The new Nokia 808 PureView boasts a ridiculous 41-megapixel camera. Considering 12-megapixels is standard on high-end smart phones, 41 really is quite the step up. More of a leap, really.
And it's not a one-off. This morning at MWC, Nokia announced it'll introduce the same technologies into other phones in the future. This could potentially usher in a whole new generation of camera phones.
But what does the 41-megapixel sensor actually mean when you use it? Well you have the option of snapping at different resolutions. You can take standard 5- or 8-megapixel snaps and blow them up to a ridiculous size, if you want to frame them for your wall. The maximum resolution you can shoot at is 38 megapixels -- do so, and you can zoom in for amazing detail that you would've missed on a standard resolution shot.
Snap a street scene, and you can get close enough to read the print on a newspaper. Nokia claims 7 pixels of information are condensed into 1 pixel, allowing you to zoom in for this level of detail.
A huge sensor is of course no use without a decent lens, so thankfully the 808 Pureview has Carl Zeiss optics on board.
We'll have to wait for a full review to see if Nokia's claims hold up, but it'll be interesting to see if this is a true game changer.
The PureView runs Symbian Belle, and while that may seem a bit of a surprise, Nokia has made clear that it's just the first phone to use this tech, and that it'll roll out to other handsets soon. I expect we're likely to see a Windows Phone equivalent pretty soon.
There's 512MB of RAM, and 16GB of storage you can expand using a microSD. And you'll need to, if you're snapping 38-megapixel pictures. The PureView can record videos at 1080p HD, and it features Nokia Rich Recording for CD-like sound quality without the need for external microphones. Dolby Digital Plus is also on board for 5.1 surround sound.
The phone will be on sale in May for €450 (£380). Is this the start of a new era of camera phones? Or is Nokia just playing the numbers game? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below, or over on Facebook -- and check out Rich's hands-on video below.
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Comments 11
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anonymous 27 February, 2012 10:25
I know people will moan about this phone not having a great operating system, but for me, I thought we would be flying around in cars before I would see this number of pixels in a phone. This has always been my issue with phones, we get ripped off for a small increase in pixels every year. Now I wont have to carry a separate camera. This is a gamer changer for me
anonymous 27 February, 2012 11:48
Utterly pointless, if the sensor size is the same. Noise City.....
anonymous 27 February, 2012 12:12
1/1.2" sensor. So no noise.
anonymous 27 February, 2012 12:27
A very good idea! Since you've only got electronic zooming capability it allows you to take a photo, cut out the stuff you don't want and still have decent resolution. As long as you can easily store several (and I mean lots of) large images, it's a leap forward in replacing cameras.
anonymous 27 February, 2012 12:32
Why is it a 41mp camera if it can only ('only' seems like a silly word to use!) take 38mp photos? And also a 41mp camera on a phone is either mental or awesome, will have to wait for the reviews to see!!
anonymous 27 February, 2012 14:52
48 megapixels in a camera? It would seem that Nokia is hoping a lot of consumers don't know the difference between scratching their arse and tearing chunks out.
anonymous 27 February, 2012 15:58
Not 41 MPx just 8 Mpx X 5 shots.
Marketing shame...
anonymous 27 February, 2012 19:45
I'm not sure what the two comments above are on about, but for a phone, this is excellent. Firstly, this can shoot 38 megapixels which is extremely useful for cropping and ensuring no increase in noise. So pictures will be clear and crisp on most occasions. This level of pixel will, without a shadow of a doubt, increase picture clarity. Obv more areas play a key role in picture quality but it has an excellent lense and lets not forget this is a mobile phone.
NLips 27 February, 2012 21:04
@anonymous 12:32
The sensor is 41MP, but like the Panasonic Lumix LX- range, the sensor is larger than the imaging circle so that multiple aspect ratios can be used without just being crops of the largest size.
@anonymous 15:58
No, it's a 41MP sensor, capable of outputting an image with 38MP of _real_ imaging data, just as any other camera does. The 8MP number is what you get when you combine 5 pixels on the sensor for 1 output pixel. This output pixel will have better noise handling and colour than a single pixel from an 8MP sensor, and the image overall will be sharper (since there's no antialiasing).
anonymous 1 March, 2012 19:38
symbian is still the best phone os out there imho, add this camera and... whoops i just spoiled myself
anonymous 12 March, 2012 15:48
Uhhh mmmm mate sorry but the 'manual' feature is not a manual feature for an DSLR or any other camera for that matter. Shutter speed and aperture are what define manual features