Shootout: Nokia N8 v Canon 550D DSLR
You know what, forget the iPhone. Lets put the N8 up against some serious firepower, a DSLR which in this case is a 18 Megapixel Canon 550D, fitted with the 18-55mm kit lens. You’ve seen unedited pictures and video that Iain and I took with the N8 around Edinburgh. However I was also carrying my Canon 550D along and we decided to put the N8 to test and see how it fares against a full blown DSLR, nevermind those pocket point and shoot cameras. The results may surprise.
But before we proceed to the 20 different sets of images, lets clear a few things first. The N8 is not intended to replace a DSLR and as a blanket rule it will not. The N8 has the largest sensor on a mobile phone but even that is nothing compared to a DSLR’s sensor. This means that when it comes to low light photos, it will not even be a competition. Then what is the point of doing this shootout you ask?
I am doing this to see if there is a possibility of leaving a bulky DSLR home when you know you will be taking shots mainly during the day and do not intend to shoot landscapes at night. Lets face it, no matter how much you love taking images with your DSLR, carrying it around is a pain. There were a lot of times when despite having my trusty Canon 550D slung on my back I was happy using the N8 to take photos. Its too much of a pain to take it out of the bag every 5 minutes when you want to take a snap and lugging almost a kilo (800 gms.) around my neck also isn’t something I particularly look forward to.
Right then, the images. To fit this webpage I have resized the images, if you want a look at the larger version, just click on each image. But if you are still not satisfied and want the absolute unedited shots, I’ve uploaded all of them here, the ones with ‘DSLR’ in the name are from the Canon 550D and are numbered in co-relation to their N8 equivalents.
Nokia N8
Canon 550D
- Once resized, there isn’t much to choose between the shots. The Canon has better lighting, but that could also be because the shot was composed a little differently.
Nokia N8
Canon 550D
- With the sun playing hide and seek from the opposite direction, photography is always tough. It slid out a little to make the N8′s task even more hard.
Nokia N8
Canon 550D
- This is where the Canon takes the clear lead with much better exposure, a lot more of the picture is visible.
Nokia N8
Canon 550D
- If I didn’t label these images, you would be stressed to tell which was which.
Nokia N8
Canon 550D
- The sun again playing spoil sport with the N8, but I’m glad to see that it has still been able to get a pretty decent shot in despite it blaring into the sensor.
Nokia N8
Canon 550D
- At this point I was pretty happy with how the N8 was coping with virtually shooting into the sun, in the above shot its been blocked by the building.
Nokia N8
Canon 550D
- The Canon may have gotten much more natural colours, but I like how the N8′s version pops up.
Nokia N8
Canon 550D
- This time the Canon wins for me with better exposure.
Nokia N8
Canon 550D
- Again a slight victory for the Canon because of the fact the greater detail visible in the houses.
Nokia N8
Canon 550D
- Personally speaking, I’d like to give this round to the N8. The Canon has over-exposed it for my taste.
Nokia N8
Canon 550D
- Both great looking pictures, but I love the deeper blues on the N8.
Nokia N8
Canon 550D
- On this one, I prefer the N8′s version. Better colours and exposure.
Nokia N8
Canon 550D
Nokia N8
Canon 550D
Nokia N8
Canon 550D
Nokia N8
Canon 550D
Nokia N8
Canon 550D
Nokia N8
Canon 550D
Nokia N8
Canon 550D
Nokia N8
Canon 550D
- Not natural, but I prefer the deeper blues that the N8′s post processing algorithm creates.
I personally don’t put too much value in actual size crops that are done to show how much detail could a camera capture as there would hardly be an occasion when I would need a 12 Megapixel image at its 100%. However, for those of you who care, here are ‘actual size’ crops from the Canon 550D (18 Megapixel) and the Nokia N8 (12 Megapixel).
Nokia N8
Canon 550D
Nokia N8
Canon 550D
Nokia N8
Canon 550D
Nokia N8
Canon 550D
As you can see for yourself, the detail on the N8′s shots is very impressive indeed.
Who would have thought that the N8 could even give a DSLR a run for its money. There will be things the N8 will not be able to match such as depth of field, low light performance, speed and sometimes even detail but for something that stays in your pocket 24/7 and weighs nothing compared to a DSLR, I’d say the N8 has come out with flying colours. The results have shocked me as well, even while I was taking the pictures I could not imagine that the results the N8 produces can look good to an untrained eye, even when put up against a DSLR. Remember, all the untouched, full resolution images from both devices are here.
After all the images I have taken with the N8, after the tons of video that I have seen it produce; I can only come to one conclusion, the N8 is the best camera phone on the market today, don’t let anyone tell you different.
Looking for more N8 coverage?
- Nokia N8 Review: First Look
- Nokia N8 Review: HD Video – Samples Across All Conditions
- Nokia N8 Review: Camera – Includes 75 Photo Samples
- The Super Fast & Smooth Photos App On The N8
- Video Review: The New Ovi Maps With Search Assist & Pinch To Zoom On The Nokia N8
- An In-Depth Look At Ovi Store 2.0 On The Nokia N8
- Demo & How To Connect A Bluetooth Mouse & Keyboard To The Nokia N8
- NFS Shift On The Nokia N8: Serious Gaming Potential
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Wow. This should shut the fools at Engadget, and a certain ‘elder’ly person, up.
Btw where are you?
Very impressive pictures from a phone. A good test well done.
Very much at work! The pictures are from the time I was in Edinburgh though
this is really impressive stuff mate. great work. together with my pics from yesterday, this should prove some people wrong!
Wow.. I am shocked. The N8 even beats the Canon is come shots, I could never imagine that. Thanks for the awesome test!! Now I can’t wait for it to go on sale in India.
I can see now why Dùn Èideann is the capital of Scotland.
