The Lumia 950 XL has the best camera Microsoft has ever created. That's what Juha Alakarhu tells us. He's responsible for imaging technology development in Phones at Microsoft. We spoke with him during the launch in New York City and he explained (and showed) the reasons behind the bold statement. Check out the 10-minute video!
Lumia 950 and 950 XL camera highlights
- 20-megapixel
- F/1.9 aperture
- 1/2.4-inch sensor
- 1.12-micron pixel size
- ISO up to 12800
- Zeiss optics
- 5th generation Optical Image Stabilization
- Triple LED natural flash
- 4K video recording
- Rich Capture automatically chooses the best camera mode
- Completely new color processing algorithm
- Seems faster
Juha showed a couple of image comparisons with the Samsung Galaxy S6. In one of the sample images, the Lumia 950 XL appeared to have more details and more natural colors. In another sample image, the Lumia 950 XL handled motion better, resulting in a sharper image of an object that is moving in low light. We were very impressed, but we'll have to test it out ourselves.
And in case you were wondering about camera speed, Juha showed us how fast the camera app opened after clicking the dedicated camera button from the Start screen. He also showed how quickly the Lumia 950 XL captured images by tapping the onscreen camera button multiple times.
What are your thoughts on the Lumia 950 XL camera after watching the demo? Are you convinced? What are your concerns? Let us know in the comments!
Editor's Note: I had a chance to talk to Juha about the new cameras and even saw some of the latest builds. Interestingly, the "processing" delays seem all but gone in the latest versions of the Camera app. This is in contrast to some of the demos on the floor, which had older builds on them still. At least from what I saw, when this phone and the final release of the Camera app come out, the experience should be much better than it is now in the Insider preview. What I saw was very inspiring and gave me confidence that these will be great cameras.
Also, it is worth mentioning that the Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL cameras are exactly the same, despite outward appearances.
Regarding Panorama and slow-motion video recording, Windows Phone users will have a little while to wait, which is the bad news. Rewriting all those algorithms and software for Windows 10 is quite the undertaking, but the Lumia camera team still have big plans. -Rubino
Reader comments
A closer look at the Lumia 950 XL camera
Pages
I can tell just by his explanation that Juha worked very hard on the camera.
Well, it's only logical that the latest builds of an unfinished OS are better than previous ones.
The only concern I have about the 950XL is how well it will fit in my pocket. I really want a big screen and all the horse power I can get. The wait is killing me
wow amazing can't wait to get my hands on it... just what I've been looking for in a flagship windows phone... the wait is over yay
Posted via the Windows Central App for Android until Microsoft releases a great Flagship beast WindowsPhone
What about the DNG capturing, they are delaying it with Lumia 1020, the only reason why I didnt move it Insider Build coz of this reason, rest all other Lumias at my home are in current build...
I don't think there is any smarthphone camera better than WindowsPhone camera.
My Lumia 640 XL takes awesome pictures with 13MP , wondering how this 950XL going to be. I am all Excited
Can it beat lumia 1020?
ISO of 12k :O by god thats crazy
Looks very good. Can't wait to see review and eventually replace my 930. Coming from a 1020 I was very disappointed with the 930 camera
Go Juha go, show down Ari's throat and let if flow! :P
Amazingly impressive! Now the 950/XL are must buys!
no more pureview branding?
MS said the cameras were exactly the same. Now, given that I know that W10M performance completely depends on the power of the hardware (it was MUCH LESS the case with WP8), I'd be surprised if the camera PERFORMANCE isn't a little less impressive on the 950 than it would be on the 950XL, given it has the lesser processor.
The Best Camera Phone we can get. Microsoft should launch it timely worldwide. There is a festive season in India after a few weeks. Dussehra and Diwali are one of the biggest festivals there. Microsoft should take the advantage of this and promote their newly announced devices with full strength, like SAMSUNG is doing with its Galaxy Note and S6 Edge. Without promoting these devices, Microsoft will not be able to sell them. I like Nokia and Microsoft's products from the beginning. And my opinion about both is never going to be changed. I am one of them, who will buy your new Lumia devices first, at the time of launch in India.
So glad that they have the same camera. That was something I was a bit sad about on the 6/6+, they had differing hardware, and the 6 didn't have OIS.
What does "1/2.4" inch sensor mean? Does that mean the sensor size is .41" wide?
I know for some it's a gimmick but I wish these sported high speed video. Like 120/240fps heck even 480 at a lower resolution. I have my own reasons for wanting these capabilities but I gotta go with another device altogether as it is now. Still, they are impressive in their own right. I'd love a refreshed big MP phone like the 1020. Takes stunning pics even if the processing time is slow.
I want this phone...in a flash.
Posted from this here device.
Very Impressive!
