Mobile Photography - HTC One

Leslie

Leslie

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Leslie
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Hi,

I'm coming up to upgrade time for my phone and I'm considering the HTC One. I'm a big fan if the adage that 'the best camera is the one you have with you' and as I always have my phone with me I want one with as good a camera as possible.

With that in mind, I'm intrigued by the stance HTC are taking with regard to pixel counts. In the phone spec sheet the camera is listed as having an 'Ultrapixel' sensor. When you delve a bit deeper what they are effectively doing is giving you a 4MP sensor but the pixels on the sensor are bigger than most of their competitors.

This link here, http://www.htc.com/www/zoe/ultrapixel-sensor-size/ pretty much sums it up.

What I'd like to know is if there is anyone out there with enough technical knowledge that could tell me if this is true or if it's all just marketing baloney.

I really like the results I can get with my Samsung Galaxy S2 (8MP) but find that I need to heavily crop most shots. Would cropping to the same extent be possible on a shot taken on a 4MP Ultrapixel sensor do you think?
 
Competition pic just looks underexposed to me...

From that chart I'd get a nokia N8. The phone bit is pretty dire but as a camera it is damn good and beats the pants off most of the phone competition, including expensive iphones.

Most mobiles have wide angle lenses so cropping is a more likely occurrence. Cropping on a 4mp will lose so much you'll gain nothing.

How is the galaxy s3 compared to the s2? That would be another choice.
 
The camera in the S3 is the same as in the S2.

The new Samsung Galaxy S4 is due to be unveiled in a couple of weeks and the rumour is that it will have a 13MP sensor. I might wait for that.
 
Lumia 920 or Pureview 808 is what I'd recommend too.

920 if you want decent performance in low light etc or the 808 for uber daytime performance.

Alternatively, you can wait a little while as Nokia is rumored to be announcing their first Windows phone with the same 41MP Pureview sensor as the 808 or possibly an improved version.
 
Phal said:
Alternatively, you can wait a little while as Nokia is rumored to be announcing their first Windows phone with the same 41MP Pureview sensor as the 808 or possibly an improved version.
Click to expand...

Don't count on that coming too soon. For now the 920 is class leading and the PRC 1.1 software update pushes it further and has some fixes.
 
I'll have a look at the 920. My last two phones have been Android and I like the apps you can get in the Play Store, namely, Photoshop express and Snapspeed.

No one seems to be convinced by the 4MP Ultrapixel sensor in the HTC One???

Thanks for the suggestions so far.
 
I have an HTC Desire HD which has an 8MP camera, like most camera phones great for larking about down the pub, but a 7D it ain't. You would get better results from a Canon Ixus 8MP or similar, small enough to slip in your pocket.
 
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Leslie said:
I'll have a look at the 920. My last two phones have been Android and I like the apps you can get in the Play Store, namely, Photoshop express and Snapspeed.

No one seems to be convinced by the 4MP Ultrapixel sensor in the HTC One???

Thanks for the suggestions so far.
Click to expand...

I skimmed through a review and the people commenting weren't impressed by the results of this new tech.

I'd definitely recommend the 920 though :) love mine and the prospect that there's something new coming out in the future with an improved version of the original 41MP sensor is quite exciting.
 
Thanks for all the replies.

I'll have a look at the Nokia, but I think I'll take some convincing to move away from Android. I think I'm going to pass on the HTC One, no one seems convinced by the Ultrapixel sensor.
 
Shot this last night with my HTC Desire HD, not too bad, but I'd still go with a compact if I was serious about a carry everywhere camera and didn't want to take the DSLR

HTC_0031.jpg
 
One of the big plusses for for using my phone is the ability to capture, edit and upload an image all from the one device.

I went from this
8511780319_78f542d9de.jpg
[/url] Before by Leslie Stoddart, on Flickr[/IMG]

to this
8512889268_ea5fd2d09f.jpg
[/url] After by Leslie Stoddart, on Flickr[/IMG]

In about 5 minutes using the Snapspeed app for Android on my phone.
 
I own an HTC One X and I find the camera on my girlfriend's iPhone 5 to be better.
I'm not sure if the battery would last you a whole day anyway. The battery is truely shocking for a smart phone.
 
I don't want to use my DSLR to edit my pictures much in the same way that I don't want to use my phone to edit my pics :P

Most smartphone batteries don't last long in my experience and this is especially the case if you're using it alot. This seems to be another reason for not doing any editing on the phone.

Lumia 920 and Pureview 808 phones definitely have the best cameras but the Iphone 5 isn't bad. One of the HTCs was also in alot of the reviews I read before buying my Lumia 920 and that seemed ok but was still not as good as the 920 or the iphone
 
Leslie said:
Hi,

I'm coming up to upgrade time for my phone and I'm considering the HTC One. I'm a big fan if the adage that 'the best camera is the one you have with you' and as I always have my phone with me I want one with as good a camera as possible.

With that in mind, I'm intrigued by the stance HTC are taking with regard to pixel counts. In the phone spec sheet the camera is listed as having an 'Ultrapixel' sensor. When you delve a bit deeper what they are effectively doing is giving you a 4MP sensor but the pixels on the sensor are bigger than most of their competitors.

This link here, http://www.htc.com/www/zoe/ultrapixel-sensor-size/ pretty much sums it up.

What I'd like to know is if there is anyone out there with enough technical knowledge that could tell me if this is true or if it's all just marketing baloney.

I really like the results I can get with my Samsung Galaxy S2 (8MP) but find that I need to heavily crop most shots. Would cropping to the same extent be possible on a shot taken on a 4MP Ultrapixel sensor do you think?
Click to expand...

I`m guessing no, as its still 4MP whether its ultrapixel or whatever, 8MP gotta be better for cropping than 4MP and those comparison pictures they showed at the launch i wouldn`t trust, like someone has already said they looked massively under exposed.

i recently got an iphone 5 and love it and have been taking more photos than i ever have done before, if i want proper pro shots then the DSLR gets used, but for the everyday pics of family (important ones!) i use the iphone 5.
 
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I think there is no escaping from the fact that mobile cameras are merely suitable for uploading receipts to topcashback or similar 'documentary'. Just pick the phone with best reception, good battery life, reliability and build quality and then look for extra features (my bitter lesson - nexus 4)
 
daugirdas said:
I think there is no escaping from the fact that mobile cameras are merely suitable for uploading receipts to topcashback or similar 'documentary'. Just pick the phone with best reception, good battery life, reliability and build quality and then look for extra features (my bitter lesson - nexus 4)
Click to expand...

I think we all know thats not true! The web is full of so many examples of really good photo's taken on phones that I'm not even going to bother supplying links.
 
lodious said:
It's not really a 'bitter' lesson is it? It's you making a big deal out of nothing, then blowing it up on the internet.
Click to expand...

Thats what its for :D. But to be fair I was far better of with Desire as far as making a phone call is concerned, and I believe phones are still for calling
 
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