Dual-LED vs Xenon Flash – A Real-World Test
The 3 handsets introduced yesterday during the Nseries Launch Event in Lebanon sport a similarity beyond design: they all have a dual-led flash that accompanies the camera. Many current Nseries users out there have been moaning this choice for months now that the N96 has been announced, especially since the relatively affordable N82 sports a Xenon and has proven time over time that it can deliver much better quality in low-light conditions. I was curious to see how both Dual-LED and Xenon perform in the real world, especially that aren’t much comparisons to be found on the internet. So holding my trusty N82 in one hand, and the other handsets in the other, I began my tests.
First Test: Xenon and Dual-LED as perceived
When I take pictures of subjects with my N82, especially in dark rooms, I always here “WTF was that? The flash blinded me!”. I guess people aren’t used to Xenon on phone cameras. So I wanted to see how dual-LED performs in that area. It certainly isn’t blinding, but it is much brighter than single LED flash devices like the N95. Here is a video showing you Dual-LED on the N85 vs Xenon on the N82.
Second Test: Comparing the result in pictures
I used the N96 for this comparison as it seemed to me that the firmware might be a bit more mature than that of the N79 or N85. But looking back at the end result now, I think that I should’ve given the N79 a run for its money too, but well, it’s too late. I was told that the N96 still had an old firmware, so I can’t give a final judgment since it’s not a fair comparison, but I will let you see by yourself the results as things are now. [Click on the thumbnails for the full versions: N82 pictures on the left, N96 on the right. The 2nd picture with the N96 was blurry, I didn't notice it until now]
As you can see, the Xenon flash still gives images that vividness that is missed with LED. Also if you’re taking a picture with a lot of color contrast (like the 3rd one), Xenon still manages to capture the dark spots without being “blinded” by the light ones (I am not a photography expert so excuse my limited knowledge). Overall the results here pretty much sum up everyone’s fears: Xenon flash is far better than Dual-LED, but I have to stress again that this is an early N96 software. I hope newer versions will improve the picture quality.
Third Test: Comparing the result in video
One of the main advantages of Dual-LED that have been totted by Nokia since February, is that LED can function for video recording, whereas Xenon can’t. The end result is that if you’re in dark conditions, having dual-LED would be much more practical than Xenon if you want to shoot videos. As a matter of fact, all 3 handsets have a new option during video recording: “Switch video light on”.
So I went ahead and tested the theory out, with the same N96. You will see that the N96’s video resolution sucks, it’s a 352×288 15fps video, this was the highest resolution on the early firmware, but we’re not looking at resolution as much as we’re looking at brightness of the video.
All in all, although these aren’t final tests, they do show that dual-LED can give a very slight advantage in video, but is still swept in pictures. But if we look at the matter as a whole, it’s not really a matter of Dual-LED and Xenon, and 99% of the persons who will look into these handsets won’t even know the difference, let alone care about it. The 1% that know and care are likely to look into the whole featureset that a handset offers and not just this one. Me? I’m sticking with my N82, thank you.
Thanks for this insight. I guess I’m one of the 1%, and this info favours my N82 instead of maybe going for the N85. Hope to see more of these comperisons in the near future.
Interesting indeed. Is the dual led on the N96 exactly the same as in the N85? I thought the N85’s micro-optics (I think that’s what they called it) have been further improved, even over the one found in N96?
dual LED FTW! :0
wow thanks Rita I have been dying to see a test like this. I love my N82 but there is just so much more that the n85 brings to the table like battery life oled screen, usb charging, and of course NAM 3g for us Americans.
but i’m still not sure that I’d be able to go out on friday/sat night without my n82. i’ve capture so many great photos at bars/restaurants/friends & families houses that the n95’s led flash would’ve failed at. i’ll give the dual led a try but i just dont think its gonna do it for me.
Rita can I ask you one thing. Besides the difference in lighting between the xenon and led, there is also a timing factor. as Rafe mentioned in the n85 review they had, the n82 is still better at “freezing” the moment. in other words the picture is taking much faster. with the n95 in a dim room it took longer to get the picture you want and it often came out blurry and grainy if someone moved during the shot. the n82 as zero problems with this. did you notice a difference in time between the n82 and n85. is the wait time similar to the n95? thanks!
