Smartphone with the best camera

[joshhedge]

HTC Titan is pretty good, I agree with Rav about the One X and One S, their shooters are lovely.

 

[tdawg]

My prayers were answered; sort-of. The Nokia 808 Pureview is definitely a hot interest for me right now, but unfortunately it won't be available distinctly for the North American market, and I'll have to get the global version (which isn't a big deal to me, really). And will also cost upwards of $700USD+.

Now I'm deciding on waiting for the SGS II Skyrocket HD or 808 Pureview (and paying for an unlocked version since I'm still running with a grandfathered data plan and don't want to lose it) or buy an unlocked N8 right now for a very cheap price of ~$315 from Amazon...

My primary functions will obviously be for the camera/video quality (since I'll be recording mountain biking sessions and autocross/fun road adventures), mp3 play, movie play, web browsing capability, and GPS utilities.

Anyone with an N8 able to share their experiences? I've read good things about what the Belle update did and kinda thinking I should just go with the N8 for now until 4G is more widely spread.

This I don't get. You primarily want to capture photos and videos of life/action, and you want to do that with a cell phone? Personally, the idea of strapping on a $700 (for the 808 Pureview) cell phone to a helmet, bike handlebars, etc and risking damage or breakage while capturing subpar-quality video is out of the question. Why not just buy the right gear for the job? GoPro HD and a nice pocket camera for stills and you're set. Then you can buy a nice, less expensive smartphone with a camera module adequate to capture daily snapshots while you're walking around town and didn't decide to carry a small point & shoot with you.

 

[Munky]

I have the N8, and if I hear one more person saying how this and that iphone is just as good or better, I'm going to point fingers and laugh hysterically.

Now that we got that out of the way, here's my assessment of it:
The image quality is better than any phone I've seen. Not because its 12MP, but because the sensor is much bigger that the typical phonecam sensor, and because its designers knew what's important in a camera. It has well-controlled chroma noise reduction, doesn't boost color saturation or sharpness to ridiculous levels, it has accurate auto white balance, it has a dedicated two-stage shutter button for "focus and recompose" shooting, and it has a real xenon flash.

I compared images side by side with a modern Canon 300HS P&S camera, and they both fared equally well in various lighting. I also compared the N8 to my older Panasonic TS1 camera, and it blew the TS1 away in anything but ideal lighting.

I only have a few criticisms of the N8 camera:
1. The lack of VR/image stabilization leads to blurry shots in low light if you're not careful.
2. Sometimes bright light sources will cause magenta ghosts of those light sources to appear elsewhere in the frame. Could be a lens or sensor-reflection issue.
3. Highlight rolloff is not smooth, leading to the same white orb problem as some recent Fuji cameras had from bright point light sources or specular reflections. However, it's not as pronounced as in the Fuji's.

 

[bgstcola]

Even with a large sensor you're still hampered by the small lens. You can only bend the laws of physic so much.

True but some of the disadvantages of using a smaller lens is balanced by the use of a fixed focal length instead of zoom.

 

[pandemonium]

This I don't get. You primarily want to capture photos and videos of life/action, and you want to do that with a cell phone? Personally, the idea of strapping on a $700 (for the 808 Pureview) cell phone to a helmet, bike handlebars, etc and risking damage or breakage while capturing subpar-quality video is out of the question. Why not just buy the right gear for the job? GoPro HD and a nice pocket camera for stills and you're set. Then you can buy a nice, less expensive smartphone with a camera module adequate to capture daily snapshots while you're walking around town and didn't decide to carry a small point & shoot with you.

Because we're living in 2012, not 2002. Times have changed, and I'm the kind of person if I can completely disregard one gadget if another has nearly full capability built into it, I will.

I've thought about getting a discrete camera solely for capturing my rides, and I just think it's unnecessary given previously said. Having the least amount of devices/gadgets to keep track of and manage is better.

 

[pandemonium]

I have the N8, and if I hear one more person saying how this and that iphone is just as good or better, I'm going to point fingers and laugh hysterically.

Now that we got that out of the way, here's my assessment of it:
The image quality is better than any phone I've seen. Not because its 12MP, but because the sensor is much bigger that the typical phonecam sensor, and because its designers knew what's important in a camera. It has well-controlled chroma noise reduction, doesn't boost color saturation or sharpness to ridiculous levels, it has accurate auto white balance, it has a dedicated two-stage shutter button for "focus and recompose" shooting, and it has a real xenon flash.

