While this was expected, it’s always good to hear the official info. Over at Nokia Conversations, there was Q&A session with the imaging experts from Nokia ‘Juha Alakarhu and Eero Salmelin’ which revealed quite a bit of info on the imaging improvements coming with Lumia Cyan update and other tidbits.
Here’s all of them (good & bad both)
- The team that developed the breakthrough ‘PureView’ technology is now at Microsoft and working on further enhancing the tech.
- Lumia Cyan will bring significant improvements in low light performance, better colors, continuous auto-focus, improved video quality and improvements in sensor usage resulting in even better raw images. These improvements are only restricted to Lumia 1520, Lumia Icon and Lumia 930.
- As we have already covered before, the other and more generic improvements coming to most Lumia devices will be the completely re-written Nokia Creative Studio app with new filters and improved Nokia Camera app which will be faster with further improvements in camera roll. Also there will be an update for the Nokia Storyteller app. Read more about it here – https://nokiatheone.com/2014/04/08/lumia-cyan-to-bring-imaging-improvements-to-lumia-icon-1520-1020/
- The shot to shot time is improved in the new Nokia Camera app which will be a part of Cyan update.
- On if PureView tech will be brought to mid-range devices, an example of Lumia 720 with f1.9 aperture & ZEISS lens was given which means we might not see PureView tech in mid-range devices but imaging improvements of the likes of 720 will continue. Two mid-range devices ‘Tesla and Superman’ are in pipeline and I am expecting one to be the 720 successor.
- Living images (a feature which you might have experienced in the latest Nokia Camera Beta update) are basically .mp4 files. You just need to remove the .thm extension to view them animated on your PC.
- Will Lumia 920 (or 925 or 1020) get imaging improvements – NO ! .. so no new algorithms for these PureView devices.
- Eero Salmelin assures that Nokia (Microsoft) will continue to lead in imaging department going ahead.
- Continuous Auto Focus will come to Lumia 630, Lumia 1520, Lumia Icon and Lumia 930 with Lumia Cyan update. Sadly not for other Lumias (may be something associated with Quadcore processing).