[Q] Camera Issue's ? - Xperia Z3 Compact Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I'm planning to get a Sony Z3 C.
But after seen some 1080p and Picture samples on the web and Youtube i'm very worried about quality.
The Z3C have more redness when recording video and pictures...why's that ?
Is it a software fault or is the just the phone ?
The samples from iPhone 6 is much better than Z3C. I cant believe that Sony have placed a better camera in iPhone 6 and keeping a bad camera for their own. As i know Sony deliver cameras for Apple.
Also the Audio is really bad when recording videos. Its very thin. As i know theres 2 microphones for recording audio....so why bad audio then ?
Also some people Complains about broken front & back. Thats also seem to bad for Sony. The phones have never dropped. My friend have a Z3C numbered 14W37. He was charging the phone overnight. And in the morning the back was broken. He got the phone repaired by Sony without any costs.
Some people means that the Z3C produced before week 38 are all faulty. So if you want a good one the find a phone where the date is 14W38 or later. And that date you CANT se on the boxes. The date is on the sim card flap.
The main problem for me is i had iPhone's since 2007. So i really need a change. Things is just got boring with iPhones- Its just the same phone just BIGGER AND BIGGER
I hope someone can answer my questions here

xalodogan said:
I'm planning to get a Sony Z3 C.
But after seen some 1080p and Picture samples on the web and Youtube i'm very worried about quality.
The Z3C have more redness when recording video and pictures...why's that ?
Is it a software fault or is the just the phone ?
The samples from iPhone 6 is much better than Z3C. I cant believe that Sony have placed a better camera in iPhone 6 and keeping a bad camera for their own. As i know Sony deliver cameras for Apple.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The camera isn't bad.
At least the hardware is, Sony really wont give a better camera to it's concurrent, it's just the software that's bad in my opinion. Also note that Apple could perfect their software since they only had to worry about 1 phone over almost a decade.
I'm not sure if you seen the topic I made solely to show what the camera can do, if not I'd say check it out, you'll find some samples there. (Link in signature)
xalodogan said:
Also the Audio is really bad when recording videos. Its very thin. As i know theres 2 microphones for recording audio....so why bad audio then ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't tried it out myself, but if I'm correct there are 3 volume options when it comes to recording. 1 for when you're at a concert the other one for normal situations and the last one for quiet situations.
I've seen a video recording made by the Z3C at a concert and the sound was quite perfect in my opinion (will see if I can find the vid)
xalodogan said:
Some people means that the Z3C produced before week 38 are all faulty. So if you want a good one the find a phone where the date is 14W38 or later. And that date you CANT se on the boxes. The date is on the sim card flap.
I hope someone can answer my questions here
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
People claim all kinds of things on the internet, in the end only Sony will be able to say something about wrong batches, but they won't of course.

Related

Camera

Hey there!
Has anyobe found a qualified report about the camera?
Are pictures good? Maybe comparison to XZ or S3?
Thank you!
can't understant well! but if u mean aboutcamera quality or pics taken whit one camera u can search web or gsm-arena hands-on theres a lot! here's link
AW: Camera
Thanks for the quick reply! In the link you posted the camera is only described, there are no details about pictures taken with it. I want to know if pictures are really that good, or if it's just another marketing-thing...
there doesnt seem to be any official reviews yet with actual pictures taken on the phone, all that is said is that its only 4mp camera but the resolution is meant to be much better and lets a lot more light in than previous htc phones
HTC camera's are usually decent, can't wait for a real review!
sturmtruppler said:
Hey there!
Has anyobe found a qualified report about the camera?
Are pictures good? Maybe comparison to XZ or S3?
Thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
neowin.net/news/cameras-htc-one-vs-nokia-lumia-920?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
(XDA won't let me put down url's )
Here are some photo sample between the Lumia 920 vs Htc One.
If you look in the general thread, i've linked one where it is vs the iphone 5 but it shows you image quality, click on the article link and it'll tell you more.
Hello guys first of all may I just say I don't expect anyone to trust me especially without my own evidence (I would have had some if this crap bb didn't die on me while I was down oxford street).
However though after seeing those images vs the iphone btw I thought the images on the one were better than the iphone but inferior to the lumia 920. I decided to hunt the one down again to do some camera tests.
On tuesday on the launch of the one, i went to phones 4 u oxford street (bond street) played with the one for about 3 mins and decided it was better than the z, had better audio, camera/video which is the main things i use on the phone. however that was without side by side comparison.
after seeing the images online posted by the one, i was thinking to myself when i played with it the images looked better than that, so i headed down the whole of oxford street from tottenham court road to bond street in and out of carphone warehouse, three stores and phones 4 u and vodafone like a mad man. finally I went back to the phones 4 u that did the launch and as I walked in i saw they had the one on display however it is bolted down, with both cameras and headset jack covered, so i was disappointed as i though i wouldnt be able to do camera tests. Absolutely gutted i walked out and futher up the road to the three store (opposite selfriges).
walked in and saw they had a dummy of the black version of the one, i asked the staff to they have the real phone one said the rep came earlier and will be back tomorrow about 9am, i thought damn man then one of the staff said hold on ill check if we have the demo phone in the back. She said by the way it is a pre production unit and not final retail unit, anyway she went in the back and came back an there in her hand was a silver one, totally deprived of any restrictions what so ever, so i got a feel of the phone its far better to hold in the hand than the z due to it being smooth (the egdes of the z are rough), also feels and looks smaller than it is and it looks thinner than 9.3mm aswell.
