Camera Phone Reviews

Slashphone has pictures of what could potentially be a new Nokia slide phone - possibly called the Nokia N80. The word is that the Nokia N80 would be a 3 megapixel camera phone with not one but two calls. One up front for video calling and another on the back for normal camera phone activities.

Compare Prices on the Nokia N80

There is also talk of a microdrive in it. Could just be rumor and speculation at this point - but maybe Nokia is heading down the slider route with their N80.

The Nokia N80 reflects and harmonizes work and personal life through leading on-the-go productivity tools, multimedia entertainment and mobile photography in a design that communicates success. Weighing only 134 grams, the compact yet feature-rich 3G multimedia device is packed with performance, providing fast internet access and convenient intuitive browsing as well as the possibility to send and receive emails at Wireless LAN (WLAN) speeds.

Nokia N80 Reviews

AllAboutSymbian previews the Nokia N80, and had this to say about the phone's camera: "When using the camera, the screen switches to landscape orientation and the phone is held like a traditional camera. There is a dedicated camera key on the side of the phone which, when the phone is held on its side, is in the same location as the shutter key would be on the camera. The result of this reorientation, physically and on the screen, is to give an excellent and intuitive user experience in camera mode."

3G reviews the Nokia N80 and comments on the feature-packed phone's camera: "When it comes to still pics, the N80 just falls short of the Sharp but still delivers quality snaps. Its CMOS lens can�t compete with the Sharp�s CCD-quality technology in terms of colour representation and detail and, unlike its Nseries stablemate, the N91, there�s no Carl Zeiss lens. The lack of autofocus is disappointing, although it will, naturally, still knock spots off any other camera-phone on the market. The 20x digital zoom works fine, but obviously picture quality deteriorates as you move in, while a macro switch sits just below the lens."

Infosync reviews the Nokia N80, and is not very impressed with the phone's camera: "The camera interface is nearly void of indicators and fails to indicate how to access shooting options, while the combination of lacking autofocus and a lazy shutter requires a rock-steady hand to avoid blurry shots indoors even during daytime. Colour reproduction and white balance are admittedly excellent, but we could care less for the marring eight-second shot-to-shot lag, marginally functional macro mode and the limited range of the built-in flash with red eye reduction. "

CRAVE reviews the Nokia N80 and finds it to very close to being the perfect phone, although not quite. About the phone's camera: "We were very impressed with the picture quality of both the camera and the 36 by 45mm, 262k colour screen, which is not only large enough to view images properly, but also comes with a light sensor that adjusts the screen's brightness according to the ambient light."

MobileBurn reviews the Nokia N80, and finds it an amazing mobile phone, but with battery life issues. About the phone's camera, the review notes: "The N80's camera is also quite nice. While it lacks the auto-focus of Nokia's N90 and upcoming N73 and N93 models, the addition of a manual macro mode slider switch helps keep the 3 megapixel camera useful. When shooting a subject within its sweet spot of 17 to 23cm (7 to 9"), the N80 takes very crisply focused macro shots. In regular mode, the N80 also does a good job of shooting people and, especially, landscapes. The built-in LED flash seems a bit more useful than most, and even supports red-eye reduction. The automatic white balance is pretty darn accurate (even more so than the manual settings, most of the time), and the otherwise vast array of settings for shooting modes, color tints, exposure, and even sharpness round out the package nicely. Lest I forget to mention it completely, there is also a forward facing VGA camera that can be used for self-portraits and video calls. The quality does not match that of the main camera, though."

PCMag reviews the Nokia N80 and comments on the phone's camera: "It's pretty basic in terms of options: no optical zoom, no lens cap, no autofocus, and a standard, weak LED flash, but at least there's a macro switch. As with all camera phones, the pictures it takes are barely passable in the realm of dedicated digital cameras; they're soft, with only about 700 lines of resolution, a slightly hazy look, and some visible color noise. At first glance, you might think 2MP camera-phone shots like the ones from the Samsung MM-A800 look better. But that's because the MM-A800's shots are automatically digitally sharpened; the N80's extra pixels give you more realistic lines and color gradations. You can save pictures in the 40MB of onboard memory or on a mini-SD card, or beam them to a PC or printer using Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or a USB cable. This is a huge step forward for camera phones."

