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HTC One E8 vs HTC One M8: camera comparison

By Chris P.

Updated: Jul 31, 2014, 7:17 AM

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State of the Union

We likely don't need to tell you that HTC's choice to stick with a 4-megapixel camera for its flagship smartphone has been quite the controversial topic. According to the company, the One M8's larger, 2μm pixels are what makes the M8's camera great, though we never really agreed with them. Indeed, we continue to think that the One M8's camera lags behind all rival smartphones - the Xperia Z2, the Galaxy S5, the LG G3, you name it.

Recently, HTC announced the One E8 -- a near-identical, but plastic version of the One M8 with a different, more-orthodox 13-megapixel camera. We instantly saw an opportunity to put the two to the test in order to see what happens, and that's what we did.

Showdown

Let's talk facts first. The HTC One E8 is equipped with a 13-megapixel, 1/3.06'' sensor with f/2.2 lens and a single LED flash that we found to be fairly impotent. The HTC One M8, on the other hand, goes for a different approach, as already mentioned, and instead makes do with a 4-megapixel "UltraPixel" Duo camera with a 1/3'' sensor, f/2.0 lens, and a two-tone LED flash.

	Resolution	Sensor size	Aperture	Flash	Features	Video
HTC One E8	13MP	1/3.06'' 4:3	F2.2	Single LED	Digital image stabilization, HDR, Panorama, Scenes	1920x1080, 30/60 fps, HDR video
HTC One M8	4MP	1/3'' 16:9	F2.0	Dual tone LED	Digital image stabilization, HDR, Panorama, Scenes, Duo Camera Effects	1920x1080, 30/60 fps, HDR video

On the whole, we found that the One E8's camera is superior to that of the One M8, and pretty much across the board. In other words, while the amount of detail that is offered by the E8's higher resolution shooter is undeniable, its superiority extends to color reproduction as well. This applies to indoor photography, as well as outdoors during the day or night. Further still, this is despite the weaknesses of the E8's snapper, like the fact it consistently introduces a yellow fringe to photos and often underexposes snaps (so does the M8, by the way). In fact, even when the E8 stumbles, it usually is the case that the M8 itself stumbles too, and the two end up with comparable results that are simply inferior for different reasons.

A small saving grace for the One M8 is video capture, where it proves to be the better choice and produces footage that is noticeably more dynamic than the overly-murky clips the One E8 manages. Another advantage the M8 has over the E8 is its Duo camera setup, which allows you to get a bit more creative and capture some fairly decent bokeh photos, along with the M8's superior overall speed in snapping photos.

Want to see for yourself? Go right ahead and make sure to vote at the bottom!