The Best Phone of the Year...killed by a poor camera - One (M8) General

I was really excited to see the spec for the M8.
The spec turned out pretty decent, but the camera.....unbelievable. How can a smart phone be shipped with a poor camera....a flagship smartphone that is.
The Galaxy S5 and the Z2 among others will absolutely kill this phone in sales.
The build of the M8 is beautiful though.....such a huge mistake with this poor choice of camera for the 2nd year running,

you are missing the point.

if you dont have the phone you shouldnt post in here. if you have it and face any problem with the camera you are welcomed. do you think HTC is dumb to create such thing? the desire have 13mp camera if HTC believes that 13MP of desire is better for the one they wouldnt hesitate to apply it to the HTC one too! but this phone with this poor camera you claim won many prices for the best phone of 2013 and now its featured in DUAL camera. this thread should be closed and users who are creating useless threads should be BANNED!!

gmelchert said:
you are missing the point.
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I hope so.
Please elaborate.
Over the past 4 years or so, I have came to very heavily rely on my smartphone camera, i think almost everyone has. Yeah sure I have a great Compact digital camera and also a great DSLR .
But i always have my smartphone with me. The other cameras only get an outing about twice a year!

gaz_0001 said:
I was really excited to see the spec for the M8.
The spec turned out pretty decent, but the camera.....unbelievable. How can a smart phone be shipped with a poor camera....a flagship smartphone that is.
The Galaxy S5 and the Z2 among others will absolutely kill this phone in sales.
The build of the M8 is beautiful though.....such a huge mistake with this poor choice of camera for the 2nd year running,
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Click to collapse
The camera in m8 does not have optical image stabilization like the m7.
No OIS equals blurry pics unless you walk around with a tripod.
For the moment I am happy with my m7.
mushages said:
if you dont have the phone you shouldnt post in here. if you have it and face any problem with the camera you are welcomed. do you think HTC is dumb to create such thing? the desire have 13mp camera if HTC believes that 13MP of desire is better for the one they wouldnt hesitate to apply it to the HTC one too! but this phone with this poor camera you claim won many prices for the best phone of 2013 and now its featured in DUAL camera. this thread should be closed and users who are creating useless threads should be BANNED!!
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Click to collapse
gaz_0001 said:
I hope so.
Please elaborate.
Over the past 4 years or so, I have came to very heavily rely on my smartphone camera, i think almost everyone has. Yeah sure I have a great Compact digital camera and also a great DSLR .
But i always have my smartphone with me. The other cameras only get an outing about twice a year!
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Click to collapse
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

OP, do you have the phone? Can you provide examples of this poor camera? If so, we'll gladly reopen the thread. Otherwise, conjecture based upon what you've read about the phone isn't really helpful.
Closed

Related

[Q] Can the camera quality be improved?

