N97 / N82 / HTC Magic Camera Comparison

Posted by Ben Smith on 4th June 2009

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Initial impressions coming soon, but in the meantime - since lots of people were asking about the camera - here’s some comparison shots between the N97 and Nokia’s previous top-performing camera phone (in my opinion) the N82…. oh and the HTC Magic as a mid-range benchmark (and kicks, but mostly as a benchmark).

It’s not a scientific comparison by any means, but the shots represent real-world outdoors usage - snatching shots in a hurry amidst the tourist crowds, purely handheld and accepting all the default options.  To my eyes the N97 pips it visually (just) on the colouring of the images - quality’s trickier to call.  However it beats the N82 hands-down for ease of use, taking around 3 to 5 seconds to start the camera from cold (versus over 10 secs on my N82) and shooting / focussing much more quickly too.  Battery-wise taking and uploading this identical set of images via Shozu exhausted the entire N82 battery - the N97 was still showing over 80% at the same point.

Take a look at this Flickr set for all the images.

N97, N82 and HTC Magic Camera Comparison Images - click the image to see the gallery

N97, N82 and HTC Magic Camera Comparison Images - click the image to see the gallery

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  • MarkW
    Well, whichever you decide is the best image (close call between N82 and N97, IMHO) this demonstrates that the quality of the camera isn't going to be a deal-breaker for anyone considering the N97. I might be considering it. I might be considering that I want one *this minute*!
  • jai
    I do love my n82, but it's tiny screen and crappy keyboard do frustrate me.

    Glad to know i can upgrade to an n97 without losing any image quality... well in the daylight at least
  • JCRivas
    Does N97 use dual LED supported by a supercapacitor?
    In this document you can read how that kind of LED flashes could be better than xenon:

    http://www.philipslumileds.com/pdfs/CS09-xenon_...

    Can you show us some pics taken in the dark (low light and even no light)?
    Thank you in advance
  • Hi Ben,

    Good on you for doing this, I love side by side photo comparisons.

    Now the big question is a side by side comparison with the N82, the N86, and the N97.

    ;o)
  • No problem... given the effort the police have gone to in London to associate owing lots of phones with terrorism I did wonder if pulling out three to repeatedly photograph soldier on guard duty was wise, but they seemed to take it in their stride...!

    I have no doubt the N86 will out-perform the N97 camera-wise overall - the pictures we got off the prototype we had were very promising, but 8MP images are going to be painful to get off a handset over the air so I think it will be things like low-light performance that are the deciders for N-series fans. Normobs will just choose on form factor...
  • Dr.Cochambre
    Excellent comparison! I can see now that i won't regret when I change my n82 for the n97.
    This has been really helpfull.
  • N97 photos not looking to bad at all.
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