With its QWERTY keyboard, bigger (and wider) touch screen and large internal storage, it’s clear that the N97 has its advantages when you compare it to the N86 8MP. In some cases I even tried touching the N86 8MP’s screen!

But, as Nokia’s flagship camera smartphone, the N86 8MP has a few tricks up it’s sleeve when the camera is concerned. As we compare it to the N97, these advantages become very evident.

Wide-angle lens

               Nokia N86 8MP                                         Nokia N97

With the N97 and the N86 8MP positioned at the exact same spot, notice how the N86 8MP’s wide-angle lens is able to capture more of the keyboard in the shot. I was surprised to find that the N86 8MP lens not only captures more data in the width, but also in height as I can see more of the tile flooring. Perfect for in door shots, where there’s little space to back up to get everyone in the shot and great for panoramas.

Useable digital zoom

When it comes to zooming I had one rule: if it’s not optical, don’t use it. For this reason, I only used it on the N93 and N93i. Despite being blessed with only digital zoom, the zoom function on the N86 8MP is very usable, capturing lots of detail even when almost completely zoomed in. The N97 and other digital-zoom-equipped Nokia’s can’t keep up.

If you’ve owned a N93 you’d also know that the optical zoom mechanism produces an annoying buzzing sound while zooming in, not an issue with the N86 8MP.

Better Flash

             Nokia N86 8MP                                         Nokia N97

Both of these smartphones use dual LED technology, but the N86 8MP’s image is better illuminated and looks more neutral.

As for the operation speed, both seemed fast. I thought the N86 8MP would be faster, but the two devices are about the same. But when you consider that the N86 8MP has to work with larger 8MP images, it’s clear that it’s working harder (and faster) to stay at the same level as the N97 that has to process smaller 5MP images.

Other than these advantages, the N86 8MP also has Face Detection and focus point indication, features that the N97 lacks.

Digital Photography Review, one of the best digital camera sources on the net, recently took a look at the Nokia N86 8MP and found some interesting good and bad points about the camera.

 These guys review plenty of cameras and despite some pretty fast dedicated digital cameras out there, they found the autofocus on the N86 8MP “admirably fast.”

They also suspect that the N86 8MP uses some heavy-duty noise reduction, based on the fact that it produced images around the 1.2MB mark. Your typical 8 megapixel digital camera produces images of about 3.5MB. This indicates that some heavy compression is being applied, which might not be good for image quality. On the other side, the smaller size is perfect for uploading on a mobile device.

 The Nokia rep also mentioned that they “choose to prioritise vibrancy of colour, even though we may have compromised other areas to offer that vibrancy. We’ve conducted extensive benchmarking and have found that punchy, vibrant colour is something that people prioritise highly”   The idea about (digital) photography is all about striving to capture an image as close as possible to reality. Making the image more pleasing instead of more realistic is a step in the wrong direction if you ask us. Fidelity with neutral colors should be the way to go.

But the most interesting bit they mention, is that because the N86 8MP uses digital zoom, it basically up-samples all zoomed in images back to 8MP. They call the results “rather interesting.” They mentioned that using the 3X zoom “has a devastating effect on the camera’s resolution.” Which is not good for the end results. The basic rule here is you shouldn’t use the N86 8MP’s digital zoom. Cropping the image in your favorite image editor is a better solution. One thing worth noting is that because the N86 captures more data with its 8 Megapixel sensor, it allows more room to crop images.

As for a high-end imaging device with optical zoom, it looks like we’ll be waiting a bit longer as the Nokia rep mentions that “we need the technology to develop a bit further before we can offer them all together.”

Devin’s Opinion: Based on Dpreview’s view on the device, it might seem like the N86 8MP isn’t performing well. I think it all depends by which standards you judge the device. I feel that the N86 8MP was judged by dedicated digital camera standards and rightly so, since it was reviewed by a digital camera review site and because the N86 8MP was created to replace or at least fill in for a dedicated camera. I  do agree with the points given by Dpreview, which indicates that Nokia isn’t quite there yet, but the gap is closing. The N86 8MP currently  represents one of the best imaging devices currently on the market, not only for fast operation, but also lens quality, low light performance and fairly good fidelity, even though Nokia mentions that the device prioritizes vibrant colours.