Nokia announces Pro Camera for the Lumia 1020

By George Ponder
last updated

We shared some leaked screen shots of the new Nokia photography app, Pro Camera, earlier and it looked rather impressive when demoed at the Zoom Re-Invented event.

The camera app for the Lumia 1020 will give photographers more control over the 41MP than any other stock camera app. Features will be similar to what we see in third party apps such as ProShot or Camera360 but tuned specifically for the 41mp camera of the Lumia 1020.

You can set everything to automatic or take control of settings such as ISO, Exposure Compensation, White Balance, Shutter Speed, and even manually focus the camera.  Each setting is controlled by a series of easy-access, on-screen dials making it really convenient to adjust your camera's settings.

One really cool feature coming to Pro Camera is the ability to preview how the setting changes will effect your photo. The live view will adjust accordingly as you fine tune your camera settings. It's a feature many stand alone digital cameras have and will go a long way in helping everyone take better pictures.

The zoom feature also takes an interesting twist with Pro Camera in that you can take a photo, zoom in or out while maintaining a high resolution, save, then reframe/crop the original image again.

From the demos and videos we've seen of Pro Camera in action it looks to compliment the Lumia 1020's camera extremely well. We can't wait to get our hands on it. How about you?

Video Source: Nokia (opens in new tab)

George Ponder
George Ponder

George is the Reviews Editor at Windows Central, concentrating on Windows 10 PC and Mobile apps. He's been a supporter of the platform since the days of Windows CE and uses his current Windows 10 Mobile phone daily to keep up with life and enjoy a game during down time.

41 Comments
  • Is this coming to the 920?
  • Want to know this too.
  • Yes - it's coming to the 920, 925 and 928 (needs Amber update). Confirmed here, at the bottom of the article:
    http://conversations.nokia.com/2013/07/11/professional-camera-power-to-the-people-with-nokia-pro-camera/
  • Any photographer would be a fool to purchase any other cell phone at this point.
  • But it doesn't have instagram. How are they going to share their pictures with the world?? Hahahahahaha
  • I know you're a troll but still, Instance :D
  • Pretty sure I saw tweet from windows saying posting to instgram is available during presentation
    "@windowsphone: Hipstamatic is coming out with an app for Windows Phone that can post to your social networks, including Instagram. #ZoomReinvented"
  • Instagram is only one app to share photos in this world?
  • Except that it's cheaper to just get an actual camera and a cheaper windows phone than to buy this on a forced (very expensive) contract with AT&T..
  • Much better execution than ProShot. Looks easier to control.
  • I love that layout. Can't help but think that they grabbed 360s idea. No wonder Nokia liked them so much. Simple easy access to functions
  • Is this coming to the 920 is my question, along with the newly announced Hipstamatic app (which is so far the closest official Instagram app to grace WP8)
  • Please, please, please come!
  • Thats what she said
  • I want Pro Cam more than Smart Cam.
    WP camera UI is lousy at best.
  • Oh my.  WANT
  • This is awesome❕❗❕.. I was very impressed... Come on Nokia,, give us more, more, more❕❕.. Keep it coming, and don't let up❕
  • Can someone tell me what freaking processor this phone has? Off topic I know.
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 1.5GHz dual-core.
  • Same as the 920 though??
  • aside from the camera and the 2gig of ram, it's essentially the same as the other 92X series. Not that's a bad thing IMHO, my 920 feels pretty damn premium still....
  • why it can't be used on 920?
  • i like the proshot UI better than the stock UI. Also the smart shoot and proshot should be combined to one app
  • I want to know how fast it can snap a picture, I don't like that when I tap on my lumia 920 it takes a few seconds to focus and then snap the shot. I can tap non-stop on my wife's iphone and it keeps snapping shots. those few seconds trying to get a kid's smile are missed many times.
  • Smart shoot? Derp!
  • I don't think you understand what I said. Derp!
  • Smart shoot takes forever too
    You need to let it focus with an LED (which is hugely distracting in slightly darker rooms), before it'll bother taking a picture, which then takes 5 seconds to do (one for each picture)
    It annoying because sometimes I KNOW the shot is already in focus from a previous picture I took but the camera forces going through a focus cycle again, with the distractingly bright LED.
    That said I still love smartshoot for its erase ability.
  • Just a quick point, you can turn off that focus assist light in the camera settings.
  • Blink?
  • No that isn't going to do it either, open up blink, tap on the screen, watch the camera try to focus. Takes too long, it should auto focus on nearest subject automatically and continuously focus, so when I hit the shutter button or a virtual button on screen, it just snaps away.
    Further until the new update where the default camera app can be swapped out, these apps aren't going to cut it.
    What I would like to see  is Nokia's pro camera in action as that can replace the default camera and as we saw has face detection so in theory should have auto continous focus and be able to snap the shots faster.
  • Try just pushing the camera button all the way down instead of half way to focus first. It should just snap the picture straight away.
  • Please, l 820 and 920, please
  • George,
    Do we have any confirmation yet whether it is going to allow RAW capture or not?  I am guessing not, but one can hope until someone officially says no..... 
  • On the official spec sheet, it says JPEG only.
  • Lol really? What a joke.
     
