Database Users

Troubles with Phonearena's Camera Analysis

I'm brand new here but felt that I had to comment as some here seem to be close to hari kiri (sic) over some reviews.
I do feel that the screen will be a little low on colour saturation but it's by no means terrible - and the adjustment options included in the final software should fix this. But what I really want to talk about is the camera.
Phonearena have been especially vocal about how the camera doesn't match up to the competition but I'm absolutely amazed that they've missed a glaring error in their analysis! Because of the boost in mp's and the different focal lengths of each phone, when they're doing a 100% crop comparison, they're clearly zooming in much, much further on the XZ. I don't think it's intentional but if you look at the crops they give, the difference is clear. The XZ i
Now I'm not saying that Sony haven't been a little heavy handed in their compression - they have. BUT if you zoom in comparison shots to the SAME CROP the difference is far less pronounced than some would have you believe. Indeed, if you zoomed in the other shots to the same depth as the XZ zoom they would become a mess of pixels - better defined pixels, sure, but no more usable for it.
Is the camera on the XZ blowing me away? I dunno, I'll put it to the test when I get it. But don't write it off based on comparissons with other phones unless you do the tests yourselves because phonearena have done a half-assed job, frankly.
Your thoughts below, please.

Great observation. I do see the compression as a necessary, temporary downside to putting a 13mp camera on a smartphone. They're probably working on keeping the responsiveness up first; hopefully the compression will get better through software updates.

That Phonearena review was biased.... i tell u why....:
1. They ranked devices on every domain and listed lumia 920 and XZ with least ranking however ... where these two stood out to be better than others ... they skipped raking quite cleverly.
2. They even ranked Lumia 920 and XZ in night mode as bad shooters LOL at them... everybody knows the truth.
3. They even placed 1-2 cheeky discouraging lines in low light mode review about XZ.
4. In Detail they ranked XZ last. that was a big fail even their own pics that were taken... small boards really far away were much readable on XZ than others.
5. They always used superior auto mode in XZ but used manual settings in others..... obviously XZ will be confused in special conditions like a well lit building at night and surrounding trees which are not much in light... use manual settings there and i m sure XZ will tear others apart.

nikhiltanwar said:
That Phonearena review was biased.... i tell u why....:
1. They ranked devices on every domain and listed lumia 920 and XZ with least ranking however ... where these two stood out to be better than others ... they skipped raking quite cleverly.
2. They even ranked Lumia 920 and XZ in night mode as bad shooters LOL at them... everybody knows the truth.
3. They even placed 1-2 cheeky discouraging lines in low light mode review about XZ.
4. In Detail they ranked XZ last. that was a big fail even their own pics that were taken... small boards really far away were much readable on XZ than others.
5. They always used superior auto mode in XZ but used manual settings in others..... obviously XZ will be confused in special conditions like a well lit building at night and surrounding trees which are not much in light... use manual settings there and i m sure XZ will tear others apart.
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I'm not sure but I think they would get better results with superior auto. I think PA did not use superior auto.

I think we shoul wait for more precise reviews like the GSMarena one which is by far, one of the best out there.
But I won't be surprise if the XZ's camera won't match nowadays' best 8 MP standards, Sony has been trailing behind for quite some time now in the Photo department.

yeah that comparison doesn't make any sense both Samsungs where over exposed for most of the photos, big difference in iso use etc etc. clearly done by someone who doesn't know anything about photography

I don't take PA reviews very seriously - specially when it comes to cameras. Somehow they find samsung cameras pretty good which is very questionable - I think. I've owned all three samsung galaxy phones. GS1 camera was horrible, GS2 was average and GS3 is also average. HOX has a better camera, Xperia T is better than both.Xperia Z should be even better. And I don't take pictures with lousy auto mode.
PA reviews are usually good except for the camera part - they simply don't understand photography. If you read their comparison, you can just tell that it was written by a noob.

What i don't understand is the photos posted by someone here on Google+ definitely looks good.
check these out:
plus.google.com/
photos/110267829736715997848/
albums/5843542135386591041/5843542150197706866?banner=pwa
At first, I thought the photos above are not from XZ. They are really clear, sharp, and vibrant. I don't see noise in them.
They are miles better than what PA and other sites are posting. How could this happen? Different software or versions?

Humandroidz said:
What i don't understand is the photos posted by someone here on Google+ definitely looks good.
check these out:
plus.google.com/
photos/110267829736715997848/
albums/5843542135386591041/5843542150197706866?banner=pwa
At first, I thought the photos above are not from XZ. They are really clear, sharp, and vibrant. I don't see noise in them.
They are miles better than what PA and other sites are posting. How could this happen? Different software or versions?
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I have analysed these images... On a bigger screen ..with zoomed in depth... They look good surely... That is why PA have lost it....
---------- Post added at 10:50 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:46 PM ----------
Humandroidz said:
I'm not sure but I think they would get better results with superior auto. I think PA did not use superior auto.
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They used superior auto... In some domains they even wrote it... Never used HDR .... I think superior auto was in most situations... So.many times this superior auto mode gets things wrong... It should be used when u r super noob in photography.... Not in a picture comparison

seen that review and i can say it is a total bias.

rufaz said:
seen that review and i can say it is a total bias.
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That's a common opinion about Phonearena's reviews. Many reviews were considered biased, with results that nobody is able to replicate etc. I wouldn't pay much attention to it - no matter if it's positive or negative.

schecter7 said:
I don't take PA reviews very seriously - specially when it comes to cameras. Somehow they find samsung cameras pretty good which is very questionable - I think. I've owned all three samsung galaxy phones. GS1 camera was horrible, GS2 was average and GS3 is also average. HOX has a better camera, Xperia T is better than both.Xperia Z should be even better. And I don't take pictures with lousy auto mode.
PA reviews are usually good except for the camera part - they simply don't understand photography. If you read their comparison, you can just tell that it was written by a noob.
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I thought I was the only one who shared this view seeing as last year I had the Xperia S & T, S3 & N2 and HOX and for starters I believe Iphone arena claimed the camera on the HOX and Xperia T were mediocre compared with S3 (N2 has same camera as S3 anyway). That was total B.S The camera on the T and HOX and even Xperia S were far better than the samsung cameras both outdoors and indoors and at night, especially indoors with lighting where the S3/N2 cameras became washed out and I tested the camera's vs eachother same angles etc and the samsung cameras were the worst.
I have also compared the camera on the lumia 920 vs s3/N2 in shops and the lumia 920 looks better.
Even looking at the images IPA have done with the Z the images look great.

