Camera

Pressing the dedicated Camera Key activates the built-in 1.3-megapixel camera, able to capture photos at 1280 x 960 px in resolution. The Directional Keypad adjusts Brightness Level (-4 to +4) and Digital Zoom (10 Steps), however Zoom is not available at the highest resolution. Other sizes include VGA (640 x 480 px), QVGA (320 x 240 px), QQVGA (160 x 120 px), and Picture ID.

The placement of the rotating lens on the hinge gives users added versatility when taking photos. Able to move from front to back in an upwards 180-degree range, users can snap self-portraits and group photos by simply turning the lens with the thumb. Unfortunately the external LCD is unable to function as a viewfinder. So when flipped open, the lens is blocked by the top and bottom halves of the A930; only unobstructed when pointed to the front or back.

The A930 also bundles features commonly found in other camera phones such as Flash (Off, Always On, Auto, and On This Shot), Self-Timer (Off, 2 Sec, 5 Sec, and 10 Sec), Quality (Fine, Normal, and Economy), White Balance (Auto, Sunny, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, and Manual), Color Effects (Normal, Black and White, Sepia, Antique, Negative, Green, Aqua, Cool, Warm, and Sketch).

But advanced options only normally found on standalone digital cameras are available on the A930 as well, such as Multi-Shot (Series Shot, Divided Shot, Auto, and Manual) and Metering (Average, Center, and Spot).

With Series Shot, the A930 can quickly capture action without missing a beat, quickly snapping 3 or 5 photos in a row at QVGA (320 x 240 px) resolution. Divided Shot lets users piece together 4 or 9 photos for a large scenic panoramic view, taken at VGA (640 x 480 px) resolution.

Metering refers to the way the A930 determines the correct exposure. Average Metering uses light information coming from the entire scene, Center Metering views light from the center, and Spot Metering takes a tiny spot of the scene into account when calculating the exposure.

Compared to other handhelds on the market, the A930's 1.3-megapixel camera is average, much better than prior generation VGA cameras, but still trailing cutting edge 2.0- and 3.2-megapixel pioneers. The bundled image correction filters and camera options are useful, and at 1280 x 960 px, photos are large enough for adequate print, letting consumers leave the digital camera at home.

Also able to capture video in Camcorder Mode, the A930 records clips up to 15 seconds (Limit for MMS) or 10 minutes (Normal Length). Camera functions such as Flash, Color Effects, Quality, and White Balance can be applied to the Camcorder, but videos are far too grainy and low quality for actual usage.

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