Let's start with a few basic specs:
| Lumia 950 XL (2015) | Xperia 1 mk II (2020) |
|
Dedicated shutter button/launch key |
Dedicated shutter button/launch key * actually a 20MP Samsung sensor, see comments below |
The Lumia is outgunned, not just in zoom (as it usually is) but also in raw light gathering and processing, it seems. But will those legendary ex-Nokia Microsoft algorithms prevail in the end?
Notes:
- I've shot at 4:3 at the default output resolutions on each (making framing better and leaving headroom for some lossless 'PureView' zoom into the 950 XL's sensor and also getting the advantages of oversampling and noise reduction).
- All photos were taken on full auto and handheld, as a regular user would do. No tripods or RAW editing sessions needed!
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 landscape
A handy sign on a lush old folks care home entrance, shot at about 35m. Here is the overall scene, unzoomed:
You can grab the original photos from the Lumia 950 XL and Xperia 1 mk II (2020), for your own analysis.
To look at the images in more detail here, here are fairly central 1:1 crops, from the Lumia 950 XL and then Xperia 1 mk II, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
I've seen worse. Referring to the Sony's image processing, which renders the scene just a little artificially - looks at the grass in particular. The Lumia 950 manages to strike a good balance between sharpening and over-sharpening. And it's possible the Xperia may improve with software updates, since this review device has yet to receive an official update. A narrow win for the Lumia, because I'm Mr Picky, as usual!
Microsoft Lumia 950 XL: 10 pts; Sony Xperia 1 II (2020): 9 pts
Test 2: Sunny landscape, zoomed x3
The same scene but played into the Xperia's hands with 3x zoom. You can grab the original photos from the Lumia 950 XL and Xperia 1 mk II (2020), for your own analysis.
To look at the images in more detail here, here are fairly central 1:1 crops, from the Lumia 950 XL and then Xperia 1 mk II, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
As expected, the Lumia's zoom is just horrible at 3x, blocky and messy, while the Xperia X3 has a head start with its 3x telephoto lens. Don't worry, I'll cover other zoom levels below. But for the moment the telephoto wins easily. I would have expected a slightly crisper result from the Xperia, but there are factors at play here. Firstly there's the issue of a 20MP sensor being used for 12MP output, as hinted above. Now, we know from the Lumia itself that oversampling can work wonders, but only in the right software hands. And, despite a recent update, it does seem as though Sony's software is struggling to produce clear results. You'll see more of this below.
Microsoft Lumia 950 XL: 6 pts; Sony Xperia 1 II (2020): 9 pts
Test 3: Close-up detail
A lovely flower in an overcast garden (but otherwise good light). Here is the overall scene:
You can grab the original photos from the Lumia 950 XL and Xperia 1 mk II (2020), for your own analysis.
To look at the images in more detail here, here are fairly central 1:1 crops, from the Lumia 950 XL and then Xperia 1 mk II, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
Both astonishingly good photos, you can see the miniscule hairs along the flower stems, but if you grab the original images (links above) then you'll see that the Xperia X1 ii has much more natural bokeh, thanks to the larger sensor and larger aperture. So a narrow - a very narrow Sony win.
Microsoft Lumia 950 XL: 9 pts; Sony Xperia 1 II (2020): 10 pts
Test 4: Sunny mid-range
A pub hanging sign, shot at about 6m and aiming upwards. Here is the overall scene:
You can grab the original photos from the Lumia 950 XL and Xperia 1 mk II (2020), for your own analysis.
To look at the images in more detail here, here are fairly central 1:1 crops, from the Lumia 950 XL and then Xperia 1 mk II, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
Swings and roundabouts here. The Lumia has more natural greenery and a photo-realistic quality generally, but then ruins the colour of the sign. While the Xperia nails the sign background colour but down at the pixel level detail looks artificial. So a score-draw!
Microsoft Lumia 950 XL: 9 pts; Sony Xperia 1 II (2020): 9 pts
But I did promise the odd bonus point here and there. The Xperia 1 II has a wide angle camera too and it would seem churlish to ignore this completely. So here's its wide angle view:
An arbitrary 2 bonus points for this. It's surprisingly how often a wide shot is a useful tool in your imaging toolkit.
Test 5: Adding in a meter!
Shot at about 20m (to the meter), I couldn't resist this shot. Here is the overall scene, unzoomed:
You can grab the original photos from the Lumia 950 XL and Xperia 1 mk II (2020), for your own analysis.
To look at the images in more detail here, here are fairly central 1:1 crops, from the Lumia 950 XL and then Xperia 1 mk II, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
A good example of the Lumia PureView oversampling at work - every pixel in the image is made to work perfectly, with clear meter but also utterly believable leaves and branches - like you were looking at the scene through a window. While the Xperia 1 II does well but there's uncertainty in the greenery and even the black and white meter looks less confident.
