The situation before: Lumia Cyan and Lumia Camera v4.x on the test 930, Icon and 1520 in the editorial offices. 5MP photos are produced from oversampled raw sensor data at capture time.
The situation afterwards: Lumia Denim and Lumia Camera 5.x on the same devices. 5MP photos are produced in the background. See here for more on the workflow, including the new Rich Capture system, which also complicates things!
The most common question in the last month has been - does Denim/Lumia Camera 5 change the nature of captured photos on the Lumia 930, 1520 and Icon, and if so, in what way? Well, it's not obvious that the main 5MP shot is still oversampled from raw sensor data anymore - it's possible that Lumia Camera 5's background thread is working from the already compressed JPG and this doesn't help image quality, but this effect (if real) is quite minor compared to the changes in the algorithms themselves, the computations that take the raw sensor data (R, G, B pixel information, in turn, across the surface of the sensor) and convert/average/filter/interpret it to something the human eye sees as an approximation of the original scene being viewed.
You'll see the changes very clearly below with your own eyes, but in summary there's a very definite change towards higher contrast and more vivid colours.
What's not obvious is how to test all this. Take a typical outdoor scene and shoot it, then do the 30 minute update process and head out to take another shot - to find the lighting has changed! The first solution is to shoot indoor, more controlled photos, with no external variables - there are some tests like this below. The second solution is to have two devices, one with Lumia Cyan and one with Lumia Denim - this has the disadvantage that there may be differences between the two units at a hardware level (i.e. from different production batches), but does mean that outdoor shots can be tried, taking both shots quickly, one after the other. In practice, I mix and match both approaches below, with help from Rafe Blandford (and his cat!)
The crops below are all at 1:1 as usual.
| Note that the interactive comparator below uses javascript and does need to load each pair of images. Please be patient while this page loads, if you see a pair of images above each other than you've either not waited long enough or your browser isn't capable enough! |
Test 1: Still life, low/artificial light
Shot on the same Lumia 930 before and after the Denim/LC5 update, here's the overall scene, for context:
In case you want to grab the original images to do your own analysis, here they are, from the Lumia Cyan and Lumia Denim, click the links to download.
Here are detailed 1:1 crops using our famed interactive comparator, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
Your first look at the emphasis on more vivid colours and higher contrast. The yellow in the radio case is clearly artificial, but then it's being lit by an incandescent light, so it's tough to criticise the algorithms in such a strongly nuanced scene.
Test 2: Painting, low/artificial light
Again shot on the same Lumia 930 before and after the Denim/LC5 update and with plenty of painted texture and colour, here's the overall scene, for context:
In case you want to grab the original images to do your own analysis, here they are, from the Lumia Cyan and Lumia Denim, click the links to download.
Here are detailed 1:1 crops using our famed interactive comparator, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
The increased contrast has brought out more detail in the paintwork, but also loses detail in darker areas, so it's not all gain.
Test 3: Cat, good light
Switching to the Lumia 930/Icon device pair, we're now outside, here's the overall scene, for context:
In case you want to grab the original images to do your own analysis, here they are, from the Lumia Cyan and Lumia Denim, click the links to download.
Here are detailed 1:1 crops using our famed interactive comparator, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
I prefer the more natural fur in the pre-Denim shot, but both shots are impressively clear and would be more than satisfactory for any end user.
Test 4: Landscape, good light
Still on the Lumia 930/Icon device pair, we're now outside in fleeting winter sunshine, here's the overall scene, for context:
In case you want to grab the original images to do your own analysis, here they are, from the Lumia Cyan and Lumia Denim, click the links to download.
Here are detailed 1:1 crops using our famed interactive comparator, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
The emphasis on colour and contrast is shown off to best effect here. Which one do you prefer? Only Rafe (who took the photo) knows for sure which is more accurate, but I'd hesitate to suggest that the pre-Denim photo looks more 'real' and that the post-Denim shot looks artificially enhanced. Still, in the context of the overall scene, and especially viewed on a phone or laptop screen, the second photo will look terrifically crisp.
Test 5: Macro
Still on the Lumia 930/Icon device pair, we now have a macro shot of some flowers, shot without flash, here's the overall scene, for context:
In case you want to grab the original images to do your own analysis, here they are, from the Lumia Cyan and Lumia Denim, click the links to download.
Here are detailed 1:1 crops using our famed interactive comparator, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
Welcome again to the world of image processing, where the maths of the algorithms used make a big difference to how exactly the same sensor data is interpreted. Again, the Denim-shot photo looks a little artificial, but impressive nonetheless. What do you think?
Test 6: Macro
The same set-up but with LED flash forced on, here's the overall scene, for context:
In case you want to grab the original images to do your own analysis, here they are, from the Lumia Cyan and Lumia Denim, click the links to download.
Here are detailed 1:1 crops using our famed interactive comparator, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
The same applies, but 'with bells on', for the LED-lit version of the same scene. The texture in the high contrast Denim version looks almost like an artistic filter. You can see why I used 'cranked up to 11' in the article title, Microsoft has gone for broke in bringing out every last detail, every bit of colour, from captured scenes. Note, by the way, that it hasn't needed to go to Samsung-esque levels of 'sharpening' - there's sufficient quality coming from that big sensor and the ZEISS optics that just increasing the contrast has been judged enough - thankfully.
Verdict
In the context of the industry, all of this isn't surprising, of course. Samsung and Apple's phone cameras have consistently produced high colour, high contrast, sharpened photos with relatively vivid colours and users seem very happy with the results. After all, who wouldn't want apparently clearer photos with more colour?
The purist in me (anyone else remember Damian Dinning, and the Nokia N8 and 808 PureView?) wants to shout that photos should be neutral representations of a scene with no particular emphasis or enhancement, with any such (destructive) changes being possible later by the user in an effects or editing package. However, in 2015 the expectation of users is clearly to have photos with more immediate 'wow' - and this is what Lumia Denim and Lumia Camera 5 deliver on these top end Windows Phones. Technically, they have slightly more artefacts, significantly higher contrast and slightly exagerated colours, but then for viewing on a phone or laptop screen these images will generally look better than under Lumia Cyan - they 'pop' more.
Your comments welcome, of course. The change demonstrated above is so dramatic that I'm sure you'll all want your say!
FX: Steve lights the blue touch paper and retires(!)
PS. As you'll see from the comments below, it's still possible to use the old 'Lumia Camera Classic' and experience the old behaviour and algorithms, even under Denim. So at least, if you don't like the new images and are happy with the all-foreground and absence of rich capture (etc.) then this older app is also an option. Just sayin'....