Published by Steve Litchfield at 15:49 UTC, April 6th 2017

Six months ago I did a shootout between the two Nokia camera phone classics, the 808 PureView and the Lumia 1020, and the newer Lumia 950 XL and Google Pixel XL. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, the first two triumphed, despite their age, but at some point one has to let go - and there has been renewed interest in a new 950/Pixel shootout, with latest versions of the relevant Camera software. So here we go.





The imaging specs of the Pixel/XL are: 12.3MP f/2.0, dual LED flash, 1/2.3" sensor, Phase Detection and laser auto-focus. On paper, the Lumia 950 XL camera has the edge, thanks to higher native resolution and OIS, but Google do some very clever things with multi-frame processing, so all is not quite as it seems.

Notes:

The cameras in the 950 and 950 XL are identical. Ditto those in the Pixel and Pixel XL. Both smartphone cameras shoot at roughly 8MP in a 16:9 aspect ratio, so I can crop down to 1:1 and there should be no issues with framing, other than minor differences caused by the optics. [The 950 XL also shoots in a higher resolution 16MP mode, though this doesn't use oversampling and is not appropriate here.] All shots were on full 'auto', except where stated. In each case, the overall scene is shown as the Lumia 950 XL sees it - it's a known starting point, if nothing else. I look at full size shots as well as crops. But if you're in any way concerned about the use of crops then just grab the JPGs yourself and compare them at any scale you like.

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 IE or Edge on Windows phones. Sorry about that.

Test 1: Sunny scene

A typical detailed landscape shot. Here's the overall scene, as shot 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 and Google Pixel, 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:

An easy shot for both phones, of course, but the Lumia 950's is just that tiny bit clearer and purer, partly due to the oversampling from the higher resolution sensor and partly because of the ZEISS optics.

Lumia 950 XL: 10 pts; Google Pixel: 9 pts

Test 2: Sunny zoom

The same shot, but doing something the average user would do without thinking - using pinch/sply to zoom in by (here) about 2x. This takes each phone beyond its sensor, of course - even the 950, so it's a tough test. Here's the overall zoomed scene, as shot 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 and Google Pixel, 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 Lumia 950's shot is again clearer and certainly more contrast-packed, though as usual the slightest digital zoom and the Windows 10 Camera goes too far in terms of sharpening and artefacts. So neither zoom is perfect - you could even argue that the Pixel did better because it had to do the whole 2x in software, whereas the 950 gets to 1.5x with smart-cropping into the sensor!

Lumia 950 XL: 8 pts; Google Pixel: 7 pts

Test 3: Sunny macro

A typical close-up shot in ideal lighting. Here's the overall scene, as shot 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 and Google Pixel, 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:

Two perfect photos, of course, this shows above all just how far camera phones have come, at least in good lighting.

Lumia 950 XL: 10 pts; Google Pixel: 10 pts

Test 4: Tricky macro

I tried an almost impossible shot, shooting inside a flower, i.e. looking at detail that my eyes could barely make out (with the sun, my eyes were adjusted for that, so the flower's interior seemed almost black). Here's the overall scene, as shot 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 and Google Pixel, 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:

Two incredible shots again, though the Lumia 950 manages to get focus on the head of the stem too and so gets closest to what I wanted.

Lumia 950 XL: 10 pts; Google Pixel: 9 pts

Test 5: Low and tricky light

A challenging shot, with a bright street lamp, some illuminated foliage and then darkness all around. How would the phone cameras cope? Here's the overall scene, as shot 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 and Google Pixel, 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:

Neither shot is perfect, but both are good considering the range of light I was asking the phones to capture. The Lumia 950 gets the win here by a nose, with less artefacts around its detail, especially on the foliage.

Lumia 950 XL: 9 pts; Google Pixel: 8 pts

Test 6: Low light indoors

One strip light 6 metres away/behind, one table lamp underneath, so there was light around, but not bright and not regular. Here's the overall scene of a mural, around a metre away, as shot 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 and Google Pixel, 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:

Again it's easy to see the advantage of that ZEISS lens and the oversampling, with the 950 pulling out better clarity and colours. Not that the Pixel produces a bad shot, but the Lumia is evidently better.

Lumia 950 XL: 10 pts; Google Pixel: 9 pts

Test 7: Flash test

The same mural, but lit ONLY by the phones' flashes - i.e. in the pitch dark and testing the brightness/efficacy of the equipment. Triple LED versus dual LED! Here's the overall scene, as shot 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 and Google Pixel, 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:

A more dramatic difference this time round, the Lumia 950's OIS made for a 1/12s exposure compared to the Pixel's 1/20s, plus the triple LED clearly puts out more light. Stunning clarity from the 950 here in total darkness.

Lumia 950 XL: 10 pts; Google Pixel: 8 pts

Test 8: Party time!

My standard party test, in low indoor light, with me deliberately dancing/moving and with the phone camera here held by a 'normob', to add extra reality. Here's the overall scene, as shot by the Lumia 950 XL:





To look at the images in more detail, 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:

This is where we miss a phone camera with a Xenon flash, of course. Even the Lumia 950's triple LED flash struggled, and I'd have to mark this test as a draw since there's bound to be variability in how I was moving and how the phone was being held/used. In short, take a proper camera - or a Nokia 808 or 1020 - to a party!

Lumia 950 XL: 6 pts; Google Pixel: 6 pts

Verdict

And the scores are in (as they say on TV):

Lumia 950: 73/80pts Google Pixel: 66/80pts

This replicates the margin from my earlier multi-phone test, so I'm confident of its validity. A very definite win for the Lumia 950/XL yet again - it has topped everything from 2016 and 2017 that I've thrown at it here on AAWP, from the competition. In fact, the only smartphone cameras to beat the Lumia 950/XL unit have been the older Xenon and zoom-equipped Nokias, and even then only under certain use cases.

The Google Pixel camera is the best of the rest at the moment, despite not having OIS, but it seems that you still can't really beat a quality (ZEISS) lens, oversampling and OIS at the end of the day.