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HTC One vs Lumia 920 Imaging Comparison

Hey Guys!
What do you think about this HTC One vs Lumia 920 Imaging Comparison? I have used both HTC One & Lumia 920 but i must say i was a little disappointed to see the HTC One low-light performance. It doesn't perform how it was promised too. What was most disappointing was that it didn't even have "Light Assisted Focus" which made it difficult to take focused photographs in low light. What do you guys think about it? Did i miss anything? Did i overlook the "Light Assisted Focus" or am i right? Looking forward to your informative replies.

the Lumia 920 use settings similar to night mode on the One, so try night mode and more importantly try HDR which is the SGS4 night mode method but at much faster shutter
Regrading focus the "touch to capture" mode will solve it, when you touch your target, the camera will reach focus and take a shot
using HDR plus auto flash light, will "flash assist" the HDR capture and the results are incredible (similar to the method used in Lumia 925)
HDR (no flash, good shutter speed)
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Night (Less noise, fixed ISO, slower shutter/focus)
Auto (Main low light quality, slow shutter/focus)
HDR (no flash, good shutter speed)
Night (Less noise, fixed ISO, slower shutter/focus)
Auto (Main low light quality, slow shutter/focus)
Zoe Mode (Fast shutter / focus, lowest quality)
finally comparisons are not allowed on this forum

I bought HTC One as a replacement to my Lumia 920 (and I still have it).
I have not made any proper comparison yet, however my immediate feeling is, that HTC One is a big downgrade in terms o camera performance, when it comes to IOS, picture quality and recorded sound quality. The only thing that HTC is superior in is (in my opinion) image sharpness/details, which are still lacking on the WIndows Phones.
Having said that, I treat Lumia as my idiotic experiment and I will probably never abandon Android again.
If I find a bit time I will do a picture comparison with both phones, side by side.

valdigre said:
I bought HTC One as a replacement to my Lumia 920 (and I still have it).
I have not made any proper comparison yet, however my immediate feeling is, that HTC One is a big downgrade in terms o camera performance, when it comes to IOS, picture quality and recorded sound quality. The only thing that HTC is superior in is (in my opinion) image sharpness/details, which are still lacking on the WIndows Phones.
Having said that, I treat Lumia as my idiotic experiment and I will probably never abandon Android again.
If I find a bit time I will do a picture comparison with both phones, side by side.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you make zoes with a Lumia too?

to be honest I don't think the comparison is fair. The image quality of the htc one is simply awful. Nearly every other phone i had made better pictures (ok the nexus 4 was a bad one ^^). that said, i have to admit it IS very decent in low light and color reproduction. but while other phones produce clean and detail rich photos in normal daylight, my one struggles to keep up with.
the camera is really the only thing I absolutly dislike about this phone (and as a sony fan that is a huge compliment toward htc).
what bugs me the most is that 4MP in reality isn't that awful at all, still htc decides to treat the picture with way to much smoothing, eliminating effectively that few details it captured. Despite I honor my camera in my phones a lot, I have to admit I would still miss the One if I'd sell it. After all, it's still 1 little detail.

Mooozer said:
to be honest I don't think the comparison is fair. The image quality of the htc one is simply awful. Nearly every other phone i had made better pictures (ok the nexus 4 was a bad one ^^). that said, i have to admit it IS very decent in low light and color reproduction. but while other phones produce clean and detail rich photos in normal daylight, my one struggles to keep up with.
the camera is really the only thing I absolutly dislike about this phone (and as a sony fan that is a huge compliment toward htc).
what bugs me the most is that 4MP in reality isn't that awful at all, still htc decides to treat the picture with way to much smoothing, eliminating effectively that few details it captured. Despite I honor my camera in my phones a lot, I have to admit I would still miss the One if I'd sell it. After all, it's still 1 little detail.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i agree with you HTC One is a great phone except that awful camera i dont know why they didnt use Omnivision or Sony sensor rather go with ST microelectronics

cihanleanne said:
i agree with you HTC One is a great phone except that awful camera i dont know why they didnt use Omnivision or Sony sensor rather go with ST microelectronics
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ST Micro is mic

I give HTC props for trying to buck the trend and do something "new" but it does have it's weaknesses.
Instead of trying to be different by using a 4MP and try to debunk the megapixel craze, they should have made a 8MP Ultrapixel camera and just market it as the new generation of cameras, and then appease all crowds.

