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Can a Camera Phone Really Capture the Perfect Image?

As you may know I’m a photographer that captures the images of high quality cars along with other wheels in motion. I’m happy with my equipment and can say that my clients are also pleased with the results I produce.

I’ve never really used my camera phone for anything other than capturing quick shots of family and friends when my trusted kit was left alone at home. So when Nokia approached me to trial the Lumia 820 version I was interested to see how it would perform.

The Science Bit

The specs of the Nokia sound impressive alone, in fact they prompted me to do a double take of my own kit to confirm my own camera phone was completely up to date and utilising the best of modern technology.

Here’s what it boasts:
Main Camera

Primary camera sensor size: 8.7 MP
Camera resolution: 3264 x 2448 pixels
Camera Focus Type: Auto focus with two-stage capture key
Camera digital zoom: 4 x
Carl Zeiss Tessar lens: Yes
Sensor size: 1/3.2 inch
Main camera f-number/aperture: f/2.2
Camera focal length: 26 mm
Camera minimum focus range: 10 cm
Camera image formats: JPEG/Exif
Camera Flash Type: Short pulse high power dual LED
Flash operating range: 3.0 m
Flash modes: Off, Automatic, On

Other Features

Touch focus, Landscape orientation, Auto and manual white balance, still image editor, Geotagging, True 16:9 sensor.

There’s also image capturing software, video recording and a secondary camera but to see the specs of these you’ll have to visit Nokia as they are so abundant I really don’t have the page space.

What I Did with the Nokia 820

I started out using it exactly as I would a normal camera phone, the shiny red Lumia 820 fit neatly in my pocket so was easy to bring to family events and days out around the town I call home.
So I shot my family (NO don’t call the police!) , the children and friends to test the capabilities of the smart shoot and the pano lens.

Don’t Expect the Unexpected

What happened next was unexpected, after a weekend of shooting these images, I found the Nokia Lumia came with me when it was time to work one Sunday morning. There’s a huge difference as you know between taking snaps only you will judge to taking snaps of cars that the world could possibly see.

So on a shoot for MG, in between the real working commitments I took some shots of behind the scenes, then as the afternoon rolled on, I found myself pulling out the Nokia to shoot the actual car, to compare the results out of interest to those taken with my kit.

Pretty impressed with the results, the images speak for themselves!

I’m handing it back in a couple of days, family barbecues just won’t be the same without the little red Lumia 820!