My Omnia Pro

I spent a lot of time with my N82 and Omnia Pro B7610 over the last 24 hours in order to fully test out and compare the camera. I’m a huge fan of the N82’s camera so I wanted to see how close the B7610 gets to what is widely accepted as one of the best smartphone cameras available. I was somewhat surprised at the results.

My photography skills aren’t fantastic and the subjects I’ve chosen are rather boring but hopefully this will post give you enough information for you to make your own judgments.

Close Range Photos. (Ambient Light under 1 Lux. Distance approx 2 Meters. Click photo’s for originals)

Above: Omnia Pro (top.) N82 (With flash)

Above Omnia Pro Left. N82 right (without flash)

Notes: The N82 used a shutter speed of 1/17th at ISO 800. The B7610 used a shutter speed of 1/8th at ISO 200 indicating that the Omnia Pro has a more sensitive photo sensor. The N82 was able to focus without flash by using the focus assist lamp. The B7610 was unable to focus without the pre-flash (LED lamps.)

In my opinion all four images are relatively poor quality digital photos. I find the Omnia Pro to have a slightly more natural light distribnution and color balance but the final choice is yours!

Long range photos (Ambient light under 1 Lux)

Omnia Pro Left. N82 right (Note I had some dirt on the lens) Both images taken with flash.

The N82 provides more light at distances over 2M as can be seen in these photos. The Omnia Pro does a reasonable job though. Interestingly, the Omnia Pro doesnt seem to be setting itself up correctly for a low-light shot. By boosting the ISO to 400, the lighting is vastly improved but the shutter speed slowed down so much that it was impossible to get a steady, sharp, shot)

Tweaked Omnia Pro image (on-cam settings changed to ISO 400. Exposure increased.

Daylight photography

Omnia Pro Left

Omnia Pro Left

Omnia Pro left. (In the above photo, the N82 didn’t focus as closely as expected. I didn’t notice this on the preview window which highlights the advantages of the big preview screen on the B7610)

I’m impressed with both Omnia Pro and N82 in this shot. The N82 didn’t focus as well as the Omnia Pro and the Omnia Pro was able to use a higher shutter speed (1/100th vs 1/52th) for the same ISO and F-stop setting. Again, this highlights that the B7610 may have a more sensitive sensor.

Omnia Pro left. N82 Right. In this image, the Omnia Pro chooses an ISO setting of 200. The N82 uses an ISO 800 setting for the same F-stop and shutter speed.

Omnia Pro with HDR setting.

Notes: To my eye I appear to be looking at very good daylight photo’s from both cameras and differences in the images are so fine as to be attributable to camera-shake, white balance settings, auto-focus differences, shutter speed, user skill and other variables.

Macro / Focus

B7610 on Left.

B7610 on left.

In multiple tests it’s clear that the N82 can focus a little closer than the B7610. Note that the default white balance and colour settings on the B7610 result in deeper colors. To my eye, it’s a better result although on close inspection you can see that the N82 image is sharper.

Both B7610 and N82 take about the same time to focus. Note that the N82 uses the focus assist light in low lighting which can help a lot.

Video

Neither the N82 or B7610 produce flawless video results but for quick captures, the 640×480 MPEG4 results are quite usable. I’m continuing my tests with video performance although at this stage I feel that the B7610 results are smoother and that there’s potential for better quality as firmware improves. Stay tuned for more video tests.

Usage

An important part of any smartphone camera is that it is quick and easy to operate. The B7610 wins hands-down here. The speed of start-up, operation, access to settings and review operations far exceeds what the N82 can offer.

The screen on the B7610 helps a lot too.  Having a big AMOLED screen with all the controls available through multiple touchscreen buttons really helps to check composition and pre-focus.

The B7610 offers better creative photo opportunities too with features like smile-capture and automatic pan-stitching adding to the fun. Accessing raw controls like ISO, white balance, center/spot/matrix metering, timers, scene modes (13), anti-shake feature, WDR (wide dynamic range) and an excellent continuous (6-frame) shooting mode.  Mosaic mode and an interesting motion capture mode also add to the creative possibilities.

Finally in this section, I just wanted to mention something that will really please you with the B7610. Showing photos to people with the B7610 is usually met with a ‘wow.’ The AMOLED screen is really really impressive.

Lens cover.

I don’t need to explain what an advantage a lens cover is. After 18 months with the N82 the lens is still scratch-free and generally clean when I need to use it. In contrast, the lens on the B7610 needs a clean every time you use it. A further problem should be noted by left-handers. The lens will sit underneath your index finger when you hold the device in portrait mode. If you don’t carry a lens cleaning cloth at all times and store your Omnia Pro in a case, you can forget about high quality photography.

Geotagging

I have a problem with my GPS settings right now and have lost any ability to use the GPS on any application. Currently investigating.

Size.

The N82 weighs 116gm. The Omnia Pro weighs 166gm. It’s a noticeable difference that is accompanied by a proportional increase in size. My opinion is that the N82 is just right for a 24/7 ‘buddy’ phone. The Omnia Pro requires bigger pockets and, due to the resistive touchscreen, lens and moving keyboard, a cover or case.

Data Transfer.

Bluetooth: One issue I’ve found with the B7610 is that the Bluetooth file transfer speeds seem very slow. A 0.5MB transfer to my Fujitsu U820 and Gigabyte Touchnote took 10x as long as with the N82. The Windows Mobile operating system also attempts to search for Bluetooth devices with every transfer, ignoring paired devices. It’s a slow process overall.

USB: The B610 is a lot faster in USB transfer mode with a 100MB write to the internal storage taking about 30 seconds. Reading the same file took about 7 seconds. On the N82 the write speed is similar but the read speed 5x as slow taking as long as the write operation. The Omnia Pro wins.

Price

The N82 has been on the market for about 18 months now and the original 450 Euro price has dropped below 300 Euros. The Omnia Pro, however, is only 100 Euro more and considering the features that the phone brings (screen, CPU, memory, touchscreen, keyboard) is probably the better value overall but that only counts if  you’re looking for a phone with all those features. If you’re just looking for a small, pocketable cameraphone though, the N82 is hard to beat, especially if you can find a good second-hand model.

Summary

Smartphone cameras have come a long way but still have a long way to go. Low-light photography is generally poor and even with daylight photography, taking a few seconds to check settings and clean the lens before correctly pre-focusing and holding the device as steady as possible can make all the difference.  Having done these tests though, i’m quite impressed with the Omnia Pro B7610.  If we’re honest, neither device makes a serious low-light camera but the N82 wins due to its Xenon flash. In daylight use, the Omnia Pro image quality is comparable to the N82 and overall, edges  ahead when everything is considered. The speed of operation, features and huge, bright screen make it far more accurate to use than the N82 and knowing that the sensor is more sensitive eases a possible transition-path away from the N82. Again, the preview window is a massive advantage and shouldn’t be underestimated as a way to improve your cameraphone photo’s. The Omnia’s exposed lens needs to be treated carefully so makes sure you buy a case.

Future

The Omnia Pro is due for new firmware in the next two weeks. Windows 6.5 firmware could potentially bring improvements in image and video quality. it has already been proven via ‘cooked ROMs’ that the hardware is capable of 720×480 video recording and according to one specification sheet I’ve seen, a QVGA 120fps video recording mode. In contrast, the N82 is reaching a point in its lifecycle where its not likely to receive new firmware.