Nice, thanks for sharing
I'm pumped for these new phones and can't wait to see some real life reviews on the final shipped products.
Apart from the camera is anyone else super keen to see how the "Liquid Cooling" is going to work on the 808 & 810 SoC's?
I'm hoping to see some amazing bench marking because of it and also see some extended battery life by the devices not having to exert themselves so much when under load. :-)
The more I continue to use Windows 10 on PC and see how relatively quickly MSFT are able to update and add new features to their core Universal apps the more excited I am to see where the mobile build will end up.
Although the latest tech preview on my Nokia 625 is disappointing I love what the new bluetooth stack brings in functioanlity to this phone and I can see how the experience is being unified across devices.
The image sensor has reduced by 50% since the 808. Sure it's being compensated for with highly skilled software programmers, but I can't help feel that the "must make thinnest possible phone" fascists and bean counters limit the potential that could otherwise have been there.
Its the limition that push better software to make worse hardware better making bigger hardware better ect ect
Those camera specs sound absolutely amazing! 1.12 micron pixels is crazy huge, 1.9 aperture, ISO up to 12800! God damn I cannot wait.
"all but gone" ...you mean there are still "processing" messages when launching camera?
I meet Juha Alakarhu at the evening event, the photos he took of the d-jay on stage were outstanding, the zoom clarity was just amazing.
Have u noticed in the video while showing photos the ♥ heart shape icon down there on the option bar ! Which means favourite is coming back in next build
Interesting stuff.
Thanks.
.
best phone specs I have seen in last time
hi windowscenral! why don't u create a telegram channel for the website?? i really need it!! pleaaaase...
Sold!
I currently have the Lumia 1020 which I bought because if it's great camera. It is SO SLOW... starting the camera takes a couple of seconds, focusing another second, taking the picture another second, and you have to hold it really still and hope your subject isn't moving else it is unusably blurred.
The 950 looks just what I've been after
I filmed some short videos with my Lumia 950, at the gym. I set the camera for full HD 60 fps and the results are really really good. Also, the sound was crisp and with NO background noise, it sounded like a professional ambiance mic was used, but I just proped the phone on a stack of jumping platforms :-) MSFT has done a really good job with the camera on these handsets.
WOWOWOWOW.!!!! Why wasnt lumia pureview camera technology announced during 950 launch..
1/2.4inch sensor size?
That's bloody small in size and is a deal breaker for me. I need a more-or-less pocket sized camera, so i best stick with my sony rx100 and this old phone of mine. f1.9 and 20MP doesn't quiet save it from this flaw.
Shame they didn't re-introduce that behemoth of sensor in these phones.
Are the bigger sensors in similarly thin phones?
Does the living images feature captures the sound?
preordered this sucker while i was at the ms store getting a replacement on my band 1 (those side battery compartments were ripping itself out of the strap part!).
also played with the surface book, my goodness. that thing is awesome. it's incredible how light it was when detached from the base. thoroughly amazed by all the new products.
When he demonstrated the inbetween picture delay he turned off flash and rich capture. Does that mean that with those on the delay is longer?
why are not given this update 546 which is on these Lumias, now sick and tired of this loading bug which takes upto 20 minutes before you can see the start screen
I'm concerned about the time the camera takes to load from "sleep"-mode.
It seems to be faster loading from homescreen, but I rarely have homescreen ready in the heat of the moment when I really need to take a picture fast.
Can somebody elaborate please :) ?
I wish Living Images is something that gets incorporated more in the OS. Used for profile pictures, backgrounds (Bing already shows animated desktop backgrounds on the web), lock screens etc. Also wish there was a way to save as a GIF automatically rather than just a video.
Living Images has never lived up to its potential. It didn't even show the animations in the Photos apps in WP 8.1. I hope that changes.
no real buttons-.-
No front buttons, but it does have a very important button that most phones lack: camera button! I don't like software buttons, but I would not want to give up the camera button in order to keep real buttons on the front.
"seems faster" lololol
Beautiful... Just beautiful... I <3 the 950XL!
Wow.. The images look stunning and the speed is superb.....
The Microsoft presentation had an unexpected effect on me. I wasn't prepared to come away from it willing to wait. The phone designed under Panos' team should be the one to get. I don't doubt this phone will be totally adequate, but I actually feel like Panos may have something to prove on the Windows Phone that will essentially have his name on it. I have a Galaxy S6 Edge so I can afford to wait.
What is the shutter speed? Is it still at 4s or did they increase it to 30s or more?
Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
Really excited with the new image algorithms!
i want one
I went to the MS store to take a look at the demo units and i am 1000000% sold... The camera is way way faster than my Lumia 1520 Running windows 10. The color has improved alot. I was also impressed by the front facing camera even in lower light. It brightened up the picture nicely. It doesnt seem to need the gimmick like using the screen as a flash. Im definitely hoping by release time we have panaramic and all the features from the Lumia Camera app.