I find the camera on the Nexus4 somewhat lacking.
GSMarena just reviewed it and came to the same conclusion.
gsmarena.com/google_nexus_4-review-860p9.php
By looking at their Compare Tool it seems that LG phones have consistently bad cameras.
1) Is the comparatively high noise in Nexus4 pictures most likely due to limitations in the camera hardware
or is it the result of bad software calibration that can be re-adjusted?
2) I'd like more control over the camera like manual ISO and shutter speed settings.
Is there a custom ROM or 3rd party app that can expose these to the user?
EDIT:
The camera module on the Nexus 4 is "Exmor R" IMX111PQ.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1964850&page=25
The LG Optimus 4X HD shares the same hardware camera module.
When comparing the 2 phones with the GSMarena's Photo Compare Tool it looks
like the LG Optimus 4X performs better noise-wise but has color balance problems (too much red).
http://www.gsmarena.com/piccmp.php3?idType=2&idPhone1=5048&idPhone2=4563&idPhone3=4238
Although the Nexus 4's camera is not as good as that of the Samsung Galaxy S3
it seems as though it could be calibrated to perform a bit better than it does at the moment.
Boy talk about useless post of the century!!
Live with it or buy another phone
asasione said:
Boy talk about useless post of the century!!
Live with it or buy another phone
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Sounds like you have a lot to contribute, asasione. Don't let me slow you down with my useless query.
The camera is important to me. I bought the Nexus4 in a rush without much knowledge of the camera.
After some use I find it lacking so I would like to know if it could be improved.
If not then yes, I will start looking at more capable phones.
Should have done your homework first
Definitely should've done your homework first. Learn your lesson and don't impulse buy next time. With such superior build quality, some things have to suffer to retain the price tag it has. This isn't an $800 iphone after all
The funny thing about you guys making fun of him, is that you don't exactly know what you're talking about either.
Back when the Evo 3D got upgraded to ICS, the Virgin Mobile version of the Evo 3D got significant camera improvements, and the Evo 3D (Sprint and GSM [international]) were left hanging with a camera that was essentially the same as the one that they had back with Gingerbread.
Here's a link to it, if you'd like to see. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1717113&highlight=vm+camera
So to answer your question, yes. Software can be used to enhance the camera. If I were you I'd look in the direction of Sony's mods (Photo editor and related) and check that out. I know that there is a ROM that currently uses this.
-Mindroid- said:
Sounds like you have a lot to contribute, asasione. Don't let me slow you down with my useless query.
The camera is important to me. I bought the Nexus4 in a rush without much knowledge of the camera.
After some use I find it lacking so I would like to know if it could be improved.
If not then yes, I will start looking at more capable phones.
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Click to collapse
If the camera is important to you, you should've bought a REAL camera.
Camera module is excellent. on par with probably iphones and s3s, its just a matter of time till someone figures out what lg did wrong with the drivers
I should have known better? I should shut up and be happy with what I have?
Seriously guys, what's the point of these comments? That's a strange attitude.
Allow me to remind you that this is a developer forum where people discuss how to thinker
with gadgets to improve them.
akbisw said:
Camera module is excellent. on par with probably iphones and s3s,
its just a matter of time till someone figures out what did wrong with the drivers
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Thank you, akbisw and thebeastglasser!
This is my understanding as well - there are only a few camera modules out there (mostly Sony ones).
The phone firmware must initially calibrate the module. When taking a photo there are algorithms that work with
the metering system to assign color, aperture, shutter speed, sensitivity and other parameters for each shot.
After the picture is taken it's immediately compressed to JPG and a number of filters like smoothing are applied.
In a real camera there's a processor doing all these tasks but in a phone you already have a CPU and GPU.
The camera drivers have a great influence over the final picture. If we have the source code to the drivers
and people who are knowledgeable in digital photography it's not an impossible task to recalibrate the camera.
-Mindroid- said:
I should have known better? I should shut up and be happy with what I have?
Seriously guys, what's the point of these comments? That's a strange attitude.
Allow me to remind you that this is a developer forum where people discuss how to thinker
with gadgets to improve them.
Thank you, akbisw and thebeastglasser!
This is my understanding as well - there are only a few camera modules out there (mostly Sony ones).
The phone firmware must initially calibrate the module. When taking a photo there are algorithms that work with
the metering system to assign color, aperture, shutter speed, sensitivity and other parameters for each shot.
After the picture is taken it's immediately compressed to JPG and a number of filters like smoothing are applied.
In a real camera there's a processor doing all these tasks but in a phone you already have a CPU and GPU.
and people who are knowledgeable in digital photography it's not an impossible task to recalibrate the camera.
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Click to collapse
I don't comment much but the replies in this thread are ridiculous. It's a simple question. I also bought this phone knowing that the camera wasn't its best feature, but I'm also curious if there is a way to improve the software/drivers to improve it. There have been several examples on XDA where this has happened. If you're going to be an Internet tough guy and only offer useless posts then don't post, you not only waste your time but the OPs too.
mreik said:
I don't comment much but the replies in this thread are ridiculous. It's a simple question.
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-Mindroid- said:
I should have known better? I should shut up and be happy with what I have?
