Filming and editing videos on the Nokia 808 PureView

We have spoken a lot about the Nokia 808 PureView and its world-beating photography prowess. There have been tips and tricks,camera apps, connectivity options and even why we think it’sbetter than a standalone camera.

One aspect of the 808 PureView that we haven’t touched upon in too much detail is the video recording and editing functions.

The Nokia 808 PureView is as highly advanced when it comes to moving images as it is with the still variety. It has Full HD 1080p video resolution and can capture up to 30 frames per second.

If that sounds technical, don’t worry. The 808 PureView is simple to use, while also giving you further options to be a little more creative.

Here is an introduction and basic guide for shooting and editing video on your Nokia 808 PureView.

Shooting Modes 

Just as with the stills camera, there are a number of options that you can select when you are using the video camera.

Automatic is a simple point and shoot and your best bet if you are relatively inexperienced and you are happy for the 808 PureView to do all the work.

Selecting Scenes gets you more involved with the settings, but the camera is still there to assist you. Within Scenes there are several presets that you can choose so that you are always getting the best results in different conditions.

The scenes are:

• Low light
• Night
• Sports
• Snow
• Automatic 

Shooting in Creative mode gives you full control over the camera’s settings and offers the most potential for you to realise your artistic vision!

You will notice that within the Creative settings menu, you can now change: 

• Video resolution (1080p, 720p or 360p)
• Frame rate (30fps, 25fps, 24fps or 15fps)
• Colour tones (normal, vivid, sepia or black and white)
• You can also alter the saturation, contrast and sharpness

Right at the bottom of the Creative screen is a furtherpreferences menu where you can find options for the viewfinder grid, video stabilisation, the focus assist lamp and capturing when the phone is locked.

Custom presets

Creative Mode also lets you save your the Custom presets. This gives you 3 presets where the camera will remember your preferred Creative settings. Any changes you make to any of the settings when you have selected C1, C2 or C3 will be remembered for the next time.

For example, you could have C1 where you are always shooting at maximum 1080p resolution so that it will look fantastic on your HDTV. Then on C2 you could have a lower resolution selected if you are filming a video that you will want to be able to easily email and share with friends on social networks.

Viewfinder icons 

When you are ready to film you will see some icons on the left of the viewfinder screen.

At the top is the light icon, which lets you turn the video light on and off. At the bottom is the toggling of the continuous autofocus function (CAF).

In Creative mode you will have two further icons. There is theexposure compensation, which lets you manually alter, and control, the brightness of the scene. The scale goes from the brightest at +4.0 to the darkest at -4.0.

The cloud icon beneath the exposure control is the white balanceand this has several modes for you to choose from:

• Cloudy
• Fluorescent
• Sunny
• Incandescent
• Automatic

Filming and zooming

For Automatic and Scenes mode you are pretty much ready to start filming right away. It is only in the Creative mode where you need to spend a little more time familiarising and experimenting with the options outlined above.

The actual filming is the easy bit. You can start to record by either pressing the dedicated camera button on the side of the Nokia 808 PureView or you can press the red ‘record’ on the right of the screen.

You can tap on any part of the screen to focus on an area or object but this will disable the continuous auto focus. To bring back the continuous auto focus, just tap the CAF icon in the bottom left.

Zooming is a real delight to use. Just slide your finger up the screen around the area that you wish to zoom into. You will notice a white rectangle appear and the further you slide your finger up the screen, the smaller this rectangle will appear.

As soon as you’ve finished the sliding motion, the viewfinder will zoom in on the area within the rectangle. Give it a try and you’ll get the hang of it really quickly.

It’s not just easy to use but effective as well. Due to the revolutionary 41-megapixel sensor, you will be able to achieve 4x zoom in full HD 1080p; 6x lossless zoom for 720p video and for non-HD (640×360) video, an amazing 12x zoom!

Editing

After you’ve finished recording, you can edit the video on your 808 PureView.

When the video is ready for playback, tap anywhere on the screen (apart from the play icon in the centre) and further options appear. Select the icon furthest to the right – the three horizontal bars. This will bring up a menu where you can edit the video, send it via email, SMS or Bluetooth or share it on Facebook or YouTube.

Selecting edit takes you to the video editor, where you can trim the beginning and the end of your video.

The screen will show you two images – the start frame and the end frame. Pressing one maximises it over the other, and vice versa, but you’ll always have a glimpse of both shots.

Scrub along the blue timeline at the bottom of the screen to select the start and end frames you want. You can press play at any point to preview the new clip. When you’re happy with the result, select the tick icon on the bottom right. A new video will be saved in your library and the original file will be left intact.

So that’s a simple guide explaining the basic functions of the Nokia 808 PureView’s video camera.  This documentary, filmed entirely with an 808 PureView, shows you just what it is capable of.

Tune up! How good is PureView for documenting music festivals?

Will PureView tech be a chart topping hit or will music festival fun prove too hot for it to handle?

We all know that Nokia makes some of the best camera smartphones in the world. But how good are they at recording the bump and grind of a fast-paced, people-packed music festival? To find out we armed five Creative Arts’ students with Nokia 808 PureViews (and Nokia Lumia 900s) and asked them to document, Flow, Helsinki’s coolest music get together. The results are showcased in this cool interactive map. How did they go about creating this masterpiece? We hooked up with the guys and girls to find out.
What were the main challenges filming and photographing the Flow festival?

Ben Dromey – “I used a Nokia 808 PureView to make a time lapse video for each day of the festival. The biggest challenge was to figure out how to attach the phone to my body. I also needed to tweak the Stoppola time-lapse app. It’s a great little app with lots of features including full HD time-lapse.”

Federico Poggioli – “I wanted to focus on light design and audio/visual effects of the festival. The main challenges of filming were keeping the recording stable without a tripod.”

Sarun Pinyarat – “The music and shows were so good, sometimes you just forget that you are supposed to document them! On a practical note, having to hold the device for good 3-4 minutes can be a bit of strain.”

Aoi Yoshizawa – “I photographed food and drinks as well as interesting fashion and wanted to take as many pictures in daylight. I had to be very quick to make sure I didn’t miss any cool styles.”

Deniz Uner – “The main challenge is to capture as much as you can during a concert, without carrying an extra stuff.”

How did using Nokia’s technology help you?

Federico Poggioli – “The sound quality and the lens were really good for filming.”

Sarun Pinyarat – “The PureView technology is awesome, the way pinching, zooming and panning works are just amazing. Also when zooming, you don’t lose the image’s quality at all, since the 41 MP lens compensates in the final resolution.”

Aoi Yoshizawa – “The quality of the camera is very good, so in the end there was no need to fix the photos. The camera captures great colors as well!”

Deniz Uner – “The 808 helped me to see things details, colours, scenes, which I couldn’t see with the naked eye. My personal passion is making panoramas, and the Nokia 808 enabled me to create as big panoramas as I wanted, which was really cool.”

What were the features you found most amazing and why?

Ben Dromey – “The quality of the image on the 808 was very impressive. I’ve never seen such quality on a mobile phone camera before. And the Stoppola app is a must for any PureView owner looking to do time lapses.

Federico Poggioli – “The quality of the movies and pictures were really good. I also really like the intuitive button to access to the camera even if the mobile was in the lock function.”

Aoi Yoshizawa –“The phone‘s very compact and easy to carry despite the amazing camera. I don’t like carrying a big, heavy camera, so this was great for me.”

Sarun Pinyarat – “The lighting speed of the shutter, because it makes you feel like you are using a camera as good, as or even better than, a proper digital camera.”

Denzi- “The HD photographs and microphone. Especially when recording concerts, they gave amazingly clean sounds and good quality images.”

How does using a smartphone differ to using traditional cameras?

Ben Dromey – “You don’t need to have two devices and at a festival that’s really useful.”

Aoi Yoshizawa – “With a smartphone it’s really easy to share images through with your social networks. Plus as a designer, it’s perfect for taking the quick photos I need for sketches.”

Sarun Pinyarat – “Imagine a really good camera where you can take superfast picture, and with one click, share it instantly with the world. That’s what makes the 808 PureView very special.”

What top tips would you give to someone using PureView to film festivals?

Ben Dromey – “Post the results online. People will be blown away by the quality of the videos from a phone!”

Aoi Yoshizawa – “Try to play with PureView and enjoy the experimental ways you can capture the festival!”

Sarun Pinyarat – “Sneak it in and snap the reactions of people partying!”

If you’ve ever wanted to film a festival, looks like you should pack a PureView. To see some of the amazing results for yourself, remember to check out the fantastic fives’ project, a hand drawn interactive festival map showcasing their work.

YouTube apps for Nokia Belle smartphones

When it comes to watching videos away from the computer or TV, there’s only one place you’ll turn to – your smartphone. And what videos are you more than likely to watch? Videos from YouTube. We’ve gathered up a small handful of YouTube apps available from Nokia Store that’ll work perfectly on your Nokia Belle smartphone.
YouTube Free

When it comes to any app like this, it’s always good to start with the official app as there are plenty out there. The YouTube app allows you to sign in to your account and keep an eye on any videos you’ve uploaded to YouTube – however, you can’t upload any videos from this app.