Lumia 1020 what???
I never even bothered about the camera. It will be the best in class. Period. It's a Lumia.
Last point in the camera highlights: "Seems faster" :-D Seems Dan is fully affected by the community :-P
The camera is fast however if you just click like the guy was doing, the photos can not be zoomed in or worked on until its all processed which took like 20 seconds after i took them. I did not change the defult settings but maybe if its all off you can just edit them. as you can see in the vid he just clicked and did not go though and show them. However the camer is still great. hopfully they still have time to improve and innovate like they have been.
My goodness those Lumia cameras remain top of class.
Cool stuff from Juha and Microsoft imaging team! The idea of applying different exposure shots and then merging them for moving subjects or action shots is just brilliant implementation of a feature that was previously reserved for low exposure subject and high exposure backdrop or HDR. Also, that image processing for human skin and tone looks dope. Well done!
My only beef is the software seems slow at times. Don't get me wrong it is 100x faster than my Lumia 525 preview build but W10m seems and performs like a first gen. I'm sure it will be improved overtime. By that time, the new devices team under Panos will also have some excellent hardware ready. So can't wait for the next chapter of Windows 10 and Windows 10 mobile devices.
I'm so excited. I went to the Microsoft store this morning and reserved a white XL.
I love the seems faster highlight in the specs LOL
A high-end device that all the world was waiting for, and it is not smooth when zooming the photo?! Really MS?!
I hope it's because of the beta OS
Specs sound good but I bet it's another ultra-wide angle. I wish phone makers would put more standard lenses in with 35 or 50mm eqivalent fob.
Just shot in 4:3
Super excited
It's a real bummer that pinch to zoom still seems so slow and laggy.
Waiting for a Surface Phone after MWC next year, but... If the camera is better than my 1020, I may consider the XL. It may not have the same MP as the 1020 but faster processing/algorithms/shutter speeds might make up for that...
I'm stoked now. I was on the fence, but I am so getting one the only question is will it be the XL or the regular..
The blond girl looks much prettier in the S6 camera picture, the blurry hides all the imperfections. Don't get me wrong she is super pretty in the L950XL picture too :-D
Great camera looking forward!
Hi I am just wondering about the adaptive antenna tech that panos was talking about, i did not really got the point on that.
It will be like two or more antennas put at different places. Based on where you hold your phone, the antenna(s) that is free from the grip will be used mainly for the call. However, it is of two type. One is that the phone will learn your habit of how you hold it over time and use one antenna by default if the pattern is same or each and every time it will decide which antenna to use. Don't know which is used by Microsoft here.
I dislike that the cameras are the same but they look different. The Apple way is so much nicer and better..... Keep it simple stupid, which means the same if at all possible!
LOL, "Seems Faster" made the bullet list... I am sold!
I'm just seeing the return of favorites and lumia living images !!!
I'm surprised that no one is mentioning that Living images are now one combined into one JPG, shareable across all WIndows 10 devices and OneDrive. This is a very big deal since it means that you can finally share your images in the native format, and your recipients will have the same experience that you have. If this can be aplied to other features like Cinemagraph or Refocus then it is well worth the wait.
I also noticed that you can access Rich Capture edits from the Photos app, without having to go back into the Camera app. This is an irritiating workflow with the Rich Capture on WP8.1
IMO rewriting the algowrithms and apps makes sesnse on two fronts: taking adavatage of current hardware, but more improtantly, it has made the WIndows 10 camera app and photos app universal. Hopefully this will mean that you can edit rich capture from any device that has the Windows 10 Photos app. Think about how big of a deal that is.
Thinking out of the box, this integrated experience could result in OneDrive being the best way to share images. All OneDrive needs is a "comment", and "Like" framework. We would then have control of our images via OneDrives Persimssions setings, no limit on imgae resolution or video length (its all in the cloud). Just imagine OneDrive taking Flickr and even...gasp Instagram on!
Yup, your right, never thought that before. Really good suggestions, hope Microsoft team working on OneDrive to be better like that. It can take Flickr
Excellent video. The photo detail is impressive. I am glad the camera is fast and there is a dedicated camera button.
I'm sold. the camera looks fantastic.
The only thing that I am curious about is whether 950XL‘s camera can capture RAW format (DNG as in L1520)
They didn't fail. A quick search In the app store will fix that. Also, they will sell a lot more if they actually market them.....sadly it's been a long time since they have had decent marketing, and a really long time since good marketing (920) .
"Regarding Panorama and slow-motion video recording, Windows Phone users will have a little while to wait"
Well, the OS isn't finished yet. I don't think waiting for it to be officially completed is too much to ask.
1080p @ 60fps.... Finally some smooth slow mo to look to.
