Photos: Nights out with the Nokia N97 (with Nokia N82 comparison samples)

July 10, 2009 at 11:51 pm | In 5th Edition, Nokia, Nseries, Photos, S60, Symbian, Test | 1 Comment
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YesteRday was my friends’ graduation. I knew that if I wanted some decent photos of the evening, I’d need to bring a proper camera (with real xenon flash) as dual LED has never cut it on previous occasions in really low light with the Nokia N97. Whilst not a dedicated point and shoot, I brought the N82 which was damn good enough to light up those moments which the N97 could not.

Unfortunately, not that many pictures from last night are going to make it on this post as I wasn’t really paying attention to making photo tests (they aren’t appropriate for a public blog – ha they’d kill me if I put some of these pictures up), but there are some from a different night. As expected in both occasions, the N82 was the downright winner – freezing every single shot, lighting up the scene in vivid bright colours, whereas the N97 just produced murky, often blurred pictures.

Note these two pictures below. (Big thanks to the random guy who took the photo – they were taken about 5 minutes in between each other as he didn’t know how to work either phones).

Nokia N97 (below) V11 firmware

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Nokia N82

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Nights out make up a significant bulk of my albums on facebook (as well as my friends’ albums). It’s the most convenient place for me to share my photos with the people that matter to me. The Nokia N82 has been a trooper in bringing back some quality pictures of the night before, to the point that I’ve rarely had to bring a separate camera (of which was brought out only when I forgot to charge the N82).

I love that I the N82’s camera with xenon flash is sufficiently good enough that I don’t have to bring out a phone AND a camera when I’m going out. It means less bulky pockets and more importantly, less of a chance that I’ll lose/drop/break, particularly as the alcohol consumption goes up and the concentration goes rapidly down. (And even so, the N82 has dealt with the drops, scrapes, scratches and even being dunked in Guiness remarkably. The only thing that’s hampered it is debranding to get the v31 firmware – a lesson I’ve learned NEVER to do again)20090709362_2

Bleak and murky, by N97

It’s annoying to think that I can’t have the same reliance for low-lit-people shots with the N97. Yeah, it’ll capture it, but never how it could have been, had Nokia included Xenon Flash.

It’s a shame particularly with the integration of facebook on the N97, and even being called the facebook phone, you’d think it’s the perfect marriage for the whole “connecting people” theme.

I know that not everyone’s pictures consist predominantly of indoor/nights out. In fact, with the summer, proportions of outdoor sunny holiday snaps are increasing (at least that’s how it’s appearning on my FB news feeds).

My perceptions maybe skewed as a (UK) student, but whenever people congregate and photos are being taken, that’s often almost always taken indoors where the lighting isn’t always the best it could be. The only N97 shot of the night out I was happy with was the macro below.

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N97 – macro – low light – flash on

These are though the harshest of lighting conditions. The N97 does perform alright when there’s sufficient lighting. Here’s an indoor shot taken earlier on in the evening during a meal at Harvester. There was still some sunlight poking through the windows.

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I was actually surprised when I checked that this had actually come from the N97 as shot by the N82 came out blurry (though this maybe a focusing error on my part and not the phone)

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N82 – focus got locked to the white shirts at the back.

Here’s a set of comparisons of the N97 (firmware V10) against the N82 when I went to see my mate’s band at Barfly. Sometimes, when the N97’s flash is turned off (and there’s already some illumination in the scene), the colours look more natural than with the N82 with the xenon flash on. But head to head, xenon always wins against dual led. Note that the N97 shot is (at least I think it is) the first of each pair.

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In terms of photos, and people in low light, and flash on, the Nokia N82 wins hands down. I haven’t tested the Nokia N86, the supposed imaging flagship by Nokia, but I’m hazarding an informed guess (based on early low light review sample) that even with the N86’s improved dual LED and better sensor, the N82 simply with xenon will still win the very low light/people test.

The only use I have for the dual LED is in the torch application (and I actually find this genuinely really useful). It doesn’t help that much in video, unless you set night mode on. This lights up the scene considerably, although frame rate is reduced and the video becomes very jerky.

