Published by Steve Litchfield at 7:43 UTC, May 2nd 2019

I've not tested the cameras of any of the Samsung S10 range up until now, not least because the main camera and telephoto are identical to those on my personal Galaxy S9+, already tested here , here , here , here , here and here (no, really - it's had a lot of competitive coverage!) But, after much zoom coverage recently ( 950 XL/P30 Pro ), I thought I'd go in the other direction - what does a wide angle lens bring to the table? Here I pitch the 2015 Lumia 950 against the 2019 Galaxy S10e, both mid-sized phones rather than giants/phablets. For a change!

As usual, I've thrown in a wide (pun intended!) mix of shots in terms of subjects and lighting conditions. Now, obviously, the Lumia 950 has no wide angle lens, so there's no point in scoring 1 for 1, etc. I'll still compare the 'standard' shot at the overall and pixel level, but I'm going to throw in a discretionary point or two for the Galaxy S10e when its wide angle shot is significantly better/useful. I guess the super-picky might then say 'well, what about extra points for the Lumia for lossless zoom?', but then I'd point to the standard S10 and S10+, which both have a 2x telephoto lens plus the wide angle. So no complaining at the back, please - I'm trying to be fair all round.

Notes:

I shot at the default output (8MP/12MP) resolutions for 4:3, leaving headroom (in the Lumia's case) for the advantages of oversampling and noise reduction.

All photos were handheld in full auto - both phone cameras have 'pro' modes and RAW output if you really want to fiddle, of course.



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 linked 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: Bright HDR

An aircraft at my local museum. Here is the scene, from the Lumia 950, you can't get further away from it without going outside the grounds, and then there's a fence in the way. Perfect fodder for a wide angle shot, but here's the standard view first:





You can grab the original photos from the Lumia 950 and Galaxy S10e on my own server, 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 deliberately picked a crop area that was really tough for the phone cameras - underneath the plane, in the shadow. And while the S10 image is noticeably more sharpened than the Lumia's, it's easy to see with the eye that detail is picked out well by its multi-exposure HDR. Now, the Lumia has the after-the-fact HDR adjustment and I was tempted to include the 'all to the max' version from this, but it's not the default and besides, the Lumia's version with shadow is more accurate to what my eye saw. Regardless, it's hard not to give the more modern phone camera a slight win, in terms of surfacing more detail to the casual user.

Microsoft Lumia 950: 9 pts; Samsung Galaxy S10e: 10 pts



Now, as I said above, this test shot is crying out for wide angle treatment, to get more or less the whole plane in, so it's time to switch to the S10e's wide angle lens - click the image to grab the original JPG for your own analysis:





True, there's the obvious 'fish eye' effect from such a wide angle lens, but the resulting photo is striking, I think you'll agree.

Extra S10e points for wide angle effectiveness: 3 pts

Test 2: Sunny snap

Shot with the sun more behind me, this is the archetypal 'holiday snap', here with the aid of my nephew(!) Here is the scene, from the Lumia 950, again you can't get further away from the main subject without going outside the grounds. You can see where this is going again, but here's the standard view, anyway:





You can grab the original photos from the Lumia 950 and Galaxy S10e on my own server, 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:

With the main subject (my nephew) well lit, the Lumia's superior algorithms come into play and you can see natural detail in his hair, for example. The scene looks great, even at the pixel level, while the S10's image is noticeably artificial - at least to my eyes. While the Lumia wins this easily, it has to also get docked a point for the usual slight yellow/pink cast on areas which should be white.

Microsoft Lumia 950: 9 pts; Samsung Galaxy S10e: 8 pts



Again, this test shot is worth trying out wide angle treatment, to get more or less the whole plane in, so it's time to switch to the S10e's wide angle lens - click the image to grab the original JPG for your own analysis:





The wide shot isn't quite as successful here - most of the plane is in shot now, but optically distorted and the human subject is dramatically de-emphasised.

Extra S10e points for wide angle effectiveness: 1 pts

Test 3: Sunny snap

Indoors in lowish light, a Spitfire model, shot behind glass, here's the 950's view:





You can grab the original photos from the Lumia 950 and Galaxy S10e on my own server, 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:

Yet again the Lumia's purity shines at the pixel level, while the S10e's over-sharpening is simply ugly. In my humble opinion. You might disagree, but you'd be wrong(!)