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I have a suggestion. You can rephrase the question, to something like this:
"I found out that the Nexus 4 has IMX111PQ camera module, which should be on par with the IMX145 found in iPhone 4s. Yet the quality of the image is somewhat lacking [...]"
Citing reviews from some website just invites the trolls waiting around to waste your time.
Back to your question.
I don't think Nexus 4's camera is on par with iPhone 4s or GSG 3's camera. For starter, the pixel size is 20% (edit: 25%) smaller, thus more noises.
But, I do believe in the same thing as Mindroid, akbisw and thebeastglasser, that math can do magic and someone will figure out something to make it works better.
KyraOfFire said:
I have a suggestion. You can rephrase the question, to something like this:
"I found out that the Nexus 4 has IMX111PQ camera module, which should be on par with the IMX145 found in iPhone 4s. Yet the quality of the image is somewhat lacking [...]"
Citing reviews from some website just invites the trolls waiting around to waste your time.
Back to your question.
I don't think Nexus 4's camera is on par with iPhone 4s or GSG 3's camera. For starter, the pixel size is 20% smaller, thus more noises.
But, I do believe in the same thing as Mindroid, akbisw and thebeastglasser, that math can do magic and someone will figure out something to make it works better.
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Thanks, KyraOfFire!
I spent a lot of time thinking how to phrase my question without inviting the trolls. :silly:
GSMarena did scientific benchmarks, their review states the facts, not an opinion.
Can you verify the camera module in the Nexus4 is IMX111PQ (link)? I will update the OP.
AnandTech claims the LG Optimus 4X HD has that camera module.
Using the GSMarena's Image Compare Tool I can see that the LG Optimus 4X has much better
noise performance than the Nexus 4. The colors on the LG 4X are a bit off though.
If both phones share the same camera hardware it seems that the Nexus4 noise issue could indeed
be caused by a bad software calibration.
http://www.gsmarena.com/piccmp.php3?idType=1&idPhone1=5048&idPhone2=4563&idPhone3=4238
-Mindroid- said:
Can you verify the camera module in the Nexus4 is IMX111PQ (link)? I will update the OP.
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Hi Mindroid, I am glad I could help.
Nexus 4 detailed technical breakdown can be found here
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1964850
It is claimed that the module number is from the kernel source code
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=33645116&highlight=camera#post33645116
Edit: I looked at the photos.
Nexus 4 is clearly more noisy than Optimus 4X HD, but it is also somewhat sharper.
Assuming the information is correct and the two phones share the same camera chip, the software can definitely be tuned.
asasione said:
Boy talk about useless post of the century!!
Live with it or buy another phone
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yyz71 said:
Should have done your homework first
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spitefulcheerio said:
Definitely should've done your homework first. Learn your lesson and don't impulse buy next time. With such superior build quality, some things have to suffer to retain the price tag it has. This isn't an $800 iphone after all
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richteralan said:
If the camera is important to you, you should've bought a REAL camera.
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Wow, who are you guys? The OP asked a simple and reverent question in the right subforum. Proof of what's become of XDA.
Okay, we had a similar question in the HTC Inspire thread, and we ended up with a good list of camera settings (reduce sharpness, don't use auto-ISO, etc). We get the same question in the Nexus 4 thread and you guys jump down his throat. Nice.
My Nexus 4 hasn't arrived yet, so I haven't had a chance to experiment with it. Admittedly, there is only so much you can do with low-cost hardware, but there are techniques to consider. Until we get some useful answers, you may want to consider some of the things we did for the HTC Inspire (which also has a bit of a lackluster camera):
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=875230
- Jim
macr0t0r said:
Okay, we had a similar question in the HTC Inspire thread, and we ended up with a good list of camera settings (reduce sharpness, don't use auto-ISO, etc). We get the same question in the Nexus 4 thread and you guys jump down his throat. Nice.
My Nexus 4 hasn't arrived yet, so I haven't had a chance to experiment with it. Admittedly, there is only so much you can do with low-cost hardware, but there are techniques to consider. Until we get some useful answers, you may want to consider some of the things we did for the HTC Inspire (which also has a bit of a lackluster camera):
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=875230
- Jim
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Click to collapse
Great thread indeed. If I have time (probably next week), I'll get a camera app that can enable those settings (hint:stock camera app doesn't have those settings) and do some science
I tried the lgCamera app from the Play Store which is supposed to allow more settings like ISO.
I don't think it's working, the pictures look very similar on all ISO settings. It's impossible to tell
for sure because the picture headers don't have the ISO information.
My old Chinese phone has an Engineering Menu that exposes some of the hardware parameters.
Is there anything similar in Jelly Bean?
You could try Camera FV-5 from the play store. I've used it on my One S and it offers a lot of manual controls. My N4 arrives tomorrow so can't tell you how it works, yet, for this phone.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
atoy74 said:
Wow, who are you guys? The OP asked a simple and reverent question in the right subforum. Proof of what's become of XDA.
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Click to collapse
Agreed, the man asked if the camera can be improved. Don't freaking defend the crappy camera. This is xda. This is where we mod **** till it freaking explodes. Not whine and defend stuff.
Forget picture quality what about sound ! Its terrible on recordings. Background noise sounds garbled. In fact its a chorus for flanger type effect which could be down to the stereo mics?

