[HTC One vs Z1] Camera comparison test the shoutout

[HTC One vs Z1] Camera comparison test the shoutout - One (M7) General

Z1 vs HTC one camera test / comparison - Vote please.
@ Mods please move this thread in general if it doesn't belong here , ty !
ok so my cousins came at my place with 2 Z1's , we've taken them to test them out , it was cloudy day , as for flash light photos / indoor no flash photos z1 trully sux big time and they didn't want to let me have those photos , so all i have is daylight photos and 1 flash light and 1 indoor , don't ask how i got those 2 lol it was PAIN.
While taking pics z1 really has major issues with superior auto / white balance , while with manual it's slightly better but still not good enough imo due timing , they've took both pics with me average 3/4 pics each and average 2-3 mins took them for each pic with various settings at the end choosing the best outta 7/8 they took while i was snapping either 1 normal or some HDR pics that's about it. They've also deleted so many daylight photos where they were worse then me ... so not really an *FAIR* comparison due them being big time Sony fanboys and they're very stubborn and not accepting their camera isn't the best in the world lol.
Keep in mind i have no skills with camera tho my cousins know how camera works so they're more experienced then i am.
Anyway i'll let you judge the photos and i'll open a vote poll so vote for which you think it won overall.
Xperia Z1
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
HTC One
Xperia Z1
HTC One
Xperia Z1
HTC One
Xperia Z1
HTC One
Xperia Z1
HTC One
Xperia Z1
HTC One
Xperia Z1
HTC One
Xperia Z1
HTC One
Xperia Z1
HTC One
Xperia Z1
HTC One
Xperia Z1 - Flash macro
HTC One - Flash macro
Xperia Z1
HTC One
Xperia Z1
HTC One
Xperia Z1 - indoor no flash.
HTC One - indoor no flash.
Xperia Z1
HTC One
Xperia Z1
HTC One
Xperia Z1
HTC One
Xperia Z1
HTC One
Xperia Z1
HTC One
Xperia Z1
HTC One
Xperia Z1
HTC One
Xperia Z1
HTC One
Xperia Z1
HTC One
Xperia Z1
HTC One
Xperia Z1
HTC One
Xperia Z1
HTC One
Xperia Z1
HTC One
Xperia Z1
HTC One
Xperia Z1
HTC One
Xperia Z1
HTC One

great
except for the cloud one Which z1 has more natural
i cant believe htc beats z1 camera lol
thats epic hahaha
btw some of the colors are saturated for z1
for me htc one picture are pretty awesome
bith cameras are like same 4mp vs 21 lol

@Khixar27
I'm still uploading Photos i got 50 more to go please wait before i finish
Here some more photos that couldn't fit in the 1st post.
Xperia Z1
HTC One
Xperia Z1
HTC One
Xperia Z1
HTC One
Xperia Z1
HTC One
Xperia Z1
HTC One
Xperia Z1
HTC One
Xperia Z1
HTC One
Xperia Z1
HTC One
Xperia Z1
HTC One
Xperia Z1
HTC One
Xperia Z1
HTC One

Koje selo i država brate? ?
Htc One the One ?

Slovakia?
But sticking to topic, Z1 doesn't looks to good with 21mpx sensor. I would say that One has slight edge here

adam_pl said:
Slovakia?
But sticking to topic, Z1 doesn't looks to good with 21mpx sensor. I would say that One has slight edge here
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its Serbia actually
Sent from my HTC One using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

I like the saturation in the Z1, but the HTC definitely capture more detail in low light with less noise. My conclusion is to use the HTC with a +.5 step in saturation.

In my opinin, and yes, I am a Z1 owner... seeing as you were using the Z1 in manual mode, you either had the ISO too low (50??) or you didn't adjust the EV accordingly as the Z1 pictures just look too dark really?
When in manual mode, you really need to take advantage of the settings

raysurrx7 said:
I like the saturation in the Z1, but the HTC definitely capture more detail in low light with less noise. My conclusion is to use the HTC with a +.5 step in saturation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We've took photos @ around 10/11am lol , the saturation you like on z1 is cuz they had to use cloudy / daylight white balance due impossibility to come close to my pics , here few examples for you just so you see what I mean , anyway it wouldn't look realistic since there were no sun at all pretty much whole time. Only 2 pics had sun and that's it.
1st pic normal 2nd with daylight effect same as they used the whole time
I assume this is what you wanted ?
Keep in mind it was cloudy no sun at all , that why pics are less saturated on my phone but as you can see in the examples I could've done that but wouldn't represent realistic colors
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2

I guess there is something to that mega pixel after all. Both cameras took good pictures and mostly comes down to settings. At least the Xperia don't suffer from the purple haze that many of us one owners has.
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using Tapatalk

Dark Jedi said:
I guess there is something to that mega pixel after all. Both cameras took good pictures and mostly comes down to settings. At least the Xperia don't suffer from the purple haze that many of us one owners has.
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It actually has indoor some yellow / blue tint , you can see on the indoor pic , btw I don't have that sensor issue that many HTC one owners do.
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2

great comparsion
for me htc one looks better , btw the photos is great
does your htc one camera sometimes show in screen regular noise while capturing photos? i want to know if this is a regular thing or only my unit does this .. another question , does your phone suffer from blue/red noise in dark or no ? i hope no:good:

wezzel98765 said:
In my opinin, and yes, I am a Z1 owner... seeing as you were using the Z1 in manual mode, you either had the ISO too low (50??) or you didn't adjust the EV accordingly as the Z1 pictures just look too dark really?
When in manual mode, you really need to take advantage of the settings
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello there , I didn't even use z1 , I've wrote in OP that I was using my one and my 2 cousins were using 2 z1's taking each 3/4 pics each in total of 7/8 and later picking the best pic outta 7/8.
They look dark because HTC really has outstanding HDR while z1 really is no match with hdr.
From my observation with those difficult scenes z1 was useless , you could make pic but you would have to chose either sky/ clouds or ground , there's no option to take both like with HTC's hdr.
oh and believe my cousins were only using manual since superior auto was completely useless.
One Twelve confirmed this by checking Exifs.
One Twelve said:
Exifs are there for all the pics
The Z1 user set white balance appropriately and actually used -EV compensation for a number of shots, might have over done it in some places. it's a difficult call. Auto isn't mature yet on the Z1, whereas the HTC one has been out for ages and from what i could tell the HTC camera took all the shots in auto. No tweaks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah you're right. Like I said all I was using was auto or hdr , nothing else.
One Twelve said:
The close up on the tree bark actually has the Z1 produce a blurred shot, dunno how that happened. Shutter was fast enough so no chance of camera shake.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess the cousin moved lol.
One Twelve said:
What i'd like to understand better is this brightness value i see in the HTC exifs, it seems to change for each shot and wondered if any of the htc guys can tell me more about it. First thing you see is the HTC shots are all brighter, and in some cases more than necessary.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The shots are brighter cuz of hdr , with z1 if you point at the sky for example bottom gets dark and it's clearly impossible for z1 to balance that due to poor hdr capabilities where's the htc one handles this easily.
My guess about brightness change is probably meetering and our auto / hdr can use higher values then what we can in manual.
One Twelve said:
Questions to the OP
- how long have the Z1 owners had their phone and how long have you had yours.
- indicate which photo pairs are HDR (if any) ?
- Can you clarify whether the Z1 took the shots in 20MP or 8MP.
- Which program did you use to resize down to 1.4MP ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
- I've had HTC one since June , my cousins have their Z1's since it came out ( as addition they've been with Sony since SE K300I , so trust me they know what they're doing lol )
- All photos that have sky / clouds +ground = hdr , the rest were normal.
One Twelve said:
- i don't understand what happened with the indoor shots. Saying they were really bad does not make sense to me. Without seeing the shots there is no way to comment.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
- trust me it was embarrassing shots which is why they didn't let me have them , I managed to get only 1 flash photo and only 1 indoor no flash photo , I was looking forward to upload those but unluckily they didn't let me have them.
- Dunno which mp they used all I know is they used manual settings.
- I didn't use any program to resize photos , all I did is upload the photos from pc to tinypic site and post them here.
One Twelve said:
- How about a low light shoot-out. I want to see shutter speeds of 0.3s on your htc and we'll see how that compares with the 0.8s on the Z1. Take care to stabilise the cameras so as not to have blur. If your cousins know what they're doing this should not be a problem for them
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Like I said there's no low light shots Thx to them , tho in almost pitch black no flash z1 was better , everywhere else worse. Even video recording low light due fact I can record video at same brightness as the shots you saw lol. ( hdr recording ) also in pitch black z1 can't come close since my flash is about 2x more powerful.
One Twelve said:
Actually this is fair, you should have done the same as this way it really is best that the cameras can do. These are pre-planned shots, you can take as much time as you want. There is no time deadline or any other constraints. When people put up their pics many times they put up the best of many. So this is normal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have the nerves for that I just want point and shoot not wasting time to set all the settings , the moment will pass by the time settings are set.
One Twelve said:
Auto isn't mature on the Z1, it will take time. This means the skill of the Z1 owner needs to be better. The difference with ISO for instance can be signficant and not slight as you put it, auto can bump ISO up very high resulting in a noisy shot whereas you can get pretty good results if you set it manually. Your cousins did this already. Most reviewers do not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I've noticed that superior auto is utter **** lol.
One Twelve said:
This should not come as a surprise to an HTC owner, you have plenty of tweaks you can use as well. However, things like contrast, sharpness, saturation etc would not be fair as they're not present on the Z1 and can be done in post with better software. i note you did not use any of these 3 in any photos
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I'm just one of those point and shot , sometime switch to hdr and that's about it. Tho I gotta say I play with settings when I'm bored but when taking pics pretty much point and shoot.
Nightf0x_007 said:
great comparsion
for me htc one looks better , btw the photos is great
does your htc one camera sometimes show in screen regular noise while capturing photos? i want to know if this is a regular thing or only my unit does this .. another question , does your phone suffer from blue/red noise in dark or no ? i hope no:good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess I get sometimes with flash noise untill it focuses after that all normal , no tints here pretty much perfect unit.
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2

