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

[superjshorty]

I think the key to the M8 camera is the 28mm lens. My photos have honestly been flawless. And the effects and options available are great too.

Posted via HTC One M8

 

[cdaq]

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.

You can. Until you can't. This is an immutable truth for every. single. digital camera. Period. There is simply no camera in existence that can automatically capture every scene perfectly. it's the reason people pay extra to have manual options available, you know, for when the camera can't figure out what you want to capture. And fwiw, my Canon D5i will have trouble in full auto mode when trying to shoot a high contrast scene. I wish people would lay off of the ridiculously unrealistic expectations. This phone compares VERY well to the iPhone 5s (which is what I think most consider the best camera in a phone) and absolutely kills it in certain conditions. I'm loving it...

 

[o2k]

Ummm, HTC Droid Incredible isn't that old. Plus M8 camera's WB is much better than the one on my old HTC which is newer than DI and was touted as a camera phone back then, loaded with HDR, panorama, WB functions etc. I like the camera. Yet every single time I took a close up outdoors (e.g. bugs, flowers) I ended up with white washout at the brightest spot. M8 does not have the issue at all.


scottysize,
The camera is sensitive to lighting conditions. But that's not a bad thing. And what makes you believe that a higher MP cam (other than M8's cam with higher MP) would give you a better pic? More likely than not you wouldn't get the same quality for those pics with other high MP phone cams.

M8's weakness, and the only weakness (or make it 2 to include lower MP count) I can think of is its capability to deal with "complex lighting" conditions. It would constantly outperform most flagship cams in simple/uniform lighting conditions, be that indoors or outdoors, brightly or dimly lighted. The pics you showed were taken in very simple lighting condition. It would/should not post any challenge to M8.

I noticed one thing though, the size of them is only 1024x579. Did you set your MP to a low number and forget when you took the pics, or did you crop them out from the originals when posting?

The "complex lighting" conditions, when that lighting is highly irregular in the frame a pic is to be taken, is what has been thrown around a lot, the jargon "dynamic range", is referred to. HDR function is supposed to help with it. But I haven't tried M8's HDR to verify that. My old phone's HDR wasn't worth much. But most of the situations can be avoided by just move your frame a little to exclude an abrupt light source or reduce the intensity. Many special effects in filming or photo taking actually have been made in utilizing these conditions.

 

[Skyway]

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.

You do know that you can go into manual mode, adjust your settings and then save it as a preset right? You can select that preset before you take your pictures and you can have multiple presets. You could setup one for outdoor, one for indoor, one for lowlight, etc. For me, it makes it a lot easier than just relying on auto mode because sometimes auto doesn't always do the best job

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

 

[Skyway]

But I haven't tried M8's HDR to verify that. My old phone's HDR wasn't worth much. But most of the situations can be avoided by just move your frame a little to exclude an abrupt light source or reduce the intensity. Many special effects in filming or photo taking actually have been made in utilizing these conditions.

You should go into the photos and video sticky thread and check out my comparisons I did between auto and HDR. I think it did a really good job

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

 

[scottysize]

Ummm, HTC Droid Incredible isn't that old. Plus M8 camera's WB is much better than the one on my old HTC which is newer than DI and was touted as a camera phone back then, loaded with HDR, panorama, WB functions etc. I like the camera. Yet every single time I took a close up outdoors (e.g. bugs, flowers) I ended up with white washout at the brightest spot. M8 does not have the issue at all.


scottysize,
The camera is sensitive to lighting conditions. But that's not a bad thing. And what makes you believe that a higher MP cam (other than M8's cam with higher MP) would give you a better pic? More likely than not you wouldn't get the same quality for those pics with other high MP phone cams.

M8's weakness, and the only weakness (or make it 2 to include lower MP count) I can think of is its capability to deal with "complex lighting" conditions. It would constantly outperform most flagship cams in simple/uniform lighting conditions, be that indoors or outdoors, brightly or dimly lighted. The pics you showed were taken in very simple lighting condition. It would/should not post any challenge to M8.

