Shifting from 808 symbian to lumia 1020

[jeetu4444]

I still have my 808 pv as a back up fone and will keep it forever

 

[Tech friend]

What I am still having slight problems with is how the 1020 defines how a good photography shall look like. This oversaturated bus in Steve's first pic, doesn't it somehow look like a toy or being painted? I think: is reality not intense enough that its image does need that kind of overemphasis? The 808 - as the 1020's opposite - paints a realistic picture of the scene.

It's true, the dng format makes it possible to adjust all relevant settings to someone's liking but I would need to do that for every single photography just to correct something what I consider to be a not welcome progress. One day I will have to learn to move with the times though.

At the moment, I pin my hopes on the next generation of MS/Nokia smartphones (post-1020 era).

 

[trinkner]

I'm still using the 808. I've thought long and hard (probably obsessively so) about moving to Windows Phone to have more current apps. For me, the 808's camera is superb. From what I can tell from samples online, the 1020's camera isn't quite as good, but it's very close. I think I'd be happy with the 1020's camera.

The key reasons I haven't switched yet:

1. No automated sound profile switching (a la Situations on Symbian)
2. Poor music handling on WP, especially with models with SD cards. I need to have 80GB of music, and the unfixed duplications of tracks bug would drive me nuts. (See entries on this forum and on Microsoft's customer service forums). It seems that MS has known about this bug for over a year but hasn't fixed it.
3. A claustrophobic feeling when I use some WP apps. (I've spent a lot of time with my wife's Nokia 521). I feel like half the screen is given over to unnecessarily big fonts, but I might be able to get over this.
4. WP doesn't offer the ViewRanger app.
5. WP doesn't have any bridge game apps.
6. WP doesn't have a file manager.
7. It seems like users have to invent all sorts of work-arounds to do what they want to do, due to MS's intentional limitations of WP. (E.g., unable to attach arbitrary files to emails).
8. System-wide volume control. I know this is changing soon, which is a good sign.

Symbian is dying a slow death. I do miss the recent apps, and feel like I'm missing out a bit on the app scene. I'm not a gamer (other than bridge), so I don't miss those, but I do miss Netflix, streaming ESPN (which WP doesn't do), local banking app (which WP doesn't do).

Mostly, I really want to move to Android, where every app is available and all the system tweaks are available, a la Symbian. But I want a camera on par with the 808.

I'm surprised that the rest of the world (e.g., people who don't read these kinds of camera-centric forums), seem very pleased with their smartphone cameras. I didn't realize that I was a camera snob until recently, when I realized how happy people were with their blurry photos.

My dream? Nokia releases an Android equivalent of the 808/1020. Or perhaps Sony finally makes a Z model with a decent photo algorithm and xenon flash. Or MS relents a little bit and allows developers to have access to more low-level APIs so sound profile automation etc. can be made possible on a WP device, and MS fixes the media management oddness and bugs of WP.

Maybe I need to start my own phone company to do so. Unfortunately, I wouldn't know much about how to do it.

 

[vlad0]

Don't move to android.. I still see at as a Symbian wanna be that runs it's java apps in a VM .. it just doesn't feel as clean as Symbian or WP.

My suggestion is wait for the next camera flagship and see how you feel about it in terms of design and image quality. Then, if possible, make sure that it will be upgradable to "threshold" , which is supposed to merge Windows RT and Windows Phone. If they do the merge right, and the final result is more like RT and less like WP right now.. we might have a winner.

I am sticking with Symbian in the meantime.. it does everything I need from a modern smartphone. I have a companion Dell Venue 8 Pro and a 2520 for work..so I am covered in terms of "recent' apps.. streaming, etc.

 

[Bahamen]

Wow this thread has been around for quite awhile, surprised to see it resurfacing!

What I am still having slight problems with is how the 1020 defines how a good photography shall look like. This oversaturated bus in Steve's first pic, doesn't it somehow look like a toy or being painted? I think: is reality not intense enough that its image does need that kind of overemphasis? The 808 - as the 1020's opposite - paints a realistic picture of the scene.

