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jkmasi

Android Enthusiast
Jan 24, 2010
372
27
Has anyone read or heard anything about the camera quality of the new Motorola Droid line? Specifically, I am interested in the ability of the camera to produce crisp, clear photos in a wide range of light conditions. The cameras have never been very good in any of the previous Motorola smartphones that I've had (Droid X, Razr Maxx, Razr Maxx HD, etc), in fact, it was often the main reason that I gave up on the phone after a trial period. I loved almost everything else about my RMHD (performance could be snappier) but hated the camera.
 
Keep in mind I'm coming from an iPhone 5 and a Galaxy S4, and I've only had it for a day.

It's very fast, very clean, very easy and quick to use. It's faster than the S4's camera - and when I say fast, I mean from start to finish... i.e. open the app, auto-focus, shoot. And this includes flash-based shots. It's also very fast with HDR shots. They did a great job with the UI. The hand gesture thing takes a bit of getting used to, but is very handy once you do (pun intended!).

I know guys like Robert Scoble have been preaching the X's camera (same as the Maxx) is better than the S4's and all that - posting up comparison shots... but those comparisons are the perfect scenario... large open area, well-lit day, time to stop, set, focus, shoot, etc. And even then, those threads are full of people disagreeing with him. ANY phone over the past year or two can take solid shots in those settings. What I care about are the shots of my kids in motion; the low-light shots where a flash is needed (i.e. evenings with the fam, night out, etc.); the impromptu on-the-fly gotta-get-this-quick shots. That's what our phone cameras are really good for anyway.

That said, I'm underwhelmed by the pictures. It's fast, and in decent to great light, it's fast and the pictures are solid. I find them a bit bland, but I've been told the S4 is the opposite, so maybe my eyes simply aren't used to it. If you use a flash at all, prepare to be disappointed, though. Again - I'm comparing to an S4. The S4's flash shots are absolutely incredible - crisp, detailed, bright with nothing washed out, etc. If you have to use a flash on the Maxx, it's just ok... lighter areas get washed out, though not as bad as the last Razr phones. And don't zoom in at all or you'll see a horrendous amount of processing / blur-reduction... even with the 10 MPs. I haven't had a chance to test the kids-in-motion shots. I would imagine it's like every other... if it's well-lit, it should capture them fine... if it's not - good luck.

One cool thing - the slow motion video option. It works really well, and if you have uses for it, it's pretty darn cool.

Sorry I don't have any comparison shots... the best shots with the S4 using flash are all personal, and I don't have the S4 anyway.
 
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