HTC Windows Phone 8X review

The HTC 8X has an 8-megapixel camera and, as we’ve started to expect from HTC, it’s very good. Pictures taken both outside and indoors are sharp and clear. Indoor shots have some noise apparent, but we find this acceptable compared to the excessive noise reduction we saw from the Nokia Lumia 920’s camera. The one problem we had was that shots tended to be overexposed, leading to loss of detail in lighter areas – in one of our photos the clouds in the sky were almost invisible.

Photos are sharp with punchy colours, but overexposure leads the clouds to disappear

Zooming in shows plenty of detail, however

The overexposure is more of a problem in videos, though, leading to overly-pallid complexions and blown-out lighter areas. Videos can’t match the Lumia 920’s, thanks to the Nokia phone’s more accurate exposure and optical image stabilisation.

The HTC 8X takes lovely, if overexposed, photos

The HTC 8X is a solid rather than spectacular Windows Phone 8 handset. We appreciated its high-quality camera, but in terms of build and screen quality it can’t quite match Nokia’s new Lumia 920. The Lumia 920 is around another £50 SIM-free and a couple of pounds a month on a contract, but we think it’s worth the extra.