Friday, October 4, 2013

Nokia Lumia 1020 - Too much of a good thing?


Nokia just launched in the Philippines its Nokia Lumia 1020. Essentially, the Lumia 1020 is a bigger bulkier Lumia 925 with a big 41 MP camera and double the storage. You will need a lot of storage to save to 38 MP stills. At Php35,650 this is one expensive phone. Basically it will compete with the Samsung Note 4 and the Apple iPhone 5S 32 GB.

The problem with the Lumia is it really has the specifications of a late 2012 Windows Phone, launched in later 2013. All it really has going for it to justify the high price, is its camera.

Using GSM Photo Arena Compare Tool I compared sample shots of a Lumia 1020, Lumia 925 and Samsung Galaxy S4. For comparison, the stills are scaled down to 8MP.



I also compared it with the upcoming Sony Z1 and with the Galaxy S4 scaled down to 12MP.


I also compared it to an Apple iPhone 5S and LG G2 scaled down to 8MP.


I am just not seeing it. I mean, the Nokia Lumia 1020 has a nice camera, but it does not seem better than an 8MP shooter on the iPhone 5S, or the 13 MP camera's on the Galaxy S4 or LG G2. 

11 comments:

  1. Eh, gsmarena's photo comparison is far from scientific. I mean like, come on, they're taking pictures of a poster.

    That doesn't tell us anything about real-world performance -- in particular how it deals with indoor shots, moving targets or low-light scenes which are traditionally the weak points of smartphone cameras, and which Nokia's high-end smartphone lineup (808 Pureview, 920/925, 1020) seeks to address.

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    1. If you can find me a good basis for comparison I would greatly appreciate it.

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    2. Here's a couple of reviews, the first one is detailed and is about cameraphones as it's a dedicated photography website, and the second one is a brief review from a major US broadsheet and features the 1020 with the Galaxy S4 and iPhone 5S.

      Digital Photography Review shootout: Sony Xperia Z1 vs Nokia Lumia 1020 vs LG G2 vs Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom

      http://connect.dpreview.com/post/4485507296/shootout-sonyxperiaz1-vs-nokia1020-vs-lgg2-vs-samsunggalaxys4zoom

      USA Today shootout: iPhone 5s, Lumia 1020, Galaxy S4 (video)

      http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/talkingtech/2013/09/25/smartphone-camera-comparison-iphone-5s-lumia-1020-galaxy-s4/2868951/

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    3. DPReview is a great source of information for image quality tests for all ftpes of cameras. But if you look at your conclusion: "In our tests the Nokia Lumia 1020 arguably offers the best all-around image quality."

      An arguable win is not enough for a phone that really goes all-in on the camera. I would really just pick up the Nokia Lumia 925 and invest the 14k savings in a Prosumer camera or DSLR/DSLT.

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  2. www.pureviewclub.com
    I'm an n808 user. Hindi masyadong useful ang camera comparison tool ng GSMarena dahil as said, sa picture lang sila mismo kumukuha (dati ok pa pero consistent na ang details sa isang picture). You'd think na biased ang pureviewclub, pero actually ok naman ang comparisons nila (they admit na the S4 comes close, and 920 actually has poor image quality.)
    I can attest sa quality ng n808 (the 1020 is 'arguably' better because of the ois, pero hindi rin daw clear). Nakaka capture ako ng ibang klaseng details at low noise with it and I use it more often than my canon g12.
    I'm not much of a photographer but I paint, and I like seeing details with my references, dahil minsan yung details lang ang pinepaint ko haha.
    BUT... depende pa rin sa preferred OS mo. Pero sony seems to be failing with their camera's (even yung z1 daw medyo mataas ang noise at nawawala ang detail ayon sa ibang review na nabasa ko, sayang it would have been a possible upgrade for my 808. Kahit mag come close lang sana sa level ng detail captured. And I like android.)

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  3. I'm also the one who commented above about the pureviewclub. With the 1020 and 808 pala din kasi, you can't take things sa biglang tingin. All of them will probably look the same IQ wise at a certain size. Pero once nag zoom in ka (sa image na na shoot na, not exactly the 'zoom' capability) dun mo makikita yung benefits ng level of detail. If that's not too important then the other phones will do. Mas ok din mag post process with the images, meron akong nakitang technique na inoopen as 'raw' yung mga images ng oversampled na pureview shot. Anyway, fyi lang. :D

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    Replies
    1. One last pala... If you consider the 1020's video capture capability, dun talaga din siya nagiging 'king' of cameraphones (will in the near future, may issue pa yata with continuous autofocus). I don't think may 4k capture siya pero ilan ba satin right now ang nagpeplay (or nakakapagplay) ng ganung files?
      Even though ang LG G2 and HTC One meron OIS din, they can't come close to the 1020's zoom capability.

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    2. If the price went down to the upper 20K range, I think I might change my mind. Right now a Sony Xperia SP or Lumia 920 plus a real camera seems to make more sense.

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    3. Yes actually. But I carry several phones and a tablet already, kind of difficult for me to carry a camera that's why I need devices that are good in a lot of things. And phones are just more handy (or we just carry them all the time) :) I need to streamline my stuff haha.
      Apparently the 1020 still struggles with some image quality issues (hopefully it's just software), so yeah it's better to wait a little more for the price to go down and the updates to come if you plan on getting it. Great blog btw :)

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    4. Thanks.

      It is a bit too bad that this might be Nokia's last flagship, but hopefully Microsoft will carry on this tradition. The next update to Windows Phone will support quad core processors and 1080p displays.

      I do suspect we will see this phones price drop soon. Than it should be a fair enough proposition.

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    5. Okay. I am sold. Forget about 38 MP stills. 5 MP super sampling on the 1020 rocks.

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