Nokia N97/N97 mini: review part 3 - Camera, Multimedia and wrap-up

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They said I was mad to try attempting this review mini-series. But I've done it. Phew! In part 1 of my review of the Nokia N97 (v20) and Nokia N97 mini, I looked at the hardware, design and build quality. In part 2, I looked at the OS, The Interface, The Apps. Now, in this, the final review part, I look at the N97/N97 mini's camera and multimedia performance - and then I wrap up with my verdict of both devices.

"But it's all relative. Critics of phone cameras over the last five years have rightly pointed out that in anything other than optimal light conditions, a standalone camera with far bigger lens with take far better photos than (even) an N95. And, taking back to back photos using the N95 and the N97 phones featured here, I was struck how advances in camera processing algorithms in the intervening years have meant that the N95's images are definitely inferior, on average. 

And yet, we're now spoiled. The Nokia N86, with its focus (pun intended) on photography, the Samsung i8910 HD, the new Sony Ericsson Satio, and others, all 8 megapixels or more and with bigger sensors, bigger apertures, brighter flashes, and so on, have all provided us with a new benchmark. Whereas claiming that the N95's camera could replace a standalone was only true under certain conditions, this new breed of phone camera gets us a whole step closer to the claim being valid."

 

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