Originally Posted by
nkedel
What's wrong with the camera? Better image sensor instead of crappy sensor but opting into the megapixels race seemed like a win to me, as tid the early previews on image quality.
Really? Most reviews I have read are undecided, but certainly didn't make it seem like the "ultrapixels" concept is a winner.
Even the Lumia 920 camera is usually reviewed better than the One - and that phone is almost a year old.
FWIW; Cnet compared the One, the S4 and the iPhone 5 - and found the One to be even weaker in shots then the now "old" iPhone 5:
All three cameras did a nice job capturing this image, but the Galaxy S4 has the advantage for its most accurate color representation and lowest levels of noise. The One was our least favorite, losing a lot of background detail. The red was a little little rusty as well, a symptom of the camera's overall blue cast. Of the pictures, the iPhone 5's saturated red makes for a more lively image
......
This one's an interesting shot because it looks so different across the board. The S4's image is my favorite overall, once again blessed with the most even exposure of the three. You can see the clay detail and also some definition in the background street scene. The One's statue looks the brightest in the dueling light, but it's hopelessly overexposed, which you can tell when you take in the blown-out tree leaves, strip of white street, barely yellow meter, and color-striped taxi.
Although the iPhone produced the darkest image, it's the only one where you can see the actual road and the best taxi cab detail. There's more shadow detail as well. This may be the most technically proficient picture of the three, but my vote goes to the Galaxy S4 in this round.
Final assessment
Josh and I both agree that the HTC One's camera is the weakest of the three. Its color reproduction is cooler and adds a blue cast to shades. It also overexposes more shots and conveys the least amount of detail. However, the One's low-light performance was pretty good, and in many instances, we'd be happy using a picture from the One in casual photo-sharing situations.
When it comes to the out-and-out winner, the tussle between the iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy S4 grows murkier. In well-lit photos, the choice for the "better" camera is a coin toss. The iPhone's slight underexposure captures the most detail across a scene, but the GS4 camera produced a lot of the photos we liked best.