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HTC Windows Phone 8X camera hands-on (pictures)

CNET test drives the HTC Windows Phone 8X's 8-megapixel camera.

Jessica Dolcourt
Jessica Dolcourt is a passionate content strategist and veteran leader of CNET coverage. As Senior Director of Commerce & Content Operations, she leads a number of teams, including Commerce, How-To and Performance Optimization. Her CNET career began in 2006, testing desktop and mobile software for Download.com and CNET, including the first iPhone and Android apps and operating systems. She continued to review, report on and write a wide range of commentary and analysis on all things phones, with an emphasis on iPhone and Samsung. Jessica was one of the first people in the world to test, review and report on foldable phones and 5G wireless speeds. Jessica began leading CNET's How-To section for tips and FAQs in 2019, guiding coverage of topics ranging from personal finance to phones and home. She holds an MA with Distinction from the University of Warwick (UK).
Jessica Dolcourt
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1 of 19 Jessica Dolcourt/CNET

HTC Windows Phone 8X by 8-megapixels

Over the past few weeks, I took several HTC Windows Phone 8X units on a couple of different photo sessions, here in San Francisco as well as in San Diego.

Here, I took a shot of the 8X in Highlighter Yellow with the California Blue version. All photos were taken in automatic mode. Unless otherwise noted, I've also resized them all to fit this slideshow.

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Full resolution

A full-resolution shot of the 8X's screen.
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Keith Haring

Outdoor shots looked great on the screen and off from the HTC Windows Phone 8X, like this Keith Haring statue in downtown San Francisco.
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Trapping water

This waterfall at the Yerba Buena gardens looks terrific: you can see droplets and individual ribbons.
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Full resolution agua

The full-resolution sample of the waterfall's stream also looks pretty good to my eyes.
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6 of 19 Jessica Dolcourt/CNET

Flower planter

I was much less impressed with the image quality served up on the flowers in CNET's outdoor planter. Though the image focused, the petals look like indistinct blobs of color.
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7 of 19 Jessica Dolcourt/CNET

Scarecrow

I focused on the scarecrow's face for this photo, taken in the midafternoon light.
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And close up...

The sample taken from the full-resolution image is good enough to be its own photo.
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Tasty birds

I shot these delicious, tiny cupcakes at Microsoft's official Windows Phone 8 launch event in a room illuminated only with artificial glow. Note that the tiny cupcakes aren't sharply in focus. If a camera made me look like that, I'd be pretty angry, too.
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10 of 19 Jessica Dolcourt/CNET

Pipsqueak

This little pooch sat still just long enough for me to snap this shot. Since dogs are notoriously fidgety (this one was no exception), this shot's clarity is a testament to the 8X's shutter speed.
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11 of 19 Jessica Dolcourt/CNET

Curve ball

Just to throw the camera a curve ball, I photographed the menu of this crepe truck.
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12 of 19 Jessica Dolcourt/CNET

Brownie chunks?

I must admit that I've never seen a warm, folded crepe stuffed with brownies before. Thankfully this sample of the 8-megapixel image revealed it.
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13 of 19 Jessica Dolcourt/CNET

Bikes

Once again, an outdoor shot of some parked bikes isn't as highly defined as I'd like.
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Reflection and deflection

This shot of my name badge is pretty crisp when you consider that the plastic badge holder adds a hazy filter.
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Softer focus

This photo of CNET editor Lynn La has the right color balance on her yellow sweater, but her features haven't fully come into focus.
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Drink up

The tiny meeting room didn't have a lot of really visual elements, but it did have plenty of gray surfaces; harsh, artificial lighting; and sodas.
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Tropicana close-up

I was pleased with the sharp edges in this study of an orange juice bottle.
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Neutral about neutrals

The 8X stumbled on this picture of a purse on the floor. Take some of the worst photos, like this, with a grain of salt until we receive a review unit for full testing -- the lighting conditions also trip up much higher-performing digital SLRs.
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19 of 19 Jessica Dolcourt/CNET

Just chillin'

Even at this smaller image size, your can still detect noise in the gray chair. For reference, the Ray-Ban insignia was my focus point.

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