Searching is as you’d expect; hit the empty search box at the top and type in what you’re looking for. Alternatively, use the browse videos, favourites, subscriptions or playlist button to watch content.

If just searching for videos and watching them is what you’re after, you can’t go wrong with this YouTube app.

cuteTube £3.00

Now only does this app deliver YouTube videos to your Nokia Belle smartphone, it also connects you to Dailymotion – another video sharing service.

With support for videos up to 1080p, you’ll always be able to watch the best possible video while you’re out-and-about, and download it too in full 1080p – if available – for watching later.

Sharing videos is also a possibility by sending the URL to your email contacts or Facebook and Twitter friends and followers.

FastTube Free

With a simple search interface, this app gets the job done. Type in what you want to watch, select the video and watch. Alternatively, sign in to your YouTube account to scroll through your subscription list and look through your own videos.

There is the added bonus of being able to give the video a thumbs up or down as you would find if you were watching it on the desktop browser. Plus, browsing videos via the YouTube Trends, Featured, Top Rated and Most Viewed options bring new ways of watching content and then download it if you want to.

YouTube Downloader £1.50

As the name of the app suggests, this one is all about the download. Sure you can watch videos, like all other YouTube apps, but when you’ve found one you want to watch later hit the download button.

With a variety of download options, such as: Where to store the video; which access point to use; and what quality to download, you’re in complete control of what you want to watch in the way that you want.

Nokia 808 PureView – comparisons, opinions, examples

It seems the guys at UK Mobile Review have taken the Nokia 808 PureView and have thoroughly put it through its paces. In fact, they have gone to great lengths to provide their readers with as much information, opinion, comparisons and examples as possible. Indeed they have even produced their own Nokia 808 PureView portal!
It would have been remiss of us not to give such dedication the coverage it deserves. Let’s begin with the comparison posts they have written. Dani went to the river armed with her 808 PureView and an iPhone 4S and took a whole bunch of pics to compare the 8MP capabilities. The comment from ‘I’m Pro Samsung’ sums it up quite well

‘WOW, that is one GREAT camera.’

Not satisfied with just comparing the 808 PureView to other phones, Nirave went one step further and took to the streets of London armed with the Nokia and a DSLR. The side-by-side unedited 8MP images need some proper examination so you can make up your own mind:

http://conversations.nokia.com/2012/09/19/nokia-808-pureview-comparisons-opinions-examples/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NokiaConversations-Posts+%28Nokia+Conversations+-+Posts%29

Let’s Create! Pottery on Nokia Belle

The great thing about apps is that they can bring a whole new world into the palm of your hands. Take pottery for example; when do any of us get to try our hand at that age-old craft? Never (for me, anyway). But now you can, with Let’s Create! Pottery – it turns your smartphone’s touchscreen into a potter’s wheel.
If you’ve ever seen a wad of wet clay spinning around on a potter’s wheel, it’s both hypnotic and beautiful. That slab of shapeless clay is then transformed into something beautiful, elegant and faultless, from the hands of a professional. However, as easy as it looks to mould, I’m assured it’s not. You need time, patience and a certain amount of skill.

Let’s Create! Pottery is the closest you’ll ever get to create a ceramic masterpiece.

Your first mission is to just create something. Anything. As the wheel turns automatically you need to manipulate the spinning clay with your fingertips. But be patient, rushing into it will undoubtedly leave you with a wobbly pot. Slowly run your fingers upwards to create a taller pot, stretch the sides outwards to create a fatter one, or inwards to make it thinner.

When you’ve made your first pot, chalice or plate, it’s time to fire up the kiln. This dries the clay and makes it rock hard as you’ll now need to sell it at auction to earn some cash.

Throughout the game you’ll need to make more cash to buy paints for your pottery. The better the pots look in shape, size and colour, the more money you’ll get when you come to sell it.

Once you’re past the initial training level, you’ll next be sent on missions from your Aunt Chloe. She’ll send you pictures of pots to copy and using your skill, you’ll create them.

Let’s Create! Pottery is a beautiful looking game; from the spinning clay, to the final cooked, glazed ceramic.

In terms of UI, it’s really easy to control. All you need to do is manipulate the clay with your fingers or thumb and the clay responds in a way I imagine it would in real life. Also, when you move the phone around, you’ll see that you’re able to take a look at the pot from a different angle, as if you were actually slumped over a potter’s wheel.

Let’s Create! Pottery is available for Nokia Belle smartphones and costs £1.50 from the Nokia Store.

Sharing all things Nokia on the World Wide Web

A selection of some of our favourite Nokia fan websites and blogs

Conversations is just a small part of Nokia’s presence on the Internet. In fact, most of the credit and most of the work belongs to you! We know that your blogs and websites are an integral part of spreading the word, and the love, for all things Nokia.
It also says a lot about your passion and enthusiasm for Nokia’s products that so many of you have taken the time and effort to create websites devoted to them. You could say that it’s humbling.