Another area the N82 wins at is transferring pictures to the computer.

N82 >

  1. Gallery button >
  2. Hold “#” >
  3. press left on the dpad, quickly selecting several photos/videos at once >
  4. - send via bluetooth

N97 >

  1. Homescreen/menu >
  2. Photos >
  3. Captured>
  4. tick icon >
  5. tap tap tap …or drag finger across screen
  6. send via bluetooth

For my criteria of low light/people shots, the Nokia N97 doesn’t cut it. But is that enough reason not to get it? Unless all you’re looking to get is a clubbing phone that upgrades on the N82, the answer is NO . There are still plenty of reasons to choose the N97.

I’ve grown really attached to the homescreen and live information from my social networks and email. The keyboard, though not the best, I’ve also grown slightly accustomed to – maybe more due to the actual laptop looking/slide out form factor than actual usability of the keyboard itself.

For a lot of other users, as aforementioned, good performance in low light isn’t important at all. The camera is quite decent in better lighting conditions, and certainly performs better than most other smartphones, some of which don’t even have a flash (*cough*iPhone).

- This post is way too long now, I’m way too tired, wanted to talk about the Sony Ericsson Satio a bit, but I’m going straight to bed now.

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There were videos taken from the gig too, but I’ll upload those another time. I’m too knackered right now. Verdict was surprising on the video as on a previous initial test, the N82 won on low light video, but it wasn’t so clear cut this time. When set at the right angle, the N97 handles contrasts between low light and bright stage lights better, producing more natural colours, whereas the N82 continually provides well lit video, no matter where it’s pointed, although this does mean the videos appear bleached with light. e.g. The N97 could pick out the writing on the shirts – but the background is blacked out. On  the N82 just shows the shirts as plain white but you can still watch the background.

In sufficient lighting – the video is very good. It does seem less jerky than the N82, although the far focus is annoying when filming people.

Not all Nokia N97s are made the same: More reasons to choose the Black Nokia N97

July 7, 2009 at 12:48 pm | In 5th Edition, Nokia, Nseries, Photos, S60, Symbian | 5 Comments
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If you’ve been following the Nokia N97 reviews, you will have noticed large contrasts in opinion about it. Whilst opinions on the software are understandably much more subjective, the physical hardware should be less so. Nevertheless, there are still comments about how the keyboard on the N97 has virtually no tactile feedback (e.g. BGR and more recently, Gizmodo) yet from the likes of Mobile-Review and Engadget, receive slight praises on the tactile response of the keys.

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So why the mixed bag of reviews? Who’s right about the tactile feedback of the keyboard? Are some just overly harsh? Do others just have less expectations?

Perhaps the answer is that they are all right.

I’m not sure if it’s just an issue with the white Nokia N97 or the fact that it’s from WOMWorld to trial, but if I based my opinions on the keyboard on that particular N97 alone, I would have had to tell you that the feel is slightly disappointing. Some keys have good tacticle feedback, other keys it’s non existent. This makes it an issue when typing as you aren’t sure you’ve pressed certain keys (though after nearly two weeks I’ve gotten used to it).

However, playing around other Nokia N97s (a couple of black N97s from different stores), the keyboards felt entirely different:

  • The keys felt really nice to use. They all had great tactile feedback; you could feel the obvious bounce in the keys that sometimes doesn’t happen with my trial N97.
  • Also, the keyboard felt like it had a velvet/rubber coating, similar to the D-Pad,  whereas on the trial N97, the keys just have a smooth plastic finish. The former is preferable for me.
  • Finally, the slide mechanism. There were noticable differences here too – with the trial N97 having a slightly softer opening and closing, whereas another N97 felt slightly snappier.

I’m not sure if it’s an issue with the particular N97 I’m using, or if it’s an issue with the white N97s or if batches of N97s have differing built quality. Being either of the latter two would explain the contrasting opinions of major reviewers on the keyboard.

More reasons to choose the Black Nokia N97

(Apart from personal preference of aesthetics and possibly better keyboard…)

Some other issues I have encountered with the white N97 (which may not happen with the Black N97 or may be less noticable):

  • The D-pad is quick to absorb any stains. Mine’s turning slightly creamy yellow with a few dark ink stains.