Microsoft Lumia 950 XL: 10 pts; Sony Xperia 1 II (2020): 8 pts
Test 6: Zooming x 2
Now, bear in mind that the Xperia has a 3x telephoto, so this is a test of its software (interpolative) zoom, while the Lumia 950 is part lossless, part digital, etc. You can grab the original photos from the Lumia 950 XL and Xperia 1 mk II (2020), for your own analysis.
To look at the images in more detail here, here are fairly central 1:1 crops, from the Lumia 950 XL and then Xperia 1 mk II, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
Unsurprisingly, there's a lot of guess work from the Xperia 1 II here, with three of every four pixels effectively 'made up'. so there are artefacts and a lack of clarity. This is a weak point in a phone camera system which has only a main and a 3x telephoto - it's not as severe as other tested phones which have just a main and a 5x periscope, where there's a grey area of poor performance from 2x to 4.9x - on the Xperia 1 II it's roughly 2x to 2.9x. But it's still there, while the Lumia gets to 1.5x zoom by smart cropping into its sensor and then adds 0.5x lossy zoom on top, with imperfect but still better results, as you can see above.
Microsoft Lumia 950 XL: 8 pts; Sony Xperia 1 II (2020): 6 pts
Test 7: Zooming x 3
OK, now the Xperia's telephoto comes into the equation. You can grab the original photo from the Xperia 1 mk II (2020), for your own analysis. Note that there was no point in shooting at x3 on the Lumia - results would have been too bad.
To look at the images in more detail here, here are fairly central 1:1 crops, from the Lumia 950 XL's existing 2x image, and then Xperia 1 mk II, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
Hmm.... I've been back and checked (for problems on the camera glass) and this is yet another slightly disappointing result from the 3x telephoto lens. I get it, zoom optics in tiny modules are hard, but the result here just seems too woolly. Again, I suspect poor software doing the 20MP to 12MP downsample - it surely can't be the lens, since ZEISS provide the camera glass coating here and I'm sure they'd have checked out the optics too? Yes, there's more detail than in the Lumia's flawed 2x effort, but the Sony's photo should have been a lot better.
(The Lumia gets a lower score than before because here I was asking for 3x zoom etc)
Microsoft Lumia 950 XL: 6 pts; Sony Xperia 1 II (2020): 8 pts
Test 8: Indoor macro
A very tricky shot peering into a lily at point blank range. Focussing here is so tricky that I gave each phone camera a couple of efforts to nail it - and they did. Here is the overall scene:
You can grab the original photos from the Lumia 950 XL and Xperia 1 mk II (2020), for your own analysis.
To look at the images in more detail here, here are fairly central 1:1 crops, from the Lumia 950 XL and then Xperia 1 mk II, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
Two terrific efforts, and I won't quibble about which pulled off the shot best. Both needing some expert positioning/contortionism by yours truly, but I got the shot I wanted. From both. Honours even!
Microsoft Lumia 950 XL: 10 pts; Sony Xperia 1 II (2020): 10 pts
Test 9: Low light landscape
My standard aviation museum shot, half an hour after sunset. A real challenge. Here is the overall scene, unzoomed, and made to look lighter than it was to my eyes:
You can grab the original photos from the Lumia 950 XL and Xperia 1 mk II (2020), for your own analysis.
To look at the images in more detail here, here are fairly central 1:1 crops, from the Lumia 950 XL and then Xperia 1 mk II, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
Simply amazing quality under low light from the Lumia 950 XL - this is why it's been my gold standard for phone camera testing for the last four years! Look at the detail in the tree and in the fence, all captured when all was grey to my eyes! The Xperia 1 II does well enough but there are small signs of noise reduction and edge enhancement, while the black plane body is given an artificial blueish tint.
Microsoft Lumia 950 XL: 10 pts; Sony Xperia 1 II (2020): 8 pts
Test 10: Low light landscape, zoomed
The same scene, but zoomed to 3x - let's see how the Xperia 1 mk II's telephoto does in low light. You can grab the original photos from the Lumia 950 XL and Xperia 1 mk II (2020), for your own analysis.
To look at the images in more detail here, here are fairly central 1:1 crops, from the Lumia 950 XL and then Xperia 1 mk II, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
The Lumia wasn't quite at 3x, mainly because the UI is appalling at telling you when you're at any zoom level. Usual rant from me, etc. The 3x telephoto on the Sony should be streets ahead here, despite the low light, but it's not, and that's a worry. And yes, I checked that the telephoto was indeed being used. Even given the lighting conditions, I was disappointed by how uncertain many of the edges are. Yes, the crop shows it better than the Lumia's zoom effort - just look at the union jack on the plane's side. But it's not as far ahead as it should have been. Again... that choice of sensor and these poor algorithms, Sony.
Microsoft Lumia 950 XL: 7 pts; Sony Xperia 1 II (2020): 8 pts
Test 11: Night time
A block of flats lit up at night. Here is the overall scene:
You can grab the original photos from the Lumia 950 XL and Xperia 1 mk II (2020), for your own analysis.
