Shown here is the Lumia 950 with the late 2017 Sony XZ1 Compact, since they're a good match in many ways (anyone interested in a more general comparison?), though as I say the comparison could be between either of the Lumias and any of the five Sony XZ units, since the imaging hardware is identical.
You may remember that guest writer Matthew Weflen attempted a 950 vs XZ Premium shootout in October last year, concluding that the Sony was only a notch behind the Lumia overall. The last time that I did a comparison with a Sony flagship was back in June 2016, looking at the 950 vs the Sony Xperia X - and the latter had a very definitely inferior camera.
So it was high time that I shot some Lumia-Sony tests myself. Both shoot at 16MP in 16:9, so the match is perfect in terms of one to one comparisons, even if the field of view is a little wider on the Sony. Of course, this also means that any zooming would be purely digital and lossy, so I didn't go there on either phone camera.
Notes:
- All the Sony XZ camera units don't have OIS, instead going for 'gyro EIS', which seems like a kludge (and the night shot below bears this out), using information from on-device sensors to try to time a shot in between hand wobbles.
- All photos were taken handheld on full 'auto' on both phones, unless stated otherwise, and with the phones handheld. Mimicking real life users.
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 scene
Very early in the morning sun, hence the warm colours and long shadows, shooting across suburbia. 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 Sony XZ1 Compact, 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 more artificial and less pleasing look to the Sony's shot here, but you couldn't complain at either as a snap.
Microsoft Lumia 950: 9 pts; Sony XZ1 Compact: 8 pts
Test 2: HDR scene
Shooting into the setting sun, with the shop front in shadow, this is a tough shot to pull off and needs the camera software to shoot in HDR mode and manage any blending. 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 Sony XZ1 Compact, 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:
Dramatically better results here from the Lumia, pulling loads of shop detail from the scene, despite the deep shadow, while the Sony camera presents an almost black facade.
Microsoft Lumia 950: 9 pts; Sony XZ1 Compact: 6 pts
Test 3: Sunset scene
Swivelling 180 degrees from the previous HDR shot, here's the scene in the other direction, with lovely detail on the kitchen showroom. 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 Sony XZ1 Compact, 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 obvious difference here is the colourisation, though to my eyes the real reflected colour off the front of the showroom was somewhere between these two extremes. In terms of detail, the Lumia wins out again, rendering the fine pattern on the showroom's fascia more obviously. Still, the Sony XZ camera did better here and there's lots of straight line detail for the algorithms to latch onto.
Microsoft Lumia 950: 9 pts; Sony XZ1 Compact: 8 pts
Test 4: Indoor macro
Pretty flowers inside a supermarket. 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 Sony XZ1 Compact, 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:
Both decent enough snaps, but there's a harsh, sharpened, colder feel to the Sony's rendition of the flowers and their colours.
Microsoft Lumia 950: 9 pts; Sony XZ1 Compact: 8 pts
Test 5: How do you like them apples?
In a shop, fruity detail from two metres away. 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 Sony XZ1 Compact, 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:
Results are closer here, but the Sony image processing again produces a slight texture that wasn't there in real life, making the apples less somehow.... appealing!
Microsoft Lumia 950: 10 pts; Sony XZ1 Compact: 9 pts
Test 6: Low light
Indoors, a little domestic still life, with just the one table lamp. 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 Sony XZ1 Compact, 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:
This one comparison characterises the last five years of Sony image processing - how can the company which makes the sensors that go into so many smartphones mess up the images that come from those sensors so badly? It beggars belief. It's as if there's a deliberate 'fuzz factor' applied to everything at the pixel level, akin to the GPS position 'fuzz' applied to consumer grade GPS 20 years ago. In fact, the fuzz comes from the RGB layout in all modern sensors, the idea being that a Bayer filter sorts out to fuzz and cleans up the output in terms of colour and detail. Sadly for all the Sony XZ units, something's horribly amiss with their algorithms and the comparison above is one of the best examples yet.
Microsoft Lumia 950: 10 pts; Sony XZ1 Compact: 7 pts
Test 7: Night time
Dead of night. 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 Sony XZ1 Compact, 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:
Stellar results from the Lumia 950 as usual, with its 5th gen OIS and mature algorithms, while the Sony makes another typical mess of things. I should note that this was the best of three attempts, since I couldn't believe the shot was this bad. The lack of OIS is really telling at even 1/8s here. But the thing is that the image processing is so bad again that it's hard to tell what is bad algorithms and what is motion blur from the unstabilised shot. It's a mess.
Microsoft Lumia 950: 9 pts; Sony XZ1 Compact: 6 pts
Verdict
Adding up the points gives us, unsurprisingly:
- Lumia 950: 65/70
- Sony XZ1 Compact: 52/70
In other words, a landslide. And it's really puzzling - tech reviewers like me have been complaining that Sony's phone cameras have been underperforming for half a DECADE now, and it's astonishing that nothing has been done. Conspiracy theorists were saying back in 2013 that Sony deliberately hobbles their camera phone performance so as not to compete too strongly with their standalone cameras. At the time, I dismissed such theories as hogwash - who would deliberately make their products worse? But I'm now not so sure... Maybe the theories are right and maybe Sony really doesn't want to improve its phone imaging?
Comments welcome.