Introduction
The rugged Nokia XR21 is meant to be a solid all -rounder device, be it for work or play. And to a large extent, it does live up to the hype. The SD695G coupled with a large battery ensures smooth all day performance and lets you do more between charges. But, all is not well with what is meant to represent the new generation of rugged device. My unit in particular has issues with its ear piece speaker which tends to break with certain audio and I do believe this is actually more wide spread than it seems and the design or placement of the speaker might contribute to this.
When it comes to imaging performance, the daylight imaging has been quite respectable , with good dynamic range, details and color reproduction, thanks to the newer imaging algorithm. Even the 8MP ultrawide capture does an amazing job , outperforming larger sensors out there thanks to the fusion algorithm.
But, the real challenge, and what might be a deal breaker to many is the low light imaging output. While I had high hopes that this should rival even the nightmode capture of Nokia 8.3 5G which has a similar 64MP setup, I wonder whether this would be the case, or the performance might have been tuned down , to not over shadow the other devices.
So, to answer this questions, I decided to do the nightmode capture as a separate test. Each device is captured using night mode, point and shoot, no further adjustment, to understand how the sensor and algorithm handles challenges on the go.
The Test Subjects
To the loyal Nokia fans out there, these devices here requires no introductions. But, just to have a quick recap, the Nokia 9 Pureview, meant to capture 10x more light than its competitor, has no nightmode algorithm. The Nokia 8.3 5G , is the first Nokia device with a more meaningful nightmode and ultrawide capture. The Nokia XR20, has a respectable nightmode capture, but it does not have nightmode for its ultrawide capture, and finally, Nokia X30 5G, the current benchmark leader among all and any Nokia device, rightfully named, the best Pureview device till date, has an impressive nightmode algorithm with vibrant output and minimal noise.
TEST 1
TEST 2
When it comes to the nightmode algorithm for the primary sensor, the Nokia XR21 does an acceptable job at most, with nothing outstanding, given the price and what this algorithm can achieve in the cheaper Nokia X30 5G. The dynamic range is barely acceptable, but the image feels flat and lifeless, with noise and details tend to be on the softer side. This is quite shocking as it seems that despite the X30 5G and the XR21 share almost similar algorithm, the output on the XR21 seems to have been deliberately tuned down, for unknown reasons.
TEST 3 ULTRAWIDE
TEST 4 ULTRAWIDE
When it comes to the nightmode for the ultrawide capture, the device does an acceptable job just like the others here. The X30 5G’S ultrawide night output is decent but could always be better, hence the benchmark here is lower unlike the primary sensor output.
The XR21 was expected to pull out sharper images , thanks to its fusion with the larger 64MP sensor, but the device tends to be on the softer side in this test.
You can see more samples in various low light condition here:
And here is Part 1 of the comparison and my initial impression in case you missed it earlier:
Not my final thoughts yet…
The XR21 runs on Android 12, and should be getting the Android 13 treatment quite soon which should bring in some improvements.
The XR21 daylight imaging would do good with a better HDR, lesser noise, and more accurate color reproduction. For the night capture, it requires much vibrant color output, less noise, sharper images and better focus. When it comes to videography, the standard 1080p 30FPS recording could do better stability. I do believe HMD Global will be rectifying most of the issues and continue to improve the camera experience which is among the major factor that drives the sales of any device!
I hope that we get to see these changes as the XR21 has what it takes to be the ultimate all rounder device.
As usual do follow me on twitter where I will be sharing more detailed comparison soon https://twitter.com/theoriginal086