I Am Marino said:
I give HTC props for trying to buck the trend and do something "new" but it does have it's weaknesses.
Instead of trying to be different by using a 4MP and try to debunk the megapixel craze, they should have made a 8MP Ultrapixel camera and just market it as the new generation of cameras, and then appease all crowds.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think you understand what "Ultrapixel" is.

Itaintrite said:
I don't think you understand what "Ultrapixel" is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sure I don't.
I have absolutely zero understanding of camera sensors, etc.
I'm generally a proponent of people feeling way too entitled to having some kind of super digital camera in their phone.
But if an OEM is going to try, go big or try again.

I Am Marino said:
I'm sure I don't.
I have absolutely zero understanding of camera sensors, etc.
I'm generally a proponent of people feeling way too entitled to having some kind of super digital camera in their phone.
But if an OEM is going to try, go big or try again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Funnily enough, HTC did go big with "Ultrapixel".

It's not bad in daytime, it's just not great. Only good/meh. It blows away even the L920 in night time though.
Overall I'd like to see HTC take on the L1020 with a huge sensor. 1/1.5 with 14.5MP would destroy the L1020 for low light, although it would have less sharpness (need at least 20MP to eliminate bayer artifacting through oversampling).

townay said:
ST Micro is mic
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No its not when i fix tear the Htc one it was ST Microelectronics

Se some posters suggesting an 8mp ultra pixel camera in future htc units. But is that even possible without destroying the slim design? If you want to build a sensor with the larger ultra pixels and pack twice number of pixels, the sensor must become much larger. And then you probably must move the lense further away from the sensor to cover it with light (the image). Hence you need to build a thicker device.
Maybe this is why Nokias are on the hefty side.
But hey, this is just a humble theory based on my limited knowledge of sensors and optics.
Skickat från min HTC One via Tapatalk 2

Xperia Z1 2nd Place in DxO Mark's Overall Mobile Camera Ranking

Apparently, DxO Mark just gave out a score to Xperia Z1 and amazingly, just sits at 2nd place behind the Pureview 808 in overall Mobile Camera Ranking! :victory:
And that's without the "firmware updates" that will supposedly improve the camera!
I can't post the link as I'm still within the new user limitation of posting outside links. But if you're curious to see it, just do a quick google search for DxOMark and Xperia Z1!
More details:
Actually, the stills for Z1 stands at 5th place, however the video was deemed to be outstanding and the best in the mobile cameras and just 2nd place in their database behind the GoPro Hero 3!
If you're wondering what happened to the 1020, they also have an article on it and while they deemed the stills to be amazing and 2nd only to the 808. However, video was said to be lacking.
What are your thoughts?

bloodfire1004 said:
Apparently, DxO Mark just gave out a score to Xperia Z1 and amazingly, just sits at 2nd place behind the Pureview 808 in overall Mobile Camera Ranking! :victory:
And that's without the "firmware updates" that will supposedly improve the camera!
I can't post the link as I'm still within the new user limitation of posting outside links. But if you're curious to see it, just do a quick google search for DxOMark and Xperia Z1!
More details:
Actually, the stills for Z1 stands at 5th place, however the video was deemed to be outstanding and the best in the mobile cameras and just 2nd place in their database behind the GoPro Hero 3!
If you're wondering what happened to the 1020, they also have an article on it and while they deemed the stills to be amazing and 2nd only to the 808. However, video was said to be lacking.
What are your thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess the big sensor is the key here. Dxomark doesn't reflect the real life though. I'm not very happy with the z1 camera... far too noisy especially at 20mp. Still better than my older nexus 4 anyway.

j0sh0 said:
I guess the big sensor is the key here. Dxomark doesn't reflect the real life though. I'm not very happy with the z1 camera... far too noisy especially at 20mp. Still better than my older nexus 4 anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just curious, what settings are you using? I'm pretty satisfied with the Z1 Camera of mine, but that was after tweaking some of the shooting settings I'm in. At first, I was pretty disappointed as well but now I think I'm good.

bloodfire1004 said:
Just curious, what settings are you using? I'm pretty satisfied with the Z1 Camera of mine, but that was after tweaking some of the shooting settings I'm in. At first, I was pretty disappointed as well but now I think I'm good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought the phone yesterday so I'm still testing it. At the moment I like to shoot in manual mode at 8mp with image stabiliser on.

j0sh0 said:
I bought the phone yesterday so I'm still testing it. At the moment I like to shoot in manual mode at 8mp with image stabiliser on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah ok. That's good then. Shooting at 20MP especially in low-light results in (I'm not sure why) worse pictures than shooting at 8MP 4:3 .. in my tests, it resulted in darker images.
I also like to shoot at 8MP 4:3 to take advantage of the oversampling and leave the rest of the settings to Auto. One thing though is that I turn off the Stabilizer. I found that turning it on resulted in the camera choosing a much higher ISO than intended compared when leaving it off. This may be due to its detection of slight handshake movements and it tries to compensate by upping the ISO in favor of a faster shutter speed.

bloodfire1004 said:
Ah ok. That's good then. Shooting at 20MP especially in low-light results in (I'm not sure why) worse pictures than shooting at 8MP 4:3 .. in my tests, it resulted in darker images.
I also like to shoot at 8MP 4:3 to take advantage of the oversampling and leave the rest of the settings to Auto. One thing though is that I turn off the Stabilizer. I found that turning it on resulted in the camera choosing a much higher ISO than intended compared when leaving it off. This may be due to its detection of slight handshake movements and it tries to compensate by upping the ISO in favor of a faster shutter speed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes shooting at 20mp is useless. Pics are so noisy... it's a shame. At 8mp the image quality is pretty good and yes, with the stabiliser on the iso is higher for that reason. But I prefer a bit more noise other than a blurred image.

j0sh0 said:
Yes shooting at 20mp is useless. Pics are so noisy... it's a shame. At 8mp the image quality is pretty good and yes, with the stabiliser on the iso is higher for that reason. But I prefer a bit more noise other than a blurred image.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice. What metering and focus are you using? Particularly for macro / night shots. I find that using Single Auto Focus setting doesn't keep the whole image in focus and just the middle part, but I find that the multi-auto focus setting doesn't do too well either particularly in macro shots. Currently, I shoot in landscape mode when shooting macro.

I'm using metering average (it seems to do a better job with white balance as well). About focus I always use touch focus... I like to choose what I want in focus...
I love th bokeh management of the lens.. look at this for example
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j0sh0 said:
I'm using metering average (it seems to do a better job with white balance as well). About focus I always use touch focus... I like to choose what I want in focus...
I love th bokeh management of the lens.. look at this for example
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ohh nice, I'm gonna try that out Thanks!

j0sh0 said:
I bought the phone yesterday so I'm still testing it. At the moment I like to shoot in manual mode at 8mp with image stabiliser on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And there's you mistake - the software image stabiliser introduces noise. Switch it off.

Timaustin2000 said:
And there's you mistake - the software image stabiliser introduces noise. Switch it off.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I know... but as I said I prefer a slighty noiser image than a blurred one. I'll try again without stabiliser anyway.

j0sh0 said:
Yeah, I know... but as I said I prefer a slighty noiser image than a blurred one. I'll try again without stabiliser anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hopefully new update has improved superior auto mode...

Try night mode can reduce noise.
Sent from my GT-I9500 using xda app-developers app

Why is everyone so scared of noise I just don't get it. If the fine detail is their don't worry about the noise.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Yeah. The Z1 does lovely bokeh.

here is theDxO report for the Z1 which i could not find on DxO's website.
matheus_sc said:
I dont think samsung software is better, have more mods, but is very large and camera lags, i have gs4 9500 until last week
Sent from my C6903 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What i find telling from that review is this graph.
Above 80 lux the S4 shots have more 'texture' than the Z1.
Contrary to what people might think the Z1 has the best noise reduction indoors.