Great to know that The camera is much improved but this is 2016, why is panorama still absent. I mean it's almost a compulsory requirement now :(
Checked 950XL in Microsoft Store in New York today. Build 10564 i guess. It was not bad, but still performance improvements would be fine.
I just spoke to Microsoft and it should be out in UK soon. I'm going to buy the XL unlocked. If anybody can't wait for it to arrive in their country maybe i can hook you up.
No exact date? I'm so itching for an upgrade. Too bad they dont have a physical store here.
Oooh i would love to te the cameras of this phones #goals
I'm planning on getting what ever out of the two has ab offer I can't say no to you.. Hoping for a freebie or even ms band thrown in. When I got my l920 came with free wireless charger/nokia Bluetooth speaker, and my 1030 came with ms credit and phone case.
This is going to be a beast of camera phone.
BTW, iPhone 6 skin tone rendering is horrible (orangish) judging from Facebook photos I've seen. Glad to hear they made an effort to make it look natural.
That's just woman's make up ;)
Never mind.
A lil off topic,,have you guys seen the 3rd party back covers on the phones yet? They look amazing!
Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
I like the metal bands on them. Want to see more colors!
I am very pleased what what I see (and hope the 950 does just as well as that's what I'm planning on getting if I get one of these). I will totally admit feeling like they were 'only' going with a 20MP camera, but the features he demoed, and having those in one camera app and not a pick this app to do a series of shots, or that app to get good detail, will be huge. The zoom detail looked incredible and that's the biggest thing I've been wanting in a replacement of my 920. The Lumia 1020 may be king on pure MP but if they made the software and processing this good in actual use, it matters. I probably would not be willing to spend the cash on a 1020 sensor with top notch processing, and so this will probably fit my bill.
Really looking forward to more samples from these phones, but this is the kind of demo they should have did on the big stage Tuesday! Very impressive. If real world results match this, I will probably be very fine with this over an outdated 1020 or waiting for it's replacement (which in all honesty, sounds like not next year - sounds like these need to do well for one to be in the pipeline).
Daniel. Please do a page on the covers by Mozo for the 950 and the XL. The Instagram images looks drooling.
I agree with you!!
Im looking camera compression with lg g4
This will probably win but only on account of having more megapixels. Everything else will probably be pretty much a tie.
You might be probably right, most of the time.
Idk but there's seem like there's more confidence coming from Microsoft people these days and I like this and I think its a good sign. I know ill be buying a 950 day one or maybe after Christmas depends on if I'm travelling or not dont need it sitting in a box not being played with lol.
I am so close to just pre-ordering the 950XL now that I just tried it out at the MS Store! If they would have had it in stock I would have waled out with it :)
Went to the MS kiosk at Time Warner Center, here in New York. They had an XL on display and played with the camera for a bit. Absolutely stunning and the app response was instantaneous... You press the camera button and the app opens within a second.. was quite impressed... :)
Are the "Third generation of living images" only coming to these two new phones? It will be disappointing if the 930 and 1520 don't get that (I assume the third gen is like iPhone where it has a few seconds both before and after, as well as sound). I can understand if it's kept exclusive to these two devices to make it seem more appealing, but I can't see it needing that much more processing power, maybe it's just slower.
I can't wait to see this version of the software in the video running on other fairly modern Lumia's to see how much of it is the sensor and how much of it is software - Quality does look awesome in the video
They said the app was rewritten for windows 10 so probably not just for these phones. Also he said that photos app which views the living images is a universal app so I would assume it'll come to the 930 as well
It didn't look like the living images had any recording after. I think the third gen stuff is that it is all contained in one .jpg file, and it can be shared and viewed on any windows 10 device.
Ah, I wasn't sure from the video whether the third gen stuff was in the build being shown, or if he was talking about something that will be in by the time they are shipped.
He seemed to do a bit of tweaking. It is one of the things I rarely want to do when shooting images or video. I hope that the default settings are decent for everyday use. I also worry about the mics not being the same quality that I have heard so much about, sometimes silence answers the question. Although, I am bouyed by Daniel's comment about the mics almost being a given, like a display. Get me a dummy 950 XL so I can see how it fits my pockets.
As there is no US carrier for the 950xl, AT&T has only agreed to sell the 950 the XL will be sold only in Microsoft stores. These videos will be the only way a lot of Windows phone fans will ever see this thing.
http://www.zdnet.com/article/might-microsofts-lumia-950-and-950xl-phones-get-more-carrier-love/
For more detail.
I do want to see live affects from shutter speed and ISO adjustments before you take the shot like on the LG G4 and Samsung Galaxy Note and S6 line. Like when you set the shutter speed to 2 seconds on a bright sunny day I want to see the screen turn white to reflect that setting.
Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
Nokia phones were the first ones to give full manual controls to the camera. This one is no difference (since, well, the camera tech is still licenced from Nokia). The LG G4 is the only Android smartphone with a similar set of manual controls.
The S6 is much more limited in that aspect (even though Samsung promissed an update to unlock the manual settings missing, they didn't follow through).
Whatever you can do on the G4, you will be able to do in these phones. The only difference is that the G4 allows you to put shutter speed up to 30 seconds while these only allow you 4 and the apperture on the G4 is 1.8 whilst these are 1.9.
Yes I understand that but Nokia phones even with their full suite of manual controls never and to this day don't offer live affects for shutter speed and ISO adjustments. What I'm saying is that you don't know how those changes affect the picture until after it's taken and then you realize the shutter speed was too slow or the ISO should be lowered. I'm looking to see them take the next step. The LG G4 and Samsung Galaxy Note 5 and S6 Edge Plus since they are the newer ones do offer this currently which no Windows Phones does or even the Preview 808 does at this time.
Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
That isn't true RaRa. I just tested your asertion on two nokia windows phones. Both have live adjustment for exposure compensation.
Ahhh you're asking about seeing what the changes you're making on the manual controls are doing in real time on the screen.
No, that I don't believe you will see on these phones. It can change, but I don't think so. Otherwise he would have mentioned it.
Do I need to make a video? Or maybe its me not understanding what you are saying? Exposure compensation is reflected live in the phone screen prior to taking a shot. What am I not getting here?
Not exposure compensation. Read man. I clearly said shutter speed and ISO adjustments. Now change those on your phone and see if the screen changes while you do it....
Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
I did read and didn't understand why you'd want to know about ISO. I can see why you'd want a simulated shutter compensation, but esentially that is the same thing. An aproximization in software.
To get a WP to do what you are asking Set your ISO static to some value. Now use the EV dial, you'll see a preview of a simulated shutter speed change. Setting the ISO takes that part out of the three part exposure equasion, now assuming the apreture isn't doing any further compensation of course.
I think what you are asking is for them to impliment the simulation that they've implimented for EV. fair enough, but I guess I don't see the value. Like i said, WP can show exposure compensation using the EV dial. Just lock the ISO.
Nevermind man. Don't worry about it. You'll get it one day.
Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
@landcameras: Dude, from what I understand, RaRa85 was asking for real time visualisation of the effects caused by the camera. Lumias do NOT show that. No matter what ISO value you set, they don't show you any aproximation of what the camera is going to do. You have to take a picture to "discover" if the setting you chose is correct or not.
The LG G4, for example, shows you that. If you put your ISO higher than you should, you won't need to take a picture to discover it. Because you will be seeing it on the screen as you adjust. Not just numbers, you actually see the viewfinder reflecting the adjustments. No Lumia does that.
Yes that's what I meant. I want to see Microsoft go the distance as far as including these types of features in the camera.
Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
@RaRa85 If Nokia was still around and incharge, probably you would have that already. But because Microsoft decided to scrap everything and start from the ground up, it will take a loooong time before that happens I think. Just look at what's already happening. Panoramas have been in Lumia phones since the Nokia 800 which ran WP7.5. Now, on WP10, it was removed and won't be placed back anytime soon.
I wouldn't get my hopes too high regarding fast advancements on imaging on Lumias anymore. The phones will have great imaging, sure, but nothing groundbreaking. I think the best chances for that is if Nokia Technologies actually develops new imaging tech aimed specifically at Windows devices and then licenses that to Microsoft like they do with the rest of the camera tech.
However, I don't think that will happen. Nokia's imaging efforts and developments are being done around Android now. LG already signed a licensing deal with them. So, going forward, as far as WP goes, it will be all on Microsoft's shoulders IF they indeed what to do groundbreaking stuff on WP. Which I don't really believe they do.
That is truly unfortunate because I know they can do it. I really hate that the OS is being rebooted for a third time but that we continue to lose features we already had and have to wait for them to be readded. Microsoft has a lot of work to do and with the revelation that limited availability as a short term goal just doesn't make any sense especially when T-Mobile's CEO calls you out on Twitter. But you're right. We will not see those advancements any time soon. I think I'm going to fight the urge to comment on anything mobile related until they finally reveal the release build because it was obvious that everything except phones from the big event on Tuesday are ready. We just don't know yet what's coming.
Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
Can't wait. Was so worried they were gonna mess up the camera speed, but this is really a step above the competition. So ready to replace my 920 with a 950
I just can't wait!
But I have to say the OS stability and overall finish make me a bit nervous. Still few weeks to go though.
