New phone (Camera based) help please

Dan12345

Dan12345

Dan12345

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13 Apr 2013
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Hello guys

My current contract is up for renewal and due to my job its going to be worth while for me to up my contract to a 30-40 pound a month deal.
I believe that pretty much allows me any of the good phones out there (Xperia Z, HTC one, Lumia 920, Iphone, Galaxy 4).

I'm a bit of a phone numpty, and don't care as much for speed/processor power etc etc. However the one thing i do use a lot is the camera/video. Now out of the phones listed i believe (using O2 tariffs) that the Xperia is the cheapest at £32 p/m, then Lumia/Galaxy4 at 37, then the iphone/htc at around 40.
Its been difficult to find a review without reading comments that they are biased towards this or that and its confusing me a little.
Basically what i would like to know is purely camera/video based compared to cost, which is the best?

Any help would be much appreciated.
Thanks
 
Thanks for the comment, didn't even know that phone existed to be honest.
However it doesn't seem that the Nokia 808 is available in the uk on contracts so i'm not sure it would be a viable option.
 
Of those phones, the Lumia is the best of the lot (accepting that the S4 isn't released) due to the exemplary low light performance and good bright-light performance. It also has excellent microphones which are not overwhelmed as easily as some of the others.

The One is too biased towards low light performance at the moment, whereas the Sony and (presumably) the S4 are biased towards bright environments, producing the best sunny pictures.

As we live in the UK, where bright days can be counted upon for about 4 days in June, the Lumia probably strikes the best overall balance, but it does obviously depend on what you're taking photos of and when. If it's when outdoors with mates surfing at the beach in the height of summer, then the Sony is probably the best (waterproofness might come in handy), but if you're taking photos of everyday things in all weathers, indoors and out, the Lumia probably wins it.

This is even before the OS is discussed. If you're not too bothered about it, the Lumia again is probably the right one as WP8 is a great OS if you don't want to tweak it endlessly (the stock apps are all quite good, whereas with Android I was always trying different apps out due to some stock app inadequacy). The iPhone could also have this leveled at it, but it doesn't match the others in cameras.
 
Its hard to get past any other phones against eh OIS Lens in the 920, especially for Video and sound recording quality.
 
Appreciate all the help guys, should have really mentioned a lot of my pictures are taken of my aquariums and other pets, which are my real passion if you like. Most involve a dark room with a brightly lit tank. With the obvious movement (sometimes quick) of the fish.
Not sure if this will make much difference to the choice, but again thanks a lot!

Oh also i could also wait for the S4 should it be better.
 
Here's my take (assuming the 808 is a point and shoot camera that makes phone calls)

General use: Nokia Lumia 920 (Amazing OIS with solid Nokia software but lacks HDR video)
Family/social/pets/sport bias: HTC One (The 920 is too slow for kids running around indoors)
Landscape bias: Samsung Galaxy S4 (latest 13MP sensor + excellent low light mode make up for no OIS)
Action bias: Sony Xperia Z (cheaper and waterproof)

I don't think you'll regret getting any of them.
 
sarge78 said:
Here's my take (assuming the 808 is a point and shoot camera that makes phone calls)

General use: Nokia Lumia 920 (Amazing OIS with solid Nokia software but lacks HDR video)
Family/social/pets/sport bias: HTC One (The 920 is too slow for kids running around indoors)
Landscape bias: Samsung Galaxy S4 (latest 13MP sensor + excellent low light mode make up for no OIS)
Action bias: Sony Xperia Z (cheaper and waterproof)

I don't think you'll regret getting any of them.
Click to expand...

Is their any examples?...also any IS in Video mode?

Im not sure where you got eh 920 is slow in the photo element in anyway?
 
HTC one gets my vote for these reasons:

- wide FOV
- quick shutter speed so it will be the best for motion stuff and means you don't need as steady of a hand as you would with other phones, especially in low light/dark conditions where "night mode" etc. makes the shutter speed even slower
- great video recording, especially in terms of smoothness and audio recording (920 is better for the smoothness overall)
- zoe and other camera features especially slow motion recording, which is very cool for cats and dogs
- amazing macro shots, probably the best I have seen from a phone camera

The majority of bright outside landscape shots aren't the best and in some scenarios don't look better than last year phones (largely due to the ISO problem and OIS compensating for movement, which is why you have that blur on the right hand side), however, they are far from "bad" and it excels in low light/dark conditions where other phones (except the 920) fail big time in comparison, the galaxy phones are good with night mode selected, however, the shutter speed is much longer iirc thus it means you need very steady hands in order to get a photo that isn't blurry.

IMO the 920 and one are the most "complete package" overall in the camera department.

There are very variable results regarding the HTC one due to software and early batch units (a lot of the review sites got pre-production models with old software running on them hence bad comments), the camera will improve with further updates as it is very new tech. to HTC and there are a few things like the ISO problem which will be fixed (supposedly update coming out this month for that). Lumia 920 sucked at the time of release but improved massively with a software update and improved even further recently with another update.

So I would hold of for a week or two till the new batches come in.

If you do cropping work, print photos out on large paper or have a very high res. monitor (around 2560x1400) then the 4MP will be lacking, if any of that stuff is important to you, then look at the iphone 5, GS 4 or preferably the lumia 920.

EDIT:

Have a look through this thread to see end users photos taken with the one:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2169626&page=117

Android police have fantastic photos:

http://www.androidpolice.com/2013/0...nt-smartphone-this-year-may-also-be-the-best/

anandtech have a good comparison of the one, lumia 920, iphone 5 etc.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/6747/htc-one-review

This site has some decent comparisons too:

http://translate.google.com.lb/tran...obile-review.com/review/htc-one.shtml&act=url

920 VS one


As sarge said, you shouldn't be disappointed with any of them, each have their strengths and weaknesses and so it will come down to your usage and what is most important to you.

EDIT:

1 of the complaints I keep seeing people mention about the one photos is that some photos look washed out compared to the lumia 920, Gs 4 etc. this is easily fixed with the auto enhance effect in the gallery (1 click thing which is done instantly) or by putting the contrast or saturation up by one level in the camera app.
 
Last edited:
cu3ed said:
Is their any examples?...also any IS in Video mode?

Im not sure where you got eh 920 is slow in the photo element in anyway?
Click to expand...

Most in-depth reviews go over the subject briefly (the others just shoot a building :D) Here's dpreviews example. > http://connect.dpreview.com/files/p/cms_posts/9128863653/WP_20121220_031.jpg
The One isn't perfect but using a 2-4 times faster shutter speed would improve your chances of getting a usable photo.
Anandtech has a good comparison against the 920, even comparing preview screens! The One should have the best 'everyday' camera once (if) the software/qq gets sorted out.

...or maybe Nokia will release a 808/920 WP8 hybrid before then? :D
 
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