I know audio is better than the z so i got straight to work in comparing front and rear cameras on both phones side by side. I got the staff in the three store to judge which has the better camera aswell.
these are our findings and truthful findings. z was on superior auto setting and one was on its normal auto focus setting i didn't tamper with anything else.
sharpness, colour accuracy (more natural colours), auto focusing and camera speed all favoured the one not to say the camera on the z is rubbish but The z tended to lose focus on objects (same issues that plagued the xperia s/t last year that annoyed me so much) and also letters looked more blurry on the z (i got one of the booklets and was focusing on the letters, the one was far sharper than the z and even just on general objects the one had the sharper camera.
Video (both phones were in 1080p mode on auto focus setting) again was the same story the z was struggling to focus at times, while the one always maintained focus and showed the sharper image and better colour accuracy also better audio aswell.
Even the front camera had clearer more detailed images and videos than the xperia zs front camera, also i tried zooming on the rear camera of the one again it showed more detail on zoom than any other phone I have seen bar the Nokia N8, 808, Lumia 920.
Personally in my opinion and the guys in the three store the camera on the HTC one is remarkable the staff in the three store didn't even know the one only had a 4mp camera they thought it was 13mp it was so good.
This is one of the reasons I rather go hands on with things myself than look on the internet or at reviews and I am urging people to do the same.
You will be surprised about this ultra pixel 4mp camera thing today really showed me and the three staff that its really not all about the megapixels because the ones 4.3mp camera was overall better than the xperia z's 13.1mp camera.
Hey Guys everyone keeps asking about the HTC ONE Ultrapixel camera, so while I was at the London launch I took a couple photographs!
To see more http://www.flickr.com/photos/symbolizm/8499082590/
Lastly if you are looking to buy one of these great phones why not join us at the HTC ONE Users Group over at Flickr to share your photos and discuss all things 'ONE'! http://www.flickr.com/groups/htc-one/
Radiognome said:
Hey Guys everyone keeps asking about the HTC ONE Ultrapixel camera, so while I was at the London launch I took a couple photographs!
To see more http://www.flickr.com/photos/symbolizm/8499082590/
Lastly if you are looking to buy one of these great phones why not join us at the HTC ONE Users Group over at Flickr to share your photos and discuss all things 'ONE'! http://www.flickr.com/groups/htc-one/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not now, hahahahaha. Needs a better model
I went to three store at oxford street and pretending to know nothing about HTC one and a black sales person told me it comes with 16 gb and I disagree but still he keep saying its 16 gb but when I denied he went backdoor and come after 7 min. (dumbo) after some quick research on the net or ask senior employee and confirm its a 32 GB
never ask for any advice or technical stuff to people working in store, they can advice you on only one thing how many model of certain phone they sold and how many and which brands models they got in for repair as faulty full stop

Future HTC ONE User Question

Hello people!
The upcoming Friday my contract with my cell company expires so the company in order to convince me to sign a new contract is offering me:
HTC One or Sony XPERIA Z1.
Beeing for 5 years a user of various HTC devices I was pretty happy appart my latest HTC ONE X that spend last summer around 2 months in service changing twice mainboard and battery on warranty.
This last experience made me a bit skeptical about going along with the latest HTC device.
Are you happy with your HTC ONE?
Any significant problems you encountered?
Is the camera as bad on daylight as I read in the various reviews?
Do you think I should go with the ONE or maybe try something new with the Z1?
Thanks in advance for your help and feedback.
Cheers!
tasos12 said:
Hello people!
The upcoming Friday my contract with my cell company expires so the company in order to convince me to sign a new contract is offering me:
HTC One or Sony XPERIA Z1.
Beeing for 5 years a user of various HTC devices I was pretty happy appart my latest HTC ONE X that spend last summer around 2 months in service changing twice mainboard and battery on warranty.
This last experience made me a bit skeptical about going along with the latest HTC device.
Are you happy with your HTC ONE?
Any significant problems you encountered?
Is the camera as bad on daylight as I read in the various reviews?
Do you think I should go with the ONE or maybe try something new with the Z1?
Thanks in advance for your help and feedback.
Cheers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Z1. Without a doubt. Use the heck out of it for the 14 days so that you can return it if you don't like it though.
The One has a terrible camera. The Z1 doesn't have OIS, but it's better in almost every other regard unless you're a AL-phile or need stereo sound.
Seriously. There is absolutely no comparison between the One and the Z1. They are two different generations of phone and should be treated as such.
I don't like my One. It's not what it was advertised to be, and I wouldn't recommend anybody buy the H1 in light of recent phone announcements like the Z1 and the N1 and the N3 and the N5 and the G2 and the (?)S5. Wow. Those names doe.
sauprankul said:
Z1. Without a doubt. Use the heck out of it for the 14 days so that you can return it if you don't like it though.
The One has a terrible camera. The Z1 doesn't have OIS, but it's better in almost every other regard unless you're a AL-phile or need stereo sound.
Seriously. There is absolutely no comparison between the One and the Z1. They are two different generations of phone and should be treated as such.
I don't like my One. It's not what it was advertised to be, and I wouldn't recommend anybody buy the H1 in light of recent phone announcements like the Z1 and the N1 and the N5 and the G2 and the (?)S5. Wow. Those names doe.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am not a great pictures fan.
To tell the truth I usually post some in facebook or Instagram but thats just about it.