Its hard to believe all those reviews... Who even knows whether they are giving us true/genuine pictures- its upto the eidtor/reviewer to give us genuine review. Not even their webmaster will know it whether they are genuine.. There were plenty of crtitcism from reader about engagdet's news articles of apple products once... Some times its very clear in the writing the bias towards non-apple news. Who knows they have been receiving goodies and bucks... I was in straight fire @ one ZNet writer after reading his apple article- he wrote like not even a hardcore apple fan wont writer against android phones- blindly.... They all in US... we donno the truth...
I donno much about phonearena... Also i'm not going to expect much from a tiny smartphone sensor whether its 13mp or 44mp... You have to understand the camera sensors first... As the sensor becomes small in size the light goes thru it also less , hence the picture qaulity... Still the best quality sensor gives best results... In smartphone case the photographer has to be very careful and still as much as the object to get nice photos... Image stabilization is there , but its nowhere near of DSLR or other proper cameras.... So each time you take a picture its different although same object , same angle or whatever you can imagine there.... Competition in smartphone arena is to make thinnest phone... as the phone goes thinner camera sensor goes smaller(thinner) too.. otherwise you will see a bump where camera sits (like in pureview).....

gd

Z1 vs G2 vs S4 Camera Test

Z1 vs G2 vs S4
Here's my Z1, G2 and S4 going head to head.
I'm at work at the moment so they're not the best comparisons
The Z1 was shot in 8mp Superior Auto and 20mp Manual
The G2 was shot in 10mp Auto
The S4 was shot in 9.6mp Auto
Z1 Manual
Z1 Auto
My opinion is....
1st = G2
2nd = Z1
3rd = S4
Let me know what you think.....

Lol, planning on doing some more comparisons? As only one photo doesn't say too much...
But owning the Z1 and the G2 myself as well I tend to give the first place in good light to the G2 as well, the Z1 has more potential (especially in lower light situations) but somehow it doesn;t work too great yet. Especially with autosettings the G2 is the winner for me.

dagrim1 said:
Lol, planning on doing some more comparisons? As only one photo doesn't say too much...
But owning the Z1 and the G2 myself as well I tend to give the first place in good light to the G2 as well, the Z1 has more potential (especially in lower light situations) but somehow it doesn;t work too great yet. Especially with autosettings the G2 is the winner for me.
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Lol of course i''ll add more but it's all i can do at work, i'll do more when im home
Yeah i agree the G2 wins it for me, i used it all weekend and i was impressed with every picture but after using the Z1 for a few weeks, im usually dissapointed with most pictures. some low light pictures with the Z1 were really impressive, but the others were just ruined by noise.
I know the Z1 can produce some great shots in manual but 99% of pictures i take are spontaneous pictures, i quickly pull out my phone, snap a pictures and away i go, for this the Z1's 'Superior Auto' is not as good as the G2

Btw, I didn't mean to sound like an ass with that first line... No insult intended
But indeed, you shouldn't have to tweak in manual settings to get decent pictures. In my opinion at least 90% of the people just want to take a quick snap. Really torn between the Z1 and G2 myself, I love the screen, battery, wifi/data connection and partially the camera of the G2 but the feel and software (and partially the camera) of the Z1... Still can not decide but using the G2 as the main phone atm.
Am truely hoping the Z1 camera will get improved more in the near future...

dagrim1 said:
Btw, I didn't mean to sound like an ass with that first line... No insult intended
But indeed, you shouldn't have to tweak in manual settings to get decent pictures. In my opinion at least 90% of the people just want to take a quick snap. Really torn between the Z1 and G2 myself, I love the screen, battery, wifi/data connection and partially the camera of the G2 but the feel and software (and partially the camera) of the Z1... Still can not decide but using the G2 as the main phone atm.
Am truely hoping the Z1 camera will get improved more in the near future...
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I will put the Z1 down as a huge dissapointment as Sony over promised and over hyped it with PR bull like it having a Triluminous and X-Reality display and having 'Superor Auto' camera etc.. but in reality the screen is shocking and the cameras 'Superior Auto' is actually poor.
Sony should of just advertised the Z1 as the best waterproof phone on the market and its excellent build quality. and not focused on the screen and camera.
Oh and here's a quick screen comparison of the Z1 and G2

That manual mode on the z1 looks awesome, way less noise and more like a DSLR type of picture. But I am surprised that it's not performing too well (too much noise) in auto mode.
Did you upgrade the Z1? I heard Sony released an update a few weeks ago that improved the cam quality.
Btw can you allow us to download the original picture, please? You only let us up to Large 2048. I want to be able to see the full 20.7 MP and 13 MP.
The G2 has so much potential in its camera but LG keeps using that useless post processing effect that they also use in their HDTVs (which in my opinion really ruins the picture quality and makes it "overly smooth and weird" for no reason instead of sharp and a nice blur)
Can you do me a favor? download Camera360 and take a picture using Effects mode and then None and upload, for both G2 and Z1. I would like to see if the quality is better as usually Camera360 is capable of taking raw pictures with maximum details compared to Google's and Samsung's official camera apps (I know this is not google or Samsung but Sony's and LG's).

Ramsey said:
That manual mode on the z1 looks awesome, way less noise and more like a DSLR type of picture. But I am surprised that it's not performing too well (too much noise) in auto mode.
Did you upgrade the Z1? I heard Sony released an update a few weeks ago that improved the cam quality.
Btw can you allow us to download the original picture, please? You only let us up to Large 2048. I want to be able to see the full 20.7 MP and 13 MP.
The G2 has so much potential in its camera but LG keeps using that useless post processing effect that they also use in their HDTVs (which in my opinion really ruins the picture quality and makes it "overly smooth and weird" for no reason instead of sharp and a nice blur)
Can you do me a favor? download Camera360 and take a picture using Effects mode and then None and upload, for both G2 and Z1. I would like to see if the quality is better as usually Camera360 is capable of taking raw pictures with maximum details compared to Google's and Samsung's official camera apps (I know this is not google or Samsung but Sony's and LG's).
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Here's the G2 in full 13mp mode with the ISO set to 200, not Auto...
You can download the orignals from Flickr, i just checked. Click on an image, then click on the 3 dots in the bottom right hand corner and then click on 'View all Sizes', then select 'Original'
Here's a direct link the the full 20mp sample
I won't have time to try out that camera app as im about to leave work, sorry mate

Can't see original, maybe because I'm not signed in? I can, however, click your original link here in XDA and it works great for the Z1 20MP.
Can you take pictures of far objects? Almost all cell phones look great in close/macro shots.

I must say that for amateurs the LG G2 seems better, BUT you fail to note the picture is aggressively over sharpened (to make it seem sharper), the z1 is more natural, and is the better out of the bunch.

