We have already spent an exhausting amount of time taking a look at the HTC 10, through first impressions videos, tutorials on the first 10 things you should do with the phone, and epic 20-minute comparisons to the other flagships of the moment. That isn’t necessarily out of the norm, since that’s typically the treatment we give to flagship phones around these parts, we just don’t typically do it for the products released by VR companies. Kidding! In all seriousness, HTC has put forth their best phone in years and it deserves the time, even from your supposed resident HTC haters. Yes, I guess that’s us.
What has us caught up with this year’s HTC 10 is over whether or not the camera is any good. That’s the sticking point because HTC hasn’t put a camera in a phone since, well, the One X? Maybe the original Incredible? We all know that they can put lots of metal into the shape of what the world has dubbed a “premium” phone and can do sound with the best of them and are appeasing Android enthusiasts by slimming the hell out of their Sense skin, but will they ever again be able to put a camera into a phone that isn’t a gimmick or disaster? I’m starting to think so with the HTC 10.
We will have a deeper analysis of the photos this camera is capable of taking when we push out our full review later this week, but for now we wanted to simply share a whole bunch of pictures taken with our review unit. There are lots of outdoor shots, since the weather has been incredible in Portland for the past few days. You will also see some indoor shots, a low-light range of photos with the light decreasing through each, and some macros, because we love burger and toy macros.
So far, I have to say that I am mostly impressed by what this camera is capable of. Of course, HTC has no excuse here because this is more than likely the same camera used in the Nexus 6P, a camera we love dearly and is a proven winner.
My only real issues right now have to do with the speed of the camera launching, its finicky focusing, slowness to shoot in low lights, and the dulling it does of some colorful photos. But in most situations, I don’t know that those issues have outweighed the overall experience, which is pretty solid. Just please, don’t cover the damn laser in the autofocus system or you’ll be welcomed over and over and over again by this annoying message.
Onto the photos!
If you want to download the full resolution files, you can grab the .zip here.
“my room mate Mary Is getting paid on the internet 98$/hr”..,……..!wc337ctwo days ago grey MacLaren P1 I bought after earning 18,512 DoIIars..it was my previous month’s payout..just a little over.17k DoIIars Last month..3-5 hours job a day…with weekly payouts..it’s realy the simplest. job I have ever Do.. I Joined This 7 months. ago. and now making over. hourly 87 DoIIars…Learn. More right Here !wc337:➽:➽:➽➽➽➽ http://GlobalSuperJobsReportsEmploymentsUrgentGetPayHourly$98…. .❖❖:❦❦:❖❖:❦❦:❖❖:❦❦:❖❖:❦❦:❖❖:❦❦:❖❖:❦❦:❖❖:❦❦:❖❖:❦❦:❖❖:❦❦:❖❖:❦❦:❖❖:❦❦::::::!wc337……..
HTC has already said updates will be coming to take care of some of the problems seen with the pre-production phones, like the one used in this story. I’m willing to bet the almighty S7 also had some camera problems with review phones. Wait for the updates and take your pics again; I believe you’ll see quite a bit of difference.
My biggest complaint with HTC 10 photos is the loss of sharpness in the corners. A lot of people probably won’t even look at the corners of images or won’t care, and it’s probably not very noticeable on a tiny phone screen, but I do like to view my photos on my 15″ MacBook Pro Retina screen and it’s definitely something that would bother me there. I always take DxOMark reviews and scores with a grain of salt, but they do show an example of this problem and list it as a con in their review, so I’m not the only one that notices it.
The sad thing is, loss of sharpness in the corners of images is usually indicative of a cheap (or not large enough) lens, which isn’t something that can be fixed via software update. The Nexus 5X and 6P use the same sensor, but have pretty great edge sharpness, likely because the lens on those phones is only f/2.0. The lower the f-stop of a lens, the harder it becomes to maintain edge to edge sharpness, so it’s really not surprising that this is happening on HTC’s f/1.8 lens. You might wonder how LG and Samsung were able to pull off f/1.8 and f/1.7 lenses with good edge to edge sharpness, and I would say it’s likely because they use smaller sensors than the Nexuses and HTC 10. Larger sensors require much larger lenses to achieve equivalent f-stop and edge sharpness, and HTC probably couldn’t stomach the extra cost or didn’t have quite enough space in the phone to make a large enough lens to achieve f/1.8 with good edge sharpness. So they compromised on edge sharpness to achieve f/1.8, probably just to match Samsung and LG on paper.
Personally, I think HTC should have stuck with the f/2.0 lens used in the Nexuses. Low light would have only taken a very minor hit and edge sharpness would have been much better, and they still would have had a leg up over the Nexuses by including OIS.
As it is, I was really tempted to switch from my S7 Edge because of the clean software, the fact that I prefer metal, and the fact that I actually like LCDs, but for whatever reason, poor edge sharpness in a camera just really grinds my OCD gears, so it’s sort of the straw that broke the camels back for me (in addition to a few other niggles I have with the 10).
