Lumia 1020 or Lumia 930

[WillemC]

Hi all,

Currently I own a Lumia 1020 (for about a year now).
I got the opportunity to get a Lumia 930 (new) and give my 1020 to a co-worker.
I don't need to pay for anything.

What should I do. Upgrade to a newer version (L930) or stick with the massive camera on the L1020.
Photography is a hobby of mine, so pictures are important (but I do have a dslr and the 1020 is somewhat slow I find)
As I can tell the 930 makes good quality pictures in good light, but I'm still a bit concerned about the low-light pictures.
Is the L930 faster in taking and processing pictures?
We're expecting a young one, so perhaps low light pictures are getting more important at that time, but I'm not really sure because I own a dslr also.

What would you do? Trade it in for a faster and newer device with a lot of plus points or keep the 'old one' just because the low-light pictures?

 

[dKp1977]

I own a 1020, which I mainly use for taking photos due to its better camera and the awesome camera grip. But my main device is the 1520, which sports the same specs as the 930. Reframing aside, the camera on the 1520 is pretty much on par with that found on the 1020. From what I've read so far, the 930 is definitely not worse than the 1520. Because of the faster CPU, processing photos is a lot faster and the camera app is a lot snappier than on the 1020. Considering the fact that you own a DSLR, I think you're gonna be good with the 930.

 

[gricardo]

I have the same concerns, but my case is a little bit different. I currently have a lumia 620 and next month i'm going to buy a new device. But I don't know if I should go to the lumia 930 or 1020. 930 is a better device, but I see people having some issues with it and 1020 has such a amazing camera, they should launch a 1030 as soon as possible haha

 

[buxz777]

I own a 1020, which I mainly use for taking photos due to its better camera and the awesome camera grip. But my main device is the 1520, which sports the same specs as the 930. Reframing aside, the camera on the 1520 is pretty much on par with that found on the 1020. From what I've read so far, the 930 is definitely not worse than the 1520. Because of the faster CPU, processing photos is a lot faster and the camera app is a lot snappier than on the 1020. Considering the fact that you own a DSLR, I think you're gonna be good with the 930.

i have to diasagree , my 1020 is noticeably better then my old 1520 , so much so , I sold the 1520 ;-)

the camera is faster and it allows focus of approx. 5cm rather then 15cm but it isn't much faster as it still has to process two images and perform oversampling on one of the images

the 1520 has got better with cyan especially at night but its still limited by the smaller sensor , worse aperture etc and it wont match the 1020 in terms of image quality , night time shots , xenon needed shots etc

the 1520 is good but a 1020 is noticeably better ;-) it has the same size sensor in it as a lumix lx7 which is a highly regarded camera ;-) the 1520 sensor is even smaller then the z2s which is also present in the hx50 point and shoot camera ;-) the 1520 does a great job though and does outgun the z2 however it will never outgun the 1020 ;-)

I bought the 1520 thinking the same , I have a slr , the 1520 will suffice when I don't have it , but every shot I took I knew would have been better on the 1020 , better bokeh , better details , better reframe , higher iq , less noise , looked less processed etc etc

 

[CheekyTaurus]

Consider the two biggest issues: Camera and Glance.

If you want the best pictures, stick with the 1020.
If you absolutely MUST have Glance, stick with the 1020.

If neither of those two things are a big issue for you, go with the 930.

 

[noelito]

The low light is not as good as 1020 but I am grateful for the slimmer frame and 5" screen those were deal breakers for me for the 1020, I not only take pictures I do other things too on my phone and it just looks better on a 5" screen, the 930 pictures are almost as good as 1020 and that's enough for me, I was thrilled to say good bye to that 1020 beast , I had to import the 930 as it isn't even available on at&t

 

[Opera Ghost]

One of the photography features I love about the 1020 is the camera grip and with that, the tripod mount capability. For me they are features I can't imagine being without. And, I always have my 1020 with me and my grip is always on the phone or in my bag. Much easier than carrying a separate camera.

I really like the 930/Icon's bigger screen and if I were still using a 920 then the 930 would be a no-brainer even over the 1020. But I bought the 1020 for the camera, and with the grip, the 1020 is easily my choice over any of the other models. Please announce a 1020 successor!!