[email protected] said:
I must say that for amateurs the LG G2 seems better, BUT you fail to note the picture is aggressively over sharpened (to make it seem sharper), the z1 is more natural, and is the better out of the bunch.
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With the Lego in front of me, i can tell you the detail on the G2's image is correct while to Z1's is too blurred/smooth and is missing scratches/marks from his hat of which the G2 manages to pick up. but this is being picky, the Z1's manual is still great.
i totally agree the G2 is the best for amateurs who just was a great point and shoot on their mobile and don't want to spend time manually setting the camera to the best setting every time they want a picture.
If Sony could fix the terrible Auto mode, then things would be much better for the Z1.

They need to fix the auto mode, sometimes you get amazing shots and sometimes average shots. Didn't dxomark rate the video camera the best ?
plus people need to remember your viewing the images on a 1080p screen.

Ramsey said:
Can't see original, maybe because I'm not signed in? I can, however, click your original link here in XDA and it works great for the Z1 20MP.
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That's because it says in flickr
The owner has disabled downloading of their photos
Not only is there no orginal neither can you download anything. Why ?
Sorry, neilmc1983, no fair, enable it so we can check out the orginal pics.
neilmc1983 said:
But the image is more blurred and the colour reproduction is completely wrong.
Looking at the crops, the LG G2 wins for me. great detail, clarity and the colours were correct.
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Whose fault is it if the picture is more blurred ?
completely wrong ? What is it with these exaggerations !!
It's looks pretty close to me. I don't see any wb issues there. No blue or yellow tints.
neilmc1983 said:
I've just purchased an LG G2, so now i have a Z1, S4 and a G2
I'm busy this weekend but i will post comparison pics of all 3 and i will show the terrible noise on the Z1 even with the update.
So far i am very impressed with the G2 camera.
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Did not see any terrible noise with this set of pictures
neilmc1983 said:
ok mate, i understand you can create better looking pictures in manual but still the Auto mode should still be excellent like it is on the G2 and S4, but its not on the Z1, its very poor and Sony have the cheek to call it 'Superior Auto'
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Its not very poor. Its improved over earlier versions. It can be better.
Bear in mind that lg, samsung & apple do more aggressive noise reduction. This means you lose details in lower light. Its one or the other. Z1 is more capable of taking pictures in more light ranges than any of the above. You want to excel in good light the others will be better, you want low light they will struggle.

neilmc1983 said:
With the Lego in front of me, i can tell you the detail on the G2's image is correct while to Z1's is too blurred/smooth and is missing scratches/marks from his hat of which the G2 manages to pick up. but this is being picky, the Z1's manual is still great.
i totally agree the G2 is the best for amateurs who just was a great point and shoot on their mobile and don't want to spend time manually setting the camera to the best setting every time they want a picture.
If Sony could fix the terrible Auto mode, then things would be much better for the Z1.
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G2 at 13 MP still got more noticeable amount of noise over Z1 at 20MP, easily spotted.

Very disappointed with the picture quality on Z1. I was not expecting DSLR quality photo but at least slightly better than S4 / Iphone 5s
Sony better do someting or else we would see less sales on Z2 or their next line up of product. I compared mine with Note 2 & Note 3, pictures quality are better on Note 3.

It's important to note that your individual experience doesn't agree with what most of the professional comparisons are saying.
I think you should buy a Nokia windows phone since it appears you're more interested mainly in cameraphones, they have just the cameras you're looking for. Otherwise if you're going to stick with android for mostly non camera related reasons, I'd keep your z1 vs the LG's freaking god awful software.
To paraphrase their company slogan when it comes to OEM forks of android "Life is (not) Good". The z1 is a far better smartphone than the g2 in most smartphone aspects.
Reading your anti z1 cam and display posts lately I can only conclude you have a decisive bias towards the g2, your display experiences aren't indicative of the norm everywhere else, and you appear to be looking for bolstering from people to feel better about choosing the g2.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

omnius1 said:
To paraphrase their company slogan when it comes to OEM forks of android "Life is (not) Good". The z1 is a far better smartphone than the g2 in most smartphone aspects
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4
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I disagree, G2 seems far better than Z1, the Z1 currently for me only wins in the aspect of build quality/material and maybe the polished user interface (depends on what user likes) and ofc the water proof in z1 which is not for me as I had seen how waterproofing worked on my xperia z, I am not a fanboy or something of G2 I have recently bought it after thinking 100 times if I should go with LG but thinking their past 1 years work I did trust LG and to be true I am not disappointed. Z1 is a great looking design phone and with very polished user interface other than that I don't feel Z1 can be better than G2 or maybe even note 3. (I dislike note 3) I'd rather wait for z2 and see if they work on their display panels.

We agree to disagree then. I find Sony phones to be of much higher quality than LG on pretty much every level.
I find Sony electronics in general to be of a higher caliber than LG who are still struggling with their budget electronics stigma.
Sent from my Sony Xperia Z1

omnius1 said:
We agree to disagree then. I find Sony phones to be of much higher quality than LG on pretty much every level.
I find Sony electronics in general to be of a higher caliber than LG who are still struggling with their budget electronics stigma.
Sent from my Sony Xperia Z1
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You are right about the higher quality of Sony phone or any Sony product, I myself use Sony Tv's camcorder, vaio, but I guess their smartphone in terms of build is the best in market no one can win it anyday no matter if it's a low-end, mid-range or high-end device Sony's phone are the best in terms of build but the main problem occurs is the display and the glass at back, on my xperia z the glass got unglued and also cracked due to heat same happen to the z1 it was unglued and also the display I had got myself 9 replacements of z1 but the display of all was never satisfying took replacement from several service centers but still no luck in display and finally a refund, I'll anyday go for Sony if I want a high quality built device but as per usage I wouldn't go for Sony as of now.

omnius1 said:
Reading your anti z1 cam and display posts lately I can only conclude you have a decisive bias towards the g2, your display experiences aren't indicative of the norm everywhere else, and you appear to be looking for bolstering from people to feel better about choosing the g2.
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I've got that impression too as far as OP is concerned.
G2 vs Z1 is a tough decision.
---------- Post added at 09:44 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:35 AM ----------
AndroidNoob22 said:
but the main problem occurs is the display and the glass at back, on my xperia z the glass got unglued and also cracked due to heat same happen to the z1 it was unglued and also the display I had got myself 9 replacements of z1 but the display of all was never satisfying took replacement from several service centers but still no luck in display and finally a refund, I'll anyday go for Sony if I want a high quality built device but as per usage I wouldn't go for Sony as of now.
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9 replacements !!
It seems to take forever just to get one replacement, unless there is a clear problem with the device they refuse it.
How the heck did you manage to get 9. I'd have thought they'd try once or twice, failing which return your money and tell you to get lost.

One Twelve said:
I've got that impression too as far as OP is concerned.
G2 vs Z1 is a tough decision.
---------- Post added at 09:44 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:35 AM ----------
9 replacements !!
It seems to take forever just to get one replacement, unless there is a clear problem with the device they refuse it.
How the heck did you manage to get 9. I'd have thought they'd try once or twice, failing which return your money and tell you to get lost.
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I guess they are pretty good and nice here in my country/city and also they had agreed to all the display issues faced without banging my head on walls to explain them.

Best of Sony... is not really great..

First, I'd like to say that I'm not trying to hate on Sony or bash them, just pointing out that what they call "the best of Sony" isn't exactly great or better than the competition, though I really just want to point out about the display and camera. I moved on from the Note 3 to the Z1 (lost my Note 3, wanted a good phone with a good camera for a low price so I got an Xperia Z1), and here's what I've noticed.
Display:
Well, there's no other way to say it: for a flagship phone, the Z1's display isn't that great. Viewing angles are poor, and viewing it at even small angles puts a whitish hue over it that just doesn't look good. It might be good for privacy, but otherwise it's plain to see that they're using an inferior IPS tech than other manufacturers. The Note 3 or the Nexus 5's displays are clearly much better, and so is the one on the HTC One from early 2013. I've heard that the Z1 Compact finally has a great screen among Sony devices, so that's great, but I feel that many Sony fans are clearly ignorant of how much greener the grass in on the other side when it comes to displays.
Camera
To be honest, this is the biggest disappointment I've had with the Z1. I don't know if Sony was focusing purely on lossless zoom when adding the 20MP camera, but when it comes to resolved detail and visible noise, the Note 3's camera was better despite no fancy tech and standard sensor. Sure, it has a 13MP camera while the Z1 takes photos at 8MP after downsampling, but in general its photos are clearer and more detailed. I've tried taking 20MP pics, and they just do not come out as great as one would expect (if they focused on lossless zoom, even that hasn't worked out well in general outdoor photos), and Sony has basically squandered a nice opportunity.
But on the flip side, I love some things about the camera. It's fast to open (mainly thanks to the camera button), it's smooth, and is quick to change modes, which helped a lot on my weekend trip with my family.) I don't like that HDR isn't a dedicated mode and is simply a switch when you select 8MP photos in Manual, but other than that, it's pretty good overall. In fact, the quickness and the shutter button are what make me ignore the fact that in quality I've come down to a noticeably not-so-great-at-capturing-detail camera (the Note 3 took ages to select modes, open the camera app, and open pictures.)
That's something that's true in Sony's software overall: it's beautiful, sleek, and quick and responsive. I do miss some features from the Note 3 (Multi-Window, Smart Stay (extremely useful when you can't be bothered touching the screen to keep it awake), some camera modes, and the better multitasking (my Z1 is abysmal at holding apps in memory, and not because it's just 2GB of RAM.) It feels good to use, and that's a pretty good thing.
But again, the screen and camera have let me down considerably. Again, on the flip side, I love the phone's build (though it's a bit too bulky, but then it is waterproof), and things like the lanyard slot and camera button (conveniences manufacturers have forgotten in their quest to copy and follow Apple since the first iPhone arrived on the market).
So in the end it's clear that "the best of Sony" just isn't the right thing to say when your tech is behind the competition in some things and just isn't as great as owners of flagship devices of the competition have become used to. The pricing is great, though, but I kinda don't think I'd want to save a few bucks next time I want a phone, not unless Sony focuses on making the hardware more complete regarding awesomeness.
Sorry for the rant, and again, I wasn't bashing, overall I like my Z1, just don't love it (yet)!
P.S.: My Galaxy Gear is also now sitting idle, but I guess we can blame Samsung for making its watch incompatible with other devices. It's a useful watch, but not in use anymore. There is a hack to make it work with others, I tried it with the Z1, but most stuff just doesn't work. So I guess I'll buy Sony's smartwatch next. :silly:
P.P.S.: I hope KitKat comes soon. I like that Sony takes time to test its software, but with Samsung and HTC moving pretty quick with KitKat despite having heavy skins, and Samsung has even managed to not introduce any quirky bugs (they disabled third-party accessories, but an update over the weekend reversed that), I really want KitKat to come quick. I want wireless printing support (Samsung had this even before KitKat, one of the few reasons I appreciate Samsung's bloat sometimes, it has some useful features), and it might also solve the issue of lack of RAM on the Z1, even if only a little bit.

This is what you do on Sunday afternoon? We know Z1 is not best like expected.

eclyptos said:
This is what you do on Sunday afternoon? We know Z1 is not best like expected.
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It's Sunday night where I am, and I had to get my thoughts out there after using the Z1's camera extensively the last two days (I bought the phone on Thursday.)

addicted2088 said:
It's Sunday night where I am, and I had to get my thoughts out there after using the Z1's camera extensively the last two days (I bought the phone on Thursday.)
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Saturday Night? You should be in some club! ..ahah...just kidding...I know...I am really disappointed by the camera too....what I can surely said is that the problem of the camera quality is related to the Software, but I don't know if we will get better pictures. Many telling me that the Z1 make amazing pictures but mine is not fake and I still not get clear pictures like it should be. Full of Noise, and with Unlocked Bootloader get even worse.

I understand what you're saying, and you have valid points, but these type of complaints come up with every phone out there.
The HTC One has exactly the same Camera complaint that you do. The UltraPixel was a big disappointment for some. The thing about the Z1's camera is that it CAN be improved. The camera is actually extremely good if you use it in manual, and the pictures that come out are the best I've seen on an Android phone. Superior Auto is a bit of a mess though. That's a software problem, not hardware, so we hope kitKat can fix that.
The display is a valid complaint, but I feel head on it's better than the Note 3. The Z1 has one of the most color accurate screens out there, which I prefer over AMOLED oversaturation. The viewing angles personally for me isn't a problem but yes, it is a negative about this phone.
So in the end it's clear that "the best of Sony" just isn't the right thing to say when your tech is behind the competition in some things and just isn't as great as owners of flagship devices of the competition have become used to
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Click to collapse
Well, the Z1 IS the best of Sony...not sure what you're trying to say. I still feel like the Z1 is one of the best phones out there. Although lacking in some parts, the overall package is hard to beat: Snapdragon 800 processor, great battery life, great camera (Yes the camera is still very very good, just not as good as advertised), and best of all premium feeling. There is really no other phone that has all that together in one package right now. The Note 3 is better in some respects but for me feels cheap, and that is a HUGE con for me that overshadows anything else. The Nexus 5 has meh battery life and camera. The HTC One has a meh camera and lower end specs. The Galaxy S4 is no longer talked about when discussing high-end phones.
The point is there's no 'perfect' phone, and I concede that the Z1 does have weaknesses, but so does every other electronic device out there

addicted2088 said:
First, I'd like to say that I'm not trying to hate on Sony or bash them, just pointing out that what they call "the best of Sony" isn't exactly great or better than the competition
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Uh huh.
My advice to you, since it appears you wrote this to practice the writing career you're hoping to have, is to consider other career options. You're not good at this.