This is what I also belive – the f/1.8 optics messes with sharpness. The background blur is nice and makes photos pop (atleast in close range photos), but also – as you write – cause problems with sharpness.
People just think F-stops are a matter of numbers but in reality it’s really hard. To bad the F-stop is fixed or it would be possible to use a larger f-stop to reduce sharpness.
I care less if the picture is excellent and more if it can be good when the subject is moving.
Eh, well, I’d say it’s not great there. A bit slow in the shutter.
Regarding shutter speed, I believe there was an update to the US model which made it less laggy. Is that what you see now?
Nonetheless, the colors are dull and muted. Thankfully its just a software fix away to be better.
The colors tho? Software can’t really fix that. Either the hardware is there or it isn’t. In this case the hardware seems to be not there.
Actually the hardware is there. Its the same camera sensor as the Nexus 6p, so given the raw image from that sensor, the software is the one that does the post processing. HTC can easily improve on it in the future.
I don’t think its the same setup as the Nexus 6p. Same aperture and everything? I’m going to investigate. Every year the excuse that folks give HTC is they can just issue a software update to fix the camera. It never fails.
The photos look great colors are very natural. HTC will most likely put out one more software update before the units are final
Meh
HTC has OIS
And?
You’re blind and ignorant..?
Again, the Nexus 6p camera >>>> HTC 10. Stop being a fanatic and look at things how they really are.
Lol, classic, coming from you.
Hey amigo. You may be interested in reading my last comment to teejay exposing him for the troll that he is. He’s now officially full of sh!t. Proven FACT. Lol he’s so dumb
Hey how’s it going idiot? Just thought I’d let everybody on here know how full of crap you are.
Lets end your rubbish once and for all shall we and show people what you are?
You commented on an article about the HTC 10’s release price. You said that the HTC 10 definitely isn’t worth its price. Then you revealed that you own an iPhone 6, so I asked why the iPhone 6 is worth its price according to you but the HTC 10 isn’t. Youve spent the last two weeks insisting that the iPhone IS worth its price and trying to come up with reasons why it is.
Hmmm. Well well well. Guess what I’ve found? I wonder who said the following in another discussion on the internet?
“Only Apple/Samsung can get away with the $649 & higher price tag and even their phones aren’t worth it”
Well blow me, it was YOU who said that!!! Let’s just read that last bit again ‘THEIR PHONES ARENT WORTH IT’. Oh dear, epic fail by you. But that’s not all. You also said this in reaction to the iPhone 6’s release price:
“700/800 for a phone are perfect price points?? What world do you live in? Really. A phone, we are talking a bout a phone”
And this:
“If these prices are true and people still buy them, they are sheep. Willing to be in the Apple cult”
Strange things to be saying when youve spent the last two weeks telling me the iphone is most definitely worth its price and saying that I’M the one whos full of crap for saying it isnt worth any more than the HTC 10. Not to mention the fact that youve admitted that you BOUGHT the iphone 6 after saying all of that stuff!! I guess that makes you a sheep then, by your own admission. By the way, what’s it like being in the Apple cult? Omg im laughing so hard right now. Youve been busted you freak!!! If you’re going to be a troll that talks crap all the while you need to have a good memory my friend. And you need to remember that all the things that youve said previously are out there on the internet lol. I’ve just exposed you for the silly little troll that you are.
So what’s your response now, you lying hypocrite?
LOL! Dream on!
Thanks for all the photo samples. It looks very promising. Could you include some action shots next time? Some people playing basketball, dogs running around, or something? Most of the pictures I take with my phone are of my kids playing and I don’t want to miss a picture by running and getting my good DSLR camera.
N6 …….does better than that ….
**In HDR+ mode
Not really. 6p did better in like one or two in this comparison. s7 did better in 0 as far as im concerned.
http://www.mobile01.com/topicdetail.php?f=61&t=4772105&p=1
Is it running sense? Yeah, no thanks then.
It’ll be like clockwork: people will buy this phone, and like every other skinned device, it may get one Android update. Maybe Android N, but like five months later. And then it’ll be abandoned completely. And people will be pissed.
I like how you’re bashing this phone/OEM for things you obviously don’t know about. Sense is basically stock Android now and HTC has been updating their phones faster than any other OEM besides Motorola. But they should be even faster now since the their A9 gets updates within 15 days of Nexus devices and this 10 is the same software and their actual flagship now.
I doubt he ever owned a htc phone either, seriously they get updates fast and yeah they miss that 90 day deadline sometimes but you get it! More than one update at that.. I formerly had the m7,m8 and m9 on Verizon. Heck was it the m8 that beat most flagship devices except nexus phones to lollipop, I think so.
Y’all still talking about updates? 90 days opposed to 130 and a half days. Stop the madness. Most major OEM’s are committed to 2 years of updates on their flagship phones.
Nice downplay.
