Camera Phone Reviews

Sony Ericsson K810/K818 Cyber-shot Phones

Sony Ericsson K810/K818 press release excerpts

The K810/K818 Cyber-shot™ phone is a sleek, high-performance device boasting a 3.2 megapixel camera including auto focus and Xenon flash. Innovative applications such as Photo fix help to further improve the quality of your pictures, even after you have taken them. Illuminated Camera Icons to the side of the main keypad, which light up when in camera mode, allow the user to access camera menu options at the touch of a button.

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The K810 will appeal to those using their mobile phone on a regular basis to capture quality shots while on the move. Its slender good looks belie its high specification; it’s not only a UMTS device for high-speed Picture blogging, but also one of the most advanced camera phones available. When in camera mode, the Xenon flash with red eye reduction will help to achieve great picture results in low-light conditions. Equally, the new illuminated Camera Icons will allow the user to select advanced camera settings (such as picture size & self timer) by simply clicking on one of the hardkeys; so no need to navigate into the full camera menu and risk missing that special shot.

No longer do poor light conditions and lack of contrast mean that the user has to delete that special picture. If a photo needs some improvement after it has been taken, then the new Photo fix solution can optimise brightness & picture contrast at the touch of a button. Meanwhile, if a user is shooting a moving object (perhaps at a sporting event), then the BestPic™ feature will let them take nine photos in quick succession and simply choose the best one. No point in missing the action.

Sharing your pictures is easily done with the K810 Cyber-shot™ phone thanks to a host of connectivity options: Picture Blogging allows you to upload your shots to your own blog site, whilst Bluetooth™ technology and USB 2.0 make it straightforward to share photos with friends or connect to your PC.

The K810 Cyber-shot™ phone is a UMTS 2100 (GSM 900/1800/1900) device available within Q2 2007. In addition, the K818 is a GSM variant intended specifically for China where 3G services are not established. Both will be available in two stylish colours: Noble Blue and Golden Ivory.

Sony Ericsson K810/K818 Reviews

CNET UK has a review of the Sony Ericsson K810i and writes, "The camera performs identically to the K800i's, producing great shots (relative to other camera phones), particularly in low light using the xenon flash. The only problem we had is there's a small amount of shutter lag when you take a shot, which causes blurring if you don't hold the camera still until it's finished. ... Aside from the awkward keypad, which might not suit everyone's texting tastes, this is a good camera phone -- but there's something missing. Yes, it has a better camera cover than the K800i, some fancy blue lights and a glossy makeover, but that's the problem -- it's only a makeover and nothing has really changed. ... Basically, if you own a K800i then you might as well keep it."

ComputerActive reviews the Sony Ericsson K810i and writes, "The camera, as before, is excellent – 3.2 megapixels and with an autofocus rather than a fixed focus lens. There’s also a strong Xenon flash too, ideal for reading menus in fashionably ambient restaurants. ... If you’re a K800i user, you probably won’t feel the need to upgrade (just keep an eye on that lens cover) because the increases in features don’t quite justify it. For everyone else, though, this is Sony Ericsson’s best cameraphone and a good-looking, intuitive and easy-to-use handset."

Trusted Reviews reviews the Sony Ericsson K810i and writes, "Well, to get the camera software running you just slide the back-mounted lens cover away from the lens. This reveals the self portrait mirror too. The sizeable Xenon flash unit is permanently outside the cover. Other camera related trickery include a redeye reduction mode and support for picture blogging, so you can see that as a camera phone the K810i touches a lot of bases...Using the camera was straightforward. As well as the shortcut buttons already mentioned (the ones above the screen), the 1, 4, 7 and * keys double up to provide access to megapixel size, macro, self-timer and flash settings, making it really fast to flick between these and also easier to take candid shots - a task that's far from slick with some mobiles."

CNET Australia reviews the Sony Ericsson K810i and writes, "In terms of the camera's software, it's the same story -- you can shoot still pictures and video, adjust the white balance and picture quality and send your pictures to friends via MMS, email or blog them to a Blogger blog, which the K810i will automatically set up. All of which you can do on a K800i, too...The camera performs identically to the K800i's, producing great shots (relative to other camera phones), particularly in low light using the xenon flash. The only problem we had is there's a small amount of shutter lag when you take a shot, which causes blurring if you don't hold the camera still until it's finished."

IT Reviews has a review of the Sony Ericsson K810i and writes, "The main camera sits on the back of the casing and is accompanied by a xenon flash. Xenon produces a more powerful flash than LED, so this camera performs that little bit better than its LED-toting counterparts when it comes to indoor photography. The lens is protected by a sliding cover and uncovering the lens starts the camera software running...The camera itself has a maximum resolution of 3.2 megapixels, and so is not up to the standards of the market-leading 5-megapixel camera-phones, but still it coped well during testing. There is a macro lens mode which we found to be perfectly serviceable, and image stabilisation can provide some assistance to those with shaky hands."