First up let me say that after my disappointment with the N9′s camera, I am not expecting too much this time. Afterall the Lumia 800 uses the same camera module as the N9. So I have lowered my expectations somewhat. Right, one thing I should point out from the start is the Lumia’s Camera focus mode is set to “Macro” by default.
So what you need to do is alter the camera settings and save them to your liking before you start taking any pictures. How do you do that? Well lets take a quick run through so you can see what you need to do, and when I say “see” I mean it metaphorically as I can’t take screen grabs to show you. So what settings are there to play with?
Here is a rundown. I will point out however that some of the settings I have absolutely no clue about as I have never come across them before, namely all those settings in “Scenes”. Such as “Beach”, really you need a setting for a beach? I guess you do, not sure why. “Save settings” – self-explanatory really, use this to save your default settings once you have the camera set the way you like it.
“Restore default settings” – again self-explanatory, use this to remove any changes you have made
“Scenes” – most are self-explanatory and I will be honest I am not sure they are needed!
Auto – probably the easiest and best option for most people, also save the hassle of changing for different conditions/subjects
Full Auto, Centre Weighted Average, 7MP 16:9
Backlight – Presumably for a backlit subject
Beach – LOL, I guess you need a beach setting, use this when on holiday. (or just use Auto!)
Scene set to Beach, Everything else as with Image above
Candlelight – Having a romantic dinner, we have a setting for that, or just use in soft, low light conditions
All settings at Auto or Normal, Centre Weighted
Now using Candlelight setting, change white balance to Incandescent, Metering to Centre Spot and Focus to Macro
Candlelight, Incandescent, Centre Spot, Macro Focus
Macro – This one you will use, for all your close-up needs. (be warned, using this does NOT change the focus mode to Macro!)
Macro, Macro Focus Mode and High Saturation
Landscape – I tend to use this a lot, I like my landscape shots. I will say however I am finding it hard to get good shot in terms of colours produced by the device.
Night – Need I say it, Yes? Ok use this at night
Portrait – Hmm, I wonder! Yes use this to take a portrait shot of someone, or yourself
Snow – Surprised to see this as I have never needed it with my N8, I guess its to tone down glare from the snow
Sports – For fast-moving targets
Sunset – Presumably to cut down on the glare from the sun when doing a sunset, probably useful for sunrise too.
“White Balance” Options are: Auto, Incandescent, Fluorescent, Daylight, Cloudy and Shade To be honest I never change the white balance when taking photos, I always leave it on auto.
“Exposure Value” Settings can be changed from -3 to +3 at 0,5 increments. Typical normal value is 0. This is useful if you with to do HDR as at present there are no HDR apps in the Marketplace. You will however need a tripod to make this work.
“ISO” In simple terms this is the sensitivity setting for the camera, if you want a complicated answer then I would take a look at Wikipedia and prepare to have your brain scrambled.
“Metering Mode” (Now I am no camera expert so I will have to make assumptions here)
Centre Weighted – The camera will make assumptions based on the central area of the image about what exposure to use
Frame Average – The camera will make assumptions based on the entire frame as to what exposure to use. I would try this out for landscape images
Centre Spot – Similar to centre weighted except it takes the point right at the centre to base the exposure on.
“Effects” There are several to choose from, Black & White, Sepia, Negative and Solarise. They pretty much speak for themselves.
“Contrast” In simple terms the higher the contrast the sharper details will look and “pop” in the image, technically its the brightness differential between light and dark elements in the image. There are 5 settings available, minimum, low, normal, high and maximum.
“Saturation”Technically this is refers to the amount of grey in a colour, realistically the higher the saturation the more vivid the colours appear. I am not a fan of over saturated images unless it’s a HDR and deliberate. However in some circumstances more saturation can be a good thing, in particular sunrises and sunsets. Once again there are 5 settings available, minimum (producing almost Black & White images), low, normal, high and maximum.
High Saturation, Landscape Mode, Centre weighted, Low Light
“Focus Mode” Two options, Normal, use for everything except close up shots and Macro for your close-ups. Remember when you set scenes to Macro you will also need to set the Focus Mode to macro, one does not automatically set the other.
