Digital camera test: 2013 contender challenges the reigning champion

Introduction

We kicked off a Flashback sequence on our YouTube channel honest final week, with the first video starring the Nokia 808 PureView. It is a smartphone with a cult following due to what used to be a groundbreaking digital camera at the time. That video prompted a closer conception at the PureView digital camera, which we did in a head-to-head with the present portray quality benchmark, the Xiaomi Mi 11 Extremely.

One ingredient led to another and here we’re with but another well-liked opponent for the Xiaomi – a Nokia Lumia 1020. A non secular successor to the 808, the 1020 builds on the PureView concept but drops it from the reliable mannequin title in favor of the then newly adopted Lumia branding brought by Microsoft’s acquision of the Nokia smartphone alternate. PureView stays etched on the encourage of the 1020, alongside the Zeiss logo which marks the continued collaboration with the German optics experts.

It says 41MP on the sizeable digital camera bulge of the Lumia 1020, so same nominal decision as on the 808 PureView. Once again, it is a form of multi-factor sensors the keep you can no longer in truth bag all the 41 million pixels on story of the outrageous corners fall outside of the portray circle projected by the lens. Nonetheless, it’ll comprise 38MP 4:3 photos or 34MP 16:9 ones, very like the 808.

But same this sensor is now not in truth. It be a smaller unit at 1/1.5″ vs. the passe mannequin’s 1/1.2″ kind and pixel size has reduced in size accordingly – from the 1.4µm of the authentic PureView to 1.12µm on the 1020. On a obvious present even though, the 26mm-same lens now has a a diminutive brighter aperture (f/2.2 vs. f/2.4) and, more importantly, it parts OIS.

The Mi 11 Extremely, in case you like forgotten, is equipped with a 50MP 1/1.12-stride sensor on its principal digital camera, the greatest on a smartphone. It does like 1.4µm pixels – same size as on the 808, and particularly bigger than the 1020’s. To reiterate, the Mi’s sensor has a Quad Bayer assemble (with 4 adjacent pixels grouped below the same Crimson, Green, or Blue filter) while the Lumia is the utilization of a fashioned Bayer array. The Xiaomi has a stabilized lens too, with a worthy broader 24mm-same focal size and an f/1.95 aperture.

The Nokia is a little bit of limited in phrases of decision settings and lets you rep from three modes – 5MP JPEG fully, 5MP JPEG + 38MP JPEG, or 5MP JPEG + 38MP DNG RAW recordsdata (38MP changes to 34MP even as you happen to retract the 16:9 factor). Fundamentally, in impart for you moderately sized JPEGs, you like bought to compose them yourself. We did that in two diverse solutions – one used to be by starting up with the out-of-digital camera 38MP JPEGs and other by processing the RAW recordsdata, in both cases saving 12.5MP photos to match the Xiaomi decision. We additionally processed RAW recordsdata out of the Xiaomi, on story of why no longer.

One ingredient that you just might no longer snarl from taking a conception at the photos is honest how excruciatingly leisurely the Lumia 1020 digital camera is to delivery. When starting up it with the dedicated shutter delivery button with the mobile phone in standby, it takes a dazzling 4-5 seconds for the viewfinder to seem after the mobile phone vibrates that it is registered your lengthy press on the button (which itself takes about a second). The 808 is markedly faster by manner of delivery time.

Another direct we experienced on the 1020 is the prevailing inability to lock focal level when zoomed in. Devoted efforts of tapping on the display to focal level labored as a rule, but no longer for every scene, and no longer for every shot of the same scene. It is an eight-year-passe unit, on the other hand, so we can attribute that to a lengthy and storied existence.

These are largely uncommon observations that are no longer necessarily major by manner of the task at hand, which is comparing the portray quality out of the two telephones. That’s, as lengthy as we put together to bag in-focal level photos out of both telephones, which we did.

Daylight hours portray quality

Let’s originate out with a in model comparability – 5MP photos out of the Lumia versus 12.5MP ones from the Xiaomi, or in truth the default output of both telephones. In disagreement to our skills with the Nokia 808, the Lumia 1020 exposes because it’ll be – there used to be no underexposure to talk of. Dynamic fluctuate is extraordinarily stunning – no longer Xiaomi-stage stunning, with a little bit of more clipped highlights here or there, but in truth better than on the 808.

Daylight hours samples (5MP vs. 12.5MP): Nokia Lumia 1020 • Xiaomi Mi 11 Extremely

Another alternate we’re seeing coming from older Nokia to the newer one is an enlarge in coloration saturation – the Lumia 1020 approaches the stage of pop of the Mi 11 Extremely. The Xiaomi has a manner of of warming up greenery that the Nokia would now not present, and we might possibly well presumably perchance likely concede that the Lumia’s rendition is more apt-to-existence on this appreciate.

Daylight hours samples (5MP vs. 12.5MP): Nokia Lumia 1020 • Xiaomi Mi 11 Extremely

In phrases of detail, the gap between 5MP and 12.5MP is a major one and the Nokia can not match the Mi’s resolving energy. Still, the distinction is now not in truth noteworthy on a per-pixel stage, thanks in no diminutive segment to the longer focal size of the Nokia. As 5MP photos jog, these are ultimate-looking stellar.

