[Review] A few days with my Nokia Lumia 1520

[rhino123]

This is the first time I have done a proper review of any equipment in Clubsnap, so please bear with me for a bit.

I have gotten my Nokia Lumia 1520 for little more than a week now and is enjoying it thoroughly for everything it had to offer, but in this review, I will focus more on the photography and camera aspect of the mobile phone. Like the Nokia Lumia 1020, the 1520 came with Nokia's pureview technology.

(Photo courtesy of http://www.nokia.com/sg-en/phones/phone/lumia1520/)

When I first looked into getting a Windows phone (sometime last year when my dad gotten his Lumia 920), I was thrilled that Nokia was introducing the Lumia 1020 with a 41MP camera and a large sensor of 1/1.5" (which will thrump many of the compact cameras), reviews had it that, the 1020 had incredible camera system and with a attachable grip too.

However, when I was about to bite the bullet and get it earlier this month, I read about the 1520 (which was closer in size to my Samsung Note I) and had a massive battery and expandable memory slot. So it was a toss between the 1020 with its larger sensor to the 1520 that was newer and all reviews pointed to having extras in its software.

Finally, memory slot and battery life wins... and I gotten the Lumia 1520.

Below is the basic technical data of the Lumia 1520 (details can be taken from http://www.nokia.com/sg-en/phones/phone/lumia1520/)

Display:

Display size: 6"
Display resolution: 1920x1080

Camera

Sensor: 1/2.5"
Flash: Dual LED
Resolution: 20MP

(4:3 format)
5MP (JPEG) + 19MP (DNG)
5MP (JPEG) + 19MP (JPEG)
5MP (JEPG)

(16:9 format)

5MP (JPEG) + 16MP (JPEG)
5MP (JPEG) + 16MP (DNG)
5MP (JPEG)

Processor

Processor name: Qualcomm Snapdragon 800
Processor Type: Quad-core 2.2GHz

Battery

Battery size: 3400mAH

More of the reviews will come later and I will upload more photos and user experience (both pro and cons).

 

[rhino123]

Without further ado, lets get on with the reviews.

Although the sensor size of the Lumia 1520 was significantly smaller than the 1020, it take very good images and the Nokia Camera software that came with the phone gave heaps of manual control to the camera.

This allowed quite a bit of control over the camera that I find very useful.

The above photo was taken using manual focusing.

The Lumia 1520, allows up to ISO 4000 and noise control at high ISO is pretty good.

ISO:100

ISO:200

 

[rhino123]

ISO:400

ISO:800

ISO:1600

ISO:3200

ISO:4000

 

[rhino123]

I have taken the phone out for a spin recently to test the low light quality of the camera, and was pleasantly surprise at the phone... it could hold itself very well in most situations.

Of course knowing that the phone had only a tiny sensor, I am not expecting her to be completely noise free and give the quality of DSLR or m4/3. But compared to many compact cameras that I have used, I would confidently said that it hold itself pretty well... in fact it could surpass many of the compact cameras out there.

 

[rhino123]

Nokia Lumia 1520 gave me pretty good details

Looking at the car example, I can even read the license plate of the black car, something that my old camera phone could never have given me.

 

[rhino123]

Other than the normal camera functions, Nokia included a SMART function in the camera system which is very fun to use. It basically allowed the camera to shoot quite a number of shots at one time, then let you choose either the "Action", "Best Shot", "Motion blur" and "Face change" setting.

Frankly speaking, I have not have the chance to fully explore this function in too much detail yet and so I have not taken any screenshots of the function.

Below is one shot I have tried with this function (panning make easy).

Action shot:

 

[rhino123]

Other than the excellent camera functions, there are a couple of other functions that I really like, such as the very stable Windows OS (running on Windows Phone 8, Nokia Black). However, what I really wishes for was its ability to connect to bluetooth keyboard - which is very strange, since the 1520 had a bluetooth, but somehow it disallowed bluetooth keyboard, and I also hope that Nokia introduce an optional grip like her 1020, with tripod mount. No point giving a 4sec shutter speed without means of stabilizing the phone.

Also I like the wireless charging system, whereby you could charge using any qi charger that you can find in ebay, (note: as oppose to what many reviews had mentioned that the Lumia 1520 cannot be charged wirelessly, it is not true for the set found in Singapore. Only US's set don't allow wireless charging).

Also AF speed is acceptably fast, I am not comparing it to the OMD that I have though... So if you are looking for a speed that can match the OMD EM5/ EM1 or other m4/3 cameras, then Nokia Lumia 1520 is definitely not for you.

Conclusion:

Pro:

1) Excellent 20MP camera that captured photo in DNG files so as to allow much more flexibility when doing post processing using Lightroom.
2) Excellent low light capability
3) Good AF speed
4) Lots of manual control
5) Stable windows os platform.
6) Wireless Charging

Cons:

1) Don't allow bluetooth keyboard connectivity.
2) No optional grip accessories availability.
3) Limited apps as of now (although I find all the apps that I need are there, so it is okay for me).
4) No weather proof body like the Sony Z1
5) No separate audio sound control when listening to the mp3 or watching movie to the ringtone and notification sound. For example, if I tune my sound level down when listening to songs, the sound level will be tuned down too for ringtones and notification.

Overall, the phone is a very very nice one to use, I have no problem or issues with it.

 

[undergrd]

Thanks for the review.

 

[rhino123]

Thanks for the review.

Thanks undergrd.

In my opinion, Nokia made one of the best camera phones even during their Symbian days.

And many people had the misunderstanding that windows os sxxk big time... But after so many days with my Nokia 1520, I am loving every bit of it. I think I am converted to the Windows OS.

Other than having lesser apps as compared to android and ios, I don't see any downside. I mean, I take less than a couple of minutes to be familiarized with the windows phone, it is that simple.

And the photo IQ, is just great (comparable to the famed Sony Z1, Samsung S4 zoom, etc.), plus the complains that the AF is slow is total BS. I mean, I have seen much slower AF even in compact cameras. And did I mentioned that you can shoot in RAW?