The Zenfone's main camera is 1/2.55", f/1.8 and 12MP with 4-axis OIS, so should be a good match for the Lumia 950 XL in many ways. I'll come back to the Zenfone 5's other specs in due course.
Notes:
- The Zenfone 5 was set to 9MP at 16:9, the native resolution of the main camera. The Lumia 950 XL was used in its oversampled 8MP mode, also at 16:9, to match and for ease of comparison. Don't worry, I'm not doing the Lumia a disservice - by using the oversampled mode (my default), all photos are purer and clearer.
- As you'll spot below, there's no easy way to do comparisons with the Zenfone 5's 'wide angle' 1/4" 8MP f/2.0 camera, since the Lumia can't do anything similar. Having said this, the wide angle lens is only really for good light and is comparatively low resolution considering the angle of view. So consider this a useful novelty.
- 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 landscape
A sunny day, looking out over suburbia, with plenty of detail. Here is the scene, as shot by the Lumia 950 XL and the Zenfone 5 - use your slider as usual:
Two easy and terrific shots, with the Zenfone 5 auto-switching to HDR mode and thus out-saturating the Lumia (which normally takes some doing!) No complaints for either snap.
Microsoft Lumia 950 XL: 10 pts; Asus Zenfone 5: 10 pts
In case you want to grab the original images to do your own analysis, here they are, from the Lumia 950 XL and Zenfone 5, click the links to download. And to look at the images in more detail, here are fairly central 1:1 crops, again use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
In detail, at 1:1, there's again not much between the two shots, the Zenfone does sharpen a tiny bit more than the Lumia, but the difference is tiny and not worth docking a point, etc.
Microsoft Lumia 950 XL: 10 pts; Asus Zenfone 5: 10 pts
Test 2: Zoomed sunny landscape
The same shot, looking out over suburbia, but this time zoomed to 2x (or as near as I could judge). Here is the scene, as shot by the Lumia 950 XL and the Zenfone 5 - use your slider as usual:
Interestingly, when zoomed the Zenfone 5 didn't feel the need to use its (rather good) HDR facility, so the shot looks more normal/natural. Both great snaps, of course, still, seen at web resolution here, despite digital zoom artefacts.
Microsoft Lumia 950 XL: 10 pts; Asus Zenfone 5: 10 pts
In case you want to grab the original images to do your own analysis, here they are, from the Lumia 950 XL and Zenfone 5, click the links to download. And to look at the images in more detail, here are fairly central 1:1 crops, again use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
In detail, at 1:1, you can see the digital zoom artefacts. And slightly less so in the Lumia's image, since it has that 1.5x lossless zoom and so only 0.5x is digital. But, despite this, there's not that much difference - just a slight lack of detail in the Zenfine's version, enough to dock a point.
Microsoft Lumia 950 XL: 9 pts; Asus Zenfone 5: 8 pts
Test 3: HDR capability
With HDR being a big feature of both phone cameras, here's a good test shot, with plenty of detail against a late afternoon sun. Here is the scene, as shot by the Lumia 950 XL and the Zenfone 5 - use your slider as usual:
The Lumia 950 XL HDR photo contains a 'mid' blend - you'll be familiar with the way you can alter this after the fact. It does pretty well, with an image that's HDR and yet quite natural, if a little too golden. The Zenfone 5 also does well in a more artificial way - you can instantly tell that it's a 'full HDR' shot. Both snaps are good under testing light conditions though.
Microsoft Lumia 950 XL: 10 pts; Asus Zenfone 5: 10 pts
In case you want to grab the original images to do your own analysis, here they are, from the Lumia 950 XL and Zenfone 5, click the links to download. And to look at the images in more detail, here are fairly central 1:1 crops, again use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
Both smartphone cameras do incredibly well here, considering that I'm looking at detail effectively silhouetted against the sun. I'm going to give the test to the Zenfone by a point as it manages to bring out so much colour and slightly more detail, but there really isn't that much in it. Well done all round.
Microsoft Lumia 950 XL: 9 pts; Asus Zenfone 5: 10 pts
Test 4: Night time
The most challenging test of all, dead of night and relying on optics, aperture and OIS to bring out detail. As usual, my eyes saw something much darker, the sky was almost black, not the rich blue shown below(!):
Ah yes. The immaturity of the Zenfone 5's algorithms show up under these extreme conditions. Both phone cameras went for a 1/4s exposure, thanks to the use of OIS, to keep things crisp. But even at web resolution, you can see the out of control nature of the Asus phone's low light image. In contrast, the Lumia's photo is smooth, pure and under control, thanks in part to the PureView oversampling from the underlying 20MP sensor.
Microsoft Lumia 950 XL: 10 pts; Asus Zenfone 5: 7 pts
In case you want to grab the original images to do your own analysis, here they are, from the Lumia 950 XL and Zenfone 5, click the links to download. And to look at the images in more detail, here are fairly central 1:1 crops, again use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
At 1:1, you can start to see noise in even the Lumia 950 XL's photo, but it's all tasteful and unobtrusive. The Zenfone 5's image is much noisier, less accurate (even in terms of colours) and full of artefacts. Oh well. I get the feeling that some of this can be fixed in software if Asus has the will, in the future.
Microsoft Lumia 950 XL: 9 pts; Asus Zenfone 5: 7 pts
Verdict
Adding up the points gives us a win for the Windows phone, as you'd expect for an imaging-centric smartphone (albeit from 2015) versus a good 2018 all-rounder:
- Lumia 950: 76/80
- Asus Zenfone 5: 72/80
In fairness though, the Lumia only really pulled away in very low light - and for most shots in reasonable or good light, the Asus Zenfone 5 is right up there, aided by the added possibility of going wide-angle and shooting a panorama in a single exposure. Impressive, especially for a phone that's not much more than £300 (in this case imported from Europe, your mileage may vary).
Comments welcome. Anyone want a full blow by blow comparison with the Zenfone 5? Is it on your radar? If not, it should be.
PS. For those wondering about video capture, both phones shoot 4K with OIS and with stereo sound. Very capable. Shout if you want a dedicated comparison.