Impressive detail in almost all the pictures. To me it looks like the N8′s exposure algorithm is tuned for slight under-exposure for my liking. However, it’s great to see they’ve toned down the sharpening and saturation compared to their earlier models (I have the N82).
Is there a way to create a custom setting with the exposure turned up a notch and have it as a default? That would be the ticket. Also, how is the focus reliability and general speed of the camera? Can you select area to focus on? How good is close-up mode? Maybe a camera software and UI review would be helpful to follow this. Thanks!
excellent work as usual. Thanks. You guys have proven that your work is superior to the rest. No need to pay any attention to those idiots. Thanks for the sanity and objectivity.
Hey Vaibhav,
What a comparison. This is how it should have been done. Comparing N8 with something higher than its grade and not with some 5MP phones.. Hope this is a lesson for Engadget and others..
Wow too bad this phone doesnt have a keyboard I cant go for touch only, because that camera is flat out amazing and so is the locations.
Just awesome, impressive, lovely photos, also, and letting people download the pack is invaluable.
@kutyafal it focus on the center.
@ kutyafal
Yes, you can set exposure, ISO, white balance, saturation, sharpness etc. and save them to a preset (which you can make the default).
Focus reliability is good, and very fast – fastest cameraphone I’ve used, often as quick as my panasonic g1, though usual CDAF issues in low light – need a DSLR with PDAF to be fast there.
Macro is decent – min focus distance is about the same as anything else. Though the unusually wide lens means you get a wide FOV than normal (but great details makes up for this).
@rafaelinux
Yes, AF is on the centre – or optionally (or automatically) face detection, which may be off-centre.
Great comparison. Its a fantastic camera on that phone.
Nice, really nice. This shows how good the sensor on the N8 actually is. Thanks!
Astonishing comparison mate! That was a real treat to my eyes. Being cameracentric myself, I really enjoyed street/building layouts as that’s also of my particular interest.
Is there any chance you do some low light/night shots, and maybe few in pub
?
Cheers,
Miki
Thanks for this “Straight from Heart” Article!
The pictures speak! And let those fools learn something from this, wish they can. lol
Wow the photos the N8 produces are really awesome.Nokia have really put a lot of effort in the camera of the N8 which shows in the images it produces.In some of the shots it trumps the dslr which is a great achievement for a cameraphone.
You have a done a great job by performing such a great comparison.
[...] Via thehandheldblog [...]
whats the DSLR settings?
I don’t care if the N8 is a smartphone or not, I want the N8 smartcamera.
Enjoyed this feature. I wonder if HDR will come to the N8 for some of those shots requiring a bit more latitude.
Impressive comparison and performance by N8!
A real test done by a real photographer, finally … Good job.
Results could be different if only I had a chance to use your SLR
) But I’ve played enough with N8 camera and yeah its pretty impressive mobile camera yet I dont compare it with SLRs because I know I can get what I want with even that 18-55 trash lens. Its all in your hands how you choose the settings for a specific scene.
And truly its a pain to carry a big camera around, so N8 gets preference
.
I admit I was not trying to take that perfect picture from my Canon. On most occasions it was on the auto mode, and so was the N8.
These pictures were taken walking around the city, without much thought being placed into composition and so on. As I see it, that’s exactly how a lot of people will use their device as well!
Could you explain to me why you have taken these shots differently? It looks like you have composed the picture by choosing which fits better?
Shots taken with the EOS are taken with much lower angle compared to the N8 – that means that the darker areas are in bigger quantities in the EOS photos. It might sound like it doesn’t matter, but when you have two different kind of photos taken from the same place; the other has 20% of bright areas, and the other has 30% of bright areas – the autoexposure makes the photos totally different and they can’t be compared with each other..
So your examples and test are pretty much, sorry for telling this, not any good for comparing these two items
Ouch! What’s that cyanish glare around edges in some of the actual size crops from the Canon. That’s no good.
That’s not a very good comparison
Some are framed differently and you missed the focus on a couple of shots with the canon.
It doesn’t surprise me that the phone did good in this. DSLR’s only have a real advantage over compacts in low light or when you put a good lens on the front.
If you spend the money on a 550D, or any DSLR, you’d be a fool to leave it in auto mode.
[...] ha realizzato un foto-confronto tra un Nokia N8 ed una Canon 550D. L’articolo, che trovate qui, è in Inglese ma consiglio a tutti di dargli un occhiata (magari aiutatevi con Google Translate) [...]
Here come the fanbois
Hate to say it, but nowadays they sells SLRs to kids, who think you can’t take even a decent photo without paying >1000 bucks..
Judging by the way he’s writing, the author clearly knows how to use a DSLR. He specially said that he used the auto settings were used so that both devices were on a level playing field. Plus if the guy’s walking around taking photos, he won’t want to spend a minute a each photo getting the ‘settings’ right. At least i won’t.
The n8 did a good job.. accept it and move on..
that camera of N8 eats away all the competition right from the word go! Lovely pics though
Fair enough if set both on Auto mode. Coz if DSLR take picture manually, it won’t be fair enough for N8. Coz obviously, DSLR have the advantage here.
N8 is good for taking picture without carrying heavy DSLR all the time.
stupid comparison.
any dslr-like is not better dslr, how u can compare with mobile phone camera.
u dont have skill make a photo.
thats lame omg ppls believe in that shit.
http://www.dpreview.com/galleries/reviewsamples/albums/canon-eos550d-beta-samples/slideshow
look at these samples its real thing its not skill-less photographer.
Good job…
Here comes the haters.
Who is the tricky guy here ?
Is the “bad” Russian Elder … that use the most crappy setting in N8 and other tricks for make shame on 12M pixel of N8 vs 5M pixel from Apple ???
At least, the bad guy did provide what is looking the original photo … here what is provided are re-sampled picture … how can I see the quality of a 12M pixel camera, if the photo here are rescaled to 1Mpixel ??
Personally, I think, the lack of optical zoom … something that a sub 100$ pocket digital camera has … does not classify the N8 as replacement of any decent digital camera …
Still it could be the best mobile phone camera around … but it would be nice to have some real and concrete samples and comparison from the lucky one that had their hands on this new “gem” from Nokia
Tchuss
e_lm_70
Anssi was right
“there will be now need to carry around those heavy lenses”
“It will not take long, less than a year”
mo,compare DSLR with Nokia N8. Obviously 550D win hands down. Both have set Auto MODE. If set Canon 550D take pictures manually, I think the comparison will be UNFAIR. So its best to set both Auto.
This comparison is bad for two clear reasons: composition is random when it should be exactly identical, and settings in the 550D are baad. You could take a lot better pictures with basic fast tuning.
@e_lm_70
Are you somehow selectively blind? He provided a link to the original files.
http://www.mediafire.com/n8shootout
It seems there is more bright sky involved in the Canon images. That means Canon was working harder to make correct expsure and the comparison is not really valid.
[...] Como ven en las fotos que se tomaron de la fuente de inspiración para este articulo; las fotos que toma el Nokia N8 pueden tranquilamente competir con una cámara [...]
N8 may be great in UK from Vodafone, but its not in USA and won’t be on a single US carrier plan for the foreseeable future. Nokia’s marketing of the N8 is ignoring the US.
@homo
Eldar in disguise? Pictures here are in plain view, I cant believe you believe its a lame comparison.
Excellent job from Nokia. I think most people dont need to carry or even buy a separate camera or video camera anymore. And also one gets one of the best smartphones at the same time.
[...] on tuolla bittiavaruudessa järjevää ja asiantuntevasti tehtyä testausta ja vertailuakin, kuten tämä missä verrataan Nokian N8 kameraa Canonin D550 digijärkkäriin [...]
Nice one Vaibhav.. It’s obvious that N8 can’t match the power of DSLR but not to forget a DSLR is meant only for photography ..where as N8 is full of features…It’s a mobile, Camera, Multimedia device…!!
I wish if I can buy one N8 for me… It will be a camera device for me..!!
[...] The Handheld Blog: N8 vs Canon 550D [...]
i wont believe n8 can beat dslr in some shots… i think n8 camera is good but not the best… sony ericsson still is.
This is absolute bullshit.. comparsion of the river shot there is too slow shutter speed in canon 550D and too small kitlense zoom 18mm it should be set closer 24mm.. then there is shutter speed in canon 64 ??!! there is no 64 only 1/50 , 1/60, 1/70 so is there fake manibulation in exiff data ??
then there is resolution of 550D 72Pixel in cm.. there is canon settings set to lowest as posible “low res and jpg” (s)
and nokia n8 has shutter speed twise faster 142 and resolution 300pixel in cm …
the photographer is stupid and useles to keep this blog and give comparsions if he cant use cameras propeply.
when there is cloudy wheather and you are indoor the nokia will lose focus and came noisierand harder to keep picture steady because it will use slow shutter speed ..
Makes me rather glad i purchased an Olympus, rather than a Canon
excellent work V.
gb, you are full of non-sense. Stop trolling. Your facts are wrong, exposure was clearly 1/60.
Mark, thank you. Although I might add the Canon’s a great camera and I quite like it.
gb: awesome logic there. please write a comparison between the n8 and any dslr on high iso shootout. oh, please do review the difference on autofocus speed.
while you’re at it, please complain about the n8′s single focal length non-replacable lense as well.
on a more serious note: would be interesting to see something similar done with closeups of people. that would be interesting for me. obviously the n8 is good enough for any documentation, capturing details quite well.
conclusion: capturing mood is something I leave to my Leica, but this for snapshoots: OMFG! awesome.
Amazing performance for a mobile phone camera, however, not quite at the level of a DSLR. If you compare the original files it is pretty clear that the N8 uses a much aggressive sharpening than the Canon. This gives the snap to the pics but also plenty of artifacts, e.g. in Fig. 4 one of the houses has lost its rooftop antenna by N8 but it is clearly visible with Canon. Even surfaces take a noisy look whereas the Canon may be even too smooth.
Looking at the flower beds in Fig 12, one sees that the Canon lens has lots of chromatic aberrations whereas the N8 renders the flowers sharp. Canon has better colour saturation, though – maybe too much?
In the scaled-down pics, the N8 is performing pretty well. Harsh contrasts would benefit from some softening, though.
C R A P P Y test.
Use same crop, _use_ the camera just not shoot with auto settings.
use same shutterspeeds, same everything..then compare.
Very interesting indeed. I didnt get very good images with Nokia N8 and I wouldnt compare it to any DSLR by its quality. Pictures had noise and there wasnt any sharp details. And oh yes – I did try to take several photos with different kind of settings. Also photos didnt have good vivid colors as they were with basic Sony camera. This comparison doesnt have any touch with reality. I really hope somebody from Canon will check this one out. Everyone please go and try Nokia N8 before you buy one.
amazing stuff sirji….. I am a fan too….
I think most of people here didn’t get it. N8 is the first and only phone that stood a fighting chance against DSLR. Of course it will be worse in most of the cases, but to get quality even remotely comparable is the astonishing accomplishment in itself. No other mobile phone has ever achieve that. Period.
Interesting! Thanks for the article and sample photos.
