[drkpitt]

drkpitt -

Yes, we've all taken great pics with the Passport. It is possible to do it, I know.

However, here's a situation I had to deal with this past week:

My daughter (4 years old) is learning how to skate. We were out on the pond, and it was a windy day. The wind was blowing her around a bit, and it was beautiful. So I whip out the phone and try to take a snap shot of this. Nothing.....just a blur! I switch to video and a get some decent video of this event, but it sucks that the stills were not going to happen.

Yes, if I had a few seconds to change the settings, I could probably have got a decent shot, but nobody should have to do that to just get a decent pic.

Again, there's little point in posting more 'great pics' taken with the Passport camera - there are many threads on Crackberry that show you can. There are also a huge number of complaints about the camera software - for good reason.

True, taking fast shots like that is not a strength of the Passport and I have to see if the latest helps in that scenario. I've had to fix the focus for some of those situations in the past. With the face detection setting on the latest speed improvements might do slightly better than before but I'd have to test that.

Software fixes will likely improve but I doubt it's going to win any awards in that category for a while. I agree the software needs a lot more work.

Posted via CB10

[last_attempt]

In this fickle tech world you can't have the competition have a big edge on you in any category regardless if you personally care about it or not. So if critics like the passport overall but are let down by the camera it is something BlackBerry has to fix, which I'm sure they will

Posted via CB10

[TgeekB]

In this fickle tech world you can't have the competition have a big edge on you in any category regardless if you personally care about it or not. So if critics like the passport overall but are let down by the camera it is something BlackBerry has to fix, which I'm sure they will

Posted via CB10

I agree and I hope they do.

Posted from my awesome Classic.

[wincyUt]

Fair review and qualifications.

[sandman10]

nice....

[clickitykeys]

She also did a review of the Q10. Erica and Lisa Gabe from MobileTechReview are my favorite reviewers.

It's Lisa Gade, and I agree, that she is very balanced and thorough in her reviews.

Q10/10.3.1.821

[BK_NY_RAY]

Don't let her fool you. She's very biased. I was a big fan of hers for a while. She's biased positively towards android. She just does some random positive non android reviews as a smoke screen.

Posted via CB10

[BK_NY_RAY]

Lisa is the best. Completely unbiased from what I've seen.

Posted via CB10

[diegonei]

I remember her reviewing other BB devices before. She's cool. Fair and unbiased.

[trsbbs]

Don't let her fool you. She's very biased. I was a big fan of hers for a while. She's biased positively towards android. She just does some random positive non android reviews as a smoke screen.

Posted via CB10

She doesn't appear to be the one with a bias here.

BlackBerry hates America!

[BK_NY_RAY]

She is though. She even blocked me for humbly and lightly making a comment that android isn't truly open like say Firefox os is.

Posted via CB10

[Bla1ze]

The camera on my passport is terrible. It takes about 5 seconds to actually get a shot off. On top of this the colors are all off. Luckily I don't do too much phone photography. I recently went to Europe for vacation and made the easy decision to take my Z10 -- much, much better photo quality.

Posted via CB10

It's not the camera that sucks. It's the optimization of the camera that's not present in the OS. It flip flops from REALLY good to REALLY REALLY bad. It's like as soon as they have good settings, someone comes along and screws it all up. If you load a lot of leaked OS' this becomes increasingly clear as in each one, the camera is hit or miss.

[mvpcrossxover]

We live in a times where we take so much pictures it's beyond ridiculous.

All of a sudden, everybody is a photographer.

Posted via CB10

[anon(832122)]

We live in a times where we take so much pictures it's beyond ridiculous.

All of a sudden, everybody is a photographer.

Posted via CB10

Not sure about 'all of a sudden'....let's face it since the iPhone released back 2007 the camera on mobile phones has been a distingushing feature for many people and has driven competition. I think taking a lot of photos is something people have also wanted to do but carrying around a dedicated device (point and shoot camera) just wasn't appealing to most people (although I knew a lot of people that did, especially ones with kids). We saw point and shoot cameras become more and more portable but the shift to better camera's on mobile phones just seemed to be where the demand was/is going.

[pantlesspenguin]

It's Lisa Gade, and I agree, that she is very balanced and thorough in her reviews.

Q10/10.3.1.821

Whoops I must not have caught autocorrect before I posted.

[Morten]

Way to much focus on Android apps IMHO.

