Most Detailed Review of Moto Z Play I've Seen

[PowrDroid]

Wow, they really get down into the weeds for this one.

Lenovo Moto Z Play Smartphone Review - NotebookCheck.net Reviews

Basically, confirms everything we know about the Z Play--incredible battery, great build, lightning fast, so-so camera in low light. Just really goes into depth, almost with technical overload.

One thing I found interesting. I compared their review of the Z Play with the Z and the Moto Z did much better with WiFi reception than the Z Play. Anybody notice a dropoff in WiFi reception with the Z Play compared to their previous phone?

Other differences you may not be aware of: Play does not have infrared sensors for hand gestures. Play has 3 microphones vs. 4 for Z and Z Force.

I really want to pull the trigger and get this phone but the camera reviews are stopping me.

 

[xweb10]

I really want to pull the trigger and get this phone but the camera reviews are stopping me

Same here...

 

[PowrDroid]

Same here...

I've got the Droid Turbo and I've learned to work around it's weakness in low light. Shots of things in motion are hit or miss.

I would really like to see a detailed comparison of the Droid Turbo camera to the Moto Z Play camera. I feel I would then be able to make a decision.

 

[NX1977]

I don't have any issues with Wifi.

Just the camera, but better camera makes things much better on HDR pictures.

 

[Bl00dRunzC0ld]

I really like the phone, but I'm probably going back to the S7 Exynos simply because of size. I think the Z Play is too large with the fingerprint scanner and on screen button combo. It was great while it lasted, I just get tired of large phones really quickly now.

 

[Ry]

I really want to pull the trigger and get this phone but the camera reviews are stopping me.

versus what other phones at this price point?

 

[thisisjason]

Thanks for posting this review, it is very detailed. The GPS on my LG V10 just died after being very spotty for a while so I'm in the market for a new phone. I was a little concerned with the step down in camera quality, but really thinking about it I don't take many photos except on vacation, and I could just pick up a cheap point-and-shoot for those occasions and get better quality than either phone. I'm really impressed with the battery life of the Z Play, as the V10 has never been better than average in that department, and it'll also be nice to have a more stripped down Android experience. My only other concern is headphone audio quality, but I'll just have to see how that goes

 

[PowrDroid]

versus what other phones at this price point?

I want a quality camera in my phone and am willing to pay
more to have it, so price is not a part of my calculation.

 

[Clocks]

I want a quality camera in my phone and am willing to pay
more to have it, so price is not a part of my calculation.

Then Samsung, Apple, and the Pixel should be the only phones in your consideration.

 

[benjamminh]

Actually I'd say just the Pixel and Samsung S7 edge as I think Apple is now a half step behind but close enough.

 

[PowrDroid]

Then Samsung, Apple, and the Pixel should be the only phones in your consideration.

I believe the Z Force is in the running too.

The Samsung is excellent, right now the best, in low light conditions, but only has a 12MP sensor. I'd rather have a 21MP sensor and suffer a little noise with the Z Force. I'm willing to make that trade-off. But from what I've seen of the Play's low light noise, it's a bit too much.

 

[Soundtallica]

I believe the Z Force is in the running too.

The Samsung is excellent, right now the best, in low light conditions, but only has a 12MP sensor. I'd rather have a 21MP sensor and suffer a little noise with the Z Force. I'm willing to make that trade-off. But from what I've seen of the Play's low light noise, it's a bit too much.

if you play around with the manual mode and exposure adjustment, you can significantly reduce noise in low light photos. I've been doing that with my Z Play, and have teased out some pretty nice shots out of it. It may not have OIS, but this sensor has 1.3um pixels which is larger than average. If you have a steady hand, this works in your favor.

Then again, most people don't want to go to this sort of trouble just for a photo and I understand if you don't.

 

[PowrDroid]

if you play around with the manual mode and exposure adjustment, you can significantly reduce noise in low light photos. I've been doing that with my Z Play, and have teased out some pretty nice shots out of it. It may not have OIS, but this sensor has 1.3um pixels which is larger than average. If you have a steady hand, this works in your favor.

Then again, most people don't want to go to this sort of trouble just for a photo and I understand if you don't.

Nah, it's no trouble. I like tinkering with my camera. With my Droid Turbo, in low light I've gotten used to bracing my elbow on something stationary, holding my breath, holding my hands super steady, and then taking the shot. (Kinda like a sniper.) I typically take two shots, as insurance that at least one will turn out well. (Well, that's not at all like a sniper.)

What do you do? Manually adjust the ISO up and lengthen the shutter speed? I thought I read that the shutter speed could be set to a maximum of 1/2 second. Is that correct? I suppose with some experimentation you could memorize the proper settings given the amount of light available.

 

[Soundtallica]

Nah, it's no trouble. I like tinkering with my camera. With my Droid Turbo, in low light I've gotten used to bracing my elbow on something stationary, holding my breath, holding my hands super steady, and then taking the shot. (Kinda like a sniper.) I typically take two shots, as insurance that at least one will turn out well. (Well, that's not at all like a sniper.)

What do you do? Manually adjust the ISO up and lengthen the shutter speed? I thought I read that the shutter speed could be set to a maximum of 1/2 second. Is that correct? I suppose with some experimentation you could memorize the proper settings given the amount of light available.

Yeah, I adjust ISO and shutter speed depending on the situation. However, those are only for extreme cases, and most of the time a simple exposure adjustment will do since the camera likes to overexpose in low light.

Here's an example of a decent shot I got at an Annie Moses Band concert just by fiddling with the exposure:

 

[Mike-Mike]

I believe the Z Force is in the running too.

The Samsung is excellent, right now the best, in low light conditions, but only has a 12MP sensor. I'd rather have a 21MP sensor and suffer a little noise with the Z Force. I'm willing to make that trade-off. But from what I've seen of the Play's low light noise, it's a bit too much.

i just went from a Samsung S7 Edge to the Moto Z Force Droid. I only take photos in Auto mode, i never mess with any settings except maybe changing the flash to auto/on/off.

My pictures seem "darker" (if that is a thing) than the S7 Edge, but the quality still seems top notch. And everything else about the phone is excellent. I had the LG V20 for 24 hours and returned it and went back to my S7 Edge. However the V20 took great photos on auto.

 

[PowrDroid]

My pictures seem "darker" (if that is a thing) than the S7 Edge, but the quality still seems top notch.

Yup, Samsung phones are known to be a bit brighter and also oversaturate the colors slightly. They "look" better, especially on phone display screens, but they aren't perfectly accurate.

And everything else about the phone is excellent.

That's Moto for you. Great build quality. Great feel in the hand. Great signal strength. Great software. Minimal software overlay on Android makes for fast phones. Great batteries. Cameras have not been top-tiered but they keep improving.

I had the LG V20 for 24 hours and returned it and went back to my S7 Edge. However the V20 took great photos on auto.

LG's have a great reputation for cameras. I just can't consider them because of weaknesses in other areas.

 

[On2Vegas]

My only other concern is headphone audio quality, but I'll just have to see how that goes

Nothing to worry about.

 

[thisisjason]

Nothing to worry about.

I think you're right. I received my Z Play today, and with Poweramp Alpha for playback I have to say I'm impressed with the headphone output quality given that it only has the on-board Snapdragon DAC. Qualcomm seems to have made some improvements and Moto's implementation is good. It's not as good as the V10, but with efficient portable headphones it's only a small step backward. Soundstage is a little narrower and there's a small loss in detail, but there's no obvious noise or distortion. Won't be able to drive high impedance headphones like the V10 can, but I wasn't expecting that it would.