Microsoft Lumia 950: 10 pts; Samsung Galaxy S10e: 7 pts

Test 4: Low light landscape

In low light, dusk, with the scene darker than the Lumia 950 shows it here:





You can grab the original photos from the Lumia 950 and Galaxy S10e on my own server, 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:

The Lumia's purity, especially for greenery, under savage lighting conditions, is extraordinary. THIS is why I rated it so highly for so long. Look at the leaves. Look at the mesh on the church's locked outer doors. The Galaxy S10e camera loses all of this detail in its attempt to sharpen and edge-enhance. Plus the Samsung also tries to make the scene look too light.

Microsoft Lumia 950: 10 pts; Samsung Galaxy S10e: 7 pts



This being a landscape, I also tried the wide angle treatment, on the S10e. Click the image to grab the original JPG for your own analysis:





This turned out very well, in terms of setting the church in context, even if makes the graves and front grass look large and the church itself quite small!

Extra S10e points for wide angle effectiveness: 2 pts

Test 5: Macro time

Back in the sun, here's a flower from our garden:





You can grab the original photos from the Lumia 950 and Galaxy S10e on my own server, 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:

Both macros aren't quite right - the Lumia's isn't quite as naturally sharp/focussed as I'd have liked, while the S10's is slightly too 'cold' and too contrast-y. I'm tempted to dock the 950's shot overall for having colours which are too 'warm', but then it was a lovely warm day and I think the overall photo did deliver that feeling.

Microsoft Lumia 950: 9 pts; Samsung Galaxy S10e: 8 pts

Test 6: Low light indoor detail

Well, not entirely low light, in that while the church is unlit, the last of the day's natural light was coming in the windows above the altar, and through the slim side windows:





You can grab the original photos from the Lumia 950 and Galaxy S10e on my own server, 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:

Down here at the pixel level, there's dramatically less noise and greater genuine detail in the Lumia, as hopefully your own eyes can attest. Wood looks like wood, flowers look like real flowers, and so on.

Microsoft Lumia 950: 10 pts; Samsung Galaxy S10e: 7 pts

Again, I also tried the wide angle treatment, on the S10e. Click the image below to grab the original JPG for your own analysis:





Again, all very effective and arty, I'm starting to understand the appeal of wide angle photography... Though in fairness a lot of the extra field of view is in darkness here, so you don't actually gain that much.

Extra S10e points for wide angle effectiveness: 1 pts

Test 7: Ultra low light flowers

In the gloomily-lit church, in the deepest possible shadow, here's the 950's view of some flowers, already made to look massively brighter than they were to my eyes:





You can grab the original photos from the Lumia 950 and Galaxy S10e on my own server, 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:

Both phone cameras did remarkably well, bringing out some colours and detail. Although the S10e's image is slightly noisier (this is all beyond the PureView oversampling's limits in the 950), it does bring out genuine and delicate detail in the central flower in the crop, so gets a slight win.

Microsoft Lumia 950: 8 pts; Samsung Galaxy S10e: 9 pts

Verdict

For the record, the scores add up as:

Lumia 950 (2015): 65 pts Galaxy S10e (2019): 63 pts

Somewhat remarkably, the four years older camera phone wins out over the newer device with extra wide angle lens in my scoring. As someone who's seen his personal Galaxy S9+ imaging improve over its lifetime as Samsung tweaks the imaging routines, I do think that the S10e is in need of a few updates to dial back the sharpening, the same old story with new Samsung phones.

The wide angle lens does work very well and gives extra creative possibilities. And at this point it's worth noting again that the vanilla S10 also has the 2x telephoto (just as on the S9+) and, with some zoom test scenes, this would raise the camera system over the Lumia's. So yes, it's taking a Samsung Android flagship three cameras to overcome the single lens in the Lumia. But multi-camera set-ups are the way forward for 'thin' phones, so why not use them?

In the meantime, the S10e is a great replacement for a Lumia 950 owner - your images might not be as natural and pure, but you do get a wider range of framing options, plus a cracking modern phone with stereo speakers, headphone jack, standard storage expansion, capacitive fingerprint scanner, and much more, all at a sub-£700 price.



