The best camera is the one you have with you
I’m back from Burning Man and still catching up on the latest mobile technology news… This year was my first time in the desert without a dedicated point-and-shoot digital camera – the above pictures were all taken with my Nokia N95!
For me it all started with Sony Ericsson’s W800i – arguably one of the first decent camera phones (and by decent I mean featuring a flash, auto-focus, macro, some manual control, and decent hardware/software). Once I was able to take decent pictures anytime, anywhere and optionally send them via e-mail or multimedia messages, I was hooked :)
Until then I rarely used my (albeit better) dedicated point-and-shoot digital camera. Why? Because the best camera is the one you have with you.
I soon learned to work within the limitations of camera phones (mostly poor low-light performance and slow startup/focus). My next device was Nokia’s N80, but the lack of auto-focus was both a blessing (fast shots) and a curse (less control). I currently use Nokia’s N95 and (more seldom) i-mobile’s 902, both very decent camera phones. My i-mobile 902 is the better camera (CCD sensor and xenon flash), but the phone is only adequate for a Symbian power-user like me.
Ultimately, I think this is a turning point – camera phones are finally decent enough to replace dedicated point-and-shoot digital cameras in most situations. Picture quality is steadily improving (especially low-light performance) – only the lack of optical zoom is still a significant problem at times.
Thoughts?
tnkgrl Mobile: Tech that Matters 
Great photos, by the way. I agree with your premise; I have a point and shoot that’s wonderful. Also a good camcorder. But all my videos and photos are taken on the N95 now, as it’s always in my pocket. I used to run grab my camera all the time. Now I never do. I’m not unhappy with the quality, either. It compares well.
I am having a Nokia N80 ie and was trying to swap to UMTS network after Tmobile became 3G in my area. I was unlucky and it didnt even detect the network. As far as I know Tmobile UMTS(3G) freq band is 1700/2100 Hz. According to Nokia N80ie specifications it should work with 2100 Hz. Is any1 facing the same problem? Is this a problem with the phone?
Autofocus in sony ericsson can be handled around. i got k700i and preferably use ‘sport’ preset to snap pictures. it uses shorter exposition resulting in less blur and more noise. it also has autofocus enabled by this preset which is strange since you are supposed to be able to take pictures of quickly changing sport action.
So i just disabled autofocus in settings and enable it only when i have to take a closeup shot and i’m not in rush.