The iPhone has been a game changer ever
since it was introduced and even though the pace has considerably slowed
down since, it is still the most sought after mobile phone in the
market. One of the areas that it really made an impact was imaging. Up
until the introduction of the iphone, photography was the domain of
actual cameras, but since its inception, the iPhone has become the
defacto camera of choice for many across the world. Then Nokia changed
the game again with the PureView 808, and then again with the Lumia 920
and no with the Lumia 1020.
The Lumia 1020 is a 41 megapixel shooter courtesy a much larger sensor
complimented by Zeiss optics with optical image stabilization. The
iPhone 5s has none of that. It has an 8 megapixel sensor with a slight
increase in sensor area. It has a fast f/2.2 aperture lens, which the
Lumia 1020 does as well. So which of the two is better? We set out just
to determine that and here are our findings.
Note: All iPhone 5S images are placed on the left while the ones
on the right were shot on the Lumia 1020. Stock camera apps were used on
both the phones and shot on auto, unless where mentioned. Clicking on
any image will open it in a new
Like: The iPhone's accurate white balance. The 1020's Bokeh!
The left image (iPhone 5s) is clearly a much better balanced image
than on the right, which was shot by the Lumia 1020. We used the full
resolution file from the 1020, which was downsampled to 8 megapixels
before making the 100% crop, which you see on the top right corner. In
terms of sharpness, both the cameras seem to be on top of their game,
although the 38MP file from the Lumia 1020 does harbor far more detail.
The larger sensor also lends to a more pleasing bokeh, but the white
balance seems to be completely off.
Like: The Lumia 1020's accuracy of exposure. The iPhone's sharpness.
This shot was shot under shadows, but
during the day. Both the phones were set to focus and meter according to
the orange flower that stands the tallest. As visible here, the Lumia
1020 did a much better job of nailing the explosure and white balance as
we start to see some detail get lost due to over saturation on the
iphone shot. Also notice the bokeh, where the leaves in the pot of the
Lumia shot are blurred, while the ones from the iphone shot are not. The
larger sensor shines here and in a few other places that we’ll talk of
later.
Shooting in low light, good with both cameras!
A low light shot of a painting in our office. This is oil on canvas
and as you can see from both the shots, the 100% crops are rather devoid
of the canvas texture. However, what is evident is that the Lumia 1020
shot has lesser noise, while the one from the iPhone 5S shows a little
bit of grain. We explore more low capabilities in a few moments.
Like: Iphone's level of detail even in tough conditions. Lumia 1020's overall sharpness and dynamic range
One of our colleagues being lit mostly by the light from his laptop.
The iPhone shot seems to be more colder (and accurate) in white balance
than the Lumia 1020 shot. It also seems to have retained more detail in
the blacks, as you can see in the bottom edge of the 100% crops. The
facial hair is still discernable in the left shot, but not so in the
Lumia 1020 shot.
Like: The detail from both cameras!
Going all out, we went out! Bad puns aside, a lot of us shoot
outdoors under the harsh light, so to that end, we see that while the
iPhone 5S shot has a slightly warmer tone, it has a richer saturation
that the Lumia 1020 (and more contrast too). The 100% crops on the top
right corner are of the tree leaves and from what we can tell, its
rather impressive that both these cameras are able to clearly capture
this fine level of detail.
Like: The Lumia 1020 is SHARP! The iPhone has better contrast
Once again, the lower contrast levels of the Lumia 1020 are present,
but the center crop shows that the Zeiss optics are totally dominating
the iPhone’s lens. The crop shows that the Lumia 1020 renders a much
sharper image, something to be quite mindful of.
The iPhone shot is brighter, but the Lumia 1020's is overall more pleasing
Clearly, we love shooting flowers, since there seem to be so many of
so many kind all over the city! We found a little patch by the road just
around sunset and took this photo. It would seem that in order to
compensate for the light and colour, the iPhone warms up the image,
while the Lumia 1020 retains its cooler tones. We, quite frankly love
both the shots, the Lumia’s for its soft out of focus bits and the
iPhone’s for its crisp colours.