To look at the images in more detail here, here are fairly central 1:1 crops, from the Lumia 950 XL and then Xperia 1 mk II, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
Both shots are pretty good overall, but I have to dock the Xperia a point for getting the building's bricks the wrong colour. They are in fact as the Lumia shows, even in artificial light here, while the Sony shows the building as almost red and that's not right. In terms of detail, both do well under tricky circumstances, with the CCTV sign showing that the Xperia's image processing uses a touch more sharpening than the Lumia's.
Microsoft Lumia 950 XL: 9 pts; Sony Xperia 1 II (2020): 8 pts
Test 12: Into a dusk sky
A very tricky shot snapping a dark clock face against a dusk sky with some light still left in it. Here is the overall scene:
You can grab the original photos from the Lumia 950 XL and Xperia 1 mk II (2020), for your own analysis.
To look at the images in more detail here, here are fairly central 1:1 crops, from the Lumia 950 XL and then Xperia 1 mk II, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
A very challenging shot to pull off and neither phone camera got it completely right. The Lumia exposed more for the clock by default and the face is lighter, but there's some blurring seen in the Roman numerals from hand motion - surprising given the OIS, but it happens, and it sometimes depends which axis my hand is moving in! The Xperia achieved crystal clear numerals and a more believable dusk sky and definitely gets the win here. But... even though the clock was my subject, have a look at the full JPGs and you'll see that the Lumia gets a point back for really nice detail brought out in the building beneath.
Microsoft Lumia 950 XL: 8 pts; Sony Xperia 1 II (2020): 10 pts
Bonus points
I often get criticised for focussing on pure image quality and for not including other strong points about modern phone cameras. And the Sony has several. There's a 'Pro' camera app for both stills and video, in each case mimicking a Sony 'Alpha' camera - these are powerful manual tools, though you don't get higher image quality, so I'm going to mention these just in passing. What does deserve a bonus point or two is the Xperia 1 II's sheer speed of focus and the ability to track people, pets or objects.
In essence, you can shoot bursts of photos at a full 12MP with any of the three lenses at over 20 snaps per second, all while tracking something. Perfect for sports or pets. As an example, I did a short burst with one of our pets - it's too large to put at full resolution here on AAWP, but I'll embed my Twitter downsample, which will give you an idea:
Twitter will probably massacre the resolution and quality of this animation from my review Xperia 1 II but I'll try anyway. Just testing the burst mode. Each frame is a full, focussed 12MP JPG. So much to have fun with on this thing, eh @jimborae ? 8-) pic.twitter.com/xgDBbDNxRr
— Steve Litchfield (@stevelitchfield) June 26, 2020
The point to remember here is that this isn't a video, each 'frame' is a full photo with auto-focus and tracking. This is where owning a dog would have been handy - there's only so much a guinea pig will do on demand!
In comparison, the Lumia struggles to shoot more than one photo every couple of seconds (shoot faster and things get backed up on the background processing), so you'd have to shoot 4K video, hope for the best, and then pull 8MP still from this - but quality wouldn't be anywhere near as good as on the Sony.
For which I have to award the Xperia 1 II some extra points, in terms of getting photos of real world moving subjects that the Lumia will find very tricky. Let's call it 5 extra points. I know, I know, it's arbitrary...
Verdict
For the record, the scores add up as:
- Sony Xperia 1 II (2020): 110 pts
- Lumia 950 (late 2015): 102 pts
The astute at this point will note that even without the two sets of bonus points, the Sony would have just pipped the Lumia 950 XL overall, though they're very close, of course. Does this make the Xperia 1 II a recommendation for a replacement for a Lumia 950 XL? Not necessarily, though it's certainly a good shout. My biggest issue with the Xperia was that its 3x telephoto camera disappointed. I'd suggest that a software update might crisp up its results, but the phone had an update as I wrote this feature and telephoto results seemed much the same - perhaps the 20MP/12MP conversion happens in hardware (i.e. electronics) and can't be fixed?
It's also worth noting that on the Xperia 1 II you can't seamlessly move from one lens to the other, in either stills or video mode. In each case if you want to switch lenses then you have to manually make the selection. In video mode this means stopping the capture, changing lenses and then restarting, which is a little... inconvenient. And especially so as other smartphone contenders from Apple, Samsung, Huawei (etc.) all manage switching lenses automatically without interruptions in either still or video mode.
If telephoto isn't something you're mainly worried about though, then there IS lots here to enjoy. The fairly natural processing, the terrific speed of focussing and tracking, the 'pro' grade applications in which you can set just about any parameter for both stills and video. All the while I was testing the Xperia 1 II it reminded me of those early days with the Lumia 1020, when the very fact of holding it in my hand set my imagination racing on photos I could attempt that wouldn't have been worth trying on other handsets. The Xperia turns out not to be perfect - or indeed an across the board recommendation (price, size, screen visibility in the sun) - but it's certainly one of the most interesting camera phones I've tried in the last few years.