N8 is definitely standing out from the camera phone line-up and I’d love to have it in my pocket. Let’s get couple of details right, though:
- Canon 550D is not a “full blown DSLR”. It is a hobby DSLR, especially with the crappy kit lens
- Over and under exposure can and needs to be adjusted. There are similar differences between the DSLR’s in high contrast situations (like in the mountain photos here) and the user needs to control the camera. Luckily also Nokia has all possibilities to adjust the settings
- Any camera can perform well when shooting sceneries in decent light conditions. You can try it with a pinhole camera! The going gets tough when you take the lights out and switch from shooting the sceneries to fast moving kids. That’s where the DSLR stand out!
for all those who still dont understand the article, this was not made to prove the n8 is better than a dslr coz that would be impossible, the main point is that at those moments when you just forgot to bring your dslr, you can trust on the n8 to give you those great pictures, and i guess to prove a point to those “iphone sites” that the n8 does not take crappy pictures..
Hmm, the sickly (to me) purple cast of the N8-00 seems similar to my 5800XM, I guess I’ll pass. It doesn’t seem like a lens nor white balance issues, but seems like a sensor limitation. Blue/purple seems to ooze in from the edges, yet unlike the chromatic aberration seen in the Canon DSLR.
I notice this on all 4 compact digital cameras (1/2.5″ CCD) I had (and sold), too. The only compact camera free of this sickening (to me) effect is the 1/1.7″ CCD of the Optio A40 and on the Canon S2IS with its high quality lens . Unfortunately the Optio A40 has a poor lens, otherwise it performs like a Canon S90 with a similar sensor.
On the other hand, 720p video seems great on the N8-00.
Let’s use Zeiss optics on the Canon if we want to play fair optically.
Canon’s kit lenses like most companies aren’t very good unless you’re using your camera for 4×6′s
This was an interesting test but call me when we can shoot RAW with the Nokia!
Amazing N8
Really Amazing performance in N8. It seems that Nokia created a device that get into hearts of the people based on the comments has been posted so far.
this guy doesnt know how to take pics… you will fail even using good DSLR camera if you dont know what are you doing. and secondly, all pics were taken on clear sunny day… few clouds but still there was enough light. there is HUGE difference when you take those same pics with less daylight… thats a fackt.
Not taking anything away from the shots from the Nokia N8 but the person using the Canon 550d really shouldn’t be allowed behind the view finder with shots like that.
obviously done to make the handset look even better, but the fact this artical is – good shots from the Nokia and the DSLR wasn’t used how a DSLR should be and would have been better placed against an average point and shoot as lets face it a point and shoot is all the phone camera is used for (the quick snaps)
I as an amuture photographer took better images with a lower spec 400d.
again bluff the (ignorant) with stupid comparisons with completely different tech used by talentless people.
Whoever took these photos didn’t seriously know how to use a real camera, learn to use ISO, how to focus etc. and these are for sure photoshopped, the color range in the photos are exactly the same in both pictures wich is kinda not possible to have in a real camea and a phone (!!?)
and a real test would be trying to photoshopping them and see how they compare after that (including raw format) i think that you dont get nearly as much info in a pic with full quality- the n8 on highest settings, then making it better in photoshop, and taking a pic with the 550d and making the colors, contrast etc, better from raw settings.
however when you are comparing them, you should use the original photos which these obviously aren’t due to the same color range.
Sorry, Rkiu, Laird & all,
But 550d is sold on hypermarkets for people like me who don’t know how you should use DSLR professionally.
If it has bad automatic functions, bad for Canon, good for Nokia.
Harha,
Tesco sell the Pro lenses and cameras as well as phones, This doesn’t mean they are in the same league as each other. They sell them to make money not just for the average joe on the street, most people I know would fork out the money on DSLR with out reading up on how to use them.
Sorry but it’s a stupid comparison and one only done to make the handset look great by not using the DSLR correctly. – in the hand of Nokia?
[...] Katso vertailukuvat: http://thehandheldblog.com/2010/10/04/shootout-nokia-n8-v-canon-550d-dslr/ [...]
nice… didn’t expect that Nokia can performs so well nowadays…
but for a photography enthusiast, i still need to speak for the dslr…
in the point and shoot perspective, the N8 definitely can out run the dslr for it’s easy carry and well accepted image quality.
but in the manual operating perspective, this is a totally different things which you can’t even compare it with a dslr, nor a digital camera.
conclusion, for those who just need decent quality pictures, N8 is definitely the best choice since everyone is carrying a phone nowadays…
as for those who love getting nice photos, dslr is still the only way to go, not saying that i’m a gear freak (i’m seriously not, my old dslr just cost me half of the N8), but for who just buy because of the trend and just know how to use all the automated functions, they don’t deserve to use a true dslr…
and of course, photography is all about creativity in the 1st place, the second is the quality…. it is just my little humble opinion…
cheers.
[...] Via TheHandheld Blog [...]
First, as pointed out, N8 was using all it’s tricks from postprocessing photo manipulation to a clear sunny day. DSLR was forced to work for a clearly untrained person who just runs around with a skateboard shooting pidgeons and funny street signs. Do a full comparison by using manual settings from DSLR and use all lightning possibilities from pitch black by shooting boats on the river or something. Also use the same crop on all pics for near identical lightning.
This is a useless review of 2 different camera units in different conditions.
The idea behind this shootout was not to crown a winner! Of course the N8 will loose to a DSLR, only a fool would expect otherwise. It will also do poorly in low light etc, like he’s said.
All this shows is that in good daylight, it comes very close to what a DSLR captures. Which is great for the N8 and you guys don’t need to run around blaming the photographer or the way in which the images were taken.
Steve, this comparison is still almost pointless because it’s done between two totally different platforms. Proper comparison would have been against a cheap camera which would be used in same situations as the N8 will be used. Would have been alot better to see if e.g. Canon IXUS 120IS is worth the extra 150€ if you have a N8 in your pocket, not a straight-up comparison against a DSLR costing 2-3x the price of the phone (depending if you use the kit lens).
Hi,
You should have compared those pictures side by side, so that it would have been easier. Scroll down every picture and then compare is taking more time. Just a feedback.
