[Rock Da Bass]

Hi

I was thinking of upgrading my troublesome Canon 4Mp digital camera (about 3 years old)

Despite other problems, it gives pretty good picture quality.

I have heard it said that some of the cameras in phones nowadays are as good as a "proper" digital camera.

Is this really the case and, if so, what camera phones are the best.

I think I may be as well buying a good pay-as-you-go camera phone as a new camera.

Thanks in advance for any replies.

RDB

[melmorc]

I have the Sony Ericsson W880i. Only a 2MP camera but it is superb. See attached taken last week.

[Mayhs]

Well the best camera phones are the N95 8gb and the N82, both sporting 5megapixel cameras, however the N82 has a better flash...so that one would probably get the vote...

but dont let megapixels fool you, cameras give better image quality than phones because they have better image processors...as the hardware is made just to take pictures, whereas phones have multiple features, however phones are gettin pretty good now

hope this helps and im sure someone else will give you more information! i dont have time right now as i have a few exams this week and im not meant to be on the internet lol

[tvdavid]

I read its the lends that makes all the difference?

[Rock Da Bass]

Thanks for all the replies and feedback

I understand megapixels aren't too much of a quality indicator (though it does help)

Does anybody regularly use their's as a camera to get photo prints from?

Cheers,

RDB

[Sandman]

The problem you will find with camera phones is they usually dont have an optical zoom and a very small lens. Dont be fooled by digital zoom, using this will only just reduce the pixel count then stretch the image.
Also the flash in camera phones although is improving is still not a patch on a proper camera, fine if you take all your pics outside or in very brightly lit rooms.
In all I dont think a phone can replace a proper camera just yet.

[JustinL]

Originally Posted by Sandman

The problem you will find with camera phones is they usually dont have an optical zoom and a very small lens. Dont be fooled by digital zoom, using this will only just reduce the pixel count then stretch the image.
Also the flash in camera phones although is improving is still not a patch on a proper camera, fine if you take all your pics outside or in very brightly lit rooms.
In all I dont think a phone can replace a proper camera just yet.

Agreed. Ontop of that they compress the files therefore reducing the quality further. If it is just a camera phone you are after the N82 has a decent picture with a great Xeon flash, the G800 has a good picture, flash weaker, the N95 good picture, weaker flash once again. I would stay clear of the LG's as I don't rate their camera's at all especially with the amount of shutter lag. The tooca that I am just trying out seems to have a very nice camera on it, just used a LED flash though so is on the weak side for that!

[Davyhulme]

Hello,

I'm looking at this myself. The short answer is "No" they're not as good but I think they've made big leaps over the last couple of years.

The sensors and lenses are very different to the proper cameras. They do have optical zooms but they tend to be quite short. If you go beyond this, the phone will use a digital zoom which gives shocking pictures. The flashes generally aren't good so the shots can be really poorly in low light. And, each shot gets compressed into a jpeg which can introduce other problems.

The names that keep coming up are the N82, N95 and K850i. The N82 has a xenon flash which is 'brighter' and stays bright longer - it's supposed to be a big step forward. The Sony's use the same cybershot software lifted from their proper cameras. Because the Nokia's have got PDF readers and GPS etc. I find them a bit slow and clunky and relatively expensive.

Reading this back, it doesn't sound it, but I'm really keen on camera phones. Have a look at these:

http://forum2.mobile-review.com/forumdisplay.php?f=27
or,
search for the phone on www.flickr.com

[Rock Da Bass]

Thanks all. The consensus doesn't seem to rate camera phones too highly. I think maybe they need another couple of years.

RDB

[EmArA]

sony ericsson C902 (Cyber shot),& G900i (touch auto focus) both phones 5 Mp