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One day in Bangkok with the Moto Z2 Play

By Zachary Chan - 15 Jul 2017

Obligatory geometry

5 July, 8:30PM - The lonely, winding road back to civilization. And that's a wrap

Samsung Galaxy S8, 1/40 sec. f/1.7 4.2mm, ISO 160

Closing thoughts and observations.

  • The Samsung Galaxy S8 seems to be more conservative with light sensitivity, preferring lower ISO and higher shutter speeds than the Moto Z2 Play in Auto mode.
  • The Moto Z2 Play on the other hand, prefers to shoot at higher ISO and lower shutter speeds. You'd think that without an OIS, this would be the opposite, but it turned out well and I didn't really notice any reduced capabilities from this.
  • The Moto Z2 Play's colors seem to be more neutral when compared to the S8's punched up colors. And both have their advantages at different places. In the aquarium, I found the S8's photos to be overly processed at both spectrums, either too red or too blue. There, the Moto Z2 Play shots looked more natural. Outside however, the vibrancy of the S8 can't be denied, and some of the Moto Z2 Play's shots looked bland in direct comparison.
  • The is barely any perceptible difference in shooting with both the Z2 Play and S8, both phonecameras are fast and responsive. The only thing in the way would be the UI of the devices itself and how it handles clicks and swipes.
  • However, I did note that when left to its own devices, the autofocusing of the Moto Z2 Play can roam around quite a bit, especially in busy shots, so it's best to lock focus on your subject. Otherwise, you may end up with a sharp leaf on a tree branch, when you intended to shoot the perched bird.
  • Both phones have Manual modes (Pro modes), but being a mainstream device, I suspect that Lenovo purposely limit the range of options available to the Z2 Play, but we'll only know when the retail devices are out, and compare them to the flagship Z2 device. 
  • Although this isn't a structured or exhaustive review, I left the hotel with both phones fully charged. At the end of a 4 hour walk, both devices still had more than 60% battery in them.
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