But last month changed the way I perceive the E71's camera. Me and two of my friends have agreed (while we're at it) to visit Manila Zoo and (like a child) I was excited to take pictures. But shoot! I forgot to bring my N82. I was really comfortable using the E71 that I failed to remember bringing my N82 for that picture-hungry trip. So I just took pictures with the E71 instead of going home without having my own set of shots.
I did not took many pictures, as I was thinking the output quality will not be good enough for me. But when i transferred the pictures and reviewed them on my pc, I was very regretful. The result may not be N82-grade but they are more than acceptable, especially those that were taken in great lighting conditions. Here are a few samples:
I was really disappointed that I did not take as many pictures as I could. Evidently, I underestimated the E71 for its potential in imaging department. I'll know better next time :D
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when there's enough lighting, it's a decent camera. But when things get a little dim, I start missing my 2 megapixel p990i (horrible phone btw).
Whatever you do, don't upgrade the firmware on it to the v200. The picture quality hasn't changed, they just forced ungodly sounds upon camera focus and shutter. Every day I regret making that update - never trust Nokia w/ new firmware, lesson learned.
I wish e71 owners would stop trying to convince themselves they didn't get rooked by the camera on that otherwise terrific phone. I make sure to do a sim card swap to my n95 anytime I may be going to a picture worthy event.
i tinker a bit with cameras. prosumer types. the e71 camera is good in good light. the video is good as well (even in not so good light). the camera gets bad quick in low light. given the size of the thing, this is more than acceptable. also, i leave all settings for white balance and the like on auto - that seems to minimize / eliminate the purple haze that comes over pic's on the proper white balance settings.
yes exactly, i wish they'd stop trying to convince themselves on how it's a decent camera phone and so on..bcoz it's not, the pictures are just terrible! even N70 would perform better!
Yes it is disappointingly useless in most situations I've found myself in. It only works in very well lit scenes, otherwise pictures are just too noisy. I haven't checked, but i'm pretty sure it uses digital zoom (rather than a true optical zoom) for zooming in, which makes pictures look even worse!
But, if I want good pictures I'll use my D-SLR camera, it's just a pity this can't do decent snap-shots.
It's a pity the last firmware update did nothing to address the purple haze :-(
It's a buisness aimed device. Why slate the camera? Buy a dedicated imaging phone for that
why should a business phone be condemned to take bad photos - that's just stupid.
even picasa 'I feel lucky' can't compensate for the red e71 tones, tho in good light it is OK.
thanks for the warning about the new firmware!
You're missing the point. It's target customer base (business types) care more about the business functionality and keeping the cost of the device as low as possible. They usually don't care about the camera. This device is aimed at them. The N97 or N86 may be what you want, good enterprise functionality + good multimedia.
Ok, it's an E series so the camera doesn't matter, so , people of Nokia, please make phone exactly the same as the E71, with a 3.5mm audio jack and good camera (at least like the one in the nokia 6500), put an "N" in front of the model name if you want,and I'll buy it!
how about the sound quality of this thing? i mean, does it play good music? you know that comes in handy once in a while...
Normally I use a good camera to take photos but I lost my DSLR on holiday in the summer and had to make do with my E71. Not brilliant photos compared to a proper camera, but OK for a standby.
My old SE W810i took vastly better photos than my E71 one does. Thats was a 2MB autofocus camera with no flash. Saying its a business phone is no excuse. Its a 3.2mb autofocus camera with flash. Theres no good reason for it to take bad photos. Why would business people not want good photos aswell as doing all the business stuff.
The E72 seems to be a fixed E71 with a 3.5mm jack, and 5mp camera. I hope it takes decent photos. I don't think I'd buy another one though.
I'm surprised a how decent photos are in this review. Perhaps different regions have different firmwares where they actually fixed the camera problems. But anywhere I've read have no found that to be the case.
I agree with Aaron's conclusion that the camera has been underrated. I've put some sample photos here: http://phonecameratips.com/Nokia-sample-photos.htm including sunny scenes and wet weather. I was due a new phone and Aaron's experience helped persuade me to get an E71, and in the end I'm pleased with this camera.
The image quality is good for a compact phone. It's important to me because I take photos almost everyday and I'd rather not slug an SLR around so I've come to rely on the Nokia quite a bit. - Ricko