Pictures taken with the Motorola ZN5

In the past 2 years I’ve used quite a few 5 megapixel camera phones: the i-mobile 902, the Nokia N95/N95-3/N95-4, the Sony Ericsson K850i, the Nokia N82, and now the Motorola ZN5 (ZINE)…

Without mincing words, the Motorola ZN5 (ZINE) is a mediocre phone that takes stunning pictures!

Spec-wise, the ZN5 is similar to the K850i. The 5 megapixel (Kodak branded) camera features auto-focus, macro, a xenon flash, and an active lens cover.

Exposure and light metering are excellent. Colors are rich and well balanced. Low-light performance is pretty good for a CMOS sensor, but the i-mobile 902 is still better thanks to its CCD sensor.

The ZN5 beats the speedy N82 with an even faster startup time and faster (LED-assisted) auto-focus – it’s almost as quick as a point-and-shoot digital camera!

The macro is somewhat disappointing because it’s unable to focus on objects as closely as the other devices. This is not a deal breaker, however.

When the time comes to upload pictures there’s no 3G. No accelerometer means no auto-rotation, just like the i-mobile 902. No GPS means no geo-tagging – then again, it’s also missing from the K850i.

Unfortunately, video recording with the ZN5 is limited demoted to QCIF (176×144 pixels at 15 fps), vs. QVGA (320×240 pixels at 30 fps) with the K850i, and VGA (640×480 pixels at 30 fps) with the other devices…

The verdict? As a camera, the ZN5 is one of the best 5 megapixel devices on the market today – it’s up there with the fabulous N82. As a phone (or a video recorder), it’s a different story.