Phone upgrade time: Which has the best camera?
I've been living the BlackBerry life for a while, my contract is up (ATT) and I'm surveying the landscape. Things sure have changed since last time I did this. :huh
Occurred to me that taking pictures is one of my main phone uses, and I've always just lived with whatever the phone had. Time to make that a more direct part of the decision process. Lets ignore operating system and carrier differences for the moment, I have plenty of weird hangups and issues with each of them. So far I've really only evaluated the ATT options, welcome others if it is worth the switch.
The iPhone, from the 4 on up, has a pretty legendary status as a useful photographic tool, with plenty of apps and related functions. Lots of info out there, I'm pretty comfortable with how it works.
The Nokia Lumia 920 has pretty impressive specs (optically stabilized F/2.0 lens, overlapped 4:3 and 16:9 sensors, not a crop of one or the other). Dedicated shutter / direct access button for quick usage. From samples I've seen, pretty clean jpgs if not to iPhone standards.
The Samsung Galaxy SIII appears to have fairly middling specs, I haven't been impressed with the jpg samples sharpening and noise reduction artifacts, though it does in-camera HDR with the Nokia doesn't.
Other Android Devices There are so many I don't even know where to start. :lol3
The new Blackberry isn't due out for a few months, nobody knows what that will be like. The teaser videos show some interesting software tricks but actual camera specs and functions are unknown.
So, lets hear it. Anybody out there deviating from the iPhone / Camera Awesome collective?
Occurred to me that taking pictures is one of my main phone uses, and I've always just lived with whatever the phone had. Time to make that a more direct part of the decision process. Lets ignore operating system and carrier differences for the moment, I have plenty of weird hangups and issues with each of them. So far I've really only evaluated the ATT options, welcome others if it is worth the switch.
The iPhone, from the 4 on up, has a pretty legendary status as a useful photographic tool, with plenty of apps and related functions. Lots of info out there, I'm pretty comfortable with how it works.
The Nokia Lumia 920 has pretty impressive specs (optically stabilized F/2.0 lens, overlapped 4:3 and 16:9 sensors, not a crop of one or the other). Dedicated shutter / direct access button for quick usage. From samples I've seen, pretty clean jpgs if not to iPhone standards.
The Samsung Galaxy SIII appears to have fairly middling specs, I haven't been impressed with the jpg samples sharpening and noise reduction artifacts, though it does in-camera HDR with the Nokia doesn't.
Other Android Devices There are so many I don't even know where to start. :lol3
The new Blackberry isn't due out for a few months, nobody knows what that will be like. The teaser videos show some interesting software tricks but actual camera specs and functions are unknown.
So, lets hear it. Anybody out there deviating from the iPhone / Camera Awesome collective?
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Don
'I was older then, I'm younger than that now' ....
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I have not tried any of this myself, but I've been researching the Fuji 3D cameras, which also save 3D/Stereo images as MPO (Multi-Picture Object) files.
I've found software which claims to convert the MPO format files into red/cyan anaglyph or paired (left/right) images.
For direct conversion to red/cyan anaglyph or to paired images, running on a Windows platform, you might try "MPO TOOLBOX" (http://www.stereoscopynews.com/download/software/654-mpo-toolbox.html). (Direct download of the ZIP file is: http://www.stereoscopynews.com/images/software/MPO-Toolbox.zip)
For 3D video conversion I see people recommending the "AISEESOFT 3D Converter" software, which, I believe is commercial software (so I won't provide a link) and I have not tested myself.
Again, I can't recommend any of this stuff for your application, since my interest and application is centered around the Fuji 3D cameras, but the commonality of MPO files may allow HTC EVO 3D file conversion as well.
(Also, I am not affiliated with any of the above software manufacturers, so I am neither promoting nor recommending either software.)
Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
I expect with more proliferation of 3D imaging like this there will even be browser plugins for viewing on line!
Don
'I was older then, I'm younger than that now' ....
My Blog | Q+ | Moderator, Lightroom Forums | My Amateur Smugmug Stuff | My Blurb book Rust and Whimsy. More Rust , FaceBook .
Previously, I had Blackberries. Those cameras were complete crap, including the 'good' one on the Torch. I was always disappointed when I viewed images elsewhere, as it was completely obvious that they were from a phone or worse. I rarely used it for taking photos.
With the iPhone, I do not hesitate to use it, which is incredibly important. As the saying goes, the best camera is the one you have with you. I often see something and kick myself that I don't have my dSLR. But now, I do that, and whip out the iPhone and take a photo without hesitation.
