Here's what the HTC One M9 camera can do

The overwhelming reason for why I found myself disappointed with the One M9 this past week was its camera. It works quickly, impressively so. But the pictures that come out of it just aren't good enough. Things you'll see below include excessive chromatic noise, blown-out highlights, and unacceptably poor results in low light. HTC is the company that spent two years evangelizing the benefit of larger pixels for capturing more light — that's the big selling point behind its lower-resolution UltraPixel camera — and now it's leapt in the exact opposite direction by cramming in 20 million smaller pixels to obtain greater resolution. I'm not alone in suspecting that using the front-facing UltraPixel camera on this phone will be a better bet than its proper camera on the back.

In low light, you might be better off with the front ultrapixel camera

The absence of optical image stabilization isn't a huge issue when shooting photos. The fast capture of the One M9 means I rarely get any motion blur in my shots. Video, however, is a whole other matter. The 4K video sample below illustrates the problem well: even with my best efforts to keep a steady grip while panning, the recording ended up distractingly shaky.

HTC is continuing to work hard on improving the quality of the One M9's camera. I like the clarity of the audio it records and I find the HDR mode makes a real difference when used outdoors. Just see for yourself below. Still, there's a lot more work left to be done.