Great post. It is nice to see almost a year in and our camera is still up there with its so called Ultra-pixels which is just a fancy word for mega-pixel. I never doubted this phones camera always served me well and even made a 2 hour long home movie to send back home.. Great phone but i think if sony put time and effort into their software they can get the camera up and running in brilliant quality too..

Shan89 said:
They look dark because HTC really has outstanding HDR while z1 really is no match with hdr.
From my observation with those difficult scenes z1 was useless , you could make pic but you would have to chose either sky/ clouds or ground , there's no option to take both like with HTC's hdr.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HDR takes multiple exposures and combines them. You have no control over this process. Given that auto isn't mature with Z1, it follows that neither will HDR be mature on Z1.
If you want good quality photos, then try not to use HDR. why ? jpg is lossy. jpg + jpg + jpg = even more lossy. Also takes longer as you have to wait for 'processing images' before taking next shot.
About sky/ground, what you do is use spot metering. If you spot on the clouds, the ground becomes dark, on the ground you blow out the sky, you have to spot somewhere in the middle. Now if the subjects are in the same focal plane then you can get away with this otherwise HDR is the only option as focus will not be at infinity. HDR is a compromise in this particular case to get you better exposed shot.
Its not required for every shot, only where there is big difference in lighting between foreground and background and subjects are in many planes that you want to keep more or less in focus. Personally, unless its landscape type photo this can be distracting, better to keep the subject in sharp focus and forget if the rest is blurred, it will make for a better shot.
In camera HDR is a recent 'innovation'. If you want the best HDR, then take 5 exposures from -2 to +2 with camera on a tripod, use a HDR speicialised program to combine them on a PC and then see the results compared to the 'poor man's HDR' the camera provides.
Shan89 said:
Yeah you're right. Like I said all I was using was auto or hdr , nothing else.
The shots are brighter cuz of hdr , with z1 if you point at the sky for example bottom gets dark and it's clearly impossible for z1 to balance that due to poor hdr capabilities where's the htc one handles this easily.
My guess about brightness change is probably meetering and our auto / hdr can use higher values then what we can in manual.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then i would look only at the pics where HDR was not used in this comparison. HTC one has had many months to improve HDR, it did not come perfect out of the box. Same with Z1.
Shan89 said:
- I've had HTC one since June , my cousins have their Z1's since it came out ( as addition they've been with Sony since SE K300I , so trust me they know what they're doing lol )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Z1 has been out now just under two months, takes time to get to know its quirks. Each phone camera is different. Since they set WB & EV i can tell they are not complete n00bs. But more hands on time is always better than less. Photographer is more important than camera.
Shan89 said:
- Dunno which mp they used all I know is they used manual settings.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you have the originals, then look at the resolution. the 20MP will be (5248 x 3936) and the 8MP will be (3840 x 2160) or (3,264 x 2,448) . File sizes will also be bigger. I think they have used 20MP for all, can you confirm ?
This matters because currently you will get better shots with Z1 in 8MP 4:3 than with 20MP. Noise control is much better due to oversampling. Also 8MP means you can use different SCN modes which is not possible with 20MP. For low light shots or indoors this will make a difference.
For now we can say 20MP means 2x zoom is better than lower resolution sensors. Photos at 20MP are not necessarily better than 8MP. I wish these cameras put out RAW because then we will really see what the camera can do instead of what the compression program is doing to create those jpgs
When people make comments about camera they are primarily commenting about
1) auto and how well it works
2) image compression algorithm. good compression + good quality means more time + more CPU, a phone is not the best place to do this. So you can take the next shot quick, compromises are made here which affect image quality.
3) stock camera app. 3rd party apps in playstore may do a better job in certain situations.
So we still do not get to see what the camera can do without these other factors interfering in the process with ANY phone camera.
Shan89 said:
- I didn't use any program to resize photos , all I did is upload the photos from pc to tinypic site and post them here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It was a good choice for image host because inspite of resizing it still preserved the exif data. Many others strip it out. I was surprised to see them. So you passed the minimum test here
Better still would be to resize them yourself with a good quality program and then upload. How well these image sites do resize is not transparent. They have to handle lots of load.
Shan89 said:
- trust me it was embarrassing shots which is why they didn't let me have them , I managed to get only 1 flash photo and only 1 indoor no flash photo , I was looking forward to upload those but unluckily they didn't let me have them.
Like I said there's no low light shots Thx to them , tho in almost pitch black no flash z1 was better , everywhere else worse. Even video recording low light due fact I can record video at same brightness as the shots you saw lol. ( hdr recording ) also in pitch black z1 can't come close since my flash is about 2x more powerful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm trying to figure what you mean here. The only clue is flash is 2x more powerful. So in cases where a more powerful flash helps the Z1 could not compete but there are cases where your flash will be over powering and the Z1 will be just right. This isn't a problem because you can always diffuse the light by putting some paper on the flash. Where the more powerful flash has an edge is in freezing motion if subject is moving with low light, so long as it happens less than 6 feet away. But then flash makes for lousy photos since its direct at the subject and not reflected. Big problem with phone cameras currently. They always locate the flash below the lens instead of above it. I don't why this is. There is no off camera flash option available as yet. eg. you cannot bounce the flash of the ceiling and get better photos.
But why to use the flash in the first place, when both cameras can do good low light photos. None of the subjects in the photos were moving so there should not be a problem here.
We don't know what your cousins were thinking. Embarrassing does not say much, why was it embarrassing and what could be done to make it better. There are many indoors shots with Z1 in the photo thread, nothing embarrassing there.
Shan89 said:
I don't have the nerves for that I just want point and shoot not wasting time to set all the settings , the moment will pass by the time settings are set.
Yeah I'm just one of those point and shot , sometime switch to hdr and that's about it. Tho I gotta say I play with settings when I'm bored but when taking pics pretty much point and shoot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This applies for impromptu shots. How often does this happen for you ? Not a single one of your sample shots comes in this category. My feeling is these impromptu shots are maybe 5% of the time. These are the hardest to get, subject may be moving and you will not get a good shot, you will get an ok to bad shot.
The rest of the time you can plan, take many shots, play with angles for better composition etc. But the thing about camera in your pocket is at least you have a camera in the first place and if the time is there you will get the shot whereas before you had nothing.
People say you are not supposed to get good photos because this is only a phone camera. But with more capable cameras they take lots of effort to get a good photo because its a good camera. Makes no sense. To get a good shot with phone camera you have to work harder because there are more limitations. This means more possibilities as well.
Shan89 said:
Yeah I've noticed that superior auto is utter **** lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And what about 3 months from now ? will your statement still be valid.
if you follow the evolution of the Z, it took anywhere from 3-5 months after launch to get it right. So there is no reason it will change with Z1, maybe it might come sooner. This unfortunately is a sony thing. others will put out cameras that are mature but have bugs elsewhere. Nobody puts out a perfect phone at launch. Look hard enough and you will see the bugs, what matters is whether the vendor is prepared to fix them or not. How good is their past record in doing this.
But the reviewers always get the latest & greatest and then move on, they do not bother to review after 3 months. People also want latest & greatest and then find its not mature and think its bad. But after 3 months they change their mind. Just see the photo threads for any flagship here and you see the same comments. My <old phone> takes better photos than this <new phone>. very predictable :laugh:
if you look at HTC photo thread, around march-may, reviewers were complaining that htc is oversharpening images because they can see halos around the edges. What is the solution ? set sharpness to -2 or -1 gives a softer image and no halos. So htc got bashed quite a bit too. In fact i think htc is most bashed camera out there because everybody thinks 4MP is not enough. But what can they use to display 4MP ? there are no 4k displays out there or they are very expensive. Full HD is only 2MP. you can still print 10x14 inch prints with 4MP. But no... 4MP on HTC is not enough or bad. pfft.
Shan89 said:
I guess I get sometimes with flash noise untill it focuses after that all normal , no tints here pretty much perfect unit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is one thing that still i'm not able to understand. 300 pg thread on this omg!. There are theories around but nothing conclusive as yet. Some people are saying the heat does it over time. With Z1 if it gets too hot you will not be able to use the camera. So too much heating over a long time is supposed to cause this problem with tinting. Its such a pity to replace the phone after only 6 months :crying:
This tinting is the problem as i see it with htc one. Not 4MP.

Too many peoples and companies think megapixels means quality, while using very poor sensors. They keep trying to push this rumor/agenda
A better sensor>>>>>megapixel count

crixley said:
Too many peoples and companies think megapixels means quality, while using very poor sensors. They keep trying to push this rumor/agenda
A better sensor>>>>>megapixel count
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly +1
@One Twelve
I'm sorry I can't bother answering to all questions etc , simply just take a look at photos and you got answer.
As for hdr stuff you wrote HTC one takes less then 0.5 Sec to make hdr photo and ready for next , I'm sure it takes over 20 sec to set z1 to make similar photo which is still no match.
As for fllash HTC one has smart flash = we.have 5 modes = it can fire up very low light or super strong light , this is why z1 will never match htc one in flash light photos , especially if photos are 1/2+ meters away , z1 is useless in this distance.
As for ceiling HTC one gets better flash photos when there are walls then when there aren't.
I can take photo outdoor pitch black about 5/7 meters away , indoor I can go up to 10 , if I increase exposure and lower contrast I can go even further.
HTC one also in long distance low light photos can take hdr + flash light = it gathers light from flash as well and makes overall picture more light.
With 4:3 HTC one also makes better photos then in 16:9 also sharper.
By the time z1 gets / if it gets fixed we will have updates as well + one 2 will be out by that time and more fair comparison would be one 2 due being newer 4/5 month's instead comparison vs HTC one which is 7 months older
As for Xperia Z I've took test with my cousins as well since they had XZ before z1 , I've literally raped Xz , I'll ask them to send me that test and upload it as well.
As for movement + picturing z1 will never match HTC ZOE.
here few samples for you so you see why :sly:
Btw all this pics were quiet tricky movement and impossible with burst shot or regular , but ZOE handles movement quiet easy.
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2

If I am to judge, I'd say for the most part, the z1 does seem more pleasing. You seem to be abusing the hdr alot on the Htc one. The colors are washed out as hell. I can tell because I use the htc one as well.
I'll say this, neither the z1 nor the HTC One's hdr are good. Only the HTC One has a minor advantage.
If you are going to use HDR, set your ISO to 100, AF/AE lock on a bright light source AND THEN switch to HDR. This way your HDR will look much better than just using HDR right off the bat.
The first pic, I used HDR right off the bat. Looks washed out, basically it looks terrible
The second pic, I set ISO100, AE/AF lock on my ceiling light, switched to HDR. Much better colors.

Shan89 said:
I'm sorry I can't bother answering to all questions etc , simply just take a look at photos and you got answer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Too bad, i guess it will fall upon somebody else to challenge otherwise my points stand.
Z1 isn't ready for a HDR shootout. It is ready for non-hdr manual shootout. When i have time i will select the non-hdr shots in your group and we will see the differences.
Shan89 said:
As for fllash HTC one has smart flash = we.have 5 modes = it can fire up very low light or super strong light , this is why z1 will never match htc one in flash light photos , especially if photos are 1/2+ meters away , z1 is useless in this distance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This bit is interesting. i don't think any other android camera can vary the intensity of flash light based upon what the camera sees. This is an advantage with indoor shots. Does not mean you cannot get acceptable ones in Z1 or any other that does not have this ability, its just harder. And once you know what to do its no longer harder.
So I'm not going with ease of use, i'm interested in whether its possible to take the shot or not. This is a better indication of limitations.
Shan89 said:
HTC one also in long distance low light photos can take hdr + flash light = it gathers light from flash as well and makes overall picture more light.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok
Shan89 said:
I can take photo outdoor pitch black about 5/7 meters away , indoor I can go up to 10 , if I increase exposure and lower contrast I can go even further.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Useful but difficult to get right. People look more cold than warm. This is why the push to improve low light handling so there is little need to use flash in the first place. Flash photography on a mobile phone is difficult.
Shan89 said:
With 4:3 HTC one also makes better photos then in 16:9 also sharper.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Surprising as i thought htc one has a native 16:9 sensor. Everybody else uses 4:3. So smaller pics come out better with 4:3 than 16:9.
So i'd have thought 16:9 is best aspect ratio for htc one.
Shan89 said:
By the time z1 gets / if it gets fixed we will have updates as well + one 2 will be out by that time and more fair comparison would be one 2 due being newer 4/5 month's instead comparison vs HTC one which is 7 months older
As for Xperia Z I've took test with my cousins as well since they had XZ before z1 , I've literally raped Xz , I'll ask them to send me that test and upload it as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, do that lets see the difference. Ensure the exifs are visible. After looking at the photo thread for Z, i changed my mind about what most people think about the Z. I would like to understand in which way the htc one 'rapes' the Z
I note that htc one does not indicate which firmware number is being used. So can you mention which one was used to take your photos.
Shan89 said:
As for movement + picturing z1 will never match HTC ZOE.
here few samples for you so you see why :sly:
Btw all this pics were quiet tricky movement and impossible with burst shot or regular , but ZOE handles movement quiet easy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't follow, with enough light you have a fast shutter speed so why is it hard to get those shots ?
What does ZOE do here that you cannot do without it.

Related

X10 vs Iphone 4 Camera Test ^ UPDATE! ^

Updated with Camera 360 tests
Hi everyone. Today i was a little bored so i decided to take some test photos with my x10 and compare vs my wife's iphone 4. Now i am not a photographer or anything like that..These are just amateur photos taken with stock settings and stock camera apps on both phones. The x10 is set at 8mp,single autofocus and the iphone is 5mp HDR off. I have cleaned the lens on both phones to get as clearer picures as they can. Now i do have shaky hands and it wasnt easy to get steady photos especially with the x10 as the iphone shutter is very quick and its a little bit easier. Here are the photos untouched..just they came out of the phones.
Iphone 4
X10 Stock Camera
x10 Camera 360 test 1
Camera 360 first two bigger size dont know why they came out smaller first time.
Iphone 4 vs X10 Camera 360 Close up
Edit: Did some pics with Vignette but they come up to over 5mb and imgeshack wont let me upload them..will find some other hosting site that will and will upload them too Big difference between stock camera and Camera 360 and Vignette.
Let me know what you think and if you have any requests for more comparisons ask me and i will try my best to do them.

Well though to some people the colours of iphone may sound better but to me(as i have some knowledge about photography)the colours on X10 are better as they sound natural unlike the colours on iphone's pics which looks over warmed and unnatural and as far as clarity and detail is concerned there is no doubt that X10 is way better(though in case of X10 you still shaked a bit in some photos)but still thumbs up dude for this comparison and yeah i would once again say X10's camera is better then iphone's

SK_007 said:
Well though to some people the colours of iphone may sound better but to me(as i have some knowledge about photography)the colours on X10 are better as they sound natural unlike the colours on iphone's pics which looks over warmed and unnatural and as far as clarity and detail is concerned there is no doubt that X10 is way better(though in case of X10 you still shaked a bit in some photos)but still thumbs up dude for this comparison and yeah i would once again say X10's camera is better then iphone's
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I agree with you. The colours taken by iphone is unnatural compared to photos taken by X10.
No doubt that SE camera is better than Apple, I think even other phone brand has better camera than iphone.
Sent from my X10i using XDA App

Accuracy be damned. The pictures on the iphone look nicer, much nicer. And frankly, there is a strong blue tint to the x10 pictures, i find it hard to believe it was anywhere near that blue in real life.

I think we should post the poll in an iphone forum as well.. I mean its obvious the X10 is going to win here
I think 2 of the iphone pics were better than the X10, but yeah, once you zoom in, you can notice that the X10 pics were shaken a bit. Don't know if this is because the iphone is easier to hold or if the OP was simply so nervous about taking a pic with the X10 that he shook it
@OP:
1. Can you try turning image stabilization off in the X10.. I've found this has helped a lot
2. What about Vignette? We all know the stock camera isn't very good at post processing the image

JamesBarnes said:
Accuracy be damned. The pictures on the iphone look nicer, much nicer. And frankly, there is a strong blue tint to the x10 pictures, i find it hard to believe it was anywhere near that blue in real life.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Strange my wife said the same thing that the x10 pics are too blue but the Iphones pics on the other hand are too yellow... if you look at the road on the first pic upclose you will see its yellow and on the x10 is gray as it should be..

pngface said:
I think we should post the poll in an iphone forum as well.. I mean its obvious the X10 is going to win here
I think 2 of the iphone pics were better than the X10, but yeah, once you zoom in, you can notice that the X10 pics were shaken a bit. Don't know if this is because the iphone is easier to hold or if the OP was simply so nervous about taking a pic with the X10 that he shook it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha not nervous at all lol i just have shaky hands (too much coffee) the thing is that the iphones shutter is very quick and it takes the photo instantly as of the x10 i press the button and its slow so by the time it takes the pic my hands have moved? lol if that makes any sense..
@pngface the image stabilization is off actually and i will take some pics with Vignette tommorow i am pretty sure that even with the stock camera if i make some adjustments i would get better photos as it has so many options i wanted to do this to see how both cameras compare stock settings untouched. But i will make more photos tommorow possibly with vignette and will try different settings.

Does turning image stabilization off on the X10 actually give nicer photos? And if so, how could it?
Sent from my X10a using XDA App

Great Comparison & X10 camera is way better than iPhone camera, no doubt about that. I'm not saying that x10 camera is perfect but it has more natural colours than iPhone camera. iPhone has overwarmed, unnatural yellowish colours.

Mr Patchy Patch said:
Does turning image stabilization off on the X10 actually give nicer photos? And if so, how could it?
Sent from my X10a using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Image stabilize effectively blurs the image slightly as to merge your shaky bits with good bits

yetep said:
Image stabilize effectively blurs the image slightly as to merge your shaky bits with good bits
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmm....so by having image stabilization "on" you say it adds a slight blur to my pictures? Therefore, if I turn it off and take pictures the blur should be gone? Because I always had it on and have always noticed a slight blur in my pictures especially when I was comparing stock camera to vignette. Now, if this is the case maybe Im gonna have to recompare these two. But I guess vignette will still be better since that compression crap on the stock.

Forgetting about the colors (it's possible to adjust in post), in this default setting the iphone camera is much better. Just look at 100%, and you'll see what I'm talking about. The default x10 app compress the image too much, and the final details become a blurred mess (photo 2, compare the background wall, photo 4, look the trees and the leaves). I'm work as visual effects artist and have photography as hobby. Last month I opened a thread about a better camera app for x10, so I tried vignette but the results are not good. I don't know what happens (probably the demosaicing algorithm?), but at 100% you see very bad artifacts. I've been using Camera 360, it's a good alternative for the default app. In both apps you can set the image compression to none or very little, making the image more sharp. Anyway, I think even using very low compression the x10 will not be able to capture the detail that iphone captures.
I'm doing my best to be unbiased here. Yes, I hate the apple marketing...

rafaperez3d said:
Forgetting about the colors (it's possible to adjust in post), in this default setting the iphone camera is much better. Just look at 100%, and you'll see what I'm talking about. The default x10 app compress the image too much, and the final details become a blurred mess (photo 2, compare the background wall, photo 4, look the trees and the leaves). I'm work as visual effects artist and have photography as hobby. Last month I opened a thread about a better camera app for x10, so I tried vignette but the results are not good. I don't know what happens (probably the demosaicing algorithm?), but at 100% you see very bad artifacts. I've been using Camera 360, it's a good alternative for the default app. In both apps you can set the image compression to none or very little, making the image more sharp. Anyway, I think even using very low compression the x10 will not be able to capture the detail that iphone captures.
I'm doing my best to be unbiased here. Yes, I hate the apple marketing...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmm...I'm really pleased with vignette pictures....much nicer than stock..however now I'm gonna go try camera 360 like you suggested and compare. Thanks
Sent from my X10a using XDA App

Nokia N8 versus X10 versus Iphone 4
Generally speaking (according to this test), the N8 has the best camera, followed by the X10 and then the iPhone 4 (although those last two are a close call).
However, based on the pictures posted in this thread, the Iphone 4 is obviously superior in capturing detail. The difference between the two phones is quite large.

Photo
Hard to say which is better, for IPhone colors are oversaturated and our X10 sometimes fails in resolving details. Anyway a true shoot out must have and a third parties for benchmark - let say a midrange DSLR.

I totally agree with guys who voted for X10. I thought Nokia was leader with oversaturated colours but now I see Apple takes the lead . Only better image that iphone made is last one, and that is because x10 shaked.
Blueish tint generally shows if light source shoots into lens, or image is overexposed, and x10 images are bit overexposed, so feel free to adjust EV

Mr Patchy Patch said:
Hmmm....so by having image stabilization "on" you say it adds a slight blur to my pictures? Therefore, if I turn it off and take pictures the blur should be gone? Because I always had it on and have always noticed a slight blur in my pictures especially when I was comparing stock camera to vignette. Now, if this is the case maybe Im gonna have to recompare these two. But I guess vignette will still be better since that compression crap on the stock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly! Stick wit non stock

X10 is better, the Iphone 4 dont look natural and the Quality of X10 is better. But i never make Image Stabilizator on becouse without it the Pictures look better but when you click the Button it shakes so i make the most of the Photos with the Touchscreen.

stabilisation use only in low light situation, when trying to capture still object

JamesBarnes said:
Accuracy be damned. The pictures on the iphone look nicer, much nicer. And frankly, there is a strong blue tint to the x10 pictures, i find it hard to believe it was anywhere near that blue in real life.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most people share that opinion when they move from a point and shoot compact camera to a semi professional SLR. The iphone haves too much post processing to increase the saturation of warmer colors. If you do get into photography you know what is good and real color is much better then the over processed ones as you may or may not post process it in photoshop to suit your goal on each specific photo.
From my point of view the X10 wins hands down. That said, I won't be using mine that much as it stands miles away from the quality I get with my Canon and Sony DSLRs.

Share your best camera settings for Xperia Z

You know the 13MP camera is supposed to be great but when you take a shot, the result is not so well. Photos are usually washed out in color.
Maybe it's the settings?
Why not share your best camera settings here?
To make Xperia Z a better shoter.:good::highfive:

there is no best setting for taking pictures
there are many factors regarding that light, sky, what u shootin how far,....

the best setting for a really great picture is taking a decent camera with you, wherever you go.

duncanm said:
the best setting for a really great picture is taking a decent camera with you, wherever you go.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nothing you can do really i think that the camera on the xperia z has so much potential sony has some of the best sensors tec in the world. but i think where sony fails is really in its software, and to tell you the truth i dont think its going to progress any time soon.
we all know that apple uses sony sensors and there picture quality is so much better because they have done a great job with their software.
I dont see why sony doesnt just pay apple developers to sort it out lol. i love my sony alway have so i can put up with them.

decentgi said:
nothing you can do really i think that the camera on the xperia z has so much potential sony has some of the best sensors tec in the world. but i think where sony fails is really in its software, and to tell you the truth i dont think its going to progress any time soon.
we all know that apple uses sony sensors and there picture quality is so much better because they have done a great job with their software.
I dont see why sony doesnt just pay apple developers to sort it out lol. i love my sony alway have so i can put up with them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
indeed camera app didnt change much since xperia x1

Since 2 days I am a proud owner of the Xperia Z, but when you take a picture with the 13mp camera it is a verry poor quality, also the picture is just 2/3/4 mb depending on how many colours there are in the shot. I allready set the camera to 13mp, when you turn on the HDR function it sets to 10mp but still the quality stays poor. Someone knows if there is a setting that lets you make larger pictures than 3/4 mb?

Shoot in BURST mode and be amazed
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2195895

Koningwatermaker said:
Since 2 days I am a proud owner of the Xperia Z, but when you take a picture with the 13mp camera it is a verry poor quality, also the picture is just 2/3/4 mb depending on how many colours there are in the shot. I allready set the camera to 13mp, when you turn on the HDR function it sets to 10mp but still the quality stays poor. Someone knows if there is a setting that lets you make larger pictures than 3/4 mb?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was underwhelmed by the camera as well but changing a few settings makes a huge difference. I shoot in Manual Mode, touch to focus, 8mp , white balance on auto (I sometimes change this) and ISO on auto. I can post a few pictures in low light if you want.
Also if you download Camera FV-5 it lets you take pictures in .png format, the pictures are about 8mb but I couldn't tell the difference in quality to be honest.

Actually... I'm not an expert on these stuff but.. I think there is more to your Sony Xperia.. It can get better if you know how to adjust with the scenes and IF YOU USE MANUAL MODE(ABSOLUTELY GIVES YOU A CHANCE OF GETTING SUPERB OUTCOMES) THERE ARE CERTAIN THINGS THAT REALLY CANT BE CORRECTED THOUGH, like the "GRAINS" but I've found a solution, although you had to download another app called"Snapseed" IT REALLY HELP ENHANCING YOUR PHOTOS..

Sony Z1 vs iphone5s vs Htc One low light Camera test Shots :D

Was playing with the 3 of them today.
All set to auto and focus mode face detection except the Z1 focus set to single autofocus and gonna show you all why in the end of the thread.
All photos will be uploaded to flickr in the upcoming ours
Please Share your opinions !
So the sequence of photos is
Iphone 5s
Htc one
Sony z1
Iphone 5s 1/15sec iso 400
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Htc one 1/14sec iso 800
Sony 1/10sec iso400
NOW iphone5s duel tone led flash test vs Sony Z1 flash
Sequence is iphone then z1
Iphone 1/16sec iso 80
Sony 1/13sec iso400
Now when focus set to Face detection on the Sony Z1 it detects all faces (as the others did as well ) and thats the result:
Sony was set to Manual mode and all auto just point and shoot.
? what are your thoughts ?!
Sent from my C6903 using Tapatalk

Sample pics
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/yh1lhkpzszap4t8/4i-skzPXVE
Sent from my C6903 using Tapatalk

Looks pretty good. I'm switching to tmo next week when the Z1S comes out to stores. Ill test my n5 and Z1s later.

(Sony was set to Manual mode and all auto just point and shoot) for all images or just the last one?

I just miss my HTC One!
I didn't care about the lighting situation when I wanted to take pics.
Z1 is very good but the HTC was the one for me!

1st set:
The HTC one picked a higher iso and is overexposed.
The Z1 comes across brighter than the 5s. It has 50% longer shutter.
Between the Z1 & 5s which is the more accurate in terms of lighting ?
2nd set
the 5s flash barely seems to register here. But the ISO jumped from 400 to 80. That's over 2 f-stops. So the shot seems underexposed.
Z1 kept the ISO at 400 and got a similar lighted shot.
3rd set with face detection
I'm not sure what to make of this one ? as it appears the brightest of the lot. iso > 400 & no flash ?
What advantage does face detection have and how well does it work.
The problem with tests like these is that there is a random element that gets in the way. people do not sit still and a little movement causes shake, i'm ignoring that.
Also the 5s allows no manual control whatsoever, whatever 5s decides is the best is what you get.

And The winner issssssss Honami
inviato da Note 3

Sony shots were all in Manual mode .
The lights were exactly similar to the z1 ... Although i dont know why i like the htc one shot ..something strange in it shows it so natural.
But the purple tint is affecting my friends' phone too. I tried many times and thats was the least tint in all.
Iphone is very underexposing the scene so bad for me. Even htc with the purple/red noise seems better !
And yes me too agree thats the Z1 is the best too. Seems its the best phone after 1020.
Sent from my C6903 using Tapatalk

One Twelve said:
1st set:
The HTC one picked a higher iso and is overexposed.
The Z1 comes across brighter than the 5s. It has 50% longer shutter.
Between the Z1 & 5s which is the more accurate in terms of lighting ?
2nd set
the 5s flash barely seems to register here. But the ISO jumped from 400 to 80. That's over 2 f-stops. So the shot seems underexposed.
Z1 kept the ISO at 400 and got a similar lighted shot.
3rd set with face detection
I'm not sure what to make of this one ? as it appears the brightest of the lot. iso > 400 & no flash ?
What advantage does face detection have and how well does it work.
The problem with tests like these is that there is a random element that gets in the way. people do not sit still and a little movement causes shake, i'm ignoring that.
Also the 5s allows no manual control whatsoever, whatever 5s decides is the best is what you get.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would barely see anything in the iphone flash .. Just the coke cans ! While on the z1 its well bright
I guess face detection just raise the EV to expose faces better. Me too cant think of a mechanism rather than this. htc/apple face detection didnt differ with/without detection they just lock focus. While Sony locks focus and change exposure
Sent from my C6903 using Tapatalk

ashouhdy said:
I would barely see anything in the iphone flash .. Just the coke cans ! While on the z1 its well bright.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I meant when you look at the photos, was the lighting as dark as the 5s makes it out to be or as bright as the Z1 portrays it. Or some where in between ?
In this example the 5s & one underperform IMO. This is the problem with this auto business. One day it works well and other times it does not. Cannot say anything conclusive here other than to say in this round the Z1 did the best compared to the others. A few more rounds and it could go either way.

One Twelve said:
I meant when you look at the photos, was the lighting as dark as the 5s makes it out to be or as bright as the Z1 portrays it. Or some where in between ?
In this example the 5s & one underperform IMO. This is the problem with this auto business. One day it works well and other times it does not. Cannot say anything conclusive here other than to say in this round the Z1 did the best compared to the others. A few more rounds and it could go either way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It was exactly as the first z1 shot
Sent from my C6903 using Tapatalk

well i'm dissapointed with Z1 camera , i've came across this Z1 vs HTC One camera test which is very detailed and good with bunch of photos and z1 trully sucked
see this:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2542663

Glad you already started it, I actually did the same thing I will share my Photos then.
First photo is from HTC One HDR Off and the second one is Sony Xperia Z1 HDR On.
1.
2.
Edit:
HTC One HDR
Sony Xperia Z1 HDR Off
Edit:
HTC One HDR is kinda messed up. I am uploading it now and I didn't upload the Sony Xperia Z1 none HDR photo.
Photos from Sony was taken 8MP 16:9 and I used the manual mode cause we all know that Superior auto is really crappy but all the other featurs like ISO and exposure levels are set to auto.

pejakovic1 said:
well i'm dissapointed with Z1 camera , i've came across this Z1 vs HTC One camera test which is very detailed and good with bunch of photos and z1 trully sucked
see this:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2542663
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
all i see in those pics is OVERexposed htc photos and some under exposed (manually set) z1 pics
the htc one got blown sky (highlights) it over expose dark scenes on expense of the already bright one so the results are blown high lights.
the htc one to overcome this issue has taken some of the photos with HDr option ! while some z1 pics is manually set to -1 ev which resulted in some under-exposed (dark) photos.
But for me will take the z1 photos over the htc1 cause i can add exposure to a dark image but i will never get the lost details of the blown up high lights
Just one question: Can u get me a clear view of the blue/sunset sky in the htc photos ?!

chesterr said:
Glad you already started it, I actually did the same thing I will share my Photos then.
First photo is from HTC One and the second one is Sony Xperia Z1.
1.View attachment 2532308
2.View attachment 2532310
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nice to see the ONE could focus before flash it was a big issue with me (x-owner of htc1) the one couldn't focus in complete darkness.
the htc1 pic is better white-balanced the z1 screwed up take it again but keep ur finger away from the flash and be sure all settings are in auto.

