Nokia offers a series of exclusive applications for smartphones in the Lumia range. The themes are varied but above all they focus on tools focused on improving the photographic experience and getting more out of the device's camera. The photographic and video section is a key point in the Finnish products and they have very competent terminals in this area, such as the Nokia Lumia 1020 , the Lumia 925 or the most recent Nokia Lumia 1520.
When Nokia launched the Lumia 1020 , its smartphone with the best camera, it introduced an application called Nokia Pro Cam that offers almost professional handling of the device's camera, allowing you to modify aspects such as ISO sensitivity, shutter speed or even exposure. The application has reached the rest of the Lumia PureView range with Windows Phone 8 through the Amber update , but it has also changed its name and is now called Nokia Camera . We tell you in detail how this practical tool works.
The first thing you should know is how to access this function. Once we have downloaded the application from the MarketPlace we can open it from its own icon, but also from the camera if we press the button that has two facing arrows . All Nokia photo applications are integrated into the camera for easy access. Another important point is that Nokia Camera has two modes, the automatic and professional . If we go to the bar at the top of the screen and click on the arrow to the right, we can switch between these two modes. Logically, the automatic mode simplifies the options to flash andscene modes (auto, sport or night portrait). For its part, the professional mode offers many more options and is the one that we will explain in depth below.
To edit each parameter we can go by clicking on the icons on the top bar, so that a circle is displayed as shown in the image above. If we move the cursor around the circle we will change the configuration. However, there is another way to open all the options at once. In the first image of the article we see that all the circles can be displayed at the same time , for this you have to press and drag to the left from the trigger button , this is what we can edit in each of the circles:
White balance
White balance is a setting used to reproduce the correct color tone according to the light in the scene. Nokia Camera offers an automatic mode that works very well, but we can also adjust it to different different parameters. The options are cloudy, sunny day, fluorescent light and tungsten light (traditional light bulb). We can use these options to more precisely adjust the tonality or also to create interesting effects, for example using the tungsten light setting on a cloudy day we will achieve a bluish effect in the photograph.
Focus
Nokia Camera also lets you adjust the focus so manually by moving the cursor will see how the focus is changing. If we raise the cursor to the top there is the “ infinity ” setting, an option that is usually used in landscape or night photography so that the entire scene comes out in focus.
ISO
ISO is a concept that comes from analog photography and refers to the sensitivity of the film. The higher the ISO number, the more sensitive the film is and therefore requires less light. Raising the ISO sensitivity comes in handy in night photographs where the lighting is very poor, the downside is that if we go too high, the annoying noise effect appears.
Shutter speed
We have already said that Nokia Camera offers almost professional handling and this setting is proof of that. The speed can be extended up to four seconds , that is, the time that the photo will be taken. Logically, to be able to use this setting in such a long time we must be in an environment with very little light and if possible use a tripod. The interesting thing is that during that time we can use the technique of painting with light and everything we do will be recorded. There are also other lower options such as 1/1250 of a second, 1/60, 0.3 seconds ...
Exposition
Finally, the application allows you to adjust the exposure level that will make the image appear lighter or darker, it's that simple. It may be the case that we are interested in increasing the exposure in a specific scene and with this function it is possible.