Verdict and Wind-up with Photo Gallery
Verdict & Conclusion
I am really tired of talking about it so just putting down my list of the good things and the bad things we felt with the Lumia 1020 for its camera.
Good Things:
- Manual control over the camera features is awesome being in a phone. But the UI/UX is even greater to handle controls.
- Overall image quality classes in best category to us. Specially after Lumia Black software update, it approximately matches Nokia 808 PureView.
- “Zoom Reinvented” works well. This digital zoom is great to competition.
- Low-light performance in still photos is best in our opinion. Thanks to optical image stabilization.
- As always, Nokia’s dedicated two-stage shutter release. Positive remarks for Microsoft as well to provide it with Windows Phone as standard.
- Flash performance is impressive. Thanks to Lumia Black, otherwise it was in our bad list, seriously.
- Video recording is good but very stable with it optical image stabilization. In low-light, it’s impressive.
- Sunlight visibility on screen is just great when shooting outdoor.
- Camera Grip is a good accessory with Lumia 1020, even when it’s expensive.
The Bad Ones:
- First of all, the shot-to-shot delay and the camera app startup whether it’s cold or not.
- No built-in HDR processing. Only bracketing for post-processing.
- Image enhancements features lacks e.g. handling sharpness, saturation, contrast and vibrance, specially red-eye reduction in flash.
Final Words:
In our opinion, Nokia Lumia 1020 with its image quality overall but specially in low-light and unique zooming technique beats it competitors. It sure snaps with more power and delivers quality images which are ahead of any other phone. We still recall original Nokia 808 PureView here for being pioneer in this regard.
What mostly upset me while shooting with Lumia 1020 was the shot-to-shot delay that could reach up to 4 second making me really furious. This can as well be a factor for many to ignore but for some it could be just like with me. I would have liked it more responsive and fast.
But still in the league of mobile phones and smart phones, if you want quality images from your phone then it should be in your hands. Of course you won’t be looking out for a phone that only delivers with camera. Windows Phone is already standing on 3rd place after Android and iOS, to us it’s even slicker as well as visually appealing with its UI and features. If apps quantity maters for you then there should be thought you would have to go for it. And if you are wondering about it then there is newly added list of apps on Windows Phone store.
Still one of the main things to be considered, is the price of something you usually wonder about. In Pakistan, initially launched at PKR 82,500/- (~USD 780) has now been dropped at PKR 70,000/- (~USD 660). The price sure is in the high-budget phones which one really would consider to go for. Any individual, even if interested in cameras, would think that he could buy a dedicated digital camera within such a price tag. Lumia 1020 is really a contender to be considered as a camera as it performs much better than many mid-range dedicated cameras and can match to upper-level digital cameras. In addition, it’s more than just a camera, it’s a smartphone at all. So it’s got something to be considered. The price drop in Nokia devices is usually seen due to the long range of devices being introduced, unlike other manufacturers. For the ones who were waiting for the price drop of Lumia 1020, that’s the time for you as there is no other device soon to come for letting it drop even more.
Photo Shoot with Lumia 1020
All the photos were taken with Lumia 1020 on different days, timings and in weather conditions. Where possible the full resolution versions of the photos are also in the gallery.
[flickr-gallery mode=”photoset” photoset=”72157640619713025″ size=”small”]
