[VagrantWade]

Nokia Lumia 920 review: Windows Phone 8 and (a little bit of) camera magic -- Engadget

Just more confirmation that it's the best Windows Phone yet.

[fwaits]

Pretty good review, and frankly the camera comments are fair. So it's taking good daylight pics, just not dominating the competition there. That said, it's early and we know they will tweak the software in the coming months and those will improve as well. Remember how bad the 900's camera was panned then a few updates later (months) it was very respectable. I expect a similar effect with the 920 going from good to excellent (not counting low light where it is already excellent).

[VagrantWade]

Pretty good review, and frankly the camera comments are fair. So it's taking good daylight pics, just not dominating the competition there. That said, it's early and we know they will tweak the software in the coming months and those will improve as well. Remember how bad the 900's camera was panned then a few updates later (months) it was very respectable. I expect a similar effect with the 920 going from good to excellent (not counting low light where it is already excellent).

I love calm and reasonable posts like this. You are the man.

[Coreldan]

And in a way I'd still like to notify that it's not really even "supposed" to be anything special in normal daylight setting. When we think what actually takes the most space in the camera module, its the OIS which has definitely shown its strength. Then there is the low light awesomeness. The actual rest of "8 mpix camera" seems fairly normal stuff and shouldnt be expected to beat stuff like N8 or 808. Not to mention this phone has no camera bulge which both of mentioned phones have. Naturally technology evolves, but still.

Personally I think it's working as intended.

Of course I agree that it seems that some software tweaks could be needed and will probably make the 920 even better when they get those tweaks out. I dont understand much about photography but the arguments of "aggressive noise reduction that wash out details" seem valid.

[VagrantWade]

And in a way I'd still like to notify that it's not really even "supposed" to be anything special in normal daylight setting. When we think what actually takes the most space in the camera module, its the OIS which has definitely shown its strength. Then there is the low light awesomeness. The actual rest of "8 mpix camera" seems fairly normal stuff and shouldnt be expected to beat stuff like N8 or 808.

Personally I think it's working as intended.

This. It's an 8mp camera, not the 41mp beast of the 808. The camera they built for the 920 was clearly designed to take good day time photos, but great videos/low light photos.

[Winterfang]

What are you saying fwaits? That we should wait?

What is it with windows phone and waiting.

[rmichael75]

What are you saying fwaits? That we should wait?

What is it with windows phone and waiting.

the old winterfang seems to be coming out now and then. Well tell me if Android has been the same from few years ago. it is progressing all the time.. pple are waiting for new stuff.. IOS have gone thru 6 versions but everything else is same.. very small changes. But change is the only thing that is contant.. So i dont know WTH you are talking about waiting. Yes you need to wait.. or else you can go to Apple.. .for 100 years they will give the same thing...

If you dont wait for something, what will you look forward to?

Dont be complaining.. be happy with what you have now and look forward to the next thing.

[joeynox]

To the commenters saying the camera is working a intense are completely wrong. The phone was touted as having the most impressive camera in a smart phone aside of the 808. It's has 8.7 mp Carl Zeiss optics with ios. It's not supposed to take blurry, soft, detail less ,fuzzy, shots in broad daylight. I don't care how any of you try to sugar coat it. Every camera on a phone or an actual camera should take excellent images during daylight . Something is wrong with the optics or software that processes the images . The camera is not the way it should be. Now if Nokia designed their new flagship phone to take decent not great pictures during the day then they deserve to have a company in the current state that its in. I want a 920, I want a cyan 920 but I don't want a new smart phone that has a camera that doesn't produce great pictures . Especially one that can't take pictures better than camera phones that were released years before it

[fwaits]

What are you saying fwaits? That we should wait?

What is it with windows phone and waiting.

No I'm saying that buying it will get you the best 'all-around' camera-phone point and shoot now, and will only get better going forward.

Now if you want the best daytime camera-phone then you would likely go for the 808 with it's massive 41MP oversampling PV tech.

[fwaits]

To the commenters saying the camera is working a intense are completely wrong. The phone was touted as having the most impressive camera in a smart phone aside of the 808. It's has 8.7 mp Carl Zeiss optics with ios. It's not supposed to take blurry, soft, detail less ,fuzzy, shots in broad daylight. I don't care how any of you try to sugar coat it. Every camera on a phone or an actual camera should take excellent images during daylight . Something is wrong with the optics or software that processes the images . The camera is not the way it should be. Now if Nokia designed their new flagship phone to take decent not great pictures during the day then they deserve to have a company in the current state that its in. I want a 920, I want a cyan 920 but I don't want a new smart phone that has a camera that doesn't produce great pictures . Especially one that can't take pictures better than camera phones that were released years before it

In the comments of the Engadget review they said manual settings compensated for the small issues they saw so it's likely software tweaking in the auto settings and such will clean them up even more.

[VagrantWade]

To the commenters saying the camera is working a intense are completely wrong. The phone was touted as having the most impressive camera in a smart phone aside of the 808. It's has 8.7 mp Carl Zeiss optics with ios. It's not supposed to take blurry, soft, detail less ,fuzzy, shots in broad daylight. I don't care how any of you try to sugar coat it. Every camera on a phone or an actual camera should take excellent images during daylight . Something is wrong with the optics or software that processes the images . The camera is not the way it should be. Now if Nokia designed their new flagship phone to take decent not great pictures during the day then they deserve to have a company in the current state that its in. I want a 920, I want a cyan 920 but I don't want a new smart phone that has a camera that doesn't produce great pictures . Especially one that can't take pictures better than camera phones that were released years before it

The 920 does have the most impressive camera. So what are you talking about? Best lowlight and videos by far. You are a chronic hater. Probably contracted Hateritus from Winter.