You obviously know nothing about how HTC is the leader among major Android phones for updates. As other’s have stated sense is as close to stock Android as there is. They even have a site dedicated to transparency with updates to their devices. http://www.htc.com/us/go/htc-software-updates/
not bad…
thats sad..people dont believe in htc anymore..fucking morons
Lg g5 camera is miles ahead
If there’s any DL fans that can help me out, I’m getting close to winning this Anker Powerhouse. Please share with any of the services provided and I’ll happily do the same for you if need me too! Thanks! https://www.anker.com/deals/powerhouse?ic=ab34323451ff0855eb73
Just curious how this camera compared to say a Moto X Pure Edition?
Some shots are great! Narrow depth of field shots are cool. Suspect camera software updates will improve it more. Encouraged. Thanks for sharing!
Does it lag severely in low light like the One M7 did? I’ve seen that mentioned a couple of places. I realize it shouldn’t actually be as slow as the M7, but I’m wondering if it’s the same issue, just a better processor now.
It’s pretty damn slow in low light situations. If your subject is moving at all, good luck.
So it would seem like the S7/E is faster in focusing and shooting than the LG G5/HTC 10 in low light. Would you say that that’s an accurate statement?
That’s what it seems like to me. I haven’t seen a camera yet on a smartphone that focuses & shots faster than Samsung’s. It is what it is. Can’t deny that.
I just wish I could have Samsung’s S7 guts in an LG G3 body.
Well that’s frustrating. I wonder if it’s related to the “ultrapixel” or not… it was so slow on the M7…
Too much head on your beer, Kellex. Must pour slower. And with what I assume is an awesome microbrew scene in Portland, wth are you drinking a Sam Adams for?!
And now that I see that was poured on a plane, and you probably didn’t have much of a choice, I’m just going to stand in the corner and look ashamed. Nothing to see here, move along…
Yep, was on an airplane. Was this or Miller.
You definitely picked the lesser of the two evils.
Liking microbrews doesn’t automatically make you stop liking macrobrews, my man
Actually, it does. Any microbrew that’s acquired by a macrobrew automatically goes on my “do not drink” list. Lagunitas, Goose Island, etc. They are all dead to me. I just recently learned that Landshark is in fact made my AB. That was my go-to, post-MTB ride beer. Not anymore.
Life is way, way too short to drink macrobrews.
Man up! You sound like a whiney b*tch! 4-peaks was bought out (huge local micro brew in AZ), still drink it, still delicious. So what if the founders nailed it and sold it for a profit? The #1 ranked IPA, Sculpin brewed by ballest point was bought too and guess what? It’s still the best damn IPA.
Lol, what are you, 12? “Man up”? “Whiney b*tch”? Pretty funny stuff coming from a teenager. I don’t believe you’re old enough to drink with a vocabulary like that… please go back to playing Halo and let the adults talk. K? Thanks.
You can never get too much head. 😉
Colors are a bit flat with a blue cast but otherwise very solid
Thanks for the upload! This sealed the deal for me – definitely making the HTC 10 my next phone. When viewed at 100% actual pixel size, these photos look very, very decent. Samsung beginning with the S6/S7 has always been a bit too overboard with the sharpening filter and exaggerated color vibrancy in their post processing. These look much more natural to my eyes. And since it takes RAW, push come to shove that’s always an option if the shot truly mattered and my phone is the only camera I have with me.
Phew… I know the sensor is more or less a known quantity, but given HTC’s recent history with their cameras, I was still half expecting them to screw it up somehow.
I’m not photographer just your average joe who likes to take pictures every once in a while like Kellen. For my needs this is a solid camera.
Anyone here using the M8 will be upgrading to the HTC 10?
Kind of on the fence right now. Went back to my N6 for a bit after a few months with my M8 and can’t decide if I want a phone the size of the m8/10 or bigger. I might wait for it to drop price a little bit also. Not paying $699 for this from best buy
I’m still rocking the HTC one m8 and love it. The only thing not so good is the battery which is loosing it’s capacity. I asked in a trusted repair shop and they charge me 45 euros to change the battery with a new original one. I’ve been reading the reviews about the HTC 10 and sometimes wonder if I should upgrade but my m8 is still fast, smooth and great to use so I think I will hold on to it. 700 euros is a lot of money and I prefer spending it on the HTC Vive, when it becomes available in Portugal.
Anyone else shares my opinion?
Same here, love my M8. I’ve also replaced the battery and USB port in it (by myself, wasn’t that bad to do) and it beats my wife’s GS6 (a phone over a year newer) in battery life by a considerable amount, while performing just as fast in normal UI functions. Plus it got Marshmallow (on Verizon, no less) like 2-3 months before her GS6 did. I could easily go another year with the phone if I wanted to. The only reason I’m upgrading is because I’m switching from Verizon to T-Mobile and my phone isn’t really compatible with their network on most bands.
I will definitely miss my front facing speakers and IR blaster, I use both daily and wish HTC didn’t drop them. Watch them bring them back next year now, lol.
You won’t be disappointed with the speakers… Just not as LOUD as the 8
Oddly enough, my battery capacity on the M8 seems to have improved after the Marshmallow update. So other than the camera quality and a charger that suddenly became on the fritz, I probably wouldn’t mind holding off a bit more in terms of upgrading. I most likely will though.
Same here. I’m a heavy user BTW
I agree. My M8 still works almost flawlessly and usually switch between a AOSP rom and stock sense which is nice, and I usually have a thin case on the phone, so will I really notice a $700 difference? Lol.
Be patient, grasshopper..
Deals on the horizon
There are $100 off codes you can use on HTC’s site. It’s unlocked and you will need is a SIM card from your carrier.
Well unfortunately I have Verizon and recently found out (after a prepaid month) I can’t switch to T-mobile bc they have awful service where my sales route is, so the unlocked phone is out of the question.
Me!!!
I’m using M7, which at that moment was the best smartphone (from my point of view and from a lot of technical reviews’ conclusions). The problems of M7 are basically camera and battery, two problems that HTC might have solved. I never saw a good reason to upgrade from my M7 to the M8 or M9. Now I pretty have reasons to go for the HTC 10.
Definitely. Just let me test drive at a VZW store here in, Jersey
I am. Ordered mine last week on HTC’s site.
pictures a bit on the darker side particularly on the bridge and basketball hoop shot. appears to perform better in well-lit scenarios. samsung may have the edge there.
Why don’t you just put the photos in an imgur album for easy access to full resolution?
Imgur doesn’t allow large enough photos to post the full res ones. They run around 16MB whereas the limit on there is 10.
The only way this phone takes 16mb photos is if you’re talking about RAW files. The JPEGs are simply not going to be that large coming from a 12mp phone sensor.
These files range from about 3MB to 7MB.
Tell that to Miles Reiter.
Now that I actually think about it, you’re completely right. Now the only question is where the hell I got my hands on a 16mb jpg sample image from the 10, because I definitely had one the other day that I tried to upload for somebody.
http://i.imgur.com/LcEscEG.jpg
I actually think these photos look really great. I was expecting a lot worse, but I feel confident that I will really enjoy using this phone. I do agree that the sky pictures do look slightly grey. Though I’m confident that this is something that HTC can fix with software updates. Very excited to get my hands on with this phone.
Exactly. It seems like for the first time HTC has finally released a device that is free of setbacks due to hardware limitations. It looks to me that the only problems they have now are on the software side, which luckily are fixable. Iron those out and you’ve got a very capable phone!
In this comparison, the htc bests the s7 edge, and the 6p all shot in HDR. Think it’ll be alright
http://www.mobile01.com/topicdetail.php?f=61&t=4772105&p=1
They’re in htc 10, s7, 6p order
The problem for HTC is they don’t have a differentiator from all the cheap Chinese oem’s. Like all the cheap Chinese oem’s they buy their stuff off the shelves and package it together and are asking a ton for it. Using off the shelves parts, combine with commodity software is not a recipe for long term success. Not when you are asking people to pay top dollars while a ton of other vendors are using that same template and charging half the price.
I don’t disagree with you, but that statement won’t really be relevent until the Chinese manufactures make a real push for the US market. I have been dying to get my hands on a Xiaomi Mi Note Pro or a Mi5, but the lack of LTE support in the US (even Europe too) is a big downside. I probably will pick up a Mi5 as a toy when they become cheaper, but I could never use one as a daily driver without support for LTE. In a theoretical world without band restrictions, I guarantee I’d buy the Mi5 over the HTC 10 at the current price points, but since it doesn’t really work as a modern smartphone should in the US, it’s still the HTC 10 to beat.
Except HTC is not really a player in the US market with just barely 3% market shares.
Not my point though. I didn’t say they were successful in the US market, I just said they were here. Xiaomi is openly against selling officially in the US so it doesn’t really matter how many phones HTC is selling here, its the fact they are officially selling it in the first place. The Chinese phones will come to the US I am sure, but HTC still has their foot in the door as a bonus over them for now, even if that’s the only thing they have over them. The average American isn’t going to import the good Chinese phones because most American’s don’t care enough to do so it seems. I really think that if they were to try, and they could get the word out, they would sell like crazy because they are so well priced. It would force the other manufactures to reduce cost drastically I’d think too.
Xiaomi is afraid of the US market. Plus, I think they know as soon as they go in the US, lawyers will be knocking on the door. HTC does have their foot in e door but are blowing it by pricing it $699! The average American now isn’t going to support Chinese OEM’s or HTC unfortunately. In order to play the game and be successful in the US, HTC needs $$$. Without that, it a wrap for them.
