Nokia N9 still/video camera overall performance unimpressive with video even worst?
 

Went through this 8 megapixel mega shootout: Picture this in gsmarena and got bit disappointed on how the N9 camera performed despite Nokia claiming biggest aperture and Carl Zeiss optics.. :( Just wanna share my disappointment.


EDIT: Video camera performance is even the worst among others in the competition.

Re: Nokia N9 still/video camera overall performance unimpressive with video even worst?
 

yup. i have real life experience with both the N9 and the legendary N8. N8 is simply lightyears ahead in terms of video quality, especially when using digital zoom.

Re: Nokia N9 still/video camera overall performance unimpressive with video even worst?
 

I don't know about N8 picture quality (obviously should be better due to the larger sensor and optics) but outside photos and Video I took with the N9 are very impressive even in the late evening. Indoors and with low light it is just ok. I didn't do a head to head comparison with the i8910 or the xt720 but photos seem better than the samsung and are definitely better than the motorola.

Re: Nokia N9 still/video camera overall performance unimpressive with video even worst?
 

N9 camera is average. I have tried very hard to like it and push it but It performs poor in mid light. The S2 blows it out of the water.

Re: Nokia N9 still/video camera overall performance unimpressive with video even worst?
 

Yeah, I also think it's pretty average in mid/low light photography.

Re: Nokia N9 still/video camera overall performance unimpressive with video even worst?
 

A software update is the works! http://mynokiablog.com/2011/11/11/ca...ks-for-n9-800/

Kontorri and dsmobile mentioned this before. The update will come with pr. 1.2

Re: Nokia N9 still/video camera overall performance unimpressive with video even worst?
 

I do wonder how much it is hardware based and software based. eg, the white balance is horrible, but can be edited in Gallery and be cool..... so that tells me its software.

Some of the low light stuff, I don't know. The n9 tends to be shooting at a hell of a high ISO even at low light... wtf? That seems software.

Of course we don't have Xenon... so that doesn't help our low light situation.

For video... not having 1080p is a downer, but they put a pretty anemic SoC on this thing to support that. I do doubt we'll ever see an N9 successor, which is too bad.

I will say, it shoots good enough for me pictures. I'm loving it too much to replace it.... Swipe UI is just a fantastic idea. I find it lightyears more useful in terms of a SMARTphone than anything out there, but then again I'm not a huge app nerd. I do wish the Tone profiles were more customizable. Even the little niggles, like Contact Sync with Google (... I doubt they'll integrate it outside mFe, but lets hope so), but hey, beggars can't be choosers.

Maybe if WP falls flat we'll get some love.

Re: Nokia N9 still/video camera overall performance unimpressive with video even worst?
 

Yup, there is going to be some major update to the camera app/features on the N9 with PR1.2.
(Something amazing and "a first" apparently but I wasn't told specifics either. But I can sorta guess. =P)

Oh well, all that is well and good but I wish N9 had the same 2-stage camera button that the Lumia 800 has. =(
That's one thing any PR1.x cannot give us and to me, that is the biggest let down of the camera on the N9.

btw, here is what Konttori said also in his blog answering someone's question about the camera:

http://konttoristhoughts.blogspot.co...few-other.html

Re: Nokia N9 still/video camera overall performance unimpressive with video even worst?
 

whats ur guess :p

Re: Nokia N9 still/video camera overall performance unimpressive with video even worst?
 

can't we re-map the power button or volume rockers to be the camera shutter key?

Re: Nokia N9 still/video camera overall performance unimpressive with video even worst?
 

they dont have 2 steps though, but if it worked like on screen button I guess it would work

Re: Nokia N9 still/video camera overall performance unimpressive with video even worst?
 

Well, to be considered "a first" in a mobile phone camera, there are only few things that comes to mind that will be useful:

1. Fast continuous shots. Possibly 2fps+ full-res burst mode and 5fps+ @ lower-res.
2. Take photos while recording a video. (not as useful/amazing)
3. Infra-red night vision (but N9 doesn't have IR LED's...)
4. Super high ISO support e.g. ISO 6400 (umm, VERY unlikely)
5. High-FPS slow-motion video recording. (maybe like 120fps?)
6. Full manual exposure control (but N9 doesn't have variable aperture lense?)

