Is the Lumia 1020 a better camera than a entry level point and shoot?

[dharmik28]

Yes

Sent from my Xolo_X900 using WPCentral Forums mobile app

 

[vlad0]

Yeah, all those pictures were very nice, except for the concert pic.
.

Thank you!

Yes, concerts and sporting events are an issue.. you just have to get closer I guess

Here is one from the pureview

It would've been even better if I was closer.


Of course, if I had an RX100 with me it would produce a much better result.. but I still can't justify spending $600 and having to carry and extra device with me

Excellent work, great composition. Anyone can take a crap picture on a great camera. This post shows the potential.

Thanks.! But I didn't mention that these are some of my best shots over maybe.. 2 year period

 

[JustToClarify]

huh, I like these N8 shots more than 1020, just look much more natural

 

[WanderingTraveler]

huh, I like these N8 shots more than 1020, just look much more natural

Damian Dinning, my friend.

Always prefers natural photos. If you really like his style, get an 808. (Get another one for me!)

 

[falconeight]

The screen on the 1020 is also far better than any point and shoot camera. That alone is worth the price of admission.

 

[Smyrna5]

Reframe the picture (i.e. zoom) after taking it, that seems to work well.

I think this and previous posters comments on zoom really is the key to comparing the 1020 to a relatively inexpensive P&S. The 1020 does a superb job on normal pictures and can zoom up to about 3X without loss in clarity. However, a lot of regular people (tourists especially) like to zoom in more than 3X. You can get a pretty decent camera with a 10x-20X zoom for around $300. So, it just depends on what you want to do.

Entry level p&s - the 1020 is better. Move up to mid-level, then not so much, if you want to zoom.

 

[EvilFiek]

I've got a Nikon P100 and it's zoom kills my 1020. There's simply no way the 1020 can compete in that regard with any half decent camera. But if Zoom is not used or not necessary? 1020 all the way. It produces just so much more detail and I really dig the vibrant colours (though I can understand why some people would complain about them. I do hope Nokia will update this in the future so you can choose). Another advantage is that it's just much easier to use, the interface is quick and you obviously have more possibilities thanks to various apps.

I can't really imagine some of the low-end P&S (i.e. sub 100, 150$) competing with the 1020. But anyway, if you are really looking for a proper camera and that's your primary motivation, you shouldn't go with the 1020. As good as it is against entry and mid-level P&S, for the same price you can get a decent DSLR and maybe a good set of lenses, too. That will definitely give you better pictures, if you don't mind carrying it around.

EDIT: Had a couple more thoughts flying around. For night time shoots, I feel that a decent P&S might still oust the 1020. My P100 for example can go as high as 8 seconds for exposure. On the other hand I genuinely doubt that most P&S can do decent video, especially with audio filtering and such. My P&S does 1080 at 30fps but the image quality is not really notable, there's no optical stabilisation so you get a lot of shaking and using an optical zoom in video has one big disadvanage: it gets LOUD! The 1020 zoom is not really audible since it's all digital, but optical zoom involves moving parts and since they are directly connected to the body of the camera, you can be sure to hear them afterwards.