Nokia N8 vs. Samsung Pixon12 vs. Sony HX5v shootout: Blind test

05 October 2010
The Nokia N8 is an immensely popular phone and we’re already hard at work on a proper review of the handset. Since the N8 camera is its pivotal feature, we’re interested how you'd rate it in a blind shootout with two other cameras...

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  • J
  • Jack
  • 2IC
  • 06 Oct 2010

I pick the following

1) C is Nokia N8. I like the details and dynamic range. In previous interviews, Damian said that N8 will minimize the use of Noise Reduction. This explains why the pictures are grainier. The bigger sensor would give them better details and dynamic range as well.

2) B is Samsung Pixon 12. The sharpening characteristics and deliberate boost in contrast is very obvious here. This is the easiest to guess. I like the details of this camera but I feel the over sharpening makes it a little harder to post process the output for other uses.

3) A is Sony. Compared to the N8, more NR is applied. It is very typical of Sony, even in their dSLR to aggressively remove graininess by smearing details. As such, details suffer especially in the shades.

It doesn't matter if my guess on the cameras are wrong. The ranking of C, B, A remains.

    • T
    • Tanishq
    • vG1
    • 06 Oct 2010

    1 b
    2 b
    3 c
    4 c
    5 b
    6 b
    7 c
    8 c


    whatever the result is, n8 rocks!!!
    it beats some of da best dslr cams...n dont forget its still a phone( an incredible sleek and powerful phone wid amazing features..)

      • s
      • satio user
      • jF4
      • 06 Oct 2010

      Anvil, drum, , 06 Oct 2010Theory. Gsmarena knows that there are quite a lot of Sony E... more
      well maybe gsmarena knows that the satio may embarrass the n8 they are advertising for every day! So it would not be a good idea to put the n8 head to head with the satio for not making it look bad.

      I am also a photographer and let me tell you, I haven't seen any camera phone that could beat the Sony ericsson satio. The pixon 12 is wonderful and I like it, but satio eats it alive trust me.

        • b
        • babon
        • vtx
        • 06 Oct 2010

        I am sure that A is n8 coz n8 has lack of brightness on camera... so i m very much sure dat...A is n8

          • A
          • Anvil, drum,
          • YT8
          • 06 Oct 2010

          Theory. Gsmarena knows that there are quite a lot of Sony Ericsson fans here and that the Satio would disappoint among the other 12mp phones, so they just replace it with a sony camera.

            • s
            • stvn7
            • vx2
            • 06 Oct 2010

            i think nokia n8 is c..i judge it by looking the picture where the 3 are zoomed side by side together in one photo. but that's only me...

              • d
              • dell user
              • QP{
              • 06 Oct 2010

              hi all, 06 Oct 2010It has been proven that Satio is not as good as Pixon 12 wh... more
              No you are wrong, the satio is way better than the pixon 12! samsung handsets never give you real colors like se handsets, read this :

              http://mobilementalism.com/2009/09/10/sony-ericsson-satio-review-the-best-camera-phone-in-the-world/

              We are waiting for satio vs n8

              this pixon vs n8, really sucks, because all of us know that the n8 will win bigtime.

                • T
                • ThorFolklore
                • ibn
                • 06 Oct 2010

                Hawke, 06 Oct 2010Ain't 3 device is enough? 3 pictures already made people ha... moreSeriously, would adding in 1 (ONE) picture per set make it SO MUCH HARDER for people to pick their favourites? There are 8 sets and 32 pictures here. Would adding 8 pictures to make it 40 pictures overall cause a brainfreeze of such epic proportions that we'd lose all sense of judgement?

                Dude, if you're going to keep mouthing off your oh-so-forceful "WTF" opinions, I suggest that you don't. Let's just have some civilised fun comparing the existing provided camera samples.

                The point that some of us is trying to make is that this blind shootout feels somewhat incomplete without including the other 12MP monster, the Satio, in here. Currently, there's not much choice in terms of 12MP cameraphones. It's either the Pixon12, the Satio or the N8, so we'd like to see a proper shootout between these 3 babies. Of course, the Sony digicam is almost certain to win so it's there more or less as a control. What some people would really want is a comparison between the 3 cameraphones because digicams and cameraphones are still not in the same category yet (no matter how much the line is blurring these days).

                  • X
                  • Xis
                  • YT8
                  • 06 Oct 2010

                  Everyone thinks C is better than the other two. It's only brighter.

                    • h
                    • hi all
                    • t7v
                    • 06 Oct 2010

                    It has been proven that Satio is not as good as Pixon 12 when it comes to camera. Not only gsmarena said so. Many other sites and blogs said so too. And adding a digicam into the mix will let us know how the cameraphone stand against digicam, and to what extend can they replace our digicam.

                      • H
                      • Hawke
                      • PS6
                      • 06 Oct 2010

                      ThorFolklore, 06 Oct 2010No one's saying that we want 3 cameraphones only. We're say... moreAin't 3 device is enough? 3 pictures already made people hard to decide. Not to mention 4 pictures!

                        • 2
                        • 2toyzki
                        • vj1
                        • 06 Oct 2010

                        I guess they d0n't include Satio because they are saving it for the full review!!

                        They put in Pixon12 because s0me sites they always use Pixon12 against the N8.
                        GSMA just want to give those sites a slap in the face as early as p0ssible haha!

                        Im also waiting for the Battle of the Decade:

                        Sony Ericsson's Satio
                        V.S.
                        Nokia's N8

                          • S
                          • Sammy
                          • 016
                          • 06 Oct 2010

                          1- C (probably Sony)
                          2- A (probably Nokia)
                          3- B (probably Samsung)

                            • T
                            • ThorFolklore
                            • ibn
                            • 06 Oct 2010

                            Hawke, 06 Oct 2010WTF with all these people? SE Satio and Sony DSC-HX5v Cyber... moreNo one's saying that we want 3 cameraphones only. We're saying that we want 3 cameraphones + 1 digicam. WTF is the matter with you.

                              • H
                              • Hawke
                              • PS6
                              • 06 Oct 2010

                              WTF with all these people? SE Satio and Sony DSC-HX5v Cyber-shot is under Sony, same company! It sometime better to have one different device in comparison (2 cameraphone and 1 digicam). If 3 cameraphone, it won't be fun enough!

                                • ?
                                • Anonymous
                                • IWH
                                • 06 Oct 2010

                                A--> N8
                                B--> Pixon
                                C--> Sony.

                                  • d
                                  • dell user
                                  • QP{
                                  • 06 Oct 2010

                                  give se credit where credit is due, and all of us know, that the satio is the best phone camera until the n8 arrived.

                                  So if you hate se no problem, but at least they deserve some credit for making some very good phones.

                                    • r
                                    • r3
                                    • 9BM
                                    • 06 Oct 2010

                                    Here are my choices...
                                    1. A
                                    2. C
                                    3. B
                                    4. A
                                    5. C
                                    6. C
                                    7. C
                                    8. C

                                      • N
                                      • N8 C
                                      • t7}
                                      • 06 Oct 2010

                                      A Samsung
                                      B Sony
                                      C Nokia

                                        • s
                                        • sklchan
                                        • PUZ
                                        • 06 Oct 2010

                                        Set 1 = B > C > A
                                        Set 2 = B > A > C
                                        Set 3 = B > A > C
                                        Set 4 = B > C > A
                                        Set 5 = C > B > A
                                        Set 6 = C > B > A
                                        Set 7 = C > A > B (C good in noise reduction, A good in macro, B is worst)
                                        Set 8 = C > A > B (C good in noise reduction, A good in macro, B is worst)