Nokia Windows Phone v Symbian Camera comparison (Old v New)

So this isn't exactly news or groundbreaking, it's something I wanted to do out of interest. I have at the moment the good fortune to be trialing a Microsoft/Nokia Lumia 630 handset from the kind people @Connects . I am thoroughly enjoying the little handset (I say 'little' subjectively, as it has a 4.5” screen which I would have called MASSIVE only a few years ago) The Lumia 630 is what is categorised as a 'budget' handset and as such has reduced features and hardware compared to other Lumia phones I have and do use, if you hadn't realized , I'm a fan of Windows Phone :-D

I have given my opinion on most Lumia handsets since the launch of the Nokia Lumia 800 in 2011 and one thread which runs through the genre as such, is consistancy. The more you pay, the higher specification and more powerful hardware you get, but overall, you get a consistent performance throughout the range in general use, the overall smoothness is consistent and choice of customization and apps is very consistent. The thing that varies most is the hardware and as such allows features on the higher end models , not available on the budget offerings, having said that, no one would expect a sub £100 handset to completely equal a handset at over four times the price ?

Anyway the idea of this bit of malarky is actually to do a bit of a camera comparison with the 630, but it seemed both unfair and fairly pointless to compare it to either my Lumia 1020 or 1520 which are both very camera centric and market leading , at least photography wise. So I had the idea to pitch modern, but budget handset of today against my old 'high end flagship' Nokia N97 , well the camera at least, the Lumia 630 simply destroys the N97 on speed , features, spec and useability. My intention was to see if a budget Lumia camera is anywhere near the 2009 camera of a high end (if company destroying :( ) Symbian flagship, which despite the horror stories and lack of ram etc , wasn't actually a bad camera in its day, maybe it was bad at everything else, but ir did take nice photos !

So by all means take a look at the pics, please don't slag off the N97, it's from a bygone age and it is being used as the 'other camera' because it was sat on my kitchen worktop and thought it a fairer adversary for the Lumia 630 :)

Overall I think the Lumia 630 actually does a really nice job in good light, it won't compete with my Lumia 1020, but it will run the Nokia camera app for Windows Phone along with Panorama , Refocus and various other 'Lenses' which really helps, it doesn't have a dedicated camera button or a flash (they do cost money you know) but it is a great little workhorse and fantastic value for money "!

Well thanks for taking a look, hope it was at least interesting , I certainly found it interesting to do and if you didn't like it , you're welcome to comment and I'm happy to give you a full refund ;)

Cheers

Stephen Quin

23/09/2014