We have compiled a list of some of our favourite Nokia fan websites and blogs. Some are focused on a particular device or aspect of Nokia, while others are more wide-ranging. We’ve sorted them into categories:

General
Lumia and Windows Phone
Nokia 808 PureView and photography
Symbian

General

My Nokia Blog
http://mynokiablog.com/

The biggest compliment I can pay to ‘My Nokia Blog’ is that it could easily be mistaken for an official Nokia website. There is a wealth of content that covers everything from the latest news (and rumours), tutorials and accessories.

The Nokia Blog
http://thenokiablog.com/

The Nokia Blog is run by New Yorker, Mark Guim, who also presents the videos on the site and on the associated YouTube channel. There is also the regular mix of news and reviews but it is the videos that make the website stand out. Also worth mentioning is the price check page that shows you the latest and best deals for Lumia devices on eBay.

Nokia Innovation
http://nokiainnovation.com/

Nokia Innovation claims to be ‘your portal to anything Nokia’ and it does a pretty good job of delivering on that promise. It feels comprehensive and especially when you use it in conjunction with its sister website, Nokia Tips (see below).

Nokia Revolution
http://nokiaandme.wordpress.com/

This was set up by Rv Cuarto, who writes simply that his love of Nokia inspired him to set up a blog. It’s written with a lot of verve and Rv’s enthusiasm for Nokia really comes across.

Nokia Poweruser
http://nokiapoweruser.com/

The introduction to this website says it all: “Every Nokian is a bit of a fanboy, a bit of an analyst, a bit of a critic and because every one of us is a bit of a “Power user”. That’s why this Blog is dedicated to all Nokia users and their beautiful and powerful devices.”

Nokia Tips
http://nokiatips.in/

If you want a website to get more out of your Nokia device, then this is the one for you. All of Nokia’s operating systems are catered for and it also reviews apps as well, many of them in video to show you how to use them.

Lumia and Windows Phone

Nokia Lumia Blog
http://nokialumiablog.com/

This is a bright and colourful blog that, dare I say, reminds me a little of our old website. I mean that as a compliment because it’s simple to navigate and easy on the eye.

All about Windows Phone
http://allaboutwindowsphone.com/

Strictly speaking, this is not about Nokia, but it is one of the primary sources for independent news about the Windows Phone operating system and its apps.

NokiaWP.net
http://www.nokiawp.net/

If all about Windows Phone is too general for you, then give this a try. NokiaWP is entirely focused on Nokia’s Lumia smartphone devices and is really strong on recommending apps and games.

808 PureView and photography

PureView Club
http://pureviewclub.com/

For a relatively new device, the Nokia 808 PureView is already extremely well served within cyberspace. Check out our interview with the founder of the PureView Club, Marc Wielaert a few weeks ago. Nice man, nice website.

Nokia PureView 808 Recordings
http://nokia808recordings.blogspot.fi/

This website was set up by @EasycapExpertti to show off the 808 PureView’s superior video and audio recording features. It has quickly become the destination for 808 PureView concert recordings and has an impressive archive with footage from some of the biggest names in music.

Only fools and mobiles
http://onlyfoolsandmobiles.com/

Prepare to be dazzled by @Sheridan01 as he demonstrates how you can get the most out of your Nokia camera phone. Many of his latest posts feature the 808 PureView but it is not the only Nokia device with which he has captured some stunning pictures.

Nokia Creative
http://nokiacreative.com/

James Burland’s beautiful website is mostly about camera phones and taking pictures but also goes much wider than that. I really enjoyed reading James’ appraisal of his own mobile industry predictions from 2008.

Symbian

All About Symbian
http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/

An indispensable website if you have a Symbian handset. Shares the same look, feel and general comprehensiveness as the All About Windows website.

Nokian N8 portal
http://nokian8portal.com/

A website (and we know it’s not the only one) dedicated to the gorgeous Nokia N8. This features a good mix of technical advice (OK, hacks), apps, games, reviews and news.

Nokia N8 on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/NokiaN8

OK, you’re thinking this is just a Facebook page but it does illustrate that you don’t even need to build your own website now to spread your message, create a community and share your passions. You can do it all on Facebook.