learn to make the picture and you will find Z1 camera is great. all the comparatives with Note 3 and the other smartphones take Z1 on the top of Android world
display is very good. poor viewing angle are not a gap, but I can assume it is subjective.
when I watch photos and videos on Z1 display they are much nicer than on other displays.

kantk20111 said:
I understand what you're saying, and you have valid points, but these type of complaints come up with every phone out there.
The HTC One has exactly the same Camera complaint that you do. The UltraPixel was a big disappointment for some. The thing about the Z1's camera is that it CAN be improved. The camera is actually extremely good if you use it in manual, and the pictures that come out are the best I've seen on an Android phone. Superior Auto is a bit of a mess though. That's a software problem, not hardware, so we hope kitKat can fix that.
The display is a valid complaint, but I feel head on it's better than the Note 3. The Z1 has one of the most color accurate screens out there, which I prefer over AMOLED oversaturation. The viewing angles personally for me isn't a problem but yes, it is a negative about this phone.
Well, the Z1 IS the best of Sony...not sure what you're trying to say. I still feel like the Z1 is one of the best phones out there. Although lacking in some parts, the overall package is hard to beat: Snapdragon 800 processor, great battery life, great camera (Yes the camera is still very very good, just not as good as advertised), and best of all premium feeling. There is really no other phone that has all that together in one package right now. The Note 3 is better in some respects but for me feels cheap, and that is a HUGE con for me that overshadows anything else. The Nexus 5 has meh battery life and camera. The HTC One has a meh camera and lower end specs. The Galaxy S4 is no longer talked about when discussing high-end phones.
The point is there's no 'perfect' phone, and I concede that the Z1 does have weaknesses, but so does every other electronic device out there
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not so sure about that ...
HTC has the best software updates ATM and fastest after Google.
It has the best low light camera + best smart flash with the 5 modes
Average daylight shots
best front cam with wide angle
The best mics hdr mics
The best speakers
The best headphones sound
It's the most quality phone
It has the best screen in overall
It has unmatched feel in the hand
Ir blaster
Ois
60 fps video + zoe + really working hdr video
BlinkFeed which is still unmatched with copies
Decent battery life
Great xda development
Most of these things aren't yet matched by the competition which is shame imo since htc one is 1 year old and it's still considered the best overall package phone even in 2014 and I doubt anything but HTC one 2 will surpass it which is only a month or two away.

A lot on that list are gimmicks and a few items there are disputable. If HTC were as ahead of everyone as you make them appear to be, then that's extremely incongruent to the terrible shape the company is in.

Another "OMG Sony why did you do this to me" thread.
Sony rules!!

Shan89 said:
Not so sure about that ...
HTC has the best software updates ATM and fastest after Google.
It has the best low light camera + best smart flash with the 5 modes
Average daylight shots
best front cam with wide angle
The best mics hdr mics
The best speakers
The best headphones sound
It's the most quality phone
It has the best screen in overall
It has unmatched feel in the hand
Ir blaster
Ois
60 fps video + zoe + really working hdr video
BlinkFeed which is still unmatched with copies
Decent battery life
Great xda development
Most of these things aren't yet matched by the competition which is shame imo since htc one is 1 year old and it's still considered the best overall package phone even in 2014 and I doubt anything but HTC one 2 will surpass it which is only a month or two away.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't want to get in a fight about whose phone is better, but everyone's got different preferences in a phone. A lot of the points you mentioned are opinions, and really can't be said in a comparison.
The most 'quality' phone and 'ummatched feel' is extremely subjective.
The Z1 is no less in quality than the HTC One and has as premium materials.
The Moto X and Z1 compact both have better feel, just because they're smaller.
Z1's battery life has been much better for me than HTC One in my experience.
Headphone sound is exactly the same for me. Beats is a gimmick and just a equalizer preset which I can also set on my Z1.
I will admit the HTC One's speakers is miles ahead of the Z1's and the display is better.
Camera as well is a lot better in the Z1 in daylight, but I remember you're the guy who wrote that HTC One vs Z1 camera test and I don't want to get in a fight again about that, so I won't go there. HTC One's better in low light, but the Z1 isn't that bad either.
The Z1's camera has a ton more features as well that are pretty cool to play around with. Gimmicks? Sure, but they're still fun. Also the Z1's viewfinder is much smoother.
All front facing cameras suck equally and don't believe there's a 'best' front facing camera.
edit: Oh, also concerning updates: This is the first time HTC have actually done well with updates. We'll see a year from now how they treat HTC One users. One X and One X+ users are stuck with official 4.2 while the Xperia T, which came out around the same time+, just got updated to 4.3. Sony might be slower at giving updates but they support their phones longer.
See, I just refuted half of your points. Of course you will disagree with me, but that's what's great about Android: everyone has different preferences and different opinions on what's the best. The HTC One is a fantastic phone and is my number 2 after the Z1, but it's still not the best for me. Nothing wrong with that.

omnius1 said:
A lot on that list are gimmicks and a few items there are disputable. If HTC were as ahead of everyone as you make them appear to be, then that's extremely incongruent to the terrible shape the company is in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What exactly is gimmic ?
Ir blaster is very useful
Ois is very helpful in low light / movement or any other type of using the camera / 60 fps video is smooth as camera app on z1 and looks like you're looking thru the glass when watching an video / hdr video is awesome as well at low light , so is the zoe especially if you wanna take out some snaps after which are full sized , I forgot slow motion video as well which is fun tho.
Smart flash is very useful indeed and can take photos from 5cm in pitch black up to 10 meters , with the walls it can go even further
Stereo frontal speakers ...how is this a gimmic lol , anything you do on a phone sounds crazy good + loud + it hits you in the face.
Full metal body is always a good thing , it screams premium ...
Feel in the hand indeed is unmatched due metal + device shape
hdr mics pick up the sound you wouldn't believe that the phone is doing it.
I've forgot also talking via phone is unmatched as well , you get stereo sound + you can talk in super loud environment perfectly fine.
Headphones sound wouldn't be a gimmic as well lol ... Ppl just use that ...on daily bases ..
Software updates is definitely not an gimmic we all want fast and working updates ASAP ,which is not the case with the Sony , it's far from it.
Xda development for me personally is very important since I love to flash + the fact HTC one has about 9/10 times more development it's a must have for me.
The only gimmicky thing would be if you don't like the the BlinkFeed that'd be all which can be turned off.
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

We have to open a thread " @@Shan89 VS @kantk20111 " ..hahah..
Ladies and Gentlemen may I present, Shan89 from HTC Section VS kantk20111 from Sony section, Round 2.
FIGHT!
:laugh:

lol
I had Xperia z1 , camera sucked , phone was too hot and screen is utter **** , so I changed to HTC one for the same stuff you wrote here!

