For the 1020, it's all about the camera

Smartphones often thrive on their highlight features. For the Nokia Lumia 1020, that feature is its gargantuan camera

I always wanted to learn how to capture light-trails. You know, those pictures where it seems like light is moving at a high speed, leaving behind a trail. I have seen many amateur photographers giving it a shot. Sometimes, it works, at times it doesn't. Their usual modus operandi: Mount the camera on a tripod, either use a torch or any other object as a light-source. Then fool around with the shutter speed hoping it yields some commendable pictures. Click and then dismount the camera. Take out the SD card, transfer it to a system to edit it and analyse the final picture. Sounds tedious, right?

Or, I can just pull out my Nokia Lumia 1020, start the Nokia Pro Cam, set the desired shutter speed and start clicking. Oh, and I can edit the pictures with an on-board application and upload those when I feel like. Much easier, eh?

The Lumia 1020 comes with a 41-megapixel camera, which certainly makes the difference.

NOKIA LUMIA 1020

• Price: Rs 49,999
• Display: 4.5 inch
• Weight: 158g
• OS: Windows Phone 8
• Processor: 1.5-Ghz dual core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4
• RAM: 2GB
• Memory: 32GB (not expandable)
• Battery: 2,000 mAH
• Camera: 41 mp/ 1.2 mp (front/rear)

Balanced design
The 1020 is a work of art. It's a single unified body that has all its physical keys on the right. The SIM card compartment and the headphone port are on the top. A wrist-strap hole, micro-USB port and loudspeaker rest As smartphone makers on the bottom of the phone. The front camera, light sensor and three capacitive touch keys are on the front.

The camera protrudes from the back side, enough to rest the phone in a slanting position. Weighing 158g, the 1020 is not that heavy, given the humongous camera.

Vibrant display
The 1020 has a 4.5-inch (11.43-cm) ClearBlack AMOLED display, with a resolution of 1,280x768 pixels. Corning Gorilla Glass 3 makes the screen scratch-proof. The viewing angles on the 1020 were impressive in all possible lighting conditions. The screen is easy to clean and, hence, does not attract fingerprints. The 1020 runs Windows Phone 8 that has a vibrant tiles design. An impressive feature is the super-sensitive touch that enables you to use the touch screen even when you are wearing gloves.

Acceptable processor
Honestly, we were left wanting for more despite the presence of a 1.5-Ghz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor. No doubt, the processor is impressive, but we were expecting at least a quad core processor in a phone that is waging a battle for Nokia on the flagship front. A 2GB RAM spares any performance blushes for the 1020. The 1020 comes with an internal memory of 32GB, good enough to see you through.

Battery falls short, again!
The 2,000 mAH non-removable battery is strong. But it tends to pant after constant usage. The battery level drops phenomenally fast at times. We ran the phone eight-10 hours, after which it required a lot of charging.

Classy camera
The 1020 is simply a camera-rich phone. It's built for the photographer in you. If you love clicking and want to avoid the travails of carrying a camera, the 1020 is your best bet. The 41-megapixel main camera comes with a Carl Zeiss lens and is armed with optical image stabilisation, PureView and Xenon flash. It comes with apps such as the Nokia Pro Camera, Nokia Smart Camera, the Panorama lens, the Cinemagraph lens and Camera360. The picture quality is exquisite. It is easily the best camera in a smartphone. The camera is worth the money. You can manually control the white balance, exposure, ISO, shutter speed, focus, etc. Both the rear camera and the secondary 1.2-megapixel camera are capable of capturing HD videos. More, the 1020 has built-in photography tutorials that teach you how to click pictures using manual control and also explain basic photography terms. A few hours with the 1020 and you will surely fall in love with terms such as white balance, depth of field, light trails, ISO, etc.

Mixed verdict
The 1020 is an out-and-out photography smartphone. There have been slight improvements in music and videos. The introduction of an equaliser and the Dolby Headphone will help the 1020 immensely. But here's the catch: If you take away the impressive camera, it becomes just another device. Smartphone buyers go for the unique selling point, this case the camera. Many might be willing to pay Rs 49,999. But it remains to be seen if the 1020 will capture their attention sans the camera.