Nokia Lumia 1020 with monster camera unveiled

Nokia introduced its new flagship Windows Phone smartphone with a very high resolution 41-megapixel camera, the Lumia 1020, at an event in New York today (11 July 2013).

In his presentation, Stephen Elop, CEO of Nokia, focussed on the photographic and video recording capabilities of the new device.

According to Nokia, the Lumia 1020 features an entirely new 41-megapixel (MP), backside illuminated sensor.

Backside illuminated sensors have the most sensitive pixels in the world, and Nokia Lumia has the largest such sensor of any consumer product, Elop said.

Elop went on to explain that Nokia has combined its 41MP PureView camera with optical imaging stabilisation (OIS) in the Nokia Lumia 1020.

To do this, Nokia had to completely redesign the OIS mechanism, Elop said. Instead of springs, the Lumia 1020 uses a series of ball-bearings and “small magnetically-driven motors” to compensate for hand movements.

In a series of demonstrations, Elop and two of his team members showed that the Nokia Lumia 1020 saves both a high-resolution image and an oversampled 5MP photo when the shutter button is pressed.

Oversampling works by combining up to 7 pixels into a single “superpixel”, Nokia explained.

Video, audio, image SDK and accessories

Elop also showed that the OIS technology and sensors in the Nokia Lumia 1020 extended to video recording as well.

He added that the device features rich audio recording that doesn’t clip in loud environments.

Along with the device, Nokia also announced that it would be making its imaging software development kit available to developers, as well as launching a camera grip for the Lumia 1020.

The camera grip will cost $79 and features two-step shutter control, a tripod mount, and an extra battery built into the shell.

Availability

AT&T will be the first network to offer the Nokia Lumia 1020 in the US from 26 July 2013, with pre-order opening on 16 July.

Elop said that they expect the device to be available this quarter (Q3 2013) in China and key European markets.

More on smartphones

41MP camera smartphone to lead Nokia device push

Apple vs Samsung vs BlackBerry vs Nokia

Mozilla Firefox smartphones unveiled, specs comparison

iPhone 5S tech, launch date rumours heating up