I compared images side by side with a modern Canon 300HS P&S camera, and they both fared equally well in various lighting. I also compared the N8 to my older Panasonic TS1 camera, and it blew the TS1 away in anything but ideal lighting.

I only have a few criticisms of the N8 camera:
1. The lack of VR/image stabilization leads to blurry shots in low light if you're not careful.
2. Sometimes bright light sources will cause magenta ghosts of those light sources to appear elsewhere in the frame. Could be a lens or sensor-reflection issue.
3. Highlight rolloff is not smooth, leading to the same white orb problem as some recent Fuji cameras had from bright point light sources or specular reflections. However, it's not as pronounced as in the Fuji's.

Thanks for the information, Munky. This is exactly the first-hand experience that I was looking for. My other concerns with the N8 is various other smartphone functions, such as web-browsing, mp3 playing, video playback, battery life, etc... Did the Belle update seem to help at all with those things? For browsing I'd probably use Opera Mobile and I saw mention that it runs nicely on the N8 (I use it on my E71 and it's my browser of choice).

 

[Munky]

Thanks for the information, Munky. This is exactly the first-hand experience that I was looking for. My other concerns with the N8 is various other smartphone functions, such as web-browsing, mp3 playing, video playback, battery life, etc... Did the Belle update seem to help at all with those things? For browsing I'd probably use Opera Mobile and I saw mention that it runs nicely on the N8 (I use it on my E71 and it's my browser of choice).

I use Opera Mobile as well, and IMO it soundly addresses any criticism of the stock browser. The overall UI of Belle feels a lot like Android - there is less menus and sub-menus, less steps needed to access commonly-used screens, and it just looks and feels more modern than the older Symbian revisions. Video playback supports a lot of formats, I don't need to install additional video players. Music player is easy to navigate, has good sound quality, and has a convenient widget available on the home screen.

I was using an E71 before as well, and the battery life on the N8 feels somewhat shorter. I can usually get two days of moderate web surfing and music listening before having to recharge, but on the E71 I could go longer.

I really like the AMOLED screen, all the colors look more vibrant with blacks actually looking black. I also like the built-in navigation, for which you can store maps in memory and not rely on a data connection.

The one annoying thing I forgot to mention about the N8 camera is that the cheesy shutter sound can't be turned off easily in the US models, supposedly for preventing candid photos. You can make it into a less annoying beep, but what I did was get a root certificate from a Chinese site, which will allow you to install a patch to silence it.

 

[pandemonium]

Hah, I have the same thing with the shutter sound on the E71 and it drives me nuts. I looked into getting rid of it, but let apathy take over and just gave up bothering.

Good feedback, man. Really appreciate it. I think for now the N8 will be my answer until 4G is more widespread. (A lot of the places I travel there's only 2G and I use WiFi anyways, so not really a big deal to me.)

Oh, the other thing I noticed that was disappointing was that the battery isn't removable. I've read that it 'can' be removed/replaced with some tinkering. Have you run into this yet?

 

[pandemonium]

[Lots of Qbert language.] The price on the N8 went back up to 369.99. Ugh. Anticipation of the Pureview is probably pushing sales. I missed the 314.99.

 

[Jodell88]

On the market right now? The Nokia N8.

In the short term future? The Nokia Pureview.

 

[bgstcola]

I don't understand why so many people say that the n8 is the best camera phone. In all the comparisons I have seen the 4s was better. Of course there could be errors I the comparisons but I find it a bit strange that I haven't been able to find a comparison where the n8 was better.

 

[pandemonium]

For the average user, you're probably right: the 4S is the better choice. For someone who's willing to mess with settings and take their time to get the most of the hardware that's available, the N8 wins. If you prefer having your colors exaggerated, then you're going to be biased toward the 4S. This is one key thing to note.

Most comparisons between the two don't take settings into account. They focus on leaving settings at auto.

But since you said couldn't find a comparison where the N8 was rated better, here were a few that I could find while at work, crippled by our proxy filter:

http://tech2.in.com/features/smartphones/top-5-camera-phones-take-on-a-digital-camera/271392/6#story

http://recombu.com/news/best-camera-phones-apple-vs-nokia-vs-samsung-vs-sony-ericsson_M15276.html

A breakdown of how to compare major smartphones as of late, by light capturing capability.

