My initial analysis of photo samples from the new Nokia 9 PureView and the classic Lumia 950 received a mountain of comments, not least because of the terrible performance of the '9' in very low light, at night. A common objection was 'Well, who would shoot photos at night?' and, leaving aside that many people do, for arty reasons(!), AAWP collaborator Mark Swidler and I have done another short photo set, this time with more common light levels: sunny and then dusk. So no complaints about bias against the newcomer this time, please. 

And don't worry, we'll get to my usual test scenes when the Nokia 9 arrives at AAWP Towers!

As before, I gave Mark specific instructions on test shots, resolution, and delivery to me. So he was shooting the Lumia 950 in its PureView oversampled mode of 8MP, both to get best quality and also to allow direct 1:1 comparisons with the results from the Nokia 9. I realise that analysing someone else's photos is fraught with danger, but in this case he's taken more or less what I'd have shot.

Let's pit the results against each other, using our Famed Interactive Comparator (FIC). All 1:1 crops are at 900x500 for comparison, though I've put up the originals on my own server, for you to download if you want to do your own analysis.

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 detail

A brightly coloured playground, no problem for both phone cameras. Here is the scene as presented by the Nokia 9:

You can grab the original photos from the Lumia 950 and Nokia 9 on my own server, for your own analysis.

To look at the images in more detail here, 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 has characteristic warmer colours, though it gets the red and gold down well as a result, whereas the Nokia 9's image is so 'cold' that the red becomes pink and the gold becomes grey. The 950 also wins here on purity, I think. Look carefully at edges, look at panels of solid colour. That's the 'PureView' oversampling in action.

Microsoft Lumia 950: 10 pts; Nokia 9: 8 pts

Test 2: Fine detail

Looking to the sky, with intricate detail in trees, the graveyard of many a sharpening algorithm! Here is the scene as presented by the Lumia 950:

You can grab the original photos from the Lumia 950 and Nokia 9 on my own server, for your own analysis.

To look at the images in more detail here, 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:

Another win for the Lumia 950, I'm afraid, with the fine detail on the branches and twigs slightly clearer and better defined, while the colour balance also gets the blue of the sky right, while the Nokia 9 again presents the scene 'colder' than it actually was.

Microsoft Lumia 950: 10 pts; Nokia 9: 8 pts

Test 3: One hour after sunset: Dusk playground

The same playground as in test 1, but from a different angle and in low light, you can see the light on the building shining bright. A typical low light scene for a real world user, I think - nothing too artificial here. Here is the scene as presented by the Nokia 9:

You can grab the original photos from the Lumia 950 and Nokia 9 on my own server, for your own analysis.

To look at the images in more detail here, 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 original 'PureView' oversampling wins out, with solid colours and no artefacts and little noise - the Nokia 9 shot looks almost like a photocopy of the Lumia 950 image. It's not terrible (as the night shot was in my original comparison), but it's a clear league behind the 2015 PureView implementation in terms of photo quality.

Microsoft Lumia 950: 10 pts; Nokia 9: 7 pts

Test 4: Dusk *and* zoom - quelle horreur!

Dusk again, but casually using zoom - a regular user might try this, not realising the restrictions under the hood in both phones. But here goes anyway! Here is the UNZOOMED scene as presented by the Nokia 9:

Note that I don't provide originals for this test, since the Nokia 9 does digital zoom by simply cropping down rather than making up blocky artefacts or attempting interpolation. Which is fair enough and a refreshing approach. While the Lumia 950 has some genuinely lossless zoom plus blocky digital as well. For the crops here then, I've done a little rescaling for ease of comparison. Trust me, you'll get the idea.

To look at the images in more detail here, here are fairly central crops, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:

For once the Lumia isn't ahead. Because both zoomed shots, here in low light, are pretty awful. As you'd expect, to be honest. I think a phone with hardware 2x or 3x zoom lens (iPhone X, Galaxy S9, Huawei Mate 20 Pro) would have done better provided the low light didn't trigger the software zoom on the main lens, but that's another test for another day. Anyway, the lesson is - don't zoom in with these phones and especially not in low light!! I'm giving the '9' a narrow win here because you get to see more of the snow...!

Microsoft Lumia 950: 6 pts; Nokia 9: 7 pts

Verdict

As if a total was needed, but for the record:

1. Lumia 950 (2015): 36 pts (/40)
2. Nokia 9 (2019): 30 pts

Now, as with the original data set, it will be pointed out (rightly) that the new Nokia 9 has a big USP up its sleeve - the building of a depth map for photos, so that items have better bokeh effect and for 'refocussing after the fact' (with some limitations). However, I'd class these as very much secondary to taking good photos and - for the second time in two articles - the Lumia 950 whips the Nokia 9's backside at simple photo taking, as hopefully your own eyes can attest above.

As a bonus, Mark also shot some test video (at 1080p, matching web resolution here on AAWP) on both phones, which I've spliced side by side, for ease of comparison here. As usual with video, click through or maximise for best effect. Note that the video was in wintry overcast conditions.

There's not much in it, really, it's hard to draw any real conclusions at this stage on video, though the Nokia 9 video is certainly lighter on-screen, with a bit more punch, perhaps due to its much more modern chipset?

More in the coming weeks, of course. Comments welcome.

PS. If you appreciate AAWP content then you know where my tip jar is...(!)