Camera Beta app released for all Lumia Windows Phones with Nokia Black or Amber firmware updates

By Rich Edmonds
last updated

If you have a PureView Windows Phone (Lumia 920, Lumia 1020, Lumia 1520, etc.), chances are you've been enjoying the Nokia Camera app. But folk who own a Lumia Windows Phone that does not sport PureView camera technology have not been able to enjoy the same experience. That is until now.

Nokia previously stated at its conference in Abu Dhabi that all Lumia Windows Phones would soon be able to be loaded with Nokia Camera, not just handsets in the 92x series or higher. The company has today released a beta version of its popular camera app that includes support for more hardware. The only requirement is either the Nokia Amber or Nokia Black firmware update (according to Nokia's website).

That's right, folks. Nokia Camera Beta is available for all Lumia Windows Phones, not just handsets with PureView technology. If you're not familiar with the app, Nokia Camera pulls together multiple settings, combining both Nokia’s Pro and Smart Cam apps previously available as separate solutions.

This beta version will be the guinea pig for future updates to the experience, so it's worth downloading on all hardware if you want to remain ahead of the game - perfect for those who enjoy testing new functionality and providing feedback.

Nokia Black

Initially (in this version anyway), the app looks and acts identically to the live version of Nokia Camera. All that's different in this beta is the added support for more Lumia Windows Phones. Now, just so there's no confusion, there are now two Nokia Camera apps. One is the final, stable version and the new release is a beta, which will see new features beforehand.

You can download both Nokia Camera and Nokia Camera Beta from the Windows Phone Store (right-hand QR code below). Here's the list of Windows Phone supported: Lumia 520, Lumia 521, Lumia 620, Lumia 625, Lumia 720, Lumia 810, Lumia 820, and Lumia 822, along with all Nokia Windows Phones with PureView.

via: Nokia Conversations

Rich Edmonds
Rich Edmonds
Senior Editor, PC Build

Rich Edmonds is Senior Editor of PC hardware at Windows Central, covering everything related to PC components and NAS. He's been involved in technology for more than a decade and knows a thing or two about the magic inside a PC chassis. You can follow him over on Twitter at @RichEdmonds.