Honestly I am huge fan of HTC but actually I do not brought HTC One, which was cheaper, just because there is no micro SD Slot, and when Apps to SD will be available on Z1, or even Apk on internal and Data on SD on Custom Roms, I will not have regrets to have Z1.

eclyptos said:
We have to open a thread " @@Shan89 VS @kantk20111 " ..hahah..
Ladies and Gentlemen may I present, Shan89 from HTC Section VS kantk20111 from Sony section, Round 2.
FIGHT!
:laugh:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nah mate it ain't fight Lol. I was just pointing that there are devices which are quite more complete. Of course I can't think of anything else besides z1 that comes equal to m7 pretty much all devices lack design and quality which both z1 and htc have.
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

eclyptos said:
We have to open a thread " [MENTION=3721363 [user=4914682]@Shan89[/user][/MENTION] VS @kantk20111 " ..hahah..
Ladies and Gentlemen may I present, Shan89 from HTC Section VS kantk20111 from Sony section, Round 2.
FIGHT!
:laugh:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No more fighting lol, just 2 guys who really love their phones alot . For me the HTC One and Z1 will always be the top of Android, with Samsung, LG and the rest way below. Sony and HTC have style along with awesome hardware.
edit: @Shan89 beat me to it

Came from the GSIII and this phone blows it out of the water, so I'm happy.
Sent from my C6916 using xda app-developers app

I came from htc one to z1 for reasons like low battery camera quality purple tint issue and worst of all its easily breakable body which produced dents on a simple fall
Sent from my C6902 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Shan89 said:
HTC has the best software updates "ATM" and fastest after Google.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Coming from a T-Mobile HTC One S and being left hangin' with no further updates from 4.1 Jellbean...I jumped off their bandwagon and upgraded to the Sony Xperia Z1S.
I'm glad that HTC is finally wiling to support their top tier products, but a bit too late for me...HTC lost in my book.
The clear winner (for me) is Sony! :good:

Wired magazine review of the Z3

Please take a look at this review from Brent Rose from Wired and voice your opinion in the comments section of the article. I have never seen such a slanted/poor review and think he should be called out on it.
http://www.wired.com/2014/11/sony-xperia-z3/

what an unusual review

The speaker/camera comparison was somewhat accurate though it seems a little exaggerated, but the rest of the review was crap. The Z3 UI is better than stock where you can't even custom arrange the app drawer. My Z3 is rock stable, I even went through 3 of them for cosmetic defects (on my 4th now) and none ever crashed. If you look at the comment section you can see most of them pointing out that the review was bad.

Wow that review is so ridiculously invalid

That was such a horrible review. There are some cons to the phone, but over-exaggerating them at the level is so unprofessional.

This is very similar to my Z3C experience and in that regard all bias off I believe everything he wrote was correct...This is the reason Z3c went back and I was reluctant to even try Z3 since the internals are the same with bigger screen which would result in even worst battery than z3c
-Goran

The review wasn't that bad. I pretty much agree with everything said, except for the stability issues. Not once did I have to reboot the phone due to apps crashing.
Don't get me wrong, I like this phone a lot. There is not a single phone out right now that I'd choose over the Z3.

Love the phone but the first thing I did was switch to nova because of the rubbage skin.
Also the camera post processing on auto is garbage too.

mfpreach said:
Love the phone but the first thing I did was switch to nova because of the rubbage skin.
Also the camera post processing on auto is garbage too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Similarly, I've disabled many of Sony's stock apps, threw Nova on as the launcher, and have been plenty happy. I haven't had a single app crash, and I've gotten between 1d 16h and 2d 6h of battery. Sony says up to 2 days, so yeah, I'm good.
Besides, I can't remember the last time I trusted "Wired" for a review. Maybe they purposely did a negative review just to get a reaction for page views and ad impressions.

Absolutely agree with this review (except for the good points regarding the camera), its very accurate and the conclusion is spot on. Out of the box it is terrible, and not for Joe Public.
If it wasnt for the ps4 features, looks, waterproofing and memory card slot and me wanting to get away from Apple I would have something else. It could be much better. I've replaced or uninstalled all the pointlessly "Sony-ed" pre-installed apps, the Sony version of the calendar would constantly crash to desktop, the camera apps are horrible, the camera app is slow, clunky and terrible to navigate and all of it, really cheapens this phone. Coming from iPhone this was a very poor show.
Thankfully, after several hours of customising nova launcher, adding a new lock screen and notification handler its improved. Still lacking in many areas.
Still, I prefer this freedom over iOS so I can't complain too much! Well... apart from....
Excuse the rant here but this is the biggest issue I have with the Z3 (maybe android in general). There is one very glowing thing that the Z3/android still haven't really "got it down" on. The camera, I've noticed this on a few phones (S4, LG G2, HTC One M8, Z3, Nexus 5) too.
I'm an amatuer photographer in my spare time and without any bias I very quickly noticed that despite the extra megapixels, manual options in the software, upgraded lens etc etc the camera lags (lag the keyword) very much behind in the camera stakes to apple! The speed of opening the camera and taking a photo, the colours, the jpg processing profile, the autofocus speed and accuracy are all way way better even on an aging iPhone 4S in my mind. Its a phone, not an dslr, its designed to be there to take a "good" photo fast and I've not seen an android phone do this well. Especially in low light.
I was talking to an HTC One M8 owner who absolutely refuted this, so I asked a simple challenge, pull your phone out on 3 and take a photo of your bar snacks as quick as you can, he agrees... 3-2-1 bam, my old, slow iphone 4s (which I'm using while my broken z3 is awaiting repair) is out of my pocket at the same time but I'm done while his is trying to take focus (its as slow as my Sony as I tested this too) but not only that, his doesn't look great focus wise, colour wise etc, the iphone has sharp focus on the subject and a smooth defocused background, nice depth of field and really good colours, processing looks "interesting".
This is my general experience with a non iphone camera, in particular the Z3 and frankly the ONLY thing I miss :crying:

