{"id":2111,"date":"2014-01-13T13:05:14","date_gmt":"2014-01-13T03:05:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reckoner.com.au\/?p=2111"},"modified":"2014-01-14T09:22:27","modified_gmt":"2014-01-13T23:22:27","slug":"review-nokia-lumia-1020-a-photographers-perspective-on-the-cameraphone-king","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reckoner.com.au\/reviews\/review-nokia-lumia-1020-a-photographers-perspective-on-the-cameraphone-king\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Nokia Lumia 1020"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Nokia<\/div>\n

Nokia\u2019s Lumia 1020<\/span> (or 909 depending where you look) is often regarded as the best smartphone camera money can buy. I\u2019ve been using the neon-yellow version on and off now for a few weeks, and it\u2019s high-time I penned some thoughts on this 41 mega-pixel shooter.<\/p>\n

\"Nokia<\/div>\n

Design<\/h1>\n

The 1020 is a gargantuan handset, and one of the larger flagship smartphones on the Australian market. Its 4.5 inch screen is big, bright and maybe a tad over saturated, but easy to see in strong sunlight, given the ClearBlack display, I found the display to be great head on, but at an angle, the whites quickly moved to a blue\/grey, a trade off for the ClearBlack.<\/p>\n

\"Lumia<\/p>\n

It\u2019s housed in a sleek, smooth and outrageously colourful polycarbonate shell that feels great in the hand.<\/p>\n

\"Lumia<\/div>\n

The buttons on the phone run down its right-hand side, and\u00a0are a simple black plastic sans icons or markings. A volume rocker, sleep\/wake and dedicated camera release. As other reviews have noted, having the power switch in the middle of the handset takes some getting used to, but isn\u2019t a terrible decision overall.<\/p>\n

\"Lumia<\/div>\n

On the back of the phone, a giant black hump houses the phone\u2019s reason for being: a Carl Zeiss lens assembly and a Xenon flash. The unfortunate side-effect of the optics is the inability to lay flat on a table, and I frequently found myself putting the phone down face-first; I just couldn\u2019t get used to the wobbly\/uneven look.<\/p>\n

\"Headphone<\/p>\n

The headset jack is square on the top of the handset and the charging port (a standard micro-USB) square on the bottom. Nokia\u2019s also included a camera strap or lanyard loop, which is a welcome and interesting addition that further adds emphasis to what this phone is all about.<\/p>\n

\"Front<\/p>\n

The fit and finish of the phone is fantastic; the glass seamlessly melts into the housing, without joins, markings or mould lines. Nokia does a damn good job at making a beautiful phone, and quasimodo back aside, it really is fantastic piece of design.<\/p>\n

\"Lumia<\/div>\n

Software<\/h1>\n

In terms of the OS, Windows Phone continues to improve, albeit at a teeth-grindingly slow pace. I\u2019ve been an iPhone owner since 2007, and this is the first real time I\u2019ve used anything else. I really love the aesthetic of Windows Phone; the colour, design language and intent is all very powerful.<\/p>\n

\"Windows<\/div>\n

The idea of a side-scrolling UI is certainly new to me, but I quickly got the hang of it. The dedicated back button is also a pretty neat function, and I found the tap and hold on it to look at your \u2018history\u2019 of apps made a lot of sense.<\/p>\n

The Windows Phone keyboard I found to be very similar to the iPhone, allowing me to quickly and accurately race through messages and email with a minimum of fuss. The suggested list of words was perhaps not all that useful as I often zoomed past them without realising the phone had other ideas for what I was saying. A nice touch being the auto-suggest word flashes if its used in the text, something I found really helpful.<\/p>\n

\"Windows<\/div>\n

Camera<\/h1>\n

For the rear shooter, the Nokia allows you to select from 1 of 3 camera apps that are all bundled in as standard: Camera, Nokia Smart Cam, and Nokia Pro Cam. I personally think this is bizarre. I understand there\u2019s different functionality behind each of the apps (standard, high frame rate and manual control) however, it feels to me like this is added complexity for the sake of feature creep.<\/p>\n

The only app you\u2019ll really find yourself in is the Pro Cam app. It\u2019s the stand-out app, and is the only way to get the most out of the camera itself.<\/p>\n

\"Lumia<\/div>\n

The controls are arranged as either a quick link, or by pressing and dragging the camera icon. Doing this will activate a fly-out of all of the controls (white balance, shutter speed, exposure compensation, and focus) covers the live image allowing you to tweak each one.<\/p>\n

This is, without a doubt, the number one reason to own this phone.<\/p>\n

No other camera phone out there comes even close to this level of granular control, and as a photographer, this level of precision and adaptability is an absolute god send.<\/p>\n

\"Example<\/a><\/div>\n

We\u2019ve included a gallery of images shot using the Pro Cam app<\/a>, with no editing done to them.<\/p>\n

The sensor is excellent in low light, but I\u2019ve found that if you can feed it bright light, it absolutely sings. Once you\u2019ve taken an image, it stores the full-res jpeg away, and presents you with a downscaled sample to share on social media, email or send away to Snapchat.<\/p>\n

The camera is responsive, and mostly accurate. The activation time isn\u2019t great, as it physically retracts the shutter blades, moves the lens assembly and activates the UI. Something I found trying at times, having come from the iPhone. That being said, once active, it is the best camera you could hope to have in your hand.<\/p>\n

The stabilisation is truly impressive, and there\u2019s nothing quite like being able to shoot in low light without a flash and still get completely useable results.<\/p>\n

If I was allowed one gripe, it would the white balance.<\/p>\n