The Camera
This is a tough one for me. For as much as I like the display on the Venue 8 7000, I was disappointed with the camera implementation. I’ve already talked about the placement issues with the lens, the constant cleaning you’ll have to do to get the best images possible, but in truth the camera just doesn’t take high quality enough photos for it to really mean much.
Looking at still images only, and before we get to the interesting depth features of the triple camera design, the Venue 8 7000’s sensor is not as robust as the camera on any of our competing tablets. I took some test photos with the Dell Venue 8 7000, NVIDIA SHIELD Tablet, Google Nexus 9 and Apple iPad Air 2 to compare. I used three different scenes, one indoor with indirect lighting, one outdoor and one indoor with low light levels.
Scene 1 – Studio Set
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Dell Venue 8 7000 vs NVIDIA SHIELD Tablet | ||||
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Dell Venue 8 7000 vs Google Nexus 9 | |||||
Dell Venue 8 7000 vs iPad Air 2 | |||||
SHIELD Tablet vs Nexus 9 | SHIELD Tablet vs iPad Air 2 | Nexus 9 vs iPad Air 2 |
The Dell Venue 8 7000 image shows more noise on the black finish of the tabletop and the edges in the set on background are noticeably softer and less detailed. It also shows a very different color tone than the other three sample photos – look at the brown of the woot monkey on the left side of the monitor.
Scene 2 – Outdoors
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Dell Venue 8 7000 vs NVIDIA SHIELD Tablet | ||||
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Dell Venue 8 7000 vs Google Nexus 9 | |||||
Dell Venue 8 7000 vs iPad Air 2 | |||||
SHIELD Tablet vs Nexus 9 | SHIELD Tablet vs iPad Air 2 | Nexus 9 vs iPad Air 2 |
Things look a little better for the Venue 8 7000 here in our outdoor images. The scene is bright enough in all cases to really take advantage of full resolution of the sensor, and even the Dell tablet is able to produce a photo near quality with the iPad Air 2. Colors on the Dell hardware are still a bit more washed out, but that effect is minimized dramatically in the daylight.
Scene 3 – Low Light
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Dell Venue 8 7000 vs NVIDIA SHIELD Tablet | ||||
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Dell Venue 8 7000 vs Google Nexus 9 | |||||
Dell Venue 8 7000 vs iPad Air 2 | |||||
SHIELD Tablet vs Nexus 9 | SHIELD Tablet vs iPad Air 2 | Nexus 9 vs iPad Air 2 |
This is definitely the most difficult scene – a dimly lit office taking pictures of text with a dark background. Interestingly the best image in my opinion comes from the Nexus 9 where there is less noise in the blacks and the detail in the carpet under the table is actually discernable. The Venue shows significant noise in the blacks of the Logitech accessory boxes and the black glass tabletop.
Scene 4 – Low Light (Zoomed in)
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Dell Venue 8 7000 vs NVIDIA SHIELD Tablet | ||||
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Dell Venue 8 7000 vs Google Nexus 9 | |||||
Dell Venue 8 7000 vs iPad Air 2 | |||||
SHIELD Tablet vs Nexus 9 | SHIELD Tablet vs iPad Air 2 | Nexus 9 vs iPad Air 2 |
This series of images shows the third scene zoomed in on the center section to better demonstrate the level of noise in each photo as well as the clarity of the text. Even though the iPad Air 2 has a noisier result in the blacks the text is much more readable on the box. For the Venue 8 7000 you can actually start to see some dithering.
So if the primary camera doesn’t quite hold up to the other cameras in flagship iOS or Android tablets maybe the addition of the RealSense 3D depth technology can make up for it. The addition of the two 720p cameras, both identically offset from the primary camera, is that they can present additional information to the camera application, allowing post processing and the calculation of depth data.
When enabled you will see two sub-windows of the 720p cameras viewpoint, allowing you to make sure they aren’t blocked. After snapping the picture the Venue will need about 20 second to process the depth data and build a new image out of the primary lens’ picture. Don’t worry, you can still take other photos while this is taking place, you don’t have to wait the full 20 second for processing to complete before taking another picture.
The depth data allows you to do a couple of interesting things with the pictures when viewing them in the Dell gallery application. First, you can measure distances between two locations or measure a two dimensional area in the photo.
By simply clicking on two points or making a 2D plane on the image you can get length and area measurements that are pretty accurate in my testing. There are limits though – I could not measure the distance between the house behind mine to the deck or even a length of the fence line in the backyard. The depth information definitely has a specific range to it. Also, because you are often times taking photos that are multilayered, getting the area of a floor space or table is more difficult if there are chairs in the way, etc.
Accuracy is not a guarantee either – though I would say the camera was able to generate marks within 10% of the real-world lengths most of the time, every once in a while we would get result that was way off, like measuring a person as 11 feet tall. Nice try Ken.
You can also use the depth data to adjust photos. First, you can dynamically shift the focus of the photo after the fact, as you have probably seen Sheldon demonstrate on TV commercials.
