BTW the extra pixels being used to produce better lowlight images, and not being saved that way: I think that is a special mode the thing has. You get 5MP total in that mode right? Isn't there a mode to save all 41MP?
I was just giving you a hard time...! But I do find it incredulous that someone would only want the apps M$ has available, unless they were being paid to look no further than that. But I guess non-creative types who don't code and have no interest in science or music do typically go Microsoft. That sounds haughty and arrogant, but it's not meant that way; I think it's been the case that Apple folk have typically been the academic/creative/artist/programmer types, and less so the business/gamer types. Shrugs.
Nah, I am just calling it like it is. And, companies DO pay people to come to forums and write messages exactly like yours: it's a great form of advertising. To act like questioning your motives is childish, is childish. I have every right to wonder if M$ is paying you to come to the iPhone forums on launch day and pump their latest phone in this thread. And I have valid reasons to suspect the would do this.
After all M$ has also been seeding lots of YouTube reviews of 1020 and tagging them with "iPhone 5S." Why wouldn't they also come to the iPhone forums somewhere and spam about their new phone, posing as an innocent user? In fact companies do this sort of thing all the time, and if you aren't getting paid then maybe you should be. Of course you could say the same thing of my statements, but then, I've been just as critical of the iOS on this board if you read my other threads. Usually, I'm here calling out Apple for some form of BS, like the fact iOS 7 looked too white and is an eyesore in that regard just like Office 2013.
Fair enough. As we both know, these are first-world problems: to have the luxury to debate which expensive phone to buy! They are all far more than anything I had as a kid, growing up. Nokia makes solid products, and their camera is certainly innovative. But saying the flash of Nokia is "best" or there is "no comparison" of the cameras is very much not "a balanced set of facts". DPreview has an excellent review of these phones' cameras, though they did not include the 5S yet (though perhaps they have by now). The pixel-level clarity of Lumia 1020's 5MP files was certainly nice, and you can see the benefit of the pixel down-sampling they are doing. But the other devices in the test (Galaxy S4, iPhone 5) all look great; and DPReview's methodology of taking pictures of a static "test scene" does not result in knowing much about how a camera will perform in the real world. It just tells you how it will perform in a well-lit environment when taking pictures of a static scene.
There are many other factors that matter like AF speed, face detection accuracy, optical zoom, image stabilization, light metering, white balance, video quality, manual controls, shutter lag, frames per second, camera ready time, etc. Ultimately on all counts, regarding the Op's question of if his existing Canon point-and-shoot beats a smartphone, we must conclude that it does, because of all these other factors where camera phones still fall short. The cameras on phones like 1020 and 5S are good, but are severely limited in many ways, and therefore it should not be your only camera. You'll be glad in 5 or 10 years if you have a lot of great pix taken from a real camera to look back on and not just a bunch of phone pictures all shot from the same focal length.
So so-called 'Apple folks' are "the academic/creative/artist/programmer types" and 'non-Apple' folks aren't. Lol, I worked in IT for 30 years, all the way from programmer to project manager. But you're right, I'm not the creative type. I started out in college in chemical engineering but got hooked on IT pretty early on. (Ah, the old punch card days, sure glad things have progressed!). So stereotyping people isn't such a good idea. Most especially people you've never met.
I'm pretty OS agnostic. But I don't like iOS on phones, never have. I bought the 920 because I liked the feel of the phone and everyone in my family were using WP phones. The Family group makes it worth it if for no other reason. And much to my surprise I found I really love WP8. Its too closed for my tastes too but I've found that since my retirement my needs in a phone OS have changed.
And for apps, I might have agreed with you a couple of years ago. But there has been a lot added recently. I have found an app for anything I need, including my banking app (which is very important to me). The apps Nokia has put out for free for pics (lots of filters) and their Maps are great. The days of 'WP phones have no apps' are gone. Take a look at the App Store, raw numbers mean nothing. As Apple folks love to say, 'quality above quantity'. That old meme is still being thrown around too much, rather like 'all Android phones are buggy, lag, etc'. That's not the case today. Way too many Apple folks sometimes simply keep repeating that stuff without even having used any other OS.
As for the camera, well I don't take cameras too seriously. If I get good pics as a point and shoot I'm pretty happy. I can now leave my camera at home. again, less stuff to lug around. But I've found the 920 pics to be better all around than my sister's iPhone pics. We have had about a year to compare while traveling. There really is no comparison. She's pretty envious so these days I just share mine with her. She loves her iPhone for a lot of other reasons. She is soooo non-techy it hurts. I'm very glad Apple came out with the iPhone, I don't have to be her tech support for it, (she didn't even know she could connect it to her home wifi!). And never discount 'ease of use'. My pics are fine for what I want, to capture moments in my life, period. I suppose you'll say that makes me 'not creative', I leave the serious photography to my husband since he loves it.
I have iPads because I love the form factor because I travel a lot and when you're flying 8000+ miles even a small netbook gets pretty heavy lugging around airports. I buy another every year. Although I don't like iOS 7 and I'm thinking that I will hold off this year and see if a jailbreak comes out before I but the next one. I updated when it came out and luckily found I could downgrade back to iOS 6. Way too much white for my old eyes. But that's another story.
As for being a paid troll, please note my join date. As I said before, don't assume just because someone isn't a pure Apple-lover that they are a paid troll. I've found that simply using what works best for the task at hand works for me (and plenty of others). And I have years and years of experience to come to that point.
But you're right, its a luxury to be able to spend time even discussing the pros and cons of a phone rather than just trying to survive. I still love talking tech even if I am retired. As my husband says, if it is electronic and has 'buttons' I just have to have it. Of course that was back when all electronics had buttons rather than touch screens! But the fetish continues...
Sorry if this reply seems a bit random. I'm getting ready to leave. I'm taking my grandkids to San Francisco today. Their first plane trip. And yes, I'll be taking a lot of pics with my 920 and I'm sure they will turn out just fine.
I hope everything turns out well for the OP whatever choice he/she makes. In all truth either phone will probably do just fine.
Have a great day!
