Not all smartphone cameras are created equal. Being able to capture an image is now commonplace but results vary in many respects. Nokia is optimizing quality by using industry leading Carl Zeiss optics and bringing innovation to market, like the amazing optical image stabilization for low light and less blurry pictures. But there is more to it than that.

We can also change the way in which you capture memories. We’re talking about ‘re-capturing’ moments. Your photos can contain so much information that you can go back and re-capture the moment exactly as it happened. There are amazing software based capabilities we can build into Nokia phones as well. We started by releasing Camera Extras for Nokia Lumia 900. With the Lumia 820 and Lumia 920, we have taken the concept of Camera Extras to a whole new level.

Digital camera lenses unlock new functionality

Digital camera lenses, coming to the Nokia Lumia 820 and Lumia 920, are a new way of snapping and building outstanding images, right on your phone. By selecting a different camera lens from camera viewfinder, you can unleash your creativity.  Choosing from a range of camera lenses in the so-called lens picker, you can create panoramic photos as well as cinemagraphs and smart shots.

Smart Shoot

Using innovations from our own photography wizards, Smart Shoot lens allows you to do two key functions – change faces and remove unwanted objects.

There’s nothing worse than taking a group photo with friends and realizing that out of the three people in the frame, one had her eyes shut when the camera snapped the photo or that one person was looking slightly off to the left.

When you take a photo using Smart Shoot, you’re actually taking a sequence of photos. You can then flick through the photos, choose the best faces and then combine them to create the perfect group shot.

After you’re done, you end up with a photo that shows everyone’s best face forward:

“Smart Shoot allows you to capture the moment as you would like to remember it”, says Erkko Anttila, the product owner.

Secondly, Smart Shoot allows you to take away moving, un-wanted objects in your photos such as a passerby or person on the perimeter of the shot that spoils the photo.

With this object removal feature, you can select the best shot and precise moment from a range of alternatives. Smart Shoot automatically suggests objects to be removed from the image and all you need to do is confirm the removal to create the perfect shot.

Live in the moment with Cinemagraph

You’ve likely seen animated photos on the Internet – a single photo that has motion and can show a sequence of photos in succession. Cinemagraph will allow Lumia owners to create a magical blend of photo and movie-like animation, creating photos that are alive with feeling through imagery.

Moving examples (the picture above depends on what browser you use) here and here. They are 3-4MB each, so give them time to properly load.

“We want to enable Lumia owners to create images as they exist in your memories and also add a bit of humor to images.  We can’t wait to see how users get creative with Cinemagraph”, Erkko said.

Once selected from the camera menu, Cinemagraph lets you snap a photo and generate 15 frame-per-second file. The Cinemagraph gives on-screen step-by-step instructions to get you started and even allows you to fine tune and optimize your photo – such as choosing which parts of the photo you want to be animated.

Once you are happy with your Cinemagraph, you can upload it to SkyDrive and share it with your friends. Nokia is also working on an update that will soon allow you to share your Cinemagraph animations easily on Facebook and other social networking sites.

Nokia is building these apps to further enhance the photo capabilities of the Lumia 820 and Lumia 920. Coupled with the hardware capabilities of the new Nokia Lumia phones, it’s amazing to see these software solutions that set the Lumia apart from the competition out there.

It’s one more thing that makes your Nokia Lumia unique.

What’s your dream lens  – how do you plan on using it?

[Disclaimer: the pictures above were created with pre-release software and hardware. Results on the production versions should be even better. 🙂 ]

image credit (home page slider): wwarby