Yea the lawsuits would be crazy probably. I think people would accept Xiaomi if they could ever get a foothold, however, if they kept their prices similar and their products high quality. They would have to compete on price since the marketing power of Samsung/Apple is hard to fight. HTC probably should try to compete on price as well but they still don’t seem to be because the HTC 10 is expensive, even though they are offering $100 so it technically $599 for now, but compared to the Xiaomi Mi5 at 200-400 it does seem like a really silly price considering the Mi5 has everything the HTC 10 offers minus an SD Card slot.
Very true. It’s funny to me also because I heard outside of the United States the HTC is ridiculously expensive in other countries. And that’s where Xiaomi shines outside of the US, and they make solid devices for less than half of HTC’s flagships. HTC has to remain competitive in this competitive market. When they announced the HTC 10 for $699 and the same day gave a $100 discount, that showed me 2 things: HTC overpriced the 10 so high and it’s not worth the $699 they are trying to get. I expect by July their will be crazy discounted deals on the HTC M10. Guaranteed
They did a promotional $100. off on the A9 too, nothing new. And you can’t even compare the build quality with that Xiaomi vs HTC! HTC is the master at sculpting metal devices. It’s $599. right now plus with UhOh Protection that’s worth another $100. So it’s really $499. if you don’t use the protection! Sammy and Apple love to overcharge however.
You do realize Uh Oh protection isn’t for Canada and for the US its only for devices bought directly from HTC? So you stated that is irrelevant because everyone can’t take advantage of it. Plus, not everyone has $599 upfront to preorder, so it still is $699 here in the US and higher in other countries. Thank you.
You do realize you just made that up and Uh Oh definitely applies to US markets for all carriers, right? They even support switching to other carriers.
I know it’s hard, but try to read this: https://www.htc.com/us/uh-oh-protection/priceless-protection/
Did you just link a 2015 Uh Oh Protection policy? LOLOLOLOLOLOL. You do realize HTC updated it this year 2016 right? Rookie… Here is the Uh Oh protection for SPECIFICALLY the HTC 10: http://www.htc.com/us/go/buy-htc-10/#unlocked
And just to be clear, go to HTC.com. Click Preorder HTC 10. Click the dropdown menu that says Value and it has Uh Oh Protection. Uh Oh Protection is for first 12 months you own your UNLOCKED HTC 10. IT DOES NOT SAY CARRIER VERSIONS. Sorry….
I knew reading was too hard for you. They wouldn’t have that up still if it wasn’t applicable. Here it is straight from their customer support chat:
http://i.imgur.com/gzgXsiz.png
This could be any doctored support chat dude. Try again. I could make this up on any chat program…. Rookie.
Rofl, so petty. Go talk to them yourself and post their chat response pic here then, but you can’t do that because then you would have to face being wrong! Lolz
You’ll get used to him. He’s full of crap. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about and always denies that he’s wrong, even when you spell it out to him. I made him go as quiet as a mouse though in a discussion on another website (he was criticising HTC again, it seems to be his favourite pastime). You just need to know how to treat him lol.
Showing your lack of intelligence again I see. Come back when you know something about marketing and psychology
What are you talking about?
Like I said, learn something about marketing and psychology, then you’ll know that the assumptions youve made in your previous comment are naive
That’s why I prefer it.. Got it?
Nice watch, Kellex
Yeah, I like that watch too… Halios Tropik Bronze is beautiful. As for the photos, they DO seem to be a bit less vibrant than Samsung photos – though, I think that Samsung can definitely exaggerate colors. Do you feel that the HTC 10 accurately presents colors Kellen? Since the Droid Incredible was my first Android phone, I have always had a soft spot for HTC. So if this camera ends up providing a satisfactory experience and product, I will definitely go after one.
I feel like the photos all come off a bit dull. Like the basketball hoop shot, you can’t even tell that the rim was orangeish-red. It just looks dull and brown and grey.
Thank you, thank you. 🙂
Photos look muted in many cases, especially the blues. Samsung blues are over-vibrant. Wonder if LG falls in the middle. Decent pictures nonetheless. The camera doesn’t look to be as good as Samsung’s IMO irrespective of what DxoMark says.
Totally agreed. HTC still didn’t do enough. Beat themselves? Maybe. Enough to beat competition? Nope.
Camera takes decent pics, but yeah, everything is muted and colors just seemed to fade away. I like some pop to my photos, or for them to at least present a natural look.
Well said.
I dont think there’s a bad camera on 2016 smartphones… People complaining gotta realize phones are not DSLR cameras.
Well, the 2015 M9’s was crap, so that’s why people are making such a big deal.
Source: I own an M9.
Lol
Do ya? I have a Note5 and a M8, with my brother having the M9 We used all 3 camera’s along with our girlfriends iphones on vacation. Everyone has their own preference and that’s fine, but some of our very best pictures taken on that vacation were off the M9. We had them developed, of course pictures from my M8 were not of the same quality, but the M9 pictures were far from Crap. Find it a little strange you saying that beings you said that’s the device you have.
cause you took your pics by daylight probably. I also own an M9 and camera was good by day but crap by night, mainly because it absorbs too little amount of light, and flash it’s too annoying for some people when taking a photo, not to mention it ruins some aspects of the photo.
