[Crispy]

and OIS, which won't affect picture quality. Highly unlikely its going to match the picture quality of leaders like Note4, GS5, iPhone 6. This is of course a well known limitation of Motorola and Nexus phones.

[Crispy]

Its using a Sony IMX214 sensor with f/2.0 so it should have good low light performance. Camera2 API in L allows for much greater control, rest depends on the actual algorithms Google chose and how good they are.

But there are a few worrying things -

- this camera lacks phase detection autofocus which makes focusing much faster and accurate. iPhone 6, S5 and G3 all have it
- lacks slow motion video recording, again found in Galaxy phones, iPhone
- still has a 1/3 sensor, while the top performing cameras like S5 have a bigger sensor. Adding OIS and f/2.0 help, e.g. low light, but can't really match a larger sensor

I reserve judgement till we see the final phone, but going on specs alone its hard to see this phone even match the current best cameras, let alone exceed them. Which I fully expected as Motorola phones never have a good camera and neither do Nexus phones, and it looks like the trend will continue.

[BEARD GANG]

It will obviously be a better camera than nexus 5 but once again severely lack behind the competition

[Jeremy8000]

Google could have worked with Motorola to integrate every shortcoming people could point out as lacking from the Nexus 6 as implemented vs the competition (above points on camera, IR blaster, fingerprint scan, curved edge, 3D camera, physical keys, on and on and on...) but if they had they'd have been scorned for the price the phone would have to come out at, and then the phone would be one-upped by the next Johnny-come-lately device to have 95% of the features at a much lower price.

No, the Nexus 6 doesn't have the best possible camera hardware in a phone, but what it does have is among the best - and the fact that Lollipop allows devs a lot more control over the camera's operation should afford substantially better performance through well-developed 3rd party apps than that which we've been given from prior iterations operating under tighter reins (unless the vanilla API is exceptional to begin with).

For my part, I'd never turn down a better camera in a phone, but there is a point where I'll acknowledge that it is 'good enough' and that the additional cost required to implement a better camera in a phone, if I really want a better picture, would be better invested in a dedicated camera. At any given time there will only really be one 'best camera phone" and that one will always yield that title to a newer release in short time.

[someguy01234]

The OnePlus using the same sensor does 120fps 720p slow motion videos.

[Jeremy8000]

The OnePlus using the same sensor does 120fps 720p slow motion videos.

Which would indicate that this could be an integrated feature on the Nexus 6 that simply wasn't one of the highlighted ones, or, barring that, that an app could be developed to provide that functionality. Thanks someguy.

Slo-mo... That's one thing I didn't know if the hardware would support that I was dearly looking forward to playing with for the 20 minutes (or is that 10? 40?) until it lost its novelty.

[Crispy]

Other than the same sensors the 2 cameras are different hardware, since the One+ doesn't have OIS and the Nexus 6 does. I'd think slomo video would've been listed in the specs if it could.

[Jeremy8000]

It will obviously be a better camera than nexus 5 but once again severely lack behind the competition

As has been said before, the limiting factor in performance is usually the software, not the hardware. Consider this comparison between 'current' Nexus 5 shots and what's possible with the freedoms provided in Lollipop.

And if you have any doubts about how good a camera the N6 can be (we might not be able to get this kind of results with the stock app, but time will tell), check out these shots taken on the OnePlus One, which has the same sensor but doesn't have the benefit of the OIS the Nexus 6 will enjoy...

I doubt we'll be able to get that kind of results from the stock camera, but would not be surprised at all to see an updated camera app with much upgraded performance roll out to the Nexus 5 with, or shortly after, it's getting Lollipop. And the Nexus 6 should be vastly superior.

[Zendroid1]

The novelty of phones with great cameras isn't what they are ultimately capable of but what they are capable of stock, without having to tinker with settings and whatnot. The majority of people want to open the camera and press the shutter. They don't want to have to adjust settings to make their pictures decent.

Yes, you will probably be able to get amazing pictures out of the Nexus 6 but it will most likely never take amazing pictures without adjusting settings.

[eagles4585]

Nexus phones are not known for good cameras, they're usually known for good value and performance, and the stock Google experience.

[someguy01234]

Nexus phones are not known for good cameras, they're usually known for good value and performance, and the stock Google experience.

It's different this time, this is a highend phone.

[eagles4585]

Hmmm. Still a skeptic til I see for myself. Always wanted a nexus on Verizon and want to make sure it's good

[Robbie317]

Hmmm. Still a skeptic til I see for myself. Always wanted a nexus on Verizon and want to make sure it's good

The Nexus 6: hands-on with Google's phablet | The Verge

initial impression over at "The Verge" seems to indicate the camera app and pictures are greatly improved.... but as it says they will need more time with the device to say one way or the other... but at least SOUNDS promising...

[radyoactive]

Considering i've lived with some form of the first gen X and Droids for the past year, any improvement is welcome. I remember how bad the camera was on the OG Droid and Moto has gotten better with each new phone. Looking forward to just pre-ordering the Nexus!

The Nexus 6: hands-on with Google's phablet | The Verge

initial impression over at "The Verge" seems to indicate the camera app and pictures are greatly improved.... but as it says they will need more time with the device to say one way or the other... but at least SOUNDS promising...

[I Can Be Your Hero]

The Nexus 6: hands-on with Google's phablet | The Verge

initial impression over at "The Verge" seems to indicate the camera app and pictures are greatly improved.... but as it says they will need more time with the device to say one way or the other... but at least SOUNDS promising...

The Verge are typically very harsh on phone cameras as well. So it's good to hear that they are pleased with initial impressions of the Nexus 6 camera.

[Storm24]

I have been reading on Reddit in the /r/Nexus6 forum about the camera and there seems to be a lot to be excited about with this camera along with the software in Lollipop according to people in the photography biz. I hope this is all true. They had a side by side picture taken from a Nexus 5 with the new Lollipop on it. It will take picture in a raw??? format and let you post process it instead of just the regular jpeg. The picture is much cleaner and clearer. I am hopeful and excited to say the least...

[Robbie317]

I keep reading the camera is very very good....

Hands-on with the Nexus 6 and Nexus 9, Google’s shot at “premium” flagships | Ars Technica

Google is making a big deal out of the 13MP camera with optical image stabilization, saying that it hopes to be in the top 2-3 smartphone cameras out there. We'll have to wait for a full review to put it through its paces, but the few shots we took in our demo area looked great. It'll be a nice upgrade over the Nexus 5 camera if nothing else.