BTW, When 12 MP mobile phone fighting spo(a)t with 18 MP traditional digital camera, this itself proves the power of Nokia N8.
Thanks for your patience and for your pictures.
-Senthil
[...] [...]
I don’t know much about cameras. But I’ll buy the N8 just the same. To see (and to use) is to believe.
[...] So how did the Nokia N8 fare? [...]
[...] Shootout: Nokia N8 v Canon 550D DSLR | The Handheld Blog [...]
Wow really fantastic shots. It’s really quite impressive. And the city, that is such a beautiful location to take photos in!
Well done!
Id like to see you apply HyperX’s mod to the N8 and do this test again His mod gives a more uncompressed JPG (files end up being 11mbs each that’s RAW territory)
and it ups the Framerate of the video from 25FPS to 30FPS
With this kind of technology in the Phone. I hope everyone can take up the passion of Photography.
Nokia praised for technology in handsets.
[...] for us, Vaibhav over at TheHandHeldBlog.com has managed to beg, borrow or steal an N8 from somewhere, and is doing exactly the right thing. [...]
Just wondering… What are those strange patterns in blown out sky. Dslr photos don’t have those.
[...] 要較大的相片可以到: http://thehandheldblog.com/2010/10/04/shootout-nokia-n8-v-canon-550d-dslr/ [...]
Guyz, Guyz…this is GSMArena not monday night raw. Now fist’all, u don’ compare two different things,Vaibhav Sharma knowz that; so what he’s done is to show how much quality snap shots you can get using N8. Comparing N8 with DSLR is no competition. . .they dont fit, Sharma knowz that too.
[...] [...]
This doesn’t really show how as much how good the N8 is, although it seems to be a very nice phone cam and does give most pocket digicams a run for their money, but actually how bad you are at using a DSLR.
Cheers!
[...] Shootout: Nokia N8 v Canon 550D DSLR | The Handheld Blog [...]
[...] mukaan Nokian sisäinen kamera pärjää jopa kuvanlaadullisesti digijärjestelmäkameroille. The Handheld Blog -blogin kirjoituksessa Nokian kamera verrataan Canonin kalliiseen digijärjestelmäkameraan. [...]
[...] 比如这个例子：Canon 550d VS NOKIA N8 对比的片子给人的印象是： N8 甚至要强过数码单反。(下文所有片子上为 N8 ，下为 Canon 550d 。) [...]
Good review!
Relax now guys! Of course comparing DSLR and camera phone is difficult. DSLR gives you the tools to take great pictures in varying situations, and the author says that he didn’t use them – just the auto mode. If that makes you angry, you have a serious problem. May it be too much DSLR love or Nokia hate, I don’t know.
Thanks for the comparison. IMO it was mostly for fun, but still gave you some information.
[...] S akkor a szóban forgó cikk: Shootout: Nokia N8 v Canon 550D DSLR [...]
Great pictures. While, like you said, they will never be able to beat a DSLR (especially since they keep improving aswell), but seeing these pictures it’s clear that phones are making leaps. The great part of this is that you ofcourse always carry your phone with you so that even when something unexpected happens that you can still take a decent picture.
Also love the shots of Edinburgh, having spent there a couple of months there myself earlier this year, I simply loving see these pics.
Well, this maybe the best phone camera but if you really believe that Nokia user’s can have “better” images from that tiny sensor (while Canon ones are much larger) then Nokia would be the king of digital camera market if they release their own DSLRs with 8 times larger sensors.
Zoomed to 100% crops of original pics, these N8 ones were lack of details, very lossy with poor JPG conversions (I shoot Canons for years and I know what these beasts can do).
Do you have some time to shoot people or other “bigger” subjects with less complex details such as fruits, flowers or packshots ? Show dynamics and lighting tones quality of the phone.
[...] Mobile Phone – DSLR Nokia N8 – Canon 550D: source and link: Shootout: Nokia N8 v Canon 550D DSLR | The Handheld Blog Have a nice day, Herman Reply With [...]
I actually think you should have compared to a good compact. Images straight out of a DSLR, by choice, often lack punch. And I think the 100% crops are useful. It shows some (acceptable) noise for the N8 and some not so acceptable fringing with the kit lens…
Meiner meinung nach… Nokia could have gone with around 8Mpixels and hopefully gained some low light quality. Probably was the marketing department pushing for pixels? They had not learned yet…
The price gap is not that big from a high end compact to the N8. If it can replace a compact and you’re about to change both camera and phone this could be a very nice choice… And it’s always with you…
This comparison test sucks.
The Nokia N8 is a mobilephone, with a built-in camera. The Canon EOS 550D is a dslr camera with built-in true HD videocam option.
The photos in this test were shoot with full auto option. If you use your dslr with full auto mode it shows you know NOTHING about your camera.
I gave my flickr account as a website. I’m a beginner with dslr, and I used the kitlens (canon 18-55mm EF IS) only. Check out the photos damnit and say that the Nokia N8 beat them!
On flickr look for canon eos 550d (there are some groups) and see which kind of photos could somebody shoot with it and with better lenses!
Nokia N8 shoots nice photos, but nothing beats a real dslr with high-end Leica or Zeiss lenses!
[...] [...]
WOW………… im blown away by this, I preferd alot of shots by the nokia n8 to the connon just seemed to over exsposs the photos (and I have got a good eye and so has my dad) if you didnt tell me what camera was wich I wouldnt be able to tell I would thing that the nokia n8 was the connon DSLR camera (really I would)
Would be good to have a comparision of HDMI video against some Camcorder? the video shooting capability of N8 is quite impressive too.
Good one Vaibhav. Keep it up… Dont get bothered by stupid fanbois and loyalists….
[...] con le prossime versioni le cose vengano migliorate. Aggiornamento: se poi andiamo a guardare il confronto improbabile fatto da thehandheldblog che mette in competizione l’N8 con la reflex Canon EOS 550D ed in cui il nuovo smartphone [...]
