HTC Re Review

It feels like every day a new company steps into the action camera market. From big to small, manufacturers see a chance to make money. Now you can add the smartphone giant HTC to that list.

For some reason they seem to think that a smartphone isn’t good enough for capturing moments. So they develoed a totally unique looking action camera called the HTC Re ($132).

HTC Re

Video quality: 1080p 30fps, 720p Slow Motion

Lens: 146º f2.8

Photo: 16MP

Up to 1m (3ft) waterproof

Bluetooth, WiFi connectivity

Internal 8GB storage

MicroSD

Micro-USB

In The Box

HTC Re camera

Micro-USB cable

AC power adapter

Design and Accessories

First thing you will notice about the HTC Re action camera is the unique odd design. It is basically the same size and shape as an asthma inhaler. While at first it may seem odd, it actually feels right and safe when holding it. It is impossible to drop the camera unless you open your hand.

The body of the camera is made out of durable plastic. It is completely dustbroof and can be used underwater up to 1m / 3ft for 30 minutes. So yeah you can’t go diving with it but it can still be used in a pool.

On the bottom of the device there is a microSD slot for increasing the internal 8GB storage. You are going to need that if you shoot a lot of videos. Right there is also the micro USB slot and a tripod mounting hole.

The HTC Re camera is extremely simple and smooth with only 2 buttons. The main shiny button under your thumb is used for shooting videos at 1080p or taking pictures. One tap snaps a photo and holding it down starts recording. The smaller button under the lens is used for slow motion recording.

There are also LEDs embedded in the body. The positioning seems weird since they are covered when you hold the camera. LEDs are used for displaying battery life and video mode.

As far as accessories go, HTC does offer a small amount of mounts for the camera. Such as a Bar mount, Clip-on, Suction mount and Head mount.

Video Quality

The HTC action camera can shoot videos at 1080p 30fps. That is OK as long as you are not expecting super high quality or filming fast moving objects.

When viewing on a small screen, such as a smartphone the videos look amazing and smooth but it changes when viewing on a bigger screen. The same goes for fast moving objects, because 30fps simply isn´t enough to make it smooth.

The camera comes with electronic stabilization system, however it isn´t as good as on the Sony 4K so you´ll still want to keep it as steady as possible.

As far as colours go, I actually really like them on this action camera. They aren´t supersaturated like on most action cameras and the white balance is good as well. Moving the camera around can result in some colour shifting but overall the colours are great on this camera.

And as far as low light goes, same as on all the other action cameras – noisy.

WiFi, Bluetooth and App

HTC Re connects to your smartphone via WiFi or Bluetooth. Simply open up the Re app on Android or iOS and it will start connecting to your camera. In the app you can control the camera, remotely start recording or even take photos. The app also allows you to view and download your recordings.

With the app you can also use a feature called the time-lapse mode which takes a series of photos over a given period of time. You can set it to from 30fps to 1fps.

The great thing about the Bluetooth connectivity is that even if your camera is turned on, it connects faster to the app via WiFi if your Bluetooth is still on. One thing thing that is annoying about the WiFi however is the low connectivity in busy wireless areas.

Battery

HTC claims up to an hour and half of battery life at continuous 1080p shooting. That is actually true and achievable if you don´t use the WiFi. Using WiFi lowers the battery life to around an hour.

The negative part about the HTC Re battery is that it can´t be removed. But then again this action camera is more for shooting short clips and moving on.

Conclusion

If you are looking for a camera to take quick videos with and don´t care about the quality too much then I can´t find a better camera in the $132 price range. Obviously it isn´t meant for action hungry video shooters but for a person just wanting to capture moments the HTC Re is a good camera.