Microphones And Video
While the Lumia Icon's camera isn't groundbreaking, Nokia appears to be pushing audio technology forward with a quartet of microphones. You'll find two unidirectional mics in front and a pair of multi-directional mics around back. This setup (shared with the Lumia 1520 phablet) allows the phone to capture directional sound and minimize background noise. And it actually works, as you'll see in the video embedded below (assuming you have stereo sound hardware to play it back on). We captured the same intersection at the same time using both HTC's One (M8) and Nokia's Icon/930:
The One (M8) does capture stereo audio. But it doesn't preserve surround information or cancel out background noise nearly as well as the Nokia. With the Icon, it's clear where the audio source comes from, and that it's moving toward. Nokia boasted excellent microphones on previous models, but this is an impressive advancement.
Video quality is good as well. The clip above should be indicative. After all, it was captured on the Nokia and duplicated for both phones. I simply swapped the audio to represent HTC's One.
As with snapping stills, though, the Icon takes a comparatively long time to focus. You're able to choose between 1080p or 720p at 24, 25, or 30 FPS, to select a preferred audio bass filter (off, 100, or 200 Hz), and toggle directional audio. During video capture, the LED, white balance, and focus can be controlled manually in real time.
