Graham Hancock

Seeing is believing: iPhone 4 vs. EVO 4G

I’ll admit, I was pretty impressed when I heard the EVO 4G could record 720p HD video. It was one of the most touted features of the 4G. However, after seeing these comparison videos I’m surprised that HTC can even get away with advertising that the EVO 4G records HD video. Watch these two comparison videos recorded simultaneously on an EVO 4G and an iPhone 4 by Chris Pirillo:

Watch a few seconds of the iPhone 4 Video:

Now, watch the same video as recorded by an HTC EVO 4G:

There is just NO comparison here. The quality of video and audio being captured by EVO 4G is awful, and could be bested by even the oldest Flip camera out there. The bitrate/compression is very low, and it seems like the frame rate is capped at below 25 fps, possibly even 15 fps. That is NOT HD video. The “resolution” may be 1280×720, but that is absolutely not high-definition quality video.

Of course, by comparison iPhone 4′s “HD” capability looks fine, but i’m noticing quite a bit of CMOS “jelly” motion when there’s some side-to-side movement going on in the frame. Not perfect, but it seems to minimize it more than most Flip devices. Another observation is that the iPhone 4 camera seems to handle very well in low-light, which is encouraging.