* The asterisk above is, of course, needed because there are other camera application options on Windows Phone. Some (but not all) devices still ship with Microsoft's original built-in Camera app, basic though it is. Plus there are numerous third party camera replacements, notably 1Shot, OneShot and ProShot. Each of which comes with its own image processing, which may be suitable for your needs.
Ah, memories, the first sight of 'Nokia Camera', as it was then, back in 2013....
Lumia Camera (Classic) shipped/ships in the Snapdragon S4-based phones like the Lumia 1020 and 925, plus a dozen budget models to this day. It was originally called Nokia Pro Cam(era) and still has an entry in the directories here. But as of June 2015 it's no longer available on the 830, 930 and 1520 - or on newer devices like the Lumia 640 and 640 XL, presumably in an attempt to simplify the camera app situation for new users. All of which is rather a shame as it means that the option of using the 'classic' image processing is no longer there.
A little illustration might be in order. I've already written about Lumia Camera Classic versus Lumia Camera 5.x in the context of the Lumia 930, back when the former was still available. And, indeed, if your 830, 930 or 1520 already has Lumia Camera Classic installed then it will carry on working until you factory reset (or similar).
My conclusion was that, on these PureView oversampling devices, the new algorithms produced sharper images with less noise reduction, but that the new look might not please everyone.
But what about on the Lumia 830, with its more traditional 10MP (8MP in 16:9 mode by default) camera - and, by extension, the Lumia 640 and 640 XL, with nominal 8MP and 13MP sensors respectively? No oversampling to help out, so how do the two generations of image processing stack up?
I don't want to labour the points here too much - after all, new installs of Lumia Camera Classic for these phones do seem to have gone by the wayside now that it's not available anymore, so this whole feature is somewhat moot. But I did want to provide a few data points, if only as a possible spur to go off and look at third party camera utilities as alternatives to Lumia Camera 5's characteristic processing.
I've used our popular comparator, and all shots were taken with the Lumia 830, which I'd left with Lumia Camera Classic installed, from when the device was new. So I then had both applications on the same device and could compare results directly. 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: Landscape
Lush garden detail, always a huge challenge for digital camera image processing. 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 Lumia Camera Classic and Lumia Camera 5, click the links to download. And here are detailed 1:1 crops, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
It's possible that I'm quibbling over small details here, but the Lumia Camera 5 version of the photo looks more artificial, more processed, more 'reality on steroids'. Do you agree?
Test 2: Macro
A typical macro subject, shot in good light again. 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 Lumia Camera Classic and Lumia Camera 5, click the links to download. And here are detailed 1:1 crops, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
This is the use case that Lumia Camera 5's processing algorithms were optimised for, and it shows. The colours and detail are slightly artificial, it's true, but they 'pop' right off the page. In addition, and something which I haven't talked about before, the focussing in Lumia Camera 5 is far more for a specific spot in the viewfinder, rather than just for a specific (and larger) region, meaning more precise focussing for small and macro subjects.
Test 3: Dead of night
Just street lamps and distant detail. 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 Lumia Camera Classic and Lumia Camera 5, click the links to download. And here are detailed 1:1 crops, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
Microsoft's imaging engineers will argue that the Lumia Camera 5 algorithms produce something that's more detailed and closer to what's happening on the sensor, but I still prefer the more natural colours and greater noise reduction in Lumia Camera Classic. What about you? I do agree that these things can be subjective!
Conclusions
One takeaway is that, if your Lumia 830, 930 or 1520 still has 'Lumia Camera' (sic) installed then best leave it alone if you want the choice of algorithms. If your device has this, in name, but it turns out to be Lumia Camera 5 (with 'Rich Capture', etc., though you can also check in Settings/Info/About) then you're probably stuck with it.
Unless Microsoft has a change of heart and reinstates Lumia Camera Classic as compatible with these devices again - which is unlikely. Or - and let's hope - Lumia Camera 5.x gets an update with more image processing parameters (e.g. noise reduction, sharpness, contrast) to tweak at capture time.
To an extent, Nokia - and then Microsoft's - imaging engineers have been fighting a battle against industry trends and expectations. Five years ago, phone imaging - on the Nokia N8 and then 808 - was about purity and super natural results. With the iPhone and then Samsung Galaxy devices, among others, there has been an increasing emphasis on enhanced images - with super-real colours, sharper detail, high dynamic range, all gathered lightning fast. Lumia Camera 5 meets that need and competes well, but (again) a little more control and choice wouldn't go amiss!