HTC One vs iPhone 5 camera duel: Ultrapixel tech tested

By Luke Westaway on 22 February 2013, 11:39am

With the HTC One, HTC made the bold decision to opt for a lower-megapixel camera sensor, in the hope that larger individual pixels on a third-of-an-inch sensor would let in more light, and make for better photos. Has it paid off?

Our pals over at CNET Asia have got their mitts on an HTC One, and pitted its 'Ultrapixel' sensor against the camera on the iPhone 5 -- one of the finest smart phone snappers money can buy.

Check out a sampler of the comparison shots below, and click the image to check out full-resolution versions. Make sure you check out CNET Asia's full test, which contains more comparison shots.

Here the camera was set to focus on the subject's face, and nabbed a clear image. It loses out slightly on detail when you zoom in, however.

The iPhone 5 meanwhile featured more of that detail, but is blown out, making for a less attractive photo overall.

In this studio shot the HTC One has captured more realistic colours, but focusing isn't entirely accurate.

The iPhone 5 meanwhile gets everything in sharp focus, and colours are more saturated.

Not much difference?

Both mobiles take decent shots, with the HTC One taking a slight lead on the iPhone 5 when it comes to detailed macro shots and low-light conditions, but proving fractionally less adept when it comes to producing colourful shots.

My overwhelming impression of the test shots is that, for the most part, there's little difference between the performance of these two cameras. The broad similarity suggests that the HTC One's Ultrapixel snapper isn't exactly revolutionary, but may vindicate the company's insistence that more megapixels doesn't necessarily mean better photos.

CNET Asia notes that its HTC One's software isn't final, so it's possible we'll see some changes in image quality upon launch.

Are you impressed by the HTC One's performance, though? Or do you think the iPhone 5 does a better job? Let me know in the comments, or on our Facebook wall.

Comments 46

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jayce35 22 February, 2013 12:20

it does not matter to me i dont take pictures i use dsr camera but to me i prefer natural looking shots of htc one not the over saturated shots of iphone 5

anonymous 22 February, 2013 12:21

VS LUMIA please

anonymous 22 February, 2013 12:28

Why not compare with Xperia Z? These 2 will be left aside!

anonymous 22 February, 2013 13:05

iPhone 5 still rules....

anonymous 22 February, 2013 13:06

Not much difference, really? Most of today's phones take great pictures in ample light condition with still subjects. Try it out in low light environment, or a sports event where the subject is moving.

http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2013/02/the-htc-ones-camera-is-actually-quite-impressive-in-initial-tests/

anonymous 22 February, 2013 13:29

To me the HTC one pictures seem slight better that the iPhone 5. The iPhone 5 has likely the best camera in a phone. Therefore, this camera is very good as well. Revolutionary? I would not go that far, but I would say that the HTC one camera is at innovative in the right direction with ultra pixel.

anonymous 22 February, 2013 13:47

Image 1 represents the normal shot that would be taken, where light isn't controlled or evenly spread, to me the HTC wins hands-down in this. The second shot is evenly lit, to the point that any phone could take a good picture with it, and over-saturation is never life-like, just more eye-pleasing.

If you were to test the phones in day-to-day situations and such shots as sunset or severe contrasts of light, I would put money on the HTC destroying the iPhone in this case! The Lumia also does a very good job of this.

anonymous 22 February, 2013 14:00

I think the first picture is better on the HTC One. The second one was better on the iPhone 5.

anonymous 22 February, 2013 14:04

Htc one is way better, if U can't see the difference you need glasses! Htc seems more sharper and vibrant while the iPhone is exposing light in dark areas.

anonymous 22 February, 2013 14:15

Anyone who said iPhone's image is better doesn't understand photography or image quality. iPhone images are apparently white-washed and miles away from the real thing while HTC's are quite true. Disclosure: I'm a photographor and know what the words "image quality" mean.

anonymous 22 February, 2013 14:16

Let's have a discussion on two crappy mobile phone camera's by people who know next to nothing about photography, lenses, depth of field, etc. Yeah, that's what it's all about here.

They both suck compared to just about any low-end DSLR. So, why do we even care?

This "article" is yet another waste of time. It doesn't delve into anything in any depth. A couple of crappy photos are displayed and users are asked what they think? Great, iFans will pick the iPhone and droidFans will pick the HTC One. Hell, I can't even believe I commented on this useless article.

Noble Lox 22 February, 2013 14:19

Why are you even comparing these old, out of date phones? Other than to whip up the fanboys of each faction? How does the HTC Butterfly face up against the Galaxy S4? Or the iPhone...errr...errr. As an age old user of HTC, since the T-Mobile MDA III, and the MDA Pro, I'm amazed HTC have finally gotten a half decent camera, as it has always been the weakest aspect of the HTC build. But at least they have a build, unlike the Samsung plastic pancake ;-)

anonymous 22 February, 2013 14:34

Needs professional lab tests.

anonymous 22 February, 2013 14:43

Come on... it's not snaps that show the differences here ... I applaud HTC for giving people what they generally need and optimising the light detecting surface of the sensor etc. but what if you want to blow the pics up more, or crop smaller areas and view those? That's where the differences will show up. I completely agree, that you can take a nice natural image on a lower pixel density snapper as long as everything else is equal, but the limitation is the resolution of the final image and the amount you can expand the detail whilst editing the photo

NickMUK 22 February, 2013 15:01

I've pre-ordered my HTC One already and can't wait until it gets delivered. Interested to see how the camera holds up, guess it will get a proper test over the 15th, 16th and 17th since it's the finale of the Six Nations and St Patrick's day. Let's hope it's drunk proof. :)

anonymous 22 February, 2013 15:54

HTC 2048x1520 1,07MB
vs.
iP 5 3264X2448 2,85MB

anonymous 22 February, 2013 16:27

The iPhone's metering has always annoyed me, as shown in the first picture, because it tends to overexpose.

markiwyn 22 February, 2013 17:44

htc needed to pull something good out of the bag to improve sales.

Good attempt by htc but I fear that it not good enough. The photos looks ok but it looks like its on par with the iphone and nothing more. it appears to do well in letting in light but deatil not as good and thats important to anyone who is trying to take a decent picture.

I personally think that cameras on phone are rubbish and I will always try to have my compact with me but its not always with me. So having a decent camera phone is not necessary but helpful and htc may have fallen short again. Shame.

anonymous 22 February, 2013 19:25

Ok, so the exposure on the HTC is better, but not knowing how this was shot and the differences in how the two shots were framed make that questionable.

But the overall image quality is not even close. Don't look at these thumb nails, click on them and open them up to full resolution and OMG the HTC is utter garbage. The iPhone 5 picks up the texture of the fabric and just over all much better detail. The HTC is a modeled mess of compression artifacts.