Camera Comparison: Nokia Lumia 1020 vs Galaxy S4, iPhone 5, Lumia 925, One

Note: We're using the Panasonic Lumix GH2 camera for reference.


Do we need to say anything at all here? The Lumia 1020 is the clear winner with that enormous 41MP PureView camera that manages to capture even the finest of finest of detail. Throw its lossless zoom capabilities into the deal and it becomes simply unbeatable in this category. As expected, the GS4 and the iPhone 5 can't quite match the 1020, but are still admirable performers.





Red, blue, green, magenta, yellow... ah, don't you just love colors! They make our lives so much more... colorful? Anyways, even the biggest camera sensor cannot make up for something not quite right as far color balance goes, which is why the Lumia 1020 has made way for the Galaxy S4 here. Don't get us wrong, the Lumia 1020's shots still look very realistic, it's just that Samsung has nailed it with the GS4. As always, the iPhone 5's pictures tend to be a bit too warm and saturated, while the 925 and One happen to be way off at times.




This is a close one, as most handsets tend to be pretty good at taking macro images. Still, the Galaxy S4 seems to be the phone that will let you create great macro shots with the least amount of skill needed. You just point the phone at the object and hit the shutter button. That's it. The Lumia 1020 achieves similarly great results, though with just a bit less liveliness in them.




We guess the quality of indoor images is of extreme importance to the fans of the home-made category, and it's actually of little surprise that the Nokia Lumia 1020 is the absolute favorite here, having in mind the presence of its Xenon flash and overall outstanding low-light performance. Images are in focus, colors remain realistic – those indoor shots are as good as they can get with a smartphone right now. The Galaxy S4, on the other hand, remains true to its style, and continues to deliver truly impressive indoor photographs. Even though they can't quite match what's coming out of the Lumia 1020, they are still more than remarkable for such a thin and Xenon-lacking phone. This time, the iPhone 5 makes way for the Lumia 925, which appears to be doing a better job as far as low-light photos go.




The gigantic sensor sure pays off when it comes to night photos. The Lumia 1020 easily takes the cake here, followed by the Galaxy S4 and Apple iPhone 5. More often than not, the 1020 manages to capture some very detailed, in-focus images, which is a real achievement, considering how easily smartphones fail in this category. As you can see for yourselves in the gallery below, a lot of the pictures turned out quite blurry!





It seems like the PureView camera is not great for photos only, but for video as well. Just check out the 1080p video samples that we captured with the Nokia Lumia 1020, and you'll see how fluid and good-looking they are. What's more, it also blows the competition out of the water by featuring rich sound-recording, which makes the audio to these videos actually pleasant to listen to... unlike the audio of most other clips below. The iPhone 5 manages to score the second place here thanks to its slightly smoother video, while the Galaxy S4 is a close third.




That's arguably the most important category, as this is where we're taking into account all factors and compiling an estimated overall rating for each cameraphone. As it turns out, the Nokia Lumia 1020 can indeed call itself the best cameraphone, as it seems to achieve the best results across most categories. With its endless details, powerful Xenon flash and remarkable 1080p video recording, the Lumia 1020 absolutely proves that it's worth being the fattest boy in town, as long as you can put that extra weight and size to good use. That's what the 1020 has managed to do.

Rounding up the top 3 are the usual suspects – the Galaxy S4 and the iPhone 5. With better details and more natural color reproduction, the GS4 manages to slightly edge Apple's finest. The fourth place is then occupied by the Lumia 925 – a relatively fresh Windows Phone 8 smartphone that almost matches the big boys when it comes to its camera capabilities. Almost, but not quite there. Finally, we have the HTC One. While we're absolutely certain that those UltraPixels are a very cool idea, it looks like the particular implementation by HTC hasn't been the most successful one.