Hi, this is Wayne again with a topic “Nokia 9 PureView Review: Trust The Process(ing)”.
This video is sponsored by RetailMeNot.. Nokia has always reserved the name PureView for phones that push the boundaries of photography. When it launched in 2012, the original packed a then giant 41 megapixel sensor and the PureView Lumia phones that followed helped popularize optical image stabilization and they spent years just slaying everyone else. When it came to low light photos., The newest PureView comes from a new Nokia and it tackles a new angle.. This is the Nokia 9 and it’s mission is to bring some of the quality of professional, still cameras without the cost and the bulk.
When it succeeds, it produces photographs that ooze character with dynamic range and depth. You won’t see on any other phone., But just like you don’t get money for nothin’, you don’t get. These clicks for free. (, lively, music ).
I know you’re here for the photos folks and I’m gon na share’em in a minute, but just like a customer buying this phone you’re gon na have to sit through the compromises first.. Some of the Nokia 9’s problems have fixes already in development, like the camera. App being very sluggish to switch between modes and even occasionally crashing., But Nokia, isn’t gon na be able to fix designs decisions that impede the everyday experience.. Let’S start by taking a look at my storage. After less than three weeks of using this device, I’ve used almost 40 % of its 128 gigs.. That’S mainly because the camera supports RAW capture, which means it kicks out some pretty big files, if you toggle it on., But if you’re gon na include that feature, why wouldn’t you build in a micro, SD card to more easily offload photos? Nokia’S counterargument is that Google Photos lets back up all your images for free, but it only offers that at reduced quality. You’ve got ta pay for the original quality backups and it’s still much slower. I’ll share. My workaround for this. At the end of the video., Add to that omission, the lack of a dedicated camera button. Sure it’s a niche complaint, but the kind of people who value a camera like this also value the option of a nice big mechanical shutter key with half-press to focus for More easily framing a shot., And even if you don’t care about that, you will care about this fingerprint reader. Put simply it’s the worst one currently on the market., It’s hard to train.
It almost never recognizes me on the first attempt, and it keeps telling me to press harder when it doesn’t get a firm read until I feel like I’m almost squeezing the phone to death.. I eventually became so frustrated with this that I just gave up and fell back on the non-secure face. Unlock. Now I asked Nokia if those promised software updates would improve this and the company wouldn’t commit to that..
Those updates are mainly focused on the camera., So yeah. It’S bad and it seems like to stay bad, which is too bad.. Let’S talk about what’s good and, let’s start with the centerpiece of the whole affair.
Five 12 megapixel cameras identical except for their sensors.. Two are color cameras. Three are monochrome..
That system is developed by Nokia’s partner, the Light Company, an apt name since the whole point of using three black and white sensors is to pull more light into the camera system.. Look along side, the LED flash and you’ll also see the time of flight sensor. That makes possible the other photo promise a depth map with up to 1200 layers..
It’S a lot of words and a lot of terms. So let me show you the best way to illustrate the effect of all this technology. I’ll share my screen with you.
When you’re framing a shot like this. The preview image on your screen is just a live feed coming from the one center color camera., When you hit the shutter, the camera fires all five cameras at once. It combines their data in the Light module and passes it through the image signal processor in the Snapdragon 845..
All that processing can take awhile up to 10 seconds per shot. In my experience, but look what happens when the processing takes hold.? Damn you get a photo that more often than not is incredibly true to life.. The differences in phone cameras have become so granular that it can be really hard to put them into words. So I talked at length with my friend Mark Lentangen about this, and what he helped me realize is that it’s really about the processing., The depth stuff. I mean this phone, certainly does it better than any other phone, but it’s still prone to errors. We’Ve been seeing for six years like losing the edges of a subject.
And that 1200-layer depth map, I’m really not seeing it in every shot.. What I am seeing, though, is this remarkable authenticity in color and texture., An authenticity that other phones, often compromise with over sharpening or over saturation.. Don’T get me wrong.
I’M a fan of that style of photo., It’s great for Instagram, but taking a shot like this one. This totally unremarkable scene that I photographed only because I woke up to it and I thought the lights and shadows were cool and having it come out of the phone. Exactly as I remember it, that’s pretty incredible. Same for this night, shot from Boston.
Notice. How details are equally well-rendered, both in the shadows which could be easily crushed and in the neon lights, which could be easily blown out. So far, I’ve only shown you JPEGs with minimal if any edits., But remember the Nokia 9 also shoots in RAW. So you take these photos into Lightroom and tweak them to a far greater degree..
Now other phones can shoot in RAW, but almost none of them can give you as much data to work with in each photo., Because ya know. No other phone has five cameras shooting at once.. Knowing I have these capabilities at my fingertips means I approach a scene and a subject differently with the Nokia 9 than with any other phone, especially when I know ahead of time that I’m gon na be able to capture a monochrome shot that doesn’t blow out the Highlights but still manages to pull a lot of detail from the shadows. Again.
The depth stuff is fun, don’t get me wrong, but it’s still a bit of a gimmick.. This phone is all about the processing., Some video and selfie samples for you. While I touch on the rest of the phone. In the good category, Android 9 is almost as stock as it gets.. There’S good voice call quality and a vibration motor so sharp.
It almost feels like a snap more than a buzz.. It’S really cool. Also the battery.
While not the biggest on the market has never had trouble, seeing me to the end of a long day, even while shooting the whole time. Wireless charging for the win as well. In the frustrations folder, this phones runs hot when it’s working on processing those photos.. It’S also got a speakerphone, that’s rather thin and tinny., And while it’s quite durable, the reason I know that is because it’s the slipperiest phone I’ve used in years.. It falls off everything. That all leads to a final verdict which I’ll share with you. Along with that storage tip, I promised after a quick word from my sponsor.
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When you checkout it automatically applies the best discounts and cash back offers possible, so you don’t have to., Doesn’t get much easier than that. And again it’s free. Hit the link in the description to install the RetailMeNot Genie and if you Wan na enter to win a $ 100 Visa gift card. At the same time, just reply to my pinned comment below telling me what deal you’re most excited to use., Happy shopping and thanks to RetailMeNot for sponsoring this video.. How I feel about the Nokia 9 is best summed up by Dr.
Tolian, Soran R.I.P.. This is a remarkable piece of equipment. Nokia and Light have created a camera system that often over delivers in ways.
I didn’t expect.. That said, it’s not gon na be my next top pocket find.. Given the shortfalls like the fingerprint sensor, the inconsistent depth effects and the lack of micro SD, it still feels like a bit of a beta. And my workaround for the SD. Is this jump drive recommended to me by Jaime Rivera., Not sponsored I just like it.
But, more importantly, I’ve come to value another kind of versatility in my camera phones framing options.. I love the flexibility of wide-angle and telephoto cameras alongside a standard one., The Nokia 9. Just can’t offer that, with the way its system works.. I also like that I can whip out a Pixel 3 and pull what feels like impossible details from a shot in near pitch blackness, which I can’t do with the Nokia 9, even in pro mode, with a 10-second exposure.
Factor in the $ 700 price tag. And I come away knowing that, while I someday want to own a camera phone designed by Nokia and Light I’ll, probably want it to be the next one. I’d love to hear your views on this one folks and all the camera-focused phones hitting the market.
Soon. Drop a line in the comments., Also swing by my Instagram channel for more samples from the Nokia, 9 and every other device. I can get my hands on this season.
My handle there is theMrMobile, just like it is on YouTube.. Please subscribe if you haven’t already. Until next time, thanks for watching and stay mobile, my friends .