First impressions of the Nokia 9 PureView with five cameras

The Nokia 9 PureView with five cameras managed to conquer us
HMD Global manufactures smartphones with the Nokia brand, and the new Nokia 9 PureView is not only interesting because it looks different. Unlike most smartphones with multiple cameras, the five-camera system of the Nokia 9 works in unison to offer a single photo with a large amount of detail.

Not only does it take wonderful photos, but it also saves the images in RAW along with the JPEGs, in order to have complete control over the appearance of the photographs. Of course, other phones are also compatible with RAW, but the image quality and information of the five cameras is so much more pleasant to edit photos on the Nokia 9.

It is important to keep in mind that the Nokia 9 PureView (which we will call Nokia 9 from now on) is a limited edition phone.

STRONG DESIGN AND BIG SCREEN
There’s nothing special about the Nokia 9 when you see it head-on. The screen is quite traditional by 2019 standards: there is not a camera punched somewhere on the screen and you will not even find a notch. This can attract enough people who abhor these new screen styles.

Instead, there are relatively thin bevels at the top and bottom. An aluminum block of the 6000 series is combined with Gorilla Glass 5, which helps the Nokia 9 feel robust. The edges are slightly rounded, and it is easy to grasp. The power and volume buttons are easily accessible. The trouble is that it does not come with a 3.5mm headphone jack.

The Nokia 9 comes with a 5.99-inch POLED screen with a clear 2K resolution. It is not as surprising as the AMOLED of the Galaxy S10 but it has not failed. However, we need more time to see how it directly compares with its competitors.

It is the back that is the highlight of the Nokia 9. The five-camera configuration is designed to mimic the eyes of a spider. It looks very different to any existing camera configuration on a phone, but it is the fact that the cameras do not stick out on the back of the phone one of the things we like the most.

The Nokia 9 joins a growing wave of phones that opt ​​for fingerprint sensors on the screen, such as the Galaxy S10, the OnePlus 6T and the Huawei Mate 20 Pro. Each of them uses a different technology and until now, we think that The ultrasonic fingerprint sensor in the Galaxy S10 is the best. Fortunately, you can use the 20 megapixel selfie camera of the Nokia 9 for facial unlocking, although it is not secure, so you can not use it to authenticate payments or access sensitive applications.

The body of the phone is IP67 water resistant, which is the standard for all star phones, and that means the Nokia 9 can stay alive submerged up to 1 meter for 30 minutes.

PERFORMANCE
One of the disadvantages of the Nokia 9 is that it comes with the Snapdragon 845 chipset from Qualcomm, and not with the 855, which is what the 2018 phones came with.

Is the Snapdragon 845 a bad processor? No. We had no problems with performance (6GB of RAM also helps), but it’s easy to get annoyed about buying a new phone that uses last year’s technology. Fortunately, the Nokia 9 comes with 128 GB of internal storage.

The phone has been in development for quite some time and HMD has been working closely with Qualcomm to ensure that the 845 processor can support the five-camera array. The Snapdragon 855 chip is simply too new.

A CAMERA MADE FOR ADDICTS TO PHOTOGRAPHY
All said, the Snapdragon 845 chipset inside the Nokia 9 PureView is unlike any other. There is a special Light Lux capacitor that helps the phone take full advantage of the chip for the camera experience. Five cameras mean that a large amount of data is being captured, so the image signal processor (ISP) needs help calculating it. There are 240 megapixels of data to deal with, after all. By taking advantage of the digital signal processor, you get a noise reduction three times greater, at a power 10 times lower, and the Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) manages the depth map of 1,200 layers that is captured.

However, it is not just a close partnership with Qualcomm that made this work. HMD worked with Zeiss to make sure the camera was tuned precisely, and the multi-camera technology is largely in collaboration with Light. For those who do not know, Light is a company that created the L16, a 16-camera device that promises image quality similar to DSLR in a much more portable form factor. HMD and Light said the transition from technology to a smartphone will offer “next-generation images for photography enthusiasts.”

Why? Because most phones with multiple cameras have clear and identified roles that do not allow you to use them all at once. Instead, it is usually a standard lens combined with a telephoto lens for a 2 times larger optical zoom, or a wide-angle lens for a wider shot. In the Nokia 9, you get five 12 megapixel lenses with an aperture of f / 1.8 each. By touching the shutter button once, and the five cameras take a picture, sometimes more, and merge them to get a much more detailed picture.
Three of the cameras are monochromatic sensors, while the other two are RGB. This is because monochrome sensors can capture 2.9 times more light than RGB cameras, so the Nokia 9 has the potential to provide up to 10 times more light. There is also a fantastic monochrome camera mode that uses all three sensors to obtain beautiful black and white images.

From what we have seen so far, the photos have great detail and real colors. The photo of the dog was edited in RAW after being a little overexposed, but it was easy to reduce that brightness in Adobe Lightroom, and the final result looks excellent.

