Devices such as the Lumia 1020 and the upcoming Lumia 1520 clearly demonstrate that Nokia is taking mobile photography very seriously. If you still had some lingering doubts about that, the news that Nokia will add Raw support to both devices should put those to rest.
The announcement was made at Nokia World 2013 earlier this week. Nokia Camera developer Juha Alakarhu confirmed the announcement via Twitter as well, adding that it will use the DNG format.
Raw DNG support for Lumia 1020 and Lumia 1520!
— Juha Alakarhu (@jalakarhu) October 22, 2013
What does Raw support mean for photographers? It means photos that don’t use any compression, thereby losing no detail, as well as easier manipulation of settings such as exposure later on. It also means larger file sizes though, something that may not trouble future Lumia 1520 owners too much thanks to the microSD card slot but perhaps more of a challenge for Lumia 1020 owners – especially with that 41MP sensor.
RAW support will be part of the Lumia Black software update. It will be preinstalled on the Lumia 1520 while Lumia 1020 owners will have to wait until early 2014.