I was pretty happy with my HTC ONE X camera but I guess the HTC ONE camera is worse from what you are saying.....
I kind of lost you with the AL acronym.
Can you explain what you mean by AL?
sauprankul said:
Z1. Without a doubt. Use the heck out of it for the 14 days so that you can return it if you don't like it though.
The One has a terrible camera. The Z1 doesn't have OIS, but it's better in almost every other regard unless you're a AL-phile or need stereo sound.
Seriously. There is absolutely no comparison between the One and the Z1. They are two different generations of phone and should be treated as such.
I don't like my One. It's not what it was advertised to be, and I wouldn't recommend anybody buy the H1 in light of recent phone announcements like the Z1 and the N1 and the N5 and the G2 and the (?)S5. Wow. Those names doe.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol, someone is having a bad day?
The fact you are having troubles with your HTC One, does not mean everyone does.
Yes, they are two different phones, but the speed difference is only noticable with really heavy games and benchmarks.
With day-to-day use, a person cannot tell the difference.
A bit more neutral non-biased oppinion;
If you look holding a premium device, that feels like a premium device, you can buy the HTC One.
There is not competition in terms of build quality, not a chance.
I'm a stock Android fan, but HTC has done a REALLY good job with Sense 5 (and an even better one with Sense 5.5).
The Snapdragon 600 will hold easily for the next two years..
I'd try them both, and my suggest, if you do not take the HTC One, take a look at the new Nexus.
Updates from Google, Snapdragon 800 and a nice looking phone (dunno about the build quality though).
tasos12 said:
I am not a great pictures fan.
To tell the truth I usually post some in facebook or Instagram but thats just about it.
I was pretty happy with my HTC ONE X camera but I guess the HTC ONE camera is worse from what you are saying.....
I kind of lost you with the AL acronym.
Can you explain what you mean by AL?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Al = Aluminum. And what Justin^^^ said is true. Suddenly, anything not made out of the finest materials feels cheap to me. In terms of premium feel, nothing can beat the One. It strikes all the right chords, and fits just right. And I do a lot of gaming on the One, and I actually DO see some lag, and its noticeable.
I maintain my position on the camera though. If you're looking for a camera that can capture any detail beyond the "with so and so at so and so", look elsewhere. But for just social media, this camera is fine. It won't perform in low light unless you get a perfect unit (unlikely), so don't count on that.
The Z1 has tons of cool stuff like SD, waterproof, dustproof, snapdragon 800, 20.7 MP camera, 3000 mAh battery etc. It comes down to this: do you want a premium feeling phone that performs adequately, or do you want a beast of a phone that looks and feels only slightly worse.
AL = Aluminum, H1 = HTC One, Z1 = Sony Xperia Z1, N1 = Oppo N1, N3 = Samsung Galaxy Note 3, N5 = Nexus 5, G2 = LG G2, S5 = Samsung Galaxy S5.
sauprankul said:
Z1. Without a doubt. Use the heck out of it for the 14 days so that you can return it if you don't like it though.
The One has a terrible camera. The Z1 doesn't have OIS, but it's better in almost every other regard unless you're a AL-phile or need stereo sound.
Seriously. There is absolutely no comparison between the One and the Z1. They are two different generations of phone and should be treated as such.
I don't like my One. It's not what it was advertised to be, and I wouldn't recommend anybody buy the H1 in light of recent phone announcements like the Z1 and the N1 and the N3 and the N5 and the G2 and the (?)S5. Wow. Those names doe.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol seriously ?
@ Op
Here small comparison just for you between the two
Soc = Xperia z1
Screen quality = HTC One
Sound via headphones = HTC One
Sound loudness & quality via speaker(s)= HTC - here is definetelly no comparison dual stereo speakers vs mono low quality/loudness speaker ..
Build quality = HTC One .. glass simply isn't better then aluminum
Front facing camera = HTC One
Rear facing camera = i don't know what to say here z1 with current firmware trully sux but i know it'll get better later so i'd say z1
Battery life = HTC One ..
Software = HTC One - The software is miles ahead of z1 and better optimised it's lagg/stutter free
Overall issues with the device are far less then with z1 , with 1 you can only get purple tint camera while z1 has issues pretty much with everything
As for the camera @ Op take a look at this http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=46539474&postcount=2955
HTC One - camera samples thread -- http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2169626&page=296
Xperia z1 - camera samples thread -- http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2438859&page=43
Here the whole thread with bunch of photos so take a look a bit before you decide , take a look at z1 samples as well
That's pretty much how the camera works , if this isn't good enough for you and camera is priority for you got with z1
Lastly if you need any more insights about HTC One feel free to PM me i'd be happy to tell you more about it and give you more samples from my own camera if needed from any scenario also answer every question you got about HTC One.
Closed
There is a sticky thread on top of this forum that reads "read before posting here". If you did, you would have noticed that we don't allow any comparison threads here for the reasons mentioned there.
So if you have a SPECIFIC question about a SPECIFIC difference between two phones, feel free to start a new thread with it. But please no general "Is the phone good and why?" or "Is the phone better than...."
Cheers

[Q] Zr's extremely poor quality front face camera

Anyone knows if there's anything that can be done to make the front facing camera look better ? I understand that resolution is limited, but the fr can surely improve. When recording video, its fluid enough, but if you're just shooting pictures, it's sloppy as hell. Any ideas?
