The Nokia 6220 classic may have the look of an average Nokia mobile from the front, but turn it around, and you'll see a high quality 5-megpixel camera on the back panel that boasts a Carl Zeiss lens and a Xenon flash.

The 6220 classic is in fact a well specified Symbian S60 smartphone, featuring A-GPS location technology and 3G HSDPA high speed connectivity. But the camera employed on this model is also one of Nokia's higher quality shooters, matching the specification of some of its high-end Nseries models.

It has an autofocus system with a selection of settings, including a macro Close-up mode for shooting objects between 10 and 60m away from the lens. The Xenon flash provides powerful and precise digital camera-style flash photography, which delivers a far better low-light performance than regular cameraphone  LED photo light flashes.

The 6220 classic's camera is capable of taking highly detailed shots, at 2952x1944 pixels maximum resolution, enabling users to get high quality printed photographs at standard sizes or larger (up to 11x14 inch prints).

Features
Usefully, Nokia has added a sliding lens cover to protect the optics from dust and scratches. Sliding this open fires up the camera, with the phone's screen automatically switching from portrait to landscape viewfinder mode (using a neat transition effect). Naturally, you hold the 6220 classic like a camera, with a side camera button becoming the shutter control and the phone's volume keys doubling up duties as zoom in/out buttons.

The camera control has a 2-step action for focusing and taking the shot; you can depress the shutter half-way to lock onto the main subject and appropriate metering levels, and then move the camera to get your preferred composition before shooting.

In default mode, you get a series of icons onscreen to show you current settings and options. Running down the side of the display are main options icons, plus you can tap the Options softkey to get extended adjustment choices. The navigation pad is used to select an scroll though settings options, in a very straightforward way. In the usual Nseries manner, some options provide info on what they're used for.

The Scene modes option povides colour and light settings for different types of environment or shooting situation (Auto, user-defined, Close-up, portrait, landscape, sports, night, and night portait). There's a red-eye reduction flash option, or you can override the auto setting to switch it on or off. A self-timer gives a few timed shot options (2, 10, or 20 seconds), while there's a sequence mode that enables you to take burst, or a continuous series of shots time-lapse style (every 10 seconds, 30 seconds,1 minute, 5 minutes, or 10 minutes).

Icon options are on hand for straight to take you to the phone's image gallery or to switch on the video capture option. Video on the 6220 classic is better quality than on the average mobile, shooting at VGA resolution at 30 frames per second, so you get smooth playback of reasonably-sized images. In addition, Nokia boxes the phone with a TV-Out cable, so you can show your footage directly on a TV screen.

Additional settings include the ability to change image size from 5-megapixels down to VGA quality, options for smooth transitions to the extended digital zoom, and the usual file saving and camera noise options.

Once you've take pictures, Nokia's softare enables you to tweak images with a bit of in-phone editing. You can also upload images and video directly to sharing websites and blogs, using a Share online application.

Performance
The main 5-megapixel camera has similar credentials to Nokia higher-end Nseries models like the N82 and N95 8GB, and it puts in a similarly classy shooting performance.

Images captured by the phone have an impressive amount of detail, and colours are bright and naturally balanced. The automatic exposure system works very well for a cameraphone, adjusting rapidly and effectively to changing lighting conditions, with auto white balance metering also adjusting almost instantly. In our sample shots, the camera managed to capture a good range of subtle tones, even in dull lighting conditions. Contrast too caused no concerns.

The camera is capable of producing some fine shots with crisp detail; the autofocus system is responsive too, so you can get the subjects you want sharp rather than point and hoping. The Close up mode is welcome, enabling you to achieve decent macro shots - so you can close in on a subject and still get great results.

Other scene settings work well too, optimising shooting settings for conditions, such as the sports mode giving short exposure times to capture moving images better.

The Xenon flash really raises the 6220 classic's shooting performance in low-light conditions, though. The powerful light throws up enough illumination for subjects a few metres away, but doesn't overwhelm and burn out mid-range shots like most cameraphone LED flashes. It's a welcome addition.

The Nokia 6220 classic is a fine 5-megapixel cameraphone; while it may not have the extensive controls of the very best cameraphones, it is easy to use and capable of producing high quality imagery that'll satisfy most buyers.