jcksn81, thank you for the pictures.
A few notes: the first picture is blurred, probably out of focus. Pictures 1 to 4 show a high level of noise clearly visible in the blue area of the sky. What's strange is that the noise is less visible in the following pictures and definitely less invasive in the sunset image (it makes little sense, considering that you get more noise with less light...). I already know that Mate 8 camera quality is just OK, I'm just wondering if a software update can improve at least a bit the situation. It would be nice to have the possibility to save in RAW format (like on the P9) and be able to generate the final JPEG using personal settings.

This is not the native file from the Mate 8 camera, I cannot see the ISO data in the EXIF info.
It shows some grain, I guess the ISO value is >200

Before ordering my Mate 8 I was also very worried about the quality of the camera. Before I had an LG G2 that takes nice pictures considering it's a 3 years old device. I also have 2 reflex digital cameras and a nice Sony RX100 so I know when a picture is technically good . I must say that I'm almost fully satisfied with the quality of the pictures of the Mate 8 (NTX-L29 C636 b170), the only complains are: a) not easy to focus close objects when taking a macro; b) the HDR mode that in most of the cases generates a result identical to the standard mode; b) the noise clearly visible even at 50 ISO in the area of homogeneous color, mainly in the blue sky. However I must say that the last issue can be easily fixed by processing the file with a noise reduction software (such as Noiseless or Topaz DeNoise for OS X) without compromising the fine details of the image.
I'm sure that the b and c issues could be mostly fixed by Huawei by modifying the current settings of the jpeg engine, I'm not sure they will ever do it.
If you want to judge by yourselves, here are two albums with UNEDITED pictures taken most in fully automatic mode with the Mate 8:

https://flic.kr/s/aHskyvuYxs
https://flic.kr/s/aHskAxR51t

How is it possible that the shutter speed in PRO mode is 0,5 sec and in Auto mode is 1/4000 sec at the same ISO (1000)? The difference of exposure is of a 800x factor, not considering the +4 EV (Exposure Value) in PRO mode that accounts for a 3200x factor (800 x 4). This is simply not possible looking at the pictures, my guess is that the shutter speed is more or less the same and the difference is due to a correction of the Exposure Value (probably even lower than EV +4).

This post has been edited by NiceGenome: Jun 10 2016, 09:07 PM

No doubt that the Samsung S7 EDGE takes better pictures (although over sharpened and with oversaturated colors). However I do not understand what you mean when you say that "m8 is slow and always miss the moment"? I found the Mate 8 has a pretty quick camera, unless you are trying to track a fast moving object or you are shooting in poor light conditions, but for that you need a DRLS.

It's not a problem of the autofocus, it's a limitation of the lens that cannot focus obiects that are closer than a certain distance (approx 7-8 cm). There are DRLS lens that cost more than the Mate 8 that have the same limitation. If taking close up macros is a must, than there are other cellphones the allow you to get closer to the subject.
More in general, I read in the past a number of complains about the Mate 8 camera and because of these I've waited more than 2 months before deciding to buy one. I have 2 Canon DSRL, a Sony RX100 and a few compact cameras (Canon, Panasonic, Kodak) so it's obvious that quality of the camera for me is one of the most important features in a smartphone. After getting the Mate 8 I must say that I was surprised by the general good quality of the pictures I could snap. After about 6 weeks I would rate the camera with a score around 7/8 (out of 10).
Here are some unedited pictures I took, you can judge by yourself:
https://flic.kr/s/aHskyvuYxs
https://www.flickr.com/gp/48761054@N03/Y77681
There are better camera phones out there (Huawei P9, Samsung S6 and S7, LG G4, G5 and V10, iPhone 6 and 6S to mention a few) but they are not without faults and often the quality of the pics taken with the Mate is VERY close to them.
Mate 8 has a good general purpose camera, the focus is reliable, the lens is good (I cannot see a significant image degradation at the corners of the image), it has an effective optical image stabilisation, the exposure is good, the colours are natural and even in low ligth and high ISO the pictures are comparable (if not better) to the ones taken with a Canon or Panasonic compact camera.
Limitations of the camera?
- HDR mode is not particularly effective (could be fixed with a sw update)
- not the ideal camera for macros
- some noise is visible even at low ISO in areas of homogeneous colour, in particular the blue of the sky. This is a choice by Huawei in order to preserve the details of the image. The noise can ne easily removed with very little degradation of the image by post processing with sw like DeNoise or Noiseless (for OSX).
- sometimes the white balance (particularly with a cloudy weather or in the shade) is not spot on
- cannot easily freeze fast moving subjects. For that you need a DRLS or maybe you can get more successful shots with the Samsung S7 camera with its new Dual Pixels technology


This post has been edited by NiceGenome: Jun 12 2016, 08:03 PM

I'm not a professional at all but I like photography and digital cameras. Take a picture in low light conditions with either a Nikon or a Canon $100 compact camera and with a Mate 8. More or less you should get a picture of a similar quality from the different devices (obviously the flash is stronger on the compact camera due to the lack os size constrains). If you want something significantly better you should buy a device with a larger sensor, either a DSRL or a mirrorless camera.

This post has been edited by NiceGenome: Jun 13 2016, 03:12 AM

Have you seen my pictures taken with my Mate 8?
https://flic.kr/s/aHskyvuYxs
https://www.flickr.com/gp/48761054@N03/Y77681
Are they really so bad in your opinion? There are some that are not so great (in some cases I had only a few seconds to take the picture) but I can assure you that even with a $600 Canon DSRL some pics are just not as you expected.