Jiggoloh said:
Anyone knows if there's anything that can be done to make the front facing camera look better ? I understand that resolution is limited, but the fr can surely improve. When recording video, its fluid enough, but if you're just shooting pictures, it's sloppy as hell. Any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its VGA bro.you should consider this minus before buyng the phone.Nothing can be done for improvement. :highfive:
Yeah, i must add that it's a bit strange for a mid to high end device but i can easily live with it.
I Never use the front cam
Sent from my C5503 using Tapatalk
Well, evrthing is perfect and flawless in this phone except the front camera. What do u expect from vga camera. It doesn't bother much to me though.
Sent from my C5502 using xda premium
yeah .... the ZR seems to be a high end device for 3rd world countries , like where i am from .
in that part of the world, its very rare to use video calling , because it is toooooo expensive , some service providers even don't support video calling.
so for me, i will buy the ZR (which i did) even if it will not have a front camera at all..
i think this is the perfect phone if you dont like the additional .6 inch size.. 5 inch is just too big for me.. although, I used to use xperia active for 2 years and I lived with it...
anyway, I would gladly get this vga front facing camera because it wont eat much my monthly bandwidth if I do video calling through hangouts or skype in 3G... consider if you have 1mpxl or 2mpxl how you will burn through your 2g-5g limit per month?
my only gripe here is that this phone has no ant+...
so I take back my 1st statement.. this phone is almost perfect for me...
Does anyone know what the front camera video recording quality is? There's nothing in the specifications mentioning this.
Codename_Falcon said:
Does anyone know what the front camera video recording quality is? There's nothing in the specifications mentioning this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The front camera are only 0,3 megapixel.
They could have skipped it completely, its very poor image quality.
Skickat från min C5503 via Tapatalk
I mean video resolution, not photo resolution.
Even i cant imagine that such a quad core, 2gb ram phone comes with 0.3 mega pixel front camera.
So when I got my Xperia ZR i didnt look into the front camera much -- i believed that it will be good.
But it is really worse and worse than my previous phone, Xperia SL.
With this camera, please dont even think about picture or video and waste your time.
I made up my mind that my XZR does not have a front camera -- that is the only way, i guess.
I think you are forgetting the main function of a front camera, is for video call, and for that purpose and with a 3g data plan it accomplish the purpose

So camera noise is normal. Can it be fixed or is it a hardware problem?

Isn't this the big Question?
Never have I been so fuzzy about choosing a phone. I have got hold of LG G2 (which got warm, produces antutu scores of louzy 20 000, has aggressive noise reduction on photos and a screen that did not survive a 20 cm droptest after 24 hours - now in repair) and currently a 48 hour old Z1 that produces a little less noise and does not get overly hot dueing captures after the last update, but eats away battery when capturing photos. These new devices. I was actually seriously considering requesting my old xperia S back!
After googling for 12 hours I could not find answers to the following question, so I sent the questions to Sony and are waiting for an answer:
1. Is it a sensor\hardware or a software issue that produces this amount of grain and noize, particulary in the 50% peripheral part of the picture?
I used the perfectly evely lit computer screen matrix to test before and after the update. There is an actual improvement. A macro shot before the update showed marked noize in the periphery. It still does after the latest update, but it is far from as bad! It is still worse than note 3 i suspect.
This makes me inclined to say that the lenses (under macro shots at least) has peripheral distortion. The best optics one always gets when having as few lenses as possible in the objective. I guess there are quite a few in z1 compared to the competition?
2. Some rumour say that different batches of phones are of different quality. Needless to say: this has been the case on some previous massproduced gadgeds, and different fabrics might have different production quality. I have read that low quality items often are sold slightly cheaper on Ebay. So; anyone got some more "evidence" to prove such a suspicion for Z1? If so: what batches should we try to avoid?
krimskram said:
I think this is the big question. Never have I been so fuzzy about choosing a phone. I have got hold of LG G2 (which got warm, produces antutu scores of louzy 20 000, has aggressive noise reduction on photos and a screen that did not survive a 20 cm droptest after 24 hours - now in repair) and currently a 48 hour old Z1 that produces a little less noize after the last update, but eats away battery when capturing photos and occasionally gets so warm that it shuts down the camera app. Crikey! These new devices. I was actually seriously considering requesting my old xperia S back!
After googling for 12 hours I could not find answers to the following, so I sent the questions to Sony and are waiting for an answer:
1. Is it a sensor\hardware or a software issue that produces this amount of grain and noize, particulary in the 50% peripheral part of the picture?
Without uploading any picture: the computer screen matrix is evenly lit and "perfect". A macro shot before the update showed marked noize in the periphery. It still does after the latest update, but it is far from as good. This makes me inclined to say that the lenses (under macro shots at least) has peripheral distortion.
2. Some rumour say that different batches of phones are of different quality. Needless to say: this has been the case on some previous massproduced gadgeds, and different fabrics might have different production quality. I have read that low quality items often are sold slightly cheaper on Ebay. So; anyone got some more "evidence" to prove such a suspicion for Z1? If so: what batches should we try to avoid?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I have used a g2 and the z1 quite a bit. The Z1 seems to have better software. I don't care about benchmarks as they all cheat anyway. But the better software definitely makes the z1 feel snappier. I haven't noticed any major difference in apps though. The lg launcher is slow.
The camera on the g2 is OK. It is decent all round and in good light can be stunning. It takes consistently decent shots. The camera on the z1 feels totally broken even with the latest software update. I suspect there must be a hardware fault. I have yet to take a single picture I am happy with in any light conditions and it is useless in low light.
