This is going to be the first installment in a three part series. It will be three comparisons and the third contender will be the Windows 10 Camera app, which is supposedly the replacement for Lumia Camera Classic.

Nokia Camera was a terrible camera app. I’ll say it again. Nokia Camera was terrible. We put up with it because the app took such amazing pictures. It took a long time to focus, there was no dedicated button to switch between front and rear cameras, no dedicated button for Settings, and so on.

Microsoft bought Nokia and Nokia Camera became Lumia Camera. Lumia Camera 5 came out and Lumia Camera became Lumia Camera Classic.

Lumia Camera 5 came with Lumia Denim, the firmware update that was bundled with Windows Phone 8.1.1. It’s only available on select Windows Phones, such as the Lumia 830, Lumia Icon, Lumia 930, and Lumia 1520. When Microsoft released the Lumia 640 and 640 XL, it was available on those as well.

Lumia Camera 5 solves just about all of the things that were wrong with Lumia Camera Classic, but it also takes different pictures. Here, we’re actually going to put those pictures side by side.

I would also note that I still have a beef with all of the Lumia Camera apps, which is that certain things can be edited from within the app and some are only in other Lumia apps, such as Lumia Creative Studio. I would love to see all of those features in the Lumia Camera app or even in the Photos app.

So let’s look at Lumia Camera Classic and Lumia Camera 5 side by side. Both photos were taken with the Lumia 930. To be fair with each other, they both used automatic settings. To enlarge the photo, click on it. To view the full size image, there is a link in the carousel.

Lumia Camera Classic	Lumia Camera 5

Obviously, both cameras take similar photos. After all, they were taken with the same camera with the same firmware, but there are some differences.

Lumia Camera Classic - Lumia Camera 5

Lumia Camera Classic - Lumia Camera 5

Lumia Camera Classic - Lumia Camera 5

One thing that I noticed in some of my camera tests with the Lumia 640 is that the photos seemed to be oversaturated. I see now that that’s not the case. We do notice that the reds seem darker with Lumia Camera 5.

Lumia Camera 5 also comes with a feature called Rich Capture. It’s a wonderful feature, which is why it’s named after me. Here’s a video I did that shows off Rich Capture and what it does.

Now, let’s look at some samples:

Lumia Camera 5 without Flash - Rich Capture

Lumia Camera 5 with Flash - Rich Capture

Lumia Camera 5 without Flash - Rich Capture

Lumia Camera 5 with Flash - Rich Capture

Lumia Camera 5 without Flash - Rich Capture

Lumia Camera 5 with Flash - Rich Capture

The idea behind Rich Capture is to allow the user to adjust the exposure of an image after it’s taken. When you take the photo with a flash, it allows you to choose the image with a flash, without the flash, or anywhere in between, which is a huge benefit.

Then there’s the front camera. I don’t have my Lumia 640 XL review unit anymore, which is the only phone with a solid front camera that’s got Lumia Camera 5. Because of this, we’re going to do it with the 1.2 MP front camera on the Nokia Lumia 930. i’m not expecting to see big differences here.

It could be the lighting or a slightly different angle, but I think Lumia Camera 5 does a better job on the front camera.

Sadly, I don’t think this comparison is going to matter. As far as I can tell, Lumia Camera Classic dies with the birth of Windows 10 Mobile. Every phone I have running the Insider Preview doesn’t have Lumia Camera on it anymore unless it’s a phone with Lumia Camera 5, such as the Lumia 930 or the Lumia Icon.

I really wanted to get this comparison in before Lumia Camera Classic is gone forever.

When Microsoft bought Nokia, the firm made the pledge to open up all of the Nokia specific apps to all Windows Phones. They have not made good on that promise, even a little. Even apps such as Lumia Creative Studio aren’t available on non-Lumia Windows Phones. This is another reason why I think that Lumias ultimately hurt the Windows Phone platform, despite the fact that they’re amazing phones.

The new stock Camera app in Windows 10 Mobile is the first step toward that goal. After all, Windows Phone has always had a stock Camera app, which is pretty terrible. Big companies such as HTC, Samsung, and LG have their own camera apps, but smaller companies such as Blu and Yezz use the stock Camera app.

In Windows 10 Mobile, the stock Camera app will be much more similar to the Lumia Camera app. Let’s just hope it works as well. If you’re running the Windows 10 Mobile Insider Preview, you know that the stock Camera app is far from complete.