Why is my Lumia 1020's awesome photo clarity lost?

[Mike Newport]

Maybe You are correct. I want to try with Nokia Camera. But the problem is i already have Lumia Camera. How to install Nokia camera again if i want. Does restoring to factory settings help me getting nokia camera??

I used windows phone recovery tool on my pcand it takes your phone back to factory settings and deletes all data and updated apps, once you finish sign into your Microsoft account and select option do not restore, as soon as your phone finishes restoring, go to the store and go under settings and choose not to automatically update, this then allows you to retrieve all updates and manually pick which ones you want, I'm on a Lumia 1020 att so Nokia camera is stock for my branded software, some people may not be able to use this workaround depending on what your stock firmware is, hope this helps, another hint I had to eventually update to Lumia camera because I'm running new preview build and tey restored high resraw option and the Nokia camera was having issues oh the new build, it was fine on 8.1, but to preview caused issues

 

[Kuvelkid]

Ok .Before I do a recovery process. I just like to mention one more thing i have noticed. when i start lumia camera (or deafult camera), for a split second i get a bright view on the screen(it seems like good amount of light captured by the lens) and then suddenly the light considerably gets reduced to give a darker view on the screen . When everything was working perfectly i never bothered to notice the camera things so i am unable to tell that whether this thing was happening before. I use to click with auto options and it used to give me very good quality images. But Now quality is degraded. So whether resetting the phone and using nokia camera will help mu cause or is this some other problem?

 

[Live2Deliver]

strongly believe OP could be over paranoid, as I have the same anxiety too, thinking that our awesome camera could one day lose the clarity because 'it should be awesome / godlike', and there is no visible replacement because it is old, end-of-production.

Truth to be told, our 1020 hasn't one bit became worse than before, its only our growing expectations, and self-fulfilling prophecies.

How I'm I so sure? compare these two images. The bridge image was taken on the top of Mount Titlis in Switzerland, in 2013 when I first got it, in totally bright sunlight (perfect lighting even with ISO100 1/3000). The other one is taken recently in Beijing, in super poor lighting condition (you can easily Bing how bad the skies are in Beijing).

What's more I uploaded the Beijing shot in cropped (copyright reasons), unedited 38mp using Windows Camera in W10M which means there are completely no benefits of oversampling for noise reduction, while the alps shot is taken by Nokia Pro Cam then.

I have my reasons to be paranoid over lens or sensor degradation too. You know the sound our OIS makes when shaking? I hear that loud and clear every time while driving because my holder is mounted right onto the dashboard not windscreen, not shielded from the sun either. My sensor is already 2 years old taking photos almost everyday, hearing the OIS locking the lens into place every time I turns on the camera... that sound triggers my anxiety.

But look at the two photos. Had my 1020 lost the awesomeness? Are there excessive noise and blurs in the 38mp poor lighted photo?
Or does it stands up against the oversampled 5mp super lighted one?

OP, I'm not saying that you are lying or anything, no offense / ill-feeling intended.

Answer yourself honestly these questions. These questions had pulled me away.
Are the comparison testing being done fairly?
Are you unknowingly in fact creating a negative outcome which results in substantiating (supporting) what you think and tries to believe?
Are you expecting too much out of our tiny sensor? (There is a reason why I still keep my APS-C DSLR and 16-105mm lens. Bigger, professional lens = more light, perfect clarity plus larger sensor to capture all the light)
Are you stepping out and observe what other cameras are giving? (Benchmarking ourselves against the rest)

To be honest with you, the comparison shots are not done squarely. At one glance anyone, and a lot here did, can spot the fact that they are taken at different time of the day. This will cause a perceived difference and let you think wild as to whatever is causing it.

Personally I think the shadowed photos are perfect.

Take your 1020 out for a spin NOW, come back, put the photos onto the big screen, zoom it in and tell yourself only one thing, 'How awesome and clear the photo is!'. I hope my post and sharing can help solve your question a bit.

PS my DSLR is Sony A350 in case anyone is curious