[...] le N8 était un caméraphone aux performances de premier ordre, avantageusement comparable à tout appareil photo numérique « traditionnel ». Clairement un nouveau leader. Nous savons aujourd’hui que ce n’est encore que le [...]
Very, very interesting and impressive. Good Job!
these are really jaw dropping results expecially when N8 is up againts a DSLR with 18mp which is much more then the N8…but definately those photos speaks for itself……
This is exactly what i was looking for. but i think..this isn’t what some people wanted to see.could u make one more comparison please?here’s my idea. shoot a picture in auto mode with n8, see the number of iso etc that nokia is using for the picture, adjust 550d to the same setting, then shoot in the same composition, then compare the picture. it would take much longer, I know, but around 5 pairs of picture are enough IMO. if u have the time, that is..
anyway,I apreciate what u have done in this. It helped me, and I know I’m not the only one curious in seeing how the current best cameraphone fared against a non hi-end DSLR. Thanks!
The photos in this test were shoot with full auto option. If you use your dslr with full auto mode it shows you know NOTHING about your camera.
Being completely unbiased now, the mobile reception on the Canon is awful. It can’t even perform basic text messaging
It’s nearly as bad as some iPhones.
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/kidding.shtml
So, yes, low-cost camera systems have been able to match high-cost camera systems for some time now.
The results aren’t really surprising; there’s a certain set of photographs which do not require a DSLR to shoot, and there’s a certain set of photographs which need more specialized tools, like a fast lens, a low-noise sensor (see D3s, perhaps D7000), namely low EV flash-less photography, action photography, and narrow depth-of-field photography.
But for many day-to-day shots, all you really need is a camera-phone or a cheap compact camera. Moving up to a DSLR may improve some trivial aspects of these day-to-day shots, but fundamentally the limitation will remain your skill with the camera system.
While the N8 has inferior image quality, the N8 is potentially better than the 550D in the sense that it is significantly lighter and significantly more mobile. Then, this is potentially the best camera available, the camera you have, paraphrasing the title of a Chase Jarvis photobook.
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CBkQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FBest-Camera-One-Thats-You%2Fdp%2F0321684788&ei=FkrSTLTqM8_f4AaCyczXDw&usg=AFQjCNHN12misAjMP0TYJdLDGfq8qvGI-w&sig2=GKMAGHPcOVgAMFslRTYRVQ
As far as DSLRs go, anyways, most users cannot properly use the tools they have available. It’s a scam by the camera companies to profit; for the average user’s photography, high-end DSLR tools do not outperform P&S cameras because the functions that pros pay money for in high-ends are not utilized by the average user.
[...] host of fantastic comparison shots taken around Edinburgh gave us a real insight into how the Nokia N8 performs against a top range camera. The results are [...]
olipa kameran takana ollut amatööri,
molemmilla otetut hyvin heikko laatuosia.
Many thanks for this….so useful, I have a Nokia N8 on it’s way and 550D coming for Christmas. We must have similar taste in cameras!
Hi,
Thanks for the great photos.
I have a 1000D, being an amateur photographer I think I don’t need more, but I tend to either forget it at home or be in a situation where carrying the DSLR is not an option.
So, let’s think of the above comparison being done for kids who have the option to receive the 550D or the N8 and will do crappy photos with both. In this case the photos will be worse with the DSLR because it requires certain knowledge. And here is where the N8 comes in.
The N8 is not meant to match, not to mention replace the DSLR, but if you don’t want to learn how to play with exposure, manual focus, shutter speeds or get RAW images, then the N8 is the right option.
You will never go out to a stadium to shoot “magazine” quality photos with the N8, but you will never go a football (“soccer” for the Americans here) game as a fan with your DSLR and risk the possibility of breaking it on some fan’s head or fist.
So to all those saying it is a crappy comparison, get it right once and for all, this is a comparison of the performance of the N8 and the 550D in the hands a know-nothing teenager. And in this case, the N8 is comparable to the 550D and more importantly is the best alternative to all other cameraphones out there. Period!
Seriously.. What moron used that Canon?.. Almost everyone of the Canon photos are exposed wrong, contrast and colors are waaaaaaayy off.
Ohh, and most shots are out of focus! And the composition is just.. Bad..
If i saw the Canon photos on a forum, i’d have thought they gave it to a 5 year old.
I’m not dissin’ the Nokia, there pretty darn good for a mobile camera!.
But it’s NOT a fair test since they gave the Canon to an idiot!.
Thank you Mitko. Just as you said it.
Thank you Mitko. Just as you said it. I now know that when I don’t have my DSLR with me, I can still take pictures with the N8, that I can use later. There’s no way I always carry my DSLR, but my phone is always ready.
i really surprise how can u compare n8 with 550D.
1. the ratio u set is totally different for both n8 and 550D
from your pics, n8 ratio is 4:3 and 550D is just 3:2 (i guess), thats why from your pics, the image captured by n8 is bigger and more details than 550D.
2. in the morning with clear bright blue sky, u are also able to get a nice pic even u r shooting with a 5MP camera phone.
3.regarding the brightness and sharpness, 550d pics above look abit weak, however, dslr is available for u to manually set the best setting, if u really do adjusted before shot all these pics… i swear the n8 has no chance to stand aside with 550D.
just for sharing..
simply put, the nokia camera phone makes the digital camera look overpriced.
dslr’s are overrated given all the [computer] tools we have today. most ppl jsut dont have the time to do proper research. 20 minutes ago i was searching google for what other camera compares to the t2i and bumped on this page. sure the 550d is the better camera and the n8 has a lot to catch up on. but camera phones are gonna catch up with dslr’s very soon. its inevitable.
in 3yrs a phone will be able to take dslr quality pictures, and compete with a high end computer system. i dont see a typical dslr camera being able to do too much more than what they already do.
for what they do, it would be a hard pick btwn this phone and this camera.
