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Nokia N86 8-Megapixel Camphone Hands-On Review

Finally, the Nokia N86 is here. The most pressing question, however, is will it be worthy of the title “the Nokia N82 successor” when it comes to taking kickass photos with a similar buy-in of camphone photography enthusiasts the world over? If not better, probably as good as? Or will it be worse?

The convenience of having a great camera phone is it’s one less bulk versus carrying another camera if by itself, it could suffice for your general, everyday snapping requirements (depending on what you need one for). What’s a camera review, you ask, without some sample N86 snaps? Right back at you. This one’s the resized but raw version capture of a Porkchop dish taken from Cyma at the EDSA Shangri-La Mall.

Since I’m all for enhancing images so long as it’s not overly done (plus that it should really “enhance” the image and not make it look artsy just for the sake of being artsy), here’s a “better” take on the same Porkchop that’s guaranteed to get you hungry.

I’m hoping to get more photos using the different presets in the N86. I’m still not overly convinced that the Dual LED flash can be a xenon flash substitute primarily (maybe) because I haven’t been using the N86 for night shots just yet. I did try using it to capture video with the Dual LED on and I must say, ooh-la-la, I think I may have some use for this nifty feature some time soon (evil smirk). Some Nokia camphone users (during the time when the N82 became so popular) cried and begged for a camphone that’ll carry light to aid them in capturing videos in the dark and Nokia, with the incorporation of the the Dual LED flash on the N86, did deliver that functionality. Awesomecakes!

For a head to head comparison of shots using the Nokia N82 vs the new Nokia N86, not doing this only because somebody has already done it, here’s what fonearena got for your reference.

For this leg of the stress-test, I’ve taken down 14 things you should know about the N86 versus the Nokia N82 and/or N96:

1. Smaller than the N82: N86 is 103.4 x 51.4 x 16.5mm while the N82 is 112 x 50.2 x 17.3mm
2. Smaller in width and thickness than the N96: The N96 is 103 x 55 x 18mm in dimension (it is, however, somewhat heaver than the N82 and N96: N86 is 149g while the N96 and N82 are 125g and 114g, respectively)
3. Kickstand with features: functional unlike that on the N96
4. AMOLED LCD screen is noticeably brighter than N82’s TFT
5. Same GPRS/WiFi specs as the N96
6. Faster OS than the N82: ARM 11 434 MHz vs the N82’s Dual ARM 11 332 MHz
7. Insert contacts while composing SMS
8. Hardened glass screen is scratch resistant (but not fingerprint/smudge proof)
9. Dual LED flash lets you take videos with light. A feature voyeours could have a field day using hrhrhr
10. FM Transmitter lets you “broadcast” music from your phone to an FM Radio/receiving device (something it shares with the N97 and N85)
11. Wider angle, better low-light, larger sensor, 8 megapixel camera. I have one gripe with the new cam feature: I want the grid feature back!
12. N86 has 8Gb internal storage and 128 MB RAM versus the N96’s 16Gb and the N82’s paltry 100Mb.
13. Better bettery life at 312h (2G)/264h (3G) stand-by and 6h 18min talk time courtesy of the 1200mAh Li-Ion versus the N82’s 225h (2G)/261h (3G) and 4h 20min. Music playtime is estimated at 25h continuous for the N86.
14. N86 has a camera cover just like (but not similar to) the N82

Yesterday, I saw an N86 for sale at Anson’s Makati (in front of Landmark) at PHP27,390. Here’s a little tip: if you have the cash, there’s this online store that sells the N86 (complete package with 1 year Nokia warranty) for PHP21,200.  Disclaimer: I’m not affiliated with this online store but I check it once in a while for great bargains (check out how much she’s selling the new Canon S90 and the new iPods).

I’ll be waiting for the day when the N86 becomes available with Smart’s Retention Package for my post paid plan probably and hopefully by next year ;)

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Sampling Lumix ZS3’s HD Video Shooting Capabilities

Another factor that made me choose the Panasonic Lumix ZS3 over Canon’s Powershot SX200 IS compact camera is this particular feature: HD Video with 12x Optical (super) Zoom and Stereo Sound Recording. I sacrificed having full manual controls for this spec so it better deliver. Below are two raw videos which I shot using the ZS3.

I took this one (video #0000 of the cam, woot!) to test the zoom and whether the autofocus would function continuously.

I shot this from our upstairs window a couple of weeks back and it never failed to get an “ooooooooooooooh!” from friends during show-off-time (I just love it when they do that). As you’d notice near the end of the vid, the autofocus had a bit of setback while locking on the leaves. Not a major let down, though. First, I maximized the zoom, zoomed out fully, then zoomed back in again at 12x. Nifteh, I know!

This next video was taken from Bangkok’s Route 66 Bar on a Friday night. It was packed and we had a helluva good time! Vid goes to show that stereo sound capture was superb (without cracking at the low frequencies), shooting in low light was above par (AF still managed to lock on the subjects although some movements on the foreground screwed up with parts of the footage), and the zoom still delivered. Crank up the volume before playing the next vid!

You may want to watch the videos from their respective youtube pages for their full-sized glory (click here for video 1 and here for video 2).

Soon to come, photos from our recent Bangkok, Thailand travel. Stay tuned!

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Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes (look out you rock ‘n rollers)

For years, I have restrained myself from getting a DSLR and yet I managed to live, just let my N82 capture the instants, and still rather effectively tell a tale with my shots, humility aside. However, as days turned to months, moreso after Sony had so kindly let me use some of their flagship cameras earlier this year, I began to crave for more shooting equipment power.