Finally, its the ecosystem. Having lived with Blackberry for the last 6 years, the one thing that is most amazing about the iPhone camera is the range and quality of apps around it. The built in Camera app is very good, and has a nice HDR mode, but then I can use CameraAweseme, Camera+, and then editing apps like Snapseed, and the very photoshop like Filterstorm. And if you have a Mac, the iCloud transfer to iPhoto is a nice thing as well.
Here is a sample, shot using the built-in camera app, set on HDR mode to bring out the shadows:
And another, where I edited in Snapseed for a fun effect:
Considering only photographic qualities, Nokia does have the 2 - phones I would interested in:
Nokia Lumia 920
Nokia PureView 808
Ideally, if I was filthy rich, I would consider having both.
The Lumia 920, in addition to the things that you mentioned, has arguably the best low-light capabilities of any phone-camera system I have researched. This site has some low-light comparisons:
http://www.phonearena.com/news/Nokia-Lumia-920-low-light-shots-vs-iPhone-5-vs-Galaxy-S-III-vs-HTC-One-X-vs-808-PureView_id36017#18-Lumia-920
The PureView 808 has that 40 MPixel imager, which really does seem to resolve around 10-20 MPix* in perfect light:
http://press.nokia.com/wp-content/uploads/mediaplugin/photo/hanging-out-2-captured-with-nokia-808-pureview.jpg
http://fstoppers.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/nokia-808-sample-41.jpg
Sadly, the PureView 808 is the last Nokia based on the Symbian system, meaning that application development may be short-ended. The PureView 808 is also pretty poor in low-light.
*(Think of the extra pixels as an opportunity for more accurate color sampling and more photosites for noise reduction in post, but the actual detail resolving of the imaging system seems to be about 10-20 MPix and relatively high quality images overall.)
Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
I'm not particularly interested in 3D, for some reason. Perhaps I'll get there.
The Lumia seems promising, and I recd an email from BB that the BB10 release is Jan 30, so I think I'll have to wait and see for a bit.
Thanks for sharing
On topic: I too don't have any experience with androids, anyone know how good the camera is on the iPhone 5?
The Android phones tend to be lower-end in price and lower-end in terms of built-in cameras too. The Samsung Galaxy S3 is probably one of the current "best" in photographic terms, with a very good review here:
http://connect.dpreview.com/post/9831991152/samsung-galaxy-s-iii-camera-review
The Apple iPhone 5 uses an iOs operating system, and has nothing to do with Android. The iPhone 5 camera seems very nice in good light, but in poor light the images appear to suffer.
Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
The Lumia 920 has unbelievable and unmatchable low-light quality, optical image stabilization (no other phone has this), and a good crop of post-processing apps as well as exclusive Nokia photography apps. The image stabilization is also very effective when taking videos with the phone. Pretty awesome.
The iPhone has a great camera, but like with DSLRs, it depends on what you plan on using the camera for. If unmatched low-light photos and image stabilization for photos and video are important to you, then don't buy an iPhone or Android phone.
www.rfcphotography.com
The top rated camera in a phone is the Nokia 808. Hard to beat a phone with a dedicated 41MP camera, so if this is the most important feature, this is the one to get. On the downside, its a Symbian phone, not Android or iOS.
The iPhone 5 gets good marks, and from what I have read in the article, does particularly well with low light situations, though DPReview Connect takes issue with how they are achieved.
Lumina 920 does not do particularly well.
And the Galaxy S3 comes in lower than the iPhone.
www.rfcphotography.com
I sat thru the Blackberry 10 launch - it appears they are sticking with their strategy of business use first, and specced a really unimpressive camera.
Leaning further toward the Lumia 920. Bobcool, would you mind sharing some images from yours?
Sure - any particular type of photo you would like to see? I don't have any beautiful palaces around here though.
www.rfcphotography.com
Anything architectural in 16x9 mode to get an idea of distortion
Something close up in macro mode, maybe something easily repeatable like a coin
I've seen a lot of low light and landscape shots in reviews on the web
Some 920 photos (just random snapshots):
Train stopping on the tracks in front me one day:
A quarter at my desk just now:
Bonus night-time shot where it was actually able to pick up some stars:
One thing that stands out in the train photo is the dynamic range. I know what bright winter sun is like in the upper midwest, and to retain shadow detail in those rail cars without blowing out the elevator, snow, or sky is really quite impressive.
www.rfcphotography.com
www.rfcphotography.com
The only camera that really stood out image quality wise when playing with them extensively in-store was the Nokia 920, and I wasn't ready for its size, heft, or OS. If I didn't have a very nice, almost-pocketable Fujifilm X10 I would have gone with the Nokia for the really outstanding images.