Artificial depth of field works pretty well in some places, but even in our handful of tested sample images, artifacts occur. Take a look at the area surrounding the folded umbrella as well as the shrubs just over the rail of the deck. There are some unfortunate hard lines of blur that occur where the depth data was incomplete or inaccurate.
Another option is to dynamically apply photo effects based on depth in the photo. This can be done with simply attributes like brightness or with filters.
These two images show how you can apply these effects only to a select area of the photo. Notice that the “latte” effect is only being applied around the same depth as the table while the far background remains in its natural color. This can work effectively in some cases but again, in areas where the depth data is inaccurate, you’ll see hard lines and cutoffs that really shouldn’t exist.
It’s hard to not be a bit disappointed with the camera implementation on the Dell Venue 8 7000. Yes, it can take good outdoor photos when you need it to but indoor pictures aren’t great and the fact that you don’t have a flash on the device doesn’t help any. The RealSense technology is incredibly interesting and works well for a first generation device, but this needs to be perfected with another iteration before it could ever be considered a reason to buy a tablet or phone.
I don’t know about perfected,
I don’t know about perfected, MKBHD gave it a lukewarm review.
That’s why we are allowed to
That's why we are allowed to have more than one review of a product. 🙂
Look ’em right in the eye,
Look ’em right in the eye, say “Flagship? 16GB?” and make them eat the damn thing.
I’ll take a look when if and when they ship a 32GB model, but they should never have shipped a 16GB model.
I don’t really disagree, but
I don't really disagree, but all flagship tablets at least come in a 16GB variety.
Yeah, I know. It’s just so
Yeah, I know. It’s just so annoying. Fabulous screen, fast CPU, plenty of RAM, decent battery life, everything is good…
And then the same 16GB of storage as we had in 2012.
Kind of agree there. Does the
Kind of agree there. Does the SD card slot not alleviate this?
To a degree.
The problem is,
To a degree.
The problem is, Android 4.4’s support for removable storage is… Not great. I have an Xperia Z Ultra with 16GB internal and a 128GB Sandisk micro SD card.
The SD card is brilliant. I have a ton of music on there, all the recent episodes from podcasts I follow (including yours, of course!), and a nice collection of audiobooks.
But my apps have to live on the internal storage. So do all my Kindle books.
I’ve been very selective about which apps I install, but I’m down to about 3GB of space on the internal storage. I have 50GB free on the SD card, but I can’t use it for that.
Android 5.0 might be better with SD cards, but I only have it on my Nexus 7 so far, so I can’t test that.
Given that we’re talking about a $400 device, and the price difference between 16GB and 32GB of decent quality Flash storage is $10 retail – and that it would more than double available space because at least 4GB is used by the OS and restore volumes – this ongoing insistence on providing inadequate storage even on flagship devices is really starting to piss me off.
Good point. I’ve lived that
Good point. I’ve lived that too. And considering that they can put 512GB on a micro SDs and M2s, there is little reason why they can’t build that much into these.
Also, considering that this is a recent “flagship” release I’m assuming that the MicroSDs supported are UHS-IIs. I think SDIO may cover the whole lot.
its a pretty steap price for
its a pretty steap price for a tab without lte, only 16 gb onboard storage and a unpractical design. i use my tab only in landscape mode and the single bezel on this tab looks unhandy.
the only plus on this tab is the screen.
but lets talk about the most disappointing part of this tablet. it comes with an outdated version (4.4) of android.
the bottom line for me is:
-expensive
-outdatet software
-lack of featuers
-no ergonomic way to use it
for the same price, you can get a nvidia shield with lte, 32 gb storage, more gpu power, up to date android 5.0.1, a bezel on all sides to get a grip, faster charging times, yes the dell loads rly slow! only the screen on the shield is not so fancy.
so, no.
wont buy. 400 for only a nice screen is too much dell.
you can get for around 230 an
you can get for around 230 an memo pad from asus http://www.asus.com/Tablets/ASUS_MeMO_Pad_7_ME572CL/specifications/ also has lte and most of the stuff you need, well not such a fancy screen, also an outdatet android, probably a bit slower in performance and so on.
also the Lenovo Tab S8-50L LTE http://shop.lenovo.com/gb/en/tablets/lenovo/s-series/s8/#tab-features way less expensive and comes with an lte modul for about 230.
so, a fancy screen costs 170 bucks?
i cant rly understand the excitement.
In many cases, a tablet and
In many cases, a tablet and phone is more about the experience and build quality than specs. Still, I am trying to get these tablets in currently! Thanks for the heads up!
Great review Ryan, and yet
Great review Ryan, and yet another example of why I always check PCPER before buying a piece of tech. Was there any indication that we might expect an LTE variant? With LTE, 32GB and a 256GB SD, this could contend with laptops!
LTE hasn’t been mentioned at
LTE hasn't been mentioned at all yet.
Also wondering what class of
Also wondering what class of MicroSD is supported.
Oh, sorry!
