Lumia 1020 photos too warm?

[TheCrazySwede]

What are your views on how the 1020 processes photos versus the Lumia 808? The 808 has a dedicated Broadcom chip without any artificial coloring, while the 1020 has a processing tuned to boost colors. Is there are way of changing this? My images always end up too warm, no matter how much I play around with the White Balance. They're blurry and yellow. In open landscape photos, it looks great, but in close up shots and people pictures, it makes everything looks like the Simpsons.

Below are two photos taken with Auto settings, one with the Lumia 808 and the other with the 1020. Notice how the 1020's image is more warm and saturated versus the more natural colored image from the 808?

Lumia 808

Lumia 1020

Lumia 808

Lumia 1020

What are your opinions on this?

Photos by Marc @ PureViewClub

 

[Nogitsune Micah]

Yikes that is a major difference

 

[Alan delon]

If that's a really BIG problem- i guess there will be an update

 

[Kerry Swartz]

It might have to do with what each camera sampled for exposure and automatic white balance. Sample or meter one area and it will correct it in one direction, sample another and it could go the other way. And at the time of day you took the photos, the light would have started to get warmer anyways.

 

[TheCrazySwede]

It might have to do with what each camera sampled for exposure and automatic white balance. Sample or meter one area and it will correct it in one direction, sample another and it could go the other way. And at the time of day you took the photos, the light would have started to get warmer anyways.

I believe it has to do with the way each camera processes the photos. Like I mentioned in my OP, the 808 uses a dedicated Broadcom chip without any artificial coloring, while the 1020 has a processing tuned to boost colors. If you take a photo using the Pro Cam app, click on the quick preview bubble on the upper left and watch as the images changes from its original state to the more saturated and warm image that ultimately gets saved.

 

[TheCrazySwede]

I just noticed that the photos are less filtered when using the built-in Camera app, versus using the Pro Cam or any other app. The change is extremely subtle, but it's there. Also, on some shots, the photos look more warm and saturated on the phone (even with display settings all set to the coolest possible) than they do once extracted to PC and viewed. I don't know....hopefully there's an update for the Pro Cam app that let's you manage the degree of the processing.

 

[John20212]

I noticed this as well, especially during certain light conditions the 1020 photos can get very warm and yellowish, what I did to fix it most of the time is to just change the white ballance from auto to one of the other options, but Nokia should look into this because sometimes when left on auto the photos just look far from the real thing you see as far as color saturation goes.

I am hopeing they adress this is a future update.

 

[samuch]

I've definitely noticed this as well. It's really odd because when I take a pic with the pro cam app for about a second I'll see the proper picture (sharp, good colors) and then it applies some filter and it "yellows" and gets a soften type filter applied. I wish there was a way to stop that filter/processing because the pictures look great before it does that.

 

[Chip O]

Most cameras struggle with getting the right WB unless you are shooting under 100% natural light.
With that said, I found the 1020 WB to be okay for the most part.
The two big exceptions are mixed lighting and flash photos. Flash photos are so bad they are borderline useless.
They are so warm, they are unusable. It's all done in shades of red.

 

[TheCrazySwede]

I've definitely noticed this as well. It's really odd because when I take a pic with the pro cam app for about a second I'll see the proper picture (sharp, good colors) and then it applies some filter and it "yellows" and gets a soften type filter applied. I wish there was a way to stop that filter/processing because the pictures look great before it does that.

^ This

The processing in the 1020 is meant for it to boost colors and saturation, for a more "rich" outcome, but it ruins things more than anything. Non-photographers might appreciate something that looks a bit more full in color, especially in nature shots, but if you're like me, you want a more natural, and "real life" look. One of the best things about a good lens on a high-end DSLR is how accurately it portrays color. My dark blue shirt, however, sometimes shows up as dark green when taken with the 1020.

 

[antiochian2010]

That is something I miss regarding the 808 - having custom presets available.

I love the manual settings in 1020, which give more flexibility than the 808 in many ways, but would love to be able to set custom - including options such as contrast, saturation, etc. This would more than make up for this flaw..

 

[TheCrazySwede]

That is something I miss regarding the 808 - having custom presets available.

I love the manual settings in 1020, which give more flexibility than the 808 in many ways, but would love to be able to set custom - including options such as contrast, saturation, etc. This would more than make up for this flaw..

Aye, hopefully they'll add that in as an update with the Pro-Cam App. The WB and the Saturation is my only problem with it, otherwise, the camera rocks!

 

[Stanford Moore]

I've definitely noticed this as well. It's really odd because when I take a pic with the pro cam app for about a second I'll see the proper picture (sharp, good colors) and then it applies some filter and it "yellows" and gets a soften type filter applied. I wish there was a way to stop that filter/processing because the pictures look great before it does that.

I agree....

 

[flame l]

The Nokia Lumia 920 users have the same problem too.
http://forums.windowscentral.com/nokia-lumia-920/237916-lumia-920-camera-bug-after-amber-update.html

 

[koopiskeva]

Yep, same problem here too. Good to know its not only 1020's affected.

 

[Stil_1]

^ This

The processing in the 1020 is meant for it to boost colors and saturation, for a more "rich" outcome, but it ruins things more than anything. Non-photographers might appreciate something that looks a bit more full in color, especially in nature shots, but if you're like me, you want a more natural, and "real life" look. One of the best things about a good lens on a high-end DSLR is how accurately it portrays color. My dark blue shirt, however, sometimes shows up as dark green when taken with the 1020.

Yes, I notice this too. It looks like the initial preview is some kind of raw image, then the processing takes over. What would be nice is if the 38MP image is left unfiltered in as raw format as it can, then the 5MP applies the processing. That and inclusion of processing settings would be awesome. That would satisfy the quick 5MP -> share crowd as well as photographers who like to play with RAWs. When you want to modify a picture you always would have a reference image there.

 

[Rodrigo Mendes]

Most of people prefers warm colors and very saturated, then Nokia choose to please them, not professional photographers. In my opinion, a good choice. In these samples, 1020 is way better for me.

 

[Stan City]

I'm hoping Nokia produces a fix for this issue, otherwise the 1020 is a disappointment being the camera is what this phone is about. My 920 takes better photos at this point and from what I'm reading on this forum, I should write AT&T thanking them for not pushing the Amber update.

 

[imZadok]

Hence why it is known as the 'Amber' update.

 

[falconeight]

I want my pictures to be warmer.