Digital Photography Review's 'Connect' Preliminary look at Nokia's Lumia 1020 ...
Note: While this is only a preliminary look at Nokia's Lumia 1020 the 4 page article is long and filled with images taken with the cameraphone. Consequently I've included only the introductory paragraphs and preliminary conclusion. The complete article with images and related commentary can be viewed at the link below ...
>> Nokia's 41MP Lumia 1020 looks impressive
connect.dpreview.com
Erin Lodi
Digital Photography Review's 'Connect'
July 24, 2013
connect.dpreview.com
The hype was high for Nokia's second attempt at a 41-megapixel camera phone when it released the Lumia 1020 on July 11, the follow-up to last year's 808 PureView phone.
The basic imaging principles that set the 808 apart are again at work in the Lumia 1020. The device uses a 41MP imaging sensor to output maximum file sizes of 34MP to 38MP (depending on aspect ratio). The real value of such high pixel density lies in oversampling for a higher quality image output at more manageable files sizes. The Lumia 1020 allows you to simultaneously shoot both a full-resolution capture and an oversampled, immediately shareable 5MP version of every image. (Nokia offers a white paper that further explains the science of oversampling if you want to know more.)
The Lumia 1020 holds even further promise this time around with a more modern redesigned 41MP 1/1.5" back-side-illuminated sensor, a faster aperture at F2.2 versus the 808's F2.4, a six-element Zeiss lens with optical image stabilization and the new Nokia-developed Pro Cam app. And it's powered by the Windows Phone 8 operating system (the 808's Symbian system was already outdated when the device was released).
We look forward to putting the Lumia 1020 through our full review process, but until then, we've had just enough time with our review sample today to offer up some first impressions after seeing how it performs in a range of standard shooting conditions.
Image quality
For this first impressions piece, we deliberately left the Lumia 1020 operating in auto settings using the new Pro Cam app. We'll wait to delve into its advanced capabilities our full review. As a first look, we thought it best to see what the camera's auto controls can do under some very common lighting conditions: when using flash, in low light, in shade and in bright sunlight.
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Conclusion
We can only truly give very a preliminary conclusion at this point based on a day of playing with the device, but we are excited about what we've seen so far.
From an imaging perspective, the Lumia 1020 appears to be just what we'd hoped: a more advanced version of the PureView technology that blew us away when we first saw it on the 808. And this time around, the Lumia 1020 has even more to offer the photographer who wants to use their mobile as a serious camera. From OIS to an even faster lens to that add-on camera grip that nearly had us convinced we were using a "real" camera, the Lumia 1020 seems to offer a lot of potential. Our initial trials with the device's auto mode don't explore the Lumia 1020 fully; we need to delve further into the camera's actual imaging capabilities: it's here that we'd like to see what this camera can do.
We'll look forward to sharing a full gallery of Lumia 1020 images soon, and a more thorough review of the camera as soon as we can. ###
- Eric - |