bloodfire1004 said:
Apparently, DxO Mark just gave out a score to Xperia Z1 and amazingly, just sits at 2nd place behind the Pureview 808 in overall Mobile Camera Ranking! :victory:
And that's without the "firmware updates" that will supposedly improve the camera!
I can't post the link as I'm still within the new user limitation of posting outside links. But if you're curious to see it, just do a quick google search for DxOMark and Xperia Z1!
More details:
Actually, the stills for Z1 stands at 5th place, however the video was deemed to be outstanding and the best in the mobile cameras and just 2nd place in their database behind the GoPro Hero 3!
If you're wondering what happened to the 1020, they also have an article on it and while they deemed the stills to be amazing and 2nd only to the 808. However, video was said to be lacking.
What are your thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not much of a fan of them anymore, after I wrote to them to see if they would do the Xperia Z test again after Sony updating the firmware to fix the bad camera quality, they didn't even respond to me. On the flip side it is Sony's fault for shipping substandard equipment, get all the important things right first, especially the camera when they are making such a big deal about how amazing it is.

DxO finally got around to testing the G2. Overall G2 placed 6th. However in the photo section it ties with the Z1 in terms of score. A closer examination of the parameters tested shows the Z1 edges ahead slighlty.
Where the Z1 comes out ahead : Exposure & Contrast, Colour, Noise Reduction, Flash
Where the G2 comes out ahead : Autofocus, Texture, Artifacts
4 > 3 or Z1 ahead by a little.
What lets the G2 down is video, where its ranked 15th to the Z1's 2nd place.
If you consider phones alone, Z1 has the best video out there.
Now we have to wait for DxO to test the Note 3 to see whether it will affect the Z1's ranking.

Sorry to jump here like that, I don't even know all this stuff but after read what you guys saying is like the camera on Z1 was made for experienced people who know how to set up the device. This is a phone anyway and I like to go around and shooting everything but almost of the pictures are crap. That how shouldn't be with a camera on a phone with 20mpx.

Comparison test pic between Z1 and Z3

dont be disappointed for those who have unlock their bootloader on their Z3. both of my Z1 and Z3 bootloader is unlocked.
at least there is something to cheer up about!
a test pic taken on Z1 and Z3 have shown better results. camera setting for both phone is the same.
Z1 cropped
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Z3 cropped
Z1 cropped
Z3 cropped
Z1 full resolution
Z3 full resolution
Z1 full resolution
Z3 full resolution

both phones have unlock BL right?
What settings did you use for taking these shots.. Auto/Manual etc

vidge1111 said:
both phones have unlock BL right?
What settings did you use for taking these shots.. Auto/Manual etc
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes. both phone hav already unlock bootloader.
on manual settings.

Please upload original pics to compare. Xperia phones can't capture png files as normal and of course not 32bit depth

Zanr Zij said:
Please upload original pics to compare. Xperia phones can't capture png files as normal and of course not 32bit depth
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Z1
Z3

chunlianghere said:
dont be disappointed for those who have unlock their bootloader on their Z3. both of my Z1 and Z3 bootloader is unlocked.
at least there is something to cheer up about!
a test pic taken on Z1 and Z3 have shown better results. camera setting for both phone is the same.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2730097
The stock camera on z1 is really bad, it doesn't need to do testing because almost everyone know it. Can you flash the Chocolatetrain's mod cam V8 8MP on Z1 and compare it to Z3 again? Make sure your Z1 is on 4.4.4 because the camera focus on 4.4.2 is very bad.

chunlianghere said:
Z1
Z3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh! Just download them .
2 pics are different in file size so I can't say anything to compare. If you can, compare Z3 UB and LB.

I have unlocked mine and this is the picture I took awhile ago..
Updated pic link (too large to attach here)
Click here

z3 pretty good

Sorry, guys.
No comparison possible with reduced size photos. With reduced size, you cannot see fine details, you cannot even spot the Z3's non-focus areas at the picture's edges.
Please post photos in FULL resolution, only. Everything else is just a waste of time, making everything look great.

Chefproll said:
Sorry, guys.
No comparison possible with reduced size photos. With reduced size, you cannot see fine details, you cannot even spot the Z3's non-focus areas at the picture's edges.
Please post photos in FULL resolution, only. Everything else is just a waste of time, making everything look great.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
its already in FULL RESOLUTION!
right click the pic, open in new tab
Sent from my D6653 using XDA Free mobile app

chunlianghere said:
its already in FULL RESOLUTION!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So 1024 x 768 is the full resolution of our Z3's camera ?

