Aug 05 2009

Can the Nokia N97 replace a Camera on Vacation?

Posted by Norman John in N-Series, N97, Nokia

I have recently returned from my vacation in Spain where I put some devices through their paces. When I was packing I had to decide which camera to take and I was left with two options, either have faith in the capabilities of the Nokia N97 or be safe and take my standalone digital camera. I decided that it may be a good idea to take both devices, as it would give me a chance to compare the two and see whether the N97 can keep up with a standalone digital camera. So here are some pictures taken with both devices, they’ve been taken in almost every vacation scenario.

Left: Nokia N97 – Right: Samsung Digimax L730/Fujifilm FinePix S5800

(click to enlarge the images)

What do these pictures tell us? Well… in good light conditions and also late afternoon, the pictures from the N97 came out pretty well. The colors are vivid and the detail is sharp, and I feel that the N97 would have been sufficient enough to replace a standalone camera. However, there were two areas in which the N97 could not compete. Firstly its performance in low light conditions was way below average, even when we were inside the pub. The flash and the night mode are simply just not powerful enough and unless you are less than 1.5 meters away from the subject, you will not going to get a decent image. Secondly when trying to capture that distant image, the N97 is limited to a digital zoom. This is no mach for the optical zoom found on most standalone cameras, which create a much crisper image no matter how far away you are.

So my final thoughts are that if you’re planning to take pictures in good light conditions and you’re not a major fan of the zoom functionality, then Nokia N97 can replace your digital camera. However, if you take a lot of your pictures in pubs, clubs or during the evenings, you won’t get the images your looking for unless you’ve packed your trusty digital camera.

http://www.dani2xll.com dani2xll

“However, if you take a lot of your pictures in pubs, clubs or during the evenings, you won’t get the images your looking for unless you’ve packed your trusty digital camera” or you had packed the n82 instead of the n97.

I did use an n82 as my one holiday camera recently to Egypt. And to be honest even though I now own a stand-a-lone digital camera (for those close-up ebay images lol) I would still pack my n82 and leave the digital camera at home. I like my gadgets to have many capabilities built into one.
http://s60inside.wordpress.com/2009/08/06/nokia-n97-kameratest/ Nokia N97 Kameratest « S60inside

[...] Link [...]
http://www.rodrigostoledo.com/?p=13360 É possível trocar uma câmera digital pelo Nokia N97 nas férias? | rodrigostoledo.com

[...] trocar uma câmera digital pelo Nokia N97 nas férias? Esta pergunta foi publicada em um post no Symbian World em um post com muitas fotos comparando a câmera do Nokia N97 com as máquinas, Samsung Digimax [...]
http://www.womworld.com/nokia/10797/n97-camera-up-to-the-challenge/ WOM World / Nokia » Blog Archive – N97 camera – up to the challenge?

[...] John has been on holiday and he was faced with the choice of taking his standalone digital camera or the N97. In the end he opted for both, and was determined to test them both out. For reference, the [...]
http://usmobileindustry.com matthew bennett

I agree with Dani2xll. I have a couple stand alone cameras, that do certain things better than whichever Nokia is in my pocket. But the Nokia is *always* in my pocket. For my own use (uploading pics and videos to the web) the NSeries devices have been good enough since the N73.

In your comparison photos, I like the N97′s image quality in better lighting over the stand alone cameras. It looks like the white balance was automatically adjusted on the N97 in these photos. The colors seem more real to me, or at least more vivid.

Thanks for the comparison!
Nfan

dani2xll the N82 has xenon it has better flash we are here to talk about the n97
http://stilus.biz stilusmen

Good light conditions and also late afternoon, the pictures from the N97 came out pretty well
http://ubimidia.com/2009/08/10/o-n97-pode-substituir-uma-camera-normal-em-viagens/ Ubimidia » Blog Archive » O N97 pode substituir uma câmera normal em viagens?

[...] carrego nenhuma outra câmera. Agora o N97 segue com mais competência esse conceito e o pessoal do SymbianWorld vai no mesmo caminho. Tags: n97, [...]
elbastardo

Would’ve been nice to view pics from the Samsun Omnia HD and perhaps some SE model.

(I’m feeling compfused as always when it comes to buying a new phone)
http://www.mobilephoneonly.co.uk/ mobilephoneonly

Although N97 comes with LED flash and the night mode feature, it’s still not powerful enough to catch images at low light or night conditions. The images got at better lighting conditions are even better than the stand along camer. So N97 is far beyond useful in a travelling.
Adi

The question should be asked, if your N97 is decent enough for instant images on daily basis (taking pictures of the children and special moments which my DSLR is not on me)

When going on vacation, i would rather have a decent camera and not the N97, due to optical zoom and image quality (personally i own a DSLR so no question about it)

The comperation here is a bit misleading though, since the cameras was not tested in the same parameters, for example, the forth image (near the shop) was taken:
Nokia – ISO 282, f2.8 Shutter Speed 1/20 Focal length 5mm
Fuji – ISO-800, f3.5 Shutter Speed 1/45 Focal length 6mm

I believe the Fuji can give much better picture with lower ISO, Even a DSLR gives digital noise at ISO-800, which makes it in favour of the fuji in that case.

Another good information is the focal length, the images seems in the same distance, which shows that the N97 sensor is much closer to normal camera, comparing to other phones, but not yet there.

Thank you for the comparison.
Nicky

Hey, this is a nice discussion! I have a problem with my N97…

Take a look at a photo sample.

http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/372/nickyn97foto241.jpg

Noticed the left side of the photo? Why is it like this? there was nothing in front of the camera… the camera an flash glass was clean… and I don`t have that scratch yet. All photos in outdoor low light conditions come out like this… What do you think I should do? If you`ve got any solution, send me a email please! gangstah_nycky@yahoo.com

Thanks anyway! And, yes, Nokia should do something real quick. Greetings!
la pintila

Nicky says:
19. December 2009 at 00:46

Nicky:

Verify you removed camera protector film.

sorry! i speak bad english haha!

bye