Sony Ericsson Z770i camera samples

While the Sony Ericsson Z770i is a stylish-looking handset with high-speed 3G HSDPA connectivity, its imaging capabilities are less impressive. Built into its clamshell flip is a limited 2-megapixel camera that has no autofocus or flash facilities, and unlike most 3G phones, there's no secondary camera for making face-to-face video calls.

A 2-megapixel camera is the basic level for a mid-range phone, and Sony Ericsson hasn't done much to make the Z770i's shooter more than an average performer.

There are no dedicated camera side buttons on this model, although one of the navigation shortcut controls is pre-programmed for firing up the camera. The viewfinder set-up means you have to hold the phone in portrait rather than landscape mode, with the image framed in just the central portion of the screen - the rest is used for settings icons.

There's a 2.5x digital zoom, but that is only available on the lowest size VGA setting (you also have a 1-megapixel option). You can adjust brightness levels too, and there's a night mode for low light shooting, but realistically without a flash, image quality deteriorates significantly in gloomy or dark situations.

The camera is at its best when light sources are strong and consistent. The 1600x1200 pixels maximum resolution means the level of detail you can achieve in a shot is limited, however. With a fixed focus lens, you effectively get a point and shooter; you can't focus tightly on a particular subject or achieve sharp close up shots - you have to shoot and hope for the best.

As well as the automatic metering, there's a standard-issue run down of basic settings adjustment options included. You can change the white balance for indoors or outdoors conditions (daylight, cloudy, fluorescent or incandescent), tweak picture quality, add colour effects (black and white, negative or sepia), and change shooting mode to multi-burst, panorama or frames (though in this mode, you have to shoot at low VGA resolution). There's also a self timer option, though owing to the design it'd be very tricky to take self-portraits with the Z770i.

As usual with Sony Ericsson's there is a basic Photo fix correction and PhotoDJ editing software in the phone, so you can add stuff to images before sharing with others. You can blog images and video clips too directly to a Blogger account as one of the standard Send options.

Performance
Without any light enhancement, the Sony Ericsson Z770i's camera inevitably at its best when lighting conditions are good. Shots can look reasonable, but blown up they can be a touch soft, and there is a limited amount of detail the sensor is capable of capturing. In lower light - indoors in daylight for example - more picture noise appears, and in darker environments - like bars - pictures come out distinctly grainy.

Colour rendition is average too, and can look washed out. Subtle changes of lighting and tone are handled poorly, and contrast between light and dark subjects can be imprecise around the edges.

Sony Ericsson still seems to be reserving its best cameras for its Cyber-shot phone range, so if you're keen on a decent quality Sony Ericsson camera, you'd best look within that lineup. Unfortunately, while adequate for snaps and reasonable in good lighting conditions, the overall picture performance of the Z770i is quite average.

Sony Ericsson Z770i review