Help HTC M8 Camera Discussion-Show off your pictures!

[sean76]

Here are the results of the blind camera comparison phonearena.com ran over the weekend:

Nokia Lumia 1520 tops our blind camera comparison while Nexus 5 ends up last; HTC One (M8) finishes sixth

I always find it interesting to see what a couple thousand average Joes think in a blind, hence more objective, test. I hope they do this again after the S5 gets into their hands.

Yea I enjoy reading results like that as well. But as an owner of both the iPhone 5S and a Nexus 5 I can say that they both take some pretty good pics, both are better then the GS4 and HTC one 2013, and I can attest to that because I've owned those 2 as well. Sometimes its the photographer making the difference just as much as what's taking the picture.

 

[SolApathy]

Thanks for adding some more pictures and the blind review. Can't wait to get mine so I can take a compilation of shots ... Still showing mine "in processing" from Sprint

 

[olbriar]

This was shared on the HTC Elevate site. I don't know if it means anything to anyone but it's HTC's take on their cameras.

Here are the hilights:

The rear sensor retains the same pixel size of 2.0 um, the physical sensor is 1/3", 28mm lens, f/2.0 lens
HTC ImageChip 2, which allows the phone to now do real-time HDR 1080p video
The front-facing camera has been boosted to 5 megapixels, using an f/2.0 lens and a BSI sensor, an ultra-wide angle lens, and HDR images
The two rear-facing lenses mimic the stereoscopic vision capabilities of the human eye; two independent lenses allow it to detect and calculate the relative distance of subjects in the image
Optical Image Stabilization technology is not compatible with the Duo Camera system, so a software-based Smart Stabilization system has been created
Faster focusing: it will lock on in 0.3 seconds, a dramatic improvement
UFocus allows you to leverage the depth information from the second sensor to re-focus your images after the fact and apply an artistic blur called "bokeh"
A new feature called Foregrounder allows you to emphasize the subject of a photo and apply various effects to the background
Seasons is a fun way to add motion and ambiance to your images
Dimension Plus is a new way to look at your photos, giving you a unique effect
We've created a twin LED Smart Flash system that will vastly improve the photos you take using a flash
When you pick up the phone as though you're going to take a picture in landscape mode, and press the volume button, the camera will launch

and the PDF:

https://chaordix-htc-elevate-prod.s...84539-HTC_One_M8_Duo_Camera_-_White_Paper.pdf

 

[SolApathy]

That link does not open the proper PDF document.

 

[TonM]

Try this link,

HTC One M8 Duo Camera White Paper

 

[sean76]

 

[sikclown]

Yeah definitely a difference but the M8's video is significantly clearer and crisper. I can see how no OIS will no doubt kill this phone for some, but I am rarely filming video while moving so it doesn't kill it for me. The videos I have filmed so far have been great (for me).

 

[SolApathy]

While there is no hardware OIS HTC uses "Smart Stabilization", a software ISP in the ImageSense 2 chip, to combat camera shake.

Unfortunately standard OIS cannot be used because there are two cameras.

 

[sean76]

While there is no hardware OIS HTC uses "Smart Stabilization", a software ISP in the ImageSense 2 chip, to combat camera shake.

Unfortunately standard OIS cannot be used because there are two cameras.

Yea that I've heard...but the shakiness is just to much for me.

I'm in the fitness industry and am filming moving objects so for me nexus 5 works very well when I need to shoot a quick video. The M7 did really well also when I owned it.

 

[Deleted User]

I would like to clear up some misconceptions.

The first: this phone has a 4.8 mp rear camera.

This is not true. It is 4.8 ultra pixels. Their are 4 megapixels to every ultra pixel. This means we have 19.2 megapixels

Second: the pictures are combined... This is semi true. Actually the software uses trig to get the distances based on angles. It stores this data in the jpeg and deletes the smaller cameras picture.

Finally here's the camera in low light

 

[EarlyMon]

I would like to clear up some misconceptions.

The first: this phone has a 4.8 mp rear camera.