Yeah this^. I have some confidence the finished OS will be good. The next insider build should give us some good indication of what we can expect at RTM
I've seen the video of this guy reviewing the Nokia N8, Nokia 80 and Nokia Lumia 1020 which I all own and this guy is so passionate with the products... Everytime a new super camera phone comes out this guy must jizz in his underwear lol
Hope it's better than in Lumia 930! I actually compared the quality of the photos taken whit. Nokia/Lumia camera whit today's Microsoft camera and the picture quality was much better whit Nokia/Lumia camera. Today it's just awful! My friend had to take my picture of a car during the night because my camera was just not able to take a good shot :/
did you try turning your Iso up or shutter speed.. you don't know how to use that phone
I find it facinating how rumors and incorrect leaked information stick in people's heads. Even when faced with specific hard facts and specs from MSFT and direct answers to specific questions. The 950 and XL cameras are the same and nobody but the rumor mill has ever said otherwise.
Though some of the blame here does lay at microsoft's feet. I think the launch of these new phones was not well thought through or executed. Did they launch two phones or one? Because there is only one on the site.That is a major oversight.
The microsoft website should have had a full compliment of images and pages from BOTH phones, comparisons, technical specifications (like exactly what carriers the radios are compatible with). Microsoft couldn't get the carriers, but they also couldn't be bothered to use these 15 minutes of buzz these new devices have created to do themselves any favors. Apple gets to call things "Retina", with smoke and mirrors and we accept it. But if you aren't Apple and you put 4 recording microphones in your phone you need to call it out, not call it Rich Recording or whatever. Nobody knows what the hell that is, and even those that do are confused. I don't care if you've trademarked the term, if it isn't spelled out nobody will know to be excited about it.
This all could have been solved by putting a PM in a meeting or two with the design team and the PR team. A little planning would have done wonders for the launch, and saved all this whining and speculation. Looking at the page for the XL in the msft store, its a shame and sad. Where is the interactive Microsite? It says, we dont' really care enough about this product to get the people who write the text for the store in the same room or on a phone call as the people who built the phone. There is so much to the lumia story that nobody knows about, not that it isn't there, its that the left hand doesn't speak to the right.
And in the end, if we read between the lines here, this is the state of affairs. Microsoft doesn't really seem to be behind it. For miminmal expenditure they could have created a campaign, some websites and promotional materials. Instead, they couldn't get any US carriers to pick up the phones, so they said meh.. whatever lets launch it but not get behind them. It shows a lack of pride, and shows that they're stuck in an old model still.
ugh, i'm talking myself into calling my old boss and getting my badge back. I guess this whole launch in all the excitement just makes me sad. Lumia had its chance, it was and can be the best, but nobody will ever notice. But in the end seeing how this 950 launch was handled reminds me of what made me sick of that place and made me quit.
Interesting points. I am sure we will see more information come out close to the WIndows 10 Mobile launch (perhaps even a smaller mobile focussed event showcasing the features of the phone). I do agree that the Product Pages could have been handled better.
Hey I had no doubts this camera would be anything less than stellar, and now I'm even more excited! Windows 10 Mobile has come along great, and now the hardware to back it up will tie everything together nicely.
Did you see when he zoomed in? I can't wait to get my hands on this type of camera. Microsoft is going to blow everyone away this year for sure. Just from this small demo I'm really impressed and excited. I hope T-Mobile does get either one.
Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
I went to a concert at O2 Empire in London recently and recorded some videos that night with my old Lumia 925. Man until today I'm still stunned with the sound quality and awesome recording capability of this phone. I cannot imagine how much more awesome the new Lumias recording will be. Makes me appreciate even more of the technology behind the Lumia phones.
Yeah the lumia 925 is Oddly great... its strange and it was flag ship and its so thin
Coming Soon (TM)
Go home Windows Mobile is done... jumping ship
We heard this before honestly it's been over since WP8.0
goodbye
Haha, pathetic. Don't let the door hit you on the way out... And don't come whining about whatever you pick.
I guess I dont care, it might be a great phone but, if only one carrer in the US is going to carry it, the phone will be a failue.
Great job Microsoft, good way to screw up a great phone.
Well, it's no 1020.
My only concern was whether the camera was fast enough of not? In this video it took about 1.5 to 2 seconds to launch the camera. My 1520 takes about 2 to 3 seconds to lauch camera on locked screem.
Low light image is improved a lot.
Not worried about the slow motion video capture, but it would be great to have. I wont buy a phone which takes slow motion videos but crapy pictures.
Now question is how fast it takes consequitive Rich captures photos withot the 'Savings...' message?
Thanks for interview guys!
You can clearly see how happy Juha is!
Can't wait for those reviews!
Thanks for getting a camera focused video interview with Juha. For many of us, Lumia cameras are the single most important feature of Windows Phone, and Juha is the guy that we need to hear from. I'm torn, because I love my 1520, but the low light performance is the only weakness. I'd love to get a 950 XL for the camera, but I like my 6" display and the design of the 1520. I might choose to wait for the next flagship or a 1020 successor (if that ever happens).