Does anyone else think we have a hardware issue here with the Z1?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4
The Jones said:
So I have used a g2 and the z1 quite a bit. The Z1 seems to have better software. I don't care about benchmarks as they all cheat anyway. But the better software definitely makes the z1 feel snappier. I haven't noticed any major difference in apps though. The lg launcher is slow.
The camera on the g2 is OK. It is decent all round and in good light can be stunning. It takes consistently decent shots. The camera on the z1 feels totally broken even with the latest software update. I suspect there must be a hardware fault. I have yet to take a single picture I am happy with in any light conditions and it is useless in low light.
Does anyone else think we have a hardware issue here with the Z1?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well not mine, I also used G2 and now z1. My z1 takes better photo in low light.
Maybe its your z1 only...
Sent from my C6903 using xda app-developers app
marc_ecko28 said:
Well not mine, I also used G2 and now z1. My z1 takes better photo in low light.
Maybe its your z1 only...
Sent from my C6903 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe. I do wonder if I have a faulty unit. It is so poor and shots have no detail, a ton of noise, poor focus.
Sent from my LG-D802 using Tapatalk
That's a real issue of viewpoint. In and by itself the Z1 camera isn't "bad" and the 245 firmware update fixed many issues, such as the purple fringing and the oversharpening. It doesn't however, bring the camera into "amazing" land.
Sony's much-touted DxOMark scores aren't all that cut out. While video pulls the device in second place, after the Nokia 808 and before the iPhone 5s, if you look at images alone it's 6th place, after Nokia, iPhone, and the Samsung Galaxy S4. In terms of clarity, if you neglect autofocus, the iPhone 5, non-S, beats it as well.
That's still great for a phone camera, it's just sad that the much hyped November model, running on excellent hardware, gets beat by the June model from Samsung. If you do a lot of video in good light and shoot only manual then you have a decent camera phone. If you want to go out and replace your point and shoot with this thing on a field trip or vacation, there are six or seven older phones that beat the Z1 in picture quality.
Now, I believe that 99% of those issues are software issues. Technically Sony's approach is sound. The BIONZ processor is one of the best IP on the market in this bracket, the Exmor RS backlit sensor used in the Z1 is also used in the iPhone 5s and RX100, and a powerhouse. So that stuff is there. The mini G-lens has great spatial properties and is one of the best when it comes to luminance. What doesn't seem to work so well is all in the software portion of the equation.
I am not giving up on Sony. I have great hardware, I hope firm- and software will catch up.
Software is something they will change, even though Sony have a bad track record in Software you should have seen the Xperia S, I had it for a few days before I had a refund, software was unbearable with the random reboots. There getting better every time.
I was not very happy with camera until last week but I received latest update and I can't be happier
Sent from my C6903 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
I'm still amazed that these threads are popping up. It's like I'm using a completely different product from the rest of you, I swear.
Sure, low-light images can be a little noisy and grainy but guess what; so are ones from my point-and-shoot - there are very few stand-alone cameras in this bracket (around the £150 mark) that are entirely noise free in low light. The noise is far from "terrible" especially with the most recent firmware, and the up-side to it all is that I'm able to take picture in far lower lighting than I've even been able to on a phone before.
Here's the thing: Superior Auto, though now very much improved, still uses an ISO that borders on the insane. In low light, just put the phone on manual (I'd recommend 4:3) and snap away. Less noise and very detailed results. Indeed, the latest firmware means that both 20mp and 8mp manual shots are very respectable in low light.
I was walking around the National Railway Museum in York yesterday, taking pictures with both the QX10 and the Z1 - in many instances, the Z1 was sharper or, at least, just as sharp. And the lighting was poor.
I also did a side-by-side with my old C905 the other day. Until this point, I would've (still) put it up against any smartphone camera on the market (to me, it was Sony's last "great" camera phone). The Z1's 8mp shots were consistently better, with the exception of the Zenon Flash shot.
In response to the OP, however; the G-lens is highly convex. This results in some barreling in the corners of the image and means that the centre will always be ever-so-slightly sharper than the rest of the image (the effect is small, however). Nothing can be done about this - many point and shoot cameras and DSLR's are the same. I've had quite outstanding results from mine.
Sounds like your camera might be better than mine. Maybe what we should to is to compare shots where everyone takes a photo of the same item? I cannot think of anything easier an more available perfectly lit surface than a computer or notepad screen completley white on max luminance.
Anyway, even though my camera has some obvious distortion, it is nothing more or less than what is revealed in the numerous reviews. However - some morons have posted, what seems to be, og DSLR photos on the xperia blog an some other places claiming it to be produced with a Z1. I guess some people live to annoy other people.
Regarding the last awesome cameraphone from Sony I will give xperia S my vote. It did get a lot of pepper but it shined after several updates, and after I realized there was a prefabric screenprotector that were scratched, not my screen. Not using 2 screen protectors did help. The camera on X S excelled i macro shots and were great allround. For most users sony HOWEVER decided to kill the phone with the last update making it slow and less responsive. It lost the premium feel. An obvious sales trix. Sony replied to my question about the slow XS that "It is to be expected as your phone is too slow to effextuvley handle our new update". Well well.
Xperia S had a troublesome birth and death. For most of the time it shined. I hope this is what we are experiencing with the Z1.
krimskram said:
Sounds like your camera might be better than mine. Maybe what we should to is to compare shots where everyone takes a photo of the same item? I cannot think of anything easier an more available perfectly lit surface than a computer or notepad screen completley white on max luminance.
