I previously owned the Nothing Phone (1) and was quite pleased with it, even creating a trailer-style video to for fun (no worry I don’t need like or follow, the link is safe 🙂 )
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYSRE_G4uSk
However, my experience was soured when the battery swelled after just a year, and the after-sales support in my area (Hong Kong) was disappointing, so I switched to another brand. I’ve decided to give Nothing another chance with the Phone (3a) Pro, mainly because of its support for LUTs—a feature I value since I do color grading and occasionally create my own LUTs for things like gaming and video making.
Here’s my feedback on the camera system, with some issues I’d like to see improved for a better user experience.
LUTs Not Available in Expert Mode: It’s confusing that LUT support isn’t available in Expert Mode. If anything, LUTs should be exclusive to Expert Mode instead of full auto mode, where users typically want more control over their shots. LUTs are great for applying custom color grading in-camera, so it feels odd that this feature isn’t included where it makes the most sense.
Missing White Balance Adjustment: There’s no way to manually adjust white balance, which is a key setting for getting accurate colors representation. I can drag up and down to adjust exposure (EV), so it would be nice to drag left or right to tweak white balance in a similar way. Expert Mode does allow white balance adjustments, but for some reason, it locks out LUT functionality, which makes the experience feel inconsistent.
Camera Doesn’t Remember Settings After Closing: The camera app forgets my settings every time I close it, which can be frustrating. While I can set a preset as the default to work around this, I’d prefer if the app simply remembered my last-used settings. Presets did cover most of the available options, but unfortunately not all.
Off-Center Level Indicator in 16:9 and Full Modes: The level indicator is noticeably off-center when using 16:9 or full aspect ratios, which feels a bit uncomfortable and confusing. A simple fix could be to place the indicator where I tap to focus, or just add a horizontal line across the frame. Another option would be to make the grid a level indicator itself, so it’s easier to keep shots balanced.
No Top-Down Level Indicator Support: The level indicator doesn’t work for top-down shots, which would be really helpful for things like photographing documents or flatlays. I’m not sure why this feature is missing, but it would be a great addition. On the bright side, I’m glad Nothing fixed the glyph light issue from the Phone (1)—it now turns on properly during top-down shooting.
Shutter Button Too Large and in the Way: The shutter button is too big, especially in 16:9 mode, where it takes up almost a third of the right side of the screen. This makes it impossible to use that area for focus locking, which is important for setting up shots. Since there’s already a “tap anywhere to shoot” option, the app could shrink the shutter button or remove it entirely when that feature is on, and move other controls further to the right for a cleaner layout.
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I hope Nothing considers these suggestions for future updates.