100 Comments
  • Lumia 525 is supported as well. Also requires Amber Update.
  • Yep, you are right... Does not require black
  • Yes it will work on 525
  • Correct. Article updated.
  • rich can u tell me why microsoft restricted or locked video hub for saving downloaded videos in wp8 device in video hub and share video hub content.. tell me if u know please..
  • It's available for amber updated phones..not just black..i just downloaded the beta cam app
  • Yea but does it work
  • Works like a charm sir :)
  • Where iss black update???
  • "guinea" pig
  • Heh, gets me every time.
  • Thats ok boss...
  • Why don't they have a beta for the Lumia black update!
  • LOL.....:D
  • I think they do, for 52x devices...
  • Finally ;-)
  • The more Lumia the merrier.
  • Have been waiting for this........:) Downloading......delicious......
  • You don't need to have 'Black firmware'. Just installed the beta app on my Lumia 620 on which I've got Amber with GDR 3.
  • Yep, article has been updated. Cheers!
  • Is there any diff from stable nokia camera. I already have nokia camera installed in my l820 by proxy trick.. Should i try the beta release too?
  • Same question...!!
  • I think that this version its more light that the "normal" version..
  • Maybe the beta is better because it removes things that will not work on non pureview phones, making it more stable
  • Like face detection
  • One Nokia Camera App to rule them all, installed and working on my 521 (gdr2/amber)
  • it means we can have update by store not via proxy trick as I have Lumia 720, I have to update nokia camera by proxy , now Nokia Camera Beta will update automatically in store. really awesome
  • I too own Lumia 720, but i can't download and install Nokia camera although i can install beta app..
    I enrolled to GDR3 preview but icant...
  • Waaaaay faster than Nokia Pro Cam on Lumia 820.
  • Same here. I ditched Pro Cam because it spent too long thinking after every single photo. This is as instant as the default camera but with lots of lovely extra controls. Changed the shutter button to launch it instead of the inbuilt camera app and hoping not to have to go back again :)
  • Today keeps getting better
  • Although Nokia Camera is great in its own right, the post processing just kills many photos taken using the app. Until they fix that, its the default camera app for me which has been great btw on the 920 after the Amber update - no more sharpness loss.
  • Agreed
  • I already have it on my Lumia 720 using the proxy, but it has some problems
    I hope that I won't see these problems again
  • Is there a difference between the Nokia Camera app we already have?
  • Don't notice any as of now...Beta version will receive faster updates
  • Oh ok cool just wondering.. Thanks!
  • Awesome I've been waiting for this :D!!
  • Hahahahahahahahaha.......... Can't stop laughing by seeing the expressions on my roommate's face.......:D He opted for a galaxy even after i tried a lot to persuade....... Now you should see his face.......LOL
  • XD
  • ow yeah
  • Should I uninstall the original one which i have downloaded via proxy ?? Or should i install both??
  • This being a beta, is it worth installing on our 920 or higher for the sake of helping out with info?
  • I also used the proxy trick to get Nokia Camera for my lumia 820 in the past, but found thr app indeed needs some model specific optimizing. Everything was a bit off. Flash didn't work properly, image quality was worse than the native camera app and in general everything was slower. This seems a lot better, no suprise there. Thanks Nokia !
  • just trying it out on my 822 so far i like....one thing would be nice is to put the zoom controls to the volume up/down button if it possible
  • +1
  • Was waiting for this (none of my concern though! I'm on WP7.8) since I'm a WP fan. Other phones needed this.
  • How generous of you! ^_^
  • Thnx for this app, even though its beta..but to good to have such apps
  • Finally Nokia Camera*_* *_*
  • I think it may be time to do a feature comparison between all of the Nokia branded camera apps.
  • Does this fix my indoor camera performance that currently looks like I'm taking pictures through a mustard yellow sheet of cellophane? 
  • Luckily, we have settings to fix that ourselves.  ;)
  • I have spent a lot of time working with the settings and unfortunately my options indoors seem to be mustard yellow or grainy and dull.  Using a 1020.  Outdoor shots are breathtaking, close to my DSLR in quality, but I can't get a decent shot indoors because of the camera's processing.  I was under the impression black and RAW support would fix this. 
  • I feel the same, only have my 1020 for 2 weeks now and I'm very disappointed in the indoors picture quality, I'll just come out and say it, the 1020 sucks under artificial lighting! I really hope Nokiasoft fixes this with the Black update because the mind blowing camera hardware on this piece of engineering perfection is just being let down by rubbish software post processing!
  • You should probably clean the mustard off the lens and try again :p   (sorry)
  • Now just provide the URI scheme so we can integrate this with other apps and we'll be golden!
  • So can we record videos with stereo sound? L820?
  • Wow this app is surprisingly good. Think I just replaced ProCam.
  • So..should i uninstall the pro cam i installed by the proxy trick?
  • Sorry meant ProShot.
  • This app exits when we increase the iso .... There's some problem in the app ...need to be fixed asap!!!
  • Nope..no problem
    maybe jus reinstall the app ;)
  • I have both.. Beta and app with proxy, i try some pic with both app,. And beta have more iso than proxy,. But both app are smooth,.
  • The Nokia Camera app is annoyingly slow and sluggish. I've missed so many opportunities simply because of how long it takes for the app to launch, capture a photo and wait until it saves so you can take another photo!
    I have Lumia 1020.
  • Agreed.  I have found ProShot to be better with the tap screen to focus and shoot.  With Nokia's app, I have found it only to be very responsive with very good light and manual focus.  If you change the settings for just the 5MP pic to be saved rather than the ~35MB + 5MP, that might improve the speed.
