Motorola Droid camera
I’ve been using the Motorola Droid for a week now, and while the device is quite impressive overall, the camera is a mess…
“But wait,” you protest, “those shots look fine.” Sure, the Droid can take pretty decent pictures (slide show). But I’m a camera buff, and do you know how much effort I put into these?
It usually takes 3 to 5 attempts for the auto-focus to actually work, the camera must often be tricked into using the right exposure, color balance is all over the map, and don’t even get me started about low-light performance – that small sensor is noisy!
The Motorola ZN5 (ZINE) camera is truly remarkable, so I hope Motorola can fix most of these problems in a future update.
When it comes to stills, the Droid camera is no match for the Nokia N900 or N97. Andy Ihnatko claims that the iPhone 3GS beats the Droid, but based on my time using both phones, I don’t think he put much effort into his pictures :)
I agree that normobs will get better results with the iPhone 3GS, but photographers will do better with the Droid, especially once Motorola tweaks the firmware.
The Droid supports video recording with a resolution of 720×480 pixels at 24 fps, matching the excellent Nokia N900 and Samsung Memoir. There’s no initial auto-focus, however.
Here is a sample video (download original):
tnkgrl Mobile: Tech that Matters 
Hi Tnkgrl!
How do the Droid compare to the N900 in general. I understand the N900 GPS with ovi maps is it’s real downside, and I expect it to be better in most other respects. What’s your evaluation?
Read all my Droid and N900 entries… Then make up your mind! I sum it up pretty well here: https://tnkgrl.wordpress.com/2009/11/03/motorola-droid-first-impressions/
The only thing the Droid seems to have over the N900 is the Google navigation “killer app” as you put it. I want to rephrase my question: based on your usage pattern, which would you get?
If I was backed into a corner with a gun to my head and could only pick one, I would pick the N900.
Thankfully, I get to use both :) I love the slim & retro industrial design of the Droid as well as the capacitive screen. Android 2.0 is very good and Google navigation is fantastic.
That said, the N900 camera is better, the keyboard is nicer, and it is a GSM device, which I much prefer (since I travel worldwide). Maemo 5 is an awesome OS, and shows a lot of potential.
Thank you. The N900 does seem like a powerhouse. There’s someone running OpenOffice on it over on maemo.org!
Of course, Maemo 5 is truly open. Android 2.0 is not nearly as open (not to mention the lack of C/C++ for UI development). Java can only do so much.
Does the flash work on the video camera mode cause i make a lot of videos at night
Can you please update the Motorola Camera review? The new Android update came out and fixed the focus issue, so I would really like to hear your thoughts since the update. Thanks!
There really is not much to say… The problem is fixed, so taking decent pictures (like the ones above) is now a lot easier!