“my room mate Mary Is getting paid on the internet 98$/hr”..,……..!wc210ctwo days ago grey MacLaren P1 I bought after earning 18,512 DoIIars..it was my previous month’s payout..just a little over.17k DoIIars Last month..3-5 hours job a day…with weekly payouts..it’s realy the simplest. job I have ever Do.. I Joined This 7 months. ago. and now making over. hourly 87 DoIIars…Learn. More right Here !wc210:➽:➽:➽➽➽➽ http://GlobalSuperJobsReportsEmploymentsCommonGetPayHourly$98…. .❖❖:❦❦:❖❖:❦❦:❖❖:❦❦:❖❖:❦❦:❖❖:❦❦:❖❖:❦❦:❖❖:❦❦:❖❖:❦❦:❖❖:❦❦:❖❖:❦❦:❖❖:❦❦::::::!wc210……
Are you nocturnal? I agree with the previous comment. I have taken better photos with the m9 in many circumstances especially raw, than I have with my s6. IMO over sharpening and over saturation do not make a good photo. I really don’t know what all the fuss is about with the Samsung cameras. They are more than capable of taking crap photos. HDR was far better on the m9 than the s6 as well.
Hey, please stop your dumb arguments… I hate non-sense and stupid fan boys like you…. All the world is pointing towards the mediocre quality of HTC m9’s camera and you are building your seperate castle… it is proven again n again n again that M9 has a mediocre camera. Please stop your urge to be different by proving something nonexistent…
I think that is sort of the point though. All smartphone cameras are mediocre cameras. Sure, the M9 is worse than other phones, but in most situations and for most people, they won’t even recognize the dip in quality because it’s a cellphone camera and no one cares.
What do you mean it’s been proven many times over. Talking about being a fanboy! If you didn’t have your head so far up Samsung’s or Apples ass and actually owned a M9. Then maybe you wouldn’t leave such a stupid false comment. It’s been said MANY TIMES OVER on MANY tech sites that the M9 is very capable of taking great shots in the day. You hate when people argue about non-sense yet here you are acting as if you have knowledge about something you know NOTHING about. The M9 does take very good photos in daylight which is a fact. Which is also what we were pointing out, nothing more
M9 takes OKAY shots at best in daylight, but totally fails in low light conditions. That and combined with the Snapdragon 810 (Qualcomm’s fault, not HTC’s) is why HTC M9 was an epic fail. The market has spoken.
Use the flash, that’s what it’s there for
again, as an M9 user I do agree that auto mode doesn’t use the full potential of the camera, but there are two problems with shooting at RAW.
– It takes time to setup the parameters properly
– It takes time and knowledge, to edit the RAW file properly.
Smartphones should act like a point and shoot camera, not like a DSLR one. There’s not a bad thing bad enough to not be able to get something good from it, and HTC learned a lot after the M9, this year seems very promising, it may be not be the best (yet, there are many software versions out there to make sure which photo belongs to which) but it’s a very solid competitor in every area, something I couldn’t say about the M9 sadly, no matter how much I liked it.
It was daylight, that’s when I prefer to take my pictures. I would much rather my camera take good day photos over night. Taking photos at night isn’t important to me. Most Camera’s on a phone that can take a brighter shot at night tend to be washed out and very grainy, so what’s the point
Use the flash?
flash gets the photo brighter, but that doesn’t means better
“We had them developed” I didn’t know the M9 took film!
I guess he means to process the RAW file manually with a software RAW editing tool like darktable or adobe lightroom
Does he? I don’t think that’s apparent. Most smartphone owners don’t even mess with raw capture and editing. Are you defending him just because you thought I was being a d*ck? 😉
I’m not defending him, I was just giving an opinion based on the context, the situation and my experience having the same phone 🙂 using all of the above I came into that conclusion
Very well good sir. Cheeri-o! =)
Thanks for pointing that out for me genius
Your take your phone to the photo place and they develop them from the images on your phone
I get it. But they don’t “develop” anything. They just print it. Only film and old school dark room photos get “developed”.
I do. I also have an S7 edge, and its pictures are significantly better. The M9’s horrible stabilization makes most pics turn out blurry, and the low light is awful as well. The app itself has some cool features, but the hardware lets it down.
The shots on the s7/s7e edge pale in comparison to last year’s s6 and even the g5/v10
That’s completely subjective, and isn’t really relevant.