Anyway, even though my camera has some obvious distortion, it is nothing more or less than what is revealed in the numerous reviews. However - some morons have posted, what seems to be, og DSLR photos on the xperia blog an some other places claiming it to be produced with a Z1. I guess some people live to annoy other people.
Regarding the last awesome cameraphone from Sony I will give xperia S my vote. It did get a lot of pepper but it shined after several updates, and after I realized there was a prefabric screenprotector that were scratched, not my screen. Not using 2 screen protectors did help. The camera on X S excelled i macro shots and were great allround. For most users sony HOWEVER decided to kill the phone with the last update making it slow and less responsive. It lost the premium feel. An obvious sales trix. Sony replied to my question about the slow XS that "It is to be expected as your phone is too slow to effextuvley handle our new update". Well well.
Xperia S had a troublesome birth and death. For most of the time it shined. I hope this is what we are experiencing with the Z1.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had an Xperia S and, yes, it did take very detailed shots. It's white balance wasn't always the best, however, and it was fairly terrible in poor lighting. I high contrast shots, though, the C905 would give better results - I did quite a bit of testing between the two
For examples of my work with the Z1, please look here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/sets/72157635983420745/
jluster said:
That's a real issue of viewpoint. In and by itself the Z1 camera isn't "bad" and the 245 firmware update fixed many issues, such as the purple fringing and the oversharpening. It doesn't however, bring the camera into "amazing" land.
Sony's much-touted DxOMark scores aren't all that cut out. While video pulls the device in second place, after the Nokia 808 and before the iPhone 5s, if you look at images alone it's 6th place, after Nokia, iPhone, and the Samsung Galaxy S4. In terms of clarity, if you neglect autofocus, the iPhone 5, non-S, beats it as well.
That's still great for a phone camera, it's just sad that the much hyped November model, running on excellent hardware, gets beat by the June model from Samsung. If you do a lot of video in good light and shoot only manual then you have a decent camera phone. If you want to go out and replace your point and shoot with this thing on a field trip or vacation, there are six or seven older phones that beat the Z1 in picture quality.
Now, I believe that 99% of those issues are software issues. Technically Sony's approach is sound. The BIONZ processor is one of the best IP on the market in this bracket, the Exmor RS backlit sensor used in the Z1 is also used in the iPhone 5s and RX100, and a powerhouse. So that stuff is there. The mini G-lens has great spatial properties and is one of the best when it comes to luminance. What doesn't seem to work so well is all in the software portion of the equation.
I am not giving up on Sony. I have great hardware, I hope firm- and software will catch up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, that is really annoying thing with Sony, they obviously haven't learnt anything from Xperia Z launch, release substandard firmware in the final release to public that everyone uses to review, therefore gets reviews that are not as good as they could have been, which will loose them sales. If they want to reach their goal of Number 2 Android selling phone. They have to wake up, trawl through the main forums, and review sites and make sure the phone they release is top notch, and make tiny tweaks later on.
Really why can't Sony get their sensor to work as well as Apple? Surely they should be able to get the most out of their sensors than anyone else?
The only substandard part of the hardware that I have noticed moving to Sony is the accelerometer and GPS accuracy, the rest has been robust and fixed with firmware updates.
If you want to get the best from the camera, you must run in manual mode. Because the software makes some pretty bad decisions a lot of the time.
Timaustin2000 said:
I had an Xperia S and, yes, it did take very detailed shots. It's white balance wasn't always the best, however, and it was fairly terrible in poor lighting. I high contrast shots, though, the C905 would give better results - I did quite a bit of testing between the two
For examples of my work with the Z1, please look here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/sets/72157635983420745/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice shots! I've been scratching my head though with one of the shots you had, the one of the food / burger stall.
It seemed REALLY sharp and detailed so I looked in the exif data and saw it was ISO 64 / 100! Shutter speed was just a mere 1/8s so I'm wondering how did that happen with that particular low-light scenario?
The other pictures I can relate to
Here are a couple shots I took (though not as good as yours I am thinking)
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B6YHwWcrqzNhbEtLUGFKNmk1SVU&usp=sharing
All taken in Manual Mode too (plant / garden shots are taken in 153 firmware)
bloodfire1004 said:
Nice shots! I've been scratching my head though with one of the shots you had, the one of the food / burger stall.
It seemed REALLY sharp and detailed so I looked in the exif data and saw it was ISO 64 / 100! Shutter speed was just a mere 1/8s so I'm wondering how did that happen with that particular low-light scenario?
The other pictures I can relate to
Here are a couple shots I took (though not as good as yours I am thinking)
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B6YHwWcrqzNhbEtLUGFKNmk1SVU&usp=sharing
All taken in Manual Mode too (plant / garden shots are taken in 153 firmware)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The burger stall image was actually taken with Superior Auto (I know!). It decided to throw the phone into "Spotlight" shooting mode and that was the result. A very good result.
By the way, I really like your Garden party image. Well exposed, nicely detailed.
I completely agree with the comments, above, about Sony missing a trick by releasing hardware with incomplete software. There was a very distinct feeling of the camera firmware being unfinished on release. It is now firing on all cylinders but the review damage has been done.
You can see the difference when you look at GSM Arena's initial review of the phone and their following camera comparisons, post update. One is "disappointed", the others are full of praise.