Where the Pixel and some other phones can win is with things that move a lot or when you have shaking hands. There is no optical image stabilization in the Nokia 9.
But Nokia 9’s biggest problem is the processing time it takes to compile images. When you take the picture, you get a preview and you can still take pictures, but it takes 30 seconds to a minute to process the final image and you might not like this.

The Depth Control feature reminds you that it is incorporated with Google Photos. With compatible devices, you can edit the focus of the photo completely and adjust its intensity in the foreground or background, changing the look of the photo taken by the Nokia 9.

The drawback is that depth control is only available for JPEG photos, which may not be the files you want to use most of the time. The Nokia 9 offers you the JPEG and RAW files of an image: the first one is processed and can be shared instantly. The latter is not so much, but then you can take it to Adobe Lightroom (which the phone allows you to install in the configuration process) to modify it perfectly. RAW photos are what photographers use to edit instead of JPEG images, since RAW keeps all data uncompressed, giving you more control over color editing, exposure and more. Editing JPEG photos is restrictive, but editing RAW is the opposite, and that’s what makes the Nokia 9 a lot of fun.
The only worrying thing is the amount of storage that these images will require. You can save them in the cloud, but if you use Google Photos, you may have to pay for storage space due to the size of the RAW images. The phone comes with 128 GB, which is not enough and there is no MicroSD card slot either.

ANDROID ONE SOFTWARE
There is nothing to worry about with the phone software, since it is an Android One smartphone , which means that it runs a clean and tidy version of Android, without filler software. The phone will get two years of updates and three years of security updates. It comes with Android 9 Pie.

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CELL PHONE
First impressions of the Nokia 9 PureView with five cameras
The Nokia 9 PureView with five cameras managed to conquer us
nokia 9 Julian Chokkattu / Digital Trends
nokia 9 Julian Chokkattu / Digital Trends
Julian Chokkattu / Digital Trends
The five cameras of the Nokia 9 will bring out the photographer you have inside.

HIGH
Offer photos in RAW file
Beautiful design and good quality
Depth Control Function
It comes with Android One
Monochromatic mode
LOW
It takes a long time to process the photos
Speakers point down
Does not have image stabilization
HMD Global manufactures smartphones with the Nokia brand, and the new Nokia 9 PureView is not only interesting because it looks different. Unlike most smartphones with multiple cameras, the five-camera system of the Nokia 9 works in unison to offer a single photo with a large amount of detail.

Not only does it take wonderful photos, but it also saves the images in RAW along with the JPEGs, in order to have complete control over the appearance of the photographs. Of course, other phones are also compatible with RAW, but the image quality and information of the five cameras is so much more pleasant to edit photos on the Nokia 9.

It is important to keep in mind that the Nokia 9 PureView (which we will call Nokia 9 from now on) is a limited edition phone.

STRONG DESIGN AND BIG SCREEN
There’s nothing special about the Nokia 9 when you see it head-on. The screen is quite traditional by 2019 standards: there is not a camera punched somewhere on the screen and you will not even find a notch. This can attract enough people who abhor these new screen styles.

Instead, there are relatively thin bevels at the top and bottom. An aluminum block of the 6000 series is combined with Gorilla Glass 5, which helps the Nokia 9 feel robust. The edges are slightly rounded, and it is easy to grasp. The power and volume buttons are easily accessible. The trouble is that it does not come with a 3.5mm headphone jack.

The Nokia 9 comes with a 5.99-inch POLED screen with a clear 2K resolution. It is not as surprising as the AMOLED of the Galaxy S10 but it has not failed. However, we need more time to see how it directly compares with its competitors.

Something we like is that the cameras do not stick out on the back of the phone.

It is the back that is the highlight of the Nokia 9. The five-camera configuration is designed to mimic the eyes of a spider. It looks very different to any existing camera configuration on a phone, but it is the fact that the cameras do not stick out on the back of the phone one of the things we like the most.

The Nokia 9 joins a growing wave of phones that opt ​​for fingerprint sensors on the screen, such as the Galaxy S10, the OnePlus 6T and the Huawei Mate 20 Pro. Each of them uses a different technology and until now, we think that The ultrasonic fingerprint sensor in the Galaxy S10 is the best. Fortunately, you can use the 20 megapixel selfie camera of the Nokia 9 for facial unlocking, although it is not secure, so you can not use it to authenticate payments or access sensitive applications.

The body of the phone is IP67 water resistant, which is the standard for all star phones, and that means the Nokia 9 can stay alive submerged up to 1 meter for 30 minutes.

PERFORMANCE
One of the disadvantages of the Nokia 9 is that it comes with the Snapdragon 845 chipset from Qualcomm, and not with the 855, which is what the 2018 phones came with.

