Mobile Phone - Camera Megapixel Sizes

[ThaiLife]

I am looking at buying a new mobile phone , and after searching many different models I am still not really sure which model is the best for me, but one thing ive noticed is the different camera Megapixel sizes , its a bit confusing as ive seen megapixel sizes range from 1.3 mp - 5 mp . So my question is - Would having a higher Megapixel size camera really make any difference for a normal mobile phone user ..?

[bangkokrick]

I am looking at buying a new mobile phone , and after searching many different models I am still not really sure which model is the best for me, but one thing ive noticed is the different camera Megapixel sizes , its a bit confusing as ive seen megapixel sizes range from 1.3 mp - 5 mp . So my question is - Would having a higher Megapixel size camera really make any difference for a normal mobile phone user ..?

Short answer No!

I have two mobiles one with a 3.2 MP camera and the other is 5.0 MP and i can honestly not see any difference in the picture quality. The higher the MP's the larger the picture can be printed as it has a higher resolution. Unless you are a keen photograper i would go for something mid range. You can't go wrong with a Nokia.

Cheers, Rick

[Thanh-BKK]

Hi

Oh yes you can go wrong with a Nokia - i had more than a few bad experiences with them, my last Nokia still sitting here all by itself, developing problems (have to turn it off to charge it now!)

I have a Sony-Ericsson K750i, which is essentially an almost three year old phone, it's got a 2 MP camera and, imho, takes the best quality pictures of any mobile phone camera in the market.

More important than multi-megapixels is the presence of a decent FLASH. most cam phones don't have one at all, or a crappy "pseudo flash" LED. The K750i also has only LED but at least a decent one - yet with a real xenon flash it would be better still. My next phone will be the Sony-Ericsson K810i for it HAS a xenon flash, and i use this (GSM) phone as a camera mainly, and backup phone (my "phone phone" is a CDMA Samsung from Hutch).

Best regards......

Thanh

[Tywais]

I have a Sony-Ericsson K750i, which is essentially an almost three year old phone, it's got a 2 MP camera and, imho, takes the best quality pictures of any mobile phone camera in the market.

I agree that it is a very good phone. Had the k750i then upgraded to the k790i which does have the xenon flash plus 3.2Mpixel Cybershot camera. Does a good job all around. Main reason for upgrade though was for Edge capability, the wife now has my k750i.

[MMR]

So my question is - Would having a higher Megapixel size camera really make any difference for a normal mobile phone user ..?

Do you plan on shooting photos with your phone, or just making phone calls?

The trend with mobile phones for the last while has been to pack as many features into one device as possible (camera, mp3 player, gps receiver, etc.) . Thus eliminating the need to carry around a whole bunch of different units in your pocket.

So, I suppose for a 'normal' phone user, no, it would not make much difference.

[JimmyTheMook]

I'm in the market for a phone that can offer 'good' quality photos.

Already have a Nokia with a 2mb camera but the images are often pretty crappy at best.

[webfact]

I'm in the market for a phone that can offer 'good' quality photos.

Already have a Nokia with a 2mb camera but the images are often pretty crappy at best.

Nokia N82

[ThaiLife]

When looking at the mobile phone specifications, Ive wondered if the lack of a decent Flash would really matter that much, Ive just see this phone on special offer ... Samsung E590 reduced from 7,799 Baht to 3,990 Baht .. but No Flash !!

[undercover]

The n82 ?

Nice, very nice.

[Gary A]

I have a Nokia E51. It has a 2 MP camera with no flash or auto focus. I think it takes great pictures outside which is all I use it for on the rare occasions that I do use the camera. My wife has a Nokia 6500 Slider. It has a 3 + MP camera with a surprisingly good flash and auto focus. It takes excellent pictures and she is happy with it. It all depends on how you want to use the camera.

[stumonster]

3.2Mpixel Cybershot camera. Does a good job all around.

Carl Ziess lens ?

I think the lens plays a major part in how good the photos are

[aidenai]

I have a Nokia 6500 Slide and a Nokia E71. They both have 3.2 MP camera. The 6500 is slightly better because it has a Carl Zeiss lens. Overall, both cameras do well outside. Making pictures when flash is needed is crap. Simply because the flashes are crap because of power related reasons.

Here is a picture with the 6500

Here is one with the E71

Please notice the difference in the colours of the grass and the plants.

Edited September 16, 2008 by aidenai

[Kerryd]

Please notice the difference in the colours of the grass and the plants.

I am (sort of) colour blind, but when I look at the two pics, it appears the first one was taken around noon on a sunny day, and the second one taken sometime during an overcast day.

The difference in lighting would account for the difference in the colour of the grass and plants.

Either way, both pics look pretty good. I bought a knock-off Nokia TV300 in Burma last year. Looked good, until I tried the camera. It was supposed to be a 5 mp camera, but in reality looks more like a 1.3 (and not very good at that).

In '03, I bought a top-of-the-line Sony camera (5 mp). I asked the dealer what the difference was. He said for most people, if all they are going to do is look at the pics on a computer, 5 mp was way more than they needed.

If they wanted to take the pics and make large posters out of them, then 5 mp would do the job.

Now I see cameras touting 14 mp's ! Overkill for (probably) 98% of the people that will buy them.

I'm looking at buying a new phone soon. One shop has a nice Samsung (3 mp camera, dual SIMs but only 512 mb memory included). The Nokia N95 has a 5 mp camera (single SIM and 8gb memory included) but is twice the price.

I could keep my current phone and buy a decent, pocket size camera for the price of the Samsung (and a larger memory chip). Then I'm still carrying two pieces of kit (with all the cables and crap for each).

If I splurge on the Nokia, I can turf my current phone, my 4gb iPod and not have to buy a camera at all.

(I use my phone and iPod as memory for storing data as well as pics & music).

Guess I'll have to do some more research. Of course, if I wait a few months, something newer, bigger and better will probably be available.