UltraPixel camera is really the best one?

Actually,the important factor of I am attracted by the HTC One is its UltraPixel, I have read the technology description on HTC's website, and I just wonder if it really performs better than the typical smartphone with just 4MP camera.
There's threads about this
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium
Dannyada1988 said:
Actually,the important factor of I am attracted by the HTC One is its UltraPixel, I have read the technology description on HTC's website, and I just wonder if it really performs better than the typical smartphone with just 4MP camera.
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In my eyes, it doesn't. It does well and certain lighting conditions i do have to say but for most of the shots ive seen like the iphone vs. HTC One camera, the iPhone did better in nearly all of them to me. Once people get the non-demo models though we'll be able to see what others think.
#cameraname
Dannyada1988 said:
Actually,the important factor of I am attracted by the HTC One is its UltraPixel, I have read the technology description on HTC's website, and I just wonder if it really performs better than the typical smartphone with just 4MP camera.
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Click to collapse
To get some idea of how well the camera on any phone performs in different lighting hastag its name on Instagram
I personally am jealous of the camera on the iphone 4s/5. They seem to produce the sharpest pictures on Instagram and Facebook!
We can't tell yet the device software is not final and HTC didn't lift the reviews embargo yet and the didn't post many official samples either
Normally, I would like to see dpreview's comments for any camera reviews. gsmarena's camera section is also decent.
I think the argument is unless you're wanting to print photos on huge canvases etc then 4mp is more then enough for Facebook etc that most people use their camera phones for. And if you can develop a 4mp camera that is high quality with low light performance you're basically giving the majority what they want and need.
As a photo enthusiast I am glad to see them trying to get closer to what's necessary and needed rather then having a medium quality high pixel camera that I'll never use for top notch shots. I have a DSLR for that.
Sent from my Desire HD using xda app-developers app
Yup trading pixel detail for low light
From a lot of comparisons I saw, there's no doubt that the best available mobile camera is Nokia 920 but hey, it's a windows phone.
Recently Sony released a Firefox OS ROM for some xperia phones. If Nokia decided to do the same releasing an oficial android ROM for Lumia series I could think about buying one but, that's not the case.
And about HTC One camera, maybe it's not the best but it's great enough for me.
Tapatalked from my GNex
joelteixeira said:
From a lot of comparisons I saw, there's no doubt that the best available mobile camera is Nokia 920 but hey, it's a windows phone.
Recently Sony released a Firefox OS ROM for some xperia phones. If Nokia decided to do the same releasing an oficial android ROM for Lumia series I could think about buying one but, that's not the case.
And about HTC One camera, maybe it's not the best but it's great enough for me.
Tapatalked from my GNex
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I never got why Nokia jumped on the Windows Bandwagon... i guess maybe because Android has SO much competition?
WP OS is pretty naff though, the person that thought of having text going off the screen so you scroll over... looks daft
joelteixeira said:
From a lot of comparisons I saw, there's no doubt that the best available mobile camera is Nokia 920 but hey, it's a windows phone.
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Although I was blown away by the 920, that was my exact point of not buying the device. At the moment there is no camera that can make me buy a Windows Phone
its not the best, but is good to me, only 13 days for release!
kalo88 said:
I never got why Nokia jumped on the Windows Bandwagon... i guess maybe because Android has SO much competition?
WP OS is pretty naff though, the person that thought of having text going off the screen so you scroll over... looks daft
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When Maemo was in the transition of replacing symbian as nokia's primary OS they suddenly appointed a new CEO which came from Microsoft. And few months after they decided to ditch support for maemo & meego and decided to partner with windows. So most likely the reason why they went windows and not android is because microsoft infiltrated their administratiion. It all started with Stephen Elop.
How about Apple releasing iOS version for Lumia 820 and 920? Hahahha Nokia and android too much optimistic thought but let Nokia fall down again I think Nokia is under Microsoft's debt and ms is hypnotised Nokia to save their reputation in mobile world, Nokia will show their true color when his debt from Microsoft has finish atm Nokia don't want to angry Microsoft coz ms has been heavily feeded Nokia to make him healthy
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
kalo88 said:
WP OS is pretty naff though, the person that thought of having text going off the screen so you scroll over... looks daft
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I think it's a perfectly good OS, my sister has it. Very fast and fluid for what its a cheap phone.
I think they went with WP as they will be the manufacturer associated with it. Think iOS, think Apple (obviously) but for Android most people will automatically think Samsung.
I'd like to reiterate again, that demo units and preview units with unfinalized software have NEVER made a difference (for any phone) in the final quality of the camera. It'll be released in a few weeks. If it's **** now, it will still be **** later on. No more excuses. Optimism is no excuse for stupidity.
Here's one big problem with the HTC One. The 4MP is 4MP. You can go on and on about how it doesn't matter for facebook, but if we are going to place smartphone cameras to a higher standard (HTC says so), this compromise is almost dealbreaking. It's one step forward, two steps back. I take pictures of menus and sheets of paper and murals and such with text quite frequently. Even my Galaxy S2 with 8MP is sharper and easier to read than the blurry and poorly defined text the HTC One takes. Here's a text comparison.
http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_one-review-902p6.php
That's what you sacrifice with low resolution. Resolved detail. The text images are just the easiest way to see the problem with low resolution. It extends far beyond just text, Blurry faces, undefined outlines, and blur in general.
The other problem. The touted low light performance seems to be overblown. If you sacrifice megapixels for better low light, and the low light doesn't deliver, you just shot yourself in the foot. Here's a comparison in low light with the Nokia 920 and 720.
http://www.phonearena.com/news/HTC-One-vs-Nokia-Lumia-920-and-720-low-light-comparison-video_id40344
You can see the giant ass blotches of noise and grain, because the HTC image blows up the lighting and makes the noise and grain even more apparent. There's no fine detail, just a smear of color. Compared to the Lumia 920, it's almost like it has no OIS at all and the "ultrapixels" mean diddly squat. Most damning of all, is that the budget Lumia 720 takes better low light pictures. It doesn't have fancy OIS nor the same large pixels.
There are many more examples of the poor low light performance scattered about the net. This is the thing HTC touted as better than the rest, but so far its just middling if not mediocre.
In summation. If you want an average camera, or say "I don't give a shiz it's a camera-phone", this phone will fit the bill. But if you were expecting something more, some sort of major progress, you won't find it here. You will be better off with the Lumia 920 and its OIS. Or wait for the Lumia 1000 EOS which will even give point and shoot cameras a run for their money. But right now this is just a half-hearted attempt by HTC, with plenty of money thrown at advertising it but no confidence in making it a reality wit a bigger sensor, more pixels, better OIS, etc. The Galaxy IV will probably have a better camera. Hell, the Galaxy II and III have better cameras.
Can we close these threads?
Until the device is released this is all speculation and all I'm reading is people whining and complaining about this device
Plain and simple, don't like it then gtfo and don't get the device
Sent from my One X using Tapatalk 2
superchilpil said:
Until the device is released this is all speculation and all I'm reading is people whining and complaining about this device
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Funny you say that seeing as the post right above yours states the following:
katamari201 said:
I'd like to reiterate again, that demo units and preview units with unfinalized software have NEVER made a difference (for any phone) in the final quality of the camera. It'll be released in a few weeks. If it's **** now, it will still be **** later on. No more excuses. Optimism is no excuse for stupidity.
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Click to collapse
I looked through all the demo pictures and the ones taken by reviewers at MWC and the pictures where on par or better than the competition.
As for that GSM arena review, they describe the quality as being sharper and better overall than the LG G but then have photos that are blurry and say it is the One pictures but they don't match the full size pictures at the bottom of their review so I don't quite trust that source.
Honestly, if you want to take great pictures buy a point and shoot camera or a DSLR as nothing in a phone is going to out match them.
here are some samples from the One vs Nokia 920 and 720

