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A late review of the K750 in response to critics |
max_wedge
Joined: Aug 29, 2004
Posts: > 500
From: Australia
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Many people claim that the K750 are not real digital cameras.
In my view, any camera that can print up to 5x7 with good overall quality can be classified as a useful digital camera, since it is adequate for printing traditional sized snaps and also can also be viewed nicely on a computer monitor or tv.
I have outlined here what I think are the strengths and weaknesses of the k750 camera.
Resolution
Resolution is 2MP.
Print Size - Number of megapixels
4 x 6 - 1.4
5 x 7 - 2.0
8 x10 - 4.6
11 x14 - 8.9
16 x20 - 18.4
Clarkvision note to superman buffs - this is not a superman site 
If we raise the iso of film, then the amount of MP needed drops.
So from a point of view of basic snapping, holidays, family do's etc, the K750 has adequate megapixels to do the job. You can even print 8x10, but then pixelation becomes evident. Realistically, you can print up to 5x7.
White Balance
The K750 has good white balance control. This is a first for digital camera phones. It's not excellent, but good enough to compare against many digital cameras with higher resolutions.
On cloudy days or inside, it can be beneficial to manually select white balance since the auto feature doesn't always "get it". It's worth noting however that even when white balance is incorrectly chosen by the auto function, results are still quite adequate. Nevertheless, if you want to go manual here you will get better results.
Exposure
Here the K750 does reveal itself as a cheap digital camera. The exposure is really iso control - so increasing exposure increases noise. This can be compensated for by night mode, using the light, lowering exposure (and correcting resultant darkness with an image editing program), but realistically not much can be done. Excellent photos can be taken in low light with night mode, but the night mode runs slow shutter speeds so movement will be blurry.
However, automatic exposure adjustment is pretty good, with most point and shoot opportunities it's unnecessary to manually adjust exposure.
The camera uses centre weightered metering (it used average weighted in firmware before R1AA008) which aids low light performance. In my experience the centre weighted metering makes a huge difference in low light photography with the K750
Focus
The K750 has auto-focus, also a near first (if not the first) for SE. Auto focus is one of the benchmarks for a flexible digital camera. The K750 auto-focus has half-stop focussing (focus will lock on half press, even if you move the centre of view to another subject), and when pressed fully, the photo is taken at without focussing (focus is set to infinity - near objects are still quite clear).
Macro mode
Macro mode on the K750 is not to be laughed at. It is probably the strongest area of the phone's performance (relative to stanard digital cameras). Many digital's don't even have a macro mode, let alone one that is as crisp and clear as the K750.
Shutter Delay
There is virtually no shutter delay once the camera has the scene in focus. (Note: you must have ribc firmware camera driver or later - in earlier firmware the shutter sound follows the actual shutter release by a half second or more). On R1BC firmware or later, as soon as you hear the shutter sound, the picture has been taken.
Full press (to avoid focusing) takes less than a second for the camera to fire. Half press focusing consumes about another half a second (extra time is needed to focus).
Image Compression
Image compression matches the image censor almost perfectly. Decreasing compression (possible by hacking the camera driver) doesn't increase quality substantially. The images are 400-500KB, not much smaller than my old 2MP Kodak, so ballpark for a 2MP censor.
There is no obtrusive pixelation in the K750 images, such as you might see on cheap digital cameras. However, the image sensor brings some noise to the party..
The Image Censor
The image censor in the K750 is a cmos chip. CMOS quality has increased over the years and it is no longer correct to claim that all cmos sensors are inferior to ccd's of the same MP (although many still are).
However the cmos sensor, while not poor, is also not excellent. It is adequate for the job, but does yield noise from the gridlines of the sensor. If you resize the image by 10-20% you can eliminate this noise in most cases.
Despite the noise, the censor still does a good job, without undue saturation. In fact cmos saturation is only an issue in very bright light, where images can be washed out. Playing with the exposure can help.
