The Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge camera only has a 12mp rear camera, but it comes with the fastest focusing speed in the house. And sometimes, this is the only point that matters. Lots more detail is irrelevant if you miss the moment.
I have loads of examples to prove this point but below are 3 shots snapped last night.
First up my 2 female labradors, Fury and Tiggy. They were running at the time. I slightly cropped the photo to bring the dogs more in to the frame.
Next up is George. Looks like a selfie but actually he was running at full force. I was able to crop this shot slightly to focus more on George and lose more of Tiggy’s body on the right.
And lastly just to prove how fast the S7 camera is, Fury photobombed this macro. The camera still got her chin and tongue. This shot was completely untouched.
HTC announced their new flagship the HTC 10. Full specs can be found on HTC’s website – click HERE.
Firstly, I thought HTC did a rather clever job of announcing the new flagship without a big live event. In fact, at 1pm UK time, all the content just appeared on HTC’s website along with a 13 min introduction video to the new flagship and what makes it special.
At the same time, all the major website also released all their content on the HTC 10 along with first impressions. Full reviews are likely to follow soon as well.
So instead of reproducing the same content as every other website, I am going to discuss the high and low points of the HTC 10 and then provide my thoughts re the competition.
HTC 10 – My First Impressions
A typical unibody slab of metal from HTC which will help it feel and look premium in the hand. The effort HTC’s went to task to simplify the software with Google will mean this phone will be super fast to use. However, for some and probably me included this could also mean a boring phone with no added extra software perks. The next stand out feature is the Hi-Res Audio and Hi-Res Headphones. This is for playback and recording via the microphones. This is really excellent if you like your music. The loudspeaker setup is a tweeter at top and bass/subwoofer at the rear. This should sound reasonable. 12mp rear camera f/1.8 1.55 microns pixel size, with OIS, two tone flash and laser auto focus. To me this sounds like the Nexus 6P rear camera but with OIS. Expect good photos. The front 5mp camera has OIS too. The rest of the specs are all run of the mill for a flagship phone. Apart from Airplay support built in. Unusual for an android phone. Due to all the software optimisations with Google, battery life should be one day. Handy Quick Charge 3 is included. Another claim to fame is the HTC 10 holding the top rating for its camera with DxOmark. I also liked that the HTC 10 had adoptable storage.
HTC 10 vs The Competition
Nexus 6P – I would pick the HTC 10 over the Nexus 6P. That is unless you wanted to ensure fast and quick firmware updates directly from Google. The HTC 10 should have better cameras and audio.
Samsung Galaxy S7 – Whilst the HTC 10 has larger pixels in its rear camera, the S7 has a f/1.7 vs a f/1.8 for the HTC 10. Both rear cameras are 12mp. Personally the S7 would be my choice for camera due to its incredibly fast focus. The S7 is also water and dust resistant. If selfies are your thing, then maybe the HTC 10 would be a better option. The HTC 10 gets the thumbs up from me on the audio front and the fact it has adoptable storage. On paper I still think the S7 Edge looks more premium. It also has a better screen and battery. Whilst Samsung include lots of extra apps, some are really useful and add extra functionality.
Xiaomi Mi 5 – HTC 10 has the camera and audio edge. The Mi 5 features an IR blaster and is a lot cheaper. But it is not as readily available world wide.
LG G5 – I still think the 16mp rear camera on the G5 is my preferred choice over the 12mp HTC 10. Whilst the G5 doesn’t offer a front camera with OIS it does offer a higher resolution at 8mp. The 8mp wide angled rear camera is unique. Audio quality will be better on the HTC 10, even with the G5’s DAC module potentially. However, bluetooth audio on the G5 should be better than the HTC 10 due to the G5 supporting APT-X High Definition codec. The G5’s modules offer something different to the HTC 10. The HTC 10 is far more premium looking. An IR Blaster is still included with the G5 and not present on the HTC 10.
Huawei P9 – I think the P9 will have a tough time competing against the HTC 10 except for the fact the P9 at launch will be £100 less in price. The P9 also has a unique dual rear camera lens setup. But these lenses do not feature OIS meaning blurrier shots will happen more frequently.
iPhone 6S – Apart from the iOS vs android debate, I really think the HTC 10 beats the iPhone in audio and camera, at least from a specs point of view.
Microsoft Lumia 950 – Whilst the camera on the 950 may be respectable I believe the HTC 10 would be a better all around option.
Conclusion
It is worth remembering these are my initial thoughts. I have yet to see the HTC 10 in person and like everything the specs may look good, the promotional material may shine, but does the phone deliver on what it promises! Time will tell but it really does look like HTC have delivered a decent offering this year.
If you order directly from HTC there are discount codes available as follows –
– USA – Code – HTC1008 – Saves $100 – Price reduced to $599 from $699
– Canada – Code HTCCA1008 -Saves $100 – Price reduced to $899 from $999
– UK – Code – HTC10 – Takes 10% off. New price is £512.99 from £569.99 – Also selecting Express Shipping instead of standard, makes shipping free.