This is not true. It is 4.8 ultra pixels. Their are 4 megapixels to every ultra pixel. This means we have 19.2 megapixels

Wow, you have that totally borked. See what I emphasized above.

Please see my posts in the M7 camera thread for details on the sensor geometry.

An Ultrapixel is up to four times the area of other pixels. But not quite 4 or even 3 times as a lot of others.

The total sensor size is about a third of an inch in diameter.

That total area along with the f-stop fixes the total light available flowing to the sensor. For any digital camera.

Now divide into number of pixels (or Ultrapixels) to get an idea of the noise.

And they understated the number last year down to 4 MegaUltrapixels as well, for marketing purposes.

This isn't the equivalent of 19 megapixels, it is exactly what it is - more light and less noise per pixel, at the expense of number of pixels total.

They could have used more pixels, made it a half or three-quarter inch sensor. And made a bigger lens for that and had it stick out further.

But they didn't, they did the 4+ MegaUltrapixels instead.

 

[sikclown]

Thank you for catching that one Early.... My head nearly exploded like in Scanners after reading that I had a 19+mp HTC camera in my hands 😏

 

[Deleted User]

I was talking in a layman's terms in a way, but thank you for the technical correction all together, the device does have 4.8 ultra pixels. The front camera has 4.9 mega pixels. You're Definitely right on the technical aspects here though. Basically, we're both saying though it's an impressive camera EM is more accurate than I though

 

[Tlicious1020]

Why did HTC get rid of OIS? It's not needed since the camera can focus in 0.3 seconds.

 

[sean76]

I was talking in a layman's terms in a way, but thank you for the technical correction all together, the device does have 4.8 ultra pixels. The front camera has 4.9 mega pixels. You're Definitely right on the technical aspects here though. Basically, we're both saying though it's an impressive camera EM is more accurate than I though

Regardless of the marketing terms of whatever it is that they used it's still a lens that let's a ton of light in, but suffers at that expense by losing detail. The pics in so many situations just really suffer on showing detail. And for some reason from what I'm seeing from just about every review is that the camera gets very confused when in a highly lit situation, maybe a software update can fix this? When in video mode, when pointed at an area with a lot of light the camera lens doesn't adapt to the bright light and just do what a lot of other cameras do and adjust to the lighting situation.

Lol, should this phone take absolutely amazing photos that I can blow up and hang in my house? I don't think to many cameras on any phone that are on the market at the moment can do that, but should it be on par with the other flagship's on the market? Yes IMO.

If history is any indication of how cameras on phones go, its that manufacturers have been releasing updates that address some camera woos. Just recently both the moto x and nexus were god awful when taking pics and updates were released that addressed some issues, so maybe there is hope in getting a fix, but there is only so much that can be done to address the loss of detail from the low count of megapixels.

 

[sean76]

Why did HTC get rid of OIS? It's not needed since the camera can focus in 0.3 seconds.

Its Very Needed! Does shutter speed matter when your shooting a video?
Without OIS its almost impossible to shoot a video without it looking like your hand is shaking. Do a search on you tube comparing the M7 with OIS compared to the M8 without OIS, the results are night and day.

Clearly it was not a very intelligent move by HTC, then again have we ever in the history of smart phones seen a manufacturer release a phone with a higher megapixel count on the front vs a lower one (main camera) on the back? Some things just can't be explained.

 

[sikclown]

Clearly it was not a very intelligent move by HTC, then again have we ever in the history of smart phones seen a manufacturer release a phone with a higher megapixel count on the front vs a lower one (main camera) on the back? Some things just can't be explained.

I think HTC is trying to be different (because they have to) anyway they can and I think they pay attention, to a degree, of what their core customer wants and needs. HTC is my go to phone maker and I am not unique in that. I just kind of have a love hate affair with them and while they do things that make me scratch my head at times, I still enjoy even the gimmicks. It's kind of like going to see a movie; The movie will be better if you appreciate it for what it is and not what it isn't.

OIS still is not very common on cell phones. Unfortunately the dual camera setup makes it very difficult and cost prohibitive to implement. Most people that need OIS are like me and have the high end SLR cameras with a nice zoom lens and a tripod to ensure steady shots.

