[NicolasB]

It's yet another "purchase advice required" thread from NicolasB. (They're not rationed, are they?)

Requirements this time are a little easier to summarise. Basically there are just two:

1) As good a camera as is feasible.

2) Access to some sort of app which both edits and distributes photographs. The end-user has some experience with Instagram, and likes it, but obviously that currently only runs on iPhone; anything with similar capabilities would probably do, though.


The tricky part is budget. I could possibly spend quite a lot on this, but I'm definitely hoping not to have to. I guess I'm looking for a budget "sweetspot" - the point where, if you spend less than that, you noticeably compromise camera quality, but spending more than that results in much less significant gains. I don't know how much money that is.

I'm definitely open to the possibility of buying something second-hand to keep costs down.

Something where the design philosophy is more "a camera with a built-in smartphone" than "a smartphone with a built-in camera" is, I guess, what we're after.

[FallOutBoy]

Originally Posted by NicolasB

It's yet another "purchase advice required" thread from NicolasB. (They're not rationed, are they?)

Requirements this time are a little easier to summarise. Basically there are just two:

1) As good a camera as is feasible.

2) Access to some sort of app which both edits and distributes photographs. The end-user has some experience with Instagram, and likes it, but obviously that currently only runs on iPhone; anything with similar capabilities would probably do, though.


The tricky part is budget. I could possibly spend quite a lot on this, but I'm definitely hoping not to have to. I guess I'm looking for a budget "sweetspot" - the point where, if you spend less than that, you noticeably compromise camera quality, but spending more than that results in much less significant gains. I don't know how much money that is.

I'm definitely open to the possibility of buying something second-hand to keep costs down.

Something where the design philosophy is more "a camera with a built-in smartphone" than "a smartphone with a built-in camera" is, I guess, what we're after.

iPhone 4: good camera, great phone, £300 used
iPhone 4S: great camera, great phone, £420 used
Nokia N8: great camera, Average phone, £200 brand new, less used. Think this is the phone you're after!
Sony Xperia Arc S: Good camera, good phone, £240 brand new in sale, under £200 used.

[David 8]

That's a good deal on the Arc S. I can only find it for £320 though.

Nokia N8 might also be worth a look as it has a good camera with a large sensor as well as xenon flash and dedicated button. £200 brand new from Amazon.

[FallOutBoy]

Originally Posted by DG83

That's a good deal on the Arc S. I can only find it for £320 though.

Nokia N8 might also be worth a look as it has a good camera with a large sensor as well as xenon flash and dedicated button. £200 brand new from Amazon.

It's in-store only. I went there today (P4U) and can confirm its £229+ topup or £199 on PAYG upgrade. Great deal!

[David 8]

Originally Posted by FallOutBoy

It's in-store only. I went there today (P4U) and can confirm its £229+ topup or £199 on PAYG upgrade. Great deal!

Nice.. very nice

[FallOutBoy]

Originally Posted by DG83

Nice.. very nice

Indeed! So nice in fact that I couldn't resist lol, just bought one myself for £199 this morning. Brilliant device for the money and better in my opinion than spending £499 on an iPhone 4S! I can put the extra cash towards the iPhone 5 instead and use this Arc S in the meantime

[TameRacingDriver]

Techradar recently had a roundup of the best cameras on smartphones, I think the conclusion that in the real world, the iphone 4S and especially the Nokia N8 were the ones to have.

[Jay Z]

Samsung Galaxy S2 in my opinion has the best camera mate.


Regards


Jay

[ianeb]

Originally Posted by Jay Z

Samsung Galaxy S2 in my opinion has the best camera mate.

Regards

Jay

Hmmm, I've had the galaxy s2, iPhone 4 and iPhone 4s in the last year and I was really disappointed with the galaxy's camera especially in low light it was terrible. The iPhone 4s has a great camera as do the Nokia n8 and Sony arc.

Each to their own tho, there are plenty of comparison pictures taken with all the latest phones available by a simple google search!!

[andersoncarry]

i think u buy sony erricsson phones that provide a good camera and sony erricsson mobile phones are also good. so buy a any sony erricsson mobile you like and affordable your budget..

[RobM]

Originally Posted by ianeb

Hmmm, I've had the galaxy s2, iPhone 4 and iPhone 4s in the last year and I was really disappointed with the galaxy's camera especially in low light it was terrible. The iPhone 4s has a great camera as do the Nokia n8 and Sony arc.

Each to their own tho, there are plenty of comparison pictures taken with all the latest phones available by a simple google search!!

I have to agree with all of this. I found the GS2 decent, but far from the best around. The iPhone 4 and 4S, Nokia N8 and Sony Arc and Arc S all better it.

The iPhone 4S and the Arc's have the excellent backlit Sony sensor, which really is one of if not the best around.

[NicolasB]

Coming back to this thread about 3 weeks late.

Thanks for the recommendations, everybody. Two questions:

1) Doesn't anybody make camera phones with optical zooms any more?

2) Are there any previous-generation models that people would recommend as a second-hand bargain?

[g8ina]

No optical zooms in phone cams AFAIK.

+1 for the Sony Xperia Arc. Had mine a few months now and the contrast handling is sooooo much better than anything else Ive had a play with.

[RobM]

The last decent camera phone I used with an optical zoom was the Sharp 901. I miss that phone sometimes

The Sony Arc and Arc S are fine choices, as their Exmor R lens' are excellent... the very same as they supply Apple for the 4S, in fact.

The good news is the longer you take to make your mind up, the cheaper everyones recommendations are becoming