Camera Comparison - Lumia 950, 830 & 925

[JohnBarry2]

I have had a few less than favorable things to say about the 950. My biggest complaint is the camera on the 950, its been a huge let down to say the least. You can clearly see that the 950 does not focus well in this comparison, all settings are on automatic.

I sometimes have problems with poor focus with multiple people in the photo. I can manually adjust the focus for a better photo but thats not practical on a camera for every shot. Action shots come out very poor. Why no panorama or night shot or action/sports setting. The video seems to a better job focusing when the photo wont focus but sometimes the video will start focus hunting for a split second or two during the video.

I am curious if anyone else is experiencing the same focusing issues.

I gave the camera about 10 seconds to focus for each photo whether it needed it or not. Here are the results. I cant blame W10 because my 830 has W10 update .29, just like my 950, the 925 is running W8.1.

 

[tangledW]

Was this comparison before or after today's update which apparently fixed some auto focusing issues?

Edit: Wow. After looking at your photos, you're either doing something wrong or your 950 camera is faulty. My 950 takes crystal clear photos and has never produced anything like that (I use my phone for auditing purposes and take 10-50 photos a day).

 

[JohnBarry2]

The pics were taken an hour ago, after the camera update.

I was holding off on this post for the last few days hoping an update would be released to address it but after the .29 update and then the camera update, well i guess i lost hope. It may be time to return this phone and say goodbye to windows phone.

 

[tangledW]

After the camera update

Dang, read my edit, I've never seen results like that.

 

[JohnBarry2]

Good to hear. I will take the phone back for and try a new one.

 

[DCProjMgr]

FWIW, the color and exposure on the 950 samples look great. My pics have been fine, but I tap on the spot want I in focus before I take a shot. Never really trusted a phone to make the right decision.

Also for an in-depth camera comparison between the 950, 930, and 1020, take a look at Steve Litchfield's article.

 

[JohnBarry2]

I will try to pick up a new phone today and post the results.

 

[JohnBarry2]

FYI - I got my replacement 9 days ago and still have all of the same problems with video and photos, mostly focus hunting and still very inconsistent photos, poor quality of action shots and the video still skips frames here and there. I was hoping to get the firmware update before xmas so i could use this camera for xmas photos but i guess ill be carrying around my canon.

I dont know how others can have such a different experience. I would love to see WindowsCentral put a simple poll on the home page with 5 questions related W10 and the 950 to get a better feel for everyones experience. How do you explain this?

 

[gegenfunf]

I'm also having the same issue with blurry pictures. My wife and I both have the 950. Her phone focuses quickly and takes great pictures while mine takes a few seconds to focus and then the pictures still come out blurry. I guess I'll see if I can get a replacement from ATT.

 

[JohnBarry2]

I just reviewed the 10 videos o took during Xmas eve and Xmas day, none of them came out well. Since this is my second 950 with the same problem I am going to bring it to MS store and then probably throw it out the window

 

[InsGadget]

Mine focuses very quickly and accurately.

 

[JohnBarry2]

The firmware update on the 950 was supposed to improve the camera focusing issues and it did. Sadly it took almost a year which is one of the many reasons the 950 will be my last Windows phone.

Now I have a slue of other problems, skype, messaging, contact photos, absence of photo syncing and many more. The OS still needs a lot of polish, feels very amateur compared to an iPhone and Samsung Android.

 

[mtiede]

My wife's 950 and my 950 xl have none of the problems you have. Maybe it is some particular app that you have that we don't that is somehow screwing you up.