HTC One (M8) camera discussion

[metz65]

How good of a 5x7 photo can I print with the camera If I get this phone? Good clear 5x7 would make this acceptable for me.

I don't care what kind of phone you have, that's not how I judge someone's worth or intelligence.

 

[Therk]

It appears that the dimensions of photos taken with the HTC One M8 camera are 2688 x 1520 (strange size!).

Photo quality is arguably accepted to be 300 dpi on paper, so dividing the length and width by 300 yields an acceptable photo print of roughly 9 inches by 5 inches -- again, a very peculiar aspect ratio -- but the bottom line is that 5 x 7s should be absolutely no problem for the camera. You'll have to crop out an inch on the left and right sides, but don't crop the height of the photo any or the quality may well suffer.

 

[metz65]

I'm going to go to Verizon tomorrow and check it out. If it hits me just right I may get one. I'm actually still happy with my DNA so I may just save my upgrade till this fall and see what rumors are popping up.

I don't care what kind of phone you have, that's not how I judge someone's worth or intelligence.

 

[ThatHeath]

Having owned the M7 and now the M8, I think I understand this camera and why it does and doesn't work for some people.

If you are on the fence, I wrote this to try to describe what it is and isn't good at: HTC One M8 Camera Impressions | Productastic

-H

 

[adriandb]

An increase from 4mp to 6mp would not be noticeable at all. They would have needed to go to 10 or more for people to really notice a difference.

In fact I bet if they marketed as an 8mp shooter people would be raving about it.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Seriously though, you cant zoom or crop a photo from the m7 and get a usable image. I have and love the M7, but the camera isn't good. It's acceptable at best, but really lacking. I want to be able to zoom in on my kid from across a basketball court and get a clear image, that shouldn't be too much to ask. With the 4 up camera this leads to a soft image. It's the only major failing ofn the M7 and all anyone really wanted corrected with the M8.

I would have been much happier to give up the UP and low light performance for a 10mp camera.

 

[NotJustAPhone]

The silly bickering needs to stop. Take it to PMs if you feel compelled to continue, but it's not going to be tolerated in this (or any other) thread. Thread has been cleaned up.

I'm not going to ask again.

Sent from my Galaxy Note II

 

[Skyway]

Having owned the M7 and now the M8, I think I understand this camera and why it does and doesn't work for some people.

If you are on the fence, I wrote this to try to describe what it is and isn't good at: HTC One M8 Camera Impressions | Productastic

-H

Good read and good article Heath. I'm not gonna lie and say this is the best camera in the world but it certainly isn't the worst. It has its weakness and strengths, just like any camera, but I honestly think it will surprise a lot of people . The majority are going to immediately discredit it based off a number and the fact is you just need to try it out to see if it meets your needs.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[GolferChris68]

Having owned the M7 and now the M8, I think I understand this camera and why it does and doesn't work for some people.

If you are on the fence, I wrote this to try to describe what it is and isn't good at: HTC One M8 Camera Impressions | Productastic

-H

A very good read, and I agree with much of it. However, I just want to point out that "UltraPixels" (or a low megapixel sensor) aren't really the reason the highlights are blown out in scenes where there is a lot of dynamic range. The shot you took of the brick wall and the sky would look the same with most cameras (which you saw even with your LX7 - a very nice camera). There is simply too much dynamic range for a camera to handle, without resorting to HDR tricks. It's not something specific to the HTC One M8.

The biggest issue I see (and continue to see in my own photos with the M8) is that it's just terrible in outdoor landscape scenes where there are a lot of fine details in things like trees, where 4mp isn't enough resolution to capture those finer details. However, having said that, 4mp is plenty for most other types of shooting. I have taken photos of food, buildings, flowers, people, etc, and the level of detail is excellent. The only major problem I have seen is with landscape types of shots, in scenarios like I mentioned earlier. If you are someone who takes a lot of landscape shots, and your phone camera is the only camera you've got, I don't think I could recommend the M8 over other phones like the iPhone, Note 3 and upcoming S5. It's an OK camera for most people, but for those who are more demanding, the issues are there.

 

[jj2339]

Having owned the M7 and now the M8, I think I understand this camera and why it does and doesn't work for some people.

