Camera comparison: Nokia Lumia 1020 vs iPhone SE

[belodion]

Having acquired an SE recently I thought I'd take both phones out and do a camera comparison.

 

[libra89]

Re:

I'm curious but can you please add a title to your thread?

Sent from mTalk

 

[Laura Knotek]

Re:

I'm curious but can you please add a title to your thread?

Sent from mTalk

I've added a title.

 

[libra89]

Re:

I've added a title.

Thank you Laura!

 

[Laura Knotek]

Re:

Thank you Laura!

You're welcome.

 

[belodion]

Note to all: I had the thread under way but was not sure that the SE photos were uploading in Best Quality, whereas the 1020 ones were. I therefore requested the Mods to delete the thread.

 

[SL2]

The SE has the same type of camera as the 6S, right?

 

[belodion]

It does, and the comparison is interesting. I'll have another go later.

 

[camaroz1985]

I'd be interested to see how this pans out.

 

[belodion]

Okay, let's have another go, using a different method. I'll let the title stand, but note that this is just me taking some photos in ordinary ways with my particular SE and 1020. It's certainly not meant to be a full comparison, nor scientific. All shots were taken on auto settings, then cropped very heavily to see how the two phone cameras+software compare when looking very close....far closer than you would normally do. I have not included the full-scene shots. SE first, then 1020:

 

[belodion]

More:

 

[belodion]

And again:

 

[belodion]

That's about it for now. I may add more later. Others feel free to do so if you happen to have both phones. My own conclusion from what I've seen is that both phones are excellent for photography in their different ways and I enjoy using both. I will say that I'm astonished that the SE performs as well as it does against the 1020, given the difference in sensor sizes.

 

[Laura Knotek]

How much faster is the camera on the iPhone SE? The Lumia 1020 camera does tend to be slow.

 

[belodion]

How much faster is the camera on the iPhone SE? The Lumia 1020 camera does tend to be slow.

It's much faster. For example, if photographing an approaching steam train from a footbridge - something I occasionally do - I have to trigger the 1020 while the train is still some distance from the ideal position to be reasonably sure of capturing it. The several-seconds processing time means that you can hardly expect a second chance. I've misjudged a few times and the result is a locomotive halfway out of the frame. Misjudge the other way and you have to crop more, losing quality. The SE is much quicker to respond when you take the photo, and of course you can also use burst mode, which so far as I know is full-res, compared to the low-res burst mode of the 1020.

How much faster is the camera on the iPhone SE? The Lumia 1020 camera does tend to be slow.

 

[Drael646464]

Colour seems a little weird with the first one. Like too much brightness and saturation. Guess that could be fixed up afterwards

 

[realwarder]

So much more detail in the 1020 shots. But that's not surprising.

 

[belodion]

(Deleted)

 

[belodion]

Another, with screenshot of full scene by SE to show the subsequent degree of crop, then SE, then 1020: