[2] It is the first smartphone to feature Nokia PureView Pro technology, a pixel oversampling technique that reduces an image taken at full resolution into a lower resolution picture, thus achieving higher definition and light sensitivity, and enables lossless digital zoom.

[4][5] The Nokia 808 PureView features a 41 MP 1/1.2 in (10.67 × 8 mm) sensor and a high-resolution f/2.4 Zeiss all-aspherical 1-group lens.

[7] As of 2024, despite larger 1" sensors and AI processing modern cameraphones can’t provide resolution better than Nokia 808 PureView at least in broad daylight.

It is the combination of a large 1/1.2 in,[13] very high-resolution 41 MP image sensor with high-performance Carl Zeiss optics.

In both video and stills, this technique provides greater zoom levels as the output picture size reduces.

The Nokia 808 PureView has a 41.3 megapixel 1/1.2 in CMOS FSI image sensor with 7728×5368 pixels, built by Toshiba and branded HES9.

In general, the camera of the Nokia 808 PureView retains a high resolution even when zoomed in, due to the 41 MP sensor.

The lens consists of only 1 group with molded elements, which gives a highly stable, precise mechanical alignment.

A neutral density filter with approximately ND8 (3 f-stops) is employed for shooting in high light levels where normally a smaller aperture would be set.

The 808 PureView employs Dolby Headphone software to transform stereo content to surround via a 3.5 mm A/V jack.

The dual software elements from Dolby are embedded into the Nokia Belle feature pack 1 OS.

[18] The 808 PureView is the first device to include the Nokia Rich Recording technology and has a frequency range between 25 Hz to around 19 kHz.