Nvidia Shield Tablet: Camera

In our opinion a tablet’s camera is never a top selling point when it comes to choosing between devices, and the same can be said for the Nvidia Shield Tablet’s rear camera. It’s an average 8-megapixel camera with autofocus, but lacks any HDR functionality.

All you can play with in the new camera app is the white balance and you have access to a burst mode. Strangely you can also lower the resolution of your photos and videos down from 5-megapixels and full 1080p HD for videos — not that you’d ever want to do that.

Because the camera app is so limited, you don’t get any filters or other elements to play with to make your pictures look better.

As it stands, the images look washed out and lack the vibrancy that you can get even from mid-range smartphone cameras. The viewfinder is also very odd, seeming to zoom into objects so you have to get further away from them to actually fit them all in the shot.

Looking at landscape shots, again the colours look pale and lack the warmth. The below photograph was taken on a bright day, where the sky was vivid blue and as you can see below, it’s far from that. The buildings themselves look muted and dull too.

The front-facing camera matches the 5-megapixel resolution of the rear camera, which is fair more valuable in a tablet. Not only will you have better quality video calls with your friends and family, but it also improves the quality of the Twitch broadcasts with your face in them.

Nvidia says the Shield Tablet has a 19.75 Watt Hour battery, which equates to an estimated 10-hour video playback time. However, in practice you’ll get around 8 and a half hours from the Shield Tablet’s battery for continuous video playback with the brightness at 50 per cent and Wi-Fi turned off.

In general use with Wi-Fi on, automatic screen brightness toggled and a couple of hours of gaming and web browsing each day, we managed to get nearly three days out of the Nvidia Shield Tablet without the battery indicator turning red.

We recommend plugging the Nvidia Shield Tablet into the mains in order to charge if you’re planning on having some heavy game sessions with the Shield Tablet plugged into the TV.

Should I buy the Nvidia Shield Tablet?

The Nvidia Shield Tablet is by far the best tablet for gamers currently on the market. You can play high-quality Android games on your TV and turn your tablet into a micro-console that easily takes on the likes of Ouya.

It’s also one of the more affordable premium Android tablets on the market. The 16GB model is £239.99 and the 32GB Wi-Fi and 4G LTE is £299.99, still cheaper than the Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 that starts £319 for the 16GB Wi-Fi only model. You need to factor in the £24.99 cover and £49.99 controller to get the most from it, but even with these included it’s a decent value package.

Anyone who isn’t too fussed about games is probably better of with a Tab S 8.4 or cheaper tablets like the Tesco Hudl 2, but if you loves games then the Nvidia Shield Tablet is a must-have.

Verdict

A brilliant gaming tablet that offers features no rival can touch. If you love gaming this is the tablet for you.

Trusted Score