Lol I've been using the z3 for 3 days ago and I haven't had a single problem. Yes apps do crash but not the pre-installed apps.
Battery last me more than a day on heavy use. I still have about 32% after two days on normal use.
Camera has no washed out pictures like in the review.
The review is a load of bull.
Sent from my D6616 using XDA Free mobile app

batousan said:
Absolutely agree with this review (except for the good points regarding the camera), its very accurate and the conclusion is spot on. Out of the box it is terrible, and not for Joe Public.
If it wasnt for the ps4 features, looks, waterproofing and memory card slot and me wanting to get away from Apple I would have something else. It could be much better. I've replaced or uninstalled all the pointlessly "Sony-ed" pre-installed apps, the Sony version of the calendar would constantly crash to desktop, the camera apps are horrible, the camera app is slow, clunky and terrible to navigate and all of it, really cheapens this phone. Coming from iPhone this was a very poor show.
Thankfully, after several hours of customising nova launcher, adding a new lock screen and notification handler its improved. Still lacking in many areas.
Still, I prefer this freedom over iOS so I can't complain too much! Well... apart from....
Excuse the rant here but this is the biggest issue I have with the Z3 (maybe android in general). There is one very glowing thing that the Z3/android still haven't really "got it down" on. The camera, I've noticed this on a few phones (S4, LG G2, HTC One M8, Z3, Nexus 5) too.
I'm an amatuer photographer in my spare time and without any bias I very quickly noticed that despite the extra megapixels, manual options in the software, upgraded lens etc etc the camera lags (lag the keyword) very much behind in the camera stakes to apple! The speed of opening the camera and taking a photo, the colours, the jpg processing profile, the autofocus speed and accuracy are all way way better even on an aging iPhone 4S in my mind. Its a phone, not an dslr, its designed to be there to take a "good" photo fast and I've not seen an android phone do this well. Especially in low light.
I was talking to an HTC One M8 owner who absolutely refuted this, so I asked a simple challenge, pull your phone out on 3 and take a photo of your bar snacks as quick as you can, he agrees... 3-2-1 bam, my old, slow iphone 4s (which I'm using while my broken z3 is awaiting repair) is out of my pocket at the same time but I'm done while his is trying to take focus (its as slow as my Sony as I tested this too) but not only that, his doesn't look great focus wise, colour wise etc, the iphone has sharp focus on the subject and a smooth defocused background, nice depth of field and really good colours, processing looks "interesting".
This is my general experience with a non iphone camera, in particular the Z3 and frankly the ONLY thing I miss :crying:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the HTC M8 right now and the pictures are realy bad. It's a hardware issue with the lens. Sounds from all the reviews that the Xperia camera is decent, but not great. Would you agree?

dspcap said:
I have the HTC M8 right now and the pictures are realy bad. It's a hardware issue with the lens. Sounds from all the reviews that the Xperia camera is decent, but not great. Would you agree?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In my opinion m8 has one of the fastest cameras in the market. Definitely faster than old iPhone 4.
Z3 biggest problem is how slow the camera is.

CandyAndy said:
In my opinion m8 has one of the fastest cameras in the market. Definitely faster than old iPhone 4.
Z3 biggest problem is how slow the camera is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
wth are you talking about? slow? with my Z3 I can take a picture from sleep, in less than 2 sec. .

rspy said:
wth are you talking about? slow? with my Z3 I can take a picture from sleep, in less than 2 sec. .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So take a picture while you are moving and let's see how it looks.
It doesn't look good. M8 has faster camera and you can snap away while walking

I went through the review, and i am with him for most of the flaws except the STABILITY issues.
I had the Z3 for 15 days, and then i had to sell it off and back to Samsung S5 as it was not rootable.
The Camera definately is not as good, and even the phone body - especially the back glass, was too slippery for me, and i did drop it a few times, and its also a mega fingerprint magnet. I say the plastic back of S5 is way more superior.
Even the front speakers were just OK, yea, they were loud, and front facing, but thats it. the clarity isn't there and sounded very "tinny".
Otherwise, the performance, speed, os, battery were all brilliant!
I am now on the S5, and just a general comparision against the Z3, i like the size and finish of the S5 more better than the Z3. The S5 back (Especially the Black one) has a leather/slightly rubbery feel to it, which enhances the grip. The Camera in the S5 is excellent, capturing superb pictures! battery life is very good, though Z3 has better life. Performance wise, though the S5 has 2gb ram, never felt it under stress. Maybe it would be if i am playing some really heavy games, but as such never had a problem in regular usage.

CandyAndy said:
In my opinion m8 has one of the fastest cameras in the market. Definitely faster than old iPhone 4.
Z3 biggest problem is how slow the camera is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The issue here is the comparison is an iPhone 4 which was released in June 2010, there should be no excuse for any delay in camera boot 4 years on with much more powerful hardware.

batousan said:
The issue here is the comparison is an iPhone 4 which was released in June 2010, there should be no excuse for any delay in camera boot 4 years on with much more powerful hardware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I have allergy for Apple products so I cannot comment [emoji2]

CandyAndy said:
Well I have allergy for Apple products so I cannot comment [emoji2]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That doesn't mean you should bury your head in the sand on something so fundamental, surely thats just as bad than blindly buying apple products year on year? :laugh:

batousan said:
That doesn't mean you should bury your head in the sand on something so fundamental, surely thats just as bad than buying blindly buying apple products year on year? [emoji23]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I never compared z3 to iPhone.
In fact I am right now on my way to buy my second z3 since I can't stand this current note 4, buy which I originally made because z3 camera wasn't good enough. But now I realize that I can live with a bit worse camera if everything else is so fantastic.
I am shocked how quickly the battery drains with the note, and it is supposed to have quite a good battery also

Z5 returned for a defect...and for good :(

Ok, here we go. I've been (and still am) a HUGE fan of Sony mobile products. You obviously see from my sig that I own the Z3 Compact Tablet and Smartwatch 3, both products that I simply LOVE and believe are the best among the competition. I've also owned three Xperia phones previously (ZL, Z1, Z3). The Z5, killed it for me. KILLED IT. First of all, I really wanted to believe the hype about the new camera and finally say that my Sony phone is as good as my wife's iPhone 6 camera or my friends' other Android phone cameras. Sadly, that is not the case. The sensor might be awesome and new, but unfortunately Sony still can't properly process the images. I read the reviews and watched the videos before buying mine, and I wanted so badly for them to be wrong. However, after playing with the Z5 for 5 days, I came to the conclusion that the new sensor hasn't changed anything. Pictures still come out grainy and soft and fail miserably in comparison to the competition. The new sensor is also fast, as fast as Sony claims, BUT for some reason there is a lag when you press the shutter button that leads to slightly blurred images.
I also have to admit that for some reason or another, the Z5 lost it's sexiness when compared to the Z3. I can go on and mention some of the other little things, but in all honesty, the camera and the way the phone looks did it in.
With that said, I've returned the phone as I was originally planning on doing anyway because of the light bleed issue, but I'm actually ordering the international version of the white Galaxy S6 instead. I use the phone at work daily for mobile app design testing and it is the best phone Sammy has ever released, not to mention one of the best cameras out there. I guess I was hoping that the Z5 would be just that, a S6 with Sony styling and no touchwiz, but I guess I'll settle for the S6 until Sony addresses the real issue behind their weak camera.
This is by no means intended to change anyone's opinion about the Z5, just sharing my observations and reasons. Who knows, maybe next year like now the Z6 will finally be the phone with the camera that everyone will drool over. Until then, I'll still be a loyal Sony guy with my X3C Tablet and SmartWatch 3 (fingers crossed for a SW4 soon).

