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Hasselblad True Zoom photo samples

The camera delivers very good photo quality for a phone camera.

Lori Grunin
I've been reviewing hardware and software, devising testing methodology and handed out buying advice for what seems like forever; I'm currently absorbed by computers and gaming hardware, but previously spent many years concentrating on cameras. I've also volunteered with a cat rescue for over 15 years doing adoptions, designing marketing materials, managing volunteers and, of course, photographing cats.
Lori Grunin
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Tonal range

The True Zoom's range from light to dark is about the same as most phone cameras. You can't really improve the shadows or highlights by editing the raw version, however.

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Flash and white balance

The camera's auto white balance handled this fill flash situation pretty well -- mixed lighting colors are a challenge for most cameras, and an alternate version of this shot looked quite blue.

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9 of 13 Lori Grunin/CNET

Colors

In general, I was very impressed with the color accuracy and performance of the automatic white balance.

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Bokeh

The out-of-focus areas look pretty smooth, with reasonably round highlights. However, because of the small sensor, even at f3.5 you don't get a lot of background defocus.

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Speed

It takes a little too long to zoom, focus and shoot for capturing erratic action. But the True Zoom is no worse than a typical budget compact in that respect.

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12 of 13 Lori Grunin/CNET

Exposure

The camera app doesn't have spot metering for situations like this -- that's Google's fault, by the way, not the manufacturer's -- but I was really surprised at how well it exposed this shot. Black cats are hard, even for expensive cameras. The white balance under the fluorescent lights is also quite good.

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13 of 13 Lori Grunin/CNET

Sharpness

At its best -- in good light -- the camera produces sharp JPEG photos.

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