Good choice? Just HOW bad is the camera?

[knaidel]

Considering getting Moto E. It will be my first smartphone but not because I couldn't handle one - mostly budget issues and my old phone not quite dying until now.

Moto E is looking very good for my pocketbook (Two family members need phones at the same time, and it's on sale now at Best Buy) and gets decent all-around reviews. But if I'm going to finally do this and plan to do it once, I want to be able to use it well. I'm planning to use only talk, text, and wifi - no data. But I need GOOD phone quality (as in PHONE quality - making calls, checking messages, you know things that we used to do with phones. speakerphone for driving/multitasking) and intend to use basic productivity apps like email (wifi dependent, obviously), calendar, a few other basic utilities and social media type things. Aaaand... I'll want it to take pictures. I have a real camera and I don't need it to be a full-time camera substitute (that would sure be nice but probably not in my price range) but you know how sometimes your camera is not with you when something awesome happens. I'm a snapshooting mom/teacher and also a lover of art and nature so I often like to just capture something interesting I see on the fly. It doesn't need to be professional quality but it should, yknow, work. And ALL the reviews say the camera is the worst thing about this phone.

I'm coming from an LG EnV Touch, which has a really good camera for a basic phone (and a decent flash too - again, relatively speaking) Only 3.2 mp but nice color and good enough for catching a moment to share. So I guess my question is would the Moto E be a downgrade from that, or is it just not as good as other current higher-end smartphones? Is it bad compared to anything, or is it just bad if you have high standards? How would you compare it with other phone cameras in the lower-end class - like please don't even waste time telling me that it is awful compared to iPhone and Galaxy S7. Not only is that obvious but it's irrelevant with a $500+/- price difference.

Thanks in advance for your input. This is a hard choice because the cost is pulling me strongly toward this phone but I don't plan on upgrading again for a while so I want something I'll be reasonably happy to stay with.

 

[Fred Talmadge]

The big issue for me with photos is that there is no flash, so pictures are terrible in low light conditions.

 

[NotTheAndroidsUrLooking4]

By now you've probably already made a decision. But the camera is bad. Like a flip phone without the flip. And if you have to take out the battery, be prepared to call out work for the day. The stupid design makes it so you have find microscopic screwdrivers, look up a youtube video, apologize to the neighbours for cursing, take a xanax, and bug your tech-savvy friends to come over and do it for you. I hate this phone.

 

[Alsatian Studio]

I bought Moto E last month and I'm really happy with it. Worth every pennies. The camera is not the best, but good enough.Here are photos that I took with Moto E & Prisma. Looks good, right?





But if you need a "basic smartphone & good camera", maybe you should try Lumia phone. Windows Phone doesn't have much apps & games like Android, but its OS core features is better, I think. Some model for you to consider: Lumia 830, Lumia 925, Lumia 1020 (these are the cheapest with good camera)

...(as in PHONE quality - making calls, checking messages, you know things that we used to do with phones. speakerphone for driving/multitasking) and intend to use basic productivity apps like email (wifi dependent, obviously), calendar, a few other basic utilities and social media type things...