Published by Steve Litchfield at 10:38 UTC, June 27th 2017

In terms of imaging, the legendary Lumia 950 XL is still relevant in terms of specs in 2017, I'd argue, even if it's hard to buy one new. Here I've pitched it against the very latest, hot off the press OnePlus 5, with dual rear cameras. The latter claims telephoto capabilities, but how will it perform against the world champion, especially since zoom is one of the 950 XL's few weak points?

See elsewhere for my thoughts on the OnePlus 5 as an overall smartphone, but suffice it to say that it's super-powerful in terms of internals and good value in the 2017 pantheon.

In terms of comparing the OnePlus's camera with the 950 XL's:

the resolutions best match is at 16MP/20MP (depending on camera unit used) for the OnePlus 5 (at 4:3) and 16MP for the 950 XL in 16:9. (I do like to match up resolutions as best possible so that I can use Rafe's fancy interactive comparator, below.)

all photos were taken on full 'auto' on both phones, unless stated otherwise.

I've used the 950's snap as the reference 'scene' overview, since the Lumia's output is a known quantity and because the 950 XL has yet to be bettered in any of my tests.

But the proof of the pudding is in the eating, as they say. So let’s start snapping and pit the results against each other, using our Famed Interactive Comparator (FIC). All shots are cropped to 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.

Test 1: Sunny scene

A distant tower block in a suburban setting against a sunny blue sky. Here is the whole scene, as presented by the Lumia 950 XL:





In case you want to grab the original images to do your own analysis, here they are, from the Lumia 950 XL and OnePlus 5, 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:

Under these conditions, there's not that much to choose between the phone camera images, though there's more (genuine) colour in the 950's rendition, plus there's evidence of noise reduction blurring details down at the pixel level in the OnePlus 5's version - look at the left edge of the tower block here, for example. It's a win for the 950 over all.

Lumia 950 XL: 10 pts; OnePlus 5: 8 pts

Test 2: Same sunny scene, 2x zoom

2x zoom is what the OnePlus 5 promises, so let's pitch it against the normally zoom-shy Lumia 950 XL 16MP camera mode. Gulp.

In case you want to grab the original zoomed images to do your own analysis, here they are, from the Lumia 950 XL and OnePlus 5, 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:

There is slightly more detail (and plenty of sharpening) in the OnePlus 5's zoomed photo, but ultimately it's disappointing - it turns out that the telephoto lens is only about a 1.33x optical advantage and that the rest of the '2x' is made up from traditional digital interpolation. The 950 XL's zoom is ultimately as blocky as usual, though the superior colours help keep the playing field level-ish. A slight win here for the OnePlus 5.

Lumia 950 XL: 7 pts; OnePlus 5: 8 pts

Test 3: Indoor scene

Indoors, with some colourful wool bundles, at about 2 metres, under artificial light. Here is the whole scene, as presented by the Lumia 950 XL:





In case you want to grab the original images to do your own analysis, here they are, from the Lumia 950 XL and OnePlus 5, 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:

Using the standard 16MP 1x OnePlus 5 camera, the results are disappointing here - multi-frame technology is supposed to produce pure, noise-free images and it's clear here that not only is there noise, but also the colours aren't anywhere near as pure and vibrant as those from the Lumia 950 XL. And remember that this is all with the latter in its non-PureView mode - in normal use, I recommend snapping on the 950 range in 8MP PureView mode, with oversampling making things even more pure.

Lumia 950 XL: 10 pts; OnePlus 5: 8 pts

Test 4: Dusk HDR scene

The light was fading, but this clock is always a good test, especially set against the brightness of the sunset. Here is the whole scene, as presented by the Lumia 950 XL:





In case you want to grab the original images to do your own analysis, here they are, from the Lumia 950 XL and OnePlus 5, 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:

Hmm..... the OnePlus 5 makes a better fist of the HDR aspect, though - in fairness - the Lumia 950 XL did snap using the Rich Capture system and I can even now go back and retrospectively adjust the degree of HDR, always a useful feature. In terms of detail and colours, the 950 XL wins out, with the superior ZEISS optics producing clearer numerals on the clock face, and with the grey stone perfect, while the OnePlus 5 camera produces a blue tint which really isn't there in real life.