Viewfinder
The phones awesome TFT screen is the viewfinder. The screen is better than most digital cameras, full stop. The screen has been designed with imaging and video playback in mind, and also to be able to be viewed in direct or indirect sunlight. There is no optical viewfinder, but due to the flexibility of this screen there will be very few times where you cannot see clearly what is on the screen.
Ergonomics and features
The menu system of the camera is a straight rip-off from digital cameras. All the usual suspects are there: remaining pictures (ie: space on memory card expressed as number of photos left), swap between "view" and "camera" mode without leaving the phone interface, plus a settings menu (also without leaving the camera interface).
In the settings menu you can change camera settings, such as burst, panorama or frames mode, picture size, picture quality, self-timer, black and white, negative, sepia, solarize, white balance, burn in time and date, reset file number and save to memory or card.
Macro mode, night mode and the camera light are activated by single key presses, while the camera itself can be activated with the simple sliding open of the active lense cover (even if the phone is locked). Exposure is adjusted with the joystick.
The camera is designed to be used in horizontal mode, like a "real" camera, with the shutter button placed in the usual top right.
Conclusion
This camera has many of the ergonomics, features, and specifications of "real" digital cameras. It also takes pictures that can be printed up to 5x7 and be virtually indistinguishable from film based 5x7 prints, or print up to 8x10 with "only" reasonable quality.
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File System Tweaks for the K750 K750 Tricks
[ This Message was edited by: max_wedge on 2006-07-27 17:35 ] | |
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aremaboy
Joined: Nov 27, 2004
Posts: > 500
From: Malang, Indonesia
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Excellent, though it's too late as many people here have upgraded to K800i and may keep their old 'hero' K750i only inside drawers..or may take it to e-Bay..sad,right? I still love my K750i and have no money to get K800 until the upcoming 6 months..poor me. |
max_wedge
Joined: Aug 29, 2004
Posts: > 500
From: Australia
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yeah, likewise. When I got the K750, I still loved me old K700 for ages, but of course I never went back to it for picture taking (except occasionally).
Same will be with the K800.
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QVGA
Joined: May 23, 2006
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From: Pakistan
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The screen is far too small for an imaging based phone. Thats the most rediculous part of this phone. And dont deny it.
No worthwhile zoom. Digital zoom isnt zoom, more like 4x image worsening.
For a phone, the camera is very good, just nothing compared to digital cameras. Low light photos are horrible on the W800 and K750 |
SloopJohnB
Joined: Oct 28, 2004
Posts: > 500
From: the blue planet
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Great review. I´ve seen k800´s pictures and they arent so much better than k750, they r bigger but not crisper. If u dont have much spare money now i dont see many reasons to buy k800. k750 does pretty much the same with the ´plus´ of having more memory (up to 2gb) and its much cheaper. I´m not replacing my w800 for a k800, still waiting for a  phone with 3.2mpx, symbian and big memory, this would a real upgrade, apart from this its just cosmetic or low evolution for this form factor. |
QVGA
Joined: May 23, 2006
Posts: > 500
From: Pakistan
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Quote:
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On 2006-07-27 21:40:58, SloopJohnB wrote:
Great review. I´ve seen k800´s pictures and they arent so much better than k750, they r bigger but not crisper. If u dont have much spare money now i dont see many reasons to buy k800. k750 does pretty much the same with the ´plus´ of having more memory (up to 2gb) and its much cheaper. I´m not replacing my w800 for a k800, still waiting for a phone with 3.2mpx, symbian and big memory, this would a real upgrade, apart from this its just cosmetic or low evolution for this form factor.
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You do know the upgrade you're looking for isnt actually going to come, and is just a figment of your imagination? |
thegreatone
Joined: Sep 28, 2005
Posts: > 500
From: hellmouth,sunnydale
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totally agree with QVGA as far as i know all the new w range will not be A/F
5 times european champions priceless,there are something money can't buy,for everything else there is always chelsea |
mongoose3800
Joined: Nov 29, 2005
Posts: 416
From: Australia
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Max, a good and unbiased review. A couple of corrections . 1) it's Sensor not Censor(as in censorship). 2) Quote : "Note: you must have ribc firmware camera driver or later - in earlier firmware the shutter sound follows the actual shutter release by a half second or more)." I found it was quite the reverse - i.e. you'd hear the shutter sound, move the camera and end up with a picture of you foot. But, yeah it has been fixed with the R1BC f/w - although I note through these forums that some people are still stuck on older F/W's and would still experience this annoyance.