If you are on the fence, I wrote this to try to describe what it is and isn't good at: HTC One M8 Camera Impressions | Productastic

-H

Thank you for that!! I've been wrestling with getting this phone, even after being dissapointed with pics from the m7. I always had great shots indoors, but take far more outside with dogs or on hikes or with friends on a patio. And most of the test shots I did were also outside, when I'd compare m7 with iPhone 5 or GS3. And most of the shots that I need to zoom for are outside, which made them useless.

So.....still wrestling with a decision. Part of me still really wants this phone, but I know it is not the one for me. It's a gorgeous phone.

 

[metz65]

I spent about an hour of hands on store time with the 8 today and it's not for me. Holding on to the DNA till I see what everyone else brings to the table later this year.

I don't care what kind of phone you have, that's not how I judge someone's worth or intelligence.

 

[NotJustAPhone]

Please keep the discussion on-topic. Thread has once again been cleaned up.

Sent from my Galaxy Note II

 

[blackdogAC]

With so many people who seem to have the camera as there #1 feature talk so much about this phone that it seems that just like the M7 this phone will still win a number of awards with the asterisk about the camera. I commend HTC trying to cater to more of the population that uses their phone cameras for fun. On this "technically advanced" forum that many in the general population don't know exists I can see your many points on why you fill the camera comes up short but the people on this forum who rank the camera as the #1 feature is a very small percentage and as a business I would cater to the majority. Even on this forum you have people who say if they are out and about and want stunning pictures they carry their dedicated camera. Majority of our society share camera photos for "look where I am, wish you were here", "look what I'm eating, wearing, doing, etc", or "look at my new selfie". So in general if the camera is the most important feature for you then why even give this phone a second look, this phone is not for you. So many phones out there with the h
uge megapixels that you are looking for but I'm sure you will go to those forums and say how the camera is awesome but the rest doesn't hold up to the M8. I'm glad I ordered mine and can't wait until tomorrow when it gets here.

Ice

Yeah, but this is a top of the line flagship device... and for HTC in particular, a vulnerability that they cannot afford to have. To makr matters worse, the feedback on the M7 was not good and they obstinately stuck to a flawed concept. Not only THAT but they wasted time and money on this stupid dua lens camera...NOT to achieve a Lycos post-focusing, but merely to get a goofy kiddy instagram effect. And on top of all of that, elimimatimg OIS....AND deciding against 4K video?!

Despite all this, and loving photography, I.may still buy this. But it's so frustrating that they failed so badly at what they already knew was a vulnerability on a device that represents all-in, must-win poker for HTC. If I was Peter Leu, I'd get the lead optics designer fired as quickly as possible, and have a meeting immediately. I'd say, look at the iPhone camera, forget this ultra pixel nonsense and stupid focus gimmicks and make a frickin camera that approaches the quality of that iphone camera!

You can't say "heck, it's only a cell phone camera that's making images for Facebook... that's OK for low and mid level devices. Not for a flagship phone that has to be a home run for HTC.

Other than that, nice phone, eh?

 

[B0WIE]

Not only THAT but they wasted time and money on this stupid dua lens camera.
they failed so badly at what they already knew was a vulnerability on a device

I think you may have sensationalized what some initially thought was a shortcoming. I recommend checking out some of the stunning photos people are posting. The dual cam is extremely useful in the capacity that people use a phone cam and no one could look at those pics and, with a straight face, call it "failing so badly" or facebook-quality only. I was one of the first people looking to criticize it but I think you'll find that being objective and really looking to see what the cam is about will surprise you.

 

[metz65]

I was in Verizon for an hour today trying to decide if I wanted to get the M8. I took picture upon picture with this my wife's S4 and a G2 and they consistently produced better pictures. I was not happy with the shadowing and darkness of the 8 compared to the other phones. I tried all combination of settings, I pinched to zoom, in the end the camera just didn't impress me enough to upgrade. It's a nice phone, feels well built, the screen looks as nice as my DNA's but I finally decided not to upgrade just to say I upgraded. The camera is not terrible it just isn't what I was lookin for. For some people it is. I'm just still happy enough with what I have to wait and see what the others bring to the table later this year.

