If you have read my earlier reviews on the Lumia 925 and Lumia 1020 you will be familiar with all the camera options. In essence, the 1520 is a 20mp Carl Zeiss lens with optical image stabilisation and 2 x lossless zoom. It has many pro camera settings for some great artistic tricks. But most people are just going to hit the shutter button or on screen button. Yes, unlike other phones, the Lumia range do have a dedicated camera hardware button on the edge.
So I really wanted to test the optical image stabilisation and quality of the end results. So let’s set the scene. At 3am thunderstorms and gales arrived. At midday, it was just high winds with a piercing cold wind too. My eyes were watering from the cold, and I could hardly stand still as the wind kept moving me all over the place. As a comparison I took with me the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, but due to the wind all of the photos ended up being blurred.
First up the war memorial in Princetown, Dartmoor, Devon. The accuracy of the colours is phenomenal.
Next is the Dartmoor Visitor Centre. Most phones would struggle to capture the whole building and lamppost.
Next up is the view over to Dartmoor Prison, a famous Victorian prison. What’s great about this shot is once again the amount captured in the frame, but also the clarity of the church in the distance.
And finally, I took this exposed to the wind with the 1520 actually shaking as I couldn’t hold it still enough. The optical image stabilisation worked a treat.
Bear in mind the above are only the 5mp versions of the shot. The 1520 actually saves a hi resolution pureview shot at 20mp as well. With this you can use this to undertake some pro editing. Or using the Nokia Pro Cam camera app, reframe the shot you just took to create a different view. You can the save this and go back again into the original hi-res shot and repeat as often as you like.
Having used both the 1020 and now the 1520, I would personally choose the 1520. It has a faster processor and this is evident in shot to shot times being near instant.
If you would like one of these phones or something else head over to Clove Technology who will be happy to help you.
Gavin's Gadgets & Photography 