Nokia Lumia 710 vs. Samsung I8350 Omnia W: Battle of the affordable Windows Phones

Still camera comparison

The imaging department is where the Omnia W and Lumia 710 are absolute equals, at least on paper. Both offer 5 MP cameras on the back for a maximum image resolution of 2592 x 1944 pixels. It's a single LED flash each too.

You know we're the kind who loves running tests, filling scores into charts and going on and on about the results. So we pitted the two and we even threw the HTC Radar here and there just for the fun of it. Three is a crowd but we'll have to cope.

We start with our photo comparison tool. It lets you compare the Omnia W vs the Lumia 710 in three different types of shots. Further down we've prepared custom crops with focus on key areas in the charts.

The Nokia Lumia 710 and the Samsung Omnia W in the Photo Compare Tool

Here's a crop from the first test chart. It points to the maximum resolution the cameras are able to resolve.

Both the horizontal and vertical resolutions tell the same story. The Omnia resolves them slightly better than the Lumia. The HTC Radar is obviously struggling here.

The Omnia W is slightly better, but by a small margin.

Samsung Omnia W vs. the Nokia Lumia 710 resolution chart

The second chart concentrates on image processing - the way the phone's camera deals with noise and different objects and surfaces.

The photos of both phones seem equally good. They both have their differences in processing but for all practical purposes, this test is a tie.

The HTC Radar is trailing behind again - it's too hard on the detail while trying to reduce noise.

Samsung Omnia W vs. the Nokia Lumia 710 processing poster

The last poster deals with color rendering and white balance.

The Omnia W tends to slightly oversaturate colors, while the Lumia's images are more laid back in colors. We won't go as far as picking a winner, it's your call here. We don't think any of the phones has an upper hand.

Not surprisingly, the Radar's result are quite bad.

Samsung Omnia W vs. the Nokia Lumia 710 color poster

Photo quality wise the two phones seem to be quite close so we'll call this one even for both sides.

Video recording comparison

Both devices offer 720p video recording, which isn't the king of the hill anymore but is still high-quality video if it's done right. We'll start the comparison with our video comparison tool.

Nokia Lumia 710 in our Video Compare Tool

Let's start with the synthetic resolution chart again. Without question, the Lumia 710 rules here. It resolves the most detail and it, actually, is the only device in the test to resolve any individual lines in both the vertical and horizontal cones.

The Omnia W and HTC Radar are both equally qualified for the second spot but the Omnia W is a tad sharper.

Samsung Omnia W vs. the Nokia Lumia 710 720p resolution chart

The second test is our regular miniature scene. This crop shows the scene in good light where all three devices can show their best performance. Again the Lumia offers the sharpest video of all three - and by quite a margin. Text is readable and detail is superb, which is more than we can say about the Omnia W and Radar's results. The Lumia also records stereo sound, if a bit on the quiet side.

Samsung Omnia W vs. the Nokia Lumia 710 720p good light

Moving on to the darker lighting scene, the Lumia 710 again wins without competition. It deals way better with shadows and highlights than the Omnia and manages to keep colors natural.

Samsung Omnia W vs. the Nokia Lumia 710 720p low light

The Nokia Lumia 710 completely trumps the competition here. It's a really capable video performer even outside its OS. It produces wonderfully detailed videos with sharp and accurate colors and noise is kept in check. Smoothness is top notch as well.