Now, I should emphasise a few things:
- The photos here were taken by Felix Hamer (check out his Storm in Amsterdam photos), in The Netherlands, on a 16GB Nexus 5, and all on auto, with flash disabled. These circumstances favor the Nexus 5 as much as possible (i.e. by eliminating the 1020's zoom and Xenon flash), but as you'll see below, the Nexus is still some way behind the Nokia. My own Nexus 5 32GB arrives in a couple of days and I'll be doing some more tests, across a much wider range of subjects and conditions.
- The Lumia 1020 spits out 5 megapixel photos, whereas the Nexus 5 outputs 8 megapixels, by default, plus there are differences in the field of view of the optics, so the crop comparisons below won't match up exactly. I'm just warning you....
- In each case the crop from the Windows Phone 8-powered Nokia Lumia 1020 is on top and that from the Android 4.4-powered Nexus 5 is below.
Test 1: Daylight, rich colours
Although sunshine wasn't available, we have daylight at least, with the rich Autumnal colours of a tree as the main subject. Here's the overall scene:
Here are the raw photos from the Lumia 1020 and Nexus 5 (click each to download the JPG).
And here's a crop comparison of some relevant central detail (1020 on top, then Nexus 5 beneath):
The Nokia pulls an impressive amount of colour and detail from the tree, while the Nexus 5 camera produces dull and uninteresting detail - the difference is quite dramatic.
Test 2: Daylight, car detail
Again, no sun (boo!), but some nice detail on a white car. Here's the overall scene:
Here are the raw photos from the Lumia 1020 and Nexus 5 (click each to download the JPG).
And here's a crop comparison of some relevant central detail (1020 on top, then Nexus 5 beneath):
The Nexus 5 camera does much better here, with its native 8 megapixel resolution producing more natural detail in this number plate crop. Mind you, if we were just interested in this detail, the PureView zoom could have been used on the Lumia 1020... but that's another test for another day!
Test 3: Indoors, good lighting, red flower
Starting to crank the light levels down now, an indoor macro shot. Here's the overall scene, with a flower shot against a relatively strong backlight:
Here are the raw photos from the Lumia 1020 and Nexus 5 (click each to download the JPG).
And here's a crop comparison of some relevant central detail (1020 on top, then Nexus 5 beneath):
There's really not much to choose between the two smartphone cameras here, with the 1020's output being its usual saturated and sharpened self - and thus drawing the eye?
It's worth noting that the Nexus 5 also has optical image stabilisation, so as the light levels drop in these tests, even with photos being taken handheld, everything remains as crisp on the Nexus as it does on the Lumia.
Test 4: Night time, decent ambient lighting
Rembrandt and soldiers, it seems, with masses of detail to examine. Here's the overall scene:
Here are the raw photos from the Lumia 1020 and Nexus 5 (click each to download the JPG).
And here's a crop comparison of some relevant central detail (1020 on top, then Nexus 5 beneath):
It's impressive how the Nokia's optics manage to pull out more detail in a 5MP shot than the Nexus 5 camera does in its 8MP photo. The colouration is interesting, with the Lumia consistently putting a slight yellow cast on evening/night shots (trying to emphasise the warmth of ambient lighting?) and with the Nexus 5 consistently producing a grey cast (perhaps trying to compensate for the aforementioned warmth?) - the true colours, as seen by the eye, are no doubt somewhere in between!
Test 5: Night, atmospheric ambient lighting
Lovely colours and composition on many of Felix's shots. Here's the overall scene:
Here are the raw photos from the Lumia 1020 and Nexus 5 (click each to download the JPG).
And here's a crop comparison of some relevant central detail (1020 on top, then Nexus 5 beneath):
As the light levels drop, it's very plain how dramatically better the Lumia 1020's results become in terms of lack of digital noise and improved detail, with the above crop comparison being very telling indeed.
Test 6: Ultra low light, windows and bricks
Taking things down to the wire, light-wise, here's a shot with bricks, which are great for showing up artefacts and defects in image processing. Here's the overall scene:
Here are the raw photos from the Lumia 1020 and Nexus 5 (click each to download the JPG).
And here's a crop comparison of some relevant central detail (1020 on top, then Nexus 5 beneath):
Although the 1020's colouration of its photos is undoubtedly too yellow at times, the Nexus 5's results, are just as grey or even, as here, slightly red. It just goes to show how 'on the limit' phone camera sensors are in low light, with the colours detected being the most uncertain part of the equation.
Mind you, the 1020's lower resolution shot has far less noise and better detail than that from the Nexus 5, so it's a win for the Nokia anyway.
Test 7: Very low light, fountain
Lovely shot of an illuminated fountain. Here's the overall scene [NB: updated shots due to possible user error on the first attempt!]
Here are the raw photos from the Lumia 1020 and Nexus 5 (click each to download the JPG).
And here's a crop comparison of some relevant central detail (1020 on top, then Nexus 5 beneath):
[Comments updated after the test shot was redone - phew!] I prefer the Nexus 5's shot overall, though there's surprisingly little in it. It's a testament to the excellent OIS and auto-focus algorithm in the Nexus 5 - probably the same physical OIS mechanism as in the LG G2, which I also got good motion compensation results with.
Verdict
Even without touching the PureView zooming or the Xenon flash, both unique selling points for the Nokia Lumia 1020, it's clear that basic 'as is' photos are better coloured and with less noise and more detail, when compared to the results from the Google Nexus 5. The 1020's huge sensor, plus the oversampling system, is the main reason for this, of course, since the Nexus 5 has a typical 1/3" class sensor.
At some point, surely, more manufacturers will start to catch up to Nokia in imaging and put in larger (and/or oversampling) sensors and a proper (Xenon) flash? We have seen Sony put in a larger sensor in its Z1, plus several devices with OIS now, but the gap between the Lumia 1020 and the 'rest' is still demonstrably huge.
PS. Thanks to Felix for putting in the hard work capturing the images for this analysis! Check out his YouTube channel here.