How to take long exposure photos with the Nokia 808 PureView

Hot on the heels of Boc’s earlier post  explaining how the Nokia 808 PureView beats a digital camera, I remembered seeing a couple of articles on how to create amazing long exposure shots.
The game changing Nokia 808 PureView takes mobile photography to a whole new level, and one of those embracing the change is Richard Dorman. He has posted a great guide to taking long exposure photographs with the 808 PureView, including a list of equipment you’ll need (no more than a tripod, a filter and a couple of rubber bands – less, in fact, than a photographer with a DLSR). He then explains how to best set up the camera on the tripod, where to position it, and what conditions show off the style best – flowing water, great light. An awesome guide, and these photos are just a small sample of what he has in his Flickr stream.

Another variant of the long exposure style are these pics snapped by another friend of Connects, James Whatley. Taking off on a plane recently, he sampled the lights of the runway and surrounding area on his Nokia 808 PureView a second or so at a time. This is my favourite:

Have you got any long exposure shots from your Nokia 808 PureView yet? Anything to rival Richard’s masterpieces or James’ ‘from the plane’ light show? Ping me a link on Twitter or leave me a comment below.

Nokia 808 PureView vs the Digital Camera

In an interview a couple of weeks ago, thefounder of the PureView Club told us that his Nokia 808 PureView had replaced his digital camera.

This came on top of the many reviews and prizes that have, in effect, said the much the same thing. At the very least, it has been acknowledged that PureView imaging technology can produce results that compare favourably to the very best digital compact cameras.

It’s worth repeating that this is a camera phone. Yet, it has a staggering range of advanced camera features. To name just a few:

• Exposure compensation
• Touch focus
• Auto Exposure
• ND Filters
• Creative Mode
• Scene Mode
• Auto and manual white balance
• Red eye reduction

So what are the advantages of the Nokia 808 PureView that would make you want to leave your camera behind?

Obviously, your standalone digital camera cannot make phone calls, text or surf the web, so it seems unfair to judge it on such wide-ranging criteria.

Instead, based solely on the photo and video experience, here are five reasons why I think the 808 PureView dropkicks the digital camera into the dustbin of history.

1. Sharing & Connectivity

As his comments partly inspired this article, let’s start with a point made by the PureView Club’s Marc Wielaert. He said that he could use his 808 PureView to instantly share his photos, whether by Facebook, email or Twitter. He went on to say:

“It has so many communication opportunities, cellular data, WiFi, Bluetooth and NFC. The Nokia 808 PureView offers all those possibilities and is a perfect camera too. It’s a very complicated concept made extremely simple.”

Displaying the photos and videos on your DLNA-enabled TV, or similar media device, is a superb demonstration of the 808 PureView’s peerless sharing and connectivity options.

2. Photo editing

The Nokia 808 PureView includes photo-editing software, so there’s no need to transfer your images to a computer before you touch them up.

You can crop, rotate, flip, resize or change the colour of any image that you’ve taken. Furthermore, you can really let your creativity blossom by adding clip art or putting your photos within a variety of different frames.

Just as the 808 PureView has made it possible for everyone to take super pictures, it’s also made it easy for you to edit those photos too.

3. Camera apps

As if its camera was not good enough already, you can also install various camera apps on your 808 PureView.

You can do anything from turning the 808 PureView into a thermal camera, experiment with stop motion video capture or even take 3D photos. 

We chose a selection of our favourite camera apps for the 808 PureView a while back. In particular, Scalado’s Camera Lover Pack is an essential. 

4. HD Video 

Most, if not all digital cameras can record HD video and the 808 PureView is no slouch in this department either.

The 808 PureView is a fully featured HD video recorder with a multitude of settings, including low light, night and sports, so that you can film and achieve excellent results in all conditions.

Then, just as with still images, you can edit videos directly on your 808 PureView, share them via email, SMS or Bluetooth, upload it to YouTube or watch them wirelessly on your DLNA-enabled TV set. With the aid of a HDMI cable you can also watch it in full, glorious high definition on a HDTV.

5. Rich Recording

Rich Recording is another ace up the 808 PureView’s camera case. It means that the 808 PureView can record unbelievably rich, clear and natural audio.

It’s so good in fact that Marc Wielaert of the PureView Club, who works in radio so he knows a thing or two about sound quality, didn’t actually believe what he was hearing when he first listened back to an audio track on a video.

Early adopters of the 808 PureView have not been slow to pick up on this unique aspect of the device. Here is a website that showcases fantastic concert footage recorded on Nokia 808 PureViews.

Just one device

Those are my five reasons why I think a Nokia 808 PureView beats a digital camera.

Unless, you are a professional or serious amateur photographer, I believe the 808 PureView has most of the things that most people would want from an every day camera.

Isn’t it just incredibly convenient to have all these camera features AND a smartphone in one device?

Disagree? Let me know. Equally, if you think there are other advantages of the 808 PureView, please share it with us in the comments below.

