Camera Shootout: Nokia Lumia 1020 vs Sony Xperia Z1

Steve Litchfield of AAWP have posted a detailed camera comparison between the NokiaLumia 1020 and Sony Xperia Z1. Both the smartphones packs some serious imaging tech- the Lumia 1020 is sports a massive 41MP camera PureView imaging, where newly announced flagship Android smartphone Xperia Z1 packs a 20.7MP Exmor RS sensor have its own G lens technology.

Before we start lets check out the camera specs of both devices:

• Optics/Sensor: The L1020 comes with a 1/1.5-inch, 41MP sensor, where Xperia Z1 comes with 1/2.3-inch, 20.7MP Exmor RS sensor
• Lens: L1020 features advanced six lens ZEISS optics, Xperia Z1 have its own G lens
• Aperture Size: L1020 have f2.2 , where Z1 have f2.0
• Processing:  In L1020  image processor is handled in the main SoC chip, Z1 have its dedicated Bionz image processor
• Image Stabilization: L 1020 features the new Optical Image Stabilization tech and adaptive oversampling, where Z1 have Digital image stabilization
• Extra: L1020 have leading imaging algorithms + More advanced settings and camera app

Sunny Scene

Bright overcast, shady park scene

Some notes by Steve:

• The output resolutions of the two phone cameras are different (5MP versus 8MP), plus they have different fields of view, so it’s not possible to match the shots/crops exactly (or do one of our famous interactive comparators).
• All settings were on auto, except where noted below.
• The Z1 was on the August 8th OS kernel, with firmware build 14.1.6.1.518 – my initial tests with it showed a marked difference between ‘auto’ mode results and ‘manual’, but after a round of app updates and a reboot the phone settled down and there were marginal differences between the two modes. Sony is expected to tweak ‘auto’ mode in an upcoming firmware update, but the modes can be discounted for these tests. In the one or two cases where the ‘auto’ photo looked worse, I switched in the ‘manual’ one instead. I initially planned to show both here, but they were in most cases so similar that casual readers wouldn’t be able to spot differences and would have got confused.
• On the Lumia 1020, I used Nokia Pro Camera to take the shots, for maximum oversampling benefit. Note that, as per my recent exclusive editorial, I only used the initial 5MP photos, so that quality wasn’t lost, i.e. there was no ‘reframing’ at any stage.
• In each case, I’ve included the original JPG files, in case you want to take the time to download them and examine them for yourself.
• Just for fun, I’ve scored the results as I’ve gone along. Ten test scenes, ten points available for each. See the verdict at the end for a final summation.

Sunny Zoomed Detail

Low Light after dusk

Dark Room with flash

The Verdict:

“Adding up the scores (partly for fun) gives us the Nokia Lumia 1020 beating the Sony Xperia Z1 by 84 points to 67, quite a margin of victory, although this doesn’t tell the whole story.

As you’ll see from the order of the test photos, the Z1 stays very close to the 1020 as long as there’s enough light around. However, once the light levels drop, whether outdoors or indoors, the Lumia 1020′s much larger sensor, its higher native resolution and more advanced oversampling, plus the use of OIS to keep away any hand shake effects and a proper Xenon flash, all play a part in keeping Nokia’s device well ahead of the competition.”