SD, SDHC, SDXC,
Oh, sorry!
SD, SDHC, SDXC, supporting up to 512GB
Good review Ryan . thanks
Say
Good review Ryan . thanks
Say what you will re price and deficiencies and lollipop delay.
I am using this tablet and the screen is as good or better than the rest
No regret
Paul
I swear that when they
I swear that when they unveiled this device at IDF last fall, it was using Cherry Trail, not Bay Trail… hmm…
Nope, it was always Atom
Nope, it was always Atom Z3500 – http://newsroom.intel.com/community/intel_newsroom/blog/2014/09/09/michael-dell-previewed-world-thinnest-tablet-at-intel-developer-forum
16GB of
16GB of storage?
whatyearisthis.jpg
😀
Almost all tablets start
😀
Almost all tablets start 16GB honestly though. I would agree Dell needs more options.
Shame you didn’t take the 8″
Shame you didn’t take the 8″ galaxy tab s along in this compassion. Half curious if it uses the same panel.
Totally agree there.
Totally agree there. Hopefully Samsung will be willing to send us one to compare!
Do you know who supplies the
Do you know who supplies the OLED screen? Was it Samsung? The Samsung Tab S are also OLED and have been reviewed as having the best display out of the tablets currently available. The other internals are a bit more dated however.
I believe another review
I believe another review mentioned it’s probably the identical screen as what is found in the Samsung.
I believe another review
I believe another review mentioned it’s probably the identical screen as what is found in the Samsung.
This review was almost enough
This review was almost enough to get me to purchase this since I’m looking for a new small tablet for my wife after her Memo Pad 7 gave out (just stopped charging), but the Amazon reviews for this are horrible. Great review though … thanks!
Amazon doesn’t sell this
Amazon doesn't sell this tablet, so I don't know what reviews you were looking at…
Purchased this last night
Purchased this last night based on your review.
I’ve had probably a dozen different tablets over the years starting with the first Tegra 2 tablet that I could find (Viewsonic G-Tab) which had the most horrible screen on any device I’ve ever seen.
This one, by contrast, has the best screen I’ve seen on any device. The 3D cameras are uncalibrated out of the box and aren’t all that accurate for the 3D functions, but the software assures me it will get better as I take more photos. It’s not the fastest tablet I’ve used I don’t think, especially in the GPU department, but it’s more than adequate. The build quality is as good as any other I’ve had and better than most. Only the ASUS 10″ tabs come close in comparison to ones I’ve owned.
What it does well, it does VERY well. What it doesn’t, it does well enough to make me believe it’ll keep the top spot on my tablet list for a while.
Going from android 4.4.4 to
Going from android 4.4.4 to android 5 is a huge upgrade performance wise.I own a nexus 4 and it shouldn’t go up so much in performance usually but google has been fine tuning a lot on. The performance side
I felt this thing at Best
I felt this thing at Best Buy, and it is absolutely fantastic to hold. Very thin and it feels like a piece of metal.
My only disappointment is KitKat rather than Lollipop, but I understand the optimizations that must happen. After using Lollipop on my phone now since it was released, KitKat feels like something of an eyesore.
Great review Ryan!
32G came out this week. I am
32G came out this week. I am looking forward to mine arriving 🙂
Having used the 32G version
Having used the 32G version now for several weeks I can say I really really am liking this tablet. Gorgeous screen..it took a couple days to get used to the button location on the left side, but I am fine with them now. Very responsive. I would like to see lollipop soon, but it’s easily my favorite tablet.
Anyone know if the Venue 8
Anyone know if the Venue 8 7840 is fitted with Gorilla Glass? Or anything similar to prevent scratches and breaks?
The tablet scene seems a bit
The tablet scene seems a bit quiet lately outside launches of some larger ‘Pro’ models. I guess tablet sales are a bit soft globally. My 2011 iPad 2 was gimping too badly so I just bought this Dell Venue 8 7000 32GB. Great price discounts are had on it now that it is a year old and it now comes with Lollipop 5.02 that immediately upgrades to 5.1. I would expect an Android 6.0 Marshmallow upgrade over the next 3 months.
Having owned a tablet for years I’m somewhat past the experimentation thing with a gazzillion apps and games and quest for the ultimate specs. I now am more a user of the core types of apps someone uses with a tablet. As a result, my main goals in a tablet are great screen display/readability, snappy and fluid transitions, smooth browsing/reading, smooth video streaming, excellent build quality, excellent battery life, excellent physical usability and overall visual coherence.
This tablet really nails it on most dimensions I’m looking for. As someone else mentioned, where it misses dead center, its definitely good enough. The revue above does a good job of capturing the nuances. I’m sure over time Google will make the Android OS more complex, forcing hardware end-of-life… but for me, Lollipop + Venue 8 addresses all my needs in a tablet already. Marshmallow, if/when it arrives to the V8, will only further improve the SD card functionality in this device. I’m hopeful Dell WON’T keep forcing OS upgrades to this device, making it gimpy, like Apple did to my iPad 2.