Nokia N82 vs N86 – The Xenon Flash Issue
I’ve been trying to give myself a reason NOT to buy the N86 because I really only bought the N82 last year.
What is important to me is capturing my kids on camera and video and having a functional (ok, pretty helps too) phone. Since I use my iPod Touch to surf these days, I really don’t need a phone that can but it is a plus.
Reading the arguments from Nokia Conversations, where the issue of why a Xenon flash (standard fare in regular cameras) is not included is addressed – too much bulk and N86 has an AMBR (Automatic Motion Blur Reduction) – I realise it does serve my purpose of capturing moving toddlers. That IS why I am buying the phone. Because the N82 does require subjects to be still. I have taken enough blurry shots of the kids to be sure of this.
And what is so great about the Xenon flash?
It freezes frame even in pitch black. I’ve taken pictures of the kids sleeping, in complete darkness, which came out bright as day.
Should I choose to buy the N86, I’d still keep my N82. Just in case. I’m too attached to that phone. It’s got stickers my son pasted on them. And heck my Pentax Optio S is already moldy and my Panasonic FZ-1 too bulky to carry around. Hey, my birthday’s just round the corner.
Posted on April 19, 2010 at 1:58 am
Hi Varun,
After using the iPhone for a few months I really do miss the Xenon flash on the N82. I haven’t seen anyone I know use the N86 actually so I haven’t been able to do a decent comparison. Everyone’s on the iPhone here. 
If Nokia makes a phone with N86′s capabilities and a Xenon flash, I will seriously consider it.
Cheers,
Christina
Posted on May 3, 2010 at 11:03 pm
I do a lot of work in environments where I need to “see” into a totally dark area. In some cases, I can’t even fit my head in to see. These range from large speaker cabinets to plumbing access areas. So I use my N82 to capture a well-lit image. In addition, the N892 flash can trigger a slave flash, which extends it’s photo range to 30-40 feet (after that, the sensor becomes too grainy). The slave slash I use most is the Vivitar DF-120, a tiny pocket-size flash that’s about 1/3 the size of the N82. Use position “2″, and it syncs perfectly with the shutter in the N82.
I would love to have a larger screen than the N82, but dual-LED flashes won’t work for me. For one thing, when photographing vintage electronics equipment, they modify the color codes so I can’t figure out the parts values later.
Posted on May 5, 2010 at 7:44 pm
Hi John, your post made me go dig out my old N82 and use it as a camera. It is actually much lighter than my camera and easier to carry around. The one thing missing from an iPhone is a flash and the N82 has pretty much the best flash for snapping in pitch black.
Here’s hoping for a new Nokia on Android with a Xenon flash.
Christina Sng worked as a web developer, information architect, account executive, producer, technical writer, and usability consultant in the 10 years (that's 30 years in Internet time!) she brought bread home. She has since retired to raise her children but still spends most of her waking hours on the net, no thanks to Apple. Here are some of her adventures.
Posted on April 10, 2010 at 10:26 am
The Nokia N86 has been put through its paces and in the latest tests, James nokiacreative quantifies the dual-led in low light conditions. In the tests James shows the comparison between the n86, the n82 Xenon, the Touch n97 dual-led and the Samsung i8910 with single led.
Needless to say the Xenon-Flash of the n82 wins in the low-light shots but the n86 comes a close second because of the better optics which enables it to illuminate more of its surroundings.
(Head over to mynokiablog for full images and shots.)
N82 is still Nokia camera king