Camera Labs

SO... when will we get a review on Nokia N8? I'm curious to see how it compares to normal point-and-shoot cameras and maybe even entry-level DSLRs (not in options and customization, but in the quality of the photos)

To be honest, i don't think 12mp on N8 is the same as 12mp on point-and-shoot

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Sony α580 | 18-55mm | 50mm F1.8 | 70-200 F2.8 |

Let's compare it to a Canon EOS 1100D XD

I think a 4-5MP sensor could produce a much better image quality.

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Canon EOS 500D + Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Canon EF 24-105mm 4L IS USM + EF 100-400mm 4.5-5.6L IS USM + EF 100mm 2.8L Macro IS USM + Sigma 12-24mm 4.5-5.6 EX DG HSM + Canon Speedlite 580 EX II + Nissin Speedlite Di 466

Jiko that's what i thought, i rather take pictures with 4mp point-and-shoot then 12mp phone camera. MP's on phone is just marketing trick.

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Sony α580 | 18-55mm | 50mm F1.8 | 70-200 F2.8 |

Ok... thanks for the replies.... but as I'm honestly very curious about this, I have to ask: are there any hard facts to back what you guys are saying?

Thanks

Hi ssmiaka,

May I wish you a warm welcome to the CameraLabs forum.

The N8 has a camera sensor not dissimilar in size from that of the smaller compacts so, at a guess, it might produce comparable images though, speaking personally, I don't think the presence of pocket fluff and worse all over the lens of a cellphone is going to help its cause. Anyway, that's enough about the state of my pockets ...

Maybe Gordon should branch out and commission a few reviews for CameraLabs (unfortunately cellphonelabs.com is already taken ) as the pace of innovation in the dedicated camera world begins to slacken off?

Bob.

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OM-D E-M5 + ED 12-50mm, H-PS14042E, H-F007014E, L-RS014150E, M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 45mm 1:1.8.
Gitzo GT1541T, Arca-Swiss Z1 DP ball-head.
Astrophotography: TEC 140 'scope, FLI ML16803 camera, ASA DDM60 Pro mount.

Hi Bob,

Thank you for your reply! And thank you for the warm welcome
I've followed Camera Labs for a few years now, so it's quite fun to finally be here.

Yes, I was wondering about the size of the sensor and all that... I wonder if you can get over this via software though? I remember reading some about the development of the N8 camera and how they went to great lengths to optimize it... especially for low lighting (which was a big problem in previous Nokia cameras, as in all cellphone cameras so far - apart perhaps from the most recent Sony Ericsson)

I've had an N95 for a few years now, and the quality of the images taken with it were quite comparable with other cameras around at the time (they're still quite acceptable for "emergencies")... so I'm really wondering about N8. From the looks of some photos that are said to be taken with it, I'm thinking it might actually be quite good for when a *ahem* more advanced camera isn't around.
The upcoming N9 will be 8MP, but I do know that that doesn't necessarily mean its quality is actually that much inferior. Although I DO wish to know what the difference will actually be so as to properly make a choice between the two.

Anyway, enough of my rambling...

Yes, it would be GREAT if we could have some in-depth reviews of the top cellphone cameras in the market... that would be genius... and surely quite popular too!

Thanks again,
Lara

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Interesting that they have dropped the pixel count on the N9. One thing which might count against the N8 when compared to many compact cameras is the lack of optical zoom. If a fixed 28mm equivalent focal length is good enough then no problem but I doubt that even the modest 2x digital zoom on the N8 is worthwhile except as a means to avoid post-processing on a computer.

Bob.

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OM-D E-M5 + ED 12-50mm, H-PS14042E, H-F007014E, L-RS014150E, M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 45mm 1:1.8.
Gitzo GT1541T, Arca-Swiss Z1 DP ball-head.
Astrophotography: TEC 140 'scope, FLI ML16803 camera, ASA DDM60 Pro mount.

Yeah... it's probably because of the redesign. You see, the camera in the N8 is slightly bigger than the carcass... in the N9, it's seamless and the sensor looks a lot smaller.

Ungh, zoom is a *definite* point of loss. The digital zoom they've put in is pretty decent though. But 2x... is SO not enough. LOL.
The newest Sony Ericsson models totally win when it comes to zoom. It goes up to 16x digital in some models... although I'm not aware of the image quality they produce.