Nokia Belle Refresh update just launched

Hi all,

great news! We just started to roll out our next update for Symbian called Nokia Belle Refresh for Nokia N8, Nokia E7, Nokia C7, Nokia C6-01, Nokia X7 and Nokia Oro with version number 111.040.1511 (Nokia E6, version number 111.140.0058, will follow still this week, Nokia 500 updates will start to be launched within the next few weeks).

This update again brings new features to Symbian smartphones, for example:
-          a new browser with HTML5 web apps support, a new set of homescreen widgets, and the previously released Microsoft Office Mobile App and Nokia Maps Suite 2.0 in one package.
-          Nokia N8 will have some extra apps for imaging

The update will be rolled out in phases, starting with the vanilla versions (ie. basic software variants without any specific operator or country configuration). Country and operator variants will follow within the next weeks, depending on local and operator approvals.

pS: Just like after updating from Nokia Anna to Nokia Belle, some apps may not work due to compatibility issues. If you need more information on available apps, please contact your local Nokia Care support. Furthermore, you can also contact the respective App developer to enquire about the compatibility.

Best regards,
Yvonne from Nokia Care

Five camera apps for your Nokia 808 PureView

To suggest that you could radically improve the camera in the Nokia 808 Pureview with the addition of a few apps would be pure folly.

After all, Digital Photography Review, a publication that normally looks at digital SLR cameras rather than mere camera phones, has just given it a highly prized Gold Award.

However, by installing a few apps from the Nokia Store, you can explore some creative, social and downright quirky tools that you can use with the 808 PureView’s camera.

Here are five apps that will add an extra dimension to Nokia’s world-beating camera phone.

App for lenses: Camera Lover Pack, £1.50

The Camera Lover Pack is an app created by imaging specialists, Scalado, a company from which Nokia has recently acquired technology and developers for future products.

There are five different lenses to play with:

• PhotoRama: Stitch three shots together to create panorama
• PhotoTwister: Apply a host of different and adjustable psychedelic effects
• PhotoFusion: Fuse two photos together with 12 templates to choose from
• Retromatic: Apply a retro, sepia-tinged look to your photos
• Multimatic: Take a burst of several shots in a set sequence 

What’s really impressive about the Camera Lover Pack is how easy the different lenses are to use. It’s all done ‘live’ on the camera display so you can see the image/effect before committing to take the picture. If you don’t like it what you’re seeing on the screen, just start again or adjust the settings.

Especially useful for the Nokia 808 PureView is that you can change the size of the image you’re taking (3264×2448, 2592×1944 or 1600×1200), so you can really make the most of that super sensor. 

App for photo sharing: MOLOME, FREE

If the Polaroid camera was all about taking photos instantly, then the camera phone is all about sharing photos instantly.

MOLOME is a fully featured app that lets you apply fun effects to your photos before sharing them on your favourite social networks such as Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Flickr, Weibo or even the cloud storage service, Dropbox.

After installing the app, you need to register a MOLOME account and you can then link this account with your existing social networks.

You can take a new photo from within the app or select an existing one from your gallery, and then you select a desired effect, such as Cartoon, Vintage, Charcoal or Tilt Shift.

Once you are happy with how the photo looks you have the option of adding a caption before uploading to as many of your social networks as you wish. For example, you can upload to Twitter but not to Facebook, or you can upload to both simultaneously.

 App for video animations – Stoppola, FREE

We already know that the Nokia 808 PureView is a fantastic HD video recording device and earlier this week, we wrote about the benefits of using it for capturing concerts.

Stoppola is a free app that lets you create beautiful stop-motion animations and time-lapse videos with your 808 PureView.

 Watch this funky video, which was filmed on an 808 PureView using Stoppola.

Even though it’s just a free app, Stoppola certainly has enough features to let your imagination run riot. You can cut and paste frame by frame and add an audio soundtrack either from an existing MP3 or by recording a new track with your 808 PureView.

Once you’ve finished you can share your masterpiece with the world by uploading the video to YouTube, directly within Stoppola.

App for photo effects  – Photorim, FREE

After you’ve taken a photo, or had photos synced to your phone, you may well want to edit them. 

Your 808 PureView actually has pretty nifty photo editing software already. When you are looking at any photo within the gallery, tap the screen and you’ll notice buttons appear along the bottom. Press the bottom right for more options and you’ll get a choice of Edit, Send and Share. 

Selecting Edit allows you to crop, rotate, flip, resize, adjust the colour and add effects, clip art or frames around the image.

Photorim takes adding effects to your photos to the extreme and justifiably prides itself on being simple to use.

You view how your photo looks in each visual effect from the thumbnail gallery (and there are dozens to choose from) and you just select the one you like.

