I should note that I've been aided in this feature by KF Chan, whose general camera phone photography you can see here.
Notes:
- The Nokia 8's shots are here at its full 12MP shooting at 4:3, with the Lumia 950 also set to full resolution, 16MP in 16:9. Yes, KF Chan should probably have used this too in 4:3, but it makes little difference, the exact same pixels are being cropped below in my samples. If he'd used 4:3 then the full pixel count would have been 20MP. So a mismatch overall, but that's partly why we used the 8MP match-up in the first take on this feature.
- The Nokia 8's 'second' camera is a monochrome sensor, used to improve the results of the primary colour sensor. So I didn't need to worry about playing with zoom lenses or similar...
- The Nokia 8 and Lumia 950 both have ZEISS lenses and OIS, though my tests indicate that component quality isn't quite as high in the newer device.
- All photos were taken on full 'auto' on both phones, unless stated otherwise, and with the phones handheld.
Let's pit the results against each other, using our Famed Interactive Comparator (FIC). All 1:1 crops are at 900x500 for comparison, but see the links for full versions.
| 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! You ideally need a powerful, large-screened tablet or a proper laptop or desktop. This comparator may not work in some browsers. Sorry about that. On Windows 10 Mobile, use the 'AAWP Universal' UWP app, which handles the comparator very competently (see the tips in the app's help screens). |
Test 1: Sunny street scene
Great lighting, trivial for any phone camera. Here is the whole scene, as presented by the Lumia 950:
In case you want to grab the original images to do your own analysis, here they are, from the Lumia 950 and Nokia 8, click the links to download. And to look at the images in more detail, here are fairly central 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:
With no PureView oversampling available here on the Lumia 950, the results do look a little forced and processed down at the pixel level, though there is naturally a bit more detail than the lower resolution output from the Nokia 8 and that's what you're seeing here. Having said that, the Nokia 8 output isn't bad at all, at least in this good lighting - 12MP at 4:3 is its sweet spot!
Microsoft Lumia 950: 9 pts; Nokia 8: 8 pts
Test 2: Sunny scene - fine detail
A rooftop antenna against the sky. Here is the whole scene, as presented by the Lumia 950:
In case you want to grab the original images to do your own analysis, here they are, from the Lumia 950 and Nokia 8, click the links to download. And to look at the images in more detail, here are fairly central 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:
Again the detail in the Nokia 8 shot isn't bad at all, albeit in this excellent light. But it can't match the native resolution of the Lumia 950 camera or its fidelity. Having said that... look at the characteristic yellow cast on the 950s shot, I'm pretty sure that the aerials are, in fact, battleship grey, as the Nokia 8's photo shows.
Microsoft Lumia 950: 9 pts; Nokia 8: 8 pts
Test 3: Indoor lighting
Inside KF Chan's cafe, with all artificial lighting. Here is the whole scene, as presented by the Lumia 950:
In case you want to grab the original images to do your own analysis, here they are, from the Lumia 950 and Nokia 8, click the links to download. And to look at the images in more detail, here are fairly central 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:
The Nokia 8 is starting to struggle here, with noise and artefacts creeping in and it again can't quite match the Lumia 950 for resolved detail, as you'd expect. On the other hand, there's the matter of colour cast and white balance. The back wall of the cafe is indeed white, but it comes across as a yellowish cream in the Lumia shot. You could argue that the white walls should be this colour when lit by the fluorescent and incandescent lights, but the Lumia overdoes it in typical style.
The usual pros and cons but yet again I have to give the Lumia 950 a win overall, since detail is detail and colours can always be tweaked later if needed.
Microsoft Lumia 950: 9 pts; Nokia 8: 8 pts
Test 4: Low light detail
Some wall-hung prints in low indoor light. Here is the whole scene, as presented by the Lumia 950:
In case you want to grab the original images to do your own analysis, here they are, from the Lumia 950 and Nokia 8, click the links to download. And to look at the images in more detail, here are fairly central 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 slightly larger margin of victory here for the Lumia, with clearer and more vibrant colours. And this without any PureView magic, too. Not bad for the 2015 warhorse...
Microsoft Lumia 950: 9 pts; Nokia 8: 7 pts
Test 5: Night street scene
Dead of night, though with brightish street lights. Here is the whole scene, as presented by the Lumia 950:
In case you want to grab the original images to do your own analysis, here they are, from the Lumia 950 and Nokia 8, click the links to download. And to look at the images in more detail, here are fairly central 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:
The 950 stretches slightly further away from the newer Nokia 8 here, with less than perfect focussing, with greater noise, and with the lower native pixel resolution, all playing a part. The Lumia 950's detail is amazing under these tough handheld conditions.
Microsoft Lumia 950: 9 pts; Nokia 8: 6 pts
Test 6: Back to Black
An academic test, but KF Chan and I were keen to really test the OIS and camera software in the two phones. It's the interior of the cafe again, but this time with all lights off apart from the emergency exit lamp over the door (which KF couldn't turn off!) Here is the whole scene, as presented by the Lumia 950, made to look reasonably lit even though I'm fairly sure that the human eye couldn't pick up any real detail from the kitchen units:
In case you want to grab the original images to do your own analysis, here they are, from the Lumia 950 and Nokia 8, click the links to download. And to look at the images in more detail, here are fairly central 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:
The Lumia 950 here performs its party trick of turning night into.... well, maybe not 'day', but you can see recognisable objects and detail. While the Nokia 8 camera, also with OIS and ZEISS optics, remember, plus that second lens, manages something that's almost completely black.
You could argue that the Nokia 8 shot was accurate in terms of what the human eye could also see, but you know me - I'm giving points here for light gathering ability. Certainly the Nokia 8 should have managed better - it sent for a 1/11s exposure, while the Lumia 950 was confident enough in its OIS to go for 1/4s and the results speak for themselves.
Microsoft Lumia 950: 8 pts; Nokia 8: 4 pts
Verdict
Adding up the points gives us:
- Lumia 950: 53/60
- Nokia 8: 41/60
As before, this was one of the most requested AAWP phone camera shootouts and thanks to KF Chan for helping make this happen. One of the reasons why I'd not moved heaven and earth to get a Nokia 8 in for review yet (though I have been asking PR) was that I knew it would be something of a disappointment. And so it proved. Despite two cameras, OIS and ZEISS optics, HMD Global doesn't have anywhere near the same imaging expertise that the Nokia guys had back in the day (and at Microsoft until they all left or got made redundant), the Nokia 8 has sensors that are too small, software that doesn't make the most of its imaging hardware, and no secret sauce (along Google Pixel lines) to rescue the results.
At some point, no doubt, I will get the '8' in for a full review and at that time I can do more head to heads with, for example, the Nokia N8 and 808 from the Symbian world, since those too have been requested. Can 'Nokia' (actually HMD Global) fix up the camera with updates or is the Nokia 8 destined to underperform?
PS. In fairness, HMD talks up the video capture more than stills in its press release. Something else for me to test in due course!
