Battle of the Cameras: Nokia Lumia 1020 vs Samsung Galaxy K Zoom
**There are very few smartphones being released nowadays that don’t have some form of camera stuck on the back of them. But now, with the introduction of some super cameras within the smartphone world, are we seeing an end to traditional point and shoot snappers?
Nokia and Samsung are two manufacturers that have taken their camera phones incredibly seriously, with the Lumia 1020 and Galaxy K Zoom both sporting some phenomenal lenses.
But which camera-focused phone is the best? Will Nokia come out on top, or will Samsung claim the crown? We’re about to find out.
Nokia vs Samsung Cameras
There’s no place else to start when considering these two photography loving smartphones but the cameras. Both feature magnificent pieces of kit, but which one edges it here?
We’ll start with the Nokia Lumia 1020 which was released back in 2013, featuring an unheard of 41 megapixel sensor. This lens obviously blows plenty of handsets away on paper, and in practice it doesn’t fail to impress either, showing unmatched quality when it comes to your pictures.
The Carl Zeiss optical lens really shows its value, providing a great picture quality and some extremely vivid and beautiful colours. The Xenon flash helps out massively in low-light situations, and gives your photos a professional feel without making images appear washed out.
The Lumia 1020’s loss-less zoom function is scores ahead of other smartphones, providing users a close up view of their images without driving the quality down. All of this culminates to make one of the best smartphone cameras we’ve ever seen- but can the Galaxy K Zoom knock it down a peg or two?
The Galaxy K Zoom is the successor of the Galaxy S4 Zoom which made an appearance last year, and is promising to be much more impressive than its debutant predecessor.
Boasting a 20.7 megapixel lens, nearly half as powerful as the Lumia, you might think that this isn’t going to be a close run race, but you’d be wrong. Unlike the Lumia, the K Zoom boasts a 10x optical zoom, meaning that the lens actually moves out of the smartphone shell, improving quality compared to other smartphones.The sharpness is unbelievably good when zoomed in to the max, providing images that no other smartphone can capture. The Xenon flash we saw on the Lumia is also making an appearance on the Samsung model, meaning low-light photography is a doddle.
Lumia 1020 vs K Zoom Specs
Whilst the cameras are obviously a huge selling point for both models, what makes a good phone isn’t just about its snapper.
We’ll start once again with the Nokia Lumia 1020, which features a 4.5-inch PureMotion HD+ ClearBlack display, making your photos, apps and home screens look impeccable. Behind the screen, we’re also given a 2GB RAM and up to 64GB internal memory as well, offering plenty of room to store all of your freshly-taken snaps.
The Lumia 1020 is topped off with a dual-core 1.5GHz processor, a 2000mAh battery and the Windows Phone 8 Black Edition operating system, as well as featuring a 1.2 megapixel selfie snapper on the front side of the handset.
Samsung has gone for a similar approach with the K Zoom, squeezing in a slightly larger 4.8-inch Super AMOLED display, along with an identical 2GB RAM. Internal storage space is at a premium though, with the K Zoom only hosting 8GB room, some of which is bound to be taken up by the Android KitKat OS. This means you’ll most probably need to invest in a memory card if you’re planning on taking and storing all of your pictures on the device, but this is hardly a problem!
Despite this set back, Samsung has won us over with the K Zoom’s specs under the hood, including hecta-core processor totalling 3GHz, a 2 megapixel selfie snapper and by featuring a larger 2430mAh battery.
Snapshot Verdict
Overall, both phones put up a pretty solid fight; whilst the Lumia shows off more pixels, the Samsung flaunts a more effective zoom. Nokia has forced in more internal memory for Lumia users, but Samsung has added more power under the hood, making the decision between the two a close one. Both handsets run completely different software, which could sway your decision, but if we’re being honest, both phones are pretty much side by side across the board.
So, whichever smartphone catches your eye, a keen photographer can’t go wrong with either the Lumia 1020 or the Galaxy K Zoom…
Need a great camera phone? Check out our range of great camera phones in our Samsung range.