Review
Roderick Scott 0

At HTC's last press event they held last year in NYC, one of the big things they unveiled was small camera for everyday consumers w/ the Re Camera.  This is not your atypical handheld camera.  It is modeled similar to a small periscope or asthma pump.  

Honestly, I wasn't really looking forward to it as HTC hasn't been known for the cameras.  So in my mind, I'm thinking what in the hell are they doing making a camera.  Well we've had the Re for several months now and I think we can honestly give a complete analysis of it.  So let's get into it.  



HTC RE Review

Performance

HTC armed the Re w/ a 146-degree wide angle 16MP lens.  Quick press of the Silver button takes shots + long presses starts recording video.  So every photo or video angle is going to pick up a lot within the shot.  The quality of the photos were OK for the most part as there is still noticeable grain in the photos.  Of course the more light, the better the overall result but it didn't completely suffer in low light.  HTC has been beefing up their image processing quietly behind the scenes as it helps in rendering the final product.

HTC has stepped up their optics a bit but the grain still remains.

RE Camera

Inside of the Re lies a microSD card slot for additional storage + a 820 mAh battery.  Using the Re app as a viewfinder + recording 1080p video got me around a little over an hour of battery life.  It does have a micro-USB for charging so if you have a battery pack on you, you can keep it going as long as you have the juice.  

RE Camera

RE Camera

 
On the video side of things, you can get 1080p video at 30fps as well as the option of 720p  @120fps slow-motion.  A later update allows for livestreaming up to 30 minutes via YouTube as well.  Again, the video quality for the most part is pretty good.  Accurate color reproduction and decent framerates so you can't complain too much.  You're not replacing your mirrorless or DSLR for this but you can get good recordings when this is all you have.  

 

HTC RE Review

Software

The Re app lies within the App Store + Play Store as it works w/ both Android + iOS.  It is pretty basic but it does all you to use your smartphone as a viewfinder, view all photos/videos taken w/ the Re, setup a timelapse, and manage backup for all Re media.  It would have been nice if the app allowed you to adjust the ISO, aperture, & shutter speed but here's to hoping for it to arrive in a future update.  I did have some trouble syncing to app a few times which caused me to miss out on some concert photos/videos but other than that, it worked as advertised.  

 Re review grade

This performs OK though a bit overpriced. 

TG 2 Cents

Again I wasn't expecting it to be blown away by the Re but throughout my time w/ it, it did change my mind.  I did manage to get some pretty good photos + videos on it.  But like many 1st-gen devices, there are missteps and there are bugs.  Its not beating many of the cameras on today's smartphones (iPhone 6/6+, G3, Lumias, Note 4) but this is a huge improvement for HTC.  Caveats and all it is easy to grasp, easy to put inside of shirt pocket, or just for those of you looking to get into vlogging.   

To Buy Or Not To Buy

I would suggest those of you interested to wait for the 2nd-gen version to be announced or don't pay the retail price($200) for it.  
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Author: Roderick Scott

Father. Husband. Creative. Mild foodie. Batman in my dreams.