BBC News - Nokia's Lumia 1020 features 41 megapixel camera - I think this has been coming for a while. However it wouldn't be the top of my list of requirements. Battery life is far more important to me. What about you?
I did have a DSLR for a few years but it meant lugging around a man bag with the camera various lenses and accessories. Pictures were amazing but just got pissed off with looking like a camera geek and missing shots because it took ages setting the thing up. So sold that and bought whst was at the time the best compact camera which has spent all its life sat in a draw as we use our phones for photos, even holiday snaps. I do think 41 mp is over kill my S2 is 8mp and pics are brilliant
It isn't about the number of pixels, the quality of the lens is more important and the size you want the final image to be. It is easier to make a high quality large lens than a small one, with the added benefit that it captures more light. I have several cameras with different features and the number of pixels is the last thing I think about when I decide which one to take. I do not take photos with my smart phone.
I have the Nokia 920 and the camera on that is pretty good, its got a Carl Zeiss lens 9MP i think, im not too convinced the pixel count is all that to be honest my mate has a Samsung S4 and that's 13MP and the camera is poo plops compared to the Nokia.
One other point, the smaller the physical size of the sensor (and the individual pixels) the greater the electronic 'noise' from the sensor, particularly in low light conditions.
Went to Waddington Airshow last weekend. I used my DSLR with telephoto lens for the planes and my galaxy S3 for the scenic shots. Saves messing about changing lenses
I wouldn't go as far as epic. I'm impressed with how well mine copes with low light stuff, both stills and video. HTC say that they have dropped the resolution whilst increasing the size of the sensor as they reckon most shots taken with a smartphone only get viewed on the phone or maybe a laptop sized screen so large mp count is not so important. I do notice it though if I try to zoom in, it just won't go in deep enough. Personally I prefer the pics taken with its predecessor, an HTC Sensation which was 8mp. My wife had the latest Samsung Galaxy S4 and I think it actually takes better pictures than the One, although there is a software update due out which may improve things. A feature that I really like on the one is the burst shot facility. If you press the shutter button and keep it pressed then it takes about 25 shots in rapid succession, keeping the few frames which it had been buffering prior to you even pressing the button. It then let's you keep all if them, or choose the best one and deletes the rest, or keeps all of them and let's you decide what to do with them later. Its great when you are trying to get that perfect picture of the kids who insist on blinking or moving at the critical moment.
I am truly the world's worst photographer, so what I want is a handset with good stability and good auto focus. The pics I take with my iphone are generally good for little more than scrap.
lens quality and CCD size will aways win through. I wouldn't mind betting that theres massive interpolation going on there.
My mate's idea of fun is to hide in the bushes behind a fixed speed camera with a cheap disposable camera. He discretely presses the flash as a slow moving vehicle goes past and enjoys watching the surprise and confusion it creates.
