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HTC One versus S4 Camera

spinedoc77

spinedoc77

macrumors G4
Original poster
Jun 11, 2009
11,394
5,257
I hated diverging the other threads about the S4 and the One so I figured a new thread specifically talking about the camera would make sense. I've been doing a lot of looking around as I really really like the One as my next phone, but was quite concerned at what on the surface looks like an inferior camera. Delving deeper and it seems that to a certain extent we all get caught up in this megapixel race that in part is marketing to sell next year's bigger and better camera and/or phone including that camera.

This is the best review I've read so far from Anandtech:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6747/htc-one-review/4

They bring up some excellent points, explain the technology and the pros and cons of having more megapixels but smaller sensors, and vice versa as in the One. What is really attracting me to the One is the low light performance seems very impressive. I HATE using flash on taking pictures, it just makes the picture colors seem so unnatural and makes pictures look awful IMO. One advantage of the One is having to use the flash much much less when taking pictures.

The reviewer also states: There is no question in my mind that the One includes the best camera in the Android space right now with the right tradeoff between resolution and sensitivity.

Strong words from a trusted review web site.

I'm not advocating the One quite yet as I'm still trying to decide between that and a S4, or maybe just hold out for a iphone 5s. I'm curious what others have to say, especially if anyone has any real life experience to compare to other phones. I'm especially interested in print quality as my goal in taking pictures is to eventually print them. It seems all of these megapixel arguments go out the window if we are just keeping the pictures on our phones and desktops, so printing seems to be a relevant, if not arguably the most relevant point.
 
Sylon

Sylon

macrumors 68020
Feb 26, 2012
2,032
80
Michigan/Ohio, USA
I've been doing photography for quite a while now, however I've never been into printing them out. Now this question is strictly on resolution, not specifically to either of these phones. Wouldn't a higher resolution produce more detail in a printed photo?
 
K

Kashsystems

macrumors 6502
Jul 23, 2012
358
1
HTC One is the best smartphone camera for drunken bar/rave goers who constantly place themselves in these situations were a solid low light camera is a necessity.

:p
 
MRU

MRU

macrumors Penryn
Aug 23, 2005
25,368
8,948
a better place
Kashsystems said:
HTC One is the best smartphone camera for drunken bar/rave goers who constantly place themselves in these situations were a solid low light camera is a necessity.

:p
Click to expand...

EXACTLY!!! This is 100% it.


_________________________________________________________________

Anyway....


I think i've said it more than enough times on my time with both devices in most scenarios the S4's camera is far better mostly down to the extra pixels. There is no getting away with it that a 13 million pixel photograph is able to capture more detail in distant objects than a 4 million pixel photo.


Here is the simplest way of me putting it without having to re-iterate everything I've said a million times before.....



At best the HTC One's camera is satisfactory / good enough
At worst the HTC One's camera is quite poor

At best the Galaxy S4's camera is amazing / fantastic
At its worst the Galaxy S4's camera is only satisfactory



Make of that what you will.... If your buying a phone based solely on taking photographs then just buy the S4.

If photographs are only a small part of your decision then you have to decide what kind of snapper you are, if you are a social snapper the HTC one is perfectly fine. At that point you need to decide over aesthetics and Sense / Touchwiz.


----------
Sylon said:
I've been doing photography for quite a while now, however I've never been into printing them out. Now this question is strictly on resolution, not specifically to either of these phones. Wouldn't a higher resolution produce more detail in a printed photo?
Click to expand...

Yes. Especially if you are shooting landscape / seascape shots where the detail is beyond normal focal length.
 
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Tinmania

Tinmania

macrumors 68040
Aug 8, 2011
3,528
1,016
Aridzona
spinedoc77 said:
The reviewer also states: There is no question in my mind that the One includes the best camera in the Android space right now with the right tradeoff between resolution and sensitivity.

Strong words from a trusted review web site.
Click to expand...
I think this illustrates just how far Anandtech has dropped, reliability wise. Their word needs to stop being taken as gospel in my opinion. I no longer do.



Michael
 
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P

Peterg2

macrumors 6502a
Jan 28, 2008
818
15
Montreal, Canada
I have not quite made up my mind regarding whether I will buy the HTC One (if I go Android, it will be the one - poor pun -). I might just get an iPhone 5 or 5s due to the outstanding customer service (Apple store 10 minutes away).

Anyhow, to the topic at hand - and I have just played with both in a store and am not qualified to give meaningful comments.

I am in Canada and here are two reviews - mobilesyrup (probably the best Canadian site for cell phone news) and Howard Forums (our main cell phone forum, mostly to do with carriers).

http://mobilesyrup.com/2013/04/17/htc-one-review-video/ (read the whole section on Camera. Here is one excerpt:

Despite lacking a dedicated camera button, the HTC One outshines most of the competition in the imaging experience. While daylight photos lack the detail of an 8- or 13MP sensor, it stands up to devices like the iPhone 5 and Galaxy S4 in that regard while utterly trouncing them in low-light situations.


