Overview

So you have just purchased the best camera phone of 2013 & you’re excited to get started taking incredible photos like those seen in reviews.

In bright daylight, all the photos turn out great but when the lights dim, your photos aren’t turning out so great. What’s up? Lumia 1020 is supposed to be the champion in low-light photography. Is your Lumia 1020 faulty?

Likelihood it’s performing fine. It’s just not what you’re expecting in the picture.

This article aims to help you overcome inherent problems in digital photography. It’s broken down into sub-sections, each corresponding to an individual manual setting in the Nokia Camera app, the default camera app on all Lumia 1020. This article also applies if you’ve install Nokia Camera on other Lumia WP8 models although instead of the Xenon Flash, you’d only have the LED light.

A brief theory section will be included in each sub-section to allow you to understand how each setting will affect light coming into the lens. This is important because each setting will affect other settings in the Nokia Camera app, and because the Lumia 1020 is not a DSLR, there’re some limitations you should be aware of when shooting.

OK, now that’s out of the way, let’s get to it.

This article was originally a blog post which I never intended to exceed 2000 words. But as I was researching & writing, I discovered many webpages & tutorials doesn’t give a full picture of digital photography or the writer/photographer doesn’t really have an in-depth knowledge of the physics & technologies involved. Thus, the blog post balloon to over 5400 words and became a full tutorial.

You can go through it in sections or read them page-by-page. New material will be added as the Lumia 1020 gain new capabilities and new pictures will be added or updated when I have the time. Enjoy!

* If you spot any errors, feel free to comment below!

• Nokia Camera app version 4.2
• Hardware Camera button versus onscreen Camera button
• The Flash
• Focus Assist Light
• White Balance
• Auto/Manual Focus
• ISO
• Shutter Speed
• The sniper
• EV +/- mode
• Night mode
• Sports mode
• Burst mode (Smart Cam)
• Conclusion
• Extra! – Aperture