There are few others but I already know the answer to it or it's just technically not possible on the N9. (and some stuff I haven't even thought of) So yeah, I would say #1 is the highest probability. No idea what other phones are capable of but I don't recall a phone with faster than 2fps+ full-res continuous shots. Do you? If not, #5 is possible also. I guess it'll be useful for golfers like me as you can record your swing and watch it frame by frame with much more detail. Anyways, this is all just a wild guess BTW.

Re: Nokia N9 still/video camera overall performance unimpressive with video even worst?
 

Why not RAW image support?

Re: Nokia N9 still/video camera overall performance unimpressive with video even worst?
 

New, improved N9 camera:

http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/3...ian9camera.jpg

Re: Nokia N9 still/video camera overall performance unimpressive with video even worst?
 

Yeah, RAW support is easy enough to guess I guess.
Not sure if it's a first though as other phones an do this already.
Also, not many "average" users will find it as useful for day to day use.
(as it requires more post-processing on the PC usually)

Re: Nokia N9 still/video camera overall performance unimpressive with video even worst?
 

Well, for casual use, you can do adequate processing of your N900 RAWs in the GIMP right on N900 :p -- but I guess you knew that. (Pros will want Adobe, but they'll also use real cameras.)

Re: Nokia N9 still/video camera overall performance unimpressive with video even worst?
 

Along with an option for manually adjustable shutter speed with support of upto 3 secs, manual focus and color tone like in fcamera. Support for HDR, time lapse would be awesome :). But first Damien has to do a good upgrade on the software part to better the outcome of what is already available now rather than just picking on iPhone camera hardware. Hopefully PR1.2 is an anser to this..

Re: Nokia N9 still/video camera overall performance unimpressive with video even worst?
 

http://a.yfrog.com/img686/260/7vfo.jpg

Photo taken a 2 days ago. Quite cloudy. ISO 100, 1/1000s. The amount of noise is just incredible!
Same cloudy conditions, I take a macro photo (low amount of noise) & a landscape photo (very noisy). N9 definitely has some problem gathering light. Nowhere comparable with the N8.

One more thing, can we please have burst mode? Or at least remove the animation that appears when taking a photo? The on-screen shutter button disappears & I have to wait before taking another photo. :(

Re: Nokia N9 still/video camera overall performance unimpressive with video even worst?
 

1. This would be welcome.
2. Don't see much use for this but why not?
3. Yes doubt it.
4. Unsure
5. This would be superb. Never thought id use this but it could be a great feature.

For me the key updates would be those that make the camera act like a proper 8mp, with a low f stop. It need to improve its performance in all light conditions. Nokia also need to remove the cloudy/hazy look that its camera's suffer from.

Also, the auto fix function in the camera is rubbish. It works sometimes and at other times make the photo look artificial. E.g.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/afaqali...n/photostream/

Re: Nokia N9 still/video camera overall performance unimpressive with video even worst?
 

Removing the animation won''t help here. You just need burst mode. Hope it will come ;)

Re: Nokia N9 still/video camera overall performance unimpressive with video even worst?
 

I too find the N9 camera mediocre. In some ways the N900 is better (not flash photos, of course).
Has anyone gotten the macro setting to focus? I have had no success. I don't think it works at all.

Re: Nokia N9 still/video camera overall performance unimpressive with video even worst?
 

Yes, the macro focuses for me (tap once to move the focusing reticle, then tap and hold shutter icon to focus).

The only time I lose autofocus is when battery saving mode kicks in. I think it is intentional.

Re: Nokia N9 still/video camera overall performance unimpressive with video even worst?
 

Thanks impact! Don't have to hold it in auto mode, so that was news to me.

Re: Nokia N9 still/video camera overall performance unimpressive with video even worst?
 

