Disappointed with the camera

[anon(5370748)]

This is EXACTLY what I am experiencing. I have done numerous tests and it is very disheartening that the camera does not live up to the hype. It's an 8.7 MP camera that acts like a 7 MP camera.

What is being done to fix this? Will I just have to suck it up and feel disappointed?

Allow me to help reset your expectations:

1. This is a phone, not a camera. If you're the type to do numerous tests and worry about a little quality loss when re-exporting JPEGs after sharpening in post, you should be using a camera instead. I get surprisingly good results when importing my Lumia photos into Lightroom and applying some light sharpening (usually ~+10). It's not, and will never be as good as my Micro 4/3 gear, but it's always on me and is excellent for a phone, and it gets the job done.

2. This is a brand-spanking new phone with a brand-new OS. I'm sure Nokia is hard at work revising the in-camera processing software for the camera (I've read that they are), but considering it's do-or-die time for the company, I'm sure there are other things that are top of their list. It looks like devs have access to the RAW data from this phone, so it's only a matter of time before someone realizes they can make a bit of money from creating better processing software if Nokia doesn't. If you're not patient and are disappointed when things aren't perfect right out of the gate, this is not the phone for you.

 

[luckylifo]

It looks like devs have access to the RAW data from this phone

I am not sure if this is true. Do you have link to the SDK suggesting it is?

 

[vlad0]

. It's an 8.7 MP camera that acts like a 7 MP camera.

In this case the megapixel count has nothing to do with the quality of the image. Also.. at 7Mpix the pixels would be slightly larger, so you might get better performance from that same sensor.

 

[eortizr]

Get an iPhone 5. Excellent camera an any imaginable app.

 

[vlad0]

Get an iPhone 5. Excellent camera an any imaginable app.

Right.. that excellency is directly related to the amount of daylight.. the iphone5 sucks at night, especially the "flash".

 

[anon(5370748)]

I am not sure if this is true. Do you have link to the SDK suggesting it is?

Swear I came across that while digging through Nokia's dev site two weeks ago, but I can't seem to find it now :/ I'll keep looking.

*edit* - Nope. Either it was removed, or I was looking at something else. Sorry to get your hopes up.

 

[barareklam]

Hi all,

May be I am a bit late to join discussion but I got my Lumia 920 for two weeks ago and I found this forum today. I am owner of Nokia N8 as well, two year old symbian phone and I was happy to "upgrade" to better phone. However I am not happy with camera. I have attached crop of same motiv shot with old N8 and Lumia 920. As you can see Lumia 920 is not near of N8. In this case both images are "auto".
This is link to gsm arena comparison test. Point that green rectangle on girls eyes.
Photo Compare Tool - GSMArena.com

Br
Barareklam

 

[anon(5370748)]

Report: Camera fix for the Lumia 920 coming from Nokia this month | Windows Phone Central

There. Rejoice. Be happy!

 

[vlad0]

Hi

Your N8 has a bigger image sensor, better optics, and most likely better jpeg processing.. There is no way the 920 will produce a better result. It will however give you better performance at night (handheld) thanks to the OIS system. If you bring a tripod in the mix... I am not sure... if you put the N8 in night mode you might still get a better photograph.

The 920 shoots at 1.4 microns @ 8Mpix, the N8 shoots at 1.75 @ 12Mpix ... big difference.

 

[anon(5370748)]

Hi all,

May be I am a bit late to join discussion but I got my Lumia 920 for two weeks ago and I found this forum today. I am owner of Nokia N8 as well, two year old symbian phone and I was happy to "upgrade" to better phone. However I am not happy with camera. I have attached crop of same motiv shot with old N8 and Lumia 920. As you can see Lumia 920 is not near of N8. In this case both images are "auto".
This is link to gsm arena comparison test. Point that green rectangle on girls eyes.
Photo Compare Tool - GSMArena.com

Br
Barareklam

Again, if you're doing these kinds of tests on a phone and being disappointed and whatnot (which you'll invariably be), you're using the wrong tool for the job. Get a camera and a lens or two that you like, and then go out and enjoy shooting without limitations and just use your phone for quick documentation. You'll be much happier in the end.

 

[anon(5370748)]

encouraging:

Nokia improves Lumia 920 camera. We do a before and after comparison. | Windows Phone Central

 

[vlad0]

^indeed... Like I said from the start, Nokia know what they are doing.. they just need some time with the new platform.

What I want to see is night shots as well... I am really curious if they had to balance the two out, or was a completely separate issue. What I mean is does the phone go into
"day mode" and "night mode" automatically, because the jpeg processing in night mode is probably different, and I think what was happening is that they were using that same processing for the daytime photos, and we were getting the blur.

 

[anon(5370748)]

So, is everyone in the US and Canada who was disappointed with the camera okay with it now that you got the Portico update? I've noticed a definite difference in sharpness. Also, can you name another manufacturer that worked that quickly to fix an issue like this? It took Motorola nine months to make it so push email from an Exchange Server worked on my Droid 2 Global - a bug that only affected Motorola devices because their crapware was interfering with basic Android operation.

SOOC, Full Auto, uploaded directly to Skydrive and posted here. Now relax and enjoy taking some photos!

 

[luckylifo]

While I'm really glad that Nokia worked on a fix, I'm extremely annoyed that EU people (even those who got the factory unlocked phone) won't see the fix until Feb 2013

 

[vlad0]

While I'm really glad that Nokia worked on a fix, I'm extremely annoyed that EU people (even those who got the factory unlocked phone) won't see the fix until Feb 2013

Navifirm is your best bet: Lumia 820 European Version Update Appears on Navifirm : My Nokia Blog

 

[doitle]

So, is everyone in the US and Canada who was disappointed with the camera okay with it now that you got the Portico update? I've noticed a definite difference in sharpness. Also, can you name another manufacturer that worked that quickly to fix an issue like this? It took Motorola nine months to make it so push email from an Exchange Server worked on my Droid 2 Global - a bug that only affected Motorola devices because their crapware was interfering with basic Android operation.

SOOC, Full Auto, uploaded directly to Skydrive and posted here. Now relax and enjoy taking some photos!

View attachment 25186

Wow... I've not managed to take anything in the same realm as that photo with my Lumia 920... I've been trying and trying and failing... Even with the camera update all my photos are extremely unsharp and just terrible looking. I keep going back to my Droid Incredible as a reference and the pictures it takes look far better to me. There must be something I'm missing, and I hope that's the case. I'd really love to love this camera but right now it just isn't working for me...

I've run through about every combination of settings and always use on screen tap to focus. No luck...

 

[johninsj]

I've run through about every combination of settings and always use on screen tap to focus. No luck...

You could have a hardware issue... it is possible.

 

[KQ17]

The only thing that annoys me after the upgrade is that in Auto settings, it wont focus near the camera. You have to select Macro for it. The rest is much better.

 

[jdhooghe]

Where is this macro setting?

 

[KQ17]

Camera settings -> Scenes -> Macro