Did you adjust your position to account for Z5's wide FoV before taking shots for comparison? I have a Z5, Z3+, S6 & they all take cleaner low-light indoor shots than my sister's IP6+ (with OIS)! I'm not a blind Sony fan either. I'd rather get shot than pick a Sony TV (my second favorite) over a Panasonic (Plasma) TV lol

I'm currently a Sony hardcore fan, but i highly recommend you Samsung Galaxy K Zoom for your photography enthusiasm on phone .
For other great feature/design + waterproof phone, get Xperia Z series.

monx® said:
I'm currently a Sony hardcore fan, but i highly recommend you Samsung Galaxy K Zoom for your photography enthusiasm on phone .
For other great feature/design + waterproof phone, get Xperia Z series.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd probably go with something like QX100/30 as they work on both android & iOS. They also stay with you even if you decide to ditch the 'phone'

Not trying to insult you, spielnicht, but you know it's a two-stage shutter button?

I feel like the camera is way better than the Z3s. And that's good enough for me.
Design is preference. I personally find the green one that I have, sexy.
The only gripe that I have worth mentioning is the speakers. They are pretty weak compared to my HTC One M8.
There is no other phone out there that combines what Sony has done with the Z5.
-Pocketable
-Great camera. (works well enough)
-Likeable design (preference)
-Water resistant
-Front firing speakers
-And most of all. The most comfortable fingerprint scanner on the market.
-"premium materials and build"
Sent from my E6653 using XDA Free mobile app

joe_dude said:
Not trying to insult you, spielnicht, but you know it's a two-stage shutter button?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Heh. Yeah I'm aware of that. Regardless of whether you use the physical shutter button or tap the screen, there is a .5sec delay until the picture is snapped and thus leads to blurry images unless you are a robot and don't move the phone at all in that .5sec.
Like I said, no one here needs to convince me that Sony's hardware is TOPS and the design is timeless and of the highest quality. However, you get to a point when you ask yourself whether not being able to take nice pics of your kids is worth living with it. For me, it's not. I am finally willing to try out Samsung since it's going to get me more of the things that I need daily. For my Xperia Z3 Compact Tablet, a camera is irrelevant, so I'm more than thrilled to own that over any other brand.
I just read Sony is building a dedicated mobile factory in Thailand, so fingers crossed that they are putting more R&D efforts and actually work on the shortcomings of the Xperia line. Until then, you'll find me at the Z3 Compact Tablet forum

Sony definitely has work to do on the camera app; I have faith in the new sensor technology but software wise... This planned camera app update in November should hopefully do the trick.
My own observations:
- Holding the camera button to wake the camera (from screen off or even standby) is not reliable. Sometimes requires a second long-press of the camera button. Sometimes this leads to a photo being taken the second the camera app opens.
- Activating the camera can sometimes be practically instant (half a second) or sometimes 2 or 3 seconds - no consistency here at all.
- Accessing your camera roll can sometimes be maddeningly slow.

Hi guys, I switched to Z5 from Z3 and since I have not been able to sell my old phone yet, I have also had some doubts if the upgrade is worth it. If I had the option to return the Z5 I might also go for it, but that's not possible here. However, I think that the Z5 has great hardware and design, and at the moment what is holding it back is the software. After all we are still on the initial release for the device and it's only fare to give a chance to the next software version. Also, the device was released at a time when sony was probably already developing their version of Android 6, and might not have put too much work in the already "outdated" version that the z5 has out of the box. Anyway, I hope the update to Marshmallow brings improvements and I'd really like to see the concept for android software on the Z5.

pavel1_1 said:
Hi guys, I switched to Z5 from Z3 and since I have not been able to sell my old phone yet, I have also had some doubts if the upgrade is worth it. If I had the option to return the Z5 I might also go for it, but that's not possible here. However, I think that the Z5 has great hardware and design, and at the moment what is holding it back is the software. After all we are still on the initial release for the device and it's only fare to give a chance to the next software version. Also, the device was released at a time when sony was probably already developing their version of Android 6, and might not have put too much work in the already "outdated" version that the z5 has out of the box. Anyway, I hope the update to Marshmallow brings improvements and I'd really like to see the concept for android software on the Z5.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting that, currently i have a Z3C, love the phone, but my eyes are starting to get a little tired, was going to upgrade to a Z3 or a Z5, but is the price difference between the two models worth it ?

Schumi 01 said:
Interesting that, currently i have a Z3C, love the phone, but my eyes are starting to get a little tired, was going to upgrade to a Z3 or a Z5, but is the price difference between the two models worth it ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I went from a Z3 to the Z5. To justify the price difference, you would need to consider what the Z5 offers that the Z3 doesn't and see if that matters to you.
What initially helped me justify the move:
Fingerprint Scanner
Normal USB Port
Supposedly Better Camera
What quickly killed the excitement:
Disappointing camera performance during everyday use
Bland design (in comparison to the Z3 at least)
Phone feels thicker
LCD light bleed issues (the final straw for me)

Sony have always had **** camera performance in the Xperia line even though apple etc use Sony sensors and their pics are amazing!!
Sent from my E5563 using Tapatalk

spielnicht said:
I went from a Z3 to the Z5. To justify the price difference, you would need to consider what the Z5 offers that the Z3 doesn't and see if that matters to you.
What initially helped me justify the move:
Fingerprint Scanner
Normal USB Port
Supposedly Better Camera
What quickly killed the excitement:
Disappointing camera performance during everyday use
Bland design (in comparison to the Z3 at least)
Phone feels thicker
LCD light bleed issues (the final straw for me)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you very much indeed, after reading the above, honestly, i think i will just upgrade to the Z3 and save some money, not too interested in the Fingerprint scanner, but it does sound good, maybe a bit gimmicky for myself, as for the others you have mentioned, again, quite happy with the way the Z3C is laid out.
Could i justify a price a difference of around £150 for a Fingerprint Scanner, and a normal USB port, i really dont think i could.
Z3 it is then, Thanks very much indeed.

Considering any Z1+ mobile produces way better photos than any Iphone in all light conditions (assuming DRM keys are intact and lens cover is not scratched) you probably better off buying a potato and slapping instagram filters on the photo and calling it a day. However SA dark/night mode seems wonky for the Z5 and probably will be updated.