Microsoft Lumia 950 – Camera

There’s been quite a lot of negativity in this review so far, but I can assure you that this section will be more positive. To those who have used Lumia cameras before, this shouldn’t come as a surprise.

I wouldn’t say it’s the best smartphone camera on the market, but it gives it a good go.

The 20-megapixel sensor on the rear captures vividly detailed shots, with accurate colour representation, soft tones on skin and superb blurry backgrounds when you’re taking a macro picture.

The 20-megapixel camera picks up plenty of detail, with really accurate colours

The software doesn’t play about too much with the final pictures, so there isn’t a huge amount of sharpening going on in the background.

When the conditions deteriorate or the sun goes down, you can still get a really good shot – but it just takes a little more work. The optical image stabilisation-equipped lens focuses fast, but the phone needs to be kept particularly still if the resulting image isn’t to be a blurry mess. Noise is kept to a minimum and the sensor manages not to blow out light sources.

There’s also a triple-LED flash, which is probably the least offensive flash on any phone today. It’s still best used only in the most important cases, but it doesn’t ruin every photo it touches.

The flash on the Lumia 950 is probably the best out there

The camera app is simple on the surface, but has plenty to offer those wanting a little more. There are manual options galore, whether you want to change white balance, ISO or exposure, and with some practice, altering these can leave you with an exceptional photo.

Low-light photos are impressive, and the sensor doesn’t blow out light sources

The two-stage camera shutter button on the side of the handset is a neat addition and I’d like to see more phones utilise it. On the front sits a 5-megapixel camera, which is a little underwhelming. Selfies look okay, but they lack vibrancy and there’s plenty of noise when the lights aren’t on.