E61i camera quality
As happy as I am with my E61i, I have to admit I could be happier if the camera was better. I mean, I wish this 2MP camera matched the quality of either my 1.3MP 6682 or 1MP 7610. The 6682 does have a flash and this makes a big difference, but the 7610 doesn't, is about 5 years older and still takes better photos than the E61i. What's worse... Last night, I noticed the E61i takes better quality photos in 640x480 format than in 1699x1200. I will be taking all of my photos in this smaller format from now on, which pretty much defeats the purpose of having 2MP. I plan on posting a more thorough comparison, maybe even including photos taken with my 6682 and/or 7610, but here's a sample of what I am talking about.
This photo was taken in the smaller format (640x480):
This one was taken in the larger format (1600x1200) and then reduced to the same size as the first.
This photo was taken in the smaller format (640x480):
This one was taken in the larger format (1600x1200) and then reduced to the same size as the first.
December 06, 2007 6:57 PM
Hi,
Just incase my reply/comment on your picture quality question on the latest firmware on e-series.org doesn't get answered, I've put up a page at:
http://www.thepoch.com/e61i/
so you can compare the picture quality. Just note that I don't use the camera too often and haven't noticed the problem you mention. I'll leave the page up till 2008 for your reference. top
December 07, 2007 11:21 AM
Darn, you're good! You created a page on your site with samples, referenced both the e-series.org post and my blog's post. Like I said, you're good. Thanks for taking the time! :)
I have (a) a related comment, (b) a related request and (c,d) two questions not related to the camera, but related to the firmware upgrade.
(a) I see a slight difference, but not as much as in my sample photos. It looks as if the shutter let more light in when taking the photo in the larger resolution. And this is not as noticeable in your photos, but still visible.
(b) Would it be possible for you to make another set of photos, also in low light conditions, but including brighter colors, like red, orange or bright blue or green?
(c) What is your phone code? Or did you have to change it in order to upgrade? I have the U.S. code (0541667) and the Nokia application still does not find an upgrade to firmware 2.0633.65.01 for my phone.
(d) Do you happen to use IMAP IDLE? if so, did you see my post on the same e-series.org article 3 items above the one you referenced?
Thank you once again! top
December 09, 2007 5:17 AM
No problem... it didn't take too much time at all, and I'm always glad to help. Anyway...
(b) I've updated the page with the latest pictures. Had trouble finding bright colors, so I used a poster of a Ferrari F50 I had. The side of the track should be red and yellow/orange alternating and the car is Ferrari red. And this is as low light as I can get (5pm sunset). Is this what you were looking for?
(c) I'm in the Philippines and have the version with the local language here. Unfortunately I've got this horrible crystal case that's hard to remove with cracking so I can't see my product code. Is yours locked to a carrier? Mines unlocked. Made in Finland too if that matters. I was able to upgrade without a hitch. I'd say wait or you might not like typing with a firmware that's not the same as your keyboard.
(d) I only use Gmail, and only on reliable Wifi connections. With the previous firmware I only used POP3. I only started to use IMAP when Gmail offered it. So, sorry didn't experience any problems. I mostly use this phone as a text messaging and PDA device and only check for email when I don't wanna bother opening up the laptop.
Honestly, I don't know if the firmware fixes the problems you've noticed. The only thing I really noticed is that it's slightly faster, the browser doesn't crash or run out of memory as often, and 2 ugly themes were added. I still wish this were upgraded to FP1 or just magically turn into an iPhone. =P top
December 09, 2007 10:38 AM
You see? Those photos show what I meant. The larger shot looks grainier and the color less rich. It may just be that it's brighter (perhaps because of longer exposure), which makes the grain more visible and the colors seem more dull than the darker photo. Yes, the camera software seems to be the same as in firmware v1.
The good news is that as of a couple of days ago, v2 became available for my product code and I upgraded last night. So far, no big problems and the small ones I had were related to stuff I had on my microSD. The infamous "Installing" when you boot up the phone, the Backup utility doesn't want to restore the data I backed up (no biggie, as I can sync almost everything but the settings), older mailboxes I had still appear in my Messaging application before I re-created them (which I don't want to) and I don't know how to remove them yet, etc. None of this would have happened if I didn't have the previous on the microSD, which means I may re-format it and be done with those problems.
I created a new post on the blog comparing the photos after upgrading. You might want to check it out. The results are similar.
As far as the IMAP IDLE problems being fixed, I just upgraded last night and should know by the end of the day one day or another. I'm really hoping for the best here.
Thanks again! top
February 29, 2008 6:05 PM
Yes, I agree that the camera on the E61i sucks. I remember using a Kodak 1.3MP camera about 7 years ago and when I look at the photos I took with it they are considerably better than those of the E61i. Also the E61i is awful to set up for WiFi and has no A2DP for stereo bluetooth transfer to a headset. And its SD card limit is 2Gb. Hey, this is 2008 and I need space, space, space! So, its overall rating is let down by being somewhat stone-age with respect to quite commonplace features on many mobile devices. But what a great keyboard and massive display. Why can't they make mobile devices with ALL of the required features? top