See also my detailed spec head to head between these two smartphones. Here are the imaging specs of the two with the differences in bold:
| Lumia 950 XL (2015) | Sony Xperia 5 iii (2021) |
|
Dedicated camera shutter button and launch key, main specs: 20MP PureView f/1.9 1/2.4" BSI sensor, Phase Detection auto-focus, 1.5x lossless digital zoom (in 8MP oversampled mode, and lossy digital after that), OIS. |
Dedicated camera shutter button and launch key, main specs:
12 MP, f/1.7, 1/1.7", main camera, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS |
As usual on this site, most photos were taken on full auto and handheld, as a regular user would do. No tripods or RAW editing sessions needed! The Sony was set to 16:9 mode, as with the Lumia, wherein photos are 9MP, so frame comparable to the 8MP PureView shots.
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, 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
The sun did keep coming and going during the tests below, but I've done my best to equalise lighting(!) Here is the overall scene, as shot by my reference iPhone 12 Pro Max (for which I also have shots, if you'd like to see a further comparison):
You can grab the original photos from the Lumia 950 XL and Xperia 5 iii, for your own analysis.
To look at the images in more detail here, here are fairly central 1:1 crops, from the Lumia and then the Xperia 5 mark iii, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
Hmm.... These are real world tests, in that I shoot them and then examine them back at base, i.e. I don't stop and check them in minute detail at the time. And there's something very wrong with the Xperia shot here. It's as if it messed up the focus (in each case I tapped to focus on the clock in the viewfinder) and is using loads of processing to make the best of a bad job. I don't think this will be typical of the tests below, but it's a badly unreliable start for the Sony.
The Lumia, as you'd expect for a PureView shot in good light with no zoom, is nigh on perfect.
Lumia 950 XL: 10 pts; Xperia 5 iii: 8 pts
Test 2: Sunny landscape, 2.9x zoomed
The same scene, but zoomed on the 2.9x zoom lens on the Xperia and somewhere close in the Lumia's UI, which has no zoom factor readout - so it's a guess, really! You can grab the original zoomed photos from the Lumia 950 XL and Xperia 5 iii, for your own analysis.
To look at the images in more detail here, here are fairly central 1:1 crops, from the Lumia and then the Xperia 5 mark iii, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
As you might expect, there's no contest here - the Lumia's 0.5x extra PureView zoom is long since used up and the final 1.5x digital zoom is enough to introduce artefacts and noise. The Sony's zoom shot isn't perfect, showing evidence of both edge enhancement and noise reduction, but it's still pretty good for a small phone camera.
Lumia 950 XL: 6 pts; Xperia 5 iii: 9 pts
Test 3: Sunny landscape, 4.4x zoomed
The same scene, but zoomed on the 4.4x zoom lens on the Xperia and somewhere close in the Lumia's UI, again pretty much a guess. You can grab the original zoomed photos from the Lumia 950 XL and Xperia 5 iii, for your own analysis.
To look at the images in more detail here, here are fairly central 1:1 crops, from the Lumia and then the Xperia 5 mark iii, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
Again, the Sony's zoomed shot looks a tiny bit artificial, but it's also not bad at all. And I do want to make the point that, by using a periscope zoom system that offers 2.9x and 4.4x factors, the phone is ready for more real world subjects than the average Android flagship with a main 48MP sensor (say) and then a 5x periscope. The vast majority of real world zooming is from 2x to 3x or even 4x, and on a traditional main+5x periscope set-up you'll get very indistinct results from 3x to 4.9x. Here you have two good options to turn to, as needed, and then you add some digital zoom to the 4.4x zoom setting in order to get 6x, 7x, and so on. I do think Sony's onto something - at least once they've perfected and dialled back their image processing.
The single-camera Lumia here is outclassed at 4.4x, of course, in fact the UI tops out at about 4x and results are full of uncertainty and artefacts.
Lumia 950 XL: 5 pts; Xperia 5 iii: 9 pts
Test 4: Suburban pots
The sun did keep coming and going during the tests below, but I've done my best to equalise lighting(!) Here is the overall scene, as shot by my reference iPhone 12 Pro Max (for which I also have shots, if you'd like to see a further comparison):
You can grab the original photos from the Lumia 950 XL and Xperia 5 iii, for your own analysis.
To look at the images in more detail here, here are fairly central 1:1 crops, from the Lumia and then the Xperia 5 mark iii, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
Now this is bizarre - I can only report what I see, and what I shot. I checked and triple-checked for grime on the camera glass, all the usual suspects, and nothing. The main sensor is just massively underperforming. Yes, you have to look down at the pixel level (as here) to see the issue, but everything's too soft, way too soft, I can only think it's a bug in the Bayer sensor processing - one that Sony's yet to get around to fixing. Notably, in my previous Xperia 5 iii imaging test, I was looking almost exclusively at zoom shots, which is why I'm only highlighting this issue now.
I even wondered, at this point, whether the fixes Sony put in place to fix video stabilisation (in the latest 'August' update) have inadvertently crocked the OIS in still mode and that what we're seeing here might be some kind of hand-shake blur. But the exposure here was 1/3200s, which is extremely quick - there's no way device shake (e.g. due to the shutter button use) could affect the photo, surely?
My next theory is that what we're seeing here is the actual output of the Bayer filter in the camera and that Sony isn't doing any image processing. But they wouldn't just junk layers of processing for no reason, again surely? I'm stumped. Comments welcome.
My final theory is that my review unit is somehow faulty. But the main camera does incredibly well with nearby subjects - see below. So maybe the focussing system is faulty?
[Update: do see the comments below, we have at least one more data point from another user of this phone, that landscapes are captured out of focus, and that it started happening recently, i.e. after the 'August' update.]
The Lumia's processing, meanwhile, is beautifully balanced on the dividing line of 'pure' and 'over-sharpened', with attractive and clear results even here at the pixel level.
Lumia 950 XL: 10 pts; Xperia 5 iii: 7 pts
Test 5: Suburban pots, 2.9x zoomed
The same scene, but we're back with zoom - thankfully. Here zoomed on the 2.9x zoom lens on the Xperia and somewhere close in the Lumia's UI. You can grab the original zoomed photos from the Lumia 950 XL and Xperia 5 iii, for your own analysis.
To look at the images in more detail here, here are fairly central 1:1 crops, from the Lumia and then the Xperia 5 mark iii, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
As with the previous zoom tests, the Lumia's lack of decent zoom is shown up with jaggies and artefacts, while the 2.9x zoom on the Xperia is... OK. It could do with a little more sophistication in its processing, but it's getting there.
Lumia 950 XL: 6 pts; Xperia 5 iii: 9 pts
Test 6: Suburban pots, 4.4x zoomed
The same scene, but zoomed on the 4.4x zoom lens on the Xperia and somewhere close in the Lumia's UI. You can grab the original zoomed photos from the Lumia 950 XL and Xperia 5 iii, for your own analysis.
To look at the images in more detail here, here are fairly central 1:1 crops, from the Lumia and then the Xperia 5 mark iii, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
The same story as before - the 4.4x zoom setting doesn't quite seem optimised yet, but it's a heck of a lot clearer than digital zoom on a single camera. So no surprises. I'd love, in fact, to have this unit in my phone - but I can't quite endorse Sony's zoom system until I've regained confidence in their main camera.
Lumia 950 XL: 4 pts; Xperia 5 iii: 9 pts
Test 7: Sunny close-up
A pretty (and old) sign, with a detailed flower print, shot at about 50cm. Here is the overall scene:
You can grab the original photos from the Lumia 950 XL and Xperia 5 iii, for your own analysis.
To look at the images in more detail here, here are fairly central 1:1 crops, from the Lumia and then the Xperia 5 mark iii, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
Although the Xperia's shot is a lot clearer here, and it's also aiming more at 'ultra-natural', I do like the Lumia's more saturated colours, brought out by the sun. It's a subjective thing - do you like the world looking slightly better than it does in real life, or do you want 100% accuracy? I'm giving the Lumia a slight win here, since it's a guilty pleasure(!)
