Nokia 5310 Cell Phone Review - Imaging

The Nokia 5310 does not have good still image or video resolution, and it takes a while for a captured image to be saved to memory, but the camera interface is easy to use and navigate. All in all, it offers basic imaging capabilities best used to capture spontaneous moments when out and about.

Resolution (1.32)
We test the resolution of a phone's camera by using an industry-standard graph and image testing software called Imatest. We take pictures with the phone's camera of this graph, and Imatest analyzes the picture to measure the point at which black and white lines lose definition and begin to blur into each other, expressed in line widths per picture height (lw/ph) on the horizontal and vertical. As with most things we measure, higher numbers mean better resolution.

The Nokia 5310 did not do so well in this test, scoring 728 lw/ph horizontally and 690 lw/ph vertically, resulting in a resolution score of 1.32. Doesn't sound like a good score, does it? It's not the worst among our comparison phones - the Samsung m520 and Samsung Beat both had lower scores, but it's still below our average for all the phones we've tested. To be clear, we don't expect cell phone cameras to dazzle us in any area since they are rarely intended to replace a dedicated digital camera but instead add a feature that is expected in most cell phones these days.

Cell Phone	Nokia 5310	LG Chocolate 3	Apple iPhone 3G
Score	1.32	3.43	3.33
lw/ph horizontal/vertical	728/690	879/1117	866/897
Image of Resolution Chart

Cell Phone	Sony Ericsson z750a	Samsung M520	Samsung Beat
Score	6.30	0.32	0.70
lw/ph horizontal/vertical	1191/1124	266.9/200.2	414.5/674.9
Image of Resolution Chart

Color (4.26)
By taking pictures of another industry-standard chart, the GretagMacbeth color chart, we measure a camera's color accuracy by running the resulting images through the Imatest software. The software compares the colors captured by the camera to the actual colors of the chart, and demonstrates the difference in the following chart where the smallest rectangle shows the actual "correct" color, the largest rectangle shows what the camera captured, and the last interior rectangle shows what the camera should have captured with correction for lighting.

The software also generates an error chart that graphically displays how off the camera was along the color spectrum. In this chart, the squares indicate what the ideal color capture would be and the circles show how the camera captured that particular color. The line connecting each square and circle represents how accurately the camera captured the color - the longer the line, the more inaccurate the camera was. The chart also shows the level of saturation for each color captured by the camera - if the circles are closer to the center of the chart than the squares, the camera is capturing under-saturated color. If the squares are closer to the center of the chart than the circles, the camera is capturing over-saturated colors.

In the results chart for the Nokia 5310, you can see that its camera does not capture yellows, greens, and blues very well based on the lengths of the lines connecting the circles and squares. With the circles closer to the center of the chart, we know that that the Nokia 5310's camera captures under-saturated color as well. All of this earns the 5310 a score of 4.26 for this area, which is slightly better than the average for all the phones we've tested, and beats the iPhone 3G and LG Chocolate 3 in our group of selected comparison phones.

Cell Phone	Nokia 5310	LG Chocolate 3	Apple iPhone 3G
Score	4.26	3.82	3.90
Color Checker Chart

Cell Phone	Sony Ericsson z750a	Samsung M520	Samsung Beat
Score	5.41	5.45	4.72
Color Checker Chart

Noise (1.08)
We use the GretagMacbeth color chart again to evaluate the level of noise in a phone's camera, taking pictures of it with the phone's camera at various lighting levels ranging from the equivalent of bright daylight down to candle light. Noise is more prevalent in low-light situations since any capturing errors in the image sensor can produce signals greater or less than what is actually present in the image being captured, resulting in graininess and inaccurate color. The resulting images from the various lighting levels are run through the Imatest software, which evaluates noise consistency through the different lighting levels.

The Nokia 5310's noise score of 1.08 is decent and is just slightly better than the average of all the phones we've tested, and still surpasses by far the performance of the Sony Ericsson z750a with a score of .22. The results from Imatest showed that noise produced by the Nokia's camera's sensor increased steadily as the lighting levels lowered, but this is not surprising. Again, we don't expect a lot from cell phone cameras.

Live Preview (5.0)
The live preview in the camera application takes up the entire screen, with overlays of some information to provide status.  The live preview blurs quite a bit with movement and the automatic white balance adjusts the previewed image visibly, but is reasonably clear otherwise. The actual image captured looks very much like the live preview.

Still image live preview

Unlocked Standby to First Shot (3.63)
In this test, we time how long it takes to go from the unlocked standby state to capturing a photo. We look at this to emulate a real-life situation where you see something you want to take a quick picture of as you're out and about. The 5310 did not perform well here relative to our comparison phones, taking the longest time at 5.5 seconds to do this. 5.5 seconds is not a long time and may not truly hinder you in every situation where you want to whip out your phone and take a picture, but it's worth knowing that the 5310 is not going to be all that speedy for you if you like to take spontaneous pictures with your cell phone as you go throughout your day. For more information on how we conduct this test see this article.

Shot to Shot Time (0.24)
For this test, we time how long it takes to take 5 shots one right after the other and calculate frame per seconds from this. The 5310 performed poorly in this test as well, posting the lowest score out of every phone we've ever tested, taking .08 frames per second. The element that really slowed the 5310 down here was the time it takes for it to process and save a photo after pressing the capture button - this took a long time regardless of the selected save location for the images was (photo memory or Micro SD card). We turned off the automatic image review after every image capture, so this is not a factor here. While the 5310 won't be too bad for just one quick picture as described in the previous section, don't count on capturing multiple shots sequentially in a reasonable amount of time with the 5310. For more information on how we conduct this test see this article.

