Apple Hires Nokia's Lumia Photography Lead to Work on the iPhone's Camera

MacRumors · May 9, 2014

Apple has hired Nokia's Lumia photography chief Ari Partinen, reports Engadget. Partinen stated on his Twitter that he will be "starting a new chapter in Cupertino" this June, later confirming that he will join Apple.

The Nokia 808 PureView with 41MP sensor

According to Partinen's LinkedIn biography, his responsibilities at Nokia included "working with image quality characterization and tuning on camera module level", while handling camera component production and quality control on a global scale. Partinen also lists the Nokia's 808 PureView and Nokia N8 as devices he has worked on, which were regarded for their noteworthy photographic capabilities.

Partinen's hire comes as Apple is reportedly looking to bolster the next-generation iPhone's camera through optical image stabilization and other improvements. Nokia has focused heavily on the advantages of the camera's on its devices throughout the past few years, recently launching the Nokia Lumia 1520 with a 20 MP PureView camera.

Article Link: Apple Hires Nokia's Lumia Photography Lead to Work on the iPhone's Camera

Michaelgtrusa · May 9, 2014

I just say that Apple is on the move for something big.

yjchua95 · May 9, 2014

Let me guess, a 41MP PureView from the Lumia 1020 will soon make its way into the iPhone.

dasx · May 9, 2014

Now it will be all about the MPx I guess?

TechGod · May 9, 2014

This is great for the camera.

gnasher729 · May 9, 2014

Great for Nokia engineers if Apple is hiring. Always a good move to go to a company that has a future.

Daze & Confuse · May 9, 2014

yjchua95 said:
Let me guess, a 41MP PureView from the Lumia 1020 will soon make its way into the iPhone.

I hope so - the 808 Pureview was a stunning camera, only let down by its end of life operating system.

I'm glad you realise how good it is - I'm sick of all the willingly uninformed idiots on here having a go just for it having 41mp, where they refuse to see the obvious benefits of its 5mp resampled output.

Nokia is a real leader in camera technology, and it'll be cool to see that technology spread.

yjchua95 · May 9, 2014

Daze & Confuse said:
I hope so - the 808 Pureview was a stunning camera, only let down by its end of life operating system.

I'm glad you realise how good it is - I'm sick of all the willingly uninformed idiots on here having a go just for it having 41mp, where they refuse to see the obvious benefits of its 5mp resampled output.

Nokia is a real leader in camera technology, and it'll be cool to see that technology spread.

Symbian marked the demise of Nokia, until Windows Phone swooped in and saved their bacon.

I went for the 1020 alongside my iPhone 5s because:

1. It's running on WP, which actually works pretty well in corporate environments. Android's a mess.
2. The camera. Supersampling is a good technology, but being able to shoot in RAW (DNG) is even better. Plus, the manual controls are easy to use (although I still love my 5D Mk3's controls).

So far, I love the results of my Lumia's camera, especially with Nokia Camera and Smart Cam.

Even Stephen Alvarez, a National Geographic photographer, uses a 1020 himself for pro assignments.

yjchua95 · May 9, 2014

Pit the Lumia 1020 against any smartphone camera and the Lumia will blow everything out of the water.

Pit the iPhone 5S against the Galaxy S4/S5 and the iPhone still wins. It's not about the pixels - it's about the saturation, sharpness, color accuracy, contrast....etc.

I'm a full-time photographer myself, and I've tried Samsung's phone cameras. They can come close to that of the iPhone's, but can't really beat it.

But then, pit anything against the Lumia 1020 and they'll all lose.

Frizers · May 9, 2014

maybe we'll get some thickness back for the iphone after all

Futurix · May 9, 2014

Nokia made two major breakthroughs in phone cameras:

1. Lumia 1020 (and PureView 808) with 41MP camera that downscales to 5MP - resulting in super-sharp and highly detailed photos.

2. Lumias 92x / 15x0 with great low light cameras thanks to optical image stabilisation (OIS).

#1 wouldn't suit Apple thanks to a requirement for an enormously thick sensor, #2 is something they are rumoured to have already for iPhone 6.

So there must be something else they hired him for?

P.S. Nokia cameras with OIS aren't that great in daylight - iPhone 4S and newer still beat them.

maflynn · May 9, 2014

Wow, big win for Apple and big loss for MS. Nokia's phones are noted for their great cameras. While the iPhone camera is good, I think its competitors have eclipsed them

recklesslife85 · May 9, 2014

yjchua95 said:
Pit the Lumia 1020 against any smartphone camera and the Lumia will blow everything out of the water.

Pit the iPhone 5S against the Galaxy S4/S5 and the iPhone still wins. It's not about the pixels - it's about the saturation, sharpness, color accuracy, contrast....etc.

iPhone 5S cam does not beat the S5 camera, i own both and S5 is way ahead in detail and colours.

Menneisyys2 · May 9, 2014

yjchua95 said:
Let me guess, a 41MP PureView from the Lumia 1020 will soon make its way into the iPhone.