I noticed one thing though, the size of them is only 1024x579. Did you set your MP to a low number and forget when you took the pics, or did you crop them out from the originals when posting?

The "complex lighting" conditions, when that lighting is highly irregular in the frame a pic is to be taken, is what has been thrown around a lot, the jargon "dynamic range", is referred to. HDR function is supposed to help with it. But I haven't tried M8's HDR to verify that. My old phone's HDR wasn't worth much. But most of the situations can be avoided by just move your frame a little to exclude an abrupt light source or reduce the intensity. Many special effects in filming or photo taking actually have been made in utilizing these conditions.

Here you go:

G2 with the Setting W10M which is 4160x2340. Notice the red shirt. Like I said, the HTC finally picked the right light yesterday, but it never got the colors right.

This is close to what my eyes see ^^^^^

Here's the best photo from the HTC One M8:

Notice the fog over the entire picture? It's not noticeable until you put the two side-by-side, then it's bad.

 

[scottysize]

While I understand that some of you love the HTC One M8, and believe me, it's a nice phone, you cannot say that the camera is not a weak point to the phone. Tell the guy the truth please.

 

[ugxvibe]

While I understand that some of you love the HTC One M8, and believe me, it's a nice phone, you cannot say that the camera is not a weak point to the phone. Tell the guy the truth please.

Yes, the camera is the weak point of the phone depending on what you use it for.. It is also not the horrible camera that people keep harping on about.

He asked if it's as bad as people are saying. No, it's not and that's the truth.

 

[Topgonzo]

While I understand that some of you love the HTC One M8, and believe me, it's a nice phone, you cannot say that the camera is not a weak point to the phone. Tell the guy the truth please.

The truth? I actually think the camera is awesome! You aren't going to get a phone that is this quality and have a crap camera. Most people bashing the camera are spec junkies and non users who always look to pick apart faults.
Look at pics from users. Try it out yourself. Is it the best? No but it's a phone! Selfie shots or random pics in the evening or day here and there. It performs very well. If you love specs or are big into photography then you probably would look into a different phone.

Sent from my LG-LS995 using Xparent BlueTapatalk 2

 

[robbski300]

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.

DSLR cameras take outstanding pictures. Cell phones don't.

 

[aokusman]

It take photos that look great on your phone. Once the pictures are viewed on tv or desktop that's where the flaws if having a 4mp camera show. So if you never view your pics on a large screen it's ok, if you do you will notice the lack of resolution. There is no way around this.


Sent from my Galaxy S5 using tapatalk.

 

[ugxvibe]

There was once a time that taking a picture was to hold onto a memory of something. I look at pictures of when I was a kid and enjoy them, I don't sit there and criticize why they are grainy or not crisply focused, etc..
We are in an age where it is more important that the picture comes out as perfect as possible rather than the content of what's being looked at.

 

[Jp5Cj2FGK3]

You're old. From here on out we know that your opinions are the rantings of a senile old person and are therefore no longer worthy of serious consideration. At this time, do us all a favor and get off the Internet.

j/k

I completely agree with you. I look at the old Polaroids (yes, I am that old) and yeah, I don't care how grainy they are, and all discolored, it is about the memory. To me as long as the camera can take a picture and I can make out what I am looking for, then it's all good. Megapixel's be damned. I mean back when the first phone camera's all came with 1MP, 3 MP and 5 MP, all the people on the bleeding edge ooh'd and aah'd about how great pictures the looked compared to older camera's but now for whatever reason, pictures taken with the same megapixels are apparently not good enough anymore.

People should understand that it's not the size of the megapixels that matters, it's how you use them

 

[cdaq]

It take photos that look great on your phone. Once the pictures are viewed on tv or desktop that's where the flaws if having a 4mp camera show. So if you never view your pics on a large screen it's ok, if you do you will notice the lack of resolution. There is no way around this.