Is the Snapdragon 845 a bad processor? No. We had no problems with performance (6GB of RAM also helps), but it’s easy to get annoyed about buying a new phone that uses last year’s technology. Fortunately, the Nokia 9 comes with 128 GB of internal storage.

The phone has been in development for quite some time and HMD has been working closely with Qualcomm to ensure that the 845 processor can support the five-camera array. The Snapdragon 855 chip is simply too new.

nokia 9
Julian Chokkattu / Digital Trends
A CAMERA MADE FOR ADDICTS TO PHOTOGRAPHY
All said, the Snapdragon 845 chipset inside the Nokia 9 PureView is unlike any other. There is a special Light Lux capacitor that helps the phone take full advantage of the chip for the camera experience. Five cameras mean that a large amount of data is being captured, so the image signal processor (ISP) needs help calculating it. There are 240 megapixels of data to deal with, after all. By taking advantage of the digital signal processor, you get a noise reduction three times greater, at a power 10 times lower, and the Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) manages the depth map of 1,200 layers that is captured.

However, it is not just a close partnership with Qualcomm that made this work. HMD worked with Zeiss to make sure the camera was tuned precisely, and the multi-camera technology is largely in collaboration with Light. For those who do not know, Light is a company that created the L16, a 16-camera device that promises image quality similar to DSLR in a much more portable form factor. HMD and Light said the transition from technology to a smartphone will offer “next-generation images for photography enthusiasts.”

 

Why? Because most phones with multiple cameras have clear and identified roles that do not allow you to use them all at once. Instead, it is usually a standard lens combined with a telephoto lens for a 2 times larger optical zoom, or a wide-angle lens for a wider shot. In the Nokia 9, you get five 12 megapixel lenses with an aperture of f / 1.8 each. By touching the shutter button once, and the five cameras take a picture, sometimes more, and merge them to get a much more detailed picture.
Three of the cameras are monochromatic sensors, while the other two are RGB. This is because monochrome sensors can capture 2.9 times more light than RGB cameras, so the Nokia 9 has the potential to provide up to 10 times more light. There is also a fantastic monochrome camera mode that uses all three sensors to obtain beautiful black and white images.

From what we have seen so far, the photos have great detail and real colors. The photo of the dog was edited in RAW after being a little overexposed, but it was easy to reduce that brightness in Adobe Lightroom, and the final result looks excellent.

Here are two images compared to those of Google Pixel 3 XL . The Pixel increases the colors in the image of the car, which makes it a strong photo, but the Nokia 9 remains.

 

Where the Pixel and some other phones can win is with things that move a lot or when you have shaking hands. There is no optical image stabilization in the Nokia 9.
But Nokia 9’s biggest problem is the processing time it takes to compile images. When you take the picture, you get a preview and you can still take pictures, but it takes 30 seconds to a minute to process the final image and you might not like this.

The Depth Control feature reminds you that it is incorporated with Google Photos. With compatible devices, you can edit the focus of the photo completely and adjust its intensity in the foreground or background, changing the look of the photo taken by the Nokia 9.

The drawback is that depth control is only available for JPEG photos, which may not be the files you want to use most of the time. The Nokia 9 offers you the JPEG and RAW files of an image: the first one is processed and can be shared instantly. The latter is not so much, but then you can take it to Adobe Lightroom (which the phone allows you to install in the configuration process) to modify it perfectly. RAW photos are what photographers use to edit instead of JPEG images, since RAW keeps all data uncompressed, giving you more control over color editing, exposure and more. Editing JPEG photos is restrictive, but editing RAW is the opposite, and that’s what makes the Nokia 9 a lot of fun.

Raw
The only worrying thing is the amount of storage that these images will require. You can save them in the cloud, but if you use Google Photos, you may have to pay for storage space due to the size of the RAW images. The phone comes with 128 GB, which is not enough and there is no MicroSD card slot either.

ANDROID ONE SOFTWARE
There is nothing to worry about with the phone software, since it is an Android One smartphone , which means that it runs a clean and tidy version of Android, without filler software. The phone will get two years of updates and three years of security updates. It comes with Android 9 Pie.

BATTERY DURATION
The phone has a battery capacity of 3,320mAh, which means that the Nokia 9 will last almost a day, neither more nor less. If you pass it to the phone, it is likely that you have to charge it during the day. It has Android Qi wireless charging.

PRICE AND AVAILABILITY
The Nokia 9 PureView costs 599 euros or $ 699 dollars in the United States. They are $ 100 less than the Google Pixel 3, and $ 50 less than the new Galaxy S10e. As mentioned above, it is a limited edition phone. The phone will be launched in March, and advance orders have started immediately in certain markets.

Is it worth the configuration of five cameras? Nokia wants to attract photographers with the Nokia 9 and being a limited edition, it could be sold as hot cakes.