Look at:
http://masters.galleries.dpreview.com.s3.amazonaws.com/128230.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=14Y3MT0G2J4Y72K3ZXR2&Expires=1291419706&Signature=MmxzA9Tm63rH6z%2b%2f3HbR19G6fBM%3d
The resolution on the Canon link is just bad. You should get something like the link I gave here. No way Nokia can do that. Besides the physical world constraints of mobile phone cameras seriously limit what they can do. This is a highly biased comparison.
On cropped images you can see an abberation (Canon) which is caused by architecture of lens. Add to this, there is lower level of sharping in DSLRs. By the way to compare this two devices it is good to use good quality constant focal length lens on Canon. However Nokia has high quality phone camera, which is worth to have in your pocket. Canon reaches the peaks of popularity. sorry for idiotic idioms.
Have cameras on mobile phones put a dent in the digital camera market? If so, how big?…
If you look at the photos getting uploaded to flickr (http://www.flickr.com/cameras/) there is seems to be a trend towards phones going up and the digital point-and-shoot definitely trending down. There was a great post that went into great detail comp…
you cant be serious to compare !! the n8 photos apparently got post processed , because a phone camera cant handle lighting and contrast better than a dslr , i have a nikon d90 and i cant even try to think to compare , and only the n8 photos looks better because you underexposed the photos !!! , lower the exposure on the dslr photos and you’ll see !
both of the shot ultimately was inconsistent….how could you compare a DSLR which has many functions and features of manipulating picture exposure to a Nokia N8?…..
obviously, this comparison is written in such a way just to make the N8 look good. it’s not cos the N8 pictures are excellent, it’s cos your DSLR picture are too simple. why didn’t you just compare the N8 with any point and shoot of the same price range?
I agree that the N8 does take quite beautiful and detailed pictures, and from your samples the N8 definitely holds its own against the 550D.
However, I’d just like to comment on the crop comparisons of the two cameras in that while the Nokia images clearly had sharper lines than the 550D ones, the so-called ‘chromatic aberrations’ seen on the 550D can be largely attributed to the quality of the kit lens, and can be improved with the use of better quality lenses.
That being said, in a comparison between two products in their rawest, most basic forms, I do agree that the Nokia N8′s camera is great bang for the buck
Nice review!
Idiot…Canon 550D the king!
That comparison doesn not say anything.What about iso? show some pictures taken by nokia at iso 1600 at least.what is iso noise comparison. Slow exposure? up to 30 sec and bulb mode?Is that in nokia avilable?Kit lens is made to throw away anyway in canon,put some nifty fifty and then compare,what about bokeh? is there any in nokia? no.
Sory but that fone mybe is good for ocasional snaps traveling around the world,but nothing more.
Some guys dont learn… thanks Vaibhav for the review.. was thinking of getting N8 this new year and u prove my point that it can play a role of an excellent emergeny camera.
and for the fanboys out there,
1. 550d will give superior shots, even with a kit lens, even the author knows.
2. The test was designed in a good natural lighting and auto settings – to make an even playing field
3. Auto settings – even the author will know he will achieve 100% better results with manual.
4. The author did a quick comparision with his 550D usind kitlens. He didnt try to find how the n8 crap shit, just finding how it stands up to a good old dslr in good lighting conditions.
5. And lastly, the author and “the _accidental” knows what they are doing, appreciate it and use the knowledge. Don’t try to act smart.
gaming on n8 is also outstanding it is able to run games which required 1 ghz processor
you can watch your photo video and play your games on ur hd tv directly thourgh hdmi cable u cant to it on canon haaahaa that mean n8 is worth of money then conon dslr or apple’s shit means iphone
this comparison doesnt show that images from n8 are superior than 550d..
there are tons of things a dslr can do… n8 wont be 10% of the cheapest dslr…
this comparison is the dumbest one i’ve ever seen and it’s not because the author doesn’t know how to take close to identical shots.
if you bought a DSLR camera to walk around and point-and-shoot in auto mode => then you’re already a huge moron and who cares if you suddenly forgot your DSLR and will use your camera phone.
it should be a comparison with any compact digital camera.
[...] Shootout: Nokia N8 v Canon 550D DSLR | The Handheld Blog [...]
this is not a fair comparison..dslr are not made to be in full auto..but camera,yes! dats y nokia already setting the best in auto mode..but if u set the 550D in full manual mode which mean u can control the aperture,iso,focal length (in a variation of lenses!!),white balance n so on,so u wont be able to compare all those pics bcoz it will be much better!!
I agree that the N8 does take quite beautiful and detailed pictures, and from your samples the N8 definitely holds its own against the 550D.
The Nokia does seem to take some seriously good pictures, especially for a phone. What are the features like of the NOKIA UP AGAINST THE CANON 550D.The Canon 550d features are extensive. I suppose it may not matter as I guess the point is, you will always have your nokia in your back pocket to grab and point and shoot. Interesting.
This post is very usefull thx!
I think what the author is trying to do is…with an automatic setting on a DSLR vs an automatic setting on an N8, which ones produce better images?
As he has said, the N8 is not meant to replace a DSLR (duh). You can be soooo much more creative with a DSLR by changing the manual settings,etc,etc. It’s obvious just from a DSLR stats that N8 won’t stand a chance…
But on automatic setting from both cameras…well that’s the story above.
“this is not a fair comparison..dslr are not made to be in full auto..but camera,yes! dats y nokia already setting the best in auto mode..but if u set the 550D in full manual mode which mean u can control the aperture,iso,focal length (in a variation of lenses!!),white balance n so on,so u wont be able to compare all those pics bcoz it will be much better!!”