 

[Mr Kaja]

There was a camera comparision between 930 and 1020 at czech server Mobilmania. There were visible differences, but surprisingly not too much I expected (especially in low light). 930 lens seems to be a bit more immune against reflections.
What was amazing - 930 with the same ISO and shutter time had brighter night photo (thx SW). Anyway, if the czech language (google translate) and not well written web are not problem, I can send link via PM.

 

[Usman Mubashir]

It seems to me that you do not prefer the 1020 much due to speed issues and use your dslr often, I think 930 gets the lead here. besides the extra 20 megapixels in the 1020 and xenon flash, I don't think there is much in 1020 over 930. If you are looking for low light shots, 1020 is better, but in daylight, 930 will not disappoint ya

 

[Rawliglat x]

Since you got a dslr and you dont care much for the L1020 camera, and if glance screen is not all important to you, then go for the L930.

Newer device, newer processor, inbuilt Qi, slightly larger screen size and with the EOL on L1020, the L930 is definitely more future proof.

But for a fact, you cant go wrong with whatever decisions you make. Wont notice all that much of a performance difference right now (thanks to the amazing build of windows phone OS). If you are ever gonna notice much performance difference, would be about 3-4 years from now when mobile technology have seen some more advancement and old techs are being left behind.

 

[Ed Boland]

I just wonder what is making your friend so willing to trade his "new" 930 for your 1020..

As someone who's had the 1020 and upgraded to a 1520 (same internals and camera as the 930), I've got to say the photos are just as good. Maybe not under a microscope, but who cares. Who's going to notice? I seriously doubt anyone's going to say "hey, that's a great pic, but it would've been so much better if taken with a 1020!" The only person that will know is you..

With that said, I do miss a couple things about my 1020; the xenon flash and the camera grip/tripod mount.. That's it! For what I use it for, the camera on the 1520 (930/icon) is just as good and takes amazing pictures.

One thing to keep in mind about the 1020, is it's being discontinued and going the way of the do do bird. If you really like your 1020, keep it, as they may eventually become hard to find. You can always get a current/new phone whenever.

 

[Akram Eleyan]

1020 is a monster camera phone. That's might be true with lot of reservations from my side, things like over processing images, artificial color reproduction and close objects focus "sure in manual mode". Still as an overall and if you know what you are doing with that chunky black circle in the back, no one can beat you.
Another hesitation is the slower processor. True Windows Phone is fluid in general performance, just use 1520/930 to know this is an old fashion turtle processor where things are really slow on 1020, especially the camera app opening, closing, image processing, reframing, loading tweets, loading apps time... All of these are weak points against 1020 over the speedy 930/1520 with that snapdragon 800 CPU/Adreno 320.
If you really love your 1020, I say wait sometime as I see a successor on the horizon. I don't think you would really miss much or gain much by replacing it. 930 is a nice all around phone, no one area is strong in my opinion, it is just a very good all around machine.

So I would say "Wait for the possible 1030 "

 

[anthonyng]

Hi WillemC

I'm big on camera phones, though never had the high end version. Like I had Nokia N8, Lumia 920 and now Lumia 930. I have a Nikon D5000 DSLR

I'm a parent of a 5 year old and 1.5 year old now.

My advice would be to keep the 1020 until a real replacement comes.

When your baby arrives you need to be able to take shots at any time. So you see a picture you must take and baby is sleeping. What do you use? Well you're likely going to be exhausted so getting up and digging the DLSR is gonna be a pain in the ****. Also while moving, you might make a noise to cause sleeping baby to move and ruin your perfect shot.

Ok maybe you have dslr on hand ready at all times. Do you really want to risk waking a sleeping baby with the shutter noise? Yes believe it, it happens and remember, you're likely exhausted, so the more the baby sleeps the better

Coming recently from a Lumia 920 to 930, the difference in quality of low light shots are huge. I'm not talking about pitch black. I'm talking about dim lighting conditions where you only have a lamp half way across the room. You want to be sure to get that shot. Yes the 930 is faster, and yes it's sharper but for the first year, you're gonna be involved in a lot of low light situations hoping to train baby to sleep at the right times While not sleeping? Well really during that first year, that baby is not going anywhere fast

Today, while I miss the low light performance of the 920, I need the phone to be fast for taking pictures because now the kids always looks like they're vibrating in pictures

That's just my experience, I hope you have an awesome sleeping baby! =)

 

