Who said it would replace such a dedicated camera? If you want decent pics at large sizes on computer screens or for printing - whoever said it was was lying!

I understand your position though, you wish your phone could do everything and do it all really well. At this stage though, if you want pictures that vaguely rival a half decent point and shoot, from a phone, you'll need to head for one of those dedicated camera-phones of which there are a couple around. And they do other things not at all or not well at all. Oh, you could also get an iphone, because they can do anything, as everyone knows. (That's irony, but I do think the iphone 4 does deliver more consistent results in happy snaps. I don't think it replaces a camera though if you want control and quality, either).

Anti shake won't do much, it's a fudged software solution compared to optical image stabilisation, and is typical of cheaper cameras. Your Canon may or may not have had ois, but again such a camera is a dedicated item so the components can be bigger, better, faster, etc, all in the aim of delivering image quality.

What I'm getting at is: the idea of replacing a dedicated camera just isn't on the books yet. Take a camera when it matters. Well, I guess you know that now.

I agree about the app resetting settings. Frustrating.

I suggest you go to the app store (or appbrain which is great) and download some camera apps and alternatives, and fiddle. Some would be camera360, fxcamera, vignette. They generally apply filters and the like, which may make the picture look better or more acceptable, but I think you can throw the idea of straightforward, accurate and good photography out the window for the moment.

In the meantime, you can still appreciate your travel memories - you just keep them scaled right down to where you don't notice the lack of quality.

 

I can tell, from reading from many other posts, that anti-shake actually can worsen your pictures quite alot. My suggestion is that you turn it off and go out and snap a few pictures wherever you are and do a comparison.

 

If Camera is that important to you on your phone then get the Nokia N8...

 

What ROM are you using?
I have heard that certain ROM files have degraded the quality.