 

[bgstcola]

I'ts only the first link that contain an actual comparison based on photos between the 4s and the N8. And here the N8 came out just above the 4s, and it was not a very thorough comparison. Even with the extra tweaking I'm not convinced that the Nokia is better - there's too many comparisons suggesting otherwise.

I hope that the Android crowd improve their cameras because I'm not an Apple fan and to me the camera is important.

 

[smartpatrol]

HTC Titan II is coming out in a couple weeks for AT&T. It has an upgraded 16 megapixel camera and LTE. Might want to wait and see how that turns out.

 

[Munky]

My GF has the iphone4, my brother's GF has the 4s, and none of them hold a candle to the N8 camera from my own experience.

About the battery, I heard it can be removed/replaced by unscrewing the back cover. I haven't had any reason to try it myself though.

 

[tdawg]

Because we're living in 2012, not 2002. Times have changed, and I'm the kind of person if I can completely disregard one gadget if another has nearly full capability built into it, I will.

I've thought about getting a discrete camera solely for capturing my rides, and I just think it's unnecessary given previously said. Having the least amount of devices/gadgets to keep track of and manage is better.

Hey, whatever floats your boat. I've just rarely seen video footage from a phone that holds a candle to a dedicated device, least of which when trying to capture "head-mounted" style action. A GoPro HD is going to offer more features and capability than a phone, will be simpler to mount to a helmet or handlebars and will produce better results of point-of-view rides.

If it's only meant for facebook, then the footage from a phone will probably be ok.

 

[pandemonium]

I'ts only the first link that contain an actual comparison based on photos between the 4s and the N8. And here the N8 came out just above the 4s, and it was not a very thorough comparison. Even with the extra tweaking I'm not convinced that the Nokia is better - there's too many comparisons suggesting otherwise.

I hope that the Android crowd improve their cameras because I'm not an Apple fan and to me the camera is important.

The second has camera samples as well? The third is purely a numbers definition, as I said.

 

[pandemonium]

HTC Titan II is coming out in a couple weeks for AT&T. It has an upgraded 16 megapixel camera and LTE. Might want to wait and see how that turns out.

This is true. I had forgotten about that one and will need to see it ran through the testing gamut.

 

[pandemonium]

Hey, whatever floats your boat. I've just rarely seen video footage from a phone that holds a candle to a dedicated device, least of which when trying to capture "head-mounted" style action. A GoPro HD is going to offer more features and capability than a phone, will be simpler to mount to a helmet or handlebars and will produce better results of point-of-view rides.

If it's only meant for facebook, then the footage from a phone will probably be ok.

Out of curiousity, when you're talking about the quality, are you referring to post-processing or pre-processing? Because Deshaker for VirtualDub works wonders. With a decent mount setup that will reduce high-impact blurring, I'm betting a GoPro isn't necessary.

 

[GamerDiehard]

actually, there is only one with the best camera experience, it is Nokia 808 Pureview, 41 Megapixel, what more you can expect?

 

[bgstcola]

The second has camera samples as well? The third is purely a numbers definition, as I said.

Yeah but it's an iphone 4. Not a 4s.

 

[pandemonium]

Ahh, you are right. My mistake.

 

[quest55720]

If you can wait for WP8 the N8 camera will be. Hopefully it will be out early next year for my wifes upgrade.



http://www.wpcentral.com/nokia-pure-view-41mp-camera-sensor-announced-windows-phone-future coming.



Of course the big news is Nokia obviously plans to eventually bring this kind of tech our way to Windows Phone. But the OS will need to support that and we bet it won't happen till Apollo this Fall. But you can bet that will be a killer Windows Phone. Kudos to Nokia for the technological leap here.

 

[pandemonium]

The near future is definitely exciting (as long as Apple doesn't try saying that the PureView downscaling technology is actually theirs and try suing Nokia over it ). I'm becoming more and more impatient though, since summer is approaching fast and I've had my current phone for over 3 years.

Probably the biggest problem for me is buying the latest and greatest. I usually buy last year's model and save myself a lot of money in the process. That'll be at least another year before I see a reasonably priced, unlocked PureView.

 

[abaez]

Nokia N8.