Chefproll said:
Sorry, guys.
No comparison possible with reduced size photos. With reduced size, you cannot see fine details, you cannot even spot the Z3's non-focus areas at the picture's edges.
Please post photos in FULL resolution, only. Everything else is just a waste of time, making everything look great.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can check out my link above. For the Xperia z3 picture in Flickr. Ignore the rest.

bb_hershey said:
You can check out my link above. For the Xperia z3 picture in Flickr. Ignore the rest.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did. Z3 performs quite well in low-light situations but FAILS with shots taken under bright sunlight. Especially plants, flowers or grass are rendered in a horrible way. Quality is like an 8 MP camera even in 20.7 MP mode, with unfocused areas at the picture's edges (left and right image borders).
Just try, watch the results in 1:1, FULL resolution at your monitor. :/

Chefproll said:
So 1024 x 768 is the full resolution of our Z3's camera ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oops! stupid photobucket! :crying:
Z1
Z3
Z1
Z3

chunlianghere said:
oops! stupid photobucket! :crying:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you very much for providing these pictures !
Picture 1: Have a look at the playground down in the middle: Sharp contours, looks very good.
But then have a look at the trees on the right hand side of the picture, focus the leaves: All blurred, just a muddy green slurry. Especially visible if leaves are in front of another green background like above the tiny lawn with the street lamp on it.
So we've got real sharp objects AND totally blurred objects in the same picture. - Caused by Sony's inferior software.
Picture 2: Concentrate on the D-Link box, note the part just below the line "mydlink Camera Video Recorder".
Left hand side ("Home/Small Office"): Focused. Right hand side: Blurred. - Spoiled by Sony's inferior software.

Chefproll said:
Thank you very much for providing these pictures !
Picture 1: Have a look at the playground down in the middle: Sharp contours, looks very good.
But then have a look at the trees on the right hand side of the picture, focus the leaves: All blurred, just a muddy green slurry. Especially visible if leaves are in front of another green background like above the tiny lawn with the street lamp on it.
So we've got real sharp objects AND totally blurred objects in the same picture. - Caused by Sony's inferior software.
Picture 2: Concentrate on the D-Link box, note the part just below the line "mydlink Camera Video Recorder".
Left hand side ("Home/Small Office"): Focused. Right hand side: Blurred. - Spoiled by Sony's inferior software.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so u mean "Spoiled by Sony's inferior software" is because of unlocking bootloader or?

chunlianghere said:
so u mean "Spoiled by Sony's inferior software" is because of unlocking bootloader or?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The software without unlocking is faulty, too. See several reviews. But there is a fair chance they fix it with a software update. The sensor is great, the software is holding back the quality.

chunlianghere said:
so u mean "Spoiled by Sony's inferior software" is because of unlocking bootloader or?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, this problems are not caused by unlocking the bootloader. It's just Sony spoiling the camera by using a SUBZERO camera software. Maybe there's a deal as Sony sells camera modules to other manufacturers: "We'll buy your Sony cameras if you make sure that your own Smartphone's cameras are far inferior to ours."
We've got a capable sensor - but the Sony software castrates it down to 8 MP level. :/

Chefproll said:
No, this problems are not caused by unlocking the bootloader. It's just Sony spoiling the camera by using a SUBZERO camera software. Maybe there's a deal as Sony sells camera modules to other manufacturers: "We'll buy your Sony cameras if you make sure that your own Smartphone's cameras are far inferior to ours."
We've got a capable sensor - but the Sony software castrates it down to 8 MP level. :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The fact that automode makes it 8MP isn't that much the issue btw (for me at least), oversampling is a common technique to get the best MP image using all the pixels of a large sensor. The problem is that Sony's implementation is mediocre at best and you can not really count on it.
As this has been the case since the Z1 I'm very sceptical of them actually fixing it, but I do remember firmware updates for the Z1 for example which really improved fotos. It is frustrating though, the hardware is awesome but they don't get the most out of it because of the software.
Still, it's not as much crap as people here give it. I have shot many great fotos with the Z1 (although only owning the Z3 for a few days now I can not yet comment properly on its pictures) but the fact that it's advertised as the best camera phone ever sets the bar high and it can not (always) live up to that.