I wish this was true... however, due to physical constraints, it's highly improbable the thin iPhone ever gets a large sensor. Large sensors mean thickness; this is what Apple would never allow in their handsets.

yjchua95 · May 9, 2014

Futurix said:
Nokia made two major breakthroughs in phone cameras:

1. Lumia 1020 (and PureView 808) with 41MP camera that downscales to 5MP - resulting in super-sharp and highly detailed photos.

2. Lumias 92x / 15x0 with great low light cameras thanks to optical image stabilisation (OIS).

#1 wouldn't suit Apple thanks to a requirement for an enormously thick sensor, #2 is something they are rumoured to have already for iPhone 6.

So there must be something else they hired him for?

P.S. Nokia cameras with OIS aren't that great in daylight - iPhone 4S and newer still beat them.

Not really, I did a test with my iPhone 5S and Lumia 1020 and found that the 1020 totally trashed the iPhone in everything else except some situations in low light, where the white balance went nuts and put a yellowish tinge.

That said, it's a small issue as the 1020 can shoot in DNG, allowing the user to extract the raw 38MP image and change the white balance in Photoshop.

Menneisyys2 · May 9, 2014

Futurix said:
2. Lumias 92x / 15x0 with great low light cameras thanks to optical image stabilisation (OIS).

...and the 1020...

#1 wouldn't suit Apple thanks to a requirement for an enormously thick sensor

Yup - that's a problem, as I've pointed out above.

P.S. Nokia cameras with OIS aren't that great in daylight - iPhone 4S and newer still beat them.

Depends. The 920 indeed didn't have great image quality. The 1020, however, easily beats iPhones in most respects except for WB (before the latest upgrades), speed and sweep pano.

Cod3rror · May 9, 2014

Well, that was bound to happen, engineers scattering to other companies.

Nokia's Lumia cameras have bad camera quality. There is something wrong with their software algorithms, images have this "fuzz" when at 100% resolution.

Their Symbian cameras were always ahead of time though, Nokia 808 PureView is still unmatched and I doubt it'll be matched any time soon.

Apple needs to get Juha Alakarhu and Damian Dinning too, before Samsung hires them.

yjchua95 · May 9, 2014

Menneisyys2 said:
The 1020, however, easily beats iPhones in most respects except for WB (before the latest upgrades), speed and sweep pano.

The 1020's WB problems started after the Amber update. The Black update didn't fully fix it either, so in low light, I adjust the WB manually to eliminate the yellow tinge issue.

Menneisyys2 · May 9, 2014

Frizers said:
maybe we'll get some thickness back for the iphone after all

Won't happen. Unfortunately - again, it's the lack of thickness that makes it impossible to put a large sensor in the iPhone.

MattJessop · May 9, 2014

The iPhone 6. Now snappier.

Steve121178 · May 9, 2014

His hiring comes a little too late for iPhone 6.

Maybe we will see some progress with the iPhone 6s in late 2015?

Menneisyys2 · May 9, 2014

Cod3rror said:
Nokia's Lumia cameras have bad camera quality. There is something wrong with their software algorithms, images have this "fuzz" when at 100% resolution.

While I do know you're a die-hard 808 fan and an opponent of anything Windows Phone, let me disagree: the 1020 delivers what one can realistically expect of such a sensor.

Of course, it has some additional problems (mainly, WB), but if you shoot RAW (DNG), those can be easily fixed in PP (where you yourself set the WB).

Cod3rror said:
Their Symbian cameras were always ahead of time though, Nokia 808 PureView is still unmatched and I doubt it'll be matched any time soon.

Yup, won't be matched - Apple will never release a "thick" iPhone.

Cod3rror said:
Apple needs to get Juha Alakarhu and Damian Dinning too, before Samsung hires them.

Damian Dinning isn't exactly an engineer - he's more of a camera enthusiast / evangelist.

akuma13 · May 9, 2014

Steve121178 said:
His hiring comes a little too late for iPhone 6.

Maybe we will see some progress with the iPhone 6s in late 2015?

I'm guessing the same. This is always why i wait for S version.

Apple is finally making some big moves and acquisitions. It's going to be interesting next year.

randyj · May 9, 2014

No one needs 41MP in a phone. Will avoid it if Apple put one in an iPhone.

bushido · May 9, 2014

Menneisyys2 said:
Won't happen. Unfortunately - again, it's the lack of thickness that makes it impossible to put a large sensor in the iPhone.

and thank god for that! so bulky ... if i want to take awesome vacation pics etc i take my real camera. the phone camera is good enough for random instagram snaps

Apple Hires Nokia's Lumia Photography Lead to Work on the iPhone's Camera

macrumors bot

macrumors 604

macrumors 604

macrumors 65816

macrumors 68040

Suspended

macrumors member

macrumors 604

macrumors 604

macrumors regular

macrumors 6502a

macrumors Haswell

Cancelled

macrumors 603

macrumors 604

macrumors 603

macrumors 68000

macrumors 604

macrumors 603

macrumors regular

macrumors 603

macrumors 603

macrumors 6502a

macrumors regular

Suspended

Our Staff