One of the new features implemented and bragged about in the Nokia N86 8mp is the new Panorama mode in the Camera. If you remember clearly, Nokia aquired Bit-Side GmBH, the makers of the former panorama application for S60 devices, Panoman, in January of this year. Seeing their application implemented and functional on the N86 8MP a few months later was a nice surprise and a proof that when things are well-done and essential, they can be put in place quickly.
So how does the Panorama mode work on the Nokia N86 8mp? It’s now there, in the Camera, as a separate mode from Image and Video modes, with a separate icon in the toolbar. Click on it and you see a black ribbon appear on the lower part of the screen, acting as a viewfinder and an end-result display. All you have to do is click the camera capture button for the first picture, then you simply move your hand in the direction you choose and the N86 will automatically click the following pictures and stitch them together. The operation is made even more simple thanks to the viewfinder which shows you the placement of your current screen compared to the previous ones and helps you, through arrows, determine the perfect position to take the next image in the sequence. I think the whole process is dependent on the accelerometer which determines if you’ve moved your hand or not, as well as the level it should be on for the picture alignment to be perfect. I know this sounds very abstract, so I shot a video of the Panorama mode in action, from launching the Camera to processing the image as well as opening it and zooming on it in the Photos application.
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Here is the end result image (4 images stitched) of the picture I took during the demo above, as well as another Panorama picture (3 images stitched) I took at the Louvres museum in Paris. Clearly, I just took them as they came, no modification, no special attention. I bet if you put a bit of effort into it, the results would be a lot nicer. (Click on the images to be taken to the full resolution)
As you see, taking great panorama pictures is now as simple as clicking the first picture and moving your hand. You don’t need to be a genius or to have amazing photographic or computer skills to choose the angles and do the stitching. What do you think of this mode? And would you like to see it included in future Nseries and Eseries devices, or even in future firmware updates for exisitng devices?