For those with the money the K800 definitely seems to offer better picture quality with less noise - from my observations.
[ This Message was edited by: mongoose3800 on 2006-07-28 00:45 ] |
xan K
Joined: Jun 15, 2006
Posts: > 500
From: Republica Dominicana
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excellent review and I think I should apply to the K800 in some ways. wait a second, does the k800 have a CCD or CMOS sensor?
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kalleboo
Joined: Nov 03, 2005
Posts: 218
From: Lund, Sweden (walking distance
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Quote:
| On 2006-07-27 19:37:52, QVGA wrote:
The screen is far too small for an imaging based phone. Thats the most rediculous part of this phone. And dont deny it. |
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I don't find the size a problem at all - it's big enough to see all that you need to. What *does* ruin it is the absolute worthless performance under sunlight - it's practically useless.
The K800 solves nearly all the problems with the K750. If you look at the K800 as a 2MP camera - it's fanstastic. Try scaling down K800 pictures to 2 MP and compare them to the K750 - it blows it away. |
shaliron
Joined: Jan 15, 2006
Posts: > 500
From: Melbourne, Australia
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Nice little review, but quite a bit too late. CMOSs aren't equivalent to CCDs are they? If so, why wouldn't they put CMOS sensors in all cameras? I does have a lower power consumption.
A wooden spoon is a spoon made from wood. Source: WikipediaWinner of: Best Thread (Huge SE Portfolio) 2007, Best Post (Huge SE Portfolio) 2007, Best Signature 2007, and 2nd Best Nickname 2007. |
rockygali
Joined: Nov 21, 2005
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wheeww... hopefully that puts the nail on the subject that K750 aint comin close to a cheap digital camera.
 speaking of "IN YAH FACE", now thats what i call MUG SHOT! takin it to the bits.... and its obviously splendid max! HATS OFF to you! thats why im lovin my K750 every single day...
"Darkness is the absence of light.. and not the opposite..." |
max_wedge
Joined: Aug 29, 2004
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From: Australia
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@rocky, I knew you would get it 
@shaliron, no, cmos still lags ccd overall, but there have been big advances lately in the quality of cmos chips and they still retain low power consumption. Canon have a DSLR that runs a cmos chip, so they can't be that bad. btw, congrats on the K610, nice phone mate.
@qvga, I'm not denying anything, it's you who are denying my point. The K750 is an imaging phone, albeit one with a small screen. But the fact that it doesn't have a display as large as a K800 or W900 doesn't take away from the fact that the display is bright, crisp, has a wide viewing angle, and is viewable in sunlight. Yes it does suffer under very strong and direct sunlight (what LCD doesn't?). As to viewing angle, I can still easily view the sceen when I hold it as high over my head as I can at almost 90 degrees to my field of vision. I maintain that the K750 has an excellent all purpose display.
BTW, when did you hear me compare digital zoom to optical? Never, because as far as I'm concerned digital zoom is just a marketing ploy, I'm not an idiot. I don't use the digital zoom, and I don't consider an optical zoom (or any kind of zoom) absolutely critical for being able to indulge in photography.
I do own an SLR, with 200mm of zoom if I need it. But for day to day, opportunistic photography I'm happy to wait until phones start coming out with optical zooms rather than add a digital camera to my "carry around" itinery. You can deny that, but it's the truth
@mongoose, 1. okay, 4/5 ain't that bad , and 2. yes, that is what I was TRYING to say You are quite correct.
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File System Tweaks for the K750 K750 Tricks
[ This Message was edited by: max_wedge on 2006-07-28 16:09 ] | |
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Posted: 2006-07-27 18:33
