So, this may as well be the first against the last of their
respective kind. Nokia would gladly try and sell you PureView in various
wraps and Android-powered cameras are not unheard of, but a
shootout
like this one isn't very likely to repeat itself any time soon.
It's been a while and we don't know which is worse - the itch in the
forefinger or the coat of dust on our Nokia 808. Both have just been
idle for too long. But you know what, nothing's going to scratch that
itch better than the best camera ever put in a mobile phone, and a
brilliant set of web, social, media and cloud connectivity that Android
brings to a proper point-and-shoot.
We're about to see yet another digicam take on the PureView, and one
would think that, having survived a Canon and an Olympus, the Finn has
little to worry about. We can see a point there but it's a lot more
complicated than it seems. And hey, we're not complaining. We like it
when it's complicated.
The thing is the Nokia 808 PureView and the Samsung Galaxy Camera are
not each other's alternative. People interested in the Galaxy Camera
most likely have a smartphone already, and most likely a droid. It would
only make sense to a fair few it seems, to keep a second smartphone, be
it the most spectacular cameraphone ever made.
The Galaxy Camera on the other hand, has all the smart you look for
in a smartphone - except the phone bit obviously. A superior selection
of apps makes Android better connected, while Symbian is, we're sorry to
say it, a platform without a future.
Ultimately though, image quality will be the focus of this article,
and things here aren't as straightforward as they seem either. The
PureView has a wide-angle lens, but the Galaxy Camera's is wider.
Samsung's digicam has a bigger and more capable Xenon flash than the
Nokia 808 - the Finn on the other hand has an extra LED flash to use in
video recording. We were quite impressed by the 4x lossless digital zoom
of the PureView but it cannot really match 21x optical zoom.
Yet, the extra-long zoom might be both a blessing and a curse for the
Galaxy Camera. Believe it or not, the proper digicam has a smaller
image sensor than the phone. And yes, we all know by now that this isn't
just another cameraphone. The Galaxy on the other hand isn't your
average point- and-shoot - it's a connected camera and thanks to Android
you can browse the web on it, play media and instantly share your
stills and video.
Two gadgets and we don't want to have to choose. We have two shutter
keys at half-press and hopefully it will be at least a little easier for
you to make up your mind. It's been a while since we had a Nokia and a
Samsung in a straight head-to-head. Let's not keep anybody waiting.
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