I don't care what kind of phone you have, that's not how I judge someone's worth or intelligence.

 

[raymaane]

Some people refuse to acknowledge the reason HTC when with the lower MP count, even when they're specifically been educated by other members as to the benefits in light capture. It would be foolish to think they were pinching the budget by using 3 cameras, especially when the self-shooter is a decadent 5mp. This cam is 2 years in the making and I'm glad they had the vision to see it through. Unfortunately, the public's knowledge of digital photography is limited to thinking that a MP rating dictates quality, so this one was doomed to criticism from the gate. Some people are camped out in this section, spreading misinformation, with no actual interest in purchasing the phone.

Thank you.

 

[jj2339]

I have to say, this is a very simplistic view of those us who do not like that htc stayed consistent with the new camera. Most of the NaySayers here are not asking for a 41 MP camera, which the tone of your response seems to imply. I had the m7 and have done tests with pics against an iphone5 and a s3, both of which took better more detailed pics for me, which I compared on a tablet. I totally get what they were going for, but m7 consistently had a loss of detail that the other two camera picked up with no issue. Especially outside, where I take a lot or pics.

This whole thread has turned so contentious. I'm not sure why. I think that link earlier said it best, for certain situations m8 takes great pics, but for detail and landscape shots it does not. My m7 certainly did not. It's not about feeding into the MP myth, that is a straw man argument being used against anyone who is unhappy with m8, but an issue with details and ability to crop. Just look at iphone 5s, who enlarged the sensor to help with low light but kept it at 8MP. To me that makes sense and doesn't require going to 12 MP or 16. Lower MP isn't always awful, but 4 is rather low, and after having an m7 (which I loved except for the camera), I just can't justify going back to htc for this round. I don't think you are seeing anti htc one sentiments here, at least from me, it is disappointment that I wanted one but the same drawback as before is preventing me. Maybe the M9.

 

[Skyway]

Good comparison

http://mobile.geek.com/latest/252776-camera-shootout-htc-one-m8-vs-iphone-5s-vs-moto-x?origref=

Posted via Android Central App

 

[elchepe]

All I wanted from HTC this year was to fix the stupid purple haze, and to increase the megapixels a little. Not a lot. I would have liked 8, but I would have been completely satisfied with 6. With all the talk about the HTC One being "designed for people who form their own opinions and demand more from a phone" (as per Gary Oldman in the HTC M8 commercial) I expected a little more than some photo apps I could have downloaded from the play store.

 

[B0WIE]

Good comparison

Geek

Posted via Android Central App

Wish they posted larger pics so detail could actually be compared. But, you can really see how much better the white balance and color rendering is over the iphone 5. I don't know why people seem to think printing photos would be an issue since consumer printers can't pick up the difference in a normal sized photo. I did find this to be a pretty nice take away though; "HTC has produced another phone with a crazy good camera on it that encourages users to rethink how they look at what makes a smartphone camera great. The iPhone 5S is an impressive camera on its own, and it still one of the best point and shoot smartphone cameras out there, but the HTC One M8 has clearly demonstrated that there are more than enough unique qualities to it that special recognition is well deserved."

 

[metz65]

Wish they posted larger pics so detail could actually be compared. But, you can really see how much better the white balance and color rendering is over the iphone 5. I don't know why people seem to think printing photos would be an issue since consumer printers can't pick up the difference in a normal sized photo. I did find this to be a pretty nice take away though; "HTC has produced another phone with a crazy good camera on it that encourages users to rethink how they look at what makes a smartphone camera great. The iPhone 5S is an impressive camera on its own, and it still one of the best point and shoot smartphone cameras out there, but the HTC One M8 has clearly demonstrated that there are more than enough unique qualities to it that special recognition is well deserved."

I don't know about larger pics, but detail is lost zooming in on photos on the phone screen. At Verizon yesterday I took pics of the 4G lte sign across the room. On the S4 and G2 the smaller lettering was still readable with the 8 it wasn't. This was just using pinch to zoom on the actual phones. Not sure if that's the kind of detail you're wondering about but it's the only kind I can speak of from personal experience and not just something I read.

I don't care what kind of phone you have, that's not how I judge someone's worth or intelligence.