Good Quality Video / Camera with a Phone

S

sn_laughs

New member
I travel internationally a lot and am tired of carrying around a phone and camcorder/camera. I would LOVE to be able to combine the two.

I prefer to buy factory unlocked. Price is not a huge sticking point.

I have sitting in front of my right now 3 phones but they all seem to have issues. I have all of them boxed up ready to return as I type.

iPhone 4 - seems to be a problem getting it unlocked & camera not so great

Nokia N8 - GREAT CAMERA! but the symbian OS is confusing as heck - simply can't deal with it.

Motorola Defy - Camera not so great especially in low light

Is it possible to find a really good camera and phone together in one package?
 
The iPhone had a ok/good camera, better than the Defy for sure but nothing even close to the N8. If the N8 had android it would be my perfect phone. Though it is not comparable to a DSLR - I would put the N8 above many point and shoots.

Is there a cameraphone (smartphone or not) close to the camera capabilities of the N8 without symbian?
 
In my experience AND that of many reviewers, the iPhone 4 camera/webcam is an excellent choice and the differences between it and the N8 are negligible. I am sure that the iPhone 5 (or whatever it will be called) will be even better.
 
The Samsung Vibrant has a good camera, but with no flash. If you can wait for the Galaxy S II there is no doubt in my mind that it will be one of the best camera phones on the market like the Galaxy S was back when it launched.
 
I would go for Nokia N8 hands down. I can only compare to Iphone 4 from my mates that I see nearly constantly but I much prefer the Nokia N8. When your holding the N8 in your hand you know it's built well. THe interface is a bit different to get used to, but once you do it's a fantastic phone.

THe photo's easily outdo Iphone 4 and the video is nearly the same but I give it to N8 as well. Overall a really great phone.

The only thing the Iphone has over this I think is the support. But Nokia N8 is still new, so hopefully alot more new games come out for it soon
 
Among the three you have listed I'd say iPhone 4 is the most versatile and is a complete package. I am using one and it's factory unlocked, I bought it from timtechs couple of months ago.
 
If you're planning to travel to different countries, the iPhone 4 blows. I'm talking as one frequent international traveler to another.

Why? First of all, to get an unlocked official factory version, you can't get it in the US other than back door importers. You have to get it from another country. Canada. Hong Kong. Italy. Israel. But not in the US. And one more thing. Unlocked, no contract, the iPhone 4 on a 32gb configuration is expensive. You might as well buy an iPad 2 with 3G with 64GB.

Second. Traveling using prepaid data means you have to get easy access to SIMs. Unfortunately, the iPHone 4 use a micro SIM, which means you have to take the SIM card and cut it with some kind of kit or whatsoever, This eliminates the pure joy of convenience where you can go to any store and purchase a SIM and just stick it to your phone without the hassle of carrying a cutting kit and cutting the SIM. The ones where you can buy off from an airport store or kiosk isn't going to carry micro SIMs.

The Android phone with the best camera is one that is only found in Japan (it has a 12mp whopper like the N8). Second to that you might like to try those with an 8mp, particularly with Sony Ericsson. Referring to the new generation ones coming out, like the Arc (4.3" screen), Neo (if the Arc is too big for you), and Pro (with keyboard). There are other 8mp'ers from LG, like the Optimus 2X, 3D; and HTC like the Desire HD, Incredible S. The late generation HTC (from the Desire HD/Z onward) has particularly good on board camera software that even includes auto focusing by facial recognition. I mention this because I got direct experience on these phones.

The new Sony Ericsson phones are coming out this April. I do believe that thanks to Sony, they got the best image sensors on the market. Note the video for the Exmor R sensor.

http://www.sonyericsson.com/cws/products/mobilephones/overview/xperiaarc?cc=gb&lc=en

I also prefer to recommend a phone with removable SD cards if you plan to do a bit of photography and video capture. For the obvious reasons.

Did I forget to mention, for photography and video, it also pays to have an HDMI port?

Note: if you're more photo intensive, its better to pick the Arc, Neo or Pro as they got the 8.1 Exmor sensors and 720dpi recording with HDMI port. The Xperia Play, which is for gaming, doesn't have these goodies.
 
Back
Top