HTC risked itself unnecessarily with the 4 ultrapixels camera

I think HTC could have been a big contender to the galaxy S IV but will be dismissed by the average consumer because of the "poor" 4 ultrapixel camera, i dont get how a company struggling to sell would do such a thing , i love that they took a risk but maybe they should have waited until they had profits again, what do you think people is going to do when they go to buy a phone and see that the camera on the one is "just" 4 megapixels vs 13 megapixels on the galaxy S IV?
8 ultrapixels would have been great, also the daylight pictures are less than spectacular, the one x/xl takes better pictures at daylight ,lets see how turns out for HTC, i fear it wont be the best outcome :crying: , such a shame that "the best" will lose
So far seeing pictures taken against the iPhone 5, Galaxy S4, etc... I think they made the right choice. It takes some really nice pictures.
You are ignorant, HTC One along with Lumia taking the best photos in market at the moment. before coming up with a topic like that learn to check to results please.
But yeah, one thing is clear, people like you will think "hmm, 4 mp is bad i should get S4 because of that" and get S4. That is the only downside of the idea. Which I'm hoping wouldn't be a problem because noone is telling that it is 4 mp, they are marketting it as Ultrapixel Camera as a whole phrase, which is working relatively well.
You are right. While the tests seem to show, that the camera is really awesome and isn't worser than the 13 MP one the majority of people are still getting their phones direct from the store and deciding basically from the specs and the general appearance. I hope HTC will profit at least from their design and aluminium body this year.
Only ignorant consumers purchase items based on just numbers...
Education is key.
Many reviews show that its the second best on the market, after 808 and just beating the N95. Lesser pixels are also needed to process in the Zoe mode. So my conclusion will be it isn't a "poor" or "unnecessary" change. In fact, it's proving to be one of the best cameras (obviously if you don't print your photographs in full size)
Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk 2
Dharkan said:
You are ignorant, HTC One along with Lumia taking the best photos in market at the moment. before coming up with a topic like that learn to check to results please.
But yeah, one thing is clear, people like you will think "hmm, 4 mp is bad i should get S4 because of that" and get S4. That is the only downside of the idea. Which I'm hoping wouldn't be a problem because noone is telling that it is 4 mp, they are marketting it as Ultrapixel Camera as a whole phrase, which is working relatively well.
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That true no one has told me its a 4mp camera in shops, they say 4 ultra pixel.
Also when I played with the phone and compared pics to the xz and and s3 etc it blew them away which is one of the reasons there is a lovely silver HTC One sitting on my desk charging right now.
Also regarding charging, battery life for me so far is great: seeing as I had to send stuff to the phone yesterday it got charged to 61% before I took if off the usb at aprrox 1.30pm yesterday and started using it: screen 30% bright, power saver on, all connections off unless I need them, playing some music, generally looking at the phone, a bit of internet browsing, mostly phone calls and texts and the battery was on 6% at about 10 am this morning and I went to bed at 2am.
Btw the this is the same pattern i do for all phones I have 30% brightness and power saver. I will be able to properly judge when its actually charged to 100% though and compare it to my others phones bar the note 2 where it will clearly lose.
Actually there is still noise in the images on the 4MP sensor, but less than a 13MP for sure in low light.
HTC made a deliberate decision that a phone camera is more utilized to pictures of family, friends when you go out somewhere like a restaurant, bar etc. In those circumstances good low light performance is essential and you don't need (in fact you don't want) to see the highest resolution possible on people's faces etc
You only really need 13MP when you are shooting landscape. In the case of Sony, they try and incorporate a camera that is more aimed towards tourist pictures. During the daylight, the resolution advantage will be clear to see on detailed scenes.
Personally, I do not use my phone as a replacement for a good camera. I use it exactly as HTC considered, incidental photos when out with friends and to keep memories of those occasions.
Having said that, it is not the best 4MP sensor...it should really have been even better (less noise). So while I think HTC did play a gamble here, and to some extent, there is a good amount of logic behind their decision...the implementation is still not as good as I would have hoped. It is just possible that software updates will improve its performance further.
R89SONY said:
which is one of the reasons there is a lovely silver HTC One sitting on my desk charging right now.
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Amen!
jonstatt said:
Actually there is still noise in the images on the 4MP sensor, but less than a 13MP for sure in low light.
HTC made a deliberate decision that a phone camera is more utilized to pictures of family, friends when you go out somewhere like a restaurant, bar etc. In those circumstances good low light performance is essential and you don't need (in fact you don't want) to see the highest resolution possible on people's faces etc
You only really need 13MP when you are shooting landscape. In the case of Sony, they try and incorporate a camera that is more aimed towards tourist pictures. During the daylight, the resolution advantage will be clear to see on detailed scenes.
Personally, I do not use my phone as a replacement for a good camera. I use it exactly as HTC considered, incidental photos when out with friends and to keep memories of those occasions.
Having said that, it is not the best 4MP sensor...it should really have been even better (less noise). So while I think HTC did play a gamble here, and to some extent, there is a good amount of logic behind their decision...the implementation is still not as good as I would have hoped. It is just possible that software updates will improve its performance further.
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The noise problem was with prerelease software, if you see the photos now, there's way much less noise
From USA Gizmodo:
Another pleasant surprise: the camera's UltraPixels actually live up to the hype. In our testing the One performed as well as if not better than the top smartphone shooters out there (check out our comparison). It also took better low-light (read: in bars) photos than any phone I've used, and I was extremely impressed by how accurate the color rendering was. Now, if you're planning on printing your photos on 8x10s, maybe you'll miss the extra megapixels, but who really does that with their phone cam? For the web, you won't be able to tell the difference in resolution, and you will be able to tell the difference in low-light.
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Click to collapse
Check out the photo thread
NiCk.JaY said:
The noise problem was with prerelease software, if you see the photos now, there's way much less noise
Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have one...I still see some noise. I am not saying it is bad. Just I guess I had such high expectations that it would take super clean images.
jonstatt said:
I have one...I still see some noise. I am not saying it is bad. Just I guess I had such high expectations that it would take super clean images.
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Click to collapse
Have you updated it to the latest version? Because the pics from Gizmodo, Engadget, Verge are superb
SteelH said:
Only ignorant consumers purchase items based on just numbers...
Education is key.
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Click to collapse
This. Also quality beats quantity!
Sent from my HTC One V using Tapatalk 2
NiCk.JaY said:
Have you updated it to the latest version? Because the pics from Gizmodo, Engadget, Verge are superb
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no update. I definitely have the most current release on the phone. I think it was just my expectations were too high. Don't get me wrong, it takes great pics.
I think that it will be very important for in-store signage of the HTC One show the comparison of the HTCs photo quality against "the others". They can't leave it to the uninformed general public or the uninformed sales staff to simply look at point form notes on the phone spec
AW: HTC risked itself unnecessarily with the 4 ultrapixels camera
And... Megapixels are nothing. It is all about the sensor and the lense. It is time to stop that Megapixel hype... Just look at the S4... 13mp on a damn small sensor, I guess you will not see a difference between my 1S and the S4...
Sent from my HTC One S using xda app-developers app
4mp should of NEVER been banded about because in work people were going 'Omg the HTC ONE only has a 4mp camera.... who would want that' and then you have to explain it to them etc....
It was a risk but it should of just been left at 'Ultrapixel' and not compared to a megapixel count.
x3
I personally as a Photographer like their decission.
Remember the Foveon X3 Chip. If HTC manages to get something more out of that technique, they will get much better results.
At first saw no difference with the quality from the x. Now after a few dozen photos. There is a difference.close up shots capture loads of detail
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app
First of all, I think that HTC from the quality point of view made the right decision. The camera appears better than sufficient - for the ordinary smartphone user that is. HTC's approach is different, I think: Remember "Friend Stream" in Sense? Now it is "Blinkfeed". My impression is that HTC bets on that users will shoot more photos if the photos can be uploaded to FB and other social networks quicker and thus in bigger numbers thanks to their smaller size. Photos go up easier to the Dropbox storage, too. The camera with 4 megapixels only is really more usable.
In the end the photo quality debate is a "luxury issue", the "ordinary" customer will not see a quality issue in the images. But the fact that he/she can really easily share their photos shot with the One - which they in real life can't with photos from their Samsung and other phones due to the sheer size of the images - this must be communicated to the customer. In addition, 32 GB built in storage on the One due to the difference in size of the camera's images in real life equal 50 GB storage on the Samsung.
To my opinion, therefore the success of the HTC One is not so dependent on the question whether 13 megapixels are better than 4 (or vice versa), but on the question whether they succeed in explaining the potential of smaller image files to the masses. My serious concern is, that even HTC and their marketing people are not aware really, what HTC's development department had in mind.

