The usual thorny question of resolution pops up when comparing multiple devices, of course. The HTC 10 outputs in about 9MP in 16:9, so I used the '8MP' oversampled setting on the Lumia 950 - and, where the 1020 was compared, I (as appropriate) allowed a little PureView zoom on that so that the central portion of the snap would be of comparable framing and resolution.
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Test 1: Sunny subject
A typical sunny landscape, of the Herald at my local aviation museum, with loads of detail. Here's the full scene:
In case you want to grab the original images to do your own analysis, here they are, from the Lumia 950 and HTC 10 and Lumia 1020 , click the links to download. And here are 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:
There's not that much difference between these two photos, as you might expect in ideal conditions - the Lumia 950's shot is slightly sharper (too sharp?), but there's not enough difference here to award a win either way.
And compared to the classic Lumia 1020:
Yes, I perhaps zoomed in a little too far with the Lumia 1020, but it still shows its class with an image that's definitely ahead of the 950 and HTC 10. It just looks more.... natural, more real.
Lumia 950: 9 pts, HTC 10: 9 pts, Lumia 1020: 10 pts
Test 2: Sunny subject, zoomed
The other plane at my local aviation museum, this time deliberately shot with about 2x zoom through the bushes, since the museum was closed and I couldn't get close to it. Here's the full scene:
In case you want to grab the original images to do your own analysis, here they are, from the Lumia 950 and HTC 10 and Lumia 1020 , click the links to download. And here are 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:
Definitely a win for the HTC 10 here - Microsoft's interpolative digital zoom in the Windows 10 Camera remains rubbish - as soon as the PureView sensor limit is reached (at about 1.5x) everything turns to mush. Maybe I'm being over-critical, but the HTC 10 does a better job of handling the 2x zoom, I think - despite the lack of an underlying 20MP sensor!
And compared to the classic Lumia 1020:
The 1020, with its genuine 3x zoom, walks away with this one, of course. In fact, the results are so good that they make me cry for lack of a modern equivalent in the smartphone world. I see the realism and capabilities of the 1020 and I want to return to it. Every single time!
Lumia 950: 7 pts, HTC 10: 8 pts, Lumia 1020: 10 pts
Test 3: Greenery - the ultimate algorithm test!
The most difficult thing of all to photograph is natural detail - bushes, grass, trees, etc - they're a nightmare to represent with JPG algorithms. Here's the full scene:
In case you want to grab the original images to do your own analysis, here they are, from the Lumia 950 and HTC 10 and Lumia 1020 , click the links to download. And here are 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:
To my eyes the 950 does a slightly better job of producing a realistic image, though there's not much more than a point in it.
And compared to the classic Lumia 1020:
The 1020 fares a bit better still, with a dreamy quality to its version of the scene - and definitely worth an extra point - though your comments welcome.
Lumia 950: 9 pts, HTC 10: 8 pts, Lumia 1020: 10 pts
Test 4: Macro time
Getting up very close to some tiny flowers in the shade and aiming for maximum bokeh effect. I was also aiming for the flowers off the right of the frame (I'll come back to this in a moment). Here's the full scene:
In case you want to grab the original images to do your own analysis, here they are, from the Lumia 950 and HTC 10 and Lumia 1020 , click the links to download. And here are 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:
A clear win for the Lumia 950 here, though in fairness, the flowers were in shade and you could argue that the 950's technicolour rendition is a bit over the top. What's not clear here unless you grab the original though, is that the HTC 10 has issues with focus locking and kept auto-focussing back on the background whenever I tried to lock and then reframe. So the HTC 10's photo has the flower centred, it's the only way I could get the shot at all - and that's after about five attempts. So I'm docking it a point for that too.
And compared to the classic Lumia 1020:
The 1020, as ever, struggles with macros in that you have to shoot from further away and with PureView zoom in order to get a focus lock at all. I'd put its image behind the 950's by a couple of points.
Lumia 950: 10 pts, HTC 10: 7 pts, Lumia 1020: 8 pts
Test 5: Low light
In this case a painting (ok, a print) at a about a metre's distance in low light indoors, lit through closed curtains. It wasn't that dark but should still test the cameras and sensors. Here's the full scene:
In case you want to grab the original images to do your own analysis, here they are, from the Lumia 950 and HTC 10 and Lumia 1020 , click the links to download. And here are 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:
Most people would judge the 950's attempt as better, I think, with warmer colours and a much less processed look. In fact, the 950 astonished me with its colours and detail here.
And compared to the classic Lumia 1020:
Very different image processing here, with the two phone cameras both doing their best but the 1020's is artier and more natural. But it's all a little subjective down at this pixel level, your comments welcome below.
Lumia 950: 10 pts, HTC 10: 8 pts, Lumia 1020: 8 pts
Test 6: Night time
The ultimate sensor and stabilisation test - very dark but with some lit-up details to try and pick out. Here's the full scene:
In case you want to grab the original images to do your own analysis, here they are, from the Lumia 950 and HTC 10 and Lumia 1020 , click the links to download. And here are 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. Note that the HTC image was from the night after because it made such a mess of the original shot (massively noisy, I figured it was a software issue and rebooted the phone to try again the next night!)
The HTC 10's shot is admirably crisp, helped by a 1/8s exposure, while the 950 went for 1/5s. And with the oversampling the latter manages to produce the better photo in terms of noise reduction and colour cast.
And compared to the classic Lumia 1020:
The 1020 goes for a full 1/3s exposure, but its smaller aperture means that it can't quite match the Lumia 950's result - or maybe it's the ball bearing OIS not being as good as the MEMS mechanism in the 950? There's not much to choose between the 1020 and HTC 10 results, but the 1020 gets the colours right, at least.
Lumia 950: 9 pts, HTC 10: 7 pts, Lumia 1020: 8 pts
Verdict
Adding up the scores gives us a broadbrush comparison of the three smartphone cameras. Note that these scores don't reflect other aspects, such as focussing speed and shot to shot times. Amazingly (and I swear it wasn't a fix) the two Lumias tie for the lead! Maybe I should have included my party mock up test case, to allow the 1020's Xenon to stretch out?
- Lumia 950: 54/60
- Lumia 1020: 54/60
- HTC 10: 47/60
Yes, there will be the usual cries of 'fix!' from the Windows-hating crowd, but I've included all the original images for download above so you can grab the JPGs, examine the EXIF data and generally do your own analysis, should you want to.
That the Lumia 950 is ahead of the HTC 10 in terms of image quality is notable, but there are ways in which the latter claws virtual points back - the laser auto-focus is FAR faster than the limited phase detection focussing on the Lumia 950. Plus the latter also lacks common camera modes such as panorama. Android fans will point out that the HTC 10's front facing camera is superior, including OIS (for the first time in a smartphone). In my view these aren't enough to tip the balance though - the 950 (along with the identical [in this regard] 950 XL) is still the modern day winner and the best all round camera phone in the world.
So, what do you think of the results above?
PS. I also have a LG G5 in for review, so look out for a head to head with that too. (Spoiler: initial results show similar performance to the HTC 10)
PPS. See also some of my other recent smartphone camera head to heads: Lumia 950 XL vs Google Nexus 6P, Lumia 950 vs Huawei P9 and Lumia 950 vs iPhone SE (6s) here on AAWP.