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Nokia isn’t content with making the best cameras and offering the best imaging experiences – it’s also providing everyone with the tools to make better apps too.

Fittingly, the announcement of Nokia’s Imaging Software Development Kit (SDK) was made on the same day that the Nokia Lumia 1020 was also unveiled. The message to developers was clear: here’s the most amazing smartphone camera, what can you do with it?

The SDK, which is currently in beta and free to download, is based on the same technology that Nokia uses for its own imaging applications, such as Smart Camera and Creative Studio.

Now, all developers will have the opportunity to create advanced imaging experiences in their apps for all Nokia Lumia smartphones and even other Windows Phone devices.

Sami Niemi, director of Nokia’s capture & relive imaging team, says:

“Nokia has the best cameras in the world. So it would be a pity if you didn’t have the best tools to utilise that hardware and technology.”

Nokia Lumia 1020

Imaging & Creativity

The SDK gives developers the tools to apply or create filters, add effects, adjust and edit images, so that their apps can offer users the ability to instantly personalise their photos.

Developers like Hipstamatic, Path, Vyclone, SNAPCAM, Panagraph, Yelp, CNN and Foursquare are already developing apps using the Nokia Imaging SDK.

Sami also highlights another key benefit of the SDK.

“Working with full resolution images can be slow and it uses a lot of memory. The way the SDK technology works is that it keeps everything in a compressed form so you can do things really quickly. It means your apps will be able to process really large images, which is handy for the Nokia Lumia 1020, ” he says.

This is just the beginning too. Sami says developers can expect to see more functionalities appearing in future releases of the SDK.

To encourage developers to get started with the imaging SDK, Nokia has also launched the Nokia Future/Capture competition. Find out more in this post.