We've been talking quite a lot lately about the special new features coming the Nokia N8 video camera's way as part of the Symbian Anna update, and now Nokia imaging guru Damian Dinning has revealed exactly what Nokia N8 users can look forward to. 

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The Nokia N8 first hit the market not too far short of a year ago now, and it didn't take long to establish itself as the best cameraphone on the market. But Nokia hasn't been resting on its laurels, and the fact that it's still seen as the class of the field is partly down to Nokia's commitment to keep improving the photographic credentials of its 12-megapixel star.

So we really shouldn't be too surprised to find out that in fact it's not only a couple of improvements to the video side of things that Symbian Anna is bringing to the Nokia N8, and that there's even more to come in a second update being lined up for the high-flying N Series handset.

The man who's unquestionably the driving force behind it all is Damian Dinning, and he's taken the time to reveal all in a detailed post over on Nokia Conversations.

Dinning starts by talking about the improvements Nokia N8 users have been most vocal in calling out for. It's a lengthy list – Nokia N8 users clearly know what they want and aren't afraid to ask for it! – but the fact that the list exists at all proves that Nokia is clearly listening to the most important voices of all, those of its users.

The requests include the ability to shoot video at closer distances, smoother panning, faster access to scene modes, exposure control in video, the viewfinder grid being unaffected by scene modes, smoother zoom, settings accessible via a single control point, and better red-eye reduction.

And the good news is that Nokia has addressed every single one of those requests, either in the Symbian Anna update or in a further update that will be following down the line.

In Symbian Anna, the settings interface has been tweaked so that all settings are now accessed via the main toolbar for easier access. Scene modes are now quicker to set, requiring on average two fewer clicks than before.

In video, an exposure compensation control has been added so you can manually adjust exposure when the centre-weighted exposure system isn't picking up a strong light source off to the side, for instance. The ND filter has been disabled from video, meanwhile, as it was resulting in a single dropped frame.

The red-eye removal algorithm has been added to auto flash mode, instead of being restricted to the dedicated red-eye reduction mode.

That's certainly quite a list of improvements, but it's just the start. Head over to Nokia Beta Labs and you'll find another Nokia N8 camera update, which builds on these improvements and gives you a few more.

According to Dinning, this update makes the camera faster and more intuitive to use, and includes various interface tweaks designed to make it easier to access key tools and functions.

But the main improvements are the introduction of continuous autofocus when shooting video, as well as the 30fps frame rate we originally thought would be part of the Symbian Anna update. The ability to shoot closeup videos has also been improved, while a viewfinder grid has been introduced.

All in all, it's a pretty major list of improvements, but we've only covered the basics here. For more details on all the new features, including screenshots showing them in action, head over to Nokia Conversations.

Have you been trying out the new features for yourself? If so, we'd love to hear your thoughts – drop is a line in the Comments below and give us your impressions.