I think the test is fair…i mean the N8 doesn’t have most of the manual options…and fair, by definition would be that the cameras be set with the same available settings.
it’s like trying to test the ‘web browser’ on the canon against the n8…the n8 wins…but that’s just because canon hasn’t got a web browser lol
and why the hell are you guys bagging the author???
he just wants to compare the auto on canon with the auto on n8…
you guys don’t know if he really can’t take pics with the canon coz you guys haven’t even seen his real work yet.
so lay off the personal attacks.
wow , most people complaining are missing the point of this: is the n8 enough for everyday’s use or should one keep that DSLR hanging on his neck all the time?
actually i kinda like the photo whereby u shoot directly into the sun, and the sun glares into the sensor, giving the photo like a ray of light kinda thing, that was way cooler i think. Thumbs up to N8 (Y)
Bravo!
u should know nokia N8 is a MOBILE PHONE but canon is a pro camera
In most of the pics the Canon pics are over exposed and washed out some of the lighter colors. While the Canon was only slightly crisper, probably do to the 18 mgpix compared to 12 mgpix and faster write time, i would set the aperture manually and leave “autoexposer” off.
they always compare n8 on camera’s like that but many are choosing n8 than those big camera’s
Nice pictures from both, N8 shots should sut many of those who are against it !! Godd work
Not this is only for brightness seatings
M using Nokia N8 nothing is batter then this.
If u really want to comparer Just sat the brightness and then u will see batter results.
[...] phones [like the Samsung ], but with professional photographer-grade DSLR cameras. (like this shot-by-shot comparison between an N8 and a Cannon EOS [...]
[...] [...]
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You should have included some low light shots in there. Yes it does perform very well in good light but most shots taken with a camera in a phone will be ‘social’ pics which are often taken indoors in poor lighting. Yes it does have flash illumination which will be OK for closeup shots but just like any 12 Mp small sensor camera it will struggle at distance (beyond 2m) in low light.
The other difference is dynamic range. If you look at images 5 and 6 there is a lot of blotchy ‘noise’ in the shadows of the Nokia image (5) whereas there is little or none in the Canon image.
I think the whole point of the review is not to show that the N8 is replacing a DSLR anytime soon. But for day to day shot, the N8 is pretty “sufficient”.
Title…
I just added this blog to my rss reader, excellent stuff. Can’t get enough!…
I have been using N8 for a month now (US). It is simply stunning. I do not have any problems with my N8. Work great right out of the box. World’s first Penta Band phone.
WTF with the indian and east-europe guys? Are they all stupids or what? Did they read about the test? The conditions on both cameras? It’s really impressive how trolls are running wild on the web…
And thanks for the photos. I’m a T2i (550D american version) owner and these days was dreaming about buy a N8… Just for take shots of my 2 years old baby-girl…But it’s hard carry an elephant like Canon T2i every time…
snooPING AS usual, i se…
This is heartbreaking! I got the Canon 550D a while back. But for a mobile camera, the pictures shot at day-light is pretty impressive!
This mobile has an incredible camera. I have created a page in facebook dedicated in sole right to publishing images taken and edited with the N8.https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Fotograf%C3%ADa-con-Nokia-N8/263592863663831
[...] N8 und Canon E550D Fotos: http://thehandheldblog.com/2010/10/04/shootout-nokia-n8-v-canon-550d-dslr/ [...]
i hope all the canon dslr fanboys has stopped crying by now.
its ok, u paid good $$$ for rubbish , it happens. u r not dumb, just…not too smart.
cheers.
[...] and the widest camera sensor ever found on a mobile ensures that no other phone comes close to this device’s imaging performance. The HDMI port, aluminium casing, and a great battery life distinguishes it from other devices. [...]
[...] you need to take a look at this site and then you will rethink putting the 12 MP camera on it: Shootout: Nokia N8 v Canon 550D DSLR | The Handheld Blog Also, there isn't that much more bulk. The N8, which is like the E7 just without the keyboard, is [...]
[...] Die ist um Längen schlechter als beim N8. Aber das gilt für jede Handy-Kamera im Moment. Die im N9 ist eigentlich ganz ok und angeblich vergleichbar mit der im iPhone 4s. Die [...]
Your rigth truely almost the same as dslr picture the n8..but you forget to shoot in night..you will see the big defferrent of that..even the 2mega pixel cell phone or camera can shot clear image in day Ligth.-…………..
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Once again, thanks a bundle for the high quality post….
Hi have a nokia N8 and a Cannon 450D DSLR, there is no way the N8 even compairs the DSLR if you know how to use the DSLR! Sure the camera is pretty good for a phone camera – but to compare it to a DSLR is like compairing apples to oranges.
You have provided a good picture review and i think there is not much difference between both a professional camera and Nokia N8, good work
lol. The point is N8 can take very good photos and is as good as any DSLR out there.
Of course DSLR Camera wins when it comes to manual and extreme settings. But can your DSLR camera send messages? can it connect to internet and loadload/watch movies or surf?
Just accept the fact that N8 despite a superb smartphone is also a superb Cameraphone than have a quality of DSLR
Awesome pics also the N8 take beautiful MACRO pics I love my phone
Awesome, still in 2012 i see no better cams in Phones
)
Thanks 4 super Test!
n8 camera wins the competition
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DSLR is superior in image quality. I downloaded the full size images and took a closer look at 100 percent zoom. In the first N8 image people’s faces were distorted and there was a lot of noise in the sky and darker areas of the image. Im not a pro.
Keep in mind that DSLR’s can shoot images in RAW format. RAW images will have more detail and quality than these processed JPEGS. If you compare these images at 100% zoom you will see a lot of difference. By resizing them you are TRYING TO HIDE THE FLAWS OF N8′s SENSOR..
One more thing.. I think you have not turned on Image Stablization on your canon.. Thats the reason the photos are not looking sharp..
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