Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.
The HTC Sensation XE comes packing a decent 8MP camera and the super bright dual LED flash on the back will help you out in low light situations.
The camera app is pretty much the same as it was before the Sensation XE got its Ice Cream Sandwich update, however HTC has tweaked a couple of small things.
The zoom bar has been moved to the left hand side of the screen and a new effects button has appeared in the top right corner. This has made way for a settings option in the main camera tray, along with flash, scenes and mode keys.
HTC has simplified the settings menu, making it easier to skip between the wide range of settings available within the app – everything from resolution, ISO balance and brightness to face detection, geo-tagging and auto-enhance is included.
Ice Cream Sandwich brings with it a faster shutter speed, so turn off the auto-focus on the Sensation XE and you can snap images faster than you're thumb can cope with. Even with auto-focus on, the shutter is still speedy and you can easily take snaps less than two seconds apart.
There's also a front facing VGA camera which is mainly there for video calls and face unlocking, but is handy if you need to take a quick mug shot.
The Sensation takes good quality photos and easily matches up to the likes of the iPhone 4S and Samsung Galaxy S2.
Natural light: The happy-chappy crab above was sitting in natural light and the flash was off
Click here for full-res version
Darkness: The picture of the football was taken in total darkness, using the dual LED flash
Click here for full-res version
The Sentation XE was able to auto focus on the detail on the football, even though it had little time to do so between the flash coming on and the photo being taken.
HTC offer users a whole range of effects which can be selected before taking a photo, and some can even be applied once a photo has been taken.
Distortion effect: It looks like Mr Crab has just eaten something very sour
Click here for full-res version
Dots effect: Using this effect we were able to get the funky mosaic style picture above
Click here for full-res version
Sepia effect: All our favourite classic camera effects are present on the Sensation XE
Click here for full-res version
Negative effect: Another one of the many effects, negative provides a futuristic result
Click here for full-res version
Google has included a panorama mode as part of the Ice Cream Sandwich update and this easy to use feature guides you across the landscape and then seamlessly stitches together four images. As long as you take your time and follow the on screen guidance the Sensation XE is capable of producing an impressive picture, as you can see below.
Wide shot: A well stiched together panorama image
Click here for full-res version
The zoom is digital, as found on most smartphones, so expect the normal pixelation of images the more you increase it. The first image below is a fully zoomed out photo and the second is a zoomed in snap of the main tree.
Nature-ist: A pleasant outdoor scene, fully zoomed out
Click here for full-res version
Close up: Fully zoomed in on an interesting looking tree
US Congressional staff exposed in Library of Congress email hack
One of my favorite wireless gaming headsets of all time is at a lowest-ever price ahead of the Black Friday deals
“Major platform shifts are in the air" — Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella outlines how Copilot is going to change everything about how you work
