29 March 2008

The Battle of the Photography Giants
Nokia N93 vs. Nokia N82

Finally got my hand on the Nokia N82 and indeed I am impressed. The xenon flash is unmatched. It makes the camera so much easier to use. No more holding still when taking images. This thing really captures still images.

I tested the focus algorithm and found it very similar to what is found in the predecessor the Nokia N73. Also found in the Nokia N95, the massive focus box can make capturing images easier or harder, depending on the subject.

For smaller finer work, the massive focus box can make accurate focus nearly impossible, but most standard shooting would find this more an asset. Focusing can be annoying and slow at times, but when lighting gets dim, an orange illuminator engages to light up the subject to get accurate focus.

The major milestone in the N82 is definitely the xenon flash. It gets perfect exposure every time. It achieves this by preflashing the subject and adjusting the shutter speed, and flash power accordingly. This has never been seen in mobile phones before. The LG L990 Viewty had a xenon flash, but it had not control, and power seemed always set to max, causing massive blowout shot for close-ups.

Apart from the xenon flash, the N82 basically shares the same optic and sensor as the N95 (5MP fixed focal length autofocus). Color profiling and noise reduction seems similar too. Compared to the old N73, this is definitely an improvement. No more tinting on night shots, and every good auto ISO.

As a tradition, I always bench a new cell phone camera, against the old faithful Nokia N93. Lets see it. N93 shots all post process neat image as N93 has no noise reduction, like N82 has.

Nokia N82 shot Macro, xenon flash set to auto but fired	Nokia N93 shot Macro mode, neat image post process
*click to enlarge

Nokia N82 shot	Nokia N93 N93 shot (max wide angle)
*click to enlarge

Notice here N93 angle is wider than N82 slightly, can be advantageous for landscapes and tight situations. N82 does not want to be too wide, otherwise portrait pictures will look distorted, but N93 can compensate by using optical zoom

Nokia N82 N82 shot with xenon flash on	Nokia N82 shot with xenon flash off	Nokia N93 shot
*click to enlarge or right click and save target as.. . . .

From all these shots it seems the major improvement on the N82 is the xenon flash. It makes colours more vibrant, and images more frozen, thanks to faster shutter speeds. The auto preflash feature is a great ad on, but what would be nice would be a faster AF engine, and faster preflash time interval. As by the time all this has past, some special moments may have passes.

Kudos Nokia, looks like N82 indeed superceeds N93 in image quality now.

SF Review: N82 vs. N93
Originally posted: 29.03.2008
Last Updated: 05.04.2008
Author: Bigley Ling (AKA Mazor)
Copyright: Symbian Freak 2008; all rights reserved