Published by Steve Litchfield at 6:05 UTC, August 22nd 2019

Credit to Huawei (whatever they may or may not be doing to rub Donald Trump up the wrong way), they've been putting a lot of work into the P30 Pro smartphone's camera system, with update after update, each quoting imaging improvements. And for each update ('185' here) I test the phone (quoted by me as 'being what the Lumia 1020 would have been if Nokia had carried on development for the next five years') against some likely contenders. Here it's the benchmark flagship that's the Lumia 950 XL, but in a subtle twist I'm only looking at the main 40MP camera - I'm not involving that periscope 5x zoom. That way, any hyper zoom examples won't skew the scoring. Which of the two phone cameras can produce the high quality output?

I do realise that I'm playing something of a foul on the Huawei P30 Pro - the 5x zoom and wide angle lenses are very useful when you want to go beyond simple 1:1 photos. But I'm also interested in the quality of those photos, from the main camera that you'll use far more often than the niche lenses.

As usual, all photos were taken on full auto and handheld, as a regular user would do. No tripods or RAW editing sessions needed! (Though both the 950 and P30 Pro can shoot in DNG/RAW, of course, should you be even more of an imaging nerd than me and that way inclined.)

Notes:

I've also shot at the default output resolutions at 4:3 on each, getting the advantages of oversampling and noise reduction in both cases.



The 8MP shot from the 950 and the 10MP shot from the P30 Pro, added to field of view differences, do mean slightly different crops below, but you'll still be able to compare what each phone camera has achieved.

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 (hazy) sunny suburban scene. Here is the scene, from the Lumia 950:





You can grab the original photos from the Lumia 950 and P30 Pro, 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:

A clear win for the Lumia 950 XL at the pixel level, with sensible levels of sharpening (the Huawei still overdoes the edge enhancement, even on this fourth major software update), plus the Lumia nails the exposure while the P30 Pro over-exposes by a good 'stop'.

Scores: Lumia 950 XL: 10; P30 Pro: 8

Test 2: Sunny (and HDR) macro

A beautiful ornamental owl (so not one of Rafe's!) Here is the scene, from the Lumia 950, shooting at around 30cm partly into the sun:





You can grab the original photos from the Lumia 950 and P30 Pro, 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:

Opinions will vary here. The P30 Pro sharpens and exagerates, bringing a fierce quality to the owl's stare, while the 950 XL's more 'natural' representation gives a gentler, more cuddy impression. There's slightly more real detail in the P30 Pro image, but it's somewhat lost in other made-up detail from all the sharpening. A score draw overall, though you'll have your own favourite here, I think.

Scores: Lumia 950 XL: 9; P30 Pro: 9

Test 3: Sunny detail at 2 metres

A couple of new charging stations, shot in excellent light. Here is the scene, from the Lumia 950:





You can grab the original photos from the Lumia 950 and P30 Pro, 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:

There's little to choose between the two images, but I have to give a win by a (slight) nose for the 950 XL as Huawei's sharpening again damages the image slightly - look at the text on the station and controls and it's slightly clearer in each case with the Lumia. It's tempting to ask why Huawei exagerates images so much at the pixel level, but of course the answer is that the images 'pop' more on the phone screen, with an impression of immense detail - even if some of this is actually made up.

Scores: Lumia 950 XL: 10; P30 Pro: 9

Test 4: Flower attraction

A typical flowery shot, but I can't get in really close to do a 1:1 pixel-level analysis, since shooting at this close quarters inevitably means slightly different focus points for different camera systems. So it's hard to compare to areas with equally precise focus. Instead, I'm showing the whole images, scaled down (with originals linked), for analysis and comment. You can grab the original photos from the Lumia 950 and P30 Pro, for your own analysis.

Here's the scaled down (and slightly cropped) comparison then, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:

Again I think that the P30 Pro is erring on the side of over-exposure, with some yellow tones getting lost 'to white'. Meanwhile the Lumia 950 XL image is rich and satisfying - you'll be getting why I consider it one of the modern imaging benchmarks still, even almost four years after release.

Scores: Lumia 950 XL: 10; P30 Pro: 8

Test 5: Portrait time

No human wanted to pose for me(!), so I made do with this statue, shot at about a metre! Here is the scene, from the P30 Pro, here allowing it to use its Portrait mode (which is cheating slightly, since it uses two lenses, but hey...):





You can grab the original photos from the Lumia 950 and P30 Pro, 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:

Aside from minor edge errors, the P30 Pro does a very good job at separating the 'human' subject from the background - this is why 'Portrait' modes have become so popular in recent times. The Lumia 950 XL has nothing like it, of course, so we're left with optical depth of field - which is too large for separation at this distance. So a natural win for the newer device.

Scores: Lumia 950 XL: 8; P30 Pro: 10

Test 6: Low light take 1

Low light is where it all comes together in terms of seeing what oversampling and pixel-binning can do, of course. Here is the scene, from the Lumia 950 (and note that the small LED strings at the front of the pub were animated/cycling, accounting for small differences in their appearance here):





You can grab the original photos from the Lumia 950 and P30 Pro, 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:

I'm sorry Huawei, the P30 Pro may have a larger 40MP main sensor, but 'pixel-binning' isn't as sophisticated in the oversampling that Nokia pioneered on the 808, Lumia 1020, 930, 1520 and then 950 range of camera phones. You can see for yourself that the P30 Pro's image is ugly down at the pixel level - look at the steps and wall to the left of the door. The image processing has all the raw data it needs to do a better job, so maybe the solution for Huawei is not to try and 'lighten' low light so much and, certainly, not to over-sharpen in low light.

Scores: Lumia 950 XL: 10; P30 Pro: 8

Test 7: Low light take 2

At dusk, very low light, lit by a single street lamp (see the shadows), and made by both phones to look a LOT lighter than the scene was to my eyes! Here is the scene, from the Lumia 950:





You can grab the original photos from the Lumia 950 and P30 Pro, 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:

Cutting the P30 Pro some slack, this frame is centred on straight railings and definite edges, at which Huawei's software excels. As a result, and also factoring in clearer detail elsewhere in the frame, I'd give the P30 Pro the win here, even though the amp-ing up of contrast and edges for the stonework borders on offensive and garish! Ultimately, both phones produced decent snaps considering the light levels - again, way darker than the photos make it seem.

Scores: Lumia 950 XL: 7; P30 Pro: 9

Verdict

For the record, the scores add up as:

Lumia 950 XL (2015): 64 pts Huawei P30 Pro (2019): 61 pts

Thus, despite four iterations of camera algorithms, I maintain that in terms of snaps with the main sensors, the Lumia 950 XL, venerable though it is, still produces superior photos. They're richer and less artificial. Your comments welcome, based on your own observations here.

The kicker, of course, is that the Huawei P30 Pro also has the excellent wide angle and 5x telephoto lenses, so you can shoot more subjects under more conditions (plus way better video zoom), plus it's a vastly more modern device in terms of power and OS compatibility. Do I still think the P30 Pro is a natural choice for someone used to Lumia imaging? I think yes, if you're going to make use of the zoom and wide angle systems. Otherwise get a Google Pixel of one generation or another (which use PureView in the time domain, rather than the physical).