Testing the Dell Streak's camera (photos)

Here's our standard CNET indoor camera test shot. By default, the built-in flash isn't enabled. Overall, the detail and contrast is nice, but the automatic white balance could have done a better job.

The flowers outside CNET's offices are in full bloom and don't need any help being beautiful. Unfortunately, even with the Streak's camera set to an outdoor mode, the flower's colors are oversaturated and the contrast is a little much.

Nice weather for laying down in the park. Here, the Streak offers a relatively even contrast, in spite of the dramatic foreground shadows.

The ISO of the Streak's 5-megapixel camera is fairly quick, as demonstrated by the crisp detail from the fountain's splashing water.

CNET's Jessica Dolcourt proves that it is actually possible to look good while sitting in a cubicle. With some natural light coming in from the windows on the right, the Streak's camera sensor did an adequate job balancing the contrast in this shot. The shot is a little hazy, unfortunately, due to the smudge-prone placement of the camera.

The front-facing camera on the Dell Streak can't compare with it's rear-facing kin. Some of the fuzziness can be attributed to smudges, but resolution and lens quality are also to blame.

I shot a similar picture a few feet closer to the SFMOMA building behind me, and found the color balance shifted dramatically toward blue. Perhaps the camera was intimidated by my crazy face or enthusiastic thumbs-up. Or perhaps, it's a camera of last resort using an inexpensive sensor. Either way, the end result is still better than the images I get from my aging phone and a slam dunk over the iPad's camera--which doesn't exist.