[Jean-Baptiste Labelle]

I have a Lumia 1020 and just purchase a 930 because Nokia is making a promotion and I get it here in Switzerland for ~80? with one year subscription.
Since it was announced, I was torn about where to keep the 1020 or go with the 930. Pictures quality is important for me, I have a Canon 5D mkII with a bunch a L lenses...
I look at a lot of review and comparison and came on the impression, as others have written that there was not a lot of difference between both. Let's put something straight, with both side by side, the 1020 pictures are clearly better. No need for pixel peeping or microscope, physics are respected and the 1020 is unsurpassed. Now, that being said, the 930 is really sexy. The screen is bigger and while there 930 keeps the same width. The phone is really fast and snappy although the 1020 never feels slow either. Integrated wireless charging makes the phone, without case slimmer than the 1020 with the charging case. Bottom line is that this is quite a hard call really. The 1020 runs really fine. So the difference comes more to the 930 being slimmer while having a bigger screen and quick overall (the camera is quicker, for sure but not lightning fast either so this is not really such an argument). At the end, I am convinced that if a 1030 comes (a 1020 with 930 internals), I will clearly pull the trigger again just for the camera alone. In the meantime, I think overall that the 930 is a better overall phone. Last point, the 930 camera has a better auto white balance so shots are good out of the box

 

[RRasp]

Let's not forget that you will NOT LTE speeds with the 930. There is no 930 for the states that gives you LTE. Only HSPA+

 

[Ed Boland]

Let's not forget that you will NOT LTE speeds with the 930. There is no 930 for the states that gives you LTE. Only HSPA+

Oh, well there you go. Stick with the 1020 for now!

 

[WillemC]

Thanks everybody.
I'm not from the US, so the LTE isn't a problem for me

My collegue has a 1020 at the moment, but his phone got some serious problems when calling. He doesn't care much which phone he has.
As I'm the one who's gets to pick the new phones for our company, I'm able to get the L930 instead of my current L1020. So I don't have the possibility to wait for the real 1020 successor (perhaps I'm going to be able to get it the same way by then )

But I got lucky, I'm going to be able to test both phones during this weekend. So I can first experience the L930 first hand. Luckily I also got two party's this weekend, so ideal to test everything.

@Anthonyng: Regarding low-light situations I do am going to be afraid I miss my L1020 by then. But if pictures on the L930 in low light are acceptable, my mind is made up. I'll let you know what it's going to be.

 

[Dexterrino]

if this were a lumia 920 > lumia 930 article. it would be simple as saying YES!

but lumia 1020 swapping for a 930?... its really difficult to decide. because of that EPIC CAMERA

1020 is in a different league. thats why its a niche device.

if you plan in buying a new lumia device next year anyways, go and swap to the 930. then buy the 1030 when it is released. like he said, he owns a DSLR.

1020 is an iconic distinctive nokia device like the nokia 3310, 5800, n93 , n8 , n9, 808 etc. i own it and love it. i would definitely buy the 1030 if it were already announced, but ive been waiting for years (5 years actually. before the n8 launch) to buy an epic nokia device with my own life time savings (im still a student btw, no job). i pity myself. so i went and bought the 1020 when i felt it is time to buy my first smartphone . and boy, i did not regret it xD

but you wont go wrong with the 930

 

[Dexterrino]

Hi all,
As I can tell the 930 makes good quality pictures in good light, but I'm still a bit concerned about the low-light pictures.
Is the L930 faster in taking and processing pictures?
We're expecting a young one, so perhaps low light pictures are getting more important at that time, but I'm not really sure because I own a dslr also.

What would you do? Trade it in for a faster and newer device with a lot of plus points or keep the 'old one' just because the low-light pictures?

if you really are a photographer , then you would definitely know that 930 is darker in lowlight because of its apperture 2.4 where 1020 has apperture 2.2 with xenon flash. so 1020 wins lowlight . also a larger sensor .

quadcore is always faster to process than dual core. so 930 is faster

. ideally 930 is the go for generalized people wanting the best balance of specs. you have a dslr (but do you know how to use it?).
buy 1030 next year to replace (assumingly) owned 930.

besides, ITS FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!

 

[js8229]

Also, go through the 930 forum and see what issues people are having. Just because it's newer doesn't mean it's not without it's issues, and some of those may be a deal breaker.