1020 to 1520 Thoughts

[michaelkriss]

Right now I have a Lumia 1020 and am pretty happy with it but I don't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. I am seriously contemplating buying a 1520. Are there any others who made that switch and could give me your thoughts? I am wondering if you find it too large? Also, I would assume the camera is still pretty good. My disappointment with the 1020 camera was the speed. The pictures looked great but between saves and focusing I missed a lot. Sorry if all these have been answered before, I just want to be informed.

 

[Steven Curl]

I made the 'switch' because I wanted the larger screen size, and still have my 1020 charged in its camera shell for when I need to take some serious photos. The performance and SD card are much welcome, but I really miss having the camera with me at all times (the 1520 isn't a slouch, just not the 1020).

As for switching, I made the switch back in May, before the 3d touch rumors started spreading like wildfire, and I wouldn't recommend anyone switch their 8/8.1 phone for something new until we get new hardware in the holiday season.

 

[michaelkriss]

I'd be buying off contract so I'd have to go used anyway. Though the new 3D touch phones do sound very intriguing. Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[Pranshul Sood]

i agree.

 

[chezm]

I got a 1020 a few months ago and same thoughts, mainly its my fault as I'm not a camera expert and was hoping it would be newbie friendly which its not. I suck using the camera, but I still enjoy the phone.

In your situation id wait out for the new upcoming model announcements to see if anything else catches your eye. The 1520 looks awesome but its old model specs.

 

[Cryio]

Do you feel that everything is significantly faster ?

 

[NoRomBasic]

My Wife has a 1020 and I have a 1520 so if it helps I see the back-to-back differences in some of their features almost daily. (and while I've posted some of those in a number of threads here to be fair even I can't remember which threads so I'll try to recap quickly).

Camera differences do exist. Most of the time they are subtle but a few things stand out. The fact that the 1020 has a mechanical shutter (instead of doing it purely in software) does translate to less blur in action shots, and if the light levels are there, pictures will have more detail under close scrutiny. But unless you pulling up the pics in a desktop image editor (i.e. Photoshop) I honestly don't know if you would be able to tell the difference 90% of time. The one area where the 1520 shines is speed (both in focusing/locking on to an image and between shot cycling) Both have seen improvements with Windows Phone 8.1 (and I'm assuming again when the Cyan update is pushed out) but the 1520 just simply has a faster SOC and it shows, especially when bracketing shots.

The rest of it comes down to size and storage. The screen on the 1520 is simply gorgeous, possibly the best phone screen I've personally ever used (and I'm saying that having a distinct preference for OLED displays). BUT it's a big phone. I don't mind the size as for me it actually serves as my Executive Mobile Device most days and I simply don't find myself breaking out a Tablet/Laptop unless I've got to use a full-blown productivity app. Having the ability to expand the storage to 160GB (32Gb internal plus 128GB MicroSDXC) is a godsend for me and it is one of the few phones on the market of any flavor that (again with WP 8.1) really makes use of that storage should you choose to go there. Once you fill the 1020 up (which my Wife does about every 6-8 weeks) you are stuck moving photos/video/music around.

There is no doubt the 1020 is more pocketable though...

Suffice to say I like both phones, and my wife LOVES her 1020. She takes a dozen or more pics with it a day, does most of her Facebook on it, and more IM that I care to think about. And she has tiny little hands so for her the 1520 would be a two-handed experience. I LOVE my 1520 because it really is the best mobile communications and light productivity device I've owned to date and the Camera is nearly as good (but not quite).

Good luck with your choice,

- Michael

 

[blue1k]

Well said. I love both my 1020 and 1520. The 1020 photos are definitely much sharper. The 1520 also struggles in video when you zoom or sometimes in low light. You get jittering and blurry frames which is something that 1020 doesn't have a problem with. That would be my only hesitation suggesting the 1520. I really hope cyan fixes this issue.

 

[michaelkriss]

Thanks for everyones input, I know a lot of the problems are me with my 1020 and not getting great pictures. I know it can and I have some really good ones I have taken but comparing last years 4th of July night shots with this years I had much more success with my 920. I would most like a quicker camera so the 1520 seems like it would be great. I usually get my phones used about 6-8 months after launch and try to keep them a while, I had my 920 over a year but just have that itch for something new. Now I'll just have to tuck my tail to my friends with the Galaxy Notes that I have been mocking for the past couple years.

 

[switch side method]

I got a 1020 a few months ago and same thoughts, mainly its my fault as I'm not a camera expert and was hoping it would be newbie friendly which its not. I suck using the camera, but I still enjoy the phone.

In your situation id wait out for the new upcoming model announcements to see if anything else catches your eye. The 1520 looks awesome but its old model specs.

With that last quote iIccan'tsee how its "old model specs" when its the fastest one out there so far. I doubt he has a 1520. I do and there is no lag what so ever. Playing high end games like grand theft auto and esp modern combat 4 really shows you what the "old specs can do" this is one amazing phone. It has 1080p screen, 6" screen, SD card so you can store apps and games on it...apart from the camera this is the best phone to get

 

[Miska Hietala]

On 1020 the picture to picture time can be reduced by taking only 5mb oversampled ones. For me the extra seconds on 1020 doesn't matter. If I want fast as possible shoot times,I get an android or iPhone to do that for me. No,I choose quality everytime.
Sent from my NeverAndroidAgain**1020** via Tapatalk

 

[moirane]

I use both 1020 and 1520, 1020 is for my play days and vacations, its easier to fit in my pocket and the camera speaks for itself while the 1520 is much easier to work on with its gorgeous large display and while its no 1020 the 1520 has held up quite well when I have taken pictures with it. Considering the difference in processors I do not find the 1520 to be that much faster than the 1020 (which just proves that WP8 does not NEED super specs to be a super OS). Just make sure to get a SIM adapter and you can switch back and forth easily as you need, just remember do NOT put the SIM adapter in the 1020 without the SIM card in it, you will ruin your phone (thank god for insurance).

Overall I find myself using the 1020 more often as its gotten warmer and I am wearing less things with large pockets but the 1520 is an eye catching device that is just as good or better in many ways as the 1020.

 

[christenmartin]

I used a 1020 for a short time and liked it. Camera was bad ***. As stated you can adjust the picture quality to speed up processing. I have a 1520 now and I do have to say it is big. I wish they would come out with a 5 to 51/2 phone. That being said, the 1520 is a badass phone. Pic quality is awesome, it is smooth and fast as ****. It is my phone slash tablet slash baby sitter. I frickin love this phone. The screen is the best out there. You will see, I'm sure you will make the right decision grasshopper.

 

[michaelkriss]

Thanks for everyones input. I had tried having the normal camera app be full resolution and the beta only do 5MP shots for the speed factor but didn't notice it being that quick still. I wish I had the option of keeping both but I need to sell the 1020 to try and make up as much as I can to buy a 1520.

 

[ALpHa.Q.RoUgH]

Don't know if you still need opinions, but I just switched two days ago from my hello 1020 to my red 1520. I was one of the original people who had the phone on the forum first but then sold it as it wasn't for me (at the time). Long story short, I started clamoring for a bigger screen device and new I wanted to stick with WP so of course I got the 1520.

To me the screen is gorgeous, I can see more information and yes its huge but I love it. YouTube looks good, my pictures so far look great, haven't really went out and did testing. The videos is good as well. Everything just seems bigger and brighter compared to my 1020. Of course I will miss the 1020 41MP and ability to zoom in real deep, but going down to 20MP I don't think is that bad of a compromise especially considering that this camera shoots way quicker than the 1020. To me the 1020 was always trying to find focus and if the object moved it would be blurry thus leading to many retakes. Also on video, when recording action it would always lose focus and make the video blurry thus me having to point the camera at a non moving object and then direct the camera back to the action. Terrible IMO.

 

[michaelkriss]

Well, I bought a white 1520. Thanks for everyone to helped push me over the edge on my decision. I will miss the camera but for my use the pros of the 1520 outweigh the loss of the camera. Now to find someone who wants a 1020 so my wife doesn't kill me :wink:

 

[Blacklac]

Nice, your going to LOVE that 1520 if you can deal with the size. That screen is beautiful and it gets fairly bright in sunlight. The speakers also get fairly loud for a phone, while remaining fairly clear sounding.

I own both a 1020 and 1520 and I love my 1520. If it had the 1020's camera, life would be goooooddd. I think ill get a 5-5.5" device next though.

 

[iainmann]

I've just cancelled my order for a 930. I've realised I really don't want to go smaller than a 6" screen. Didn't think I'd like the bigger screen at first, but you quickly can't do without it.

 

[badr0b0t]

It's just so odd how a phone with a 41MP camera was not designed to have an expandable storage when you know a higher MP will yield a bigger file size. And that's how I decided to get the 1520 instead. I'll stick with my Nikon D7000 for a more serious photos.

Here are my shots: www.flickr.com/ilbaltazar

 

[Pierre Blackwell]

Not sure if you've played around with both but I would strongly recommend it. In retrospect what are you getting with the 1020 outside of the 41mp that separates it from the 920, 925, 928, or 930? The 1520 has one of the best screens of ANY phone period. The 21mp camera is better than any other phone less the 1020. The SD card really puts it in a class of its own. Wireless charging is something I wish it had, but there are sleeves and cases I can get. Right now I have a Koolkase cover which is awesome. The size becomes less of a factor the more you use it. My hands are big so it was never an issue. I think I is clearly the best WP and one of the best phones period.