Get it right and your finished image will look like a professional graphic artist has painstakingly worked their magic for you. 

App for quirky photos: Thermal Camera, FREE

Let’s finish with something completely different. Transform your 808 PureView into a thermal camera with the touch of a button.

It’s a good way of illustrating that just because the 808 PureView is a very serious camera phone, does not mean that it can’t be fun at the same time.

However, if thermal imaging is not your thing, then how about 3D Photo Camera, which is in the Nokia Store for £1.50? 

Have you been using any of these apps on your Nokia 808 PureView or another Nokia camera phone? Let us know how you’ve been getting on.

Tips for recording concerts on your Nokia 808 PureView

Last week I provided definitive proof that the Nokia 808 PureView is fairly idiot-proof when it comes to taking great photos. 

It’s a great camera phone because it is so easy for a novice photographer, such as myself, to use but its different settings also allow more advanced users to get the results they want as well. 

We have previously published some tips and tricks to help people make the most of 808 PureView’s camera.  You can still read Parts 1 and Part 2 of our help guide.

Video recording

As well as pin-sharp still images, it is worth remembering that the 808 PureView is also a very special device for recording HD video. When you combine this with its Rich Recording technology, it is not a huge leap forward to conclude that the 808 PureView will be quite something for recording music performances.

One person who has noticed this is EasycapExpertii, an 808 PureView enthusiast from Finland who has set up a websitededicated to showcasing music recordings made with the device.

Considering the 808 PureView has only been available for a few months, or even a few weeks in some places, the website already has concert videos featuring the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, Foo Fighters and many other big name acts.

An expert’s tips 

EasycapExpertii has shared several tips with Nokia Conversations so that you can also make great recordings with your 808 PureView.

• Be careful that you are not covering the microphone with your hands. The 808 PureView has two mics for stereo recording – one at the top and the other at the bottom of the phone (as you hold it vertically).
• Use a tripod or a handheld stabiliser wherever possible. For a tripod mount and other accessories for the 808 PureView see thisConversations post.
• If you are moving around, do not try to change focus! Wait until you have come to stop and then adjust the focus for the best results.
• If you are recording at a concert, try to stay within 50m of the stage. Beyond this distance the audio will be fine, but the video will suffer because of the lighting, or lack of it.
•  If the performer is standing underneath a spotlight, use the Spotlight scene mode on the 808 PureView. This setting is designed for great contrasts where someone is standing underneath a bright light or in front of a dark background.

Situation: positive – make your Symbian smartphone do the thinking for you

Situations is a Symbian app for making your smartphone a bit more intelligent. At the core of the app is the ability to define situations that change your phone’s settings depending on the context. To give two examples:
If I am at home (which the phone knows from its GPS co-ordinates) and it’s after 11pm, then switch all the ringtones to silent until 6am.
When I arrive at the office, switch on the WiFi and start my News Reader app.
The app was originally created as a Nokia Beta Labs experiment, but has now been spun off and continues to be developed as a commercial application by Pastilli Labs, founded by Roope Tassberg and Heikki Haveri.

We spoke to Roope to find out more.

“We’re a very small development company based in Tampere in Finland. At the moment, Situations is a spare time project.

“But it seems very important to us. We call these things smartphones, but why don’t they do things for us? We want to let people get more out of their phones.”

The relaunch of Situations called for a complete rewrite of the app.

“We’ve made it much easier to define Situations, which govern how your phone behaves. The interface is a lot slicker and we’ve been able to introduce some very useful new features. For example, you can now select places from a map: so you don’t have to be physically present at a place in order to create a Situation for it.”

So where next for Situations? What’s the next big step?

“To be honest, we need a lot more innovation before the basic functionality of Situations can take a big step forward. To take an example, it would be nice if we could define a jogging Situation, where it automatically switches on your music when you go for a run.

“But how does the app know you’re not just running for the bus?

“Getting round that sort of problem needs some major breakthroughs in sensor technology and artificial intelligence.

“We think the main improvements in the shorter term will be around making the app easier to use. People like the idea of creating Situations, but doing it in a way they can understand is tricky.

“It’s easy to create a nerdy app: it’s a lot harder to create one that’s usable.”

But the future is looking bright for Pastilli Labs.

“Since relaunching Situations we’ve been astonished by the positivity that’s come from the community, especially through our Twitter account and Facebook page.

“People really like the idea of the app and have offered lots of support and ideas for new features. That’s really energising and makes us want to work hard to deliver what they want.”

Best of luck to Roope and Heikki. If you’d like to get hold of Situations for Symbian smartphones, then head over to the Nokia Store. It costs €0.99.

