BlackBerry Torch 9800 Review: Keeping RIM's Flame Alive

Camera Quality Analysis

So how does actual quality fare then? Well, we took the Torch to our usual testbench locations and snapped photos and videos. However, a number of you have requested a bit more testing uniformity and control. Thus far I’ve been very careful to take photos in the same locations and positions at the same time of day and weather, so that lighting is the same, but you can’t control everything. In addition, I hadn’t been testing LED flash brightness or quality at all.  

First up, video recording quality:

BlackBerry Torch 9800

Motorola Droid X

HTC EVO 4G

Nexus One

iPhone 4

It's kind of a huge misfortune that the Torch lacks 720P video recording when so much of the competition is moving forward with not just higher resolution but better codecs and bitrates. The Torch isn't really impressive here, looking rather undersaturated as well.

Next, our usual bench location photos at the various test locations:

Regular thunderstorms in the evening when I time the light to be the same made taking shots with the Torch that were lit the same way challenging. Plus, you've asked for something a bit more controlled. To that effect, I’m doing something new. I’ll test smartphones at those locations and include their photos, but I’ll also include photos taken of a simple scene inside a lightbox. Devices are held in the exact same position on a stand - the differences are entirely the different focal lengths of the smartphone cameras themselves. I grabbed all the devices on hand for this - as we get more it’ll start to be as comprehensive as the other bench. 

I like this test so much more already. You'll note I included the Droid 2 and Palm Pre Plus - expect those reviews very soon.

Honestly, the Torch’s camera isn’t anything extraordinary, but does a fairly decent job, and is a welcome step up from the 3 MP fixed focus system on older BBs. My only criticism remains the lack of direct autofocus control that I’ve grown accustomed to on virtually every platform, and lack of 720P HD video recording.

Browsing Media 

Under media from the launcher you can navigate to the camera and video camera launchers, and the videos and pictures applications. Android and iOS choose to keep videos and photos under one roof, usually called gallery or, in the case of iOS, photos (which is curiously still somewhat misleading). How do these fare? Not bad.  

You can view by date, list, thumbnails, and search. Geotagged photos have the city name in the filename, which is clever and useful, but also throws a wrench into sorting your photos by name properly. You can play a slideshow in the photos application which has some Ken Burns effect goodness, but other than that it’s pretty simple. Pinch to zoom multitouch gestures are present, and relatively snappy. 

Gallery - Stills and Video

Video playback feels a tad choppier than I’d like it to, and bringing up the UI controls while video is playing back noticeably decreases FPS. Also, playback only takes place in landscape mode, not portrait.