[doublesman3486]

Nokia Lumia 920 review: Windows Phone 8 and (a little bit of) camera magic -- Engadget

[DungMasterFang]

I like how they butchered the start screen on the video...

[VagrantWade]

http://forums.windowscentral.com/lumia-920/200581.htm

[VagrantWade]

I like how they butchered the start screen on the video...

Well it was the same guy who said the iPad mini is the best tablet Apple has made.

[anon(5339110)]

In the comments of the Engadget review they said manual settings compensated for the small issues they saw so it's likely software tweaking in the auto settings and such will clean them up even more.

Exactly. Given all the reviewers agree the 920's camera excels at the tough stuff--low light and video--pretty much says the lens is great. That for some reason the "easy" daylight pics are not the very best can only mean that there is a glitch in the processing software that they need to work out. The main point is that the underlying hardware is top-notch, and we know that Nokia is the best when it comes to updating the firmware:

"We spoke with Nokia at length about this and were told it's at least in part thanks to some pending software tweaks to increase sharpness"

[squire777]

One of the cons for the device is that it feels "unwieldy" yet in the review they say it feels better than its predecessors.

[MaulerX]

Pretty good review. Even The Verge's review was decent (minus the numerical scorings). Really make that Pocket-lint review look like a troll post.

[blehblehbleh]

What are you saying fwaits? That we should wait?

What is it with windows phone and waiting.

It's like that with any business or technology. Real world things sometimes have constraints (allocation of resources, dead lines, and other external factors). If that don't suit you then move on to something not confined by those or wait until the thing you want enters the market (or do it yourself).

Or quit placing unrealistic expectations. I get the frustrations Negativefang but it's not the end of the world.

[blehblehbleh]

And in a way I'd still like to notify that it's not really even "supposed" to be anything special in normal daylight setting. When we think what actually takes the most space in the camera module, its the OIS which has definitely shown its strength. Then there is the low light awesomeness. The actual rest of "8 mpix camera" seems fairly normal stuff and shouldnt be expected to beat stuff like N8 or 808. Not to mention this phone has no camera bulge which both of mentioned phones have. Naturally technology evolves, but still.

Personally I think it's working as intended.

Of course I agree that it seems that some software tweaks could be needed and will probably make the 920 even better when they get those tweaks out. I dont understand much about photography but the arguments of "aggressive noise reduction that wash out details" seem valid.

Couldn't have said this any better than you did and it bears repeating. I can see how people assumed daytime photos would be better too, **** I kind of did, but really that shouldn't have been the case and should've been kept in check by realistic expectations. Either way it still is one of the best at the moment for a freaking camera phone.

[VagrantWade]

Pretty good review. Even The Verge's review was decent (minus the numerical scorings). Really make that Pocket-lint review look like a troll post.

The Verge gave the Nexus 4 the same score as the 920 for camera. No joke lol.

[MaulerX]

The Verge gave the Nexus 4 the same score as the 920 for camera. No joke lol.

Lol! What a joke. Give credit to Engadget for getting rid of numerical scoring. That way people actually read what's being said.

[doublesman3486]

To the commenters saying the camera is working a intense are completely wrong. The phone was touted as having the most impressive camera in a smart phone aside of the 808. It's has 8.7 mp Carl Zeiss optics with ios. It's not supposed to take blurry, soft, detail less ,fuzzy, shots in broad daylight. I don't care how any of you try to sugar coat it. Every camera on a phone or an actual camera should take excellent images during daylight . Something is wrong with the optics or software that processes the images . The camera is not the way it should be. Now if Nokia designed their new flagship phone to take decent not great pictures during the day then they deserve to have a company in the current state that its in. I want a 920, I want a cyan 920 but I don't want a new smart phone that has a camera that doesn't produce great pictures . Especially one that can't take pictures better than camera phones that were released years before it

Remember this phone is running pre release software.

[firewall2302]

I've also seen in these reviews the suggestion that was mentioned about manual settings possibly being the best way to go.

I look at it this way - like stated, it can take the best low light shots around for just about any point & shoot. That's simply amazing and really does show the hardware is sound. The daylight issues (especially when on normal settings) do seem to be a software issue and are probably an overly aggressive noise filter. Which I'd rather have that than a speckled and noisy image under normal ISO settings.

[vlad0]

The Verge gave the Nexus 4 the same score as the 920 for camera. No joke lol.

I am always confused about the criteria they use when it comes to the camera of any phone.. not just the verge, but almost all of them.

Is it based on just picture quality, or is it based on the overall camera "package" that the phone offers ?

I think that it should be based on the overall features/performance, which are image quality in various condition, flash photography, video recording, zooming, sound recording, easy of use, camera UI, and then add on to that if there are any extra features.

So, if that was the case, I would rank the current smartphone camera market like this:

1. 808 (by a significant margin)
2. N8
3. 920
4. iPhone 5
5. GS2/Note
6. Xperia S

But regardless, the 920 is a much better package than the nexus.. not even close. So the Verge's conclusion makes me think that they just looked at the image quality in daylight, and that was it.. despite the fact that in their actual review they were impressed with the low light performance of the 920.
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