What use is your fancy N73, N93 or even N95 when you keep missing the shots and putting off the people you're trying to snap? In what's hopefully a thought-provoking editorial, I look at the pros and cons of simpler, 2mp fixed focus cameras in smartphones.
I notice that the letters "renault" are more blurred on the N95 shot than on the other two, even though the N95 has more megapixels. Would that be because the image has been scaled down more than the others?
Can autofocus be turned off on the N95? (sorry if this is a FAQ)
How long time does the exposure itself take at max. resolution (N95)?
I tend to be easily charmed by impressive specs, and in my wet dreams my next phone is a N95. My first smartphone. But I know I will be frustrated if the camera - given its specs - is less than perfect. The 1.3 mp camera of my previous phone (Samsung SGH E730) took at least a second to finish an exposure at max. resolution. I found that a bit slow.
Steve, you're right as usual - the great thing about the N70 is that you can just whip it out and capture the moment. If you want great quality, take a camera or camcorder out and about and do the job properly. The N93/N95 lose the sponteneity of the N70 without getting close to the quality of even a cheap dedicated camera. Non-geeks who are less seduced by the glamour of the latest offerings can see this more clearly than the rest of us!
"the output of the typical 2 megapixel camera in most of Nokia's S60 range is effectively identical to that of the its much more highly specified relatives - at least, when the photos are reduced to typical usage size."
This last phrase is something a lot of reviewers seem to miss, thanks for illustrating it with such a good series of pictures Steve.
Once you've cut and edited and shrunk a picture for use on the web, in most daylight situations there's not really that much difference between a picture from a cheap 2mp camera or an expensive 5mp camera.
If you just want daylight pictures for the web, anything above 1mp is probably good enough for most people. Even in the example of taking sharp closeup pictures for ebay, if you put the item on a table next to the window and photograph it during bright daylight hours, you're bound to get one or two decent images even on the worst of cameras.
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