Camera
The D900 features a 3.13 megapixel camera, and Samsung proudly touts the phone as the world's slimmest 3 megapixel cameraphone. 3 MP camera phones are just starting to hit the shelves of American retailers, led by Nokia's N93 and
N80, and Samsung's Verizon-exclusive
SCH-a990.
The results I found with the D900's camera varied. Though the camera does take 3MP (2048 x 1536 pixels) photos as advertised, many of the pictures I snapped in automatic mode lacked the clarity, sharpness, and color accuracy I've seen in 2MP cameraphones from Sony Ericsson and Nokia. The photos I took with the D900 were more than suitable for viewing on the phone or sending in MMS messages, but any VGA or better cameraphone can do that. When I transferred the photos to my computer for big screen viewing and printing, I was surprised at how blurry so many of them were. I tried the D900 as a camera in a variety of indoor and outdoor settings, with natural, bright, and low light, and on subjects ranging from people to nature to "still life" objects.
The camera does have a wide range of settings including white balance to exposure modes, and when I started adjusting them (with some help from various Web resources and a photographer friend), I started getting better results. One major shortcoming with the D900's camera, however, is its shutter lag and "recycle" times (period you must wait between shots for the camera to become ready again). Both were significantly longer than those on other non-Samsung cameraphones I've used, including the 2 Megapixel Sony w800i.
The "flash" on the D900 is really an LED light that can be turned on manually or automatically just before a photo is taken. This system is common on today's cameraphones but really doesn't help very much in low-light settings. Photos taken with the flash on tend to have a grainy or otherwise unnatural look to them that's different but not much more accurate than those taken with the flash off. As the new Sony "CyberShot" k790/800 3 MP phones feature a true Xenon flash, it's a wonder why Samsung didn't also build one into the D900.
Still, the mere fact that Samsung was able to build a 3 MP camera (along with all of the other features listed below) into a slider phone less than 13mm thick is quite amazing. So long as you're willing to fiddle with exposure and other settings, or limit your photography to well-lit scenes - preferably in natural light - you should wind up with images suitable for amazing your friends via email or printing at sizes up to 4" x 6". The D900 may not be the digital camera replacement its spec sheet might lead you to believe it is, but it's by no means a slouch.
Next: Display & Audio »
4.5