Shutter to Shot Time (2.45)
We measure how quickly the camera captures an image between pressing the capture button and the actual capture of the image by taking pictures of a stopwatch that was started at the same time the capture button was pressed. The picture that is captured then shows how long it took for the image to be captured. The 5310 did not do well here, either, posting the lowest score out of all our comparison phones with an average time of .82 seconds between capture button press and actual image capture. This is not a long time for normal, everyday situations, but it should be considered if you do tend to take pictures at sporting events or other situations where things move quickly and you want your phone's camera to at least try to keep up. For more information on how we conduct this test see this article.

Interface (7.0)
The camera/video recorder interface is straightforward and easy to use. The left and right soft menu keys are clearly labeled by text at the bottom of the screen. The left soft menu key brings you to the Options menu, where you can switch between still images or video, activate the self-timer, change settings, and more. The right soft menu key is labeled "Back" and brings you to the previous menu level. While viewing the live preview, there are two icons in the top left to indicate still image or video mode. In the top right, there is an indicator for the Micro SD card, if selected as the image save location, and the number of pictures that it has room for. On the right is a bar showing the digital zoom level and the selected resolution. Overall, the interface is quite functional and we have no problems with it.

Still Image Options Menu

Photo Album Software Internal (3.5)
The 5310's photo album software, named Gallery in the Fun & Apps menu, is not the most intuitive to use, but it gets the job done.  To get to your saved pictures, you must first choose the save location, and then you're presented with a list of folders to choose to view Images, Video Clips, and more. When you select the Images folder, all saved pictures are shown in list format by name with a thumbnail preview and the date and size of the image, by default. You can choose to change this view in the Options menu accessed via the left soft menu key.

Photo library main view

When you select an image to view, it fills the entire screen and you can easily select to Send it via MMS or Bluetooth, or go to the Options menu to delete, move, rename, rotate, or print it, and more.

If you want to scroll through all of your saved images, you use the D-pad's down button to advance, not the right button, as you'd expect. You can view all images in a continuous slideshow format, which is called "Open in sequence" in the Options menu. This should be called "Slideshow" to be completely clear and consistent with most photo album software.

Manual Control (0.0)
As with most cell phone cameras, the 5310's camera has no manual controls and only offers presets for white balance: Auto, Daylight, Tungsten, and Fluorescent. There are special effects that can be selected, such as grayscale or sepia, but these are not considered manual control.

Zoom (1.0)
The 5310 has a digital zoom only, which is typical for most cell phones. Unlike the LG Chocolate 3, the digital zoom is available with all resolution settings. We award a standard 1.0 point for digital zoom only.

Focus (0.0)
The 5310 has a fixed focus lens, and we award no points for this type of lens.

Flash (0.0)
The 5310 does not have a flash for the camera.

Metering (0.0)
The 5310 does not have any metering controls.

White Balance (2.0)
The 5310 has 4 presets for white balance: Auto, Daylight, Tungsten, and Fluorescent. We award 2 points for 5 or fewer preset options.

Image Handling (6.0)
You do have some editing control directly on the Nokia 5310 - you can rename, move, and crop your saved photos, and protect them from deletion or editing. Additionally, you can insert text, a frame, or clip-art, or change its contrast. While this last item is not something we see often, it's not a significant feature to earn the 5310 additional points here.

Video Quality (3.0)
To evaluate overall video quality, we take a short video using the camera's video function at the highest-quality settings and review it on a computer to see how it looks. The Nokia 5310 is capable of recording vidoe at a resolution of 176 x 144 or at 128 x96. Additionally, you can choose between 3 levels of quality - high, normal, and basic. Videos recorded at 176 x 144 at the high quality level with the Nokia 5310 was not very good, with a significant amount of pixelation and jerkiness even when viewed in its native size. The capture of movement was particularly poor, rendering something as simple as a waving hand into an unrecognizable blur of pixels. Of course, viewing it in full-screen mode amplified the issues. It's capable enough to capture a night out with friends, but definitely not what you'd use to capture a major life event to be shared with friends and family for years to come.

Video Resolution (3.07)
As with still images, we use an industry-standard chart to evaluate a camera's video resolution by recording a video of the chart and running randomly-selected frames of that video through the Imatest software. The Imatest software analyzes the frames to determine the point at which black and white lines begin to blur together, yielding a lw/ph score. The Nokia 5310 earned a video resolution score of 3.07, one of the lowest among our comparison phones, though it still tops the iPhone 3G that isn't even capable of recording video - some video is still better than none.

Video Compression (2.0)
The Nokia 5310 records video in only one format, 3GP. The availability of only one format for video recording is typical in cell phones, and we award a standard 2 points for each common format available.

Interface (7.0)
The video recorder shares an interface with the still image camera, and switching between the two is quite easy. The D-pad's center button starts and pauses video recording and the right soft menu key stops it entirely. The left soft menu key brings you to the Options menu where you can choose the settings and more. The live preview takes up most of the screen, though not all of it as it does when taking a still image. You can see the remaining recording time available in the top right and there's a bar representing the digital zoom level that can be controlled with the up and down buttons on the D-pad. All in all, it is completely uncomplicated and easy to use.

Video live preview

Manual Control (0.0)
As with most cell phones video recorders, there are no manual controls offered on the Nokia 5310.

Zoom (1.0)
The Nokia 5310 does have a digital zoom for its video recorder, for which we award 1 point.

Editing (0.0)
There are limited editing options for recorded video, which is not surprising for a cell phone at all. The only thing you can do with a recorded video directly on the phone is adjust its contrast level, though this is not a significant editing feature for which we award any points.

Modes (4.0)
The Nokia 5310 offers 5 effects to change the look of recorded video: false colors, grayscale, sepia, negative, and solarize. These are really just gimmicky, unsubstantial ways to enhance your video, and we award 4 points for this.

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