You see, for me to produce a decent collection of photos, I will have to compose with the mobile phone’s camera limitations in mind (very limited “manual” tweaks available, a rather slow response time, no optical zoom function, etc.), making sure that I compensate the shortcomings of the instrument with well pieced together elements within my control, pre-shot. After I transfer the files into a PC, I look at each photo closely, scrutinizing the littlest details, and, if I’m lucky, I will only be daunted to do minor crops and saturation adjustments before I can show the final output to the world.

Since I’m a sucker for toy photography set in the dark, using only an LED caving lamp most of the time, I’d have to suck all my frustrations up and live with the digital noise infestation. Post processing then is a must rather than a luxury I could do without. Doing the composing in-cam (for me) may have been next to impossible, but I’ve done it. That so-called SOOC. Once. The photos may not have lived up to even the lowest of photography standards but when I got a flickr comment from a person I do not even know which read, “You gave it a soul. Great job,” I felt I got it made. LOL

After three weeks of asking around, reading internet reviews, and a very helpful phone-in dialogue with Drew, I gave in to getting my second point and shoot camera (after the Canon Ixus i5 I bought in Taiwan around 4 years ago). Behold, the Panasonic Lumix ZS3: made by voyeurs FOR voyeurs. Er, not really, but with its 12x optical zoom and Leica lens, that, too, can be possible.

Let me share with you one great feature of the ZS3 and one that I had been wanting to have for a while, too. HD video capture with optical zoom operation baybee, yeah!

Camphone, you have served me well. I’m still taking you wherever so I think we’ll still be doing some sweet projects soon, although not as often as before. You see, I’m just a lowly human answering the nagging call of grandeur. I know you’d understand.

More photos from my recent trip coming very soon.

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Amateurs, Pure Innocence, and The Little Mermaid

In the office, children of employees (from 4 to 18 years old) were given the exciting opportunity to make good of their summer by enrolling in a 30-hour voice, dance, and basic theater acting session supervised by Kids Acts Philippines Incorporated. The enrollees had to undergo a five week, twice weekly crash course that culminated with a musical staged last Saturday in the GSIS Theater. The final show incorporated elements of what a “real” musical theater program would commonly have: costume, mic lapels, movable stage props, underwater backdrop, lighting, a live band, choreography, and live singing. The classes were well participated with 31 children making it to the finals. It was a great initiative, leaps better than previous years’ usual arts and crafts theme.

The end product was a musical adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid.

(Warning: this sentence is the part where I gloat some) I’m no stranger to watching theater productions, plays, or musicals produced by either Dulaang UP, Blue Repertory, Philippine Opera Company, PETA, Atlantis, and Repertory Philippines. (I told you there’d be gloating LOL) This time, however, I’ve no grand expectations for the children knowing full well that things can go wrong (voices on the mic heard from the cast in the back stage, children slipping, failed blocking, costumes falling off, audio fading, lines forgotten, no emotion conveyed in the lines and songs delivered, and dead air to name some) given the constraints but, overall, it turned out quite nice. I’ve never seen so much stage mothers running amok in a single venue LOL!

The thing that struck me with this particular musical is that they chose to present the original Hans Christian Andersen story where the mermaid died in the end. No matter how commonplace the musical’s story already is, watching the children do their darnedest to present the genuine article struck me hard. In the last scene, soon after the mermaid had decided to sacrifice her life instead of killing the prince, the music became so melancholy that when the mermaid was lying on the stage while one after another the little fishes, the king, and her sisters made their way to pay her tribute, I cried. Seriously, I did. I knew she was going to become foam in the end but watching kids enact the scene made it seem more tragic. Imagine an innocent choosing to do what she knows in her heart was right.

I overreacted, I know, and I realized it too late that I should have made a mental note that the mermaid in the original story is no 9 year old.

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The Cheapest Freshly Brewed Coffee Yet

They still have this promo going on in select 7-Eleven branches for Midnight Blend, their new freshly brewed coffee offering. Any sized coffee (you may choose between small, medium, and large) can be yours at the low low price of P35 a cup. Surreal, right? Couldn’t believe it either. I thought the cashier that time was only coming on to me (schmeckshually) when she said I can opt to get the bigger cup if I was up for that since I’ll still be paying the same amount anyway. When she did not follow her statement through with a “kindat sabay kagat labi,” I dismissed this presumption as a delusion. Hers, not mine. Saw what I did there? I bet you got confused with my logic as much as I did. Hah! (more…)

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What is this… this Baconator^® thing?!

It’s the rave about town, this Baconator^® thing: 6 strips of bacon, 2 burger patties, 2 cheese slices, one very satisfying grub. I was all, “no way you guys wanna kill yourselves with that … that cardiac arrest inducing THING?!”

It has dragged for weeks, my disgust over this burger and the more I shake the thought off, the more I seem to think about having some. To mask my personal dilemma, I was all still MOUTH WATERING MY ASS BECAUSE I’M STILL NOT GONNA HAVE AND RAVE ABOUT THIS NON-SENSE! Just imagine the oil and the calories in that … that THING! (more…)

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ISO variables on the Sony DSC-H10 (alt title: The Day I PWNT Mensa LOL)

Digital noise.  You’ve got to hate them like the smell of sun-baked scalp poised under your nose while you travel via the MRT, one typical rush hour Friday. 

I’ve been toying around with the ISO settings of the Sony DSC-H10, an 8.1 mega pixel point and shoot camera with 10x optical zoom and full manual settings, under a normal, single, energy saver light. To judge whether it is up to the challenge of capturing clarity under feeble lighting, I took several shots of a letter I recently received under different levels of ISO. Now, don’t go whining about my choice of subject. Its importance, we will later on find out. (more…)

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