Nokia N95 With US 3G Support Cell Phone Review - Imaging
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Richard Baguley Published on December 17, 2007 Comment on this |
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Resolution (8.16)
To test resolution we take photos of an industry standard resolution chart and run them through our Imatest software. Imatest measures how many black and white lines the camera can discern before they turn into a grey mess, a measure called line widths per picture height or LW/PH.
The Nokia N95 posted one of the best resolution score's we've seen: it was able to discern 1355 LW/PH horizontally and 1388 LW/PH vertically. This is significantly better than every other cell phone we've tested; non even come close to getting similar scores. But it compares poorly to even a moderately priced dedicated digital camera: the $329.99 Olympus Stylus 830 captured 1801 lw/ph horizontally and 1613 lw/ph vertically. So the Nokia N95 camera is nowhere near as good as a dedicated digital still camera, but it's pretty good for a cell phone camera.
| Cell Phone | Nokia N95 With US 3G |
BlackBerry 8320 | Apple iPhone |
| Score | 8.16 |
5.25 | 4.70 |
| lw/ph horizontal/vertical | 1355 / 1388 |
1087 / 933 |
970 / 870 |
| Image of Resolution Chart (click to view) |  |
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| Cell Phone | Palm Centro | Pantech Duo | Nokia N95 |
| Score | 1.41 | 1.09 | 8.32 |
| lw/ph horizontal/vertical | 581 / 596 | 512 / 457 | 1368 / 1223 |
| Image of Resolution Chart (click to view) |  |
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Color (6.84)
The Nokia N95 with US 3G support captured very accurate color; most of the colors in our test images were close to the ideal, and there were only a few minor issues in the colors. We test color accuracy photos of the industry standard GretagMacbeth color chart, which contains 24 precisely printed colors. We then run the captured photos through the Imatest software, and this compares the camera's produced colors to the chart's colors.
Imatest produces the chart above that shows the original colors in the small vertical rectangle, the adjusted colors in the middle rectangle and the original capture colors in the outer square. Imatest also produces the color analysis chart below. This chart indicates captures colors with a circle and ideal colors with squares. The longer the line between those two points the more innaccurate the captured colors are.
| Cell Phone | Nokia N95 With US 3G |
BlackBerry 8320 | Apple iPhone |
| Score | 6.84 | 4.92 | 5.22 |
| Color Checker Chart (click to view) |  |
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| Cell Phone | Palm Centro | Pantech Duo | Nokia N95 |
| Score | 8.08 | 2.34 | 6.95 |
| Color Checker Chart (click to view) |  |
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Noise (1.41)
In common with most cell phone cameras, the images captured by the Nokia N95 showed some noise; the imaging chips that cell phone cameras use don't use the noise reduction techniques that most dedicated digital still cameras use. But the noise in the N95's iamges wasn't a huge problem; it was there (particualrly in images taken at the lower light levels), but was less noticeable than most digital cameras.
To test how much noise is produced by the N95's camera we took a series of photos of the GretagMacbeth color chart at different lighting levels. We then ran these photos through Imatest, which produced a noise score for each lighting level. Our final score is based on both the average noise score across lighting levels and the consistency of noise score between lighting levels.
| Handset | Score |
| Nokia N95 With US 3G (unlocked, on AT&T) | 1.41 |
| BlackBerry 8320 (on AT&T) | 1.41 |
| Apple iPhone (On AT&T) | 1.20 |
| Palm Centro (on Sprint) | 0.91 |
| Pantech Duo (on AT&T) | 1.07 |
| Nokia N95 (on Sprint) | 1.42 |
Live Preview (8.5)
The live preview on the Nokia N95 is excellent, taking up the whole screen and providing a preview that has good color and is not overly jittery or jerky.
Unlocked Standby to First Shot (3.08)
The N95 was a little slow in this test, which examines how long it takes to go from the home screen until we can take a shot. The Nokia N95 took 6.5 seconds to complete this process; an eternity if you are trying to take a once in a lifetime shot. Although the presence of an auto focus lens slows the N95 down, this isn't the thing that is taking the time; the camera application is just slow to start. Still, it's somewhat faster than the iPhone, which took nealry an additional 2 seconds to snap a photo.
| Cell Phone | Time (sec) | Score |
| Nokia N95 with US 3G support | 6.5 | 3.08 |
| BlackBerry Curve 8320 | 2.90 | 6.90 |
| Apple iPhone | 2.43 | 8.23 |
| Palm Centro | 5.26 | 3.8 |
| Pantech Duo | 2.43 | 8.23 |
| Nokia N95 | 3.00 | 6.67 |
Shot to Shot Time (1.26)
Shot to shot time is a measure of how quickly you can take photos in succession. To complete this test we used the Nokia N95's burst mode to take six photos in quick succession, which took 14.3 seconds. This works out to .42 frames per second; rather on the slow side, but this test is done with the camera at the highest resolution; it shoot quicker when you take the resolution down.
| Cell Phone | Time (sec) | Score |
| Nokia N95 with US 3G support | 0.42 | 1.26 |
| BlackBerry Curve 8320 | N/A | N/A |
| Apple iPhone | 0.4 | 1.2 |
| Palm Centro | 0.28 | 0.84 |
| Pantech Duo | 0.81 | 2.43 |
| Nokia N95 | 0.42 | 1.26 |
Shutter to Shot Time (1.96)
In this test, we measure how long time time between pressing the shutter and the phone taking the image is. The N95 didn't do well here: it took 1 second to take the shot. Part of this is because it has to focus, while other cell phone cameras have fixed focus lenses.You can cut this time down a little by lightly pressing the shutter; the N95 then focuses (this is shown by the box in the center of the preview turning green). In this, case, it only takes around half a second to take the shot; a much more acceptable time.
