This is the second part of my review with the Nokia N82, the first part can be found here. In this post I would like to pay attention to certain features which are exclusively used in day to day life and at the same time some features which completely aren’t. I have had a wonderful experience with the S60 device and as my trial period comes to an end I would love to sum up all my thoughts in this post, I know you don’t really look forward to it but I might as well plan a part III. A daily dose of what my Nokia N82 goes through can be found here and please take note that viewer’s discretion is advised before you click the link. If you’re not down with that then take a look at the gym celebrity who sure made a lot of heads turn or more precisely swing to the beats of N82. A big screen gaming session is what I personally enjoy the most. With all this being done you might have guessed by now how N82 has become a part of me. I sometimes feel nostalgic when I think how would I go about when my trial period ends, which is pretty close.

Let’s peek into the meat of the matter now. Ask yourself in what ways can you possible use a cell phone apart basic calling and text messaging? Yes, that is correct the review will go in depth of all the features and functions that a sane person can think of. Okay we here would focus on the main applications supplied and some of which I love to use, if you want a certain application to be reviewed please leave a comment. Also if you feel I missed something, I would willingly add it provided I get your feedback. If you want to share your take, you are most welcomed to reply with comments. First and foremost thing that comes to the mind is Camera, so let’s get on with it right away and other things would follow accordingly.

CAMERA

This is the number one priority these days in a cell phone. You guys better check out some tips here in case you don’t own a N82, I’m sure you would need them as I did with my Nokia N73. Okay, the 5 MP (2592 x 1944 pixels) Autofocus is what everyone knows needs no introduction but what people don’t know that it is a Tessar 2.8/5.6 Carl Zeiss. Wow… and to add the cherry on top we have the Xenon flash. To be more specific, the camera has a Sensor: CMOS with the Carl Zeiss Optics: Tessar lens having an F number/Aperture: F2.8 and Focal length 5.6 mm. The focus has a near point of 10 cm and infinity as the far point but 50 cm in Macro mode.

Now having good optics is important but it only completes half the story. We need to have an equally good image processor to bring out the best final image. I have seen cameras with quite some pixels but really sloppy images in terms of final finish; just because the image processor was big dud. Well, this one does in fact have a great image processor. The easiest way to start the camera feature is to open the protective lens cover which will display the view finder.

The view finder can be used to select the object of which you desire to click a picture of. In more technical words it is WYSIWYG display. Like all regular digital cameras the picture is in horizontal plane and the buttons which are used to take a shot are located on the top (right) side which makes it very easy to operate. The buttons on the left part of the top side (which normally work to increase or decrease the sound) are here used for the purpose of Zooming In and Zooming Out. The button to click picture resides on the right part of the top side. Being a bit big it is easy to locate and use even for a new user. The conditioned reflex to click pictures using a digital camera is same here and requires no readjustment. Thus the layout of the basic keys is simply superb. When you hold down the capture key with light finger for a couple of seconds the inner box goes green and Auto-Focuses the main object in frame and if the focus is not possible it goes red, thus a great feature for noobs to play around with.

Now let’s focus on the editing features and other key points which are provided on board with the Nokia N82 here. The display on the screen when we select the camera option is as follows.
On the top left corner we have the sign which tells us if we have selected the image mode or the video mode. The bottom left tells us about the resolution we have selected and the number/time period left to click pictures/make video. The top right corner has the exit tab and the bottom right has the Options tab. A standard bar with various options is present on the right side the functions of which can be selected to alter the final results of the picture or frame.

These features from top to bottom are Mode selector, Scene mode, Flash mode, Self-timer, Sequence mode, Colour tone, View finder grid, White balance, Exposure compensation, Sharpness, Contrast and Light sensitivity. (Only Scene mode, White balance and Colour tone options are available in video mode)

Mode Selector
Simply used to switch between Image and Video modes. When you change between these modes a slight amount of Noise is produced by the device which is very minute but it is there. Something similar to when the camera is activated from a Stand-By Mode or Started from point zero.

Scene Mode

The scene mode provides a collection of pre-defined setting options for the camera which can be selected in various light conditions and object behaviour settings such as Macro (used to capture intricate detail of small objects. Used between 10 to 60 cm), Portrait, Landscape (used to shoot distant scenery or skylines. Increases sharpness and increases focusing through glass), Sport (used to capture fast moving objects with vivid sharpness), Night (used to take pictures in low light conditions without flash. Enhances detail in dark conditions where flash cannot be used), Night Portrait (used to take portraits in low light with flash) and User defined (make your personalized settings).

