It seems that all of the big mobile phone manufacturers are releasing handsets that are capable of taking on entry-level digital cameras.  These new, more powerful cameraphones are one of the big trends for the end of 2008.

Never one to be left behind, Sony-Ericsson has produced this new model that seems perfect to do battle with a compact camera: an 8.1 Megapixel sensor and plenty of features that you wouldn't usually associate with a phone, like image stabilization or the ability to modify exposure settings.

It's still a phone though, and allows you to connect to the world over 3G or WiFi and work out where you are with a built-in GPS receiver.

With more pixels than Nokia's N96 and N85, it's a close competitor to LG's Renoir as well as Samsung's Pixon. 

Is it time to retire your regular camera then, or is this pixel war just another marketing stunt?

Camera Styling

Indeed, when you look at it from the back, it's hard to tell whether or not this is a phone or a camera.  Although the general finish quality is very nice, the C905 is a rather bulky handset and we're not sure that it'll slide into your pocket all that easily.  To be fair to Sony-Ericsson, though, it's reasonable enough that a device that's closer to a camera than a phone should also be closer to the dimensions of the former.


The whole thing is reassuringly solid and rests easily in the palm of the hand, even if it seems at first that there are far two many buttons.

One minor complaint is that the zoom control is on the left of the phone when you're holding it up to take a photo, a departure from common practice on cameras where it's found on the right.

The lens itself is covered by a neat sliding lens cover, which is an addition that other phone manufacturers would be well-advised to think about.


We've got a few concerns about the sliding keyboard, and typing messages is hard because the keys don't really have a lot of depth to them.  As a result, it's too easy to press the same button several times in a row, which is particularly annoying when writing a message.

You do get used to it after a little while, but it's a shame that it doesn't work well straight away.


The phone comes with a 2 GB Micro Memory Stick, which you can later upgrade if you wish.

Top Quality Flash

Sony's Cybershot branding is proudly emblazoned on the front of the C905, but that doesn't of course make it as attractive an option as a 'regular' digital camera. 

All in all, though, we were rather impressed by the quality of the photos we took using the C905, even if it's still not quite up to being your usual everyday camera.

Its first big strength is that it boasts a lot of features usually found in digital cameras, all easily accessed by a sensible, intuitive interface.

The autofocus is sensitive enough to work correctly most of the time, and focusing is usually very quick and accurate.  The same is true for face detection, but the C905 does sometimes take a little longer at this.  Even if it takes a while though, it's always right--unlike some cameras which have real trouble doing this.

When you've got your shot lined up, actually taking the photo is very quick, but saving it takes just a little longer than we'd like.


A xenon flash is helped along by an extra LED lamp, and is very bright.  It gives out enough light to take reasonable pictures, even at night, although they are sometimes affected by a little noise. 

We're almost tempted to add an 'at last' to that last sentences, as a cameraphone that's capable of taking good quality photos inside a dark room has been a long time coming. 

Although we're very pleased to see these improvements, we were more disappointed by taking photos outside, where shots tended to lack depth and colors were all rather too pale. There's generally a lot of detail, which is not always a given for cameraphones.



The C905's photographic leanings are emphasized by a number of shortcuts that allow you to export your photos and videos directly to sites like Flickr and YouTube.

Speaking of video, the quality is usually pretty acceptable, even if the maximum resolution is 640 x 480 pixels.  You do have to be careful to not use the zoom too much in video mode, though, as this really ruins the picture quality.

Conclusion

Sony-Ericsson has clearly put a lot of thought into making its menus clear and simple.  It's easy to get the hang of, and modifying the options is also very simple.  The interface won't win any prizes for its speed, but it's far from dreadful--but also very definitely not the best we've ever seen, either.

It doesn't lack any of the features you'd expect on a modern mobile, including a multimedia player. 

The sound quality is acceptable, but we felt a few tracks could do with a little more bass.  The quality of the built-in speaker was surprisingly good, even if, as always, turning up the volume too far is asking for trouble.

As a phone, the C905 has good reception, and calls are very clear.  GPS navigation is powered by the Wayfinder software which requires an additional download as well as an extra subscription if you want it to give you spoken instructions.  You can use Google Maps to find addresses using a regular Internet connection though. 

In general, using the web on this phone is an enjoyable experience, especially given the quality of the screen and the responsive accelerometer that turns it into landscape mode when you turn it round.

Up against a digital camera like the Canon Ixus 860 IS, which also has an 8 Megapixel sensor, the C905 is the clear loser.  Having said that, though, the C905 does produce perfectly reasonable photos, but not much better than the Nokia N96 or N85, with a 'mere' 5 Megapixels each.