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
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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).

Camera produces cold photos - very disappointed! Can it be fixed? White balance?

I just bought this phone, and I'm extremely disappointed in the camera. My wife has a note4 which takes great photos, which I've been using pretty much every day as we recently had a child (our first). My main reason for buying a new phone was to always have a good camera on hand for taking photos of our son. I hate big phones though, hence why I didn't buy the note4.
Anyway, after buying the z3c, it turns out that I hate the photos it takes They are all completely lifeless and cold. When I take a photo with the note4, what I see on the screen is pretty much exactly what I see in real life. With the z3c I can clearly see the difference right away (and it's not just the phone screen). I've tried experimenting with settings in manual mode as well, but I'm not having much luck. Granted I'm not claiming to know much about these things. I don't care if it's not the highest resolution or the sharpest details (or not at this stage at least), I just want some colors that looks like what I'm seeing with my eyes. I've gone back to using the camera from my wifes phone again despite my own phone only being a week old, which is a bit sad.
Is there anything I can do about this? I feel like there should be a simple adjustment somewhere, but I can't find it. The colors on the screen were horrid as well, but I've adjusted those by using the "white balance" settings (where I significantly increased red and green while leaving blue at 0). Is there a similar setting for the camera or is there a different app I can download where I can make this adjustment?
I just want to be able to use my camera...
Here is an example. I took two photos, one after the other, using the z3c and the note4. He moved a little bit so they are not identical, but zoom in on his face and you'll see what I mean. One of the photos has got some color and in the other he looks pale and lifeless. The color in the first photo seem to match what I am seeing in real life (he is half asian, so somewhat yellow skin tone) It's a bit hard to show, but you'll just have to trust me that the photo which has more yellow in it is significantly more accurate. This is not even the worst photo either, this one is probably passable if looked at in isolation, but just one example I quickly snapped just now. They are all like this (or often worse) and it has led me to not wanting to use my camera at all.
EDIT: as a new user I was not able to add a link, but as this is just to dropbox, I hope it's OK that I present it like this. You will have to piece it together if you want to view it:
www dropbox com/sh/vb68vqquykxj13m/AAArXwsdSZHKdJCzz25Tu3Qxa?dl=0
Any suggestions on how I can fix this without having to manually post process the photos are much appreciated. I should note that I really love the phone in all other aspects so far, but the main reason I bought it was for the camera as mentioned.
EDIT: sorry, maybe this belongs in the questions forum. If so I apologize and feel free to move it.
EDIT: to clarify, I found what looks like a white balance setting, but it's only 4 preset modes. But maybe that is all we've got. I'll try and experiment with them and see if any produces better result than wb auto.
EDIT: those settings above seems to seriously mess with the colors, at least in current low light room I'm in. Despite loving the phone, I'm considering cutting my losses while it's still current and try to sell it In which case i would probably pick up a Samsung galaxy s6 instead, which should have an equivalent camera to the note 4. It's much bigger than I prefer though, and inflated price due to hype and being a new model as well

The s6 has a better camera in most conditions. That said the difference isnt that bad. On my screen both photos look very similar.
Anyway the usual thing, try in manual mode 8mp, slightly lower expo, multi, and adda tiny bit of clarity in google photos - seems to give best results on average

bilboa1 said:
The s6 has a better camera in most conditions. That said the difference isnt that bad. On my screen both photos look very similar.
Anyway the usual thing, try in manual mode 8mp, slightly lower expo, multi, and adda tiny bit of clarity in google photos - seems to give best results on average
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not the best example, you probably have to zoom in on face to see the difference. I might try and take a better example photo, but basically I lose all yellow in his skin tone and all I get is white and red.
I'll try your suggestions as well. Thanks.

