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Nokia 9 PureView with five Zeiss camera array launched

by Mark Tyson on 25 February 2019, 11:11

Tags: Nokia (NYSE:NOK)

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HMD has launched the Nokia 9 PureView, alongside three other new smartphones at MWC 2019. The headlining new device has been highly anticipated for its imaging prowess and much of the official press release and product pages concentrate on the photographic quality delivered by this smartphone.

If you have followed the pre-release leaks at all you will already be aware of the camera array that is a signature feature of the Nokia 9 PureView. The rosette like arrangement includes a flash and other sensors. The five lenses you see all pack 12MP sensors and only two are colour. This isn't a camera system that offers various focal lengths via various lenses - all five cameras work together all the time, unless you are shooting B&W.

The technology agreement between Sony and Light technology is at play here. Nokia claims that the "five 12 MP cameras collect up to 10 times more light than a single smartphone camera colour sensor". Users should benefit from lots of photo detail, true to life colour, exceptional dynamic range, with lots of depth of field options to play with - even after the shot has been taken. The five images from the camera array are fused into one HDR image and RAW output is available too. The photo samples look really good.

The Nokia 9 PureView's other specs aren't quite in line with the MWC 2019 flagship standard, perhaps reflecting its delayed launch. However the price isn't as high as many other big-name flagships - it is available to pre-order now at £549 in the UK with a free pair of Nokia True Wireless Earbuds. For brevity and clarity I've bullet-pointed the key specs below:

  • 5.99-inches HDR10 always-on POLED screen with 2880 x 1440 pixels
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 octa-core processor with Adreno 630 graphics
  • 128GB storage, 6GB RAM
  • Cameras: 5x 12MP, f/1.8, 1/2.9", 1.25µm (2x RGB & 3x B/W cameras) plus ToF camera, with Zeiss optics, dual-LED dual-tone flash, 20MP selfie cam
  • LTE Single SIM (Nano-SIM) or Hybrid Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by), Wi-Fi ac dual-band, BT 5.0 and USB 3.0 type-C connectivity, GPS, NFC present
  • 155 x 75 x 8mm, 172g
  • Li-Po 3320mAh battery
  • Android 9 Pie (Android One)
  • Other features: Fingerprint under display, fast charging, fast wireless charging, noise cancellation, Gorilla Glass 5, IP67 dust/water resistant

Missing features worth highlighting are: no memory card expansion, no 3.5mm headphone jack, non-removable battery.

As mentioned above, the Nokia 9 PureView is pre-orderable at £549 ($699 in the US). The devices will become available from March, depending on your region.

HEXUS Forums :: 7 Comments

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Posted by philehidiot - Mon 25 Feb 2019 13:22
Such a shame, the lack of memory card slot and 3.5mm jack make it immediately a no go for me.

It's possible that MAYBE I'll have to sacrifice the 3.5mm jack requirement as it looks like I'm losing that battle but I use the micro SD slot for video stuff. I can see why they've not bothered with the SD slot as that's a very decent amount of internal memory for the price.

Makes me wonder where the real sacrifices are on this…. screen looks good, posh camera system, even fingerprint scanner under the display. Or is it that THIS is the real price of a high end phone and Samsung are taking the p….
Posted by abychristy - Mon 25 Feb 2019 13:54
Even Samsung never gave up on the 3.5mm jack, clearly they know their phones and their audience better than many so called “budget” alternatives.

In fact you don't need multiple cameras to get a good picture, a clean and simple with basic know to do software is enough.

Man again many phones at this price range just abandons the jack, jeez get better engineers at least.
Posted by Pouchey2 - Mon 25 Feb 2019 14:52
It seems odd to me that there is no memory card slot, especially for a device which is literally marketed at being a high quality camera. I can't imagine file sizes are going to be small, especially with RAW image files sitting around as well.
Posted by Iota - Mon 25 Feb 2019 17:38
Pouchey2
It seems odd to me that there is no memory card slot, especially for a device which is literally marketed at being a high quality camera. I can't imagine file sizes are going to be small, especially with RAW image files sitting around as well.

That's the part I was also wondering about, 12MP RAW image files aren't really that large though are they? So unless you're taking lots of them 128GB should be plenty.
Posted by DevDrake - Mon 25 Feb 2019 20:37
Iota
Pouchey2
It seems odd to me that there is no memory card slot, especially for a device which is literally marketed at being a high quality camera. I can't imagine file sizes are going to be small, especially with RAW image files sitting around as well.

That's the part I was also wondering about, 12MP RAW image files aren't really that large though are they? So unless you're taking lots of them 128GB should be plenty.
12MP RAW from x5 cameras should be around 25-50MB. That means around 2-4k photos including OS and essential apps. So so.
For the price i was expecting top end hardware - 855 + 8GB and better battery. Not like the top end processor matters much for me, but for the price i would expect it to be top.

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