Interesting comparison Rita!!! I was wondering who will do it!
The dual LED flash gives one the impression that there is smoke inside the room! Look at the xenon flash… there seems to be a much better representation.
Its funny to have done away with a xenon flash…. Guess Nokia likes taking the hard route when it is more sensible to take the other way!
I just put a post yesterday about what the N96 is lacking… You won’t believe I came up with a list of 11 things that it does not have! check it out!
Ya you are indeed correct Rita,also haven’t you noticed that sometimes the LED flash makes images white-washed especially in macro mode.I didn’t experienced this with the N82,but in my N95 8GB it happens frequently.
And what is the reason behind replacing the Xenon with Dual LED,does the Xenon consume much power??
thanks rita.
I always had this belief that no phone without a good xenon for me. I am a pic freak. I seriously do not understand all this hoopla over n 85. Well, i do not remember whether it was steve or tzer, the latest and the greatest n series!
Thanks i have been waiting for this comparison for sometime now…wonder when xenon flash will become a standard. wonder why when Nokia has such a potent thing to beat off all its competitors, i still keeps on using LED’s…
Finally someone doing this comparison >_<
Indeed I do hope they improve the quality in the pictures in the N96 (or the other phones for that matter)
Very nice videos especially the first one with the recaps with the still images of the N85 dual led and the N82 xenon flash.
It really shows the difference.
The second video also shows that while using led it’s a bit better it does however make the video a bit blurry.
However I’m quite sure that during night time or darker rooms the N85 will easily outmatch the N82 when it comes to video recording.
I too love my N82, but I think I’m still going to get the N85 when it arrives.
@Ravindra
I thought it was quite obvious why they replaced the Xenon with dual LED’s.
1. Xenon flash can only burst out light at one moment. There is no way for a Xenon flash to maintain it’s flash on.
Uses a bit more battery.
2. LED’s can maintain their lights on that’s why you can turn your LED on during video recording. Uses a little less battery.
(3. It’s cheaper to use LED’s as this has been around for quite a while and improved during it’s time)
[...] Symbian Guru – Battle of the flashes, Xenon vs Duel LED [...]
Hi Rita. Could you show us how the Dual-LED performs in an absolute dark room, where the N82 would have no chance recording video?
Thanks Rita!
This case is clear. Xenon beats dual-led hands down.
Thanks so much for doing this test, It’s just what I was looking for. I was really tempted by the N85, but I’ll definitely be sticking with my N82. I think the only phone that’ll be replacing my N82 is a S60 Nokia with a xenon flash…
Nice to see the Xenon beat down the Dual LED FLash .. i don’t do much Videos, but i’m a Photo-Maniac – where the Xenon totally rocks!! :) .. One more Reason to love my black N82 hehe
Wait, so N96-captured images are that bad? I hope that’s fixed before we get the final firmware
Viipotaja,
You are right, the N85 (and maybe the N79) have microoptics used to improve the LED quality, Rafe on AAS reports that this makes the dual-LED equivalent to 3 LEDs on the likes of the N95. I hope that is correct, but in the meantime, I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
Mike Macias,
I think you are right. I don’t have the N85 anymore to test it out, but I believe the xenon freezes the moment, making capturing subjects, even if they’re moving, a bit easier.
Peter Rullman,
Oh I would’ve done it, but I only had the phones for an hour, in daytime (and I couldn’t run to a dark room to test it out). Also being that all phones were still early prototype and firmware, we can’t really have a final judgment.
Meraj,
Again, this is early firmware, even the video caught on the N96 doesn’t have full VGA resolution and I had TROUBLE editing it. I think things will be much more clear when the final software/hardware versions hit the street.
just as I suspected. Looks like i’ll be staying with my N82 Black. :)
Well late to the party again, but I guess I’m stuck w/ the N82 a bit longer.
Btw, thanks for the comparison.
the “artificial light” in the last video is probably caused by the white balance: white LED’s are very blueish so this should be compensated by the white balance (auto white balance tents to struggle with flash lights)