Lumia 1020 vs. 929 the cameras

[flyinion]

Sorry if this belongs elsewhere, seemed the best place since it related to multiple phones. So I've been planning to get the 1020 and jump ship from a Galaxy Nexus android phone on Verizon. I'm not concerned with AT&T vs. Verizon, they'll be fine in the areas I need service and in many cases have better signal than Verizon now in my area. One of the big reasons for wanting the 1020 was for the camera.

I enjoy some amateur photography as a hobby and have a Canon DSLR with a few decent lenses, but had thought it would be nice to have a point & shoot for when I didn't want to haul around all the gear since my cell cameras always sucked. Then I started reading about the Lumia cameras and the lightbulb came on. I'd been wanting to jump to WP for my smartphone OS anyway since the days when Mango was still coming out "soon". What I'm trying to figure out though is how the 1020 camera will compare to the 20mp that will be in the 929 (I assume the same as the 1520?) and if it would be good enough for what I want, decent point & shoot type quality).

The 1520 is way too big for me for a phone so I won't be considering it at all. I guess one other thing to consider is the differences in the CPU (not worried about screen resolution on a 5" device, 1020's resolution is just fine). I know coming from Android the cpu has always been important to consider........my two year old Galaxy Nexus which flew when I first got it is definitely not performing the same on the latest 4.3 version of Android for instance. I guess I just want to make sure the 1020 is the right phone before all the big sales come up. Of course it's also at $99 right now and the 929 when it comes out will probably be 199 or 149 to start. Maybe the savings on the 1020 outweighs the spec boost on the 929 in the cpu area?

 

[Moiz Mian]

Sorry if this belongs elsewhere, seemed the best place since it related to multiple phones. So I've been planning to get the 1020 and jump ship from a Galaxy Nexus android phone on Verizon. I'm not concerned with AT&T vs. Verizon, they'll be fine in the areas I need service and in many cases have better signal than Verizon now in my area. One of the big reasons for wanting the 1020 was for the camera.

I enjoy some amateur photography as a hobby and have a Canon DSLR with a few decent lenses, but had thought it would be nice to have a point & shoot for when I didn't want to haul around all the gear since my cell cameras always sucked. Then I started reading about the Lumia cameras and the lightbulb came on. I'd been wanting to jump to WP for my smartphone OS anyway since the days when Mango was still coming out "soon". What I'm trying to figure out though is how the 1020 camera will compare to the 20mp that will be in the 929 (I assume the same as the 1520?) and if it would be good enough for what I want, decent point & shoot type quality).

The 1520 is way too big for me for a phone so I won't be considering it at all. I guess one other thing to consider is the differences in the CPU (not worried about screen resolution on a 5" device, 1020's resolution is just fine). I know coming from Android the cpu has always been important to consider........my two year old Galaxy Nexus which flew when I first got it is definitely not performing the same on the latest 4.3 version of Android for instance. I guess I just want to make sure the 1020 is the right phone before all the big sales come up. Of course it's also at $99 right now and the 929 when it comes out will probably be 199 or 149 to start. Maybe the savings on the 1020 outweighs the spec boost on the 929 in the cpu area?

I have seen some of the pictures from the 1520 which has the same camera as the 929, and personally I found the level of detail in the pictures closer to the 920 than the 1020. On the other hand, white balance/colors are significantly more natural on the 1520 than on the 920 and even 1020. This may have to do with the Black software update or the extra processing prowess of the snapdragon 800. So depends what you want in the camera. If you want good pictures while zoomed out/oversampled, the 929 camera will be good enough. If you want all the minute details of zoom that you can barely see with your own eyes! Then the 1020 will be your best bet

 

[flyinion]

Hmm, well I think you might be right about the black update. However either way I know the 1020 is also supposed to be getting raw file support (don't know about the 929) which is actually really good for me because I'll just dump them into Lightroom and process them just like when I do my DSLR pictures. It's easy enough to fix any WB or color issues in there with a raw file. I guess I'm just trying to make sure there is nothing to tempt me to stay on Verizon before my contract is up mid-December.

 

[Noahma]

The 929 and 1520 will have RAW support as well as the 1020. I look at it as the 1020 being the top of the hill, and the 929 and 1520 being just below the crown.

 

[Tyresian]

Paul Thurrott did a camera comparison of the 1520 and the 1020.

http://winsupersite.com/windows-phone/lumia-1520-camera-comparison

It looks like the 1520 is very good. Though it also seems like something was wrong with his 1020 shots. I have the 1020 and never have that blurry washed out look his pictures have. I will say the 1520 images look sharper zoomed in. I have a feeling the 1020 will get this sharpness as part of the software when we get the Black update.