The optics on the N9 are extremely disappointing. I never once expected performance similar to the N8 but I did expect something similar to my old N95 (just a higher resolution).

Pictures (overall) are flooded with light. This is indicative of a sensor that is just too small with too many photo sensors packed too tightly together (thus the flooding effect of light).

The other issue is video is horrible. It is full of noise. I also tried playing video on the N9 which I captured with the N8. The N9 can not play it. I can only assume the N8 is using a higher profile in its recordings that the N9 can't decode.

That being said I can live with the N9. I just don't use my N9 for photos or video. When I go out and I know I will be taking pictures I take my N8 instead. It's a shame that the optics seem so poor on the N9. I am fairly certain that my old N95 can take better pictures.

Re: Nokia N9 still/video camera overall performance unimpressive with video even worst?
 

This is false, coming from the N8, I agree it's not the N8 by any means, but as Damian Dinning says, the whole set up is 70% smaller, once you take that into effect, you realize quickly, that the camera is not that bad at all...

Video's aren't bad at all either, I've taken video's in clubs and I've taken video's during the day, they turn out pretty damn good for something that's 30% the size of the N8's camera module...

Re: Nokia N9 still/video camera overall performance unimpressive with video even worst?
 

You are entitled to your opinion but my experience is based on fact (i.e. something that is not false).

Fact: Video on my N9 does not look anywhere near as good as my N8.
Fact: Video shot on a N900 recording 720p is less noisy than video shot on the N9.
Opinion: IMO the N9's imaging capabilities are abysmal when compared to devices made within the last few years.
Fact: No amount of software or configuration can make up for the faults in the hardware imaging sensor. The CMOS sensor is too small with too many photo sensors packed together too tightly. This leads to washed out images and noise when recording video.

That all being said I still love my N9. I just don't rely on it for any video/imaging purposes.

Re: Nokia N9 still/video camera overall performance unimpressive with video even worst?
 

This is exactly what he said.

Re: Nokia N9 still/video camera overall performance unimpressive with video even worst?
 

I saw a big improment from PR 1.0 to PR 1.1 ... and I am expecting to see a big improvement again by PR 1.2 ... honestly, I think that we will be surprised what they can get out from camera of N9 ... I think that N9 camera software is not matured yet, not optimized (N8 has a matured software) ...

Re: Nokia N9 still/video camera overall performance unimpressive with video even worst?
 

Demati
That is not a fact but an opinion, subjective by nature ;)

I read the article and from my point of view the N9 does not do bad at all !
It is in the middle with the vid quality lower and some good points for stills.
Like: Anyway if you want high quality pics, take your camera* (I am still quite happy with my Fujipix S7000, but take my Minolta and Zorkin 4).
The footprint of the N9 is small, the design beautiful and for snapshots & Youtube vids it is sufficient.

I don't know about others but I use the camera function on my smartphone in case of a traffic accident or to dispute a parking ticket :)
When I see something remarkable or something I want to remember. Or as I said a snapshot, say in the airport when GF arrives, my son being an idiot etc.

Re: Nokia N9 still/video camera overall performance unimpressive with video even worst?
 

It's unfair to compare N9 with N8's shooting abilities... we all know that the camera of N8 was industry leading.

It is equally unfair to compare cell-cams with std digicams -- they r meant to be that way -- cell-cams for 'insta-shots', while digicams for a better picture(!)... then again, do we compare digicams to DSLRs?

That said, I come from iPhone4 & find my N9 quite good in taking pics & vids... under many situations - better than my iPhone4 [the 4S is a different ballgame].

It has been long since I carried another camera in the pocket - my iPhones [3GS earlier & later 4] had been my main shooting devices - and let me state, "my N9 hasn't failed; am now using this one as a std shooter - and it's doing perfectly alright".

And yes, it shoots damn good on my son's hockey sessions!!!

Qorax

Re: Nokia N9 still/video camera overall performance unimpressive with video even worst?
 

@Arie
Sir, those r some fantastic shots indeed. Good show !