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Moto M: Initial Camera Impressions

Written By Daniel Morial
Published • February 23rd, 2017
CamerasMobile
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Motorola has just launched its latest midrange smartphone in the country — Moto M. We already have our first impressions about the phone itself so why not take a look at its camera’s performance? Fresh from the local launch, here a few samples we were able to take.

Let’s begin with the camera launcher. It’s pretty standard and straightforward. You get a large virtual shutter key on the right along with the gallery shortcut, video option, and the other camera modes.

There’s a Pro mode available in the options menu to allow the manual selection of ISO, shutter speed, focus, and exposure.

For the following the samples, we let the Moto M do the work as we set it in auto.

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With its 16-megapixel rear shooter equipped with phase detection autofocus, the Moto M were able to shoot remarkable stills. The first three samples were shot inside a restaurant with faint illumination and a bit of natural light peeking. We noticed that the shutter speed compensates for the dim environment thus resulting in slightly blurred images since the phone doesn’t have optical image stabilization.

As for the last two shots taken under bright sunlight, the images are sharp and exceptionally detailed. The dynamic range is not at par with higher end camera phones, though.

You can manually turn on the high dynamic range or HDR mode to be able to capture details in the shadows but it’s a hit and miss. The output is overly processed and artificial to look at. Here are two samples with the HDR on and off.

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As for the front, it has an 8-megapixel selfie camera. It has a beauty mode built-in the camera launcher and, so far, it’s doing fine in hiding out blemishes. Here are a couple of samples taken indoors and out, and with beauty mode on and off.

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: Beauty On

: Beauty Off

: Beauty On

: Beauty Off

We’ll be taking the Moto M for a full spin the coming days. Check back for our full review soon. If you have any particular queries, hit the comments section below.

The Moto M in fine gold is now available (dark gray in the second week of March) for Php14,999 in Moto stores, select MemoXpress and Silicon Valley outlets, and Lazada.

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Daniel Morial

This article was contributed by Daniel Morial, a film school graduate and technology enthusiast. He's the geeky encyclopedia and salesman among his friends for anything tech.