Best of Sony... is not really great..

First, I'd like to say that I'm not trying to hate on Sony or bash them, just pointing out that what they call "the best of Sony" isn't exactly great or better than the competition, though I really just want to point out about the display and camera. I moved on from the Note 3 to the Z1 (lost my Note 3, wanted a good phone with a good camera for a low price so I got an Xperia Z1), and here's what I've noticed.
Display:
Well, there's no other way to say it: for a flagship phone, the Z1's display isn't that great. Viewing angles are poor, and viewing it at even small angles puts a whitish hue over it that just doesn't look good. It might be good for privacy, but otherwise it's plain to see that they're using an inferior IPS tech than other manufacturers. The Note 3 or the Nexus 5's displays are clearly much better, and so is the one on the HTC One from early 2013. I've heard that the Z1 Compact finally has a great screen among Sony devices, so that's great, but I feel that many Sony fans are clearly ignorant of how much greener the grass in on the other side when it comes to displays.
Camera
To be honest, this is the biggest disappointment I've had with the Z1. I don't know if Sony was focusing purely on lossless zoom when adding the 20MP camera, but when it comes to resolved detail and visible noise, the Note 3's camera was better despite no fancy tech and standard sensor. Sure, it has a 13MP camera while the Z1 takes photos at 8MP after downsampling, but in general its photos are clearer and more detailed. I've tried taking 20MP pics, and they just do not come out as great as one would expect (if they focused on lossless zoom, even that hasn't worked out well in general outdoor photos), and Sony has basically squandered a nice opportunity.
But on the flip side, I love some things about the camera. It's fast to open (mainly thanks to the camera button), it's smooth, and is quick to change modes, which helped a lot on my weekend trip with my family.) I don't like that HDR isn't a dedicated mode and is simply a switch when you select 8MP photos in Manual, but other than that, it's pretty good overall. In fact, the quickness and the shutter button are what make me ignore the fact that in quality I've come down to a noticeably not-so-great-at-capturing-detail camera (the Note 3 took ages to select modes, open the camera app, and open pictures.)
That's something that's true in Sony's software overall: it's beautiful, sleek, and quick and responsive. I do miss some features from the Note 3 (Multi-Window, Smart Stay (extremely useful when you can't be bothered touching the screen to keep it awake), some camera modes, and the better multitasking (my Z1 is abysmal at holding apps in memory, and not because it's just 2GB of RAM.) It feels good to use, and that's a pretty good thing.
But again, the screen and camera have let me down considerably. Again, on the flip side, I love the phone's build (though it's a bit too bulky, but then it is waterproof), and things like the lanyard slot and camera button (conveniences manufacturers have forgotten in their quest to copy and follow Apple since the first iPhone arrived on the market).
So in the end it's clear that "the best of Sony" just isn't the right thing to say when your tech is behind the competition in some things and just isn't as great as owners of flagship devices of the competition have become used to. The pricing is great, though, but I kinda don't think I'd want to save a few bucks next time I want a phone, not unless Sony focuses on making the hardware more complete regarding awesomeness.
Sorry for the rant, and again, I wasn't bashing, overall I like my Z1, just don't love it (yet)!
P.S.: My Galaxy Gear is also now sitting idle, but I guess we can blame Samsung for making its watch incompatible with other devices. It's a useful watch, but not in use anymore. There is a hack to make it work with others, I tried it with the Z1, but most stuff just doesn't work. So I guess I'll buy Sony's smartwatch next. :silly:
P.P.S.: I hope KitKat comes soon. I like that Sony takes time to test its software, but with Samsung and HTC moving pretty quick with KitKat despite having heavy skins, and Samsung has even managed to not introduce any quirky bugs (they disabled third-party accessories, but an update over the weekend reversed that), I really want KitKat to come quick. I want wireless printing support (Samsung had this even before KitKat, one of the few reasons I appreciate Samsung's bloat sometimes, it has some useful features), and it might also solve the issue of lack of RAM on the Z1, even if only a little bit.
This is what you do on Sunday afternoon? We know Z1 is not best like expected.
eclyptos said:
This is what you do on Sunday afternoon? We know Z1 is not best like expected.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's Sunday night where I am, and I had to get my thoughts out there after using the Z1's camera extensively the last two days (I bought the phone on Thursday.)
addicted2088 said:
It's Sunday night where I am, and I had to get my thoughts out there after using the Z1's camera extensively the last two days (I bought the phone on Thursday.)
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Click to collapse
Saturday Night? You should be in some club! ..ahah...just kidding...I know...I am really disappointed by the camera too....what I can surely said is that the problem of the camera quality is related to the Software, but I don't know if we will get better pictures. Many telling me that the Z1 make amazing pictures but mine is not fake and I still not get clear pictures like it should be. Full of Noise, and with Unlocked Bootloader get even worse.
I understand what you're saying, and you have valid points, but these type of complaints come up with every phone out there.
The HTC One has exactly the same Camera complaint that you do. The UltraPixel was a big disappointment for some. The thing about the Z1's camera is that it CAN be improved. The camera is actually extremely good if you use it in manual, and the pictures that come out are the best I've seen on an Android phone. Superior Auto is a bit of a mess though. That's a software problem, not hardware, so we hope kitKat can fix that.
The display is a valid complaint, but I feel head on it's better than the Note 3. The Z1 has one of the most color accurate screens out there, which I prefer over AMOLED oversaturation. The viewing angles personally for me isn't a problem but yes, it is a negative about this phone.
So in the end it's clear that "the best of Sony" just isn't the right thing to say when your tech is behind the competition in some things and just isn't as great as owners of flagship devices of the competition have become used to
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Click to collapse
Well, the Z1 IS the best of Sony...not sure what you're trying to say. I still feel like the Z1 is one of the best phones out there. Although lacking in some parts, the overall package is hard to beat: Snapdragon 800 processor, great battery life, great camera (Yes the camera is still very very good, just not as good as advertised), and best of all premium feeling. There is really no other phone that has all that together in one package right now. The Note 3 is better in some respects but for me feels cheap, and that is a HUGE con for me that overshadows anything else. The Nexus 5 has meh battery life and camera. The HTC One has a meh camera and lower end specs. The Galaxy S4 is no longer talked about when discussing high-end phones.
The point is there's no 'perfect' phone, and I concede that the Z1 does have weaknesses, but so does every other electronic device out there
addicted2088 said:
First, I'd like to say that I'm not trying to hate on Sony or bash them, just pointing out that what they call "the best of Sony" isn't exactly great or better than the competition
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Uh huh.
My advice to you, since it appears you wrote this to practice the writing career you're hoping to have, is to consider other career options. You're not good at this.
learn to make the picture and you will find Z1 camera is great. all the comparatives with Note 3 and the other smartphones take Z1 on the top of Android world
display is very good. poor viewing angle are not a gap, but I can assume it is subjective.
when I watch photos and videos on Z1 display they are much nicer than on other displays.
kantk20111 said:
I understand what you're saying, and you have valid points, but these type of complaints come up with every phone out there.
The HTC One has exactly the same Camera complaint that you do. The UltraPixel was a big disappointment for some. The thing about the Z1's camera is that it CAN be improved. The camera is actually extremely good if you use it in manual, and the pictures that come out are the best I've seen on an Android phone. Superior Auto is a bit of a mess though. That's a software problem, not hardware, so we hope kitKat can fix that.
The display is a valid complaint, but I feel head on it's better than the Note 3. The Z1 has one of the most color accurate screens out there, which I prefer over AMOLED oversaturation. The viewing angles personally for me isn't a problem but yes, it is a negative about this phone.
