My old Sony Ericcsson Cybershot had the same 5mp camera but when you zoomed in on an already taken picture, it would focus the background brilliantly - the N900 remains a blur.

Is this just different technology in the camera - no fix for this?

Its coz probably that camera like this N900 has digital zoom. If you have optical zoom in your camera/mobile, zoomed pics won't be blurred!

Take in mind that the Cybershot's display is tiny compared to the N900's, look at a Cybershot picture on the N900 and then make a comparison.

n900 have similar module n95/n82 only difference software.

both get rid of green/pink tint on post processing in seconds.

u can try fcam, blessn900 and play with it. but probably it just different implementations of zoom.

So the Cybershot AND N900 both have digital zoom? Or did you mean the Cybershot has Optical zoom and the N900 doesnt.

I am talking after a piccy has been taken - with the Cybershot you could focus on things in the background in great clarity - just dont get that with the N900

my bad.. misread your comment

First of all welcome to the world of photography.

What you're talking about is Depth-of-Field(DOF) and bokeh.

The smaller the aperture (the higher the F-number), the higher the DOF, i.e. the sharper the background.

Cybershot has F-number ranged from F3.5 to F4.6 (generally), while N900's camera has fixed at F2.8. You can see the N900 has shallower DOF.

Just fyi., in general the low the F-number a lens could attend, the more expensive.

However, I did't mean N900 has better lens. I haven't done this kind of comparison yet.

Bokeh is the blurring effect in the background AND foreground. The better the lens, the bokeh would look more natural (or unnatural).

N900 has fixed aperture so if you want to have focused background, visit

http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html

CoC: 0.002mm

5.2mm

f/2.8


after that input the focusing distance and click calculate. if the subject you have focused is 5m or farther from your N900, background should be sharp, but anything below that means gradually blurrier background...

The N900 is capable of taking very detailed pictures under good lighting conditions. Take a look on Flickr or Google to find some of the excellent shots that can be taken in the hands of a capable photographer.

It's obviously no replacement for a good SLR, but I've been extremely pleasantly surprised by the quality of pictures the N900 can take, especially close-up subjects ('macro'). The other creative opportunity they open up is that the small size of the phone allows you take photos from unusual angles that aren't possible with an SLR.

The main things that cause loss of detail/blur in photos are:
1) wide apertures (used under low light conditions, to reduce exposure times for moving subject/camera, or creatively) will blur detail of anything not in the focal plane.
2) motion blur from the camera or subject moving or shaking.
3) high sensor noise relative to image signal - low light conditions reduce the strength of the image signal and hot sensors have much more noise (keep your camera cool before taking photos). Image processing to reduce/smooth out sensor noise to create a more appealing picture will usually sacrifice some picture detail ('real' signal) too.
4) optical defects can also add blur, which gets stronger towards the edges of the image, particularly in cheaper lenses.
5) diffraction also blurs detail. Diffraction increases as apertures/lenses get smaller and is a unavoidable side-effect of miniaturizing optics in phones.

The main thing you pay for in high-end SLR cameras and optics is their performance under challenging & low light conditions (which you clearly aren't going to match with a phone or compact camera). But by working within the limitations of the N900 under decent lighting conditions (avoiding low light, high contrast, glare, flare etc.) you can still take great photos.

If lighting conditions are challenging then there are some things you can do improve your photos:
1) keep your camera cool to reduce sensor noise.
2) keep the camera still to allow slower shutter speeds (and more light) - learn to hold the camera steady while squeezing the shutter, use structures/objects for additional stabilizing support if available, or use a tripod.
3) shield the lens from direct light outside the field of view.
4) post-process an uncompressed/raw image using noise-reduction then sharpening software. (Done well, this can make up for a stop or two of light in terms of final image quality / perceived detail-to-noise).