Moto G82 review

Standard triple-camera setup

The Moto G82 features the same camera setup as its more affordable siblings, the Moto G62 and G71 from earlier this year. The only difference is the added OIS on the G82. It still relies on the budget 50MP, f/1.8, 1/2.76", 0.64µm camera, which, unfortunately, makes the G82 with one of the smallest sensors in this price bracket. In fact, the Moto G82's main sensor is the smallest in the group of direct rivals we picked in this review.

There's also the infamous 8MP, f/2.2, 1/4.0", 1.12µm camera - a very common setup in the low-end and mid-range segment.

The third camera is a 2MP f/2.4 unit dedicated to macro photography. That's also a widespread choice in this price range.

Just like the Moto G62, the front-facing camera is 16MP, f/2.2, 1.0µm - nothing out of the ordinary.

Camera menus

The handset uses version 6 of Motorola's Moto Camera app, which is distributed and updated through Google Play. There aren't any major changes to the UI compared to the previous Moto devices we've reviewed. All available modes are found in the so-called "hamburger menu," and the mode you used last is saved on the main mode carousel.

Camera modes

Additional settings for each Photo or Video mode are accessed by a swipe up from the shutter button.

Additional camera settings

We are happy to report that Motorola has finally fixed the inconsistent behavior of the past, and now the main and the ultrawide cameras shoot in their native resolutions. There's no needless upscaling anymore. We also like the dedicated toggle for the Macro camera. It finally gets a spot on the viewfinder in the default Photo mode.

Daylight photos

Main camera

We find the Moto G82's daylight performance lackluster. It's probably all down to the rather unimpressive 50MP 1/2.76" sensor. There's plenty of noise, especially visible on uniform surfaces such as the sky. The detail is spotty at times (check out the grass and foliage), and exposure is a bit on the dark side, leaving some shadows underdeveloped. There's some generally gritty vibe in some of the photos with the overcast sky. Most of the photos also have a blueish tint, which is probably due to incorrect white balance.

On a more positive note, sharpness is good overall, and fine detail looks crips as long as the noise suppression algorithm isn't acting up.

12.5MP daylight samples

The 50MP mode is hard to recommend. It does get you a bit more detail but at the expense of extra noise, narrower dynamic range (HDR isn't active in 50MP mode) and added general softness.

50MP daylight samples

Ultrawide camera

The ultrawide's performance is, as expected, unsatisfactory. It's a common camera in this price range, and we weren't expecting much, but at the same time, we've seen better implementations.

The dynamic range is limited, the exposure metering is not ideal, there's not much fine detail, noise is aplenty, and there's color fringing creeping in if you look close enough.

To Motorola's credit, most 8MP ultrawide shots we see in this class are lifeless, but the G82 delivers good enough contrast and punchier colors.

Daylight ultrawide samples

Macro camera

The 2MP macro camera with fixed focus is another common find on today's smartphones and produces subpar images. They are low-contrast, lack detail (it's a 2MP camera, after all), require the best possible lighting conditions, and colors look unsaturated. It's hard to recommend it unless you spend some time post-processing to make them look decent enough for social media purposes.

Macro samples

Low-light photos

Main camera

The low-light photos, although unimpressive, are pretty okay for the most part. Dynamic range is wide as the HDR kicked in almost all shots. Most of the highlights are well contained, while shadows are processed with an adequate amount of detail. Sharpness outside the shadows is also pretty okay, contrast is nice, and colors are punchy.

Low-light main camera samples

The Night mode doesn't necessarily improve sharpness and detail. In fact, we noticed that in an attempt to remove the noise, objects in the shadows turn out softer with the dedicated Night mode. Additionally, colors are muted compared to the standard photo mode. You only stand to gain brighter overall photos with better shadows but that's about it.

Night mode main camera samples

Ultrawide camera

The ultrawide camera, as expected, struggles to deliver usable images after dusk. They are extremely soft, with limited dynamic range, washed-out colors and plenty of grain. Unfortunately, there's no Night mode available on the ultrawide.

Low-light ultrawide camera samples

And here are photos of our test posters, taken by the Moto G82. You can see how it stacks up against the competition by comparing directly.

Moto G82 against the Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G and the Realme 9 Pro+ in our Photo compare tool

Portraits

Portraits look lively with a convincing faux bokeh effect, but we could once again notice the darker exposure, and the subject is often on the soft side. Fine detail is washed away, and sharpness doesn't get better even in ideal lighting conditions. We've definitely seen better portraits in this price range.

Portrait samples

Seflies

It's hard to get a proper selfie outside ideal lighting conditions, as sharpness and detail are usually an issue. Almost all the samples we took were blurry to some extent, and the subject's face looks somewhat flat in most scenes. We've definitely seen more consistent selfies in this price range. At least the colors are pretty realistic, although slightly dull at times. The faux bokeh effect seems pretty strong and rough around the edges, so we'd avoid that.

Selfies: Normal • Portrait

Videos

The phone's main camera supports 4K video recording, but the ISP doesn't, so the Moto G82 caps at 1080p@30fps using the main camera. This is actually pretty common these days since Qualcomm's Snapdragon 600 series doesn't support 2160p recording. Stabilization is available, though.

For the 1080p video sample, we've disabled EIS, so the field of view is a tad bigger. Regarding quality, we expected better. Even for a Full HD video, we find this one to be a bit softer than usual, but we did like the color reproduction and dynamic range. Even with the changing overcast, the video maintains a good shadows/highlights balance.

The ultrawide video is hard to recommend. It has limited dynamic range and lacks sharpness, but at least it has good contrast and nice colors.

Finally, you can compare the Moto G82 video output against other phones we've reviewed in our comparison tool below.

1080p: Moto G82 against the Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G and the Realme 9 Pro+ (2160p) in our Video compare tool