  • The Beta is faster n more stable
  • Having tested this beta app on my Lumia 820 I must say that I get vry similar shots between it and the native app. Nokia camera puts on a tad more sharpening, but that's about it.
  • Thanks for such an amazing app... Love you Nokia
  • Has anyone noticed some of their lost photos coming back after retagging them on Camera Beta? I don't know if that was the solution of the previous issue with Nokia Camera deleting reframed photos but a couple of photos I hadn't touched came back after I retagged them.
  • Oooh finally I have been waiting this app for a long time. thank you
  • But it is not available in my region that is in India,when will it be available?
  • Change the location to US and you can install it.
  • Thax alot
  • How to change the location to US. i have L520 when scanned both the QR codes above it shows nakia camera app but i couldnt download it..it says not available in your region  
  • No need to change the country. Press search > Scan the QR code (Shown above) > Download Nokia cam.
  • I got it..India!
  • Downloaded and making me an even happier WP owner. :)
  • hey everyone! i downloaded nokia camera beta app on my lumia 720, when i take a photo by nokia camera app .. photos are taken in 5mega pixel shown in nokia camera info ... where lumia 720 had 6.7mp camera and ptotos are taken with 5mp... and there is a issue with the clarity.. photos taken by default camera has got very good clarity and sharpness where the photo taken by nokia camera app is not. let me know is this issue even you ppl r facing!!  
  • Have a look in the applications settings to see if you can change the reolution/aspect ratio. Also, this app is designed for you to play around with the manual settings so try that until you get the shot you want. Lastly, this is a Beta version so it won't be a perfect final application.
  • I have tried with all kinds of setting.. Manual and automatic .. Even then it's same.. Post click photos sharpness just goes of..
    It's not only in this.. I had downloaded pro cam app using proxy.. Even with that app its same issue.. Photos r taken in 5megapixel
  • I'm sorry to hear that. Maybe someone else who has a 720 can comment on whether they have the same problem.
  • I use a 720
    its just the beta version
    so maybe they'll fix it soon :)
  • Hey Vijeth ht, I own Lumia 720 with Amber update + GDR 3 (Via preview for developers).  The problem you're describing is very common with Lumia 720 , since 720 has a camera sensor of 6.7 MP but the app can only refer it as 5MP. It's (Nokia Camera) an app, built for all lumia's, (apparently) therefore the app has already been saved with default values of camera sensor size. As far as the quality is concerned, the NOKIA CAMERA app was originaly built for Pureview phones. That's why it doesn't works as good on our phones (like 520, 620, 720 etc...) as compared to pureview enabled phones. Also amber update doesn't support RAW image processing that's why there's noise in the pictures since app tries to enhance the picture quality but eventually ends up degrading it. On the other hand Default Camera app has no such issue, that's why picture quality of default app is better. Hope you got your answer. ;)
  • Thank you TAR_MAV3R1K
  • try changing aspect ratio from 16:9 (default) to 4:3. this way it will take 6Mp fotos 
  • Working great on my 520... Its faster too... :)
  • Agreed-quite snappy on my 520. Have captured some low-light photos by adjusting the shutter speed in the Camera beta app.
  • Downloaded the BETA app on my 620, working wonderfully. I cannot download the stable app though, it says my phone needs an update (but I already have Amber and I'm in post GDR3 via Dev program, so I don't know what that's about). Maybe they still need to update the stable app.
  • [SUGGESTION] Please refrain from using "all Lumia Windows Phones" in your headlines. It makes Lumia 800 and 900 users excite for miliseconds until they read the rest of the title. Just skip that and say '..for Nokia Black and Amber firmwares.' 
  • help me plz. i have a 920 with att , how do i update to black firmware?
  • Finally! No need for proxy IP crap. :)
  • The long awaited, best known camera option for mobile is here. Nokia once again amazed with its awesome application. Get your hand on professional camera application for mobile. Jokes apart and truly this application is gonna rock the world of mobile camera.
  • Battery was ok for few days, but already 3 times after charge battery overnight went from 100% to 64% (in about 6 hours) in stand by mode.(even though charging cable was connected on the phone to the power socket) Obviously thats not right so I did a restart and battery back up to 100%. And it stays 100% for a long time. Seriously wtf is that? I have to to a restart every time to get battery procentage back. Will update 8.1 will fix it? or is it a hardware problem ?
  • <p>is this available in India?</p>
  • Brightness not working properly.   When i adjust the brightness level it is showing fine but after taking the snap it is not showing the same level. It is showing the default level. Is it an issue or will it work only in specific conditions ?
  • sub.
  • Is there a difference on the quality of the pictures when taking shots using nokia camera on Auto settings compared to the default cam Auto settings too?
  • Der is 1 negative point abt ds app v cnt clck pics jst by clckng nywhr on d screen. V need to click on d button. Is dere any way to change dis??
  • Folks, this beta app just made my wife's 521 a useable low-light camera. For outdoor pics at night, I set ISO at 400 and shutter speed at 1/8 (the longest speed I can steadily hold the phone) and voila! Nice pics without flash! Try it by varying the ISO. I think beta version can only go up to 800 ISO vs Pureview Pro version which goes higher. But ISO 800 is enough for indoor/outdior low-light pics. Edit: using manual ISO and shutter speed yields better low-light pics than the default auto everything setting.