Daniel I really like my 1020 but it's starting to get old now... Do you think it's good to go from the 1020 to the 950XL? Juha said the camera in the 950 XL is the best they've ever made... Better then the 1020? Last time you spoke to Juha didn't he say there was a 1020 successor in the pipeline? The reason I as is because I'd gladly spend the money for the XL but then I don't want to get burned after a year with some newer model with a 50MP or something lol
Daniel already answered that more than once on AskDan. No, currently there are no plans to release a successor to the Nokia 1020.
Here, it's the first quesiton https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12F6-x-Hncw
Could you please stop teasing us Canadians? Lol. Gonna have to buy it outright:(
"seems faster"
brilliant! LOL
I checked out the band 2 today loved it better than my original. They didn't have a surface book which sucked, but they had the 950xl, and when compared to my 640xl its a little smaller and thinner, it's not a cheap looking as I thought.
That looks great. I'd like to see what they've done on the video side. Will you be posting something for that too?
Im impressed.. Good job guys.
Darn it! The nearest store is about 45 minutes away and in LA traffic I am not too keen on doing that:-)
Lol, you'll end up as an archeological find :P.
In another video.. I saw how crips and high quality images were from lumia 950. I just want this camera to beat every other cameras out there esp. Iphone's camera so bad... And once again lumia will have the camera champ tag.
Btw I like the way Juha Alakarhu speaks.He always seems so happy.
Another video?.. Can you share the link please :)
There u go..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=7&v=y-Lnvb_BwLI
Living images has grown up :)
The camera looks brilliant. But does anyone know what the sound quality is like for call quality and Loud speaker ?
What is virtualized loud speaker?
Posted via the Windows Central on Blackberry passport SE
What's the difference between this camera and camera in the 930.
Hardware wise.
This guy is so cool.:) I don't know but he makes me smile:) he understands his stuff, super enthusiastic, funny accent. I believe him.
This phone is amazing.
I think everyone is underestimating it.
Of course alot would under estimate it. We didn't see much in the event and that is probably because the software was not fine tuned enough.
Not to mention the demo units were running a older build.
I'm interested to know whether the 3rd-gen living images tech plus the advanced algorithms he talked about will come to older Lumias (e.g. 930) via W10.
I have w10m on my 930 and it looks like I have the new living images. Don't know about the rest, not even the sharing part as the photos app crashes on me when I try to share (running latest public build).
Kudos to Microsoft for really allowing people just to choose whether they want bigger or acceptable size phone with almost the same specs - unlike Apple who still gimps their "smaller" phone with camera without optical image stabilization which is only in its bigger brother.
I like this guy. He is so passionate
This looks very promising. I was never worried about tmage quality, but seeing the performance with moving objects and that fast camera launch have me very excited about this phone.
Hay Dan, I'm not seeing the 950 camera shots ? is there a difference between the 2 other than the flash ? just wondering since they have not shown that camera nor do they have them on display at the MS Store... like there might be a big difference between the 2 cameras.950 and 950XL
Have you not been reading any of the articles? Both the 950 and the 950xl have the EXACT same cameras, yes even the rgb flash.
Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
You don't have to be rude in every of your replies.
Exact same cameras, exact same flash.
How is it the same flash?! 950 has 2 bulbs, xl has 3! That's not the same
where do you see that . every live picture I have seen of the 950 shows 3 leds. these pics show 3 leds. right from microsofts site. http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/mobile/phone/lumia950/
They both have triple led flashes.
Others have already answered you on this.
The 950 has three bulbs.
I blame Apple for this confusion :p - they are the ones differentiating so much between the 6 and 6 plus that we expect there to be much bigger difference between the 950 and 950XL than there is going to be... Hurray for Microsoft making the right decision here.
@Daniel
I'm curious if it's been confirmed that 'oversampling' is no longer with us on these devices. Put another way, are those pictures the full res images that are enhanced by imaging algorithms or a downscaled 'oversampled' version?
I know this is off topic, but does W10Mobile have album art on lock screen? Does Groove incorporates anything from Zune? Wireless sync, UI etc.?
You're going to have to wait for the review like the rest of us.
I've not noticed it, but I've not specifically looked to turn the feature on
Loving the camera speed.
The examples didn't seem very good .
Hopefully it works better in better conditions.
Hard to see on video. What I saw was impressive. Seeing noise in a photo in a video is not ideal, so just see one in a store or wait until you get one.
Uhm... Did you see the shave on the guy on the photo? If you did, the cameras are amazing... If you didn't, your eyes are failing.
950 XL or the Nexus 6p...
Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
XL Hands down, msd card, removal battery (imagine using a extended battery on that beast), liquid cooling, adaptive antennas and as you can see in the video an amazing camera too boot.
