Camera verdict

[mzman]

I have an HTC 10. Did anyone come from HTC (M9 or 10) who can compare the Essential's camera to the HTC phone's? After the recent updates, is it better? Comparable?

If not HTC, can someone who pays close attention to his or her phone's camera compare it to the camera of some other popular phone? I do care about low light photos as well, as I know that all cameras get decent results in perfect lighting.

I would greatly appreciate any input. Thanks!

 

[shashankmittal]

Based on what you are saying, i can tell you that this camera WILL NOT satisfy your expectations. While it has been improved, the low light performance is still not very good.

It takes years of work for companies to perfect the camera, Essential is tiny compared to the big phone manufacturers. If camera is the most important thing for you in a smartphone, then you should look at other phones. The upcoming OP5T which is rumored to be <$500 might be the best camera in this price segment, unless you want to shell out more for the Pixel 2 or other more expensive flagships.

Essential has a lot going for it at this price, but the camera isn't one of them.

 

[chanchan05]

Based on what you are saying, i can tell you that this camera WILL NOT satisfy your expectations. While it has been improved, the low light performance is still not very good.

It takes years of work for companies to perfect the camera, Essential is tiny compared to the big phone manufacturers. If camera is the most important thing for you in a smartphone, then you should look at other phones. The upcoming OP5T which is rumored to be <$500 might be the best camera in this price segment, unless you want to shell out more for the Pixel 2 or other more expensive flagships.

Essential has a lot going for it at this price, but the camera isn't one of them.

How much is the LG G6 going for? I think it has a better camera than anything the OP can release now, and last I heard it's price was steadily going down.

 

[bhatech]

How much is the LG G6 going for? I think it has a better camera than anything the OP can release now, and last I heard it's price was steadily going down.

Would definitely not recommend G6 over OP 5T or Essential. G6 front camera is horrible and has older SOC to go along with LG skin which personally I'm not fond of. The back camera on G6 is good but not great enough to recommend over One Plus or Essential. But that comes down to personal preference since generally I'm not that excited about LG stuff.

 

[mzman]

Thanks for the replies. I know that the camera is not to notch, but can someone compare to HTC 10? Similar? Is HTC much better in low light? How about M9? That camera was panned as horrible at the time, 2 years ago. Is essential worse than that?

 

[Guy Katz]

Thanks for the replies. I know that the camera is not to notch, but can someone compare to HTC 10? Similar? Is HTC much better in low light? How about M9? That camera was panned as horrible at the time, 2 years ago. Is essential worse than that?

low light performance of the PH1 is really bad IMHO. see below, taken in a restaurant with mid lightning. not even so low. the bad one (on top) is my PH1 and the good one (on bottom) is an iphone 6S
BTW, using flash just makes things worse...

 

[andrew_ackley]

I've seen tons of reviews on htc 10. def one of the best cameras around.

 

[modifier]

Camera was just updated to version 83. Check for updates in Play and it should download.

The changelog mentions UI improvements and stability fixes. I haven't tested it yet.

 

[Stinger4321]

Camera was just updated to version 83. Check for updates in Play and it should download.

The changelog mentions UI improvements and stability fixes. I haven't tested it yet.

I tried it.. i think they have a compression issue.. photo is just took was only 1.16 megs... Way to compressed.. should be 4 to 6 megs..also saw this mentioned on todays reddit ama

 

[modifier]

I tried it.. i think they have a compression issue.. photo is just took was only 1.16 megs... Way to compressed.. should be 4 to 6 megs..also saw this mentioned on todays reddit ama

Looks like that's the case. I sideloaded GCam again until it's fixed.

 

[Randy Ohio]

I did a comparison in a dimly lit room this morning between the Essential, a V10 and an S8. The V10 was horrible, by far the worst. The Essential was in the middle. and per my son, his S8 was by far the best. I took the phones back in the room to compare the shots with the actual colors and light visible to the naked eye. The V10 was dark and washed out Grey. The S8 picture was far brighter than the naked eye could see, and the wood had a redish tint. The Essential was in the middle. It actually captured the level of light visible to the eye and rendered the actual colors visible to the eye on those lighting conditions. I was absolutely impressed how accurate everything came out with the standard camera app.

 

[vamp07]

In my experience reviewers go overboard when comparing these smart phone cameras. Go take a look at some of the you tube videos comparing the shots of s8 to pixel etc. Side by side I can usually pick out a winner but honestly is one light years ahead of the other? Absolutely not. There is nothing wrong with the essential camera. It's very good. What makes a great picture has so little to do with the camera and is 99.99% the person taking the picture. If you keep that in mind there is no reason not to consider the essential phone's camera a keeper.