| Cell Phone | Time (sec) | Score |
| Nokia N95 with US 3G support | 1 | 1.96 |
| BlackBerry Curve 8320 | N/A | N/A |
| Apple iPhone | 0.4 | 5.00 |
| Palm Centro | 0.88 | 2.27 |
| Pantech Duo | 1.03 | 1.94 |
| Nokia N95 | 1.00 | 1.96 |
Interface (9.0)
The camera interface on the Nokia N95 is pretty straightforward; it will be familiar to anyone who has used a digital camera. At the top left is an indicator for what camera mode you are in, at the bottom left is a counter for the number of photos you can still take. The soft keys are placed along the left side of the screen, with the top one assigned to exit and the bottom one opening the options menu. On the right side are a line of icons that indicate features such as camera mode, scene mode, flash, timer, sequence mode, exposure compensation, white balance, color, ISO, contrast and sharpness. You move up and down the list with the directional pad, and seelct an option with the center button. This is an incredible number of settings for a camera phone, but the directional pad makes it easy to move and control these options.
Photo Album Software Internal (7.0)
The Nokia N95 album software presents all of your pictures and videos in a carousel format, with the currently selected item in the center and other items surrounding it. This is one area where the extra memory that this newer N95 has helps: the thumbnails of the photos appear quicker than the older N95. You can easily create slide shows, complete with music and transitions. Although it is slow, it is intuitive and easy to learn. You can also create folders for your images and videos to help keep them organized.
Manual Control (2.0)
Despite the plethora of features the N95 still lacks the manual controls that are found on most cameras; you can't set the shutter speed or aperture directly. There are a good selection of scene modes present, though, including sport, night mode and landscape. It will be a while before cameras on phones begin offering the range of manual controls that are found on regular cameras, but we're looking forward to it.
Zoom (1.0)
There is no optical zoom on the N95; they still haven't managed to work out how to squeeze a zoom lens into the case. There is a 20x digital zoom, but this just enlarges the center of the image, turning it into a blocky, jaggy mess.
Focus (5.0)
The Nokia N95 sports an auto focus lens, which is a definite step up from the fixed-focus lens we see on most cell phones. However, it is slower to focus than a dedicated still camera, which makes the N95 slower to use.
Flash (3.0)
A small LED light next to the lens fulfills the same function as the flash, but it isn't particularly powerful (it only has a range of a few feet) and it turns on before it takes the image, which means you'll get photos of people squinting because you've just shone a bright light in their face in a dark place.
Metering (2.0)
The N95 has none of the metering modes that we see on dedicated still cameras (such as spot or center weighted metering), but you do get an exposure compensation control that can push the expsure up or down by two stops.
White Balance (2.0)
Basic white balance controls are present on the Nokia N95; you get an automatic mode, plus presets for sunny, cloudy, incandescent and florescent lighting.
Image Handling (8.0)
A decent selection of image handling and editing tools are provided; captured images can be cropped, resized and renamed. Plus, a selection of image processing tools are offered that can remove red eye and adjust brightness contrast and sharpness. That's significantly more than most camera phones can do.
Video
Overall Video Score (8.5)
The N95 captures video at full VGA (640 x 480) resolution and 30 frames per second. This is a big improvement over other camcorders that shoot at lower resolutions or lower frame rates. We were also impressed with the quality of the video taken by the N95; the video was clear, had good color and smooth movement. However, it still doesn't stand up to the quality you would get from a dedicated camcorder.
Video Resolution (14.17)
To test the resolution of the video taken by the Palm Centro we took video of the same industry standard resolution chart we use for still photos, then running frames from this video through Imatest to get a score called line widths per pixel height (lw/ph). This measures how many alternating black and white lines can be discerned before they begin blurring together. The N95 with US 3G captured 331.1 horizontal and 428.1 vertical lw/ph; a much better score than most cell phone videos we've seen.
| Cell Phone | lw/ph horizotal/vertical (sec) | Score |
| Nokia N95 with US 3G support | 331.1 / 428.1 | 14.17 |
| BlackBerry Curve 8320 | N/A - no video capture |
0.0 |
| Apple iPhone | N/A - no video capture |
0.0 |
| Palm Centro | 249 / 274 | 6.82 |
| Pantech Duo | 247 / 215 | 5.31 |
| Nokia N95 | 336.5 / 428.1 | 14.41 |
Video Compression (4.0)
Videos are captured in MPEG-4 format by default, with 4 choices for image quality. An additional option for capturing videos in in 3GP format is available if you want to send videos as MMS messages.
Interface (8.0)
The video recording interface on the Nokia N95 is the same as other modern N-Series phones and is very similar to the still camera interface. Video is taken in landscape orientation with soft keys at the top and bottom right of the screen. The top soft key is assigned to exit while the bottom one opens the options menu. Between these two labels are icons that give you quick access to common settings. At the bottom left is an indicator that shows you how long you can take video or how long the current recording has been running. In the top left is an indicator that shows you what camera mode you are in. As with the still camera interface we found the camcorder interface on the N95 intuitive and easy to use.
Manual Control (0.0)
There are no manual controls for video capture on the N95.
Zoom (1.0)
There's no optical zoom available for video capture on the N95, but there is a digital zoom. Hwever, this has the same problem of all digital zooms: there's a serious price to pay in terms of iamge quality.
Editing (6.0)
Like the N73 the N95 offers a good selection of video editing options. You can cut sections out and add an audio track as well as special affects and introductory screens. This is significantly better than what most phones offer.
Modes (4.0)
There are two video shooting modes: auto and night. More shooting modes might have been nice (most camcorders have four or five, including modes that make video sharper for fast-moving subjects, etc).
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