Neither of the two devices can compete with a run-of-the-mill digital camera(except maybe with these horrible Olympus E520 sample images on TamsPalm). This article does not assume highly professional intentions,l but rather considers “for-kicks” photography…
Austrians currently suffer under the strain of the European Soccer Championship. Vienna is one of the host cities and this has a so-called fan zone where fans are herded together to be a$$ed out of 6$/pint of beer.
Yours truly decided to use this unique opportunity(loads of light and folks) for a shootout between two completely different devices. On the left side, we have the Palm Centro(1.3MP camera without autofocus). On the right side, we have Nokia’s now-dethroned camera phone king aka the N95 8GB. Who will get out on top(click images for full versions)?
The first motive was a batch of merry cops. The Centro suffers from blown-out highlights, whereas thje Nokia N95 8GB manages to deliver a superior image after a few seconds(which, ironically, was enough time for a cheeky fan to run into my frame):
Photographing the stage was more fun with the Centro(as it worked faster). The N95 8GB’s long focusing time makes spontaneous photography difficult:
Photographing fans is easy with both devices – the Centro handles better, though:
“Aerial” photography from the press tower is one of the things the N95 8GB does really well. As there is little movement, the long focusing delay is no issue – and the 5MP resolution definitely makes a difference(look at the trees in the second image):
Indoors, the Centro did a better job keeping a somewhat sane color balance(the N95′s image is too light). Noise-wise, neither of the two performed honorable:
Finally, a shot of yours truly after all the carnage. The N95 8GB excels here – look at a big version of the image to see what I mean(look at the shirt):
In the end, the Nokia N95 8GB delivers superior images: they are sharper, less noisy, have more detail and generally look much better. However, its slow “modus vivendi” sometimes made me feel warm about the Centro – its images are usable for small prints, and can be generated “on the fly” without any focusing delays…
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