A night at the zoo with the Nokia 808 PureView

Any gadget fan will tell you that there is nothing they enjoy more than getting their hands on a shiny new toy and taking it out of the box for the first time.
So you can imagine my delight when I got my hands on a brand new, box-fresh Nokia 808 PureView last week. Right now, it is one of the shiniest new toys around.

Let’s not forget that the 808 PureView isn’t just another camera phone – it features a revolutionary 41-megapixel sensor, state of the art optics and cutting edge algorithms for lossless zoom and super sharp images.

The reviewers have already been falling over themselves to heap lavish praise on the 808 PureView’s stunning camera and now it is going to be my turn to reach for the superlatives.

Naturally, the only way I could contain my excitement was to take the device with me on a trip to the zoo.

First impressions

First, though, let me share my initial thoughts about the look and feel of the Nokia 808 PureView.

Yes, the first thing you notice when taking it out of the box is the ‘bump’ that houses the camera.

Far from being incongruous, the phone feels very comfortable and natural in your hand. In fact, the ridge of the camera gives the index finger a natural resting place when you’re holding the phone upright with the screen towards you.

A neat by-product of the camera’s bump occurs when the 808 PureView is put on a flat surface, such as a table or desk. It props the phone up at a slightly raised angle, which tilts the screen towards you and makes it easier to keep an eye on any alerts, messages or just so you can see the time.

Standing out

So, as far as I’m concerned, the bump is very much a good thing – and that’s before we get to its core purpose of taking photos. Of course, it also makes the 808 PureView stand out from the crowd and that’s definitely where this phone deserves to be.

The 808 PureView is a little heavier than, say, my Nokia Lumia 800 but not outrageously so. If you have a thick protective case on your Lumia smartphone, then it would probably make up the difference.

As ever, the ClearBlack display is a thing of deep beauty and the phone’s body feels sturdy and tactile. Also, the loudspeaker is fantastic for playing your music out loud. Very loud.

Capturing the Zoo

During the summer months of June and July, London Zoo at Regent’s Park opens late on Friday evenings to give visitors a walk on the wild side with a nocturnal twist.

For my visit, there was a brief respite from the unseasonal rain showers and the fading light made it an ideal opportunity for me to put the 808 PureView’s camera through its paces.

At this stage, I should confess that I am not a particularly accomplished photographer. I am strictly of the ‘point, press and pray’ school of taking pictures.

With that in mind, I mainly left the camera’s setting in ‘Automatic’ mode. For most people, most of the time, this will let you take great pictures.

Looking through glass

In my defence, the zoo was not an easy place to be experimenting with the advanced and creative settings on the 808 PureView.

The animals were often behind glass screens and I had to contend with large crowds to even get a sight of the more popular zoological exhibits. Often, I had to hold the camera above everyone’s head and just hope for the best.

That being said, the 808 PureView was a revelation. Professional photographers must hate the fact that modern cameras have made it so easy to take such good photos.  Now, of course, thanks to this leap forward with Nokia’s PureView technology, you don’t even need an expensive digital SLR camera to do it.

The greatest benefit of using the 808 PureView was the confidence that it gave me. After monitoring my first few pictures, I had total faith that it was not going to let me down.

Turn on the camera, tap the screen to focus on the subject and take the picture. It produced great results every time.

Long distance champion

One feature of the 808 PureView that I found astonishing was how it made a mockery of distance.

You take a picture and then when you are looking at the picture on your phone’s screen, you pinch in to zoom into a particular detail or part of the photo. And pinch, pinch and pinch again to go even closer.

It’s great for spotting things that you hadn’t even realised were, quite literally, right in front of you.

A decade of progress

The joy of using the 808 PureView was heightened considerably by comparing my photos with those of my companion, who was using her smartphone’s camera. The difference in the sharpness, clarity and detail was satisfyingly massive.

The Nokia 7650, which had a 0.3-megapixel sensor, was Nokia’s first phone with a built-in camera when it came out in 2002.

Ten years on, the Nokia 808 PureView is yet another landmark device. The photos compare favourably with those taken on my very good digital compact camera.

Quite simply, unless you’re a serious photography connoisseur, you won’t need a standalone camera if you have an 808 PureView.

The new deal with Scalado shows that Nokia is not being complacent about its imaging expertise either. Who knows what the next decade could bring?

Creative showcase: Nokia 808 PureView user photos

There’s no doubt about it, the Nokia 808 PureView takes amazing photos. It’s only been in the market for a short period of time and already users have made the most of the PureView technology. We’ve found eight fantastic user photos from Flickr for you all to gawk at.
As is always the case with posts like this, we’d recommend you click through the links below to be taken to the original image. From there you’ll be able to see the photos in all their un-resized glory.

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