues are software, and it remains to be seen if HTC even cares about fixing them since they survived across an upgrade.

I've personally never used an HTC Camera phone that didn't have issues with white balance or tinting in the images. They've consistently had this issue with their devices.

 

[Cyberdelia]

The camera isn't what I'd consider horrible, but it's definitely not good. This phone would be perfect if they had included a decent camera, and removed the HTC branding and additional bezel from the front

 

[bryanmsi]

So you don't have an M8? The M8 is not plagued with any of the issues including the purple and pink tinting of the OG one! I love the camera and the phone is pretty impressive!

Posted via Android Central App

Uh, yeah, I do have an M8 as I said. And it's hands down the best Phone available except for the crummy camera. I haven't seen a sensor in at least 5 years that blows out bright areas or has such intense purple fringing as the M8. Or at least as bad as the primary camera does... The front facing camera looks quite a bit better, oddly.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Skyway]

Uh, yeah, I do have an M8 as I said. And it's hands down the best Phone available except for the crummy camera. I haven't seen a sensor in at least 5 years that blows out bright areas or has such intense purple fringing as the M8. Or at least as bad as the primary camera does... The front facing camera looks quite a bit better, oddly.

Posted via Android Central App

My m7 was definitely affected with the purple tint, while my girlfriend's wasn't at all. Hers did have a huge focusing issue, it pretty much wouldn't focus at all. Definitely a hit or miss issue.

With that said, this is the first time I've heard anyone say they have a purple fringe/tint problem with the m8. Could you post pictures showing the issue? I'm just curious to see what it looks like

Posted via Android Central App

 

[scottysize]

I don't know about a purple hue. I know that phones have difficulties indoors, but this one is especially sensitive. Here are 3 pictures of the same area. I've got 3 different colors.

Take 1. Too Bright:

Take 2. Moved one inch lower, too dark:

Take 3. Eh:

Never really got a perfect picture. I'd say #3 is about the best. Maybe. In my opinion, they all suck compared to the (Insert larger MP Phone Here). I don't have the (Insert larger MP Phone Here) with me to compare, so I can't say it's better. But, you get the picture. I took a photo of the same spot 3 times and got 3 different responses from the phone.

 

[Ken_FSU]

The camera is definitely a disappointment, but the overall m8 experience is great enough that you'll probably be willing to overlook it. In 2014, there's no way that you can give this camera more than a 7 out of 10. Ufocus and the 3D effects are nice, but ultimately a gimmicky parlor trick that can easily fall apart (blurred edges on the foreground object often give the UFocus shots a sloppy, artificial look). Would have preferred the stabilization to stay in instead. The m8 is my favorite phone yet, which is what makes the camera deficiencies extra frustrating. I got consistently better shots, with less white balance issues and blow out in daylight, on the HTC Droid Incredible's 8MP shooter, and that phone is five or six years old. I don't know enough about optics to tell whether the issues are with the hardware or the software, but on the bright side, I have to think that HTC might be able to make some software tweaks to improve the camera. I hear everyone bragging on the manual settings, but this isn't a DSLR. You should be able to grab the phone out of your pocket and take a decent shot without having to slog through white balance menus or keep tapping different focal points until everything is properly lit.

 

[CHILLYWILL_95831]

By no means did I say the camera was perfect! It's not! I just think people will complain about anything if it's not what they want. The M8 camera works well in 90 percent of the situations you will encounter. However, if you're not sold on this phone as a whole, by no means do you have to purchase it, much less even comment! Just pick up a different phone. I don't need my phone to be perfect or the best critically acclaimed phone to know that it's perfect for me! And, when it stops being perfect for me, then I'll get a new phone! It doesn't mean I'm better than you just because my phone is better than yours or visa versa! I just wish people would point to the positives of the M8 that HTC Addressed. Last year the complaints were power button wrong side, 2 button (back, home) layout, camera pink, camera purple, only 4 mega pixels, Sense! HTC significantly one upped the m7 and if you're just sitting on the side lines reading reviews, then you really have no idea how awesome the phone really is... Just sayin!

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