My GPS Camera Phone

It’s been awhile since my last stop at the Paynes Prairie overlook, so I made the trip out there last week during a particularly overcast day. The floodplain is just about dried up and most of the vines and grasses are beginning to wither away. There’s some late-blooming things, but most everything is about ready to succumb to the pending winter freeze.

This particular shot was taken with the Nokia 5310. A quick trip through Photoshop made this image pop more than the original, due to the poor quality of the 5310. Desaturation, curves and a gradient map later, and we’re in business.

Though the palm tree was alive, the vines that had climbed all the way to the top had since died back, waiting for next spring’s rain to repeat their ascension. And they will be back, without a doubt.

Welcome to the next incarnation of My GPS Camera Phone! I’ve got a new template (edited just a bit from the original) thanks to Jai at Blog Oh! Blog, and a new phone thanks to Nokia Productions.

I decided to go back to a dark theme in an effort to place more emphasis on the photos, since most of the posts these days are short on words. The theme is still in need of some tweaking, particularly on the single post pages, but it’s coming along well. You’ve probably noticed the missing header also – I’m working on it.

As for the new phone, well, it was a total surprise, to say the least. I received a package last week addressed to me from a place I didn’t recognize. Long story short: I entered some pictures and video footage in the Nokia Productions promotion for the 5310 XpressMusic, which also happens to be a phone I reviewed. After the promotion wrapped up, I gave it no more thought and carried on with life as usual. Much to my surprise, I had won a daily prize drawing.

Inside the package was a brand new, unlocked Nokia 5310 Xpress Music (purple), a really awesome Bluetooth headset/headphones and a card for some music downloads (which didn’t work, but whatever). All the accessories were included as well, encased in a cool film reel can. While the camera is average, the mp3 player rocks. So I’ll be using it to listen to music and snap photos alongside the trusty Casio G’zOne. Many thanks to Nokia Productions!

If you want to see the final version of the movie for the promotion, check it out here (once it loads, go to “watch” and “the film”). Fellow blogger Drew was a winner and got to fly to LA for the premier. Stop by and say hello if you can.

Anyway, it’s been a good week and I’m looking to make this site even better in the months to come. How? Well, I’m not sure yet, but I am optimistic that something good will happen. Enjoy the new site!

Disclaimer: No compensation was received for this post nor is there any affiliation between Nokia and this web site. Statements made herein are mine and are not intended to reflect those of Nokia.

My time with the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic is winding down and I anticipate an e-mail from the folks at WOM World any day now regarding the return of the phone. Since I’ve had the phone, I’ve put it through a rigorous test to see if it can come anywhere near my photo quality standards. Since pictures speak louder than words, I’ve pulled together a few representative photos from the Nokia 5310 and my Casio G’zOne Type-V as a control so you can see the difference in image quality for yourself.

The four images below are untouched (except for re-sizing) and directly out of the camera using default settings. I’ve attempted to shoot objects that cover four areas: bright, medium and low light, and contrasting colors. All images are shot in 1200×1600 resolution. Let’s start with the first image.

Bright light/color tones:

As previously experienced, the Casio tends to overexpose, possibly mistaking the actual light conditions with a dark object in the image. In this case, the trees at the bottom might be confusing the light meter. The Nokia 5310, however, seems to read the light level accurately and manages to capture the subtle details in the clouds without exposure problems.

The winner: Nokia 5310.

Medium light/color tones:

The office building I work in is painted this horrific color all over. Any time I’ve tried to include it in a camera phone photo, I’ve had problems where the center is a different color than the rest of the wall. This can easily be seen on the left in the sample image from the Casio. The right side depicts the photo from the Nokia 5310, which is incredibly crisp and evenly colored. The red, white and black pop against the earth-tone background and there’s no deterioration or bleeding of color, unlike the Casio image which is washed out and just blah.

The winner: Nokia 5310.

Low light/color tones:

In this case, the two exposures come out pretty close, with no major differences. The driveway lettering in the contrasting off-white appears similarly in both images, however, with a bit of that color issue coming through in the Casio image. In spite of that, I’m going to leave it up to personal preference. For a true “dark” image, see the post on shooting fireworks at night with a camera phone.

The winner: Tie

Contrasting colors:

Although this isn’t the best image, it reinforces the point about the Casio and earth tones. The Casio captured the image somewhat nicely, but still overexposed the concrete, resulting in missing details and washed-out green grass. The Nokia was able to precisely measure the contrast and compensate accordingly, resulting in a nice deep green alongside the grayish concrete, complete with the little details clearly visible in the grass and the concrete.