Lumia 950 XL: 10 pts; Xperia 5 iii: 9 pts
Test 8: Overcast close-up
Another closer subject, around 40cm, shot in overcast conditions, to try and gain confidence in the Xperia 5 iii main camera. Here is the overall scene:
You can grab the original photos from the Lumia 950 XL and Xperia 5 iii, for your own analysis.
To look at the images in more detail here, here are fairly central 1:1 crops, from the Lumia and then the Xperia 5 mark iii, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
The bunny is certainly in focus in the Xperia shot, but the photo does very much look like a photocopy of reality, whereas the Lumia's shot genuinely looks real. So this doesn't exactly vindicate the Sony's main camera overall. Hmm... Do check out the full resolution versions, mind you.
Lumia 950 XL: 10 pts; Xperia 5 iii: 9 pts
Test 9: Sunny macro
We need more data points. So here's a sunny macro shot, around 15cm focus. Here is the overall scene:
You can grab the original photos from the Lumia 950 XL and Xperia 5 iii, for your own analysis.
To look at the images in more detail here, here are fairly central 1:1 crops, from the Lumia and then the Xperia 5 mark iii, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
I can't split these, they're both excellent. And raising the question as to how is it possible for the Xperia 5 iii to mess up landscape shots so badly and get close-up shots so perfectly? I don't think I've ever seen a phone camera be this schizophrenic!
Lumia 950 XL: 10 pts; Xperia 5 iii: 10 pts
Test 10: HDR test
A landscape again - eek - but this time testing under extreme HDR conditions, straight into a sunset. Here is the overall scene:
You can grab the original photos from the Lumia 950 XL and Xperia 5 iii, for your own analysis.
To look at the images in more detail here, here are fairly central 1:1 crops, from the Lumia and then the Xperia 5 mark iii, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
Yet again there's so much precision in the Lumia shot by comparison. There's imprecision in the Sony landscape characteristic of, say, fingerprints on the camera glass, except that I've cleaned it over and over again - the glass is spotless. So perhaps it's an imperfection in another optical element in the stack, one that comes into play for long distance subjects?
Regardless, the Sony output for this extra landscape is pretty awful, worthy of a budget device. Sorry, Sony, maybe this can be fixed in updates?
Lumia 950 XL: 10 pts; Xperia 5 iii: 7 pts
Test 11: Night time
One further landscape, doubling as a night test, under extreme low light. Here is the overall scene:
You can grab the original photos from the Lumia 950 XL and Xperia 5 iii, for your own analysis.
To look at the images in more detail here, here are fairly central 1:1 crops, from the Lumia and then the Xperia 5 mark iii, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
Although the faults aren't as obvious here, since the competing crop isn't quite so perfect, the Lumia shot here has a lot more detail if you look closely. At this point I've no idea what Sony is smoking with its image processing algorithms. Last year's mark ii (which I have here, long term) got updates and images ended up just a little 'soft', but far more useable than what we have here. On the mark iii, those updates can't come fast enough.
Lumia 950 XL: 9 pts; Xperia 5 iii: 7 pts
Scores on the doors
For the record, the scores add up as:
- Sony Xperia 5 iii (2021): 93 pts
- Lumia 950 XL (2015): 90 pts
Which is very misleading - I'm not saying this as a Lumia apologist, but standard snaps, standard scenes, are definitely flawed on the Xperia - and to get sunny landscapes wrong then something is wrong in hardware or software. I'm going to get the 5 iii back in nearer Christmas and I'm hoping that a) it's a different physical unit (to eliminate the possibility of this being hardware-related), and b) Sony has fixed whatever's wrong in updates in the meantime.
The Sony phone winning here, in terms of points, is then down to zoom performance - which is pretty darned good overall. The Xperia 1 iii and 5 iii have a unique periscope system and with software tweaks the combination could be outstanding. It's just not quite there yet. But please, Sony, fix what the main sensor is outputting for distant (over 10m) subjects first!