BlackBerry Z10 review

Tasked with saving BlackBerry, can the first BB 10 handset deliver?

BlackBerry Z10 review
The future of BlackBerry looks like this

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The BlackBerry Z10 comes well equipped in the camera department, with an 8MP rear snapper and a 2MP front-facing senor.

A single LED flash accompanies the camera on the back of the Z10, and the handset is capable of shooting 1080p video with the rear lens.

The camera app can be accessed in a number of ways, including the shortcut on the lock screen where you hold down on the camera icon to launch the app, by selecting the icon from the app list or by tapping the camera on the homescreen dock.

BlackBerry Z10 review

It takes less than a second for the BlackBerry Z10 to load up the camera application, and once there you're greeted with a simple setup.

It may not be the most feature-packed camera offering we've ever seen – there's no photo sphere technology a la Android here – but what the Z10 does provide is an easy way to quickly take photos. After all, that's what you're here for anyway.

Shutter speed is rapid, although you'll notice there's no shutter button actually on the screen.

BlackBerry Z10 review

Instead the whole screen on the BlackBerry Z10 is the shutter, which makes taking self portraits easy, but it can be frustrating when you accidentally hit it when trying to get to the settings.

This issue can be partly avoided as both volume rocker keys on the side of the Z10 can be used to take a picture, which is a handy feature, especially for those with clumsy fingers.

Autofocus is in play, and it can take half a second to settle at times, but there's no tap to focus as such. The focus can be changed by holding down on the Z10 display and moving around so the focus square follows you. Release your finger when you get to the point you want the camera to focus on and then tap the screen to capture the image.

It's certainly not as quick as the simple tap to focus method, but it's an effective one.

We pitted the Z10's camera against the iPhone 5, the results of which you can check out below.

Dive into the settings menu and there are slim pickings on offer, with a toggle for the flash, front/rear camera and aspect ratio (you've got the choice of 16:9 and 4:3) along with three shooting modes (normal, stabilisation and burst) and four scene modes (action, whiteboard, night and beach or snow).

There's a 5x digital zoom which is controlled by pinching the screen on the BlackBerry Z10, but picture quality is dramatically reduced the closer in you get, so it's best to steer clear if you want a half decent photo.

But wait, there is an ace up the sleeve of the BlackBerry Z10 – it's called Time Shift. Time Shift is a new feature for BlackBerry 10, and when you switch the camera to this mode and take a photo of a person or a group of people the Z10 will highlight all the faces in the picture.

Press on any face after taking the picture and a disc will appear on the screen with that person's mug in it and a slider below. Move the slider left and right and you'll see the BlackBerry Z10 has captured the face before and after as well as during the time the shutter was pressed.

This enables you to fine tune each person's face to ensure everyone is smiling and has their eyes open – giving you the perfect picture. It's an impressive feature, and we were surprised at just how well it worked.

Image quality is generally pretty good and even in near or total darkness the flash on the BlackBerry Z10 does a good job of lighting things up.

We did find quite a few of our snaps looked a little grainy though and means the Z10 isn't quite on a par with a lot of its rivals, but you can at least rest assured you've got a capable, if not slightly feature-less snapper in your pocket.

BlackBerry Z10 review

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BlackBerry Z10 review

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BlackBerry Z10 review

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BlackBerry Z10 review

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BlackBerry Z10 review

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BlackBerry Z10 review

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John McCann
Global Managing Editor

John joined TechRadar over a decade ago as Staff Writer for Phones, and over the years has built up a vast knowledge of the tech industry. He's interviewed CEOs from some of the world's biggest tech firms, visited their HQs and has appeared on live TV and radio, including Sky News, BBC News, BBC World News, Al Jazeera, LBC and BBC Radio 4. Originally specializing in phones, tablets and wearables, John is now TechRadar's resident automotive expert, reviewing the latest and greatest EVs and PHEVs on the market. John also looks after the day-to-day running of the site.