“my room mate Mary Is getting paid on the internet 98$/hr”..,……..!wc338ctwo days ago grey MacLaren P1 I bought after earning 18,512 DoIIars..it was my previous month’s payout..just a little over.17k DoIIars Last month..3-5 hours job a day…with weekly payouts..it’s realy the simplest. job I have ever Do.. I Joined This 7 months. ago. and now making over. hourly 87 DoIIars…Learn. More right Here !wc338:➽:➽:➽➽➽➽ http://GlobalSuperJobsReportsEmploymentsUrgentGetPayHourly$98…. .❖❖:❦❦:❖❖:❦❦:❖❖:❦❦:❖❖:❦❦:❖❖:❦❦:❖❖:❦❦:❖❖:❦❦:❖❖:❦❦:❖❖:❦❦:❖❖:❦❦:❖❖:❦❦::::::!wc338……
English,mfer, do you speak it?
I have to agree, @Juan Carlos, about the M9. The camera really really struggles as soon as it gets even slightly below optimal light conditions. It took amazing daytime photos, but the grainy-ness of low light photos was just horrible. I started taking all my low-light photos with the selfie camera which is brilliant. The rear camera also has some colour balance issues, never seemed to be able to get accurate colours out of it.
Anyways, I’m patiently awaiting the HTC 10 release in Australia so I can get my hands on one, as I’m a pretty avid HTC fan having owned every HTC flagship since the One X. Favourite HTC ever still remains as the HTC Desire Z though, lol.
That’s because that’s what people do on forums (complains). I have yet to see a product (tech) release where some people did not take issue with something. It’s like no one think things through, every product is a balancing act of compromises. There will never be a perfect product, but that still won’t stop folks from B****ing.
Unless their talking about the all mighty perfected Iphone of course.
cameras like speakers or headphones are subject to pretty strict scientific barriers. There is only so much you can do with post-processing and focus pixels until the reality that you can’t make a sensor absorb more light. They can decrease the amount of pixels (increase their size) so more cover the sensor and you get a faster, more crisp image that is less detailed, or you can put in a bigger sensor and chunk up the phone. Or both.
At this stage, snappy CPUs, relatively large sensors for a phone, solid processing (Samsung has some work to do), and fewer pixels have been the key to consistency. And since everyone is doing this in 2016 with their flagships, every camera is going to be very well done. Kudos to HTC and everyone else.
I don’t know sh!t about cameras, but for my needs, my N6P gets the job done. Lol
You’re not wrong, takes good photos.
the 6P has a very similar (if not the same) lens then the HTC 10. The main difference it’s the 10 also has OIS + Laser auto focus
But still 6p take better photos than 10, as photo comparison shows… I think HTC has used cheap optics for Nexus 6p’s camera… OR may be, HTC needs improvement in software. HTC advertised the camera of Htc 10 as “world’s first, world class camera” and now it is proving to be behind the competition.. Which is a shame for htc… Htc never fail to fall behind the competition…
I’ve seen it fair pretty well against the 6p in most tests. Also, the 6p doesn’t have a sapphire lens.
To be honest, I’d just wait for the final release of software version before getting into that conclusion, there are many version out there; I’ve seen reviews with software 1.20 and 1.21, leaks from 1.24 and they’re still tuning the algorithms.
Also let’s remember the photos 6P takes now are not precisely the same quality is the ones it was taking when it came out. A couple of software updates refined it to what it is today, so why not give the same benefit to HTC?
They made a compromise between going 1.8 or 2.0 F, there is problems with edge sharpness even on expensive DSLR optics @1.8F, so having it in a tiny, size constrained camera as the one on 10 is just expected.
The 6p doesn’t really count because you can’t buy it at the carrier… And world’s first is dual ois cameras… This is true, and it is a world class camera because the photos look better then on the gs7/edge imo
Not the same lense but the same sensor
that’s totally right, thanks for the correction! 🙂
Same sensor perhaps, but if you care to learn a thing about optics the fact that they went with f/1.8 instead of 2 will affect sharpness, more then you think. My 1.8 lens has worse sharpness then my 3.5 on same width and still cost 3 times as much.
of course it affects depth of field as well, having a bigger F stop has pro and cons, and that’s something the processing software has to deal with. Samsung has F/1.7 and it’s looking fine so far. I thought that’d be the acceptable limit that can be taken under control, but now I heard they’re working on f/1.4 lens, that’s just too much imo but let’s wait and see
Most cameras are good, but samsung needs to push an update that removes the yellow tint to their images. My s7e has a serious case of making everything a bit to yellow/orange, and I know this is strictly a software issue.
DSLR vs phone, no tripod = S7 wins ( i am in no way a samsung phanboy, have a nexus 6p and only samsung i’ve owned is a gnex)
http://elementalx.org/smartphone-camera-vs-dslr/
Now if you could put the dslr on a tripod, of course, no contest. But handheld vs handheld it doesn’t seem to do so hot in typical photo conditions.
Interesting. But all that’s really saying is that particular person has shaky hands/makes for a bad sniper 🙂
OR they have no idea what they are doing…
A DSLR or a mirrorless camera is going to destroy any camera phone.
You can’t really say that either. DSLRs are just a different beast altogether.