It's true, the dng format makes it possible to adjust all relevant settings to someone's liking but I would need to do that for every single photography just to correct something what I consider to be a not welcome progress. One day I will have to learn to move with the times though.

At the moment, I pin my hopes on the next generation of MS/Nokia smartphones (post-1020 era).

With Black update, the color saturation has been toned down quite a bit. I used to be a fan of the 808's natural look until I realize some vibrance can really make the picture pop out and that's where I really enjoyed using the 1020. I personally think the 808 is too realistic to the point of being uninteresting or even outright bland. Granted the color's been toned down a little since Black (to my slight disappointment), but the imaging algorithm has indeed been improved quite a lot (less noise, more detail) so I'm not complaining.

 

[trinkner]

Keep in mind that you can boost the 808's saturation level in the settings. You can also increase the sharpening. Then save the combination as one of the Creative Mode presets. You can achieve much the same end effect as with the 1020 by adjusting these settings on the 808. The nice thing about the 808 is that you have the option to create whichever type of photo you want: entirely realistic, or one with a bit more pop. It's interesting to think that reality can be disappointing in a photo.

 

[Bahamen]

Keep in mind that you can boost the 808's saturation level in the settings. You can also increase the sharpening. Then save the combination as one of the Creative Mode presets. You can achieve much the same end effect as with the 1020 by adjusting these settings on the 808. The nice thing about the 808 is that you have the option to create whichever type of photo you want: entirely realistic, or one with a bit more pop. It's interesting to think that reality can be disappointing in a photo.

Sadly it's true. If everything natural is beautiful there's no need for the cosmetics industry. There will be no salt, sugar and pepper, we'll be eating raw salads without dressing

In fact if you look at many award winning photos there tends to be certain non-realistic elements to them.

I'd argue it's not even so simple to define realism. After all, the saturated look may correspond to how your mind chooses to remember it. Capturing images is more about capturing the moment than a purely perfunctory role.

 

[trinkner]

Then there's the whole idea of whether individuals perceive color differently. Does my mind see or react to levels of green the same way somebody else's mind does? When I think of childhood memories, I don't remember vivid colors, although I don't really remember in black and white, either. So you have a good point: if you're capturing a memory, maybe "realistic" colors aren't necessarily required. I do like to trust that my camera's CCD will collect the same photos as my eye, but I suppose that's open to question, too.

 

[JustToClarify]

the thing is that with 808 you have the choice, with 1020 you have to tinker with RAW files which takes some time AND have good memory of how those colors on the picture really looked in reality

 

[vlad0]

I am sure that Microsoft will add some of those 808 features to the WP app eventually. The 3 presets are probably the best feature of the 808 camera app, which is in fact very powerful.. every time a pick up an andro or an iOS device and look at the camera app.. it just feels so bare bones compared to my 808. They really did a good job on that.

In terms of color reproduction.. you can do pretty much whatever you want to the 808s photos in real time thanks to all the different settings. At times its a bit too "dull" in terms of color reproduction, but its really not a big deal once you get used to the settings and the camera characteristics.

Just to celebrate this great piece of engineering, here is one of my latest clicks..

100iso at 1/30th , handheld. Straight from the phone

 

[JustToClarify]

magnificent

 

[Gary Anderson5]

I too am thinking about going from by beloved 808 to 1020. I am willing to give up the slight loss of picture quality.
Can anyone tell me if the extra 1/2 inch larger screen size makes a difference?
On the 808 i have to use opera to be able to read easily as the native browser's fonts and text are too small.
Also love the "data on/off" widget on the 808 as I have a limited data plan and use it several times a day, I have read it takes about 6 steps to turn off the data on the 1020?
Thanks in advance.

 

[trinkner]

I'd like to hear answers for Gary's questions, too.

Gary: you might want to wait to see what Nokia brings out this spring. A key drawback of the 1020 is the lack of an SD card.

