Advise please regarding the camera quality of this device

[goobs10]

I am about to replace my LG G2 as I am finding the lack of expandable memory an issue so I am looking for a flag ship device that is reasonably cheap and that has a micro sd card slot.

The M8 seems to have generally excellent reviews and would appear to fit the bill but I have concerns over the camera. A 4mp snapper seems rather poor for a flag ship phone and it is putting me off and making me look at other phones such as the LG G3.

For all owners of the M8 please give an honest assessment of the camera quality and how it compares to other devices in this price range to help me decide wether or not to get this phone.

Is it worth paying the extra for the M9 which has a 20mp snapper? That being said, the M8 seems to have better reviews than the M9 which I find odd.

Many thanks.

 

[Mooncatt]

There's a sticky thread here with pics taken with the M8. If you're not planning to make large prints, it's fantastic. It has some of the best pics of its time in terms of color clarity and low light performance. I preferred pics from it over the 16MP shooter of the Note 3's.

I looked into the M9 (but since decided against it in favor of the G4) and it seems HTC made a trade off by going to 20mp. My guess is they tried to cater to the crowd screaming about a low pixel count, and now everyone is complaining about loss of quality that came with the ultra-pixel design. This is part of why I'm going to the G4. The pics look better on it compared to the M9 and has OIS to help with low light situations.

 

[jwbekens]

I have the M8 HK from Sprint. My wife and 2 kids have the M9. Other than in low light, where the M8 shines, the M9 camera is better, sharper than the M8. M9 is a better phone. Whether the cost difference is enough to make you chose it over the M8 is another question. Love the M8. The M9 is a bit better in speed, features. Not a huge difference, but noticeable.

 

[goobs10]

I find it slightly strange that the M8 has better reviews than the M9 when in terms of specs, in particular the camera and the fact that the M9 is the next model up, the M9 should be logically a superior device. Tech rader gave the M8 a 5/5 score and the M9 a 4/5. CNet scored the M8 at 4.5/5 and the M9 4/5. Engaget scored the M8 at 9.2/10 and the M9 8/10. Pocket lint scored the M8 5/5 and the M9 4/5. So across the board, all these phone reviewers are rating the M8 as a better phone.

The only reason I can think of is that the reviewers dont believe that the M9 is that much different to the M8 so is worse value for money resulting in the lower rating.

 

[Mooncatt]

The only reason I can think of is that the reviewers dont believe that the M9 is that much different to the M8 so is worse value for money resulting in the lower rating.

I think this is it, plus the overheating concerns I've read a lot about, and claims of the speakers being quieter than the M8. I also found this article rather interesting.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnarc...tc-one-m9-vs-lg-g4-vs-xperia-z3-vs-lumia-930/

The writer is an AV reviewer, so this article focuses solely on the AV performance of 6 phones. The M9 was mostly listed middle of the road in video performance. For audio, I figured being the only one with stereo speakers would make the M9 hands down the winner for that category. The writer actually ranked it second in the list, and ranked the G4 first. Considering he's looking at the phones from a media entertainment standpoint, that's really saying something if a phone with a mono rear facing speaker can even come close to matching a front facing stereo arrangement.

Mentioning how the M9 doesn't seem to be much different from the M8, I agree. I also think the M8 was nearly perfect. For that size screen, I think 1080p is just right. It still runs most things buttery smooth, and there's very little I think needed improving. Give it a higher resolution Ultra Pixel camera (preferably with OIS), a removable battery, and beef up the USB port. Then it'd be my perfect phone. Everyone gets caught up in wanting the latest and greatest, where every new version must have some new innovation or amazing technology. Sometimes all you need is to take what is already out there and make some small tweaks to improve the weak areas.