Published by Steve Litchfield at 6:17 UTC, August 27th 2016

With Microsoft announcing that they're not making any more smartphones in 2016, the field is seemingly wide open for another company to step in with a Windows 10 Mobile flagship. And, in some ways, the Elite X3 is just this (review coming). But, with the caveat that this is still early days in terms of firmware for the X3, imaging really isn't its strongpoint...

On paper, the X3's camera seems underwhelming. A 10MP sensor (in 16:9 mode, there's no option to change this in software as yet, so we don't know what the 4:3 resolution will work out to, though somewhere around 13MP seems likely), a f/2.2 aperture, only contrast-based auto-focus, and a single LED flash. It's clear that this, despite the overall price of the device, is some way behind the current mid-tier to top end competition, as you'll probably see below, but there are two big caveats to this casual observation:

This is early days for the Elite X3 in terms of firmware and optimisation. I get the impression that there's more to come in terms of low light performance certainly. The Anniversary Update, with its new APIs, will help, as will new device firmware. Given that the X3's fingerprint scanner doesn't work at all at the moment, i.e. it's waiting on the imminent Anniversary Update reaching it, which will enable better biometrics support.

The Elite X3's reason for existence isn't imaging. This is a business tool - unashamedly plastic and tough, yet highly specified internally. The camera isn't one of those high-spec components though - all it needs to do is to be able to snap whiteboards and scan bar codes, I suspect. We're not talking consumer-grade camera phone photography here. The X3 exists for its dual biometrics (when they work, currently waiting for updates), for its Continuum performance, for its toughness/durability, for its loud stereo speakers perhaps (or maybe that's just me), for its expandability via docks and pogo-pin accessories.





Note: The Lumia 950 XL has a choice of resolutions - I felt that the 8MP PureView (oversampled) mode was the best one to go for in matching the (currently) enforced 10MP 16:9 mode of the Elite X3. But the 16MP mode is there on the Lumia if you need it, of course.



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

An arty shot of a tower in Henley, lit in glorious late afternoon sunlight. 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 XL and HP Elite X3, click the links to download. And here are the interesting 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 clarity and purity of the Lumia stands out here - the professional optics, the OIS, the oversampling, the image processing, all contribute to - simply - a better photograph. Of course, as I say, it's early days in terms of X3 firmware. But this is the current state of play...

Test 2: Landscape detail, sunny

A typical landscape shot, here focussing on a prominent sign. 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 XL and HP Elite X3, click the links to download. And here are the interesting 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:

Although the X3 image isn't a million miles from the 950 XL version, everything does seem a bit muted, a bit degraded. Definitely work to do in terms of firmware for the HP teams.

Test 3: Overcast landscape

My standard suburbia test scene, with loads of detail, shot here in overcast conditions as the sun wasn't playing ball. Quite dim, in fact, but a good test of the optics here. 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 XL and HP Elite X3, click the links to download. And here are the interesting 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, the quality of the optics, sensor and programming in the Lumia 950 Xl stand out. The X3's image is typical of a modern mid-range smartphone in 2016.

Test 4: Indoor still life

A little test shot, with a bedside lamp and glass of water, here under just the lamp's own illumination. 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 XL and HP Elite X3, click the links to download. And here are the interesting 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, the purity and noise-less image from the Lumia 950 XL stands out, even with both phone camera using a 1/30s exposure. Look how much noisier and fuzzier the X3 image is.

Test 5: Indoor still life - with FLASH!

The same test shot, with a bedside lamp and glass of water, But here with LED flash turned on. 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 XL and HP Elite X3, click the links to download. And here are the interesting 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:

No, your web browser didn't fail to load the second image. The X3's flash facility is horribly, horribly broken at the moment. Massive over-exposure. I tried this three times and got the same result. Again, early days, and I expect a system firmware update to arrive which fixes this.

Test 6: Ultimate low light

A simple test for how capable the sensor and optics are - in very low light indeed (my own eyes could barely make out detail) indoors, a large photo print on the wall. Here's the overall scene, as shot by the Lumia 950 XL, making it appear MUCH brighter than the print 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 HP Elite X3, click the links to download. And here are the interesting 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 X3's result is pretty accurate in terms of how dark the print was in the room - but there's little excuse for how far it is behind the astonishing result from the Lumia 950 XL camera - it almost does turn night into day. Amazing.

Verdict

In addition to the test scenes above, I shot numerous others on a day out - and half of them (the interesting half) were also (incredibly annoyingly and) retrievably corrupt, i.e. the JPG files couldn't be read on anything I had. And perhaps related is that the Elite X3 tends to reboot after using Camera. Gulp. To be honest, I can't believe that HP let the device ship in this state. This is currently unreviewable - I said to their product manager months ago "Do. Not. Ship. This. With. Threshold." Yet here we are. A smartphone flagship with buggy firmware, old OS and underperforming components (the screen and speakers aren't as bad as the camera, but they're still sub-par) selling for a premium price. More musings on all this in my full review - which I'm tempted to leave for after the Anniversary Update hits the X3, as otherwise it'd just be a train wreck.

In terms of results (so far, I'll update this feature and produce others, no doubt, in the future), the Elite X3's rear camera is akin to that in a typical £100-£150 Android handset, I'd say. Which is not to say that it's a total disaster (aside from flash, at the moment) - see what I said above, consumer-grade photography just isn't supposed to be one of the X3's strengths. Though I do know a fair few Windows 10 Mobile enthusiasts (including me!) who were eying this up as 'a better Lumia 950 XL' and who will be VERY disappointed by the results above. However many caveats I insert!

Thanks to Clove for sending the review Elite X3 over - I can't recommend the X3 - at least, not yet, so go buy something else from them - a top company! Clove.co.uk, of course.