![]() The M8 looked very similar to the original HTC One (aka M7). Here is the shot we used for the Photo Comparison tool back in the day (note: you can click on the compare button on the right and pick two images for a side-by-side view). This harmed low-light photography as images with a slow shutter speed suffered from handshake.īut if you have a steady hand (or a tripod), the sensor did pretty well in the dark. The new custom image processor, the ImageChip2, promised to handle stabilization (in addition to creating sharper images), but that didn’t work out. Rotating the lens of this camera would have thrown off the depth calculation. Second, HTC removed the Optical Image Stabilization from the main camera. This was bad because the first 4K-capable phone arrived the year before and in 2014 most high profile flagships advertised that feature. First, it couldn’t record 4K video – not enough resolution, despite the sensor’s aspect ratio being perfect for video. Moving on, there were other issues with M8's camera setup too. Google showed that you can capture depth of field with a single sensor (thanks to the data normally used by the Phase Detection autofocus system).īy the way, here is what a depth map looks like: It was difficult to pull off, however, requiring multiple cameras. Nokia would attempt a much more advanced version of this with the Nokia 9 PureView and in our testing we found the results to be the best on mobile. Unfortunately, this required a special viewer, which no longer works. And not just you - you could share the photos on the Internet and let everyone play with them. ![]() It allowed you to pick which part of the image will be in focus (even after the fact) and there was an option to have everything in focus. The Nokia Refocus app was released separately and wasn't part of the Lumia camera app. ![]() Nokia was experimenting with refocusable photos in 2013. Usually it happened around the borders of the subject, making the defects quite noticeable. The depth map calculated by the phone just wasn’t very accurate and it would blur part of the subject or miss applying the effect to parts of the background. This is similar to how the new iPhones can adjust the focus in videos (they have much more processing power at their disposal, of course, which improves the effect significantly). You didn't have to decide on the spot, the depth information was stored alongside the photo, so you can go back and tweak the depth of field later. putting a sketch or a cartoon effect on the background. This is what allowed it to render artificial bokeh – the soft, out of focus background that makes your subject pop.Īlternative modes tried to separate the subject from the background in other ways, e.g. This allowed the phone to calculate a depth map, basically a reading of how far away each part of the image is. The second module also had a 4MP sensor that captured the scene from a slightly different perspective. Not so with the HTC Ones, they gave you their best in wide mode. Is your camera set to 4:3 or a wide aspect ratio? Because if it’s the latter, you are not using the sensor in your phone to its full potential (the top and bottom parts of the image get cropped). the new iPhone 13 Pro has 1.9 µm pixels, the Galaxy Z Fold3 1.8 µm pixels.Īnother interesting thing to note is that this was a 16:9 sensor. So, the 4MP sensor had 2.0µm pixels despite being only 1/3.0” in size. The Duo Camera brought back the UltraPixel module, HTC’s attempt to convince the world that fewer, bigger pixels are better than more, smaller pixels. Today you may roll your eyes at the words “depth sensor”, but back then it was a genuine innovation. The HTC One (M8) had two cameras, but not for 3D – this was the first phone to use a camera as a depth sensor, which enabled all kinds of depth of field effects. Then in 2014 HTC released a sequel to the well-reviewed One. The HTC One (M8) from 2014, a sequel to the original One So, phones went back to a single camera for a few years. However, that wasn’t very useful since 3D was a gimmick that only seems to work in movie theaters (and even that is debatable). We often mention the HTC EVO 3D (from 2011) as one of the first dual camera phones (along with the LG Optimus 3D). Or should we say “common” since popular implies that people like it. The M8 is the sequel to that and introduced a camera feature that is still very popular today. But we won’t go into that again, the HTC One was a promising phone that did things its own way. What comes after One? Well, the HTC One (M8), of course! If we haven’t made our feelings clear, “One” is a terrible name.
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