Well, the Z1 IS the best of Sony...not sure what you're trying to say. I still feel like the Z1 is one of the best phones out there. Although lacking in some parts, the overall package is hard to beat: Snapdragon 800 processor, great battery life, great camera (Yes the camera is still very very good, just not as good as advertised), and best of all premium feeling. There is really no other phone that has all that together in one package right now. The Note 3 is better in some respects but for me feels cheap, and that is a HUGE con for me that overshadows anything else. The Nexus 5 has meh battery life and camera. The HTC One has a meh camera and lower end specs. The Galaxy S4 is no longer talked about when discussing high-end phones.
The point is there's no 'perfect' phone, and I concede that the Z1 does have weaknesses, but so does every other electronic device out there
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not so sure about that ...
HTC has the best software updates ATM and fastest after Google.
It has the best low light camera + best smart flash with the 5 modes
Average daylight shots
best front cam with wide angle
The best mics hdr mics
The best speakers
The best headphones sound
It's the most quality phone
It has the best screen in overall
It has unmatched feel in the hand
Ir blaster
Ois
60 fps video + zoe + really working hdr video
BlinkFeed which is still unmatched with copies
Decent battery life
Great xda development
Most of these things aren't yet matched by the competition which is shame imo since htc one is 1 year old and it's still considered the best overall package phone even in 2014 and I doubt anything but HTC one 2 will surpass it which is only a month or two away.
A lot on that list are gimmicks and a few items there are disputable. If HTC were as ahead of everyone as you make them appear to be, then that's extremely incongruent to the terrible shape the company is in.
Another "OMG Sony why did you do this to me" thread.
Sony rules!!
Shan89 said:
Not so sure about that ...
HTC has the best software updates ATM and fastest after Google.
It has the best low light camera + best smart flash with the 5 modes
Average daylight shots
best front cam with wide angle
The best mics hdr mics
The best speakers
The best headphones sound
It's the most quality phone
It has the best screen in overall
It has unmatched feel in the hand
Ir blaster
Ois
60 fps video + zoe + really working hdr video
BlinkFeed which is still unmatched with copies
Decent battery life
Great xda development
Most of these things aren't yet matched by the competition which is shame imo since htc one is 1 year old and it's still considered the best overall package phone even in 2014 and I doubt anything but HTC one 2 will surpass it which is only a month or two away.
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Click to collapse
I don't want to get in a fight about whose phone is better, but everyone's got different preferences in a phone. A lot of the points you mentioned are opinions, and really can't be said in a comparison.
The most 'quality' phone and 'ummatched feel' is extremely subjective.
The Z1 is no less in quality than the HTC One and has as premium materials.
The Moto X and Z1 compact both have better feel, just because they're smaller.
Z1's battery life has been much better for me than HTC One in my experience.
Headphone sound is exactly the same for me. Beats is a gimmick and just a equalizer preset which I can also set on my Z1.
I will admit the HTC One's speakers is miles ahead of the Z1's and the display is better.
Camera as well is a lot better in the Z1 in daylight, but I remember you're the guy who wrote that HTC One vs Z1 camera test and I don't want to get in a fight again about that, so I won't go there. HTC One's better in low light, but the Z1 isn't that bad either.
The Z1's camera has a ton more features as well that are pretty cool to play around with. Gimmicks? Sure, but they're still fun. Also the Z1's viewfinder is much smoother.
All front facing cameras suck equally and don't believe there's a 'best' front facing camera.
edit: Oh, also concerning updates: This is the first time HTC have actually done well with updates. We'll see a year from now how they treat HTC One users. One X and One X+ users are stuck with official 4.2 while the Xperia T, which came out around the same time+, just got updated to 4.3. Sony might be slower at giving updates but they support their phones longer.
See, I just refuted half of your points. Of course you will disagree with me, but that's what's great about Android: everyone has different preferences and different opinions on what's the best. The HTC One is a fantastic phone and is my number 2 after the Z1, but it's still not the best for me. Nothing wrong with that.
omnius1 said:
A lot on that list are gimmicks and a few items there are disputable. If HTC were as ahead of everyone as you make them appear to be, then that's extremely incongruent to the terrible shape the company is in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What exactly is gimmic ?
Ir blaster is very useful
Ois is very helpful in low light / movement or any other type of using the camera / 60 fps video is smooth as camera app on z1 and looks like you're looking thru the glass when watching an video / hdr video is awesome as well at low light , so is the zoe especially if you wanna take out some snaps after which are full sized , I forgot slow motion video as well which is fun tho.
Smart flash is very useful indeed and can take photos from 5cm in pitch black up to 10 meters , with the walls it can go even further
Stereo frontal speakers ...how is this a gimmic lol , anything you do on a phone sounds crazy good + loud + it hits you in the face.
Full metal body is always a good thing , it screams premium ...
Feel in the hand indeed is unmatched due metal + device shape
hdr mics pick up the sound you wouldn't believe that the phone is doing it.
I've forgot also talking via phone is unmatched as well , you get stereo sound + you can talk in super loud environment perfectly fine.
Headphones sound wouldn't be a gimmic as well lol ... Ppl just use that ...on daily bases ..
Software updates is definitely not an gimmic we all want fast and working updates ASAP ,which is not the case with the Sony , it's far from it.
Xda development for me personally is very important since I love to flash + the fact HTC one has about 9/10 times more development it's a must have for me.
The only gimmicky thing would be if you don't like the the BlinkFeed that'd be all which can be turned off.
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk
We have to open a thread " @@Shan89 VS @kantk20111 " ..hahah..
Ladies and Gentlemen may I present, Shan89 from HTC Section VS kantk20111 from Sony section, Round 2.
FIGHT!
:laugh:
lol
I had Xperia z1 , camera sucked , phone was too hot and screen is utter **** , so I changed to HTC one for the same stuff you wrote here!
Honestly I am huge fan of HTC but actually I do not brought HTC One, which was cheaper, just because there is no micro SD Slot, and when Apps to SD will be available on Z1, or even Apk on internal and Data on SD on Custom Roms, I will not have regrets to have Z1.
eclyptos said:
We have to open a thread " @@Shan89 VS @kantk20111 " ..hahah..
Ladies and Gentlemen may I present, Shan89 from HTC Section VS kantk20111 from Sony section, Round 2.
FIGHT!
:laugh:
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Click to collapse
Nah mate it ain't fight Lol. I was just pointing that there are devices which are quite more complete. Of course I can't think of anything else besides z1 that comes equal to m7 pretty much all devices lack design and quality which both z1 and htc have.
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk
eclyptos said:
We have to open a thread " [MENTION=3721363 [user=4914682]@Shan89[/user][/MENTION] VS @kantk20111 " ..hahah..
Ladies and Gentlemen may I present, Shan89 from HTC Section VS kantk20111 from Sony section, Round 2.
FIGHT!
:laugh:
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Click to collapse
No more fighting lol, just 2 guys who really love their phones alot . For me the HTC One and Z1 will always be the top of Android, with Samsung, LG and the rest way below. Sony and HTC have style along with awesome hardware.
edit: @Shan89 beat me to it
Came from the GSIII and this phone blows it out of the water, so I'm happy.
Sent from my C6916 using xda app-developers app
I came from htc one to z1 for reasons like low battery camera quality purple tint issue and worst of all its easily breakable body which produced dents on a simple fall
Sent from my C6902 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Shan89 said:
HTC has the best software updates "ATM" and fastest after Google.
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Click to collapse
Coming from a T-Mobile HTC One S and being left hangin' with no further updates from 4.1 Jellbean...I jumped off their bandwagon and upgraded to the Sony Xperia Z1S.
I'm glad that HTC is finally wiling to support their top tier products, but a bit too late for me...HTC lost in my book.
The clear winner (for me) is Sony! :good:

[Discussion] HTC Eye

So I've been reading multiple articles talking about HTC releasing another variant of the M8 called HTC Eye which is basically just the M8 with an updated front facing camera as well as a 13mp back camera, honestly they should have done this the first time around but I'd like to hear otherwise people's thoughts on this, will you be purchasing the new phone or will you stick with what you have, personally I probably will be switching because I take a lot of pictures and this camera is terrible even with its "ultrapixel" feature.
AnimusVoxx said:
So I've been reading multiple articles talking about HTC releasing another variant of the M8 called HTC Eye which is basically just the M8 with an updated front facing camera as well as a 13mp back camera, honestly they should have done this the first time around but I'd like to hear otherwise people's thoughts on this, will you be purchasing the new phone or will you stick with what you have, personally I probably will be switching because I take a lot of pictures and this camera is terrible even with its "ultrapixel" feature.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It was leaked that the device code name M8_eye will have the same hardware as the original except the 13MP Duo Camera. the front facing camera is the same 5MP. Keep in mind that this statement is not 100% accurate or true. if HTC took this route then it might mean that the HTC one M8 is the last phone with Ultra pixels. Sadly i wish if HTC tried to do something for better pictures keeping the Ultra Pixel technology instead of ditching it as it take very good night shots but it seems that people wont appreciate low pixel count and want a higher MP even tho the 4 Ultra Pixel Camera takes overall better shots than the 13MP found on the Desire 816 in terms of color accuracy and lighting ( thanks to @hamdir for comparison) keeping the only issue is zooming. everything will be revealed on the 8th of Oct so lets see what HTC is hiding for us.
But I had also heard that the back camera could still use the ultra pixel technology, I'd this is true it would mean that the camera would be one of the absolute best you can get
Thread closed as this forum is for the m8 only. Other types of phones, if released will get there own forum.
Many thanks,
Ghost

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