I've just noticed something I can't seem to find anyone else experiencing. Perhaps its just gone unnoticed until today, not sure.

I let my mother use the N900 to take a picture of some antique furniture she was interested in, and the images came back with a hazy nature in the upper right corner. I rotated the camera and tried for myself, and the same thing.

I'm pretty experienced using similar hardware on other Nokia Nseries devices, and had a feeling it was pooling light from a reflective source. I used to have light bounce off my palm if holding the camera a certain way, so this was expected, but it was the same even with no hand on the left side of the device. So I took another picture with the back cover removed, and the haze disappeared, and image quality more more like what I expected. So it was something on the back cover.

When looking closely while taking photos, the LEDs reflect off the chrome-like bezel around the camera optics and slide, reflecting back into the photo with adverse effects. I'm tempted to try to disassemble and modify the chrome housing, but don't want to ruin my warranty or my new device.

I used a permanent marker on the trial device to make it black, but it still had enough reflective properties to cause the same effect. I'd like to remove the chrome bezel and paint it with some high temperature "barbecue grill" paint, which is flat black and has no reflection, but I'll wait and see if Nokia will be willing to acknowledge this hardware design fault and rectify it themselves. They could make another bezel of the same plastic as the back without any reflective quality and solve it for me. For $589, that isn't too much to ask, is it?

Am I the first and only to notice this? I haven't taken many photos since a 5 mp camera isn't fascinating anymore since I've used Nseries flagships with a similar camera part for two years.

Notice the clarity of the lower image with the back removed?

What a shame

I can notice the clarity diff. Its a damn interesting idea. may test that myself.

Perhaps time to break out the sharpy.

I am assuming this was when the flash was firing?

While I agree it seems like an oversite on Nokias part I suspect they simply didn't realise it was an issue.

I suspect Nokia needs to find a new QA team, this is ridiculous. How do they not see that the images suck due to reflection on the hardware design. Fools. I still am dying to hold my n900 though. I guess I'm the fool.

Chris another good post, you're a busy guy today!

Just thought, how about some knife work on a paper backed tape like decorating tape (masking tape in UK) and use a black marker pen on that? The tape should stop the reflection by physical block and the marker stops it looking idiotic.

I get mine tomorrow! Overnight from NewEgg gotta love it! Ill test this out on mine when I get it. Thanks for the heads up.

Also not impressed at all with images from the N900. Then again, I have a Canon 5D Mark II with tons of L lenses. But still very poor compared to my ancient Canon SD400 4mp point & shoot. What size sensor do they include in these cameras?

i do agree picture quality on the N900 is not great. I live in a very sunny place and where I have seen problems are in:

1. sun in front of you - gives the pictures a washout
2. closeups with flash are REALLY bad and colors are really washed out. Disabling flash helps a lot - but then you are limited to okay lit areas.

But which idiot surrounds the sensor with a mirror?

/Kaz
Nikon D3/D700 :-)
Fujii FD31 (for scuba)

Yeah, those are terrible pictures..I have seen 3.2mp cameras take better ones than those. I am starting to think this phone was just sent out half done...