The 21-megapixel camera is the most disappointing aspect of the Moto X. Daytime shots are sharp with natural colors, but nighttime and low-light shots are the complete opposite. Most of these have been washed in darkness and full of noise. I even took a few pictures that were so bad you can’t clearly make out what I was attempting to photograph.

I asked Motorola about the poor low-light shooting. The company says they’re working on software updates that will improve that performance.

While it remains to be seen if a software fix really could help, there’s also no manual mode in the camera app, and no optical image stabilization—two things that likely could have helped the Moto X’s low-light photos. Compared to Motorola’s past camera travesties, this is an improvement. But the cameras we’ve seen this year in phones from Apple, LG and Samsung are much better (and come at higher cost).

The camera doesn’t suck anymore. The 21-megapixel camera on the back takes clean, sharp photos in most situations, and even does well enough in low light that I wouldn’t fear taking this phone anywhere. Ditto the 4K video, which looks great. The phone does have a tendency to slightly de-saturate photos shot in bright light, making everything look a little duller than real life. But that’s nothing an Instagram filter can’t solve. The camera is fast, too, as is the twisty gesture you make to access it. It’s not the best camera you can get—that’d be the Samsung lineup or the iPhone—but it’s good enough.

My only lingering issues with the camera are with its app. I hate its shooting mechanic, where you just tap on the screen and it focuses, exposes, and captures in one fell swoop. Over and over, it just missed focus—and enabling, then awkwardly dragging the focus ring around is hardly a real solution. It’s even weirdly confusing to use; most people understand what a shutter button looks like, but hand someone your phone and say, “Just poke the screen anywhere,” and see how that goes. I will say this: It is a ridiculously fast way to take pictures. Shooting landscapes, people, anything easy, you’ll be fine. But I stood at a concert last weekend, trying to photograph the performers, and I mostly just got blurred mess. Still, though—it’s mostly a great camera.

Perhaps the biggest (and most anticipated) upgrade from last year to this is the Moto X’s new 21-megapixel camera. It’s a significant leap in both resolution and capability over the 13-megapixel model from last year, and it does a much better job at taking photos. But last year’s model set a really low bar, and while the new camera is much better, it’s still outclassed by Apple, LG, and Samsung’s cameras.

Images taken in good lighting conditions are bright and colorful, though there’s a tendency for them to look over-sharpened. It makes the images look unnaturally digital and not as attractive as those captured by the Note 5, iPhone 6 Plus, or G4. In poor lighting, the Moto X does a much better job than before, but it still misses focus often and pictures come out much softer than I’d expect. I also wish it had optical image stabilization, which has basically become a must for any premier smartphone.

If this sounds like I’m being overly critical of the camera, that’s because I am. The camera is one of the most important features on any smartphone, and it’s something that many people use every single day. It’s one of the few things that can make or ruin a smartphone experience, as my colleague Vlad Savov has pointed out time and again. The Moto X’s camera isn’t bad by any means, it’s just not as good as other options.

On the plus side, the Moto X’s camera is better than virtually any other option in its price range, including the OnePlus 2 or ZTE Axon Pro. Its app is also quick, and the twist gesture to launch the camera is faster and more reliable than before. (It’s still not as quick as Samsung’s double tap on the home button, however.) But if you’re looking for the absolute best smartphone camera, the Moto X doesn’t have it.