When the light ges difficult, the iPhone tends to take on warmer tones, unlike the Nokia Lumia 1020
The reds, pinks and the greens are so well complimented by the
Lumia’s ability to maintain the correct white balance in the
not-so-ideal lighting conditions. The iPhone does seem to have done a
better job at metering the correct exposure though, something we have
seen consistently in at least 90% of our shooting time with the phone.
Shooting in pitch dark, the iPhone 5S does a better job at AF
Shot in absolute dark, a signboard in one of the residential
colonies. While taking this photo, we had a very interesting revelation.
The AF on the iPhone actually managed to lock onto the text on the sign
(that’s where we told it to focus) despite thje fact that the screen
showed nothing. The Lumia 1020’s screen was also blank due to the
darkness, but it needed the AF assist lamp in order to lock focus (it
just didn’t focus without it!). As for the image, the Lumia 1020 shot
its image at 1/3 seconds at ISO 4000 while the iphone’s was at 1/15
seconds at ISO 2500. Despite that stark difference in ISO levels, the
Lumia 1020’s image seems to have lesser noise than the iPhone’s, but
that isn’t to say the iPhone’s image is bad. If it wasn’t for the
overtly strong orange tone, the iPhone would have been the winner here.
Like: iPhone managed a crisp shot despite not having OIS. The Lumia 1020 on the other hand...
Another low light shot illuminated by a small CFL lamp 20 feet away.
Both the cameras were3 instructed to focus on the nose. The iPhone’s
image is not only well exposed (actually just slightly over, but that is
ok) while the Lumia 1020’s image is underexposed. Worse yet, it seems
like the optical image stabilization was of no help as the camera shake
is totally evident on the shot on the right.
Like: The Lumia 1020's ability to retain blacks, the iPhone 5S's optics that curtail halo and flare
This shot was taken to determine how the two cameras would handle
strong sources of lighting placed just outside the frame. The bookshelf
(yes, that’s what it is) was lit by a very bright 23Watt CFL lamp just
15 inches above it. As you can see, the iPhone totally kills the blacks
in an attempt to bring out detail in them, while the Lumia 1020 retains
the smooth blacks on the drape. However, the Lumia 1020’s optics are
susceptible to the halo effect (and even flare in some condition), but
the iPhone 5S seems to be somewhat impervious to such artefact.
Like: BACON
Yes. Bacon. Everyone loves it. Both shots are simply amazing, because they have bacon as the subject.
A Flower arrangement shot at a wedding, being lit by those ugly
purple-red-blue kind of LED lamps. Again we see in the crop that the
Lumia 1020 has lesser noise than the iPhone, but we also see that the
iPhone shot is just slightly brighter than the Lumia’s. The Nokia device
seems to have a sharper image though,
The Lumia 1020's bigger sensor shows off its superior dynamic range
The best show of the Lumia 1020’s large sensor’s capabilities. While you
can see the shot for yourself, you will notice that the shadow areas
have far more detail. That is simply due to the fact that the larger
sensor on the Lumia is able to capture far more dynamic range than what
the iPhone 5Sis capable of. Does this make the iPhone 5S a bad camera?
Well, do you think the image on the left is bad, because we sure as hell
don’t think so!
Conclusion
After using the iPhone 5S and the Lumia 1020 side by side for a lengthy
period of time, we have come to the conclusion that both cameras phones
have their strong suites and weak points. The iPhone’s optics seem to be
simply better in most conditions, with visibly better corner sharpness.
It would also seem that the white balance on the iPhone is great under
harsh sunlight, but tends to be a little off when the light goes down.
The Lumia captures great detail for a camera phone and is unrivaled in
that arena, but the camera is slow as a tortoise and so very frustrating
to use!
Both the iPhone and Lumia 1020 spit out excellent images, both the
conclusion to which is better being a more personal opinion. However,
what is clear is that the iPhone 5S will nail the shot at least 95% of
the times. As an Apple product, it just works! The Lumia 1020’s camera
requires tweaking and a lot of patience and any burst capabilities are
out of the question. Also, do you really NEED 38 megapixel images when
you easily make do with 8MP ones?
