Quick Camera Comparison 950XL vs S6 Edge

[HiroEX]

Stopped by the MS Store and played a bit with the 950XL
Grabbed this shot to compare to my S6 Edge
http://1drv.ms/1LMKYIt
http://1drv.ms/1Gcnk5X
What are everyone's thoughts?
Does anyone know why the 950XL only maxxing out at 16MP? Is it downsampling?
Pretty slick device though, the iris scanner was pretty cool, and worked quite well.

Quick note: I believe you should have access to the original full un-resized image by clicking up top where it says "View Original"

Added some new shots (with a few raw DNG files)
https://onedrive.live.com/redir?res...07&authkey=!AGI45fiMgzDRolM&ithint=folder,jpg
Quick apology for the finger in the shot I did set both Edge and 950XL to a fixed 100ISO in the shots. I couldn't find a way to set the shutter speed on my Android device, but I could with the ISO, so that's what I went with.

 

[Krystianpants]

The first one seems to have more accurate color. My guess is that's the edge. His shirt looks more green in the second pic.. Well teal.

 

[Harshv61]

S6 is having brighter image with better details. If anyone can share raw DNG, we can have an accurate comparison.

 

[Clinton_O]

The first one seems to have more accurate color. My guess is that's the edge. His shirt looks more green in the second pic.. Well teal.

first is the xl i believe, I like the second picture more even tho id agree with you that the first has better color.

 

[HiroEX]

Does anyone know if you can access the DNG file without connecting it to a computer? I suppose W10 now has file browser access... I can try and grab a similar shot tomorrow and see if I can get a hold of the DNG file

 

[Harshv61]

My 1020 on W10 don't yet support raw. No idea whether DNG files can be accessible via file explorer. But try and see if it works. Also if possible, share some more comparisons :smile: , preferably nearby 1-2 feet distanced objects.

 

[Guzzler3]

http://1drv.ms/1LMKYIt = S6 Edge
http://1drv.ms/1Gcnk5X = Lumia 950XL

I can't say which one is more accurate, because I wasn't there to compare.

 

[imnotevenhererightnow]

Very interesting comparison here and I thank you for doing it.

Anyone saying that one image is definitively better than the other really isn't being honest to either image. The S6 image is obviously better at sharpening/smoothing, perhaps to a fault. On the other hand, the 950XL seems to have more accurate lighting (perhaps to its detriment as well).

Personally, I can't wait for a detailed review of the 950/XL camera because I think there is obviously going to be some real contrast between it and what has been considered one of the best cameras of 2015 (that of the S6/Edge).

 

[o4komodo]

Does anyone know why the 950XL only maxxing out at 16MP? Is it downsampling?

The 1520/930/Icon "maxes out" at 16mp as well.
It's not downsampling. It's how the ratio works shooting 16:9.

Switch it to 4:3 and you will get an effective 19mp image.

 

[emigrating]

That is pretty disappointing to be honest. The S6 is clearly producing better results IMO. The 950 isn't bad, but it's not what I would have expected from their new flagship either. One obviously can't do a fair comparison to other devices based on this, but I feel as though my 1520 produce as good a picture as the 950 XL above.

 

[Cryio]

To be fair, the 920/925/1020/930 weren't the powerhouses in photography they are now at launch, with launch software. It took them a couple of updates to get there. 3/2 updates for the 920/925, Lumia Black, 2 updates for the 1020, Lumia Cyan and 2/1 update for the Icon/930, Lumia Denim.


Expect the 950s to get really good,really fast.

 

[Chomiq]

XL is out of focus. Everything other than the dead center of the image seems OOF. Most noticeable on the girl playing guitar.

first is the xl i believe, I like the second picture more even tho id agree with you that the first has better color.

First one is S6, check filenames. Second starts with WP, so it's 950XL.

XL seems heavy on artifacts too. But that can be solved with shooting in RAW. But that is also now possible on S6 afaik.

 

[falconrap]

The S6's picture is overly bright and inaccurate (inside of a MS store is never THAT bright). While it has a wider field of focus in this picture, the details are softer when you zoom in than the 950's picture. The 950 looks more accurate on the colors, with a touch of oversaturation, but with finer details when you zoom in. I would say the 950's picture is overall better, but the algorithm's could use a little less color pop.

 

[Chomiq]

The S6's picture is overly bright and inaccurate (inside of a MS store is never THAT bright). While it has a wider field of focus in this picture, the details are softer when you zoom in than the 950's picture. The 950 looks more accurate on the colors, with a touch of oversaturation, but with finer details when you zoom in. I would say the 950's picture is overall better, but the algorithm's could use a little less color pop.