Sent from my Galaxy S5 using tapatalk.

UGH!!
No, just NO. You will not notice any "flaws" when viewing on a TV or desktop. There is no way around this no matter how many uninformed, uncritical thinking people post the myth.
Most TV's are 1080P (1920x1080), the M8's 4 MP camera resolution is 2688 x 1520. That's right, the M8 has almost twice the pixels of an equivalent 1080P display. The images should also look just fine on any desktop.

 

[bryanmsi]

The truth? I actually think the camera is awesome! You aren't going to get a phone that is this quality and have a crap camera. Most people bashing the camera are spec junkies and non users who always look to pick apart faults.
Look at pics from users. Try it out yourself. Is it the best? No but it's a phone! Selfie shots or random pics in the evening or day here and there. It performs very well. If you love specs or are big into photography then you probably would look into a different phone.

Sent from my LG-LS995 using Xparent BlueTapatalk 2

I love the M8 and its truly a keeper, but I completely disagree that only spec junkies will see a difference in camera quality. Take 10 pictures with the iPhone 5s and the same 10 with the M8 and then ask random people which look better. Don't tell anyone which camera took which photo.

They will overwhelmingly pick the iPhone shots especially if the photos are of high contrast subjects.

Can you live with the M8 camera? Absolutely. But lets be honest that is not just pixel measurebators who can see the difference.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[pibrew]

I have no complaints... I've taken about 50 pics... And wait until you see the awesome "Selfie" camera.

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

 

[Skyway]

I love the M8 and its truly a keeper, but I completely disagree that only spec junkies will see a difference in camera quality. Take 10 pictures with the iPhone 5s and the same 10 with the M8 and then ask random people which look better. Don't tell anyone which camera took which photo.

They will overwhelmingly pick the iPhone shots especially if the photos are of high contrast subjects.

Can you live with the M8 camera? Absolutely. But lets be honest that is not just pixel measurebators who can see the difference.

Posted via Android Central App

I think in the right hands the m8's camera can easily be on par with the 5s, if not exceed it.

I will admit though that the general public, don't have the right hands lol

Posted via Android Central App

 

[freddyttt]

I love the M8 and its truly a keeper, but I completely disagree that only spec junkies will see a difference in camera quality. Take 10 pictures with the iPhone 5s and the same 10 with the M8 and then ask random people which look better. Don't tell anyone which camera took which photo.

They will overwhelmingly pick the iPhone shots especially if the photos are of high contrast subjects.

Can you live with the M8 camera? Absolutely. But lets be honest that is not just pixel measurebators who can see the difference.

Posted via Android Central App

you are corrct. using skifta from the market i stream photos directly from my phone to my 65" plasma... they look great.

 

[trivor]

Since there isn't Optical Zoom you will really notice it if you crop your pictures to zoom in the 4 MP resolution will immediately start to show graininess. It would have been nice if they went to 6 or 8 Ultra pixels and can't figure out what they were thinking taking out OIS. My issue was the M7 was already too tall and the M8 is only slightly less tall than a Note 3. And if you don't need or use your phone speaker the size is way too big for a 5.0" screen. Neither the M8 or S5 are much of an upgrade from my G2 and I will hold off until at least the fall.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[warpdrive]

I think in the right hands the m8's camera can easily be on par with the 5s, if not exceed it.

I will admit though that the general public, don't have the right hands lol

Posted via Android Central App

I humbly disagree. The new camera is far more user friendly and enjoyable, while taking amazing pics on full auto.
The only flaw is that tap to focus does spot metering by default and no way to turn it off (for HDR landscapes)... And that messes up some shots.

But otherwise, it is quite amazing in low light and normal shots on full auto with little need for tap to focus (it even has good face detect).

The low pixel count might be poor on a 4K screen, but is not bad for every day use.

Posted via Android Central App