Damian, a bit thicker is fine by me
Damian D
wrote:
G10Rebel
wrote:
although the sensor is quite large for cellphone, the problem of noise is still prevalent. Noise is clearly visible on the samples, worse than G10's 14.7 MP (some say) noisy sensor.
...
The Canon you refer to has the luxury of much larger optics which helps too. Would love to be able to fit those size optics in our products but I don't think it would make a very desirable product
Having said that the technology is always developing and there are some interesting opportunities we're looking at for the future...
atb
Damian
Damian,
I know of about 8 phones that have managed to get in optical zooms, and there are a heap of cameras that have got optical zooms into ultra slim bodies. Of course most of these used tiny sensors, but there are a few precedents for where the all-in-one phone+camera could go without becoming '
an undesirable design
".
The phones:
Samsung W880 -- 3x optical zoom (external zoom barrel)
Nokia N93 / N93i -- 3x optical zoom (internal zoom, straight optics)
Samsung G800 / G810 -- 3x optical zoom (internal)
Sharp 903 / 904 / 902 -- 2x optical zoom (internal)
The W880 is a solution that I think falls into the
undesirable design
category -- an external zoom barrel on a phone is just wrong.
The Gxx and 9xx solution probably can't be done due to the physics need for the optics for a 1/1.9" sensor.
The N93x solution is interesting in that it actually looks a bit like a C-series Sanyo Xacti camcorder. But it would be more a niche design; a flat single-piece design is probably what the bulk of the market would like.
Turning to the slim-line cameras for inspiration ...
Most of the slimline cameras that use an internal zoom do so using folded optics -- e.g. the Sony DSC-Txx series, the Olympus Tough series, etc. -- but again most use tiny sensors.
There was an exception however ...
Five years ago the Konica Minolta DiMAGE X1 used folding optics to get a 3x optical zoom + an 8MPx 1/1.8" sensor into a camera a bit thicker than the N8 (X1: 95x68x19.5 mm , N8: 113.5x59x12.9 mm).
Actually, the X1 is damn-near exactly the same size as my current phone, an HTC TyTN II. Sure, the TyTN II is regarded as a chunky phone by 2010 standards, but it doesn't bother me
In summary, I think your next aim for the N8+ is to try and put a camera with the kind of specs of the X1 into the N8.
And after that, make the N8++ a ruggedized phone (at least IP54-class or better, like the Nokia 3720 classic).
To restate what I said earlier in this thread, put a camera with the kind of specs of the X1 into a smartphone like the HTC HD2 or the HTC Desire (sorry, I
really
don't like Nokia's) and there really is no need for ultracompact cameras to be a separate device anymore.
And before someone counters with "smartphones are too expensive" or "it won't have as many features":
I regularly see unemployed deadbeats getting iPhones on 2-year plans, so I think the cost issue is mostly irrelevant
Most people don't delve into 80% of the advanced functions of even a low-end modern digital camera, so I think the features issue is also mostly irrelevant.