Nokia 9 PureView hands-on review
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- geordie81
- YaX
- 27 Feb 2019
Nokialainen, 27 Feb 2019I have just pre ordered this beauty. Firstly, I'm a Finn, s... moreWhere did you preorder this from?
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- tonymancs
- 3p7
- 27 Feb 2019
Nick Tagataka, 27 Feb 2019Yeah the long processing time is a deal breaker for me. I m... moreIt's 5-10s. Don't make up numbers. And you CAN use your camera when processing of those 200MB of photo data is run in the background. Otherwise even Sony is jumping on Light wagon too, proving Nokia's step is right. A limited series phone is a pretty cunning move to survey demand before true 5G 855 flagship comes.
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- Nokialainen
- TX5
- 27 Feb 2019
I have just pre ordered this beauty. Firstly, I'm a Finn, secondly, my home town is Nokia, where the company is originally from, and thirdly I even now sometimes take out my Lumia 1020 from the back of my treasure chest and cradle it with melancholy memories flooding my mind. So, yes, I have mostly emotional reasons to get this but also because in my former life I was a camera and photographing is still my favorite past time. I'm eager to know if I can actually leave my 10 ton camera home and just rely on this puppy. I don't care about the processing time because for me it's more about the art than the snap shots. I understand though that the pace in the modern world is fast and everything should happen instantly. However, it's not the way I like to live my life. Or maybe I'm just awfully boring.
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- Anonymous
- 0Wf
- 27 Feb 2019
My condolences now that Xiaomi also works with Light. Especially when apart from losing the supposed exclusivity, those Chinese phones ... like this, get better pictures with the Light chip but come with a greater variety of additional sensors in parallel to those who use the chip, like some with OIS, etc, and with more competive price, ouch. The name of PureView must be by Light correct? Because the chip is not manufactured by Nokia, as their phones. I have the impression that such an old project, both in design and in other subjects ... has been a fat blunder. We will see...
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- Nick Tagataka
- Y}P
- 27 Feb 2019
Gandalfdenvite, 27 Feb 2019The camera is the only good thing about Nokia 9, but the ca... moreYeah the long processing time is a deal breaker for me. I mean it takes great photos, but 30 seconds to process and show the image in full resolution? Is this phone even capable of shooting photos in burst? I think Nokia focused on the raw image quality and an ability to create natural bokeh too much and ended up ignoring every other important aspect of a camera.
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- Gandalfdenvite
- mrG
- 27 Feb 2019
The camera is the only good thing about Nokia 9, but the camera is also the most annoying thing about Nokia 9 because the image processing between taking photos with these 5 cameras take far too long! The images are good, but not really so spectacularly better than images from other flagships cameras, especially considering how frustrating long it takes to process the image making it impossible to take more than one picture before the possibility is gone!
One big camera sensor is always better than combining images from many small sensors!
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- indlvarn
- 6k$
- 27 Feb 2019
Anonymous, 25 Feb 2019GIMMICKY camera. Pixel 3 can get much better pictures with ... moreThe compromise is a price.
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- Anonymous
- 3Jn
- 26 Feb 2019
A Nokia flagship with limited numbers, come on Nokia seriously
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- BuyARadio
- pee
- 26 Feb 2019
harianilchandran, 25 Feb 2019FM Radio is most important feature for me also along with h... moreAs i was saying.
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- Carol
- pee
- 26 Feb 2019
May, 26 Feb 2019Yep, and if he need the wide angle or telephoto or zoom som... moreThe experts are here, make them some space, they need it! Stupidity ain't feating in a normal place. Ups, you have no idea what you're talking about, good that at least you make it sound (for other ignorants) like you might know something. Keep it up.
- C
- Carol
- pee
- 26 Feb 2019
Nico, 26 Feb 2019700€ to buy a phone with last year's processor, no headphon... moreI wander who asked you to buy it? Even better, who the ...asked you to comment?
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- tonymancs
- 3p7
- 26 Feb 2019
Disappointed, 25 Feb 2019Wow, the specs sounds good, but the result is painful to wa... moreBlown out highlight? You talk like an expert but evidently know nothing. Tried to read their histogram? I guess you don't even know how 'cus there are just 1 photo with a bit of overexposed area here. The first photo that was on harsh contrast. The letters on the board were written by REFLEXIVE GOLD COLOR (look at the same color in the shadow area). Even Sammy S10 wouldn't able to do better:
https://www.androidcentral.com/sites/androidcentral.com/files/styles/xlarge/public/article_images/2019/02/galaxy-s10-camera-sample-daylight.jpg?itok=n7eJo2t5
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- Nico
- dPm
- 26 Feb 2019
700€ to buy a phone with last year's processor, no headphone jack, old design, 3/5 monochromic cameras, no wide angle.. At least one !!!!
Put it where I think...
- c
- cunghi
- IbE
- 26 Feb 2019
Hoffmann, 26 Feb 2019Dude... you have a lot of free time, to write such long texts.It's not texts, it's an essay ;)
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- Hoffmann
- MUa
- 26 Feb 2019
Jon.SWE, 26 Feb 2019For many years people used phones as cameras, having only o... moreDude... you have a lot of free time, to write such long texts.
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- simple man
- 6vv
- 26 Feb 2019
The Nokia 9 might have a great camera, but without a comparison with what's on the market, we really can't accurately assess it.
The images placed by by gsmarena look good because they are taken by professionals. The scenes and lighting are chosen carefully. In fact, they could give you a similar looking picture with a camera from 3 or even 5 years ago.