By the way, I've been experimenting with a Nokia 520 (inexpensive way to try WP). Reading news articles is easier on the WP devices than on the 808. Apps for Twitter (which I use as a news feed aggregator/reader) and Reddit do a nice job of resizing articles' fonts and reflowing the text for a mobile phone. Opera Mobile does much the same thing on the 808, but the results are faster and with a larger font on WP. This is one of the key reasons I want to change to a WP device. I'm hoping the successor to the 1020 will have the same or better camera, and SD slot, and a larger screen.

One key loss of going from an 808 to a WP is the loss of sound profiles and the automation/ease of switching on/off data/wifi/GPS, etc. I'm hoping that the upcoming 8.1 release of WP will help devs create such functionality.

WP is also much much much better at handling video news, Netflix, etc. than the 808. On my 808, I never click on video links because it's just too painful (unless you're in a dedicated video client like CuteTube), but on the WP 520, I click on video links and have very good fast results.

Also, there are a few Pocket apps on WP which allow for convenient larger-font reading experience for saved articles.

 

[JustToClarify]

I too am thinking about going from by beloved 808 to 1020. I am willing to give up the slight loss of picture quality.
Can anyone tell me if the extra 1/2 inch larger screen size makes a difference?
On the 808 i have to use opera to be able to read easily as the native browser's fonts and text are too small.
Also love the "data on/off" widget on the 808 as I have a limited data plan and use it several times a day, I have read it takes about 6 steps to turn off the data on the 1020?
Thanks in advance.

bigger screen is always better, however 1020 has worse contrast than 808 and that might come into play on a sunny day

I don't use native browser at all on 808, it's really masochism

 

[Bahamen]

I too am thinking about going from by beloved 808 to 1020. I am willing to give up the slight loss of picture quality.
Can anyone tell me if the extra 1/2 inch larger screen size makes a difference?
On the 808 i have to use opera to be able to read easily as the native browser's fonts and text are too small.
Also love the "data on/off" widget on the 808 as I have a limited data plan and use it several times a day, I have read it takes about 6 steps to turn off the data on the 1020?
Thanks in advance.

I have upgraded from the 808 to the 1020. Trust me, the 1020 screen is way better

There are many apps that lets you pin the WiFi or other settings to your home screen for direct access. Nokia also has a Folder App which allows you to group your apps together or even those connectivity options can be grouped together and pinned to the home screen.

 

[Bahamen]

I too am thinking about going from by beloved 808 to 1020. I am willing to give up the slight loss of picture quality.
Can anyone tell me if the extra 1/2 inch larger screen size makes a difference?
On the 808 i have to use opera to be able to read easily as the native browser's fonts and text are too small.
Also love the "data on/off" widget on the 808 as I have a limited data plan and use it several times a day, I have read it takes about 6 steps to turn off the data on the 1020?
Thanks in advance.

Oh, there is also a Data Sense app that lets you manage your data usage based on your plan limits.

 

[vlad0]

The contrast ratio and sunlight legibility are the only two things the 808 screen is better than the 1020's ...

By the way the 3gb camera roll on OneDrive doesn't work for Symbian devices.. I tried both version of auto upload from my 808 and I can
t get the extra storage.

 

[palandri]

Off Topic - Just an FYI for those that still have a Nokia 808. I put my wife's Nokia 808 up for auction on eBay about a month ago. I listed a buy it now price of $300, and it sold in 10 minutes. There's still a strong demand for the 808.

 

[Bahamen]

The contrast ratio and sunlight legibility are the only two things the 808 screen is better than the 1020's ....

Uh, you sure about that? I find the 1020's screen far better than the 808 in every aspect. I have no idea what the spec sheet says, but there is no way the 808's screen is better.

 

[Gary Anderson5]

Can you expand on your "contrast" comment? Are you saying the ClearBlack display works better on the 808?
I could not be happier how easy it is to see my screen when outdoors, I always thought all Nokia's performed the same way with that technology.