“Resolution” There are 4 options available: 8MP 4:3, 7MP 16:9, 3MP 4:3 and 2MP 16:9. What you choose is up to you, personally I like the 7MP 16:9 for landscapes and use the 8MP 4:3 for people and close ups
So what do I think of the camera, well if you leave everything in auto mode and take photos, well then you might be disappointed, if you put in a little effort then I think its pretty good. This however could be its failing, most mobile camera produce ok results nearly all the time in auto mode, I know for certain that the majority of Symbian devices do.
One thing this review has shown me, Microsoft really do need Nokia’s expertise on the camera back-end. If they can get WP up to Symbian’s level for Camera back-end software (Not talking UI here, this is the stuff we don’t see) then WP will be a killer OS.
I have to say one thing, the amount of settings available is daunting and will put off most people, even me! For example Metering mode, REALLY! I get it’s needed in high-end DSLRs but in a point and shoot camera on a phone it is most definitely not, once again this is where Nokia needs to sort out the software. The same applies to Focus Mode, why is that needed. It should not be there, it should be automatic depending upon the Scene mode I select. Please Nokia sort this out, WP has so much potential and the camera is one area it is certainly lacking.
Here are a few more sample shots for you. I have to say in general (if you get the settings are right or if auto mode works for that particular place and time) then the camera is good, by 8Mp standards that is.
Americans seem to like these, just a colourful Cabbage to me
101 Park Avenue
This image is a good example of Centre Weighted Average Metering Mode, because the building is dark the image will be exposed more and hence the sky is overexposed.
Macro, Have to say the detail is pretty good
Conclusion: All in all it is a decent camera, but can on occasion cause despair when you can’t get the settings just right. Macro images come out pretty good, but I would suggest you use use touch to focus and not the camera key for Macro images. Would I recommend the device? Absolutely, after all it is not just a camera. I love mine.
Nice post rich, managed to convince me its decent, and im not scared to play with all the settings so that wont be an issue for me
Camera on N9 and Lumia 800 although decent I guess that if they was Running Symbian the Cameras would be performing 10x better.
Once Nokia get everything they learnt and created for Symbian device Cams transferred over to the new Platforms I’m guessing we will see a massive improvement.
Nothing wrong with the Modules its the Software what needs improving and hopefully Microsoft and Nokia are Working Hard to get done whats needed to enable the same quality level we are used to from Symbian Cameras
Exactly my point, Nokia need to sort the back-end software on WP cameras
Thanks for the tip off Rich, will be useful if and when I get my trial unit ! You are so photographically infuential
Pingback: How to Get the Most Out of Your Windows Phone Camera : Dunia Software
Nice Article.
Thanks for your post! Very informative. I really love your Macro photos – they look very sharp, crisp and in focus. I’ve been trying to achieve same results with my 800, but its just not happening.
Do you have time to deep dive into macro mode and how to achieve same picture quality? Right now, I take pictures with the Macro mode (and scene) enabled, but the background still doesn’t blur. I am sure a number of readers would find this useful too, as the pictures look very artistic when you can get macro mode working.
Many thanks in advance!
So is the configurabiity of the native camera app more rich than that in the N9?
(assuming both are using the latest publicly avail update/fw)
Put it this way, there are certainly more options with Lumia 800, the question is for the normal user, “Is that a good thing?”
Surprised by that….
I’ve compare a N9 running PR1.2 with my L800 & it certainly didn’t seem that way.
Granted I didn’t have the 24 hours I would’ve liked.
What are the significant options IYP that the N9 lacks compared to the L800?
I didn’t say the N9 lacks any, what I said and I said it in the post that I think the Lumia 800 has too many options for altering the camera settings
Just looked at the N9′s settings now I have 1.2, they have improved it greatly since I last used the camera to any extent. Nice to see some of the stuff I asked for added
I thought you said too many features was a negative? Which is it…
Too many features can be a negative for some people especially as with the Lumia Camera you need to alter them to get the best results, whereas the N8 works fine in auto mode. So it really depends on how the camera performs in normal use whether the setting become a negative or not
I’ve found auto to be a major negative for the N9 too…
As far as I can see there’s as many features as L800 to get more out of pics, “if” you know what you’re doing.
But for “point & shoot” it’s just as weak as the L800….