Sure, S6 has boosted contrast. As for details, S6 has advantage, as 950XL struggles at edge detection. Compare sharpness in left side of the picture, compare that blue windows 10 shirt, surface 4 area in right corner, check fonts, red "the new office is here" sign in bottom right, exit sign, xbox one box etc. You can't honestly say 950XL has finer details over S6.

That being said 950XL is still running on unfinished software.

 

[taymur]

I am going to type before i read, so that this work as a blind test.
with honestly no idea which is which.
I think the first picture is better, although the colors are disappointing, but colors are easily fixed.
detail on the other hand cant be retrieved.
so i would prefer shooting with the first phone, which ever that is.

ok, after going back to the picture, i realize that the fist picture is the s6.
but i also noticed this:
Shutter speed used on s6 = 1/40, which is good amount of light.
Shutter speed used on 950xl = 1/120.

if this is all auto, i would say the s6 took the better decision, as this situation is better shot at 1/40, maybe a bit less too, 1/120 is fast, thus would require higher ISO (sense this is a fixed aperture), which then affects the overall quality of color and sharpness..etc., but maybe iso was roughly the same, as it is obvious first picture is brighter, which kinda indicates that the xl did not bump the iso that much.

i think Microsoft should work harder on their software.
i wish who ever shot this can do it again, using same shutter speed and iso, i just want to factor out as many parameters regarding software as possible, and have a look at the hardware.

 

[msirapian]

Errr. I've played with 950/XL in the "Cube" a temporary showroom installed by MS France in the heart of Paris. Well, the Windows Camera versions on the presented devices were the same we have on Insider Preview. So :
a) no living images (it was last week)
b) no new algorithms.

I believe the novelties demonstrated by Juha Alakarhu etc. are still to come, and that they had preview versions of Windows Camera.

So I'm not sure there's a point to compare NOW S6 and 950/XL, with a non official camera software. Have you snapshot the "about" of the 950XL Windows Camera? We could see if it's a more advanced camera software, or "just" the same we have now on any Lumia sporting the insider preview.

 

[anon(5841099)]

Not much to say from just a single snapshot.

Exposure and white balance seems more accurate on the Lumia. The Lumia also controls noise quite a bit better. The Galaxy sharpens more and has some blown out highlights but does seem to have better detail in some areas (which could be caused by a number of variables).

I'd take the Lumia image over the Galaxy image, but with JPG processing it comes down to personal preference as well. In the end you can take the RAW image from the Lumia and post process it yourself to apply the same amount of sharpening as the Galaxy without smudging letters or losing other fine detail due to noise removal. The Galaxy was supposed to get RAW support but last I checked up on the S6 it had still not arrived I believe.

 

[jeetu4444]

Cant compare a beta software with finished one...cant see the pics but would only compare when phone is released....thou u have compared my lg g4 camera with samsung s6 and lg g4 wins there...iam sure 950 will be great...

 

[realwarder]

The light one is the Edge and the richer in color is the 950XL. (Image info button shows this)

The Edge is washed out but has a little more detail. The XL is to me a better balance but has less detail.

I'm assuming the XL did a blend (Rich Capture) to create a better overall photo but the consequences were loosing some detail/sharpness.

Personally I prefer the XL shot as it is warmer.

 

[realwarder]

I am going to type before i read, so that this work as a blind test.
with honestly no idea which is which.
I think the first picture is better, although the colors are disappointing, but colors are easily fixed.
detail on the other hand cant be retrieved.
so i would prefer shooting with the first phone, which ever that is.

ok, after going back to the picture, i realize that the fist picture is the s6.
but i also noticed this:
Shutter speed used on s6 = 1/40, which is good amount of light.
Shutter speed used on 950xl = 1/120.

if this is all auto, i would say the s6 took the better decision, as this situation is better shot at 1/40, maybe a bit less too, 1/120 is fast, thus would require higher ISO (sense this is a fixed aperture), which then affects the overall quality of color and sharpness..etc., but maybe iso was roughly the same, as it is obvious first picture is brighter, which kinda indicates that the xl did not bump the iso that much.

i think Microsoft should work harder on their software.
i wish who ever shot this can do it again, using same shutter speed and iso, i just want to factor out as many parameters regarding software as possible, and have a look at the hardware.

1/40 sounds far too long for such a bright store which is why it washed out.

They are both f1.9. Would have been interesting to see an Edge shot for 1/120 to compare the sensor directly with the same exposure and aperture.