    They could have at least made it save in a low-file size lossless format like PNG. Why do we even still use JPEG's anymore? There is so much quality loss with them, the file size gains aren't worth it anymore compared to PNG, and JPEGs were designed to be highly compressed (and high in quality loss) for the 56k internet era, which no longer is relevant.
     
    I'm so frustrated at this phone because it has a brilliant idea, but horrible execution in all the things that make this actually relevant for photographers and photography in general. It's like they slapped a big camera on a phone and didn't bother going to actual photographers to get their input on what works and what doesn't. Lack of SD card support and JPEG only is something almost anyone who likes taking pictures would never bother with, especially since the cost of this phone on contract far exceeds the cost of an actual DSLR with a cheaper windows phones...
  • Cost of this phone on contract? In the US, on ATT, the difference between the 1020 and the 920 is a few $100, far from the cost of any DSLR.
  • PNG file format is completely irrelevant in photography.  How many photographic sites, competitions, publishing houses, editing packages, etc, have you ever seen that accept submissions in PNG format?  Probably close to zero.  While I accept the limitations inherent in jpg when it is not handled correctly, PNG is not a sensible solution. The issue with jpg in cell phone implementations is mainly through the editing process.  Each time the image is re-edited and saved in Fotor, Creative Suite, etc, degradation is occuring.  That is the problem with using jpg.  That and Nokia penchant for harsh sharpening and over zealous noise reduction.  If we were to be given lossless format such as RAW which is accepted (which PNG is not, at least not by the photo community) then these issues would go away.  It's a missed opportunity in such a fantastic device.
  • It is a bit of a disappointment that you can't take a picture in RAW. It's a missing piece to this being a true phone imaging solution or back up camera for a serious photographer. That being said, i don't know why this couldn't be added in a future software revision...
  • When you hit the shutter button do you get to the stock camera app or the Nokia pro cam app?
  • Everybody with a Lumia 920 / 925 / 928 read this:
     
    http://conversations.nokia.com/2013/07/11/professional-camera-power-to-the-people-with-nokia-pro-camera/
     
    Nokia Pro Camera will be available for Nokia Lumia 1020 at launch and it will also be coming to all Nokia Lumia PureView smartphones (Lumia 920, 925 and 928), but will require an upgrade to the latest Amber software.
     
     YEAH!
  • One particular fantastic element visiting Seasoned Digicam is usually the opportunity to survey the fact that environment improvements will probably influence  current image.See probably adjust appropriately because  okay track  current camera settings. It is a element numerous stand alone digital camera models possess and can head out far in helping every person consider better pics. http://www.hotappsntech.com/new-nokia-camera-app-out-for-lumia-phones/