I have to say though that the images I've seen taken on the Nokia phones can come out pretty good actually... if you take a look, most of the photos in this stream are from an N95:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/yaramayer/page4/
Some good examples:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/yaramayer/ ... hotostream
http://www.flickr.com/photos/yaramayer/ ... hotostream
http://www.flickr.com/photos/yaramayer/ ... hotostream
http://www.flickr.com/photos/yaramayer/ ... hotostream

So I'm thinking... I might get an N9 (because of the OS mostly, and a few other things that are more interesting) and... an HX100V
<sigh> I'll buy a Rebel someday.....

I'd honestly rather just carry around a small, P&S camera than take the majority of my quick snaps with my smartphone. Some people are saying that smartphones are killing the compact camera market, but I disagree. There's still no beating the compact quality (and control) wise.

Regarding the N9, I'd hold off for now. Although the OS (MeeGo) seems interesting enough, it's going the way of WebOS. Nokia's going to be switching to WP7 in the near future with the N10 (or whatever they'll call it), so I wouldn't go for the N9, as great as its hardware is. MeeGo is a great OS, but I can't see it having too much developer support as of right now. The same goes for the N8, it's a decent phone but Symbian is pretty much history. You may want to take a look at some Droid devices like Samsung's Galaxy S II, or perhaps the iPhone 4. They both have excellent cameras, and developer support is at a high point right now for both OS's.

Anyways, though, I'm getting ahead of myself. This is a camera forum after all, not a smartphone forum. I follow the mobile scene pretty actively, so you'll have to excuse my little rant there

Anyways, good luck with whatever smartphone you buy.

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-Evan

Gear: 7 Nikon Nikkor AI-S and AF-S lenses, SB-700 flash, Nikon D7000, Nikon FM, variety of accessories

"There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs."
- Ansel Adams

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Anyone remember my thread Why can't I talk into my camera??

I'm with Evan on this. Phones are phones and cameras are cameras. Having bought my last (dumb) cellphone so long (2005) ago smartphones had hardly been invented I'm just about to pull the trigger on a Bold 9900. Frankly the camera side is of no interest to me (just as well considering the reviews) and neither is multimedia. Each to their own, of course.

Ha-ha, I've just check how much I could sell my old phone for. Would you believe £1.50 (~ $2.50).

Bob.

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OM-D E-M5 + ED 12-50mm, H-PS14042E, H-F007014E, L-RS014150E, M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 45mm 1:1.8.
Gitzo GT1541T, Arca-Swiss Z1 DP ball-head.
Astrophotography: TEC 140 'scope, FLI ML16803 camera, ASA DDM60 Pro mount.

Enjoy your new Bold, Bob. I've been eyeing it for quite a while as well, but it hasn't been announced on my local network yet.

Anyways, the only reason I think to have a camera in a phone, is to scan QR codes.

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-Evan

Gear: 7 Nikon Nikkor AI-S and AF-S lenses, SB-700 flash, Nikon D7000, Nikon FM, variety of accessories

"There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs."
- Ansel Adams

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[off-topic]
I'm also hoping NFC technology will get going here in the UK.
[/off-topic]

Sorry ssmiaka. Back on topic...

Bob.

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OM-D E-M5 + ED 12-50mm, H-PS14042E, H-F007014E, L-RS014150E, M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 45mm 1:1.8.
Gitzo GT1541T, Arca-Swiss Z1 DP ball-head.
Astrophotography: TEC 140 'scope, FLI ML16803 camera, ASA DDM60 Pro mount.

Like EvanK, the main use of the camera on my smartphone (HTC Desire HD) is to scan QR codes or business cards.

I use my smartphone to take pictures only if I don't have either of my "proper" cameras to hand or if I'm away from home and need to upload them quickly. However, I like to think I'm taken some decent shots with it.

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Bodies: Canon EOS 550D w/ Magic Lantern
Lenses: Tokina AT-X 116 Pro DX f/2.8, Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM, Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS, Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II, Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
Accessories: YongNuo Speedlite YN-468 Flash, Neewer Macro LED Ring Light, Meike Battery Grip, YongNuo RF-602 Wireless Flash Trigger & Receiver YongNuo WR-128 Wireless Remote Control