New Toy: Nokia 808 PureView

You’ve heard about the new Nokia 808 PureView, right? You know, the world’s most powerful camera phone? It’s the first smartphone to feature Nokia PureView imaging technologies, bringing together high resolution sensors, Carl Zeiss optics and Nokia developed algorithms, all of which are going to support new “high-end imaging experiences” for future Nokia devices.

Oh yeah, you can make calls, send texts and emails and all that mobile phone stuff with the 808 as well. But this post is really just about the camera. Check out this CNET UK review for info about the actual phone aspects of the 808 (and note the difference between CNET’s rating and the rating given to the 808 by readers; interesting).

The phone’s 41 megapixel sensor with high-performance Carl Zeiss optics and new pixel oversampling technology mean that at the highest-resolution setting you can capture an image and then zoom, reframe, crop and resize afterwards to expose previously unseen details. Wow. And, at the standard resolution of five megapixels, the PureView uses a new sort of oversampling technology to capture and condense up to seven pixels of information in the sensor into one perfect pixel in the picture – for the sharpest images imaginable.

Essentially, what all the techno garble translates into is an amazing photography experience that’ll fit snug in your pocket and promises to give your DSLR or bridge compact camera a real run for the money. The Pureview’s retail price looks to be around or just under £500. That might actually be an alright price for it too. I mean, if this truly is the “next breakthrough in photography” as Nokia asserts, 500 quid is a small price to pay for the chance to get acquainted with what the future holds for anybody interested in taking crisp, detail-rich photographs.

So far – just opening the box, charging the phone up and messing around with it – I’ve got to say this gadget is a lot of fun. The more I shoot with it (which, honestly, has been very little at this point) the more I want to shoot with it. I can see a strong argument for Nokia’s “breakthrough” claim already. But I think this beast of a camera in the guise of a petite mobile beauty deserves a proper test drive before I actually review the 808 or show off any pics taken with it.