We explored the nominal resolutions as smartly. The Nokia has an edge both in phrases of quantity and quality of detail. The in model Bayer coloration filter manner that the Lumia can file more intricate coloration records, while the Quad Bayer Xiaomi needs to make amends for its coarser coloration filter grid with heavier sharpening. Having acknowledged that, the Nokia photos like a prevailing all round softness and might possibly well presumably bag pleasure from some sharpening in publish processing themselves to impart the easiest the mobile phone is capable of.

Daylight hours samples, corpulent decision (38MP/50MP): Nokia Lumia 1020 • Xiaomi Mi 11 Extremely

We then proceeded to resize these 38MP JPEG photos of the Lumia to match the default 12.5MP decision of the Xiaomi. Since sharpening is in our fingers now, we applied a liberal quantity. Below these conditions, the Nokia records more detail in the final portray than the 5MP mode, and we might possibly well presumably perchance reveal it is additionally a step sooner than the Xiaomi.

Daylight hours samples, zoom (3x-ish): Nokia Lumia 1020 • Xiaomi Mi 11 Extremely

Low-light portray quality

In low light, the Lumia 1020 is a significant step up from the 808 and indubitably manages to point out in relatively darkish scenes. Dynamic fluctuate stays limited, with light sources and their instantaneous neighborhood getting blown out. Detail is somewhat stunning in areas of balanced lighting even though shadows live unlit.

The Xiaomi, in distinction, delivers very ultimate exposure and huge dynamic fluctuate in all forms of stressful scenes and can squeeze out light in darkish settings as smartly as retain highlights from clipping to white.

Low-light samples (5MP vs. 12.5MP): Nokia Lumia 1020 • Xiaomi Mi 11 Extremely

Photos processed from RAW recordsdata compose for a a little bit of of more stage taking half in field. Exported at 12.5MP, the Nokia’s JPEGs like identical detail ranges in comparison to the ones out of the Mi. The Lumia photos must now not relatively as racy and are noticeably noisier, even though. On a obvious present they live handle moire better (the blinds in the window in the heart of the first sample).

The Xiaomi wins in dynamic fluctuate, even though it is no longer the same noteworthy lead here as in corpulent Auto – you like to let the auto portray stacking live its ingredient for the easiest results.

Low-light samples, zoom (3x-ish): Nokia Lumia 1020 • Xiaomi Mi 11 Extremely

Video recording

As used to be the case with the Nokia 808, the Lumia 1020 enters the video recording comparability as a predetermined loser – it maxes out at 1080p decision and ultimate-looking worthy the lousiest stylish 4K comprise will conception better than the easiest 1080p in phrases of detail, and the Xiaomi 4K is the leisure but lousy.

Certainly, we can be taught vehicle license plates in the Xiaomi 4K clips and can in truth count leaves in bushes, whereas the Lumia renders these more as total shapes. The truth is, the 808 PureView’s 1080p video used to be more detailed than the 1020’s. And while we didn’t like worthy take care of for the muted coloration reproduction on the 808, the 1020’s oversaturated output with a stable warm solid would now not conception any better.

Daylight hours video sample body grabs: Nokia Lumia 1020 • Xiaomi Mi 11 Extremely

Dynamic fluctuate on the Lumia 1020 is set on par with the older Nokia, presumably even a diminutive narrower, which manner nowhere as stunning as on the stylish mobile phone.

In low light, we’re seeing a a little bit of of unexpected pattern, in that the Lumia 1020 with its smaller sensor captures movies that are a runt step sooner than the 808 PureView. The unique mobile phone exposes brighter, lifting some midtones that like been clipped to sad on the 808. It be no longer relatively vivid enough for us to name the results from our test scene ‘usable’, and the flipside to the brighter exposure is a hike in noise, something that the 808 didn’t present in this kind of pronounced manner.

Low-light video sample body grabs: Nokia Lumia 1020 • Xiaomi Mi 11 Extremely

Naturally, the Mi 11 Extremely captures vastly superior low-light movies. Right here, you can glimpse that it is no longer in truth the heart of the evening and the sky is level-headed a darkish navy blue. That you just can presumably also glimpse bushes and the buildings in the distance and you’re going to compose out sidewalk tiles – the increased decision at the side of stylish sensors and processing makes a world of distinction.

Closing phrases

The one further year that Nokia had after the 808 PureView meant some major upgrades in the digital camera performance for the Lumia 1020. We would reveal the discount in sensor size used to be successfully countered by the introduction of OIS, more worthy chipset and optimized processing.

More surprisingly, on the other hand, the Lumia 1020 additionally prevailed over a latest-day beast of a cameraphone like the Xiaomi Mi 11 Extremely – admittedly, fully in some solutions and in isolated cases, but level-headed. The high-decision in model Bayer sensor of the Lumia permits it to carry finer detail than the nominally increased-decision but Quad Bayer imager of the Mi. That’s in enormous sunlight hours and even as you happen to are sharp to keep in some work in publish processing to extract that detail.

In phrases of low-light comprise, or video recording in any light, or honest total picturetaking the keep you might want to press a button and bag a mammoth-taking a conception portray, or slip and ease of utilize, the Xiaomi reigns supreme, as anticipated. That acknowledged, the Lumia 1020 used to be an ideal performer in 2013 and while indubitably outdated-authentic now, it’ll level-headed present a ingredient or two to the present slit of cameraphones.