I haven’t been able to confirm this, but it certainly appears that Lumia Camera Classic is going away in favor of the new stock Windows 10 Mobile Camera app. Now, keeping track of the four Lumia Camera apps is a bit confusing, so here’s a quick breakdown.
Continue reading Lumia Camera Classic vs Windows 10 Camera Comparison
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 |
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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.
By Rich W Woods
This video was inspired by a post on WMPowerUser regarding whether or not Microsoft is ignoring dual core phones. I commented that people need to get over it. The dual core Snapdragon S4 Plus was a decrepit, old processor even when it was the only processor that was supported by Windows Phone 8. It really says something when your next generation low end phone outperforms your last generation flagship.
Of course, I got torn apart. I pointed out that a dual core 1.5 GHz dual core Snapdragon S4 Plus is far less powerful than a quad core 1.2 GHz Snapdragon 200. Of course, I probably would have had the same response, that it’s not all about cores and GHz. People aren’t very nice on the Internet.
It doesn’t change the facts though. Watch the Microsoft Lumia 535 outperform the Nokia Lumia 1020.
Continue reading Microsoft Lumia 535 vs Nokia Lumia 1020 Speed Comparison
By Rich W Woods
Yesterday, we compared the Microsoft Lumia 640 XL to the Nokia Lumia Icon. The results were surprising. While the Lumia Icon clearly beat the Lumia 640 XL in terms of performance, the Lumia 640 XL had the better camera. Now it’s time to compare the Lumia 640 XL to the legendary Nokia Lumia 1020.
I’m not expecting the Lumia 640 XL to outperform the Nokia Lumia 1020. The Nokia Lumia 1020 is widely known as the best smart phone camera ever, although Microsoft is not planning a successor. I do want to see how close it is. Also, I expect the Microsoft Lumia 640 XL to outperform the Nokia Lumia 1020 in performance tests.
Continue reading Microsoft Lumia 640 XL vs Nokia Lumia 1020 Comparison
By Rich W Woods
This is my last week with the Microsoft Lumia 640 XL. One thing that has become clear is that this is a flagship camera. In fact, there are only a few differences between the Microsoft Lumia 640 XL and a flagship device. It’s really just awesome.
This time, I want to compare the Microsoft Lumia 640 XL to the Nokia Lumia Icon, which is the flagshipiest flagship Lumia out there. While it’s clear that the Lumia Icon is a better phone with twice as much RAM and a Snapdragon 800 processor, I’m not sure which will have the better camera. We’ll get into that a bit later. First, specs.
Continue reading Microsoft Lumia 640 XL vs Nokia Lumia Icon Comparison: (Spoiler: The 640 XL Wins)
By Rich W Woods
I love the Microsoft Lumia 640 XL. I have been having so much fun with it. Technically, it’s the successor to the Nokia Lumia 1320; however, we didn’t see a lot of the Lumia 1320 here in the United States. The only carrier that saw it was Cricket Wireless, a small carrier.
Needless to say, I don’t have a Lumia 1320 to compare the Lumia 640 XL to, so the next best thing is going to be the Nokia Lumia 635. Now, before I get into it, I want to point out a few things, because while I don’t have a Lumia 1320 on hand to compare it to, I have reviewed the Nokia Lumia 1320, so there are a few key points to make.
The Nokia Lumia 1320 was not a great phone. It was great at being a budget phablet; however, it was very thick, bulky, and heavy. Carrying it around in my pocket made me not want to carry it around in my pocket. It was very uncomfortable.
Continue reading Nokia Lumia 635 vs Microsoft Lumia 640 XL, and the Nokia Lumia 1320 Too
By Rich W Woods
It has been a week now since I started reviewing the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge. I can tell you that it is a stunning device. It’s blazingly fast, it has amazing battery life, and the display is just stunning.
