Nokia N8 - user opinions and reviews
- Shetarx
- U@k
Worzel, 24 Apr 2012@Ben
Don't expect anymore significant updates for the N8. Belle will have been the last on... moreTo be truth,
Let's run through the camera specs and
features in more detail. As already
mentioned, the N8's camera is one of the
largest (if not the largest, optically)
ever fitted to a 'phone'. The stills camera features: Xenon flash - the only camera
flash technology worthy of the
word 'flash' - the last couple of
years of poor LED-lit party
shots can be safely forgotten -
see my feature on this . You may also remember Nokia's own Xenon versus dual LED
comparisons , showing that the N86's variable aperture lens can,
with the LED, produce
comparable results to Xenon in
the right situations. All good
stuff, but most low light shots
aren't in 'right' situations: people will be moving and you'll need a
lot more than sheer illumination -
you'll need something that shoots
far more quickly, so that your
subjects are frozen in time.
Hence Xenon. No offense, N86...! Very large sensor (rated at
'1/1.83"' optical format).
Previously (e.g. in the N86)
Nokia had been using the
smaller '1/2.3"'. Many compact
digital cameras are still currently using 1/2.3" in fact, putting the
N8 ahead of these in terms of
sensor, even if not in terms of
lens size and optics (phones have
to be somewhat thinner, after
all!). Individual sensor pixels are apparently 47% bigger than
those in competing 12mp camera
phones. Carl Zeiss 2.8/28 optics (the '28'
bit refers to equivalent 35mm
focal length - don't worry about
it). The protective glass has an
anti-reflection coating, plus is
toughened to resist scratching (I'm thinking Gorilla glass here,
but don't know for sure). Nokia
had considered including a
physical cover, as on the N82,
N95 and N86, but rejected the
idea because of bulk (another 3mm would be needed, i.e. a
bulge) and, interestingly,
because more and more software
is requiring camera access (e.g.
augmented reality) and the apps
need the picture immediately, without a need for the user to
remember to retract a slider. Fixed aperture lens. The
(experimental) variable aperture
lens used in the N86 8MP added
extra bulk, but the N8 is claimed
to have even better low light
performance than the N86 (even ignoring the Xenon flash),
thanks to a more sensitive sensor.
The problem of shooting in
bright light (e.g. direct
sunlight), which was handled
spectacularly on the N86 by reducing aperture size, is
handled on the N8 equally as
effectively with a ND (Neutral
Density) filter that automatically
slides into the optics when light
levels exceed a certain threshold. Extra software enhancements.
With the larger sensor and better
optics, there was less need for
Nokia's traditional noise
reduction algorithms, with the
result that more of the phone's processing power could be
applied to real time image
handling. Red eye reduction is
implemented as well as on
standalone digital cameras and
face detection is much faster than on the N86. Auto-focus times are
also significantly better than on
anything seen so far from
Nokia, "reducing auto focus on a
typical still image to about
around half a second or less". Shutter release latency is also
improved and is now down to
"about 150 milliseconds". The video camera features: Stereo audio recording - one mike
on 'front', i.e. camera side, plus
one on the other face (under the
display) of the phone - the
normal one used for voice calls.
By recording from both mikes and applying noise cancellation
algorithms, Nokia are confident
the system will help to reduce
wind noise and also control the
recording levels in continuous
harsh noise environments e.g. recording live music in a bar. You
can also use this for better
narration whilst filming, with
better sound balance between
videographer and subject and
with stereo separation. The microphones used are
digital, i.e. the same as those
used in the N86 8MP, and
(should) produce incredibly crisp
results at a wide variety of
sound levels. Viewers often say that they can't believe I'm using a
phone's built-in mike in The Phones Show , but it's all true. And, yes, very impressive,
aurally. Focussing is 'fixed' in that it's
outside of the user's control and
automatically set with a new
Active Hyperfocal Distance
system, with the f2.8 aperture
giving a genuine depth of field of 60cm to infinity, depending
on light conditions - essentially
the software works out what to
set the 'preset focus' to in order to
get maximum depth of field
going back to infinity. I've gone over the pros and cons of the
various approaches to video focus
in mobile phone cameras before - no focussing and you get blurry
subjects; initial focus and you
get blurry subjects when the
composition changes; continuous
auto-focus and you have to wait
while focussing gets fixed whenever you change the subject.
Suffice it to say that Nokia's
compromise approach here, an
extension of the preset focus
used in the N82, N95 and N86,
is just as valid as Sony Ericsson's or Samsung's
approaches in their own HD
video phones, in my opinion. HD video capture resolution
(1280 by 720 pixels). Nokia has
now posted a sample of this , which looks pretty impressive
considering that there's no
focussing going on. The sample
has a canned audio track, mind
you - rest assured I'll test this
properly when the time comes. The same intelligent digital
zoom in video mode as the N86 -
no blockiness - almost as good as
optical zoom. Again, the whole
(large, 4000x3000 pixel) sensor
is used for video capture, with downscaling to the desired
resolution happening in custom
electronics hardware. Depending
on the resolution being shot at,
up to 3x zoom should be handled
without undue pixellation (there's a 'hard' limit at 3x, to stop
people trying to zoom further
and starting to see degraded
results). See here for a demo of this working on the N86 . The system works surprisingly well
- in low light, it's even superior
to optical zoom, since the latter
involved more glass optics,
reducing the light that gets to
the sensor. Nokia don't push this improved zoom facility in any
of their N86 or N8 marketing,
but it's something well worth
noting. Note also that here are touch
gestures to allow switching
between 16:9 and 4:3 aspect
ratios while filming, with a
double tap gesture for instant
zooming from one end of the 'lossless' digital zoom to the
other
- Worzel
- 3GK
AnonD-478, 24 Apr 2012Friend, u must try Custom firmwares on dailymobile forum to enjoy it fully... I am using lates... more@Prince078
I don't doubt the cfw for the N8 are good but I don't have enough interest in the phone anymore for me bother messing around with Phoenix and whatnot.
