HTC One M8 Camera outclassed by Galaxy S5, and it has NOTHING to do with MegaPixels…

Let’s get this out of the way right now. The One M8 camera is good. Maybe it’s even “very good”, but over the last year we’ve seen some excellent cameras bolted onto the backs of our phones by companies like Sony and Nokia.

The M7 was my favorite camera on an Android phone of last year, and was only bested by the likes of Nokia. It lost the resolution battle with only a 4MP sensor, but the combo of larger “UltraPixels” and Optical Image Stabilization made it one of the best devices to shoot on in indoor and low light environments. Outdoor pics were very good, low light pics were gorgeous, and video was nicely smoothed out by the stabilizing hardware.

My expectations were tremendously high for the M8.

And unfortunately they have not been met.

The M8’s camera setup didn’t so much improve as make a lateral move from the M7. It’s essentially two of the same (or at least very similar) 4MP sensors from last year’s camera. Minus true OIS.

This ultimately leaves the One M8 camera feeling like something of a gimmick. To improve output, HTC is resorting to an additional sensor which provides depth information and blurry backgrounds through software manipulation. It’s certainly fun to play with some of the subtle 3D effects you can create using two sensors, but those effects don’t transfer to our main sharing sites like Instagram, FB, G+, Flickr, etc.

This is also painfully apparent when viewed opposite the upgrades Samsung has made to the Galaxy S5. Samsung has also refused to include Optical Image Stabilization in their camera, but to improve low light capabilities, and to provide a softer blur to backgrounds, they’ve opted to include a larger image sensor.

I’ve posted several videos discussing sensor size, but essentially “bigger is better“. In the past it was why point and shoot cameras were better than our phones, and DSLR’s are still better than point and shoots. It’s why Christopher Nolan shot the action sequences for The Dark Knight in 70mm instead of 35mm. If you prize that shallow depth of field, that creamy bokeh, or that separation of blur between your in-focus subject and the background of your shot, then you need that bigger sensor.

When the M7 arrived, pretty much all of the premier flagship smartphones used a 1/3″ sensor. Nokia came around and dropped a stunning 2/3″ sensor into the Lumia 1020, radically shaking up the phone camera market. Now phones like the Sony Xperia, the Nokia Lumia 1520, Icon, and the upcoming 930 sport 1/2.5″ sensors. Smaller than the 1020, but noticeably bigger than the 1/3″ sensor in last year’s flagships. Samsung now joins that list with the Galaxy S5.

Which means Samsung’s camera is also bigger than each individual sensor in the M8, and is now on par with most consumer point and shoot cameras. In the above graphic the GS5 would be that middle size, and the M8 is the sensor on the left.

Below are examples from each phone. No filters or blur effects have been applied to either photo. In this first comparison, you’ll see the “Renting” sign on the right side of frame is still somewhat readable on the M8 while it’s completely blurred out on the GS5.

Setting the backgrounds right next to each other, the QUALITY of the blur is also nicer on the GS5. It’s smoother even though there’s a lot of detail in the background. The blur on the M8 is busier, less pleasant.

Another example with a flower planter we see the same advantage for Samsung. The flowers fall out of focus faster and the blur effect is more pleasant. The fire hydrant on the right side becomes an amorphous blob.

On the M8 there’s far more detail farther from the front row of flowers, four or five bricks down the blur has a buzzy or edgy quality which is really unpleasant, and the fire hydrant across the street is easily more identifiable.

Again, both backgrounds opposite each other.

Now, you can apply filters and use HTC’s software to help isolate your subject and artificially blur the background more, but you can also do the same thing with Samsung’s software as well, only you’ll be starting off with a more natural and pleasing blur before you hit it with a filter.

You however can’t augment the HTC’s depth of field while shooting video. Below are two stills pulled from videos shot on the GS5 and the M8.

Here resolution has been normalized, both cameras shoot 1080p video, so you can clearly see that Samsung’s advantage has little to do with resolution. It shoot a more cinematic image thanks to the shallower depth of field provided the larger sensor + lens combo.

It’s that shallow depth of field which helps draw the eye to focus on the subject of your picture.

Lastly, while neither camera has hardware image stabilization, the Galaxy S5 does seem to employ better electronic or software based image stabilizing. For people who shoot video on their phones, this might be the most disappointing aspect of moving from the M7 to the M8, as you’ll lose some of that smoothing effect which compensates for hand shakiness.

The HTC M8 is a solid all round flagship phone, and its multimedia playback capabilities are second to none, thanks to BoomSound. It’s just unfortunate that despite some fun tricks, the camera feels like a step down in some ways from last year’s shooter.

Related:

Can smartphones really compete with “proper” cameras?