In the first of a series of light-hearted rants, I ask Nokia..

Is video capture dead?

Let's be honest here, something's not quite right when a phone that was launched back in 2006 is still the best video capture device in the Nseries range. So what happened Nokia? There are a number of issues that you seem to have forgotten or ignored.

1. 1.Frame Rate
   

Even on the very latest firmware for the N82, the frame rate is still inconsistent. How hard can it be to lock this down? If the hardware has trouble keeping up a consistent 30fps then why not go for a rock solid 25fps? Anything is better then the strange stuttering that we have to endure now.

2. 2.Compression
   

Memory is not really an issue in 2008, how about giving us some more quality settings? I'd happily go for a 15 minute per GB setting if it meant better video quality.

3. 3.Optical Zoom
   

I appreciate that this is a hardware issue, but really, should it take this long to bring back some form of optical zoom. Don't give me all those excuses about fitting the lens housing into such a small space... it can be done, my old Sharp 903SH had 2X optical zoom and that design is almost 3 years old!

4. 4.Continuous Auto Focus
   

This is my biggest gripe! When I received a preproduction N93i back at the beginning of 2007, it was equipped with continuous auto focus for video capture. This feature alone was worth the upgrade for any keen videographer. Okay, so wear and tear on the lens motor would have produced far too many hardware faults and that kept the feature from making it to production. However, would it have been so difficult to provided a single focus option? You already had this feature in place for still photography, why not video capture? I just don't get it Nokia.

Check out this full quality video of continuous auto focus in action on a preproduction Nokia N93i

Nokia, please don't give up on us budding Nseries film makers. We love to use your phones to capture our lives, but we might just start looking towards other devices if you don't start addressing our needs soon!

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