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Camera Phones roundup

Camera Phones roundup

by Nick Ross  on Sep 7, 2005
Can you ditch your compact digital camera yet? We test the latest batch of phone cameras to find out.
In much of the developed world, camera phones are outselling dedicated digital cameras. Certainly digital compacts aren’t advancing as fast as they once were – there’s relatively little difference between a four megapixel and eight megapixel compact’s pictures, as quality is limited by the lens sizes and few people print higher than 7 x 5in photos anyway. People also don’t like the vast files sizes that come with an eight megapixel photo – especially if a three megapixel camera More important is the quality of the CCD and the lens. On auto settings, indoor shots were well exposed, with good contrast and natural tones. Outdoor photography revealed slight problems, though, with the flash over-keen in dusky light, can still generate acceptable 10 x 8 inch prints.As we see with Canon’s IXUS 50 (page 63), the best compacts are small, fast and offer more features. But how far away are camera phones? Samsung has produced a seven megapixel version though it won’t be available here for some time. While we consider three megapixels to be the minimum requirement for a decent camera, two megapixel units are the most popular in Australia – perfectly adequate for the popular 6 x 4 inch size.



We asked the main manufacturers to provide their best performers and Nokia, O2, Sony Ericsson and Motorola obliged.



We tested each one by taking an outdoor shot, well-lit indoor shot, night shot and video clip – common or garden pictures that would typically be blown up to 6 x 4 inch sizes. We also tested how easy it was to share them via BlueTooth. Note that these scores reflect the camera component, not the phone itself.
This article appeared in the October, 2005 issue of PC Authority.


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