If you know me or you follow FTLoT, you know that I’ve never historically been a fan of Samsung devices. My review of the Galaxy Note 4 was called A Perversion of Innovation. My review of the Note Edge was called Samsung Makes the Note 4 Worse.
I’ve also been told that the Samsung Galaxy S6 is going to change all of that and so far, everyone has been right. The Galaxy S6 is an amazing device. Everyone is also telling me that the Galaxy S6 has a camera that is well far and beyond anything else on the market. I showed that that’s not exactly correct when I compared it to the iPhone 6, but now it’s time for the gold standard test, which is the Nokia Lumia 1020.
Continue reading Nokia Lumia 1020 vs Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Camera Comparison
By Rich W Woods
Today, we discovered that AdDuplex noticed a new Windows Phone with a 5.7″ 1080p display. We also saw that the Nokia Lumia 635 is the most used Windows Phone in the United States. This news comes two days after I received the successor to the Nokia Lumia 635, the Microsoft Lumia 640.
Microsoft announced the Lumia 640 in Barcelona at Mobile World Congress. It is my understanding that the device will be sold for $99.99 in the United States, or at least the carrier locked models will. If that is in fact the case, the Microsoft Lumia 640 will deliver a heck of a lot of value.
The 6xx series of Lumias has historically hung on the border between the low end and the mid-range. Lately, I’ve considered the Nokia Lumia 635 to be a high quality low end device that packs a lot of value for its price tag, rather than a mid-range that doesn’t quite deliver on what a mid-range should. The Microsoft Lumia 640 promises to be a full fledged mid-range device.
Continue reading Nokia Lumia 635 vs Microsoft Lumia 640 Comparison: A Major Upgrade
By Rich W Woods
I have been using the Yezz Biloly 4.7 for about a week and a half now. I love it. It retails for $179.99 and I could see myself using this instead of a flagship. It might not be blazingly fast, but it makes up for it in form factor and fashion. It’s super thin and light and it’s beautiful.
I want to compare it to the Nokia Lumia 1020. I don’t expect the camera to live up to the Lumia 1020, as no phones really do. We all know that the Lumia 1020 has one of the best smart phone cameras on the market. The question is about how close it comes.
I’m also curious about benchmarks. All of the original Windows Phone 8 phones used dual core Snapdragon S4 processors. They’re dinosaurs now, compared to the Windows Phone 8.1 phones that use quad core processors. I want to see how the flagship Windows Phone 8 with 1.5 GHz dual core processors stand up to even the low end 1.2 GHz quad core processors in the Yezz Billy 4.7 or the Microsoft Lumia 535.
Continue reading Nokia Lumia 1020 vs Yezz Billy 4.7 Comparison
By Rich W Woods
The Nokia Lumia 520 was the best selling Windows Phone in the history of the platform. The Lumia 530 was slated to be the successor to the Lumia 520; however, it didn’t deliver on the value that the Lumia 520 delivered. The camera has a fixed focus, it has half the storage, it’s thicker, heavier, it only records 480p video, and worst of all, it doesn’t have the physical camera button. The one improvement in the Lumia 530 was that they used a quad core processor, a 1.2 GHz Snapdragon 200 to be exact, to replace the 1 GHz dual core Snapdragon S4 Plus in the Lumia 520.
Then came the Microsoft Lumia 435. The Microsoft Lumia 435 uses a 2 MP fixed focus camera and a dual core Snapdragon 200 processor. When it came out, I said a lot of “If the Lumia 530 wasn’t quite low end enough for you”. When Microsoft asked me to review it, I was very skeptical; however, over the last five days, the Microsoft Lumia 435 has really shown me just how wrong I was.
I compared the Nokia Lumia 520 to the Microsoft Lumia 435 and while the Nokia Lumia 520 had the far superior camera, the Microsoft Lumia 435 was the better phone. It has 1 GB of RAM, which is a very useful feature.
Continue reading Nokia Lumia 530 vs Microsoft Lumia 435 Comparison