And another photos in my dark room, all the lights are switched off.
Only I used flashed and HTC took a while to take the photo approximately 5sec yet Xperia Z1 took it faster.
HTC One HDR off:
HTC One HDR on:
Sony Xperia Z1 HDR off:
Sony Xperia Z1 HDR on:
BTW I bought HTC One for my sister since she became a huge fan after Sensation.
and I don't have the phone now. Both phones are running on 4.3
I think Sony needs some brushing up with the camera department, I don't say it's bad but needs some polishing
I am now uploading the Pics I took from HTC One Sony Xperia Z / Z1 and iPhone 5s. all in the same windy day.
I will share them with you guys in a couple of hours to see how the phones did in the night time, plus it was a windy day and cold.

So as I told you that I have uploaded a lots of photos into my drop box.
Don't blame cause I uploded a lot and didn't really separate it like HDR photos and none HDR.
Well for fact I know that iPhone 5s's flash won't work when you turn on HDR so you'll know which one is HDR of iPhone
You do the judgement and I still think Sony needs some improving in camera department.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/g1qx7x2n8ppqwco/EPLjrQKh4w
And according to Josh Xperia Z1s(for T-mobile) camera isn't that great.and it is the same as Z1.
http://youtu.be/ekhkyjiwqtE?t=3m46s

chesterr said:
Don't blame cause I uploded a lot and didn't really separate it like HDR photos and none HDR.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately there is no way to tell them apart for Z1 & HTC one.
I don't understand why you are taking HDR photos indoors. I don't see much improvement at all compared to non-HDR and in some cases even worse as there is blur. Which is to be expected as the dynamic range in a room isn't going to be very high unless you have bright areas mixed in with dark areas by a couple of f-stops at least. There is no benefit to using HDR in this way.
chesterr said:
Well for fact I know that iPhone 5s's flash won't work when you turn on HDR so you'll know which one is HDR of iPhone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
good to know.
chesterr said:
You do the judgement and I still think Sony needs some improving in camera department.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is an ongoing process.
chesterr said:
And according to Josh Xperia Z1s(for T-mobile) camera isn't that great.and it is the same as Z1.
http://youtu.be/ekhkyjiwqtE?t=3m46s
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He does not mention whether its SA or manual, though i suspect its SA. Hit & miss.
He does not like 8MP photos as that's the highest you get in 16:9. But 8MP is actually better than 20MP with oversampling. 8MP is good enough for a lot unless you want to make posters. Whatever screen Josh uses cannot display more than 2MP anyway. Or 4MP if he uses a 4k screen.
He mentions losing detail in the dark areas. EV+ required.
---------- Post added at 12:38 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:33 PM ----------
ashouhdy said:
nice to see the ONE could focus before flash it was a big issue with me (x-owner of htc1) the one couldn't focus in complete darkness.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Focus assist light on htc one not working ?
Dark shots will be a problem with focus. Use Fenix LD01, fits on keychain

the htc one is the strongest flash i met with 5 levels by the way and no focus assist light (Hilarious!)

ashouhdy said:
the htc one is the strongest flash i met with 5 levels by the way and no focus assist light (Hilarious!)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HTC One has focus assist light lol, it didn't on 4.2.2 , it has it since 4.3 came out.
Edit: here few recent pics taken in pitch black.
6th pic ( the cat ) was taken with something similar to what you guys recently got called * defcous macro *

There is no denying it, Xperia Cameras suck :(

Let me just first put it out there that I'm a loyal Sony guy. I've owned the Xperia TL, Xperia ZL, Xperia Z1 and now the Xperia Z3C.
With that said, I knew the Sony cameras took subpar pics, whether in full auto or manual mode, they just look bad. Add low light or indoor to the mix, and you've got what looks like a pic from a 2005 Nokia phone. Sorry, I know we all love our Xperias, but Sony should be ashamed of themselves for doing this, considering that they make awesome DSLRs and point and shoots.
So why am I being a rabble rouser all of a sudden? Well, I just got a Note 4 as my work phone and needless to say, I was blown away by the camera results. The differences are night and day between the two. Sadly, I'm supposed to be carrying my work phone just during work days, but I found myself leaving my Z3C at home and going out with the Note 4 this weekend, and you should see the pics I took.
I don't know if the lens is good but the software is bad on the Sony, but if there is any hope that Lollipop will make it better with RAW, I sure hope Sony takes advantage of it.

I agree. The camera of the Lumia 925 that I had, was much better than the camera's compact Z3.
To be honest, this camera does not please me one bit, outside the fact that it does not have optical image stabilizer.

Check the "post pictures that you have taken with your z3c" or something thread. Also, photos will naturally look better on amoled. Transfer your z3c pictures to Note 4 and then look at them again. Might seem better. I find both cameras great by the way
Sent from my D5833 using XDA Free mobile app

I wouldn't say suck. I'd just say average.
If you buy this phone for the camera, you're doing it from the wrong direction.
It'd be like buying this phone for the 'best speakers on the market', when HTC One's are those.
The Z3C phone is the best for compact and power; it's a pocket rocket and that's what it specializes at first and foremost, second being its water proof-dust proof without being some rugged phone.
So why am I being a rabble rouser all of a sudden? Well, I just got a Note 4 as my work phone and needless to say, I was blown away by the camera results. The differences are night and day between the two. Sadly, I'm supposed to be carrying my work phone just during work days, but I found myself leaving my Z3C at home and going out with the Note 4 this weekend, and you should see the pics I took.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you're taking around a Note 4, then you're clearly weren't in for the Z3C's compact and pocket rocket in the first place, and you're now choosing the best camera in stead.

Please just tell me that you're comparing pictures on a PC.

Moist said:
Please just tell me that you're comparing pictures on a PC.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
EXACTLY.
Sent from my D5833 using XDA Free mobile app

You are comparing a quad HD display to a 720p. You're not comparing the camera performance. Just the display. I'd do the comparison again on a PC

I still don't understand what is wrong with Sony's compact camera ... my compact camera is taking great pictures :laugh:

No, I've been comparing the photos on my thunderbolt display, so no bias toward the Note 4's screen in any way.
And no, I'm not all sold on the Note 4, I still can't live without the compactness of my Z3C.
I will take identical photos from both phones today and post here.

Z3c camera doesn't suck, it's "just" above average.
The only other phone with superior camera that rivals Z3C's performance, size and specs is the iPhone 5s to be honest.
Samsung phones have the best cameras overall, but their devices aren't one-hand friendly.

If you want top notch pictures then you need to buy a decent camera.. For a mobile phone camera it does its job, I have no issues with it.
Sent from my D5803 using XDA Premium HD app

pricey2009 said:
If you want top notch pictures then you need to buy a decent camera.. For a mobile phone camera it does its job, I have no issues with it.
Sent from my D5803 using XDA Premium HD app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try Lumia920. I still prefer it.

Compare any Nokia you want against an alpha 6000 (or any dslr or mirrorless camera).
Once you go big lenses and big sensors, you never go back.

ro_explorer said:
I still don't understand what is wrong with Sony's compact camera ... my compact camera is taking great pictures :laugh:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm curious what's settings are you using?(mode, iso, etc)
Any tip to improve my photos?