Flash Mode

Choose from Automatic, On, Red Eye and Off options. These are self explanatory and need no description of what they are for.

Self-timer

If you want to be in that picture with all your buddies all you have to do is to set up a self timer which will automatically click picture after a certain seconds which can be manipulated from 2, 10 to 20 seconds.

Sequence Mode

Click pictures after a preset time frame gap. The Burst mode will give you 6 images in one burst or you can hold down the key to click pictures until the selected memory runs out of space. Other time frame includes 10 sec, 30 sec, 1 minute, 5 minutes, 10 minutes and lastly 30 minutes. In all these selections the camera will take a picture automatically after the desired time till it runs out of the selected memory or battery power.

Colour Tone

You can select from Normal, Sepia, B&W, Vivid and Negative options. This is again a lot to choose from and self explaining.

View Finder Grid

The view finder grid can be turned on to click pictures more precisely. The grid makes 9 squares on the view finder for more accurate picture clicking.

White Balance

Sunny, cloudy, incandescent and fluorescent are the options from which you can select the white balance depending upon the lighting conditions.

Exposure Compensation

From 2.0 to � 2.0EV at 0.5 step is the range provided in the exposure compensation or the light correction. This feature is not very marked as in digital cameras but never the less it is worth having one.

Sharpness

From hard to normal to soft is the sharpness options we have for selection.

Contrast

It has a descent + range and an equal and opposite range in the negative as well.

Light Sensitivity

The ISO which can be used to click pictures in varying light conditions with the inbuilt Low, Medium and High options used for Bright light, indoors and low light respectively.

These modes can be very handy in an advanced camera user to capture wonders and at the same time the picture quality clicked by a rookie is also not bad, in fact it is great with the automatic settings and auto-focus the results are very pleasing.

The options tab on the right bottom corner can be used to change other settings of the camera such as the resolution (Ranging from 5 to 3 to 2 to 0.8 to 0.3), the location where images would be saved, hide icons, use the secondary camera, show preview on/off for the captured image, capture sound and extended digital zoom. Settings for video option are also there and the video resolution can also be altered from TV high quality to Email to sharing. Video stabilization is a neat feature as well. Well summing up in short, we have Image resolution: up to 5 megapixels (2592 x 1944 pixels), Auto focus, Amber coloured auto focus assist light and recording indicator, Still image file format: JPEG/EXIF , Auto exposure – centre weighted, Exposure compensation: +2 -2EV at 0.5 step, White balance: automatic, sunny, cloudy, incandescent, fluorescent, Scene: automatic, user, close-up, portrait, landscape, sports, night, night portrait , Colour tone: normal, sepia, black & white, negative, vivid , Zoom: digital up to 20x (5 megapixel up to 6x), Xenon flash and On-device photo editing, these are the features that are provided with the camera and can be used at your discretion.

Following are a few shots clicked with Nokia N82. The one on the bike was clicked at 75 miles/hr and the ice cubes in total darkness. The lowlight ones were clicked indoors.

In Daylight

In Lowlight

In Darkness

The flash is Xenon one which makes the camera and surrounding panel hot after repeated used but this does not have any effect on the picture quality, I thought I’d just mention that, just for the sake of it. Anyways, the secondary camera can be used to take pictures too. It has a resolution of CIF (352 x 288 pixels). It’s in place for video telephony.
The video recorded from the mobile is also good. From video resolutions: up to VGA (640 x 480 pixels) at 30 fps and Audio recording: AAC (AMR for MMS) the after finish is amazing. The Recording indicator is a good feature which tells you that the process of making a video is on. The red light is simply a cool feature. Digital video stabilization is yet a bonus to the N82 list of camera features. The Video file format .mp4 (default), .3gp (for MMS) and other editing features are White balance, scene and colour tone setting, Zoom: Digital up to 10x (VGA up to 4x) and finally On-device video editing, which are all great features.

To sum up my final take on the camera of the Nokia N82, I would keep it short and simple, thus I have two S words “SIMPLY STUNNING”

A huge 9.3/10 (missed out a complete 10 cause of camera noise)

Well guys I am feeling really sleepy so ill leave you now with this. In my next part I will take on the other aspects of this device.
Ciao