fashionably petite: Nokia Lumia 1020 Windows Phone New York Fashion Week Experience

Saturday, March 15, 2014

Nokia Lumia 1020 Windows Phone New York Fashion Week Experience

Nicholas K

This past Fall 2014 New York Fashion Week season was an exciting one for me, as I was shooting pictures and video with the new Nokia Lumia 1020 Windows Phone, and posting to Instagram, Twitter and Facebook directly from the front row.

Now that I'm comfortable shooting with my Lumia 1020, I can really delve into the apps to edit and manipulate photos. Since I am constantly posting images to social media, I'm always looking for the best camera and video capabilities in a phone and I believe the Lumia 1020 has it (honestly, it puts my iPhone 5 to shame). The full HD video quality is so vivid, crisp and sharp, and looks amazing on the

WXGA (1280 x 768) display resolution. I find that the Lumia 1020 is simple enough for me to use but has enhanced camera features that I can learn to use to improve my photography.

Here are some amazing camera features of the Lumia 1020:

- Camera sensor: 41MP, PureView - no other phone has this many megapixels. My iPhone 5 has a measly 8MP :P

- Being able to use it like a DSLR camera - I don't know of any other phone that allows you to adjust the white balance, focus, ISO, shutter speed and brightness!

Creative Studio: this editing tool is pre-installed on the Lumia 1020 and allows you to apply filters and crop/rotate, adjust color balance, and remove red eye. It also allows you to add focus or blur to an object or area. I really find the focus and blurring features helpful.

- Nokia Smart Cam: Allows you to take a sequence of photos that you can review with the Action Shot, Change Faces and Remove Moving Objects features. The Remove Moving Object feature allows you to erase unwanted details and the Change Faces feature lets you combine your favorite expressions from a series of shots into a single perfect group photo. Works well for those photos where someone has their eyes closed.

Nokia Camera: Once you download this app, it replaces the Nokia Pro Cam and also includes the best features of Nokia Smart Cam. There is a smart sequence feature, which shoots a series of photos that can be combined in different ways. You can remove moving objects or change faces in group shots so that everyone has their eyes open.

- Shooting in DNG format with Nokia Camera: I prefer RAW file capture since I have grown accustomed to post-editing. To switch to DNG format once you have downloaded the Nokia Camera app, go to Settings, scroll down to Capture mode and select the JPEG (5 MP) + DNG (34 MP) option.

Image capturing with Nokia Camera: Scene modes in Automatic, Sports or Night.

- Tutorials with Nokia Camera: I find the tutorials to be quite helpful, as it takes you through topics such as taking control of brightness, getting creative with shutter speed, low-light photography, working with focus, experimenting with white balance, also allowing you to try out these features while you are in the tutorial. It also takes you through basic photography terms. To get to the tutorials, it's as easy as clicking on Nokia Camera, and selecting the tutorials option.

In addition to adding the Nokia Camera app, here are some newWindows Phone apps I just added that I look forward to using:

Fhotoroom (Free): Allows you to tweak photos up to 22 MP by editing the sharpness, exposure, vibrance and more, as well as choosing from various filters and frames.

6tag (Free): I found that Instagram Beta wouldn't allow me to upload videos, but 6tag will. 6tag is the most full featured Instagram app for Windows phone, and even has a regram function.

Phototastic Free ($0.99 version also available): Converts photos into collages.

Picture Lab (Free): Edit photos by applying a number of filters.

TiltShiftGen ($1.29): Turns your camera phone into a full-fledges SLR by adjusting focus, blurring the background and enhancing colors.

Another feature I love about the Lumia 1020 is that it is so easy to share your photos or videos whether you need to text, email, instagram or tweet straight from your camera roll.

Here are my favorite backstage and front row moments from fashion week. These are the most basic shots I have taken, without any filters, focusing or editing involved. If this is how the photos came out by simply shooting them, imagine how they would look after applying some of the camera apps. Many times during fashion week, at shows and lounges, I opted to use my Lumia 1020 instead of my DSLR camera, and was completely happy with using those images for my blog posts.

Nicholas K