XQC said:
Z3c camera doesn't suck, it's "just" above average.
The only other phone with superior camera that rivals Z3C's performance, size and specs is the iPhone 5s to be honest.
Samsung phones have the best cameras overall, but their devices aren't one-hand friendly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pretty much this.
I see nothing but good things about Samsung's phones, but when they get smaller and remove those physical buttons, I'll consider grabbing one... which may be never since it's their signature.

cerberustri said:
I'm curious what's settings are you using?(mode, iso, etc)
Any tip to improve my photos?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no universal recipe for taking good photos. All parameters are heavily dependant on the camera specs.
In my case, I'm taking usable photos even at ISO6400 and, with a size reduction afterwards, I can even go higher (12800).
The aperture is dependant on the lens you are using. A too large aperture will lead to blurry edges and soft images on cheap lenses. A too closed one will generate light fringing leading to artefacts. Then there is the focal length .... again, the lenses are behaving totally different.
It's all coming down to trial and error and understanding the limitations of your equipment.
And coming back on-topic, I would love to have full manual controls over the Z3C's camera (including long exposure and RAW data). That will allow for truly great photos with this tiny camera.

The most terrible thing I am concerned about is "soft skin" effect that seems to be always turned on.
See the discussion here: https://talk.sonymobile.com/t5/Xperia-Z3-Compact/Soft-Skin-effect/td-p/838361/highlight/false/page/4

ro_explorer said:
There is no universal recipe for taking good photos. All parameters are heavily dependant on the camera specs.
In my case, I'm taking usable photos even at ISO6400 and, with a size reduction afterwards, I can even go higher (12800).
The aperture is dependant on the lens you are using. A too large aperture will lead to blurry edges and soft images on cheap lenses. A too closed one will generate light fringing leading to artefacts. Then there is the focal length .... again, the lenses are behaving totally different.
It's all coming down to trial and error and understanding the limitations of your equipment.
And coming back on-topic, I would love to have full manual controls over the Z3C's camera (including long exposure and RAW data). That will allow for truly great photos with this tiny camera.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think, he thought you took the picture of the camera, with your Z3C. And so, was asking what settings you had on your phone to make the picture of the camera look so good compared to his.

ogyct said:
The most terrible thing I am concerned about is "soft skin" effect that seems to be always turned on.
See the discussion here: https://talk.sonymobile.com/t5/Xperia-Z3-Compact/Soft-Skin-effect/td-p/838361/highlight/false/page/4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah. It's still not fixed in lollipop update.
I just don't understand why they don't fix this bug. It's a simple thing to fix i think, and because of that, front camera isn't useable at all!!

Calvat said:
I think, he thought you took the picture of the camera, with your Z3C. And so, was asking what settings you had on your phone to make the picture of the camera look so good compared to his.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually I took that picture with the z3c just to show what I'm actually using to take photos . The phones camera was on auto but, the camera itself is only part of the picture. There is also framing and there is also light.
BTW, these are a bunch of samples captured today, on manual mode, with z3c running lollipop (for who is interested). In my opinion the quality of the camera is pretty low but still, usable in case of emergency.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B08eVSlv8mIUNnBTcTc5YmlHcVk/view?usp=sharing
// sent from my phone //

Sony's Camera isn't great, but it could be worse...

We all give Sony a hard time for releasing flagship devices with mediocre camera performance. I personally can verify that my previous HTC phones (One mini, One S, and even the Ville aka MyTouch 4G) dating back nearly 4 years all had better color reproduction, white balance, indoor performance, and faster focus and shutter response. None of those were even considered flagship devices at the time of release. We assumed Sony's problem was the software, so many of us searched for 3rd party camera apps such as Google Camera, A Better Camera, Camera FV-5, etc... and some even claimed to get better results using these apps. I've tried just about all of them (free versions only) and never saw any dramatic improvement to make me replace the default camera app. I finally decided to compare shots side by side on a couple of my personal favorite camera apps and here's what I noticed:
The 3rd party apps over-exposed the scene with far too much flash, giving it that cold LED light look, and washing out some of the natural colors. But worst of all, they weren't as clear when zooming in as the default app was. Pay close attention to the can of WD40 in the back. Only the stock app makes the word "Directions" visibly clear. All photos were taken using Auto Mode at 8MP - the setting the average person will use daily.
Sample Photos In Order (from left to right):
- Sony Stock Camera App
- Google Camera App
- OpenCamera App
https://goo.gl/photos/ihkstAg95Ag8rybX7
I took a few comparison shots in scenes that I thought would cause the stock app to falter, but it kept coming through and beating the competition. For example, when taking a picture of a poster that was covered by a slight shadow, the stock app was the only app smart enough to use flash; thereby making the words of the poster much clearer. In another indoor scenario, the competition once again over exposed the scene with too much flash, washing out the colors again. I may post these photos later if you request them.
Moral of the story:
Compared to other smartphones (especially flagships), Sony's camera is simply one of the worst performers. <-----(This is a click-able link to the results of a test article) There is no argument here and someone from Sony needs to do something about it. But as for the stock Sony camera app, it appears to utilize the camera better than 3rd party apps can. So if you want to make the best of out our bad situation, stick with the stock camera app.

I agree that the camera on the Z3C is somewhat lacking.
Outdoors in good light it can produce some really nice photos (some of the time) although even in good conditions it still seems to make a mess of things on occasions. Indoors and low light it's just plain terrible. I've done a back to back comparison with my rather elderly SGS3 and in most circumstances the SGS3 knocks the spots off the Z3C.
The problem is marketing.
In order to produce compelling marketing material, Sony developed the 20MP sensor and put this in all their flagship phones. This is way too many MP for such a small sensor and as such the quality suffers badly in anything other than bright sunlight. Even when interpolating the image down to 8MP you still see way more noise than the equivalent true 8MP sensor and the details are mushed to buggery. I'd be happy for the resolution on smartphones to top out at 10MP, which should be enough for 4K video and multiple aspect ratios (not that I think 4K video from a smartphone has much use).

sensor not bad, driver sometimes is...
Exmor IMX220 Shoot Out – Meizu MX4 Pro vs Sony Xperia Z3
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}

Wajk said:
sensor not bad, driver sometimes is...
Exmor IMX220 Shoot Out – Meizu MX4 Pro vs Sony Xperia Z3
indeed sony's pic are washed out but the looking at the "lay's" and "muji" comparision, meizu's pics are blurred.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

We all know auto mode sucks isn't that right? Well Sony hasn't designed this phone for you, i have taken some absolutely stunning photos that my friends think were taken with a proper camera. The truth is that I'm a photographer that tries to push the hardware and software to the limit and if your having a good day you can produce stunning works of art. Sure there's a bit of noise but you can't expect fullframe image quality on this sensor. Taking a backwards step from my Nex7 to the Z3 compact was a great learning experience. If you're a photographer that likes to push the limits of a camera this one is for you, if your the average joe your wasting your time. Think about it, when you buy a camera what is the point of using auto mode when it limits the amount of control you have over a photo. Its like driving an automatic transmission car at a drag race.

As a photographer, you of all people should understand that a camera phone is not likely to be used when taking serious photos. This is designed to be a point and shoot replacement for selfies, pictures of food, group photos of friends in a restaurant, etc... This phone's camera isn't a complete failure by any means, but it simply doesn't perform as well as phones from 2-3 years ago under the most basic condition (indoors). I'm just finding it difficult to explain why my $500 flagship phone takes overexposed, blurry photos when my old phones (none of which were even flagship models) did not.

