The lag is most obvious when youâre unlocking the Lumia 1020 straight to the camera app, which takes about five seconds of holding the shutter button before youâre ready to take a picture. The iPhone can be ready to fire in about half that time, and I definitely missed shots waiting for the "Resumingâ¦" animation to disappear. Bootingâs not the only thing thatâs slow, either: the 1020âs autofocus bounces into position a half-beat slower than it should, and has to restart its search every single time you press the shutter button. Luckily the button itself has been improved, so half-pressing to focus is much easier â I took fewer accidental shots, and didnât have to start over as often either.

The optional $79 Camera Grip adds an even better button, a grip, a tripod mount, and a secondary battery. With the grip on, I could easily use the 1020 in one hand, and the whole kit basically feels like a huge point-and-shoot or a small mirrorless cam. Itâs big and bulky, but for the serious 1020 photographer itâs a must-have accessory. I used it much more than I expected to.

Serious photographers are going to want the Camera Grip

Video recording, available in 1080p, benefits three new features and improvements. One is the oversampling, which makes colors really vibrant and accurate. The second is image stabilization, which is also available with still shots â even as you walk or your body sways, the camera stays still. The third, a new microphone, is the biggest improvement over other Lumias. The new mic picked up clean, audible sound at a very loud concert, did a great job of cancelling subway sound while I shot videos on the way to and from the show. The 1020âs video isnât quite the leap over its competition that its still shots are, but amateur YouTubers will be more than satisfied.

Like any good digital camera (or Nokiaâs own Lumia 928), the 1020 has a Xenon flash. Instead of using an LED, which just turns on to light your subject and off when itâs done, the 1020 actually flashes. That means less blindness for your subjects, and a more even, more synchronized photo for you. It also helps reduce motion blur in the dark, since the camera only fires during the instant the flash is lit.

Itâs a good thing the flash works, too, because low-light photography is the one place where no cameraphone can measure up to even a mid-range point-and-shoot. The 1020âs clear directive is to take the brightest shot possible, which requires a huge amount of in-camera processing â everything becomes noisy, muddy, and soft. Itâs very sensitive, able to see images even my eyes couldnât without the flash, but I almost never captured a nighttime photo without the flash that I wanted to keep.

But donât let that dissuade you: this is by leaps and bounds the best cameraphone ever made. Itâs more flexible than the Lumia 920, more impressive than the iPhone 5, even more accurate and vibrant than the 808 PureView.

If the camera is your primary feature request in a cellphone, Iâd love to say look no further than the Lumia 1020. The camera certainly deserves the accolades. But I canât say that â not yet, anyway.