- Worzel
- 3GK
AnonD-47095, 24 Apr 2012By coincidence I have the famous samsung droid too..even blackberry also... all of them are go... more@Pek
To be fair, my N8 with Belle is OK without any major problems but it is slower in operation than my Samsung plus the screen is smaller.
- AnonD-478
- utS
Worzel, 24 Apr 2012 If your thinking that the N8 will get the FP1 update then be prepared fo disappointment. FP... moreFriend, u must try Custom firmwares on dailymobile forum to enjoy it fully... I am using latest Taylor's firmware.. It's awsome.. Try it and u will love it..Cheers....!!
- AnonD-478
- utS
N8 is still the best phone even after 19 months since it's release.. I love my N8.. Friends u must try Custom firmwares on dailymobile forum to enjoy it fully... I am using latest Taylor's firmware.. It's awsome.. Try it and u will love it..
Cheers....!!
- AnonD-47095
- KZJ
Worzel, 24 Apr 2012@pek
Thing is, since I got an Android phone I couldn't be bothered with my N8 anymore. Tha... moreBy coincidence I have the famous samsung droid too..even blackberry also... all of them are good phones and each of them is unique. But I never let them just idling for nothing in drawer.. I feel waste if I do so.. better to use it. Anyway, my money already spent for purchased them.....
But N8 is my choice which always be with me most of the time....
- Worzel
- 3GK
Anonymous, 24 Apr 2012there are updates coming and they will speed up the phone and specially the webbrowser and moo... more
If your thinking that the N8 will get the FP1 update then be prepared fo disappointment. FP1 is for the 603, 700 and 703. The N8's Armm 11 CPU isn't capable of being unlocked to 1.3 GHz.
The N8 running Belle has a pathetic catalogue of widgets so it definitely needs quite a few new ones to catch up with whats available for Android phones. Speaking of Belle, there are quite a few people who have ditched their Nokia phones because of it. A friend of mine has ditched his N8 in favour of an iPhone of all things.
- Anonymous
- fXN
SHEIKH AHMAD IDRESS, 24 Apr 2012Its a wonderful phone i personoly used it its a phone with complete features I LOVE IT...........wow that nice of it but me i dont think so
- AnonD-739
- j{b
I can buy any phone and i always come back to my N8, its simply the best all around phone!! I4s its boring and fragile,SG3 always ran out of power and is so bulky and feels so cheap!! ps my N8 Never drop calls !!! ;)
- Anonymous
- 3LW
Worzel, 24 Apr 2012@Ben Don't expect anymore significant updates for the N8. Belle will have been the last on... morethere are updates coming and they will speed up the phone and specially the webbrowser and moore cool widgets,compared to sgs2 that many people abandon since ICS update.maybe a clever move by Samsung to sell new phones.
- Worzel
- 3GK
Ben, 24 Apr 2012pals, Please when are we expecting another official update for this machine@Ben
Don't expect anymore significant updates for the N8. Belle will have been the last one. You might get a couple of minor bug fixes but don't hold your breath.
What annoys me the most is that Nokia haven't bothered to enhance the camera app much and still only has the same basic functions from when it was first released (apart from adding 30fps video recording). My Samsung Galaxy S has just had an update to it's camera that allows still photos to be taken while recording a video. It's also got a lot more scene modes by default plus panorama and special effects built in. You have to install third party software on the N8 if you want these extra features.
- Worzel
- 3GK
AnonD-47095, 24 Apr 2012I guess you may get 7days if no widget with 1 homescreen and set into power saving mode with a... more@pek
Thing is, since I got an Android phone I couldn't be bothered with my N8 anymore. That's why it's used mostly as a bedside clock. If my Android phone had a similar app to Nokia's Sleeping Screen I'd turn off the N8 for good and put it in a draw out of the way.
- CA
- NaD
The best Nokia I have ever used. Can multi-task between applications which saves a lot of time.
- Ben
- M}f
pals, Please when are we expecting another official update for this machine
- SHEIKH AHMAD IDRESS
- KIY
Its a wonderful phone i personoly used it its a phone with complete features I LOVE IT...........
- vamp
- 3Sw
Odinwa, 23 Apr 2012Is dis fone beta dan N78? Pls sum1 ansa me.n8 is greate, that's all!
- guru
- vIb
Buying the n8 today...its like n old rolls royce so nice looking...good battery life...aneriod is there on all phones battery drainer...nokia sysbiam software is simple and user freindly.
Its looks so strong n sturdy!!!
- AnonD-47095
- KZJ
worzel, 22 Apr 2012I get 5 days. Probably because it's only used as a bedside clock these days I guess you may get 7days if no widget with 1 homescreen and set into power saving mode with all minimum setting. Or mayber it will be longer if shut off the phone. Let it ring only when alarm is functioning in shutdown mode....hahhhahahaaaa...
Came on, just utilize it as what it capabale to do so..it has plenty of opportunity of functions. Not only become alarm clock.
- s at ya
- PDS
for a price diff of hardly 1-2k, am extremely confused btw 701 and n8.. while 701 has a better processer, ram, rom, led flash and nfc capabilities, n8 is the best shooter n comes wit better accessories... plz help...
- guru
- vIb
Michael, 23 Apr 2012Having used both I would go with the N8 over the Iphone 3GS, particularly because of its super... morethanks then its n8 for sure that i will get as it is just in my budget n i have been using aneriod for the pat year n a half motorolla n lg n the battery life is the biggest problem for me as i get a lot of calls...thanks
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