The winner: Nokia 5310.

Surprisingly, the Nokia 5310 comes out on top. I fully expected a phone that was so dedicated to music to be inferior in the photo department, but I was wrong. You can rock out and still take decent pictures, which raises the appeal of this phone significantly.

One interesting thing about the Nokia 5310 camera settings is that it saves a 1200×1600 image as a 4″ x 5.33″ file at 300dpi, which is the recommended resolution for printing. Most others usually default to a 16.67″ x 22.22″ file at 72dpi. (Thanks, Dan!)

Overall, the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic is a solid choice for a camera phone, providing quality images in variable light conditions. The added benefit of the removable microSD card (up to 4GB) and a simple USB connection makes high resolution photography a breeze, with no worries about available storage or file transfers.

So, get your groove on and shoot some great photos with the Nokia 5310. You won’t be disappointed.

Disclaimer: No compensation was received for this review nor is there any affiliation between T-Mobile/Nokia or Verizon/Casio and this web site. All reviews and statements herein are based on a trial/regular usage and personal experience.

Rather than bore you with a post about how to capture great shots of fireworks, I’ll fill you in on the fireworks between the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic and my Casio G’zOne type-V.

As a precursor to the July 4th holiday, my girls and I went outside and tested some sparklers to make sure the worked. I took the chance to run some night photography testing between the Nokia and the Casio to see how well (or how bad) they handled low-light situations. I lit some of those cool sparklers that shoot sparks and started shooting.

The Casio G’zone fared as expected, which is not that great. The Casio tends to compensate for the lack of light by overexposing, making for a pixellated and digitized-looking image. The settings for this shot were standard, with no brightness or filter changes. The Casio did manage to capture the spark trails, though, but the effect is lost with the overexposed background. I’d say it’s not the best camera phone for low-light shots.

The Nokia 5310, however, fared much better. I’m surprised at the quality of the image, since most camera phones I’ve seen are terrible at low-light photos. In this case, the 5310 shines. The spark trails are captured as I had hoped, without compromising the rest of the image. The background remains dark, but light enough to see the subject. As with the Casio, the shot was taken with the standard presets.

If fireworks are in your plans tonight, be it a large display or some sparklers in your yard, break out the camera phone and see what you can capture. If anything, it will make a great wallpaper for your phone.

Disclaimer: No compensation was received for this review nor is there any affiliation between T-Mobile/Nokia or Verizon/Casio and this web site. All reviews and statements herein are based on a trial usage and personal experience.

I’ve been working over the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic for about a week now, thanks to the people over at WOM World. My first impressions of this phone and what it can do are much better than that of the 3555, which I had the opportunity to review earlier this month.

I’ve only had a few moments to play with the camera, so I can only say at this point that I’m impressed with the features that the 5310 offers, considering that it’s a camera phone with an identity crisis. In my opinion, the 5310 is desperately trying to be a first-generation iPod Nano, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

I’ve posted a photo from the 5310 as an example of what it can do at maximum resolution (a respectable 1600×1200 pixels) and maximum image quality given poor lighting conditions. The photo was taken during some rain in full auto mode, then cropped and minimally touched up in Photoshop. So far, so good.

Regarding the music part, I have to say that I’m incredibly happy with what I see. The 1GB of expandable memory allows me to load enough music for the day and then play it back through my desktop speakers, a large set of headphones or the ear buds that come with the kit. Given the volume I’ve played the music and the fact that it was driving a hefty pair of headphones, the battery life managed to maintain well within acceptable limits. Obviously, the 5310 isn’t meant to replace your MP3 player, but it sure does a great job at standing-in.

The high resolution display also makes the navigation icons more recognizable, improving the navigation tremendously. I’m still not pleased with the non-intuitive interface, but I can live with it as long as I can see it.

The form factor of this phone is unbelievable. Measuring 1.2″x 4.1″x 0.4″ makes the 5310 almost invisible. Combine this with the microSD card and you’ve got a little powerhouse that can crank out the tunes.

More on the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic in upcoming weeks.

Disclaimer: No compensation was received for this review nor is there any affiliation between T-Mobile/Nokia and this web site. All reviews are based on a trial usage and the statements herein are based on my current mood and/or my personal preferences.