Put the Nokia n9 out against the pixel 3, the iPhone, Samsung s10 , then we can really compare. Otherwise, this level of excitement is unwarranted.
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- Jon.SWE
- mhB
- 26 Feb 2019
Lewis, 25 Feb 2019But they added it in the Pixel 2 and 2 XL to improve their ... moreFor many years people used phones as cameras, having only one focal lenght, and it worked quite well. Even Google Pixel 3 are restricted to one focal length, so not even all recent flagships offer zoom capabilities.
There are a lot of photographers that use a walk-around camera with fixed focal length, or only use one prime lens for street photography.
So it isn't unheard of among either consumers or photographers, of having just a single focal length option.
I would have preferred a wider lens, or rather stereoscopic capturing for expanding the field of view, to that of our vision (using both eyes), 28mm is quite a bit narrower, so it will create issues when it comes to framing.
The usefulness of Zoom lenses are rather restricted though, as what they tend to offer is a option to take photographs that present more details than the eye of the user actually experienced in real life. Think of this for a second, a person goes on a safari, in the distance they see a lion, it is almost just a blob, but using the zoom of the camera they can take a picture that clearly shows the lion. What is the point? If they wanted a picture of a lion that is not the same thing as they could see with their own eyes, they could just as well have downloaded it from the web.
However, due to limitation in amount of captured details in video, and sometimes because of limitations of the lens and the sensor in a mobile, it can be necessary to have a zoom lens option, to capture what the eye could see (unfortunately loosing out in terms of field of view). Zoom lenses in general should in my opinion be though of as an artistic tool and not really something for the average user. Besides, in mobiles the tele lenses are almost always placed in front of a smaller sensor, and the lens falls behind in terms of aperture as well, meaning that the amount of gained detail might not be what one expects it to be.
When it comes to OIS, the result is what matters, and not the specification. If this system can take good handheld photos thanks to the software and the use of multiple sensors at multiple exposures at the same time, that is all that matters, even if it doesn't say OIS in the specification.
OIS uses space, meaning either thicker phone, or smaller sensor, and if the phone is made thicker, they could have instead put an even larger sensors in there, that would capture more light at any given timeframe. OIS for still photography is about catching light, not to stabilize the photo. In good light the image is captured at such a speed that hand-movement isn't an issue. It is in lower light situations that OIS can come in handy, but then it is about gathering light by reducing the shutter speed. But bigger sensor also gathers more light, so bigger sensor is one alternative to OIS, and this system also uses multiple sensors, of which some are black and white, that don't use RGB filter and thus captures more light than color sensors, and the software can then combines the result in to an image. OIS isn't useful if the camera is completely stationary, so an option, if applicable could be using a tripod or a stand, but for mobile photography that is often not an alternative.
In APS-c, Full Frame, micro 4/3, 1" systems and so on, the sensor size is fixed and thus adding OIS will improve the performance, add to the bulk of the device, sure, but there would not be the option of going for a larger sensor in that bulkier body, as if wouldn't fit. But in mobiles, there is the option of switching the sensor for a bigger one, instead, and or use multiple sensors, so OIS isn't the only route to go down. Besides, for cameras with interchangeable lenses, there is the option between adding OIS in the lens and making the aperture larger and usually higher quality lenses, a situation where OIS is not always the chosen route.
Video though is a different matter, for video OIS is beneficial, as it stabilizes the video, and not really used to gather more light, it still comes with the drawback of smaller sensor in the same format or smaller aperture, but those can't make up for shaky images... However, for video on a tripod, or using a complex external stabilizing system, the bigger sensor or aperture is to be preferred over built in OIS, as that should be turned of for those scenarios.
We are yet to see what low light photos will look like from this system. We are yet to see how much it captures in terms of detail, and if that is enough for the system to work without zoom or tele lenses.
This is aimed at being a good phone for still photography, and the video specifications has been at least somewhat compromised. So we can probably expect it to fall behind the best in terms of video, no matter where it places in terms of still photography. In most cases when it comes to cameras, they are either better at stills or at video, so having to decide between the two is nothing new, and even in the mobile world, usually it is not the same phone topping both charts.
I'm curious to see what this phone can do in terms of still photography. But I will not assume it will be class leading, and if it is, I would not be sure that it would be best in every test scenario. We will have to wait and see.
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- May
- 0Wf
- 26 Feb 2019
Anonymous, 26 Feb 2019So it looks like your real problem is that you have too few... moreYep, and if he need the wide angle or telephoto or zoom something with the regular one, he can change to other of their phones... ohhhh. If you only own this Nokia 9 you can't! If you need to take a photo of the license plate of a car that moves away quickly you can't zoom, ouch. If you are at the zoo, you can't zoom. Idem if you drops something in a hole to find it. At the pub or other places with a lot of people a wide angle is always preferred due to the lack of space. And if you want to record video... you can't do progressive zoom while following a target, etc.
But he has at least two flagships, so he don't have that problem... supposedly.... so buy another one with fixed lens is his next candy. Like when you already has a polyvalent DSLR and want a fixed camera as complement for some situations. Although you only buy it if previously has the polyvalent one with interchangeable lens preferred.
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- Anonymous
- U@8
- 26 Feb 2019
No match for the Pixel Camera..
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- Anonymous
- j5$
- 26 Feb 2019
Kunal Raj, 26 Feb 2019Finally some good camera phone to play with on-the-go photo... moreSo it looks like your real problem is that you have too few phones.