Here is Howard Chui (the owner of howardforums.com)

http://www.howardforums.com/content.php/1229-Is-One-4-Our-HTC-One-review/view/3 - read the whole page)

"Overall, I loved the HTC One’s camera. Sometimes less is more. To me, it’s versatility makes it the one to beat."


I would fully agree that with outdoor landscape shots, the One is going to be a lot inferior to the S4. I suppose it really comes down to the mix of photos you take.
 
P

Peterg2

macrumors 6502a
Jan 28, 2008
818
15
Montreal, Canada
Tinmania said:
I think this illustrates just how far Anandtech has dropped, reliability wise. Their word needs to stop being taken as gospel in my opinion. I no longer do.



Michael
Click to expand...

That is fair enough but I believe Brian Klug is very well qualified to discuss cell phone cameras when you look at his education and experience (see on the first page below). Here is a link to a presentation he gave and published on Anandtech in February this year.

I don't see anything of the sort on any cell phone review site which compares remotely to this:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/6777/understanding-camera-optics-smartphone-camera-trends
 
Tinmania

Tinmania

macrumors 68040
Aug 8, 2011
3,528
1,016
Aridzona
Peterg2 said:
That is fair enough but I believe Brian Klug is very well qualified to discuss cell phone cameras when you look at his education and experience (see on the first page below). Here is a link to a presentation he gave and published on Anandtech in February this year.

I don't see anything of the sort on any cell phone review site which compares remotely to this:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/6777/understanding-camera-optics-smartphone-camera-trends
Click to expand...
Regardless, he did assert, regarding the HTC One, "best camera in the Android space right now." No "in low-light" qualifier--just "the best." It's hard to take seriously. It also seems to be a trend with Anandtech lately.



Michael
 
K

Kashsystems

macrumors 6502
Jul 23, 2012
358
1
Tinmania said:
Regardless, he did assert, regarding the HTC One, "best camera in the Android space right now." No "in low-light" qualifier--just "the best." It's hard to take seriously. It also seems to be a trend with Anandtech lately.



Michael
Click to expand...

It really depends on what you value more. The One's camera delivers better low light performance, while the Galaxy S 4's camera delivers better performance in well lit (e.g. outdoor) scenarios.

That his words on the S4 camera review.
 
T

tjl3

macrumors 6502a
Mar 8, 2012
595
4
Tinmania said:
Regardless, he did assert, regarding the HTC One, "best camera in the Android space right now." No "in low-light" qualifier--just "the best." It's hard to take seriously. It also seems to be a trend with Anandtech lately.



Michael
Click to expand...

To be fair though, he backs it up by not only speaking on the technology behind the camera as well as his own personal photos comparing various Android handsets on the market. And looking through them the HTC One is the best in most cases.

And I'll be honest I read maybe the first 3 pages of the camera review and skimmed the rest, so I may have missed something =D
 
Tinmania

Tinmania

macrumors 68040
Aug 8, 2011
3,528
1,016
Aridzona
tjl3 said:
To be fair though, he backs it up by not only speaking on the technology behind the camera as well as his own personal photos comparing various Android handsets on the market. And looking through them the HTC One is the best in most cases.

And I'll be honest I read maybe the first 3 pages of the camera review and skimmed the rest, so I may have missed something =D
Click to expand...
He didn't even see an S4 when that review was written. I skimmed the article as well and didn't notice that. I had ASSumed, based on it being quoted in this thread, that it was compared to the S4. In fact it was not.



Michael
 
spinedoc77

spinedoc77

macrumors G4
Original poster
Jun 11, 2009
11,394
5,257
tjl3 said:
To be fair though, he backs it up by not only speaking on the technology behind the camera as well as his own personal photos comparing various Android handsets on the market. And looking through them the HTC One is the best in most cases.

And I'll be honest I read maybe the first 3 pages of the camera review and skimmed the rest, so I may have missed something =D
Click to expand...

He goes to great lengths IMO to back up his claim, lots of pics and discussion of technology.
 
M

Markyboy81

macrumors 6502a
Oct 30, 2011
514
0
I would go for the HTC purely as it performs better in low light conditions. The photos above could just as easily have been from the HTC as there will have been no benefit from the extra pixels when sharing on this forum.
I do think that 13 megapixels is overkill on a sensor the size of the one in the s4. If you zoom in to 100% you can guarantee that the pixels won't be 'clean' due to the small size of them and inability to absorb light.
Here's some interesting reading on the megapixels myth;

http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/mpmyth.htm
 
D

dsi76

macrumors regular
Apr 9, 2012
139
46
Just a heads-up, if you're also considering the camcorder quality, keep in mind that the One has the usual HTC fare of poor low-light video capture. By that I mean that the One does not lock frame rates at 30 fps in medium to low light. You'll see A LOT of frame skip, it's pretty disappointing for a flagship phone like this. Even the two-year-old Galaxy S2 performs much better in this category. I otherwise love the HTC One.
 
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