It comes down the O/S and apps really, since you're using Android already no point in making a case for the Nexus 6P. However Overall you get alot more "phone" with the XL for the money.
I just want these things: Edit Rich Captures inside Photos apps without have to install Lumia Camera for it; All the Edition Features that Photo Desktop app has to be in the Mobile version; Sync my Saved Pictures folder again (worked perfect in WP8.1)...
When are we getting the win10 mobile update? On the holidays?
Probably the only genuine person on the whole Windows phone team, always smiling and obviously knows his stuff. Great to see his enthusiasm and confidence in the camera.
Holy crap. I definitely need one of these! As is, it would easly be 99% of what I want. That bit about panoramas and high-speed is nice, and I WOULD like it, but it's not like I use it every day. My only hope is that the "big plans" are not the same "big plans" that the Edge team apparently had for their Favorites management system. It's been a couple months now and those still inexcusably suck.
Question, yes the camera is an improvement over the 930, but does anyone else notice how much better windows 10 seems to make the photos on the 930?
Thank you for the Share Dan.
My expectations so far have been exceeded. Not just with the camera but with everything I've seen so far. Very sad carriers here in Canada have zero interest in carrying these phones. Apparently BlackBerry is better.
I guess it's a regional thing, as after all Blackberry is a Canadian company.
I wonder how good it will be on Day Light. He didnt stress on that. He kept it on the flash the whole time. Stabilizing is yet to be mingled with, only then can one decipher which is better.
One thing i noticed - this is apart from the camera- is that the buttons at the bottom have to be toggled first for them to appear, unlike the 920 which has the touch buttons permanently.
I at times have to reset the phone, press the back and what not when it hangs (cause its over 3 years old now and has served splendidly, and is still rocking it)
So this does not have the buttons On thr phone. Im gonna go for the normal 950.
Dan please show us a video for that one too. And not just focusing on the flash.
Yes the detail, the ability to zoom so much is phenomenal.
Im not 100% sure here, but I believe its optional how these buttons behave. They can stay on top always or semi hide like that.
The day light performance will be what you're used to in the Lumia line. He didn't stress on that because almost all phones can take great pictures in day light. Even Motorola ones.
When you go to low light, though, things start to get really messy, really fast. The iPhone sucks on low light and almost all Android phones suck on low light with the exception of the LG G4 and to a lesser degree the S6. (I would add the Xperia line except Sony made sure that the photos would suck by not adding OIS for aesthetical reasons and by butchering the software side of their cameras).
As for the buttons, neither the XL nor the 950 have those 3 buttons as the 920 has. The navigation buttons as on screen, much like on Android flagships (S6 aside). You can control is those buttons are permanently there or not on WP8.1 already and that won't change on WP10.
The reset of the phone is done with the power button and the volume rockets anyway though, and those are still in their place.
@DJCBS. One correction i'd make to your comment is that the 950 and XL have all the three buttons as the 920 (volume rocker, power/lock and camera). Albeit the button placement is different on the XL.
The 3 buttons I'm talking about (and the OP was talking about from what I understood) are the navigation buttons, namely the Windows logo, the back button and the search button ;)
Oh right, my bad :).
Both devices have on-screen buttons. But, they can be hidden or revealed at will. And, if you want them to stay visible, you can have them do that.
I have a 620 which has capacitive buttons, and gave both my parents a 640, with on-screen buttons. Before I bought those phones I thought "hell with these soft buttons, capacitive buttons are so much more practical an efficient". And I thought it was a bad move with these 950.
But then I started to use the 640 more, and I have to say that soft buttons, on-screen, are so much more advanced and usefull than capacitive. It enables you to have a thinner bezel, or throw in a couple of good front speakers, it MIGHT enable you in the future to customize the buttons, or even add buttons, who knows. You loose some of the screen size but only when you are using the phone, like messaging, phonebook, whatever. If you have a big enough screen it wont make a difference, but its a HUGE difference when you browse photos or watch a video, especially in low light, showing your friends, and hide the soft buttons and dont have the capacitive led light on the side, bothering, and dont have the risk to hit them and end whatever you were doing... Another plus is that you can hit 2 times the black bar with the buttons to lock the phone, and saving on the power button life span. If that can be done, I believe other things will be.
Right now, I only have good things to say about soft buttons, no more capacitive buttons to me. It's time to buy myself a 640 as well: 550 will have a smaller screen, 950 will be too expensive, will wait for what 750 and 850 will turn out to be, in the meantime with a 640 on my hands that's more than a capable phone, and can get one used at about €70. ;)
If they're the same why he says the XL has the best camera ever. Ok I read in the update that they are the same but still have some doubts... Any hard evidence?
I think 950 doesn't have the RGB flash.. Other than that both are the same cameras.. I'm not sure though..
Pages