Example 1):
I can buy an entry-level DSLR with a crappy $100 kit-lens and it wont be able to focus close enough for me to take macro shots the way my G4 can. In this case, the G4 “destroys” the DSLR, but if I get a better DSLR and a dedicated macro lens, yes, the DSLR destroys the phone.
Example 2):
I’m at a rock concert and I want to take a selfie. My DSLR is large, cumbersome, and I only brought my small 50mm lens on it. Good luck trying to focus, frame and fit more than just my mouth or forehead in the shot, let alone any friends. Phone “destroys” DSLR
Bottom line is that in the photography world there are lots of tools, and sometimes the cell phone is the better tool to get the shot you need.
I agree with your examples mostly. I still think even a DSLR with a kit lens is going to wreck a cell phone camera when you actually look at the photo.
But yeah, physically a DSLR camera isn’t something I can keep in my pocket. And the best camera is the one you have on you!
But DSLR is also going the way of the buffalo. Mirrorless cameras are much smaller.
You can’t say that with certainty as a general rule though. My G4 destroys all my DSLR bodies (some as expensive as $6000 when new) for the first example because I don’t own a dedicated macro lens. My work is not dependent on macro photography so I never invested in one. All my other “pro” lenses that cost $2-3K can’t focus on anything closer than 18″. My $200 subsidized G4 absolutely destroys even a $8-9K DSLR rig in this aspect.
Now if you’re talking about image quality and in-camera processing, sure, the DSLRs will be much much better at producing a clean image with their larger sensors. But then you have lots of folks who will prefer the heavily processed, saturated JPGs out of a Samsung Galaxy phone (or any modern phone with HDR) over the flat, untouched images from a DSLR. This can get very subjective.
Uh… Wut?
LOL
” If I had to use one of these devices to photograph my daughter’s birthday party or gymnastics, I would choose the Samsung Galaxy S7.”
Are you planning on shooting still guitars at the birthday parties and gymnastic sessions? With or without a tripod?
Well you are just defining what is being measured so narrowly that it doesn’t generalize to those situations. He even states in the article IIRC that what he’s looking at here is performance in indoor lighting – which does generalize to most of my situations, wheras a tripod isn’t really relevant to this discussion.
“So narrowly” What? He provided me the situations he expects to shoot in. He expects the same results as the guitar which is just ridiculous. Modern camera phones will never be as good, convenient, and optimizable as DSLRs.
Clearly you don’t understand how photography works. That’s like saying “Car vs Train, no track = car wins”. Way too many variables to even discus here. Educate yourself a bit before making blanket statements.
My only statement was to try and summarize an article written by someone more knowledgeable than myself. from the same article, he also states that it’s all about processing power, and a phone has more. I even linked to the source.
I made no statements based on my own knowledge, and I posted an article by someone who IS educated int he subject, and it spurred lots of discussion.
Sorry if that offended you. I’ve got a masters and a doctorate, but before I write my own article, I’ll make sure to educate myself on the topic. Here I just linked to another’s work with a brief description.
People also gotta realize these can easily replace point and shoot cameras. When many phones have been doing the job for YEARS and others haven’t, those that haven’t are the ones we are looking for to improve. HTC just happens to be one of them. I want to like it. And these photos are pretty decent. But the camera software jank mentioned is a killer for me. That puts HTC in the same boat as Moto phones in my opinion. Somehow Samsung and LG have been doing this right for years but others keep releasing phones that claim a revolution in photos but end up being something that should have never left QA much less be released in a production phone. My G3 can take a perfectly focused picture on a dime and its almost 2 years old. I expect a 2016 phone to have a camera that can at least match it. There’s zero excuses in 2016.
Just wait for Motorola’s 2016 smartphone cameras…they always manage to let us down.
People talked trash about the Moto X Pure camera, and while it definitely sucked in low light, I took some mind blowing pictures with it in good lighting that even the best cameras from Samsung and LG would be jealous of.
My biggest problem with the moto x pures camera is the app. It’s sooo basic.
Pretty much. It’s good to be a consumer in 2016. Want top quality optics, fit and finish? HTC 10/S7 family. Want something different with a replaceable battery? LG G5. Prefer native android with great build quality? Nexus 6p. Want a cheaper nexus with decent optics. 5x.
Even with DSLRs if you take a picture in a dark restaurant or night club, or with poor lighting, expect those photos to be ? also.
Hell, there wasn’t really a bad camera on 2015 phones. But I’m glad I have a wife with her own DSLR and phone to take all of our pics so I don’t have to bother with it. I couldn’t care less how good the camera is on my phone as long as I can use it to deposit checks with my bank, that’s about the only time I use it, hah.
Says the guy using an M8……
Yeah…? lol Why else would I have an M8 if I cared about the camera? You’re quite the special one, you.. 😉
The question is why even have a M8 period? It’s ancient. Interesting, very interesting. Hold up, let me go get this S4 out the drawer. LOL. I just playing man. Just playing.
The question is why do you care period? Interadasting, very interadasting. =p
Take my money!