Reading this thread was really interesting, including some links to comparisons between the N9/N8/SGS2. If I got this right, I believe this all boils down to the touch-only interface of the N9's camera. It is *hard* not to shake the phone a bit when taking a picture, and in low-light conditions, that may make blurry images. So the N9 camera uses higher ISO for pics in low light, when compared to other cameras, in trade of faster shutter. But higher ISO do not produce colorfull detail... So my understanding is that if you want beautiful details in worse-than-ideal light, the N9 camera is not your best bet. On the other hand, with good light the pics are great. I blame the (lack of) shutter button ;-)