Why would anyone who "need" Android apps get a BlackBerry 10 device?

Yes - it does run some Android apps very well, but for people who NEED Android as their primary platform, should get a full Android device.


OK review, but I still would like to see a true review of the Passport for what it is, and not for what it is not.

I use Passport as my daily driver, has done since it was launched, and I get ALL my work done with native BlackBerry 10 apps, - not a single Android app. Have tried a few just to do it, but Android is Android, and I chose a BleckBerry10 device because I don't like Android apps, and I don't like iOS.

The BlackBerry10 platform is not only great, but just the fact that it CAN run many Android apps if you have to, - makes it in a class by itself, and with the runtime under full BB10 core control, add's a extra security layer that you don't have on a regular Android device.

For work I have to use all platforms, and I still prefer the Passport as my main device. There is Nothing that I need to do that the Passport cannot do, with only native BB10 apps.
But if I had to rely on Google Play services and Google+ , then of course you will need a device running full Android.

If you look for a gaming device, then why would you look at the Passport at all?

one device will never "do it all", always select the device that allows you to run whichever app you Need, with the level of security and privacy you Need, and roll with that one. What is "the right one" for you today, might not be the one for tomorrow. The freedom of choice Is here, No need to get stuck with one single device

[BK_NY_RAY]

This wasn't a review either. Just her conclusion after her "challenge." best challenge and most unbiased, probably completely unbiased, is the review of BlackBerry z30 of "DadDoes" on YouTube. Must watch.

Posted via CB10

[Dunt Dunt Dunt]

Good and fair review.....

Camera... think is a combination of both the hardware and software. Still think a great camera, Instagram and Candy Crush would have been enough to make the Z10 and subquestent BB10 devices consumer enough for them to gain marketshare, and thus see further support by other developers. You have to build a device to meet a need.... BlackBerry just built a "general" device with an immature OS and thus it was't very useful.

But the Passport and Classic show more focus on the business users or "prosumers".

[Jimberry Storm]

Seems like a new thing, a good well thought out review on a BB device. Ultimatly it was not for her but she didn't just do the cool thing and bash BB, she stated what she liked and didn't like.

[lift]

Don't let her fool you. She's very biased. I was a big fan of hers for a while. She's biased positively towards android. She just does some random positive non android reviews as a smoke screen.

Posted via CB10

Good point. I did get the impression that she was biased toward android too. She mentioned that she was dependent on many of their services. Also she did a lot of talk about android apps, google chrome, etc. Probably why she was so hard on Apple in her iphone 6 plus review.

[grover5]

Don't let her fool you. She's very biased. I was a big fan of hers for a while. She's biased positively towards android. She just does some random positive non android reviews as a smoke screen.

Posted via CB10

She didn't give a very good review of the nexus 6 which almost convinced me not to get it. Thankfully I ignored the review and bought it anyway.

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android

[Deckard79]

Re: the camera. The Passport's camera does not have phase differential auto-focus,which the iPhone 6 and some other top-end smartphones do have.

Hence, it will always be much slower to focus.

Posted via CB10

[robsteve]

It was a good review and very fair regarding the shortcomings of BlackBerry, while still highlighting the strengths of the OS and phone.

To be honest, anybody that makes a living blogging on Youtube or any Google owned site will always have a better experience with a phone using a Google operating system.

[jezy1m3rchant]

@Blackberry should really work on the software side of things with respect to their camera's on BB10. The hardware is not bad at all. A 13mp shooter for that matter. We could all see the mediocrity of the camera performance in Erica Griffin's video. The passport is such a powerful machine. A high end machine. Blackberry should stop spewing the bness centric crap about this fantastic machine. It's high end and everything on it has to be excellent. Not disputing it's bness flair but the camera just has to work. Maybe i'll really need to get my hands on one personal before I can make my mind. I hope the classic takes better shots than this. Some of us are mobile photographers so u'd bare with the lil rant. I know some folks will say I could as well go in for android, windows or ios machine for pictures if I so desire but the uniqueness of BB10 is unmatched. Owning one capable machine is good enough for me.

Posted via CB10

[Originalloverman]

I like that she used it for a week before doing a review. At least you know you are getting an honest review from a person that is "real world"
Good, bad or indifferent, her review is solid based on how Joe Average would purchase and use it in today's marketplace.

Sent while driving from my Crackberry.

I agree completely


Send from the amazing powers of the  Z30