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The HTC Desire HD camera is relatively successful as a standalone snapper - it's not up there with the best in class, but in our tests it proved to be snappy (sorry...) at taking pictures.
That's actually pretty important - turn off the preview pictures panel and the shutter speed is pretty good, only a couple of seconds before readying itself to go again.
The settings aren't massive, but what they do offer is impressive - touch to focus not only will bring the relevant area of the on-screen image into focus, but also alter the light levels to bring the correct subject to the fore.
It's interesting to note that there's a Widescreen option, which basically adds a few more pixels to the screen, rather than changing the megapixel resolution completely.
The settings on offer (through nifty little sliding scroll wheels) are Exposure, Contrast, Sharpness and Saturation. They all make a difference to the output, and we particularly liked the crazy snaps we managed with the Contrast and Saturation levels right up.
Touch to focus is a handy addition - it basically lets you choose where the subject is with your finger, and the colour and exposure modes adjust automatically.
HTC has also put on photo effects, like Vintage framing, Solarise, Distortion etc. It's not going to be used for a serious snap, but it will be good for creating funny pictures to uploading to Facebook.
When each picture is taken the option to share to Twitter and Facebook is offered (crazily through the 'Share' key) and it's options like this that show the HTC Desire Z is designed around the consumer.
In normal mode, the camera is relatively adept at capturing pictures and lighting correctly
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The 2x digital zoom is OK, but doesn't really add anything that moving a bit closer couldn't achieve
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There's no specific Macro mode here, but the autofocus is so strong it can handle subjects under 5cm away
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There are a variety of settings to play with, so here we compare all the different options, starting with low exposure
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High exposure
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High contrast
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Low contrast
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High saturation
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Low saturation
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Low saturation and contrast
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High saturation and contrast
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Vintage mode is pretty much just darkening out the edges
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Is there a reason for Solarise mode? Probably not, but it looks ace
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Night time shots in automatic mode come out a little bit over-exposed
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Add a bit of exposure correction though, and you're in business.
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