HTC RE review
This time I'll review one of my Christmas gifts.
My dad decided to surprise me with a new camera, an HTC RE. It's a very small, compact camera that resembles a little parascope or inhaler. It takes excellent pictures with its wide angle lens without the need of a viewfinder. It also features a video recorder, and is also capable of recording slow motion video, and time lapse photography. It's also waterproof, so you can take underwater photos and videos up to a meter deep for about 30 minutes. (Better make sure you get a screwcap to seal the USB port at the bottom, though.)
The RE's compact design allows you to take quick photos on the fly whenever something unexpectedly awesome comes up. The grip sensor within the camera wakes it up when you pick it up. The shutter button is conveniently located at the corner behind the lens, so you press it with your thumb.
The HTC RE comes with an 8GB micro SD card, which is nice. I hear not a lot of devices come with memory cards like that. However, 8GB isn't all that much when recording videos. I recorded about 50 minutes of video on Christmas Day, and then used up about 6GB right there. But it's still workable, especially when you use the companion app and your smartphone/tablet.
The battery is rechargeable, which is nice to know that I won't need to spend money regularly on lithium batteries. Battery life is claimed to be able to record up to 90 minutes of video. I have mixed emotions about that. I try to keep my videos less than 20 minutes, but I want to record lots of them. And nothing's worse than running out of battery life when you're out exploring a foreign land. But as far as photos are concerned, it should suffice.
The HTC RE has a companion app for smartphones and tablets that you can use to access its additional features. You connect via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi/3G/4G (yes, you need both) and you can view your content and transfer it to your device. The app is also what you need to set up your time lapse photography, your video stablization, your video and photo quality and dimensions, and so on. It can even act as your live viewfinder if you just can't stand the thought of taking pictures blind. I was iffy about it at first myself, but with the wide-angle lens, your video and photo captures should come out perfectly 99% of the time.
The photo quality is excellent, much sharper and clearer than any of my older cameras (even my smartphones). The wide angle lens is perfect for selfie enthusiasts. While I am personally not a selfie enthusiast, I decided to experiment with it anyway. Here are a few photos I took with the HTC RE.
Notice in the last one, the light at the top doesn't blind the whole photo? Now that's a quality shot. XD
The video quality, on the other hand, leaves a bit to be desired. It doesn't quite have the HD quality that the photos have. They have sort of a grainy look to them, but again, the wide-angle lens is a plus. Now, I'll go over a summary of pros and cons...
Pros...
- Compact design
- Wide angle lens for excellent quality photos
- Waterproof
- 8GB microSD card included
- Rechargeable battery
Cons...
- No zoom function
- Limited functionality without the app
- Video quality doesn't quite match the photo quality
- Battery life could be longer (a rather subjective opinion)
So I think I'll be using this camera more for photos than videos.
My dad decided to surprise me with a new camera, an HTC RE. It's a very small, compact camera that resembles a little parascope or inhaler. It takes excellent pictures with its wide angle lens without the need of a viewfinder. It also features a video recorder, and is also capable of recording slow motion video, and time lapse photography. It's also waterproof, so you can take underwater photos and videos up to a meter deep for about 30 minutes. (Better make sure you get a screwcap to seal the USB port at the bottom, though.)
The RE's compact design allows you to take quick photos on the fly whenever something unexpectedly awesome comes up. The grip sensor within the camera wakes it up when you pick it up. The shutter button is conveniently located at the corner behind the lens, so you press it with your thumb.
The HTC RE comes with an 8GB micro SD card, which is nice. I hear not a lot of devices come with memory cards like that. However, 8GB isn't all that much when recording videos. I recorded about 50 minutes of video on Christmas Day, and then used up about 6GB right there. But it's still workable, especially when you use the companion app and your smartphone/tablet.
The battery is rechargeable, which is nice to know that I won't need to spend money regularly on lithium batteries. Battery life is claimed to be able to record up to 90 minutes of video. I have mixed emotions about that. I try to keep my videos less than 20 minutes, but I want to record lots of them. And nothing's worse than running out of battery life when you're out exploring a foreign land. But as far as photos are concerned, it should suffice.
The HTC RE has a companion app for smartphones and tablets that you can use to access its additional features. You connect via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi/3G/4G (yes, you need both) and you can view your content and transfer it to your device. The app is also what you need to set up your time lapse photography, your video stablization, your video and photo quality and dimensions, and so on. It can even act as your live viewfinder if you just can't stand the thought of taking pictures blind. I was iffy about it at first myself, but with the wide-angle lens, your video and photo captures should come out perfectly 99% of the time.
The photo quality is excellent, much sharper and clearer than any of my older cameras (even my smartphones). The wide angle lens is perfect for selfie enthusiasts. While I am personally not a selfie enthusiast, I decided to experiment with it anyway. Here are a few photos I took with the HTC RE.
Notice in the last one, the light at the top doesn't blind the whole photo? Now that's a quality shot. XD
The video quality, on the other hand, leaves a bit to be desired. It doesn't quite have the HD quality that the photos have. They have sort of a grainy look to them, but again, the wide-angle lens is a plus. Now, I'll go over a summary of pros and cons...
Pros...
- Compact design
- Wide angle lens for excellent quality photos
- Waterproof
- 8GB microSD card included
- Rechargeable battery
Cons...
- No zoom function
- Limited functionality without the app
- Video quality doesn't quite match the photo quality
- Battery life could be longer (a rather subjective opinion)
So I think I'll be using this camera more for photos than videos.