Starlith said:
We all know auto mode sucks isn't that right? Well Sony hasn't designed this phone for you, i have taken some absolutely stunning photos that my friends think were taken with a proper camera. The truth is that I'm a photographer that tries to push the hardware and software to the limit and if your having a good day you can produce stunning works of art. Sure there's a bit of noise but you can't expect fullframe image quality on this sensor. Taking a backwards step from my Nex7 to the Z3 compact was a great learning experience. If you're a photographer that likes to push the limits of a camera this one is for you, if your the average joe your wasting your time. Think about it, when you buy a camera what is the point of using auto mode when it limits the amount of control you have over a photo. Its like driving an automatic transmission car at a drag race.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am also a photographer (enthusiastic amateur and no expert for sure) who has worked for a software company in the digital imaging industry for 7 years. I get to sample a lot of cameras; including pre-production test mules, some of which never make it due to unrecoverable issues. I have tried the Z3C in every conceivable mode and it's still a disappointment in low light and unpredictable when it's good light. A brief summary of the biggest issues I've seen would include:
1) Poor light performance - It's not even low light, the performance is poor in moderate lighting conditions (20MP is too much for such a small sensor and lens)
2) Unpredictable auto focus - It misses what should be an easy AF fix more often than it should do
3) Too much NR - TBH this is a personal criticism of almost every camera currently made, but the NR on the Z3C is a bit nasty
4) Even the best shots seem to lack "definition"
I'm not saying that the camera is a complete dead-loss, but for a flagship smartphone it's not as good as I would expect. I don't think that I've taken a single picture with it where I've got home, uploaded it to my PC and thought it was really good. I've checked back through my SGS3 pictures and at a glance the best images look like they've come from a "proper" camera, I can't say that for many of the Z3C images. I'd really like to be able to get RAW images out of the camera to see what is possible with decent post processing, but it doesn't seem like that is going to happen any time soon.
If you could give some hints about how to get the most out of the camera, then I for one would very much appreciate it.

mad-marco said:
I am also a photographer (enthusiastic amateur and no expert for sure) who has worked for a software company in the digital imaging industry for 7 years. I get to sample a lot of cameras; including pre-production test mules, some of which never make it due to unrecoverable issues. I have tried the Z3C in every conceivable mode and it's still a disappointment in low light and unpredictable when it's good light. A brief summary of the biggest issues I've seen would include:
1) Poor light performance - It's not even low light, the performance is poor in moderate lighting conditions (20MP is too much for such a small sensor and lens)
2) Unpredictable auto focus - It misses what should be an easy AF fix more often than it should do
3) Too much NR - TBH this is a personal criticism of almost every camera currently made, but the NR on the Z3C is a bit nasty
4) Even the best shots seem to lack "definition"
I'm not saying that the camera is a complete dead-loss, but for a flagship smartphone it's not as good as I would expect. I don't think that I've taken a single picture with it where I've got home, uploaded it to my PC and thought it was really good. I've checked back through my SGS3 pictures and at a glance the best images look like they've come from a "proper" camera, I can't say that for many of the Z3C images. I'd really like to be able to get RAW images out of the camera to see what is possible with decent post processing, but it doesn't seem like that is going to happen any time soon.
If you could give some hints about how to get the most out of the camera, then I for one would very much appreciate it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with you, it does have its limits and they are really weird limits. For example when in manual mode anything that is set to auto including white balance and focus is either hit or miss, there is no touch metering, i have taken some stunners but they required me to work hard for it such as adjusting wb, iso, focus mode. Even the background defocus app which produced amazing photos btw i had to work really hard for. All that work on a phone is exhausting. Too many apps complicate the camera app and the post processing algorithm is inconsistent. Im interested what the results would be with a lens similar to the iPhone 6. The best thing about the camera is the wide angle lens but no one really cares for that.

Starlith said:
I agree with you, it does have its limits and they are really weird limits. For example when in manual mode anything that is set to auto including white balance and focus is either hit or miss, there is no touch metering, i have taken some stunners but they required me to work hard for it such as adjusting wb, iso, focus mode. Even the background defocus app which produced amazing photos btw i had to work really hard for. All that work on a phone is exhausting. Too many apps complicate the camera app and the post processing algorithm is inconsistent. Im interested what the results would be with a lens similar to the iPhone 6. The best thing about the camera is the wide angle lens but no one really cares for that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I personally don't even like the wide angle lens. It just forces me to stand that much closer to my subject to properly frame the shot. Then, if using flash, you blind them because you're standing 1 foot in front of their face. Anyway, I thought a sony branded lens/sensor was being used on most high end phones these days... even the iPhone? We just got stuck with poor image processing.

PuffDaddy_d said:
I personally don't even like the wide angle lens. It just forces me to stand that much closer to my subject to properly frame the shot. Then, if using flash, you blind them because you're standing 1 foot in front of their face. Anyway, I thought a sony branded lens/sensor was being used on most high end phones these days... even the iPhone? We just got stuck with poor image processing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When you buy a phone you don't expect it to take pictures like an SLR Camera would, that being said though I still think 20 mp is more than enough for taking snapshots. If you complain about the camera quality then you shouldn't have bought a phone in the first place and buy a DSLR instead.

and if you came from a Nokia flagship this difference is even bigger ....

Revontheus said:
When you buy a phone you don't expect it to take pictures like an SLR Camera would, that being said though I still think 20 mp is more than enough for taking snapshots. If you complain about the camera quality then you shouldn't have bought a phone in the first place and buy a DSLR instead.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've already got several DSLR's thanks very much. I don't think that anyone is expecting DSLR like quality, in fact you seem to be the only person who has brought this up.
I think that what people would like is the the camera on Sony's flagship smartphones to be comparable with other smartphones, especially the ones that have the same sensor hardware!!! It's a disappointment that the 2/3 year old SGS3 produces superior photos than the current Sony flagships, the current Samsung 16MP cameras are vastly superior.

Revontheus said:
When you buy a phone you don't expect it to take pictures like an SLR Camera would, that being said though I still think 20 mp is more than enough for taking snapshots. If you complain about the camera quality then you shouldn't have bought a phone in the first place and buy a DSLR instead.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have completely missed the point of this thread. It has nothing to do with expecting DSLR quality from a camera phone. We just don't want pictures to look like they were taken from a flip phone from 2006 - which is what this camera looks like when taking photos indoors. A flagship phone needs a flagship camera, and Sony's image processing has left us without, while all other major manufacturers are using some form of Sony image sensor and getting much better results.
But as my original post indicates, the best photos I've been able to get from this camera are with the stock camera app. All others seem to fall short when viewed on a larger screen.

ray_J13 said:
Wajk said:
sensor not bad, driver sometimes is...
Exmor IMX220 Shoot Out – Meizu MX4 Pro vs Sony Xperia Z3
indeed sony's pic are washed out but the looking at the "lay's" and "muji" comparision, meizu's pics are blurred.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seems to me the camera glass on her Z3C was a bit smudged... That would explain the haze.
And the small details on the Z3C look much better and cleaner at 100% zoom than on the Meizu, even if the Z3C was a bit out of focus.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

I'm so disappointed in this camera. I took my Z3C and my old HTC Droid Incredible 2 to a concert last night. Inc2's pics were much crisper and cleaner. The videos were better as well (at 720p), though the sound on the Z3C's vids were better. Inc2 is what, 4 years old?
Sent from my D5803 using Tapatalk

Crewville96 said:
I'm so disappointed in this camera. I took my Z3C and my old HTC Droid Incredible 2 to a concert last night. Inc2's pics were much crisper and cleaner. The videos were better as well (at 720p), though the sound on the Z3C's vids were better. Inc2 is what, 4 years old?
Sent from my D5803 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, this is our point exactly! The Z3C camera has far more advanced technology in it, yet the results are sub par to midrange and outdated phones. Care to share any of your pics for reference?
Sent from my Xperia Z3 Compact

PuffDaddy_d said:
Yes, this is our point exactly! The Z3C camera has far more advanced technology in it, yet the results are sub par to midrange and outdated phones. Care to share any of your pics for reference?
Sent from my Xperia Z3 Compact
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can upload the vids and couple pics. None of the pics are really the same for comparison since i was in the crowd at the concert though. But you can get a general idea.

PuffDaddy_d said:
Yes, this is our point exactly! The Z3C camera has far more advanced technology in it, yet the results are sub par to midrange and outdated phones. Care to share any of your pics for reference?
Sent from my Xperia Z3 Compact
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here's my vids. One is from my old Droid Incredible 2 (2011, running GB) the other is from my Z3C (2014, running LP). I'll let you guys judge which vid is better.

That concert looks like it was a lot of fun! I watched both videos on full screen and i personally think the top video looks better - less grainy and handled the bright lighting much better.

PuffDaddy_d said:
That concert looks like it was a lot of fun! I watched both videos on full screen and i personally think the top video looks better - less grainy and handled the bright lighting much better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, just cleaner and sharper overall. Thats the Droid Incredible 2 video (720 only as well, Z3C is at 1080 lol).

Database Users

welcome