Switched over from the 920 to the 1520 and so far am loving most about it. As a daily driver I was worried about the size of the device, as most are I assume, but it hasnt yet to pose a problem. Though I think when summer rolls around that might change. With the cold/winter setting in, I've always got a jacket on which gives me a place for the device. But it does seem to fit well enough in my jeans. I guess I'll have to wait and see.
I've been spending a LOT of time with the camera since thats obviously one of the big selling points and have so far been impressed. I dont have my 920 anymore but do have a Nexus 5 at the moment that I've also been shooting with and doing quite a bit of comparisons (only way to get anything close to the image quality of the 1520 on the nexus is to always shoot in HDR+ mode - and it still falls short in most situations). I've got a couple observations and a few questions though surrounding the camera. Disclaimer: I'm no photographer. But do enjoy nice photography.
Observations:
Questions
I've been spending a LOT of time with the camera since thats obviously one of the big selling points and have so far been impressed. I dont have my 920 anymore but do have a Nexus 5 at the moment that I've also been shooting with and doing quite a bit of comparisons (only way to get anything close to the image quality of the 1520 on the nexus is to always shoot in HDR+ mode - and it still falls short in most situations). I've got a couple observations and a few questions though surrounding the camera. Disclaimer: I'm no photographer. But do enjoy nice photography.
Observations:
- It seems as if the auto mode doesnt quite capture as much light as my 920. Almost as if the software on the 1520 defaults to a darker image/lower iso/faster shutter speed. Not really sure. If I take it out of auto and start to tinker, I can do a little better. Its also noticeable if you're shooting in low light and take one photo using Nokia Camera and then one with the stock Camera app. After using the 1520 in tandem with the nexus 5 and because of the limitation of only being able to view a 5 meg sample on your device (touched on below) I really find myself wishing the camera app had an HDR+ mode.
- One small issue (or large?) is that the quick review ability from within the camera itself, the small circle that shows a preview of your last shot, shows the image as being much more soft/not as sharp as what was actually captured. Its actually really weird. As soon as you view an image from within, you can see it as being sharp but then it reverts to a bit soft. If you view the image within the regular photos app its the opposite. Which is expected. Select an image to be viewed and when enlarged within the photo app you see it as a bit soft at first and then comes in very sharp and stays that way. I started taking shots and then using the quick review feature within the camera but kept getting frustrated because it made it appear as if i wasnt capturing whatever I was shooting in focus. Anyone else notice this? Its pretty hard to spot but on the giant screen its made a bit easier.
- I hear people complain that you cant take shots quickly with the 1020/1520. While playing tonight and shooting a bunch of photos, I realized that you can hold the shutter button down and it literally just keeps firing. Almost instantaneously . Maybe I'm late to this party but was happy to see.
- One thing that's frustrating is, because you can only view the lower res 5 meg shot on your device, it seems as if the camera sometimes isnt quite up to par with other devices. Example - I take the same shot on my 1520 and on the Nexus 5 but when reviewing them, given the differences in screens, the 1520 image will sometimes appear of lesser quality (i'll email the image to myself from either device to compare on like screens). Especially if you try to zoom even a little on the device. I sense that this might be why some reviews - especially at the verge - have dinged the camera. I mean, the 1020 still captures a 8 meg image. But on the 1520 that same image is only 5 megs and being viewed on an even larger screen.
Questions
- The default camera app is still available on the device. Anyone know at what res images shot with that app are?