Best Nokia phones of 2012

”

PureView shootout: Nokia 808 vs Nokia Lumia 920

Published by Rafe Blandford, Steve Litchfield at 19:15 UTC, November 1st 2012

The big question, the thing everyone (around here) wants to know. How does the Nokia PureView ‘phase 2′ camera in the Windows Phone 8-powered Lumia 920 compare to that in the ‘phase 1′ camera unit in the Symbian-powered Nokia 808? In the seven comparisons below, Rafe and I try to answer the question, and throw in comparisons with the Lumia 900 and HTC One X camera at the same time, where appropriate. This feature represents our ‘first look’ at the 920 hardware – there will be formal review parts coming your way very shortly, including a broader look at its camera in all modes and settings.”

”

Conclusion

Scores aren’t everything, though for anyone totting them up during the piece, the totals (each out of 70) are:

Nokia 808 PureView 61 pts

Nokia Lumia 920 PureView 57pts

HTC One X 34 pts

Nokia Lumia 900 28 pts

We’ll obviously have a lot more on the Lumia 920′s camera as part of our formal review coverage on All About Windows Phone, but I’m already able to come to a few conclusions:

In terms of all round still photography, the 1/1.2″-sensored Nokia 808 PureView, running Symbian, is still the best camera phone in the world – by a small margin. Though add in real world shots of people indoors and at events, where the Xenon flash freezes motion so much better, and the 808 draws further ahead.

Given the constraints on phone thickness, the camera in the new 1/3″-sensored Lumia 920 PureView does astonishingly well with the benefit of the OIS. With a sensor that’s barely bigger than that in the Android and iOS competition, it produces shots that are often close to the 808′s and occasionally better. Given that the humped Nokia 808, running a smartphone OS which is now facing an End Of Life, isn’t for everybody, the sleek Lumia 920 running a 2013 operating system may well be the better option for users who love taking photos. The next-gen LED flash does need more testing and, as with all LED-equipped phones, there will still be issues in low light when shooting people. Watch this space for real world pub tests!

Even used with care, photos from the likes of the 1/3.2″-sensored HTC One X (and, by inference, the iPhone 4S/5 and SGS III) are almost always going to be inferior to those from the similarly sized Lumia 920 – the optical image stablisation did well here – it’ll do even better in terms of difference in quality when used by novice users.

The previous generation of 1/3.2″ camera units used by Nokia, even with Carl Zeiss optics, are worlds apart from the 920′s camera. Worlds. Partly down to the previous Windows Phone 7 software, partly the average hardware, partly the lack of OIS.

A side issue, for AAS readers, is whether the two year old 1/1.8″-sensored Nokia N8 has a better camera than the Lumia 920. The physicist in me says yes, but the OIS on the latter would make it a very close match to call. One for me to test another day!

And so it’s on to our review coverage of the Nokia Lumia 920, running Windows Phone 8. Rafe’s up first, with an overview of the hardware and software – I’ll be testing the stills camera in real life and seeing what a difference OIS makes to video footage in one of the review parts, all coming in the next few weeks.

”

PureView shootout, round two: Nokia 808 vs Nokia Lumia 920 with PR1.1

Published by Steve Litchfield at 21:48 UTC, December 29th 2012

In our previous head to head shootout between the Nokia Lumia 920 and the Symbian-powered Nokia 808 PureView, concentrating perhaps more on static, lower light situations, the newer 920 just failed to pip the larger-sensored 808 to the crown. Since then, there has been some justified criticism of the 920′s image processing for bright daylight scenes – now fixed for many people across the globe with the PR1.1 update (firmware starting 1232.5951…), which dials back the noise reduction and also fixes some messaging and Wi-fi issues. With the camera fix in place though, I headed out on a winter’s day and put Nokia’s latest Lumia 920 fix to the ultimate test…”

“Regular readers of my Xenon rants won’t be surprised to see, even though I was snapped while talking (and thus moving slightly), that the detail and clarity in the 808′s image is far superior. The 920′s image isn’t as crisp and is oddly over-exposed.

_______

Eight test shots then, with the 920′s new PR1.1 firmware. Six of the tests were won by the Nokia 808, arguably, with one to the 920 and one debatable draw. But again I should emphasise a few things:

the 808 does very well in my hands – give it to an average person and they’d struggle with keeping it still, especially if using the shutter button. In contrast, the OIS in the 920 should give better results for these less experienced users.

that the Lumia 920, even with the image processing issue fixed in this software, can’t match the Nokia 808 most of the time, isn’t that damning. It’s like coming second to Usain Bolt in a sprint, even though you broke your own national record.

add in the zoom and Xenon flash possibilities and the 808′s crown is assured for the moment – perhaps even forever, since I’m not sure anyone will make such a monster phone camera again. Yet it’s easy to argue that there’s far more future proofing built into Windows Phone 8 and its ecosystem – for anyone for whom taking good photos is only a ‘very nice to have’ and not ‘absolutely essential’, and for whom the Xenon flash isn’t seen as a necessity, the Lumia 920 may indeed be the better smartphone choice.”

The pictures don’t lie. The choice is clear. Nokia 808 PureView is a TOUGH ACT to FOLLOW.

Nokia 808 PureView is a convergent device like no other. Thank you Nokia for releasing this wonderful device! Hyperion.