cameras and cell phones, all in one

The events that you want to immortalize on a picture, often happen unexpected and you have not always your digital camera by hand. No problem, usually your mobile is not far away. The unexpected discovery of a beautiful monument, a facial expression ... Opportunities for a snapshot occur more frequently than you might think. But do you always have your camera in your pocket? Of course not. However, your cellphone is never far away. Not surprisingly, the manufacturers of mobile phones soon came up with the idea to install a camera into their devices. Initially, they where cautious, with a little 0.3 megapixel resolution. But today, some models like the Samsung M8800 Pixon are offering a device with 8 megapixels. Does that mean that our digital cameras can be exchanged for the mobile phone? That is certainly not yet for tomorrow. But with each new generation of mobile phones ,the difference is getting smaller. Even the cheaper cellphones now have a camera with a resolution that is theoretically sufficient to make 10 x 15 pictures. Often they are equipped with a flash, a prefocus, autofocus and even with a small optical zoom. However none of the descriptions above come close to the qualities of the simplest digital cameras. The sensors and lenses are much smaller and even a wealth of megapixels can not disguize the lack of focus. The outlines of the photographed objects or persons may be vague. Recordings exchange is not a problem but when printing the result it is not always convincing. On some models, such as Nokia 6220 and N79, the lens is protected by a flap that must be removed to take the picture.

 The flashes are usually not strong enough and prefocus and autofocus is slower. Taking a picture is somewhat slower and can be a bit of a problem when the object moves. The autofocus would have to give better results, especially the sharpness, but is not always indispensable. The Sony's also have an interface to a portrait mode set, but the results rarely meet expectations. Ditto for the facial feature detection of certain models, which we transfer from now on to the category of useless gadgets. In any event, make sure that your phone has a button that provides direct access to the photo function. Taking pictures is always easier horizontally. Despite the above disadvantages do some devices work quite well. Larger shutter time, limited capacity of the sensors ... Thus, the performance strongly depends on the circumstances in which the recording is made. Outside, in daylight, the result depending on the model, perfectly comparable to that of a small, compact camera. When you want to take a picture indoors or when there is less light, the quality dizzying drops. And the flash, if there is one, never succeed in the absence of light to compensate. The announced number of megapixels is unfortunately little to change. This also applies to all cameras. What counts is the quality of the sensor and the shutter speed. An A4 print of an indoor picture, using Nokia 5220 (1.9 megapixels) scored less in the test less than the same picture in the same conditions taken with Sony Ericsson W350i. That is however only 1 megapixel. Currently, an integrated camera in a mobile phone is a good complement, but we recommend you not to throw away your compact camera yet.

Looking for a good multimedia device? A proper combination of phone, camera and MP3 player is the Nokia N79 and 5800 XpressMusic. They possess all those qualities: a memory card slot, a 3.5mm standard stereo jack for headphones, direct access and a good battery. Moreover, they are equipped with a remote control that connects between the headset and the phone. This alows you to operate the MP3 player without taking it out of your pocket.

Flight mode: To use the flight mode you do not have to take a plane. Flight mode is a feature to turn your mobile network off while you can still navigate menus, listening to music, pictures, games, consult your calendar. You are not reachable and you save your battery. And that without turning the device completely off.

Mobile phones with camera - Our choice - Best Buy

NOKIA N79

good camera,  (wifi, gps, mp3 connection, management of e-mails ...). Excellent camera with integrated flash. 

SONY ERICSSON W890i Good screen, compact unit. Camera without autofocus or flash, but good results. Very good MP3 function. No standard audio jack. 

SONY ERICSSON W350i Very attractively priced model, with a good camera, although it has only 1 megapixel. Also a good mp3 player.