The new PureView camera might be amazing, but a bizarre easter egg has revealed that the company's advertisements don't give an honest view of its technology. Amid Nokia's flurry of press today — if you haven't heard, it released a new flagship phone along with some other gear — one video advertisement in particular caught our eye. In the ad, Nokia shows off the PureView's image stabilization technology. The opening segment (which, importantly, isn't qualified by a "screen images simulated" notice), shows a young man and woman cheerily riding bikes along a scenic river. As he films her breezily laughing, the ad shows side-by-side video — obviously intended to represent the phone's video capabilities. On the left, Nokia shows the non-stabilized version, which, predictably, looks terrible, and on the right the ad shows the perfectly smooth capture, purportedly enabled by Nokia's optical image stabilization technology. The only problem is that the video is faked.
As you can see in the video above, there's a curious reflection in the window of the trailer in the background. It's not a young man riding his bicycle alongside the cheerful model, but instead a big white van with a lighting rig and a cameraman standing in the doorway — with what appears to be a large camera rig. Whatever he's holding, we can reasonably agree it's not a Lumia 920. (Update: Nokia has confirmed this video was not shot with a 920 — see below.)
Despite the slip-up, it's completely possible that Nokia's PureView system does exactly, or at least some, of what the company claims it does — after all, optical stabilization is a proven technology that produces great results on all sorts of traditional cameras. But with Nokia's dilution of what PureView means, and its deceptive advertising, you should really see it before you believe it.
Update: We spoke with a Nokia spokesperson who agrees that the PureView ad is misleading. They stressed that it was "never the company's intention to deceive anyone," but only to demonstrate the benefits of optical image stabilization. Nokia says it's now looking into updating the original video with a footnote so that it's clear that the images are simulated, and the original Nokia Conversations blog post that announced the video has been updated with the following text: "the OIS video, above, was not shot using the Lumia 920."
Update 2: Nokia has issued a formal apology with a new video meant to demonstrate OIS on its Lumia 920.
Comments
Truth.
By kooksta on 09.05.12 4:36pm
>no green text on thevergechan
By Richard Gilboy on 09.05.12 4:53pm
From the official Nokia Conversations blog:
Fanboys – just slap yourselves.
source
By Matous Vales on 09.05.12 4:53pm
Thank you Mr. Stormtrooper of Verge.
By Richard Gilboy on 09.05.12 4:54pm
However the rig video during the presentation was shot with a Lumia 920 and showed a much more plausible version of their new OIS system.
By newmiyamoto on 09.05.12 4:55pm
Like I wrote in a reply below, seems more like an orchestrated astroturfing to me. Just see how similar some of the replies are.
By krazyfrog on 09.05.12 4:56pm
There is no “howevers”. Nokia has blatantly faked this. They should have at least put the “screen images simulated” notice.
By Matous Vales on 09.05.12 4:59pm
This article really touched your nerve. Why should it be deleted? Btw, I do believe the technology is perfectly capable of image stabilization. My iPhone 4S videos are so stable, it looks like I shot the videos on a dolly. So I agree about the tech but the ad is faked.
By Super Tino on 09.05.12 5:04pm
wasn’t disputing this at all. I was apprehensive the first time I saw it and spotted it on the second watch and then preceded to circulate the screencap showing the offending setup.
http://i.imgur.com/04tjw.jpg
My point was there is footage that is a little more believable if you want to see it, obviously it’s not final but seems a lot more believable as output from the phone.
Obviously they should have clearly labelled footage that was obviously shot way in advance of the device being ready and used as promotional material… but anyone who isn’t even slightly wary of company promo material by now is just naive.
By newmiyamoto on 09.05.12 5:05pm
It’s already been confirmed that the video wasn’t shot with a Lumia 920.
By redrubberpenguin on 09.05.12 5:08pm
well then you don’t have to read the site. you will not be missed.
By thegreatino on 09.05.12 5:11pm
it could just be a different cache, but that link still has the same disclaimer
By andyfastow on 09.05.12 5:12pm
First of all: The Nokia blog was updated after everyone screamed fake. And secondly: what would be the point of having this add then? Oh thats right, to get people to believe that the product (in this case the 920) is able to do as it is advertised.
By aligunome on 09.05.12 5:16pm
If you seek to deceive (but don’t lie) then yes, you are faking. I can fake a smile, but a smile isn’t a lie. A woman can fake an orgasm, without actually saying ‘I am having an orgasm’.
Nokia didn’t lie, but they did fake. The verge quite accurately called them on it.
By Cloudgazer on 09.05.12 6:26pm
-1 for vulgar comment, +2 for it being funny
By VSorceress on 09.05.12 7:47pm
Yes i will because i use all platforms…i own multiple apple products, Nexus 7, owned lot of high end android phones, have tried almost all WP7 phones. I care a shit if you say bad things about Android, iOS. I love cool devices not a particular platform like you and defend it with no logic.
By kirbha on 09.05.12 10:46pm
Just wow.
By Creighton DeSimone on 09.05.12 4:24pm
Busted.
By IRON MAN on 09.05.12 4:26pm
Oh my god… expected more from you verge… thats not fake at all
By TerionLanister on 09.05.12 4:37pm
Have you watched the video?
By d0mth0ma5 on 09.05.12 4:43pm
From the official Nokia Conversations blog:
By Matous Vales on 09.05.12 5:08pm
Yeah, it’s safe to say this ad won’t be on TV anytime soon (unless it has a note stating that fact).
By d0mth0ma5 on 09.05.12 5:10pm
Camera ad showing pictures not taken with the adverted camera – big news. Why isn’t there such an outcry with every new iSight camera ad?
IMO a reflection of the real camera is just as much evidence as a DOF of a full frame camera with a prime lens… on a tablet.
Nothing to see here, folks, move on.
By schnokobaer on 09.05.12 5:14pm
The best thing about the picture is that the thumb is covering the iSight lens.
By Matous Vales on 09.05.12 5:21pm
iSight is the one on the back now.
By wownt on 09.05.12 5:22pm