Mobile-Review reviews the Nokia N80 and says, about the handset's camera: "The built-in camera allows snapping shots, looking fine on the smartphone, but in case you are going to show them somewhere else, be sure they won’t appear so good." Overall, "Over two months Nokia N80 was bearing the burden of my main handset (I always use two phones at a time, one of which is always a smartphone). And after such a lengthy period of closer examination, I can declare that the N80 didn’t manage to match the requirements of an active user, like me. As a matter of fact, now the phone will acquire a special SIM-card for testing, so that all necessary tests will be carried out as required. I can’t say that I had primarily negative experience with the handset – on the contrary, I perceived it as I would any fine-made handset. The N80 can be made use of, although not quite comfortable due to crude software, but if you can do with certain limitations, it is OK."

CNET reviews the Nokia N80 and comments on the phone's camera: "The mobile sports a 3-megapixel camera with video-recording capabilities and 20X digital zoom. The breadth of customization and editing options available on this phone is astounding. You can choose from eight shooting modes, ranging from portrait to sports to night portrait, and five resolutions: 2,048x1,536, 1,600x1,200, 1,280x960, 800x600, and 640x480. You can tweak the brightness, contrast, white balance, color tone, and exposure value. There's also a self-timer and flash. The secondary camera is of only VGA quality, but then again, how often do you find a cell phone with two cameras? The shooting options are significantly reduced, with a mere two modes to choose from: automatic or night."

MobileTechReview reviews the Nokia N80 and writes, "First a tip: hold the camera still for 2 seconds after you hear the shutter sound. Or simply watch the viewfinder until the image post-view appears. That's the shutter lag, which wouldn't be so annoying if the shutter sound were in sync so one would know when it's OK to move the camera. If you get blurry photos, follow our 2 second rule and you'll get clear, pleasing shots. For some reason, macro mode doesn't have this shutter lag, but all other modes, including Auto, do. The N73 really doesn't take photos more quickly but the autofocus action on screen gives you a clue when it's safe to move the camera, as does the in-sync shutter sound. ... Photos are truly very good if you follow the 2 second rule, and the N80's images lay to waste the average 1.3MP offering. Photos are fairly sharp and you can increase in-camera sharpening somewhat before images look harsh. There's a good amount of detail and you'll clearly see individual leaves and blades of grass in landscape shots, with focus falling off around the edges. The camera has good shadow detail by camera phone standards and contrast is set conservatively by default which helps maintain shadow detail."

ElectricNews.net reviews the Nokia N80 and writes, "The phone's three-megapixel camera is impressive and is accessed by simply hitting a handy button on the right side of the phone. The picture quality is pretty good but, as with most phones, doesn't approach true digital camera standard. Even so, Nokia has bundled an impressive array of picture-taking and editing facilities including contrast and colour controls, and a powerful zoom for close ups. The clarity of the 2.1 inch screen means you won't have to squint."

PDAStreet reviews the Nokia N80 and writes, "You'll need plenty of storage if you plan to make liberal use of the N80's photo-taking capabilities, because it sports a high-resolution 3 megapixel camera. It operates in landscape mode and has an integrated flash, along with a host of features that you'd expect to find on a standalone digital camera. These include red-eye reduction, a self timer, close-up mode, and 10 different scene modes just to name a few. (For would-be spies, one of the N80's scene modes is optimized for photographing documents.) You can also convert your shots to black-and-white, negative, or sepia-toned right on the phone. On the front of the phone you'll find the lens for the N80's secondary camera. This one is a basic low resolution (VGA) type that works in conventional portrait orientation and lacks a flash, but it's fine for things like self photos. Both of the N80's camera's are capable of capturing motion video, but resolution is limited to 352 x 288, even on the primary camera."

PCAuthority reviews the Nokia N80 and writes, "Starting with the connectivity side of things; Bluetooth is (not surprisingly) included. More surprisingly, so are both infra-red and Wi-Fi, in a tip of the hat to backward and forward compatibility. A VGA camera is included in the front of the N80 for video calls, but the three megapixel camera in the back, which sports an LED-based flash and switchable macro and telephoto focus settings, is more impressive -- although it lacks a lens cover. ... the phone’s structure is complex and takes quite a lot of getting used to. "

More from the news release:

Multimedia connectivity in the Digital Home

With simple to use yet advanced UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) technology*, the pioneering Nokia N80 can be used to tap into the digital home network, acting almost as a remote control, enabling secure and convenient access to compatible PCs, audio equipment and TVs.** Consequently, images and video stored on the Nokia N80 or a compatible PC can be viewed wirelessly on the living room TV, while listening to music stored on the device through the living room audio system. Printing is now faster too, as Nokia N80 users can print wirelessly to any compatible UPnP-enabled home printer or printing kiosk.