Look at this video as an example. Yes the conclusion is that one is better then the other but honestly is that level of difference going to make any difference in what you capture? The answer is no and the same results would apply to the essential's camera if it was part of this test.

 

[Randy Ohio]

Bottom line after all updates: I was at my son's basketball game tonight. My wife was taking pictures with her Galaxy S8 which look absolutely beautiful. I'm embarrassed taking pictures which come out blurry because the shutter speed is so slow. She is pissed off after looking at mine and asks me why I didn't just buy an S8 instead if that thing. I had no answer other than agreeing with her. I got her and my son the S8s for 2 for $725 direct from Samsung right after they were released. Oh well.

 

[1901Madison]

Bottom line after all updates: I was at my son's basketball game tonight. My wife was taking pictures with her Galaxy S8 which look absolutely beautiful. I'm embarrassed taking pictures which come out blurry because the shutter speed is so slow. She is pissed off after looking at mine and asks me why I didn't just buy an S8 instead if that thing. I had no answer other than agreeing with her. I got her and my son the S8s for 2 for $725 direct from Samsung right after they were released. Oh well.

Lol. Similar situation happened to me. Was out to dinner with my wife's cousins. We lined up all of the kids to take a picture. Cousin used an S8 and I used an Essential. Her pictures were really good. Mine were horrible.

Bottom line - camera seems good in broad daylight taking pictures of still objects. But in low light or with objects in motion, it falls apart.

 

[msp1518]

Yes. Other than VERY good light the camera is still trash. The only other ceramic phone, the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2, also has a trash camera. Both pale compared to my now very old iPhone 6S Plus' camera. They also fail to come close to the first Gen iPhone 6 camera. That is just sad.

 

[mzman]

Yes. Other than VERY good light the camera is still trash. The only other ceramic phone, the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2, also has a trash camera. Both pale compared to my now very old iPhone 6S Plus' camera. They also fail to come close to the first Gen iPhone 6 camera. That is just sad.

Ok everyone, let's be a little more measured. I'm a photographer and am picky. If you're on top of the OS and camera updates, which have made enormous improvements to the camera, it's not trash. In low light, with a steady hand, the pictures are comparable to last year's HTC 10. Sometimes a bit better, and sometimes a bit worse. They're definitely not trash. They are not Google Pixel level, but then again neither is anything else.

The mono camera and portrait mode are delightful, and portrait mode is well implemented, according to those who have seen similar features in other phones.

The phone doesn't have optical image stabilization, which means one needs to hold the phone more steadily in low light. With that extra care, even low light photos are perfectly good. Not outstanding, top-of-the-line, but definitely good.

 

[msp1518]

The iPhone 6S Plus' camera is 2+ years old and better. Hands down. It's not even close. I direct commercials, music videos, etc. and am often behind a camera so I am definitely not an amateur. We are all entitled to our opinions and mine is a strong one. No offense.

That being said, I have not side loaded the Google camera yet.

 

[Randy Ohio]

I am not a professional photographer. I had SLRs back to 45 years ago and am quite familiar with shutter speeds, f-stop and ISO speeds. Given that this camera, unlike my old V10, doesn't offer manual modes, I have only the option of full auto. When I'm indoors in a gym watching a basketball game, I have no option to ask the players to freeze so I can snap a few shots. Since my direct comparison was against my wife's shots on her S8, I felt like it was a fair comparison: same lighting, both in full auto mode, and by the way my wife's hands shake. In full outdoor light it works far better. Perhaps at the next game I'll try the ISO slider to see if increasing it impacts the shutter speed, and will try the Google camera app and will update the results.

 

[johnnysd]

Nor the most scientific or relevant opinion, but compared to the Note 4 I cam from the camera is pretty awesome. Every shot I have taken seems really good to me. Even tested it taking a pic of my wallet on a dark table in a restaurant and that came out well. I can see where it would struggle with sports, I think they still need to work on the speed. Took some pics of a pool cue in natural sunlight and they came out well. Love the phone though.

 

[johnnysd]

low light performance of the PH1 is really bad IMHO. see below, taken in a restaurant with mid lightning. not even so low. the bad one (on top) is my PH1 and the good one (on bottom) is an iphone 6S
BTW, using flash just makes things worse...

View attachment 273593
View attachment 273594

I actually think the PH-1 pic looks better. It seems more natural to my eyes.