I think the higher megapixel front camera is a bold move. In the age of selfies and those times when you want to take a nice shot of yourself with someone else (when no one is around) it is a great idea at minimal cost to HTC. Sure it's a gimmick...But it's not a bad one in my opinion

I don't understand why HTC did not release a higher resolution rear ultrapixel cam, but if I was to guess I would say they are still trying to work out the bugs in the 4UP sensor before jumping to a higher resolution camera that may not perform as advertised. I would speculate a 8UP camera for next year. This is still a relatively new adaptation that has only been out a year.

Yup, I agree with all of this 100%

 

[sean76]

OIS still is not very common on cell phones. Unfortunately the dual camera setup makes it very difficult and cost prohibitive to implement. Most people that need OIS are like me and have the high end SLR cameras with a nice zoom lens and a tripod to ensure steady shots.

I think the higher megapixel front camera is a bold move. In the age of selfies and those times when you want to take a nice shot of yourself with someone else (when no one is around) it is a great idea at minimal cost to HTC. Sure it's a gimmick...But it's not a bad one in my opinion

I don't understand why HTC did not release a higher resolution rear ultrapixel cam, but if I was to guess I would say they are still trying to work out the bugs in the 4UP sensor before jumping to a higher resolution camera that may not perform as advertised. I would speculate a 8UP camera for next year. This is still a relatively new adaptation that has only been out a year.

You my friend have seen the light, see what you just said...Next Year!!! Exactly, Next Year they will do the bump in camera specs. But what good does that do us this year, what good does that do you this year. Because you very well know that next year your going to run out and buy it because you want the better camera.

IMO they had a year to decide what to do with the camera and how to bump up the specs, plenty of time if you ask me. Instead they went with something that people b#tched about last year and just added a duo camera... Ehh whatever, in any event I'll be picking up the M9 or whatever they call it if camera specs are on point, which they most likely will.

 

[sikclown]

You my friend have seen the light, see what you just said...Next Year!!! Exactly, Next Year they will do the bump in camera specs. But what good does that do us this year, what good does that do you this year. Because you very well know that next year your going to run out and buy it because you want the better camera.

IMO they had a year to decide what to do with the camera and how to bump up the specs, plenty of time if you ask me. Instead they went with something that people b#tched about last year and just added a duo camera... Ehh whatever, in any event I'll be picking up the M9 or whatever they call it if camera specs are on point, which they most likely will.

There you go with your theory again. Research and Development does not always yield success in a given time frame. They had some choices:

1) Increase the pixel count on their Ultrapixels somehow (I am saying somehow because I am not an engineer, scientist, photographer, etc) ,which I am assuming from the fact that they didn't do that is very difficult or not ready, and risk having a complete mess.

2) They could improve image quality and flirt with some new features/gimmicks on their existing technology that was both loved and loathed depending on who you asked. Which we know they did.

3) They could abandon the Ultrapixel all together and slap a 16 MP camera on the phone, which personally I feel would have been a huge mistake.

There are some other paths they could have gone but you get the gist of what I am saying. I just can't believe that they are holding back on features in order to make sales next year. They don't have the luxury of being able to do that unlike Samsung or Apple; every year is critical to their survival. Samsung and Apple could likely get away with tiny gimmicky upgrades for a few years before they would feel any financial pressure.

 

[Granite1]

Moved a bunch of camera discussion over here. Any issues shoot me a line.

 

[sikclown]

So these are the kinds of pictures I am taking and posting on my Facebook, etc. using uFocus. When you blow them up you can see the limitations and flaws but I love these kinds of shots personally.

 

[Granite1]

Nice more photos!!

I like that focus effect, pretty cool.

Yeah, I'm gonna get this phone who am I kidding.

 

[rangergrrl]

Just upgraded from the HTC EVO 4G LTE today and so far the M8 camera is great...really fast and seems to be taking great pics.

 

[jasonspeed]

Here are some photos of our basement taken with the lights off. Evo4G and M8. I will ad the S5 when it gets here

 

[Deleted User]

M8 is the second right?