You'll see from my camera thread and others that the Z3 is simply a poor performing camera indoors. There's little you can do to fix it.
Sent from my Xperia Z3 Compact

PuffDaddy_d said:
You'll see from my camera thread and others that the Z3 is simply a poor performing camera indoors. There's little you can do to fix it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've read your thread now, and it doesn't paint a very positive picture. I still don't understand why it's so bad though, especially since the hardware seems good. From my point of view, I would be OK if pictures are not sharp enough or not capturing as much details as they could, but the poor color replication is a deal breaker.
Do you know if there is any sign that they are working on improving the software? Maybe with the release of z4/z3+ they might release a software update applicable to z3 as well? I know I'm grasping at straws, but still. You'd think they'd try and fix it. If nothing else, it's embarrassing that all competitors are significantly better despite using sonys sensor. This should be their absolute strongest point, their ace card, and instead they are getting destroyed.

White balance is the key for my photos... Auto WB always produces unatractive photos. Cloudy, and sunny settings add some warmth to the photo.

tompab said:
I've read your thread now, and it doesn't paint a very positive picture. I still don't understand why it's so bad though, especially since the hardware seems good. From my point of view, I would be OK if pictures are not sharp enough or not capturing as much details as they could, but the poor color replication is a deal breaker.
Do you know if there is any sign that they are working on improving the software? Maybe with the release of z4/z3+ they might release a software update applicable to z3 as well? I know I'm grasping at straws, but still. You'd think they'd try and fix it. If nothing else, it's embarrassing that all competitors are significantly better despite using sonys sensor. This should be their absolute strongest point, their ace card, and instead they are getting destroyed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I couldn't agree with you more. I read an article where someone managed to compare the display of the Z3 vs the Z3+ and noticed that the plus has a warmer tone. Probably still to early to know is the camera software has improved any though. Sadly, I've started to use filters on the shots that look too cold to help earn them up a bit... More of a workaround than a solution.
Sent from my Xperia Z3 Compact

tompab said:
I just bought this phone, and I'm extremely disappointed in the camera. My wife has a note4 which takes great photos, which I've been using pretty much every day as we recently had a child (our first). My main reason for buying a new phone was to always have a good camera on hand for taking photos of our son. I hate big phones though, hence why I didn't buy the note4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've got a Z1c(not Z3c) and S6 but I think I can share you some ideas here. Sony tends to like cold WB while S6 produces warm WB. Indeed, they both got pros and cons in my experiences bcoz Samsung is also easy to produce over-warm coast and sometimes not real good, it is just too warm, though in your case I admit this time warm WB got real better result.
If you want a smaller phone, you can consider the upcoming S6 mini(SM-G9198) with 4.6" 720P, s808, 2GB ram, 16GB rom, NFC, 16MP rear camera, 5MP front camera. Sony focus is just all bad(actually the image quality isn't bad though you can't compete it with Note4/S6) and Samsung is like 10 times better when you talking about the speed and focus part.

TheEndHK said:
I've got a Z1c(not Z3c) and S6 but I think I can share you some ideas here. Sony tends to like cold WB while S6 produces warm WB. Indeed, they both got pros and cons in my experiences bcoz Samsung is also easy to produce over-warm coast and sometimes not real good, it is just too warm, though in your case I admit this time warm WB got real better result.
If you want a smaller phone, you can consider the upcoming S6 mini(SM-G9198) with 4.6" 720P, s808, 2GB ram, 16GB rom, NFC, 16MP rear camera, 5MP front camera. Sony focus is just all bad(actually the image quality isn't bad though you can't compete it with Note4/S6) and Samsung is like 10 times better when you talking about the speed and focus part.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will be very interested to see how that 16mp cam performs, if its anything like the S5 or S6 I may very well convert. Especially if they get the nicer build of the S6 in too, Just please no glass back.

S6 build also means glass back. I have no problems with glass. I'm not too fond of the diplay, Pentile matrix means less subpixels (=less sharpness) and effective resolution similar to qHD. It's clearly visible (rubbih harpness/dottiness) and just bad for the money.
PuffDaddy_d said:
I couldn't agree with you more. I read an article where someone managed to compare the display of the Z3 vs the Z3+ and noticed that the plus has a warmer tone. Probably still to early to know is the camera software has improved any though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Z3+ takes warmer pictures indeed but there's even more digital noise reduction:
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majaczos said:
S6 build also means glass back. I have no problems with glass. I'