And Sony have no-one to blame but themselves, for that.
Timaustin2000 said:
The burger stall image was actually taken with Superior Auto (I know!). It decided to throw the phone into "Spotlight" shooting mode and that was the result. A very good result.
By the way, I really like your Garden party image. Well exposed, nicely detailed.
I completely agree with the comments, above, about Sony missing a trick by releasing hardware with incomplete software. There was a very distinct feeling of the camera firmware being unfinished on release. It is now firing on all cylinders but the review damage has been done.
You can see the difference when you look at GSM Arena's initial review of the phone and their following camera comparisons, post update. One is "disappointed", the others are full of praise.
And Sony have no-one to blame but themselves, for that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, basically everyone so far think it is a software issue.
I took some afternoon shots driving in 80 . The camera performs - now- without noise and got a crisp picture at what must be a really low shutterspeed. WTF?!
A situation Im never likøey to ever use the camera in again. Sigh, at drive by shooting it excels.
At indoor shots, it is agamble. Even with thenew firmware. It i proves markedly by manual exposure.
A total conclusion: it would be interrestimg having raw file possibilties. The camera is markedly better after the firmware update, and having the features in the camera button I am very pleased, however, where Im likley to use the camera most , indoors, it really needs an overhaul. I dont aleays have the time to enter manual mode! It is annoying that it defaults to full auto. Let me diecide!
Any other opinions
krimskram said:
So, basically everyone so far think it is a software issue.
I took some afternoon shots driving in 80 . The camera performs - now- without noise and got a crisp picture at what must be a really low shutterspeed. WTF?!
A situation Im never likøey to ever use the camera in again. Sigh, at drive by shooting it excels.
At indoor shots, it is agamble. Even with thenew firmware. It i proves markedly by manual exposure.
A total conclusion: it would be interrestimg having raw file possibilties. The camera is markedly better after the firmware update, and having the features in the camera button I am very pleased, however, where Im likley to use the camera most , indoors, it really needs an overhaul. I dont aleays have the time to enter manual mode! It is annoying that it defaults to full auto. Let me diecide!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, any other opinions?
krimskram said:
So, any other opinions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One: you can set your camera to launch in Manual from the launcher dock without having to re-set it. Just add a "shortcut" to your homescreen, select camera and select manual. Pop that in the docked section at the bottom of the screen and you'll always have quick access to it.
Just a shame they don't give you the option to launch camera in manual by long-pressing the camera button.
Oh, and to the fella above who says that there are "6 other models" from earlier in the year that will beat the XZ1 in good light? With respect, I'm going to disagree: There's no way that an S4, One or G2 can beat the Z1 in good light - and I'm not sure I could point to any other Android that does. (note: the iPhone 5 isn't as good but the 5s comes darned close,... in good light. Thought it over-saturates light a *****).
The S4 over-saturates, the G2 has even worse post-processing than Sony (it's artifact central on a G2 - FAR too much artificial sharpening) and the One? Well, it's the One, isn't it? Yuck. And the Z1 has better detail and dynamic range than all of the above in good light - it has been remarked on numerous times in a good many reviews.
The only place it really falls down is exposure - sometimes it blows out light objects if left to it's own devices. But you have an exposure toggle to fix that so problem solved.
In all honesty, I don't think I've ever been as happy with a phone camera. In any light.

Will Sony Improve Software on Z3 Compact Camera ?

I am seriously considering the Z3 Compact - they have fixed almost all the limitations I was concerned about
and unlike Galaxy Alpha have a large Battery, SD Card, and fairly powerful Speakers.
The Camera performance is according to some Reviews equal to Iphone5s ,slightly better in some ways but some say closer to Galaxy S5.
Either way hands on reviewers suggest that the new Sensor is not maximized by the Software Engineers.
Will we see an Update from Sony which will be a major step up .
robertkoa said:
I am seriously considering the Z3 Compact - they have fixed almost all the limitations I was concerned about
and unlike Galaxy Alpha have a large Battery, SD Card, and fairly powerful Speakers.
The Camera performance is according to some Reviews equal to Iphone5s ,slightly better in some ways but some say closer to Galaxy S5.
Either way hands on reviewers suggest that the new Sensor is not maximized by the Software Engineers.
Will we see an Update from Sony which will be a major step up .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Android L will bring a completely new camera implementation :good:
robertkoa said:
I am seriously considering the Z3 Compact - they have fixed almost all the limitations I was concerned about
and unlike Galaxy Alpha have a large Battery, SD Card, and fairly powerful Speakers.
The Camera performance is according to some Reviews equal to Iphone5s ,slightly better in some ways but some say closer to Galaxy S5.
Either way hands on reviewers suggest that the new Sensor is not maximized by the Software Engineers.
Will we see an Update from Sony which will be a major step up .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In my opinion the pictures/videos really depend on the situation. Sometimes the Sony's are better sometimes other phones. The phones do fairly poor in low light situations.
Dsteppa said:
In my opinion the pictures/videos really depend on the situation. Sometimes the Sony's are better sometimes other phones. The phones do fairly poor in low light situations.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks.
I wonder how well they will perform in well lit interiors with flourescent and incandescent lighting and if they can enable some better
semi automated easy 20 megapixel modes
Or , merely maximize the 20 megapixel mode to be a top performer.
And add a few 20 megapixel Auto Modes.
geronimoid said:
Android L will bring a completely new camera implementation :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Android L isn't going to be some miracle for the average user...
