This is where Ian Burley, DPNow's editor and founder, shares his unique thoughts and impressions on subjects that he hopes will be of interest to others on the subjects of digital photography and other related or loosely related topics! You can follow DPNow Editor's blog on Facebook and Twitter, too.
A 12MP camera phone? You betcha...
Tags 12mp, camera phone, nokia, nokia n8, smartphone
Yesterday I was invited to a meeting with Nokia so I could get to know their forthcoming N8 smartphone. You can read my preview article about the N8.
I can remember when I scoffed at the idea of 5MP camera phones, and then four years ago Nokia introduced the N95. Its 5MP camera really impressed. 5MP is now the average resolution for camera phones; my HTC Desire has a 5MP camera, and so does the new iPhone 4. But Nokia has broken the mould again and is to introduce the N8 with a 12MP sensor, no less, complete with Carl Zeiss Tessar branded wide angle (28mm equivalent) lens.
On top of that, it's similar in size to a typical compact camera sensor and although that's still tiny compared to a DSLR or hybrid mirrorless interchangeable lens camera, like Micro Four Thirds, Samsung NX, etc., it's considerably bigger than the little specks that are used in most camera phones.
The N8 samples we played with yesterday were all pre-production, so I wasn't able to take any sample shots home, but the samples we were shown did look very good considering they were from a camera phone. And the HD video capability of the N8 impressed too.
And there was even more wow-factor - the built in image and video editors actually look useful and usable. The N8 has practically cut out the middle-man PC for photo and video post production. On top of that, you can hook the N8 up to a HDTV or computer monitor, and a bluetooth keyboard and mouse and what you have is a pocket-sized computer to all intents and purposes.
It's all quite remarkable. I can't wait to test a production sample!
Total Comments 4
Comments
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Ian - Your link does not lead to an article about the N8
?Posted 15-07-10 at 11:58 AM by DennisP 
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Sorry about that Dennis - it should be fixed now.
Posted 15-07-10 at 12:14 PM by Ian
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Ian - Do you know the dimenions and also was a suggested retail price quoted.?
Posted 15-07-10 at 01:56 PM by DennisP
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There is talk that the N8 will have a guide price of 375 Euros if bought without a contract. That's quite competitive. My HTC Desire is £399 (or about 440 Euros) and I'm on a £20/ month tariff after paying £99 towards the hand set. You can get a Desire for 'free' for £25/month, so I expect the N8 will be similar or slightly cheaper. I don't have any dimensions yet, but the picture against my hand should give you some idea.
Posted 15-07-10 at 03:07 PM by Ian