Lumia 950 XL: 9 pts; OnePlus 5: 7 pts

Test 5: Same dusk scene, 2x zoom

Again, it's zoom time - 2x composite zoom against blocky digital zoom.

In case you want to grab the original zoomed images to do your own analysis, here they are, from the Lumia 950 XL and OnePlus 5, 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:

As you can see, the framing wasn't identical here - with no gradations on the Lumia 950 XL's zoom UI, there was no way to go accurately to '2x'. In terms of detail, I'm not convinced that the OnePlus 5 composite zoom produces any more detail - and does introduce a truck load of digital noise. This is mainly due to the necessary small f/2.6 aperture on the telephoto lens - it can't really cope with low light. You know what? I think I prefer the 950 XL's version, even though digital zoom is its weakest suit!

Lumia 950 XL: 7 pts; OnePlus 5: 6 pts

Test 6: Very low light flowers

A hanging basket near our front door in very low light, lit only by a weak porch lamp. Here is the whole scene, as presented by the Lumia 950 XL:





In case you want to grab the original images to do your own analysis, here they are, from the Lumia 950 XL and OnePlus 5, 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 phone cameras do remarkably well here, considering the light levels - the OnePlus 5 applies extra noise reduction and sharpening but does handle the colours slightly better and the white of the flower stays generally white and not veering into shadowy blue. A score draw overall.

Lumia 950 XL: 9 pts; OnePlus 5: 9 pts

Test 7: Night time

My standard night time test, with just a glimmer of light left in the sky. Here is the whole scene, as presented by the Lumia 950 XL and, as usual on the device, showing the scene as much lighter and brighter than it actually was to my eyes!:





In case you want to grab the original images to do your own analysis, here they are, from the Lumia 950 XL and OnePlus 5, 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 OnePlus 5 main camera didn't do too badly here, the shot's pretty crisp, though very noisy - but there's no comparison to the Lumia 950 XL's shot. The ZEISS optics, the OIS, the larger sensor, the more mature image processing, all make for a vastly superior photo. (And yes, the 950 XL focussed automatically here - it doesn't always focus that well in very low light.)

Lumia 950 XL: 9 pts; OnePlus 5: 7 pts

Test 8: Portrait

The speciality of the OnePlus 5's dual cameras, so I'm favouring it over the Lumia here. Hey ho. Here is the Lumia 950 XL's version of a portrait shot at around 1.2m:





And here's the OnePlus 5's special effects shot:





In case you want to grab the original images to do your own analysis, here they are, from the Lumia 950 XL and OnePlus 5, click the links to download.

The OnePlus 5's Portrait mode is very effective, just as the exact same system was on the iPhone 7 Plus, artily blurring everything it perceives as at a different focal plane to the detected subject. The result is only marred by slight uncertainty at the edges of the subject, especially hair - see the 1:1 crop below:





The Lumia 950 XL also manages to over-saturate the colours on what is (here) an overcast and dull day. So the Lumia produces a colourful and acceptable snap but the OnePlus 5 nails the colours and very nearly nails a DSLR, long lensed 'bokeh' shot from over a metre away. Impressive.

Lumia 950 XL: 6 pts; OnePlus 5: 9 pts

Verdict

As usual, adding up the points gives us a feel for how the two phone cameras did:

Lumia 950 XL: 67/80pts OnePlus 5: 62/80pts

A distinct win for the 20 month old Lumia 950 XL then, even though I was specifically angling much of the above to play to the OnePlus 5's strengths. Overall, the latter's zoom lens is of limited utility and can't compensate for the lower quality optics, with plenty of issues over noise and artefacts at all light levels. I'm sure OnePlus can improve things slightly in updates (there has already been on such, applied before this test), but I doubt it will ever topple the mighty Lumia 950 XL in terms of imaging prowess.

PS. It still beggars belief that the like of DxOMark can proclaim recent phones as top of the imaging tree (e.g. Google Pixel), when my on-screen tests here, which you can verify with your own eyes (e.g. my Pixel test), prove otherwise, that the much-ignored Nokia/Microsoft Lumias are massively underrated in terms of image quality. What about a 'SteveMark'?