Above is the full sized version photo from the LG G5, using the wide angled lens. Thanks to Richard Yates for permission to use photo for this article and for taking such a smashing shot!
I really love the super wide shots from the G5. They seem to add such a different dynamic and wrap you into the the whole scene really well.
However, not everyone will like the warped walls so what can you do about it?
Well using either Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop on the mac or PC you can spend a little time and adjust the photos perspectives with relative ease. If you want to try and adjust the perspective on your mobile phone apps like SKRWT and VSCO Cam on iOS and android allow you to adjust the perspectives.
However, I do find the best adjustments are made using professional apps like Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop. Anyway, I imported the photo into Adobe Lightroom for mac and made a few quick adjustments are created the new version below. I also tweaked the photo just a tad more to make it stand out further.
Now which version do you prefer. I am leaning towards the edited photo, but I must admit to liking the original too.
Apple released yesterday a whole new selection of videos covering the fitness aspects of the Apple Watch. Below is a playlist covering all the new videos and some older ones too from Apple.
At 1pm today, HTC will officially reveal its new flagship the HTC 10. However, why wait until 1pm!
Below are the specifications are full product video.
Specifications –
– Processor – Snapdragon 820, Adreno 530
– 32 Storage, 4gb ram
– 3000 mAh battery
– 5.15 inch Amoled QHD display with 570 PPI
– Gorilla Glass 4
– USB Type C
– 12mp Ultrapixel Rear Camera with OIS f/1.9 26mm, laser autofocus, dual tone flash, a 5mp front camera with OIS
– Micro SD Card support up to 200gb
– Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, hotspot
– Bluetooth 4.1, APT-X
– Boomsound speakers
– Fingerprint sensor
– Quick Charge 3
And below is the full product video. So is this enough for you to consider this as your main phone?
Approximately twice a year the mobile industry announces major smartphones but the decision as to which phone to choose is becoming harder and harder.
I think Samsung were wise and got their new Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge phone out of the blocks early and in the process they lapped out millions and millions of £££’s. The expression timing is everything might be what helps Samsung sell more android phones than any other manufacturer this year. It also helps that the S7 range is a very polished device in a multitude of ways.
However, the world also has other manufacturers releasing new phones from Huawei, Asus, Xiaomi, Meizu, LG, HTC and a whole host of other Chinese companies. The notable new phones currently include the LG G5, Huawei P9, Xiaomi Mi 5 and tomorrow the HTC 10 will be announced.
The Huawei P9 on paper looks like a decent piece of kit with its rear dual lens Leica branded camera technology. The P9 also features a whole host of other technology too. This phone was originally on my short list, but I have seen so many out of focus shots. I put this down to the lack of optical image stabilisation with the users not realising they had to hold the camera still for a split second longer. Whilst some of the photos from the P9 are stunning, consistency and sharp focus needs to be spot on more times than not.
That leaves the Xiaomi Mi5 and LG G5. The Mi 5 has a good camera, looks beautiful but is let down slightly in low light versus the competition. The shots are good, but not at G5 and S7 level.
So my next phone will be the LG G5 and my retail version should have arrived a few weeks ago, but production delays have impacted the delivery date. However, I am also interested to see what HTC announce at 1pm UK time tomorrow on http://www.htc.com. HTC are claiming that their rear 12mp sensor will feature Ultrapixels and will be class leading. Boom sound, great battery and more are all meant to be included in this phone.
Below are a selection of photos that were my favourite from this week. All were snapped on the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge. If you want to view the full size, click on photo and select full size.
One of the best aspects of the iPhone is Siri. It is even better on the Apple iPhone 6S and 6S Plus and Siri became totally handsfree.
If you want to know what notifications have appeared on your iPhone, just ask Siri, “Any Notifications” or even just say “Notifications” And Siri will read off ALL your notifications across ALL your apps.
Another great use is in cooking. Apple demonstrated this neat use using the Cookie Monster.
Moving or creating appointments with Siri is a breeze. I have always found Siri more of a personal assistant and really a benefit in the car or when my hands are tied up e.g. cooking.
Anyway, below is the new advert from Apple with the Cookie Monster.
Below are a couple of tips on using the camera on the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge.
1) After opening the camera app, select modes, and then tap Download. This will open another page where you can download another camera app. I would suggest downloading Surround Shot.
2) With all the camera modes on the screen, if you tap more, add a shortcut to the home screen, you can tick the modes you would like to appear on the home screen, and hit save. Camera mode shortcut icons will be added to your home screen. This will happen even if you use Nova Launcher.
3) I mentioned downloading Surround Shot mode. With this if you photograph 5-6 shots you can recreate the wide angle look similar to the LG G5. Panorama mode is also good for a super wide shot. Obviously, it is not as true wide angled as the G5 in effect, nor would it work very well with moving subjects.
Gavin's Gadgets & Photography 