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The BlackBerry Curve 9360 has a much-improved camera than the one found on its predecessor. Gone is the 2MP unit and in its place is a 5MP offering, which is pretty standard for what's about at the moment and certainly by no means inferior.
RIM has also given us a flash, which is something we couldn't believe it left out on the Curve 9300. We can't understand why some phones still don't come with any kind of illumination these days. Not having one makes taking pictures such a boring experience.
When Apple recently launched the iPhone 4S and upped the camera to 8MP, it said that would probably be the best compact camera some people owned.
Now we're in a situation where the camera on a phone could be the primary snapper - without having to worry about a DSLR or high-end compact camera.
It's a shame RIM hasn't got the same ethos here, though. Befitting the Curve's position below the Bold 9900 (which itself didn't set the world alight with its 5MP camera), the lens on the Curve 9360 isn't bad.
But it is average, and you realise that you won't be taking this out in place of a camera when you plan on taking lots of snaps because, quite frankly, it's not up to the job of anything other than the odd pic to send via MMS or email.
The BlackBerry Curve 9360 has all manner of scene modes, including face detection. Heck, it's even got image stabilisation (although it's turned off by default).
But what it doesn't have is an autofocus. This camera's focus is fixed all the way, which meant that when we tried to take photos, there was no mucking about, it just took what was there in front of it. And almost every photo we took ended up slightly blurred.
The image stabilisation really is rubbish, because we stood more still than a corpse when we took our shots but it wasn't enough. In fact, bizarrely, photos taken in darkness with the flash on were the only ones that were really worth anything.
The camera is most definitely not the BlackBerry Curve 9360's strong point. We remember the Bold 9900 having struggles with its autofocus, and really hope this doesn't mean BlackBerry is giving up on its cameras.
FLASH: The photo light works brilliantly. Photos actually look better when taken with it on
YELLOW: Close-up subjects can look a teeny bit yellow with the flash on. But not much
NO FOCUS: The lack of focus can be a real problem
BLURRY: Moving subjects are prone to blurring
PIXILATED: The zoom is digital so photos look no better than they did on a Nokia 6680 years ago
NATURAL LIGHT: The camera is best suited to scenic shots in good light
COLOURFUL: Colours come out well in good light
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