Of course everyone will prefer to take pics at 800 ISO than 12800 given the choice. Who doesn't know that? When your image is already at 800 ISO with 4 sec shutter speed (on tripod of course), and it still comes out pitch black, then that extra ISO option comes in useful. Sure, that is not a common scenario and it is not ideal either but I will take it as an improvement nonetheless, and it is a beneficial use case that should be acknowledged (and it is not the only thing they improved so your point about this being low priority is moot). And for you to come out all pompous belittling other people's knowledge of photography because of that additional ISO option, while it appears your own knowledge of photography doesn't seem to be all that great.
If you are using the 920 as you claimed, you should know that the 920 does NOT prioritize high ISO. It actually has a greater tendency to use a lower ISO and keep the shutter open longer. Of course this is all a matter of subjective preference but that is EXACTLY the point of the Lumia cameras giving that manual option.
That is also an obvious point. Who said that the max ISO is the only thing they did? How about that half-stop improvement in aperture from f2.4 to f1.9? What about all the other software enhancements (e.g. dual capture with different shutter speeds)? And using a slightly larger sensor? You picked on one particular minor aspect of improvement and then make a sweeping statement about their supposed lack of knowledge of photography.
I'm not here to start a fight or to "win" an argument as the goal of an argument is not to win but to come to an understanding. Which we clearly won't according to your tone and one way view. I try to always use conditional form to keep the discussion open while you take my words for affirmation.
to be honest, I don't care what anyone thinks about my own knowledge regarding photography as I'm not a pro, far from it actually. But a professional will never claim cranking up the ISO is a good thing unless they have too and even so, if the end result is actually bad, the option won't even be used. A photographer will always favour the end result over the software/hardware options given, especially if these are detrimental to the photo they want to capture Better no picture than a crappy one. That's the first point I made.
Of course, the ISO is not the only thing they have changed. f/1.9 is great to capture more light and that's a great improvement. I'm now very impatient to see what the result will be regarding DOP and focal point. I simply hope they won't crank up the sharpening algorithm to make up for the lack of details captured, especially for landscape pics. I'm focusing on that aspect simply because the ISO, if not well handled, is the main item that can destroy a picture, not matter what the conditions are.
Yes, you are right the 920 does prioritize long exposure, especially in daylight which was completely stupid. However, as soon as light goes down, the ISO automatically goes up like crazy instead of trying to find the right balance between exposure and ISO. I usually get that on my 930, especially with the latest version of Lumia Camera.
As far as I remember from that keynote, there was no such claim, rather it only states "OIS=ON" as the intention was to demonstrate the benefits of OIS. Sure, you can say it might be misleading but that is far from the claim that these photos were taken with the phone.
Besides, that is all water under the bridge now and I don't see the point of bringing up something from 3 years ago involving a different company and different people.
I'll just leave this here for your information:
Nokia admits to faking Lumia 920 ad | ZDNet
Once again, I won't be commenting on these facts as I'm not here to start a fight, just to explain why I'm skeptical.
Juha was Nokia's head of imaging when this happen and Nokia was under Elop who actually came from MS. Besides, MS bought Nokia. Different companies? yes and no.
Maybe everyone lies all the time in the world you live in. Speak not for others please.
Figure of speech, understanding, common sense... I thought you would understand what I was meaning but apparently, you like to literally take things and not figuratively. No need to spend more time on non-sense.
You don't seem to understand the difference between an engineer and a marketing/advertising personnel. But then again perhaps in your world everyone is a liar.
Well, considering my job is to actually help engineers and project managers who are requesting a grant to innovate and to secure their funding in front of the european commission... and yes, you are right to a certain extent. Marketing people are the worst. It doesn't mean engineers always tell the truth. When I challenge tech people before they enter a project and business review with the European commission, most of them lie. For a very simple reason. When you ask for a funding between 2 and 10 million euros, their company is definitely not okay to let that money go away. Same goes when you launch a new product on behalf of the company that actually hires you. You'll say whatever you have to, to make a good impression, even if you have to lie for that.
Of course. I agree it is always a good idea to have healthy skepticism and keep an open mind about things. But you gotta be an extreme cynic that when Juha said "see this photo I took with the 950" you suspect he might have used a DSLR and blatantly lying about it. But hey, what do I know about the world you live in...
Now, the reason why I'm skeptical:
1. He shows a picture that he personally took with the 950. 2 options:
1. you either believe it, literally
or 2. you decide to be skeptical but keep your mind open.
He may have actually taken the pic with the 950 but once again, unless we have a clear proof of that, what forces me to believe him? I'm always using the conditional form, mind you. I never said he was blatantly lying. That's your saying, not mine. I'm saying that they MAY have tricked the pictures, but I'm not sure, I may be completely wrong.
Then he zooms in and show us how great it looks. I have to say, if that's really a pic taken with the 950, that's super impressive and I'm thrilled for the people who are going to buy the 950... and he shows a galaxy S6 pic. This is where I start to be skeptical... from all the tests from unbiased reviewers all over the web, none have reported such a bad image quality from the S6. So yes, I'm skeptical. But hey, I can't find any reasons why they would try to make the competition look bad...
2. 2nd point that makes my skepticism grow even more. He actually takes a picture with the 950, in front of the camera. It was the perfect occasion to actually prove us that the 950 was able to capture a lot of details, especially in low light, but no, he decides not to zoom in and doesn't spend much time on this pic. The question is: why?
a) Because he knew it was out of his control? Was the other picture staged to optimize the end result?
b) It wasn't part of his demo, therefore the rest of it is simply part of a rehearsed speech?
c) He knew the quality would not meet the level of the sample he previously showed and decided not to show us the actual details of that pic?
d) Or easy answer, he didn't think about it.
When the reviews get out and I'm wrong, I have no shame to come here and say it's a great device. Until then, I don't believe any official representative, engineer or not. BTW, this goes for MS, google, Apple, Samsung and so on...
End of the silly argument that will go round and round. I'll wait for the reviews now.