 

[whtchdr]

The camera on the 1020 will undoubtedly remain the one to beat but seeing as how the 929 will feature a drastically improved CPU it is sure to receive support for a longer period. The new hardware will allow for a lot of advancements with WP OS in the future and will only get better. Long story short, I would choose the 929. Also, I've owned the 1020 and have the 1520 on pre-order.

Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk

 

[Blacklac]

Paul Thurrott did a camera comparison of the 1520 and the 1020.

http://winsupersite.com/windows-phone/lumia-1520-camera-comparison

It looks like the 1520 is very good. Though it also seems like something was wrong with his 1020 shots. I have the 1020 and never have that blurry washed out look his pictures have. I will say the 1520 images look sharper zoomed in. I have a feeling the 1020 will get this sharpness as part of the software when we get the Black update.

yeah, there is def something up with those 1020 shots. I'd doesn't surprise me the 1520 would have better colors, considering it has Black Firmware. However, some of those 1020 shots are soft and really look nothing like what would come from our 1020's.

 

[puttlikezach]

This is my only reservation with the 929/Icon. Will I be leaving anything on the table in terms of tangible quality? I guess I have 14 days to experiment with the 929 and if it's not what I think it'll be I can jump ship and head to ATT and 1020.

 

[undulose]

The 1020 is also better in low-light performance compared to the 1520.

If you are worried about software support, I've read somewhere that Microsoft will correct the mistake it had with WP 7. Most MS devices must be supported at least within a 36-month period, unlike Google's support for Nexus devices that runs only until 18 months.

 

[hopmedic]

Microsoft's support lifecycle for Windows Phone 8 is 36 months. Not support for individual phones. Similar to the way they support Windows XP, Vista, 7, and now 8, for a minimum time period, but they don't promise to support individual PCs.
Microsoft increases Windows Phone 8 support lifecycle, teases upcoming enterprise update | Windows Phone Central

 

[Rodrigo Mendes]

1020 have a Xenon Flash, 929 not. Think about that too.

 

[puttlikezach]

If Verizon doesn't mention anything about the 929, I think I'm going to jump ship and head to ATT and grab the 1020. Might be a better idea anyways as Camera is my #1 priority on a phone. I don't really care about the early termination fee. I'll just sell my HTC One (horrendous camera) to offset the cost. By the time the 929 is released it'll be outdated. Plus it sounds like ATT is the place to be for Windows devices.

 

[Moiz Mian]

If Verizon doesn't mention anything about the 929, I think I'm going to jump ship and head to ATT and grab the 1020. Might be a better idea anyways as Camera is my #1 priority on a phone. I don't really care about the early termination fee. I'll just sell my HTC One (horrendous camera) to offset the cost. By the time the 929 is released it'll be outdated. Plus it sounds like ATT is the place to be for Windows devices.

ATT is definitely the place to be for windows phones! Anyway, I'm sure ATT will get first crack at the wp8.1 flagship which will likely arrive in April. I'd hold out for that.

 

[puttlikezach]

ATT is definitely the place to be for windows phones! Anyway, I'm sure ATT will get first crack at the wp8.1 flagship which will likely arrive in April. I'd hold out for that.

You referring to the rumored Lumia 1820?

 

[Moiz Mian]

You referring to the rumored Lumia 1820?

I doubt that's what it will be called, since that name makes no sense, but yes something like that. ATT always gets the flagship.

 

[Optiplex330]

I have seen some of the pictures from the 1520 which has the same camera as the 929, and personally I found the level of detail in the pictures closer to the 920 than the 1020. On the other hand, white balance/colors are significantly more natural on the 1520 than on the 920 and even 1020. This may have to do with the Black software update or the extra processing prowess of the snapdragon 800. So depends what you want in the camera. If you want good pictures while zoomed out/oversampled, the 929 camera will be good enough. If you want all the minute details of zoom that you can barely see with your own eyes! Then the 1020 will be your best bet

I like the idea of not having to zoom when taking picture. But AFTER I have taken the picture, I might want to zoom and from what I understand, only then could we appreciate the extra details of the 1020. So 1020 gets my vote.

 

[Quinn FitzGerald]

It depends on what you want in a camera I think. the 1020 really adds larger lens (more light for low light situations) higher resolution (you can zoom more without making things digitally zoom) Xenon flash a few other things.

If those things are not very important for you, the odds are the camera will be not drastically worse in most scenarios.

 

[StevoPhilo]

If you're coming from a DSLR the 1020 is going to be the way to go. If your contract doesn't expire anytime soon I would wait and see whats around the corner in April just to see specwise, but if that's not a concern I think the 1020 is an amazing point and shoot camphone to go with.

 

[flyinion]

Oops, apparently I never updated this lol. Yeah I picked up the 1020 a couple days after my contract with Verizon expired in December. Really liking it so far!