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  • Dust/dirt is getting trapped on the bezel. Whilst this would be an issue for the black N97 too, it would be less noticeable.

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[Gunk remaining that the cloth couldn't reach]

  • The white paint behind the rim of the N97s screen has started to peel, and scratches off extremely easily. At first I thought there was some dark dirt so I tried cleaning it, only to realise that I was inadvertently removing  the paint and exposing a darker surface.

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  • It may just be my eyes, but the back of the N97 is turning slightly yellower too. And it’s also holding on to darker ink staining. It’s not because it’s white, it’s the materials used for the back. Any stains that happen on the face of the N97 are quickly wiped off and forgotten, but you’ll have to be a lot more careful with the back. I can’t get this to show in camera so no pics included.
  • This last point isn’t really an issue, I’m just being pedantic about build quality now. Note the two tone key lighting. On some keys, you can see where blue plastic has been inserted to separate the secondary key. Makes me wonder if it was a last minute fix of the ghastly orange keys we saw in Proto N97s. Again, not really a problem (nor the slight light leakage), and not that noticeable; just being pedantic.

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[Photos by N82]

So for me, as well as the Black N97 looking nicer:

  1. there’s a possibility that the keyboard is built better on the black N97, as well as
  2. long term issues of wear/tear/scuffs/stains being less obvious on the black N97

Videos and Photos: Nokia N97 vs Nokia N82 in low light.

June 26, 2009 at 12:29 am | In 3rd edition, 5th Edition, MNB, Nokia, Nseries, Photos, S60, Symbian, Test, Versus, Video | 8 Comments
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[Sidenote: This test was done with pre-release early edition firmware V10.0.009, and not the "final" firmware V10.0.012]

Just before we went to see “The Hangover”, we went to the pub for a quick drink. Here were three shots I took with the N97 and the N82 in your average moderate/low lighting pub.

Preferably, for a comparison, I would have actually tested it on a proper night out in a club (like the collection here with the N82)- with much less light and a little more thought into certain making the tests fair.

Nevertheless, here’s what I managed with 5 minutes to spare – some “real world” testing of the N97 and the N82 in low lighting conditions (with flash).

N97 (and dual LED Flash)

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N82 (And Xenon Flash)

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N97

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N82

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N97

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N82

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For me – I prefer what the N82 produces. Crisp, non blurry, well lit images as opposed to the N97 under low lighting appears to be taking pictures through a murky muddy bottle.

Video

Supposedly – the LED light is meant to help, but as you can see – the N82 manages fine without it (seen in first few seconds of N82 video, thereafter “assisted” by N97). But the focus is blurry, the video is grainy and overall poor. I guess if it was pitch black then the N97 may have won slightly by having the LED light to give your face a slight gray halloween tint.

Sample from a Nokia N97

Sample from a Nokia N82

I really want to get the N97, but it kills me that for something so important to me (people photos – nights out – I am a student :p) there’s a lot I’ll have to sacrifice in terms of no longer being able to carry just one device again. Unless that is, I go and wait for the Satio. Hmm. It’s early days yet. I’ve not even had the N97 for half a day.

(Note though, it’s not all bad, the N97 performs well in optimum conditions – i.e. bright sunlight – something of a rarity in Wales)

Camera Tests: Nokia N82 vs Samsung Innov8 vs Nokia N97 vs Nokia N86

June 25, 2009 at 9:51 am | In 3rd edition, Nokia, Nseries, Photos, S60 | 1 Comment
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Nokia and Carl Zeiss have bestowed upon the N86 imaging enhancements beyond just upping the resolution from 5MP to 8MP; wide angle, improved latency, large aperture, better sensor in general all resulting (at least on paper) in improved image quality.

CAM TEST 2

Check out full size photos from AAS

As you can see from Rafe’s test, the N86 is superior in all conditions, except low light, where the N82 and its Xenon flash show exactly how to freeze time in .jpeg format.

CAM TEST 1

Check out full size photos from AAS

When there’s a low light scene however, and no flash is used, the N86 is leaps and bounds beyond the other three in the tests. That’s great for:

  • low light situations where  xenon flash would not help because the subject is too far away
  • Situations where you’re not allowed to use flash (although it would really help) – e.g. in an art gallery or music/sport event.
  • when flash would produce too much gastly reflections (e.g. trying to take a photo through glass)
  • when you want to take quick successive shots in low light (xenon flash takes a second or two to charge up)
  • taking pictures of your pets/other animals [in low light] – they may not enjoy the sudden bright flash, of either xenon or dual led.
  • [insert other reason for not using flash]

As you can see when the scene was pitch black – the N82 was able to light it up and produce vivid reds of the car, the Innov8 and N97 poorly just bouncing off reflections, but the N86 – although only dual LED, with the combination of improved sensor,  illuminates the scene, though not to the standard of the N82.

However, as pointed out in the AAS podcast by Steve Litchfield, though it can light up the scene a bit more than usual dual LED, it doesn’t freeze it like Xenon, so expect some blurs if you’re taking pictures of say…erm…people…in low light situations.

nj7 sums up best what I think of the N86:
…..:( Without a Xenon flash it´s not possible to have a great all situation camera.
It’s a shame really, that with the Xenon flash, the N86 could have been the best still-photo cameraphone for all lighting conditions.
Don’t even get me started on how dreadful the low light pics of the N97 are (when you remember it’s meant to be the over all king and flagship and the price, you get more p’d off). Seems that I’ll have to start bringing a compact cam or switch back to the N82 for nights out and other occasions where I’m taking photos indoors. :( !
Oh well – tis your “Nokia thing” to upset the geeks and leave out a feature that we think is obvious to keep, justifying it with excuses of either space constraints or best option economically. Neither excuses fly in a world that’s starting to expect more from their phones.
Is Nokia playing too safe and making the wrong cuts and compromises? It may work out best business wise, but each “almost there” phone does not help Nokia’s, and particularly Nseries’ reputation amongst consumers.

Live Pics of the New Nokia 5530 Xpress Music!

June 16, 2009 at 8:18 am | In 5th Edition, Nokia, Photos, S60, Symbian, Video | 1 Comment
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Yesterday, Nokia announced the 5530 Xpress Music, their latest touch screen music phone destined for the masses.

Below are some live pics taken at a launch event.

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daily mobile via eprice

Comparison Live Pics: Nokia N97 vs E90 vs E75 vs 5800 and Samsung i8910 (Omnia HD)

June 11, 2009 at 10:04 am | In 5th Edition, Nokia, Nseries, Photos, S60, Symbian, Versus | 2 Comments
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My-Symbian has posted some excellent comparison shots of the N97 with the E90, E75, 5800 and Samsung i8910 (Omnia HD).

A few interesting selections below:

1 – E90 and N97

E90 is huge, but that’s because of that big screen and that spectacular keyboard. Not the best looking phone though. You’d think the reason Nokia stuck the numbers row with the first letters row was because they didn’t have enough rows. 1 more row could have done it, right?

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2. N97 and E75

…The E75 has four rows of keys, BUT still doesn’t have a dedicated numbers row. I guess you could close the keyboard and quickly right on the keypad – but it just seems very frustrating that Nokia puts a keyboard, yet compromises severely on the layout.

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3. 5800 vs N97

3.2″ screen vs 3.5″ screen.

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4. N97 and i8910

3.5″ screen vs 3.7″ screen.

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5. Phone Pile!

N97 on top :)

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Via My-Symbian

Nokia N97 Camera Test

June 9, 2009 at 12:03 am | In 5th Edition, Nokia, Nseries, Photos, S60 | 3 Comments
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James Burland of Nokia Creative is putting the Nokia N97 (which he helped his work colleague win from the Search for N… contest) through a series of rigorous tests.

Notice in the colour shots how much more vibrant the colours are from the N97 than the N95 8GB, particularly the yellows reds and pinks. Also worth noting is that it seems there’s less noise in the blue areas – a common problem the N95 suffers when taking photos that feature a lot of blue skies. There seems to be better contrast over all too.

Nokia N97

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Nokia N95 8GB

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James also tests out the resolution of the camera, and if you check out the full resultion [Nokia N97][Nokia N95 8GB] you’ll see that the N97 picks out slightly more detail, with lines looking more defined than on the N95 8GB.

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N95 8GB on the left, N97 on the right. Notice that the lines are clearer on the N97.

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N95 8GB on the top, N97 below - oddly the numbers and the splaying thicking fanned lines on the right looks sharper on the N95 8GB (bit of noise on the N97), even though the lines on the right appear sharper on the N97

Note below – the N97 seems to have very little or no barrel distortion. Much more obvious is that the N97 appears warmer whilst the N95 8GB appears to have a slight cool blue tinge.

Nokia N97

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Nokia N95 8GB

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James has uploaded original resolution photos of all these images to his flickr account >here<

via Nokia Creative

In his next post, James will be testing out a feature I’m excited yet dreading -  flash photography. We’ve seen the N97 produce some okay low light photos, but without flash here. It’s also worth noting the N82 sample pics under extreme low light at the bottom of that post with xenon flash.

Stunning Nokia N97 Live Pics

June 2, 2009 at 7:42 am | In 5th Edition, Nokia, Nseries, Photos, S60, Symbian | 5 Comments
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Over at mobilbladet, they’ve got some absolutely drool-worthy photos of the black Nokia N97.  I’m really smitten with the black option, and I hope the rumors aren’t true that O2 have got the white N97 exclusive in the UK (I don’t want to move to Vodafone!);

  • It looks discreet
  • It looks professional
  • It looks expensive
  • It’s extremely photogenic – it’s very hard to make the black N97 look bad as opposed to the white version where a lot of photos that have surfaced make it look cheap – but then again in person that maybe different. I’m sure a lot will still opt for the white – but look below – black is undeniably sexy.

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mobilbladet via blog-n97

Nokia N97 Low Light Photo Samples! (and N82 extreme low light photos)

May 31, 2009 at 11:24 am | In Nokia, Nseries, Photos, S60, Versus | 7 Comments
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We’ve seen sample pictures from the N97 before, e.g. here and here. But we haven’t really seen it perform under less than optimum conditions, i.e. poor lighting, with people posing in poor lighting – mostly relying on the flash for additional illumination.

The following samples from the N97 don’t seem to be using the Dual LED flash, but in these circumstances (except the last photo) you don’t really need it.

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This first one, the distance would have been too far even for Xenon flash, and the N97 seems to cope well.

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Looks a little pale here.

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These wine glasses would have been obliterated with reflections if Xenon were used.

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Not sure if the Dual LED flash was on. If it was me and the N82 there, you would be able to see those people's faces.

Without actually testing the Nokia N97 under extreme low lighting conditions (virtually no lighting), I still cannot  say I can give up the N82 as my phone/camera for nights out and use the N97 instead. Carrying a compact is an option, but then you’re gonna have to carry that in addition to your phone. Alright for most girls as they’re used to being lumbered with bags, but not the best option for guys who just have pockets. Subjectively, with alcohol, the less things to worry about, the better.

Take a look at these random selection of photos taken by the N82 (please ignore the repeat N97 ones), nearly all of which would have appeared pitch black just like the last photo above taken by the N97 had it not been for the Xenon Flash. These were some of the only ones safe to put up outside facebook.

Blog-N97 Via The Symbian Blog

Nokia N97 Sample Photos!

May 25, 2009 at 7:45 am | In 5th Edition, Nokia, Nseries, Photos, S60 | 2 Comments
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Now the N97 is by no way a Camera oriented device; not in today’s standards anyway (Grrr, Nokia!!) but 5MP Carl Zeiss isn’t too shabby at all.

Below are some image samples said to have been taken by the N97. I say “said” as it looks astonishingly good compared to previous photo samples we’ve seen from N97 reviews. I’d say it’s because it’s in really good lighting conditions, but even the cloudy one [last] with the rainbow looks clear.

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I’d be very happy if it turns out that the N97 can make great shots like this – it may make up for the fact Nokia annoyingly took out Xenon Flash.

Someone though please take some indoor shots? Also people shots – indoors?

Via thesymbianblog

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