From I recall it'll give third party apps more access to and control over the camera.
King p1n said:
Android L isn't going to be some miracle for the average user...
From I recall it'll give third party apps more access to and control over the camera.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm more interested in what Sony will add to the package than the OS itself. This source claims a replacement for SA mode.
i'd say its a good chance that the camera firmware gets update sometime close to launch. This has been the case i've noticed for Sony phones...always a camera fix and always a little after launch. I could be wrong though.
robertkoa said:
Thanks.
I wonder how well they will perform in well lit interiors with flourescent and incandescent lighting and if they can enable some better
semi automated easy 20 megapixel modes
Or , merely maximize the 20 megapixel mode to be a top performer.
And add a few 20 megapixel Auto Modes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The full resolution images will always look worse than the downscaled ones. The 8mp superior auto pictures are created from 20mp images using a procedure called 'oversampling', which results in sharper images with less noise (a 20mp image is shrunken and resampled). But Sony's resampling algorithm just isn't very good. When I take a 20mp test image from a review and downscale it to the 8mp dimensions myself, using irfanview, I get a much cleaner and sharper looking result.
Sony X3 Compact Camera Resolution
Thanks DeGraff-
You would think Sony would have a better Algorithm for Downsampling an Image from 20 megapixel down to 8 megapixel than you are using-
Unless the algorithms that.do this well are math /CPU Intensive and would require too much time to process ?
As it stands the Sony XperiaZ3 Conmpact and Xperia Z3 seem to be on still
Images slightly below the sharpness of Iphone 5s , Galaxy S5, and LG G3
on most that I have seen, these photos are Online and I am viewing on a low res
phone but that's what I am seeing.
I want to be able to take some good photos for slide shows etc. and to email presentations- Galaxy S5 is sharper but TOO BIG to carry.
I hope SONY develops better Software but if they could, they would have already right ?
Is it possible to put a caption below each photo on Xperia?
Will image quality improve on software update ?
Better Downsampling Algorithm for Z Cameras ?
After I get my Z3 I would DEFINITELY pay $ 20 for a proven set of
Camera Downsizing Algorithms , one for Macro , one for Indoor Shots etc.
Could this possibly happen with Developers or as a Co - effort with Sony and Devs ?
Why doesn't Sony have Camera Software equal to Apple and Samsung.
You guys are Devs. Is digital noise reduction and correction so expensive and
hard to develop that Sony can't do it ?
Are there only 3 Guys that have the Math ?
Lol.
robertkoa said:
After I get my Z3 I would DEFINITELY pay $ 20 for a proven set of
Camera Downsizing Algorithms , one for Macro , one for Indoor Shots etc.
Could this possibly happen with Developers or as a Co - effort with Sony and Devs ?
Why doesn't Sony have Camera Software equal to Apple and Samsung.
You guys are Devs. Is digital noise reduction and correction so expensive and
hard to develop that Sony can't do it ?
Are there only 3 Guys that have the Math ?
Lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now that I think of it, it might have to do with the split between Sony and Ericsson. Since the Sony Xperia Z, Sony decided to make their own phones, I don't know what they did with the people that work at Ericsson, but I assume they didn't took over everyone. So it might be a reason, that they have some people with lesser experience.
Sent from my D5803
I will be getting the USA Sony Unlocked D5803 which is the same as the Europe
Version except more money but enables a $79.99 great warranty including the
Butterfly Glass breaking ( my nickname lol).
Hopefully SONY got some GG3 or Dragontrail on these latest production runs.
I hope they tweak the Auto Modes in Android L and add some User,Presets for
different shots.
Either way, the Camera has been compared a tier below the Big,Boys
Iphone6, Note 4, etc. still good but with tweaking, or for example 2 different
Downsizing Algorithms, and a few tricks could be right up there....
You Devs who work with Photo Algorithms, a serious opportunity for a
big dollar App here , right ?
I will pay$20 , maybe $40 for an App that kicks a Z3C into top Lumia Category...
robertkoa said:
I will be getting the USA Sony Unlocked D5803 which is the same as the Europe
Version except more money but enables a $79.99 great warranty including the
Butterfly Glass breaking ( my nickname lol).
Hopefully SONY got some GG3 or Dragontrail on these latest production runs.
I hope they tweak the Auto Modes in Android L and add some User,Presets for
different shots.
Either way, the Camera has been compared a tier below the Big,Boys
Iphone6, Note 4, etc. still good but with tweaking, or for example 2 different
Downsizing Algorithms, and a few tricks could be right up there....
You Devs who work with Photo Algorithms, a serious opportunity for a
big dollar App here , right ?
I will pay$20 , maybe $40 for an App that kicks a Z3C into top Lumia Category...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some time ago, I emailed the developer of an app called "Open Camera" asking if he would add an option to simulate oversampling by automatically downsampling maximum-resolution photos. He liked the idea and he said he will try to add such a feature some time in the near future. It will be the first third-party android camera app to ever simulate oversampling. I'm curious to see he will manage to use a better downsampling algorythm than the one used by superior auto mode.
Thanks De Graff : you might want to tell this Dev that is he can get sharper photos
perhaps by using 3 Different Downsizing Algorithms:
One for Indoors, one for Indoors with Flash etc etc or maybe one that only downsizes from 20.7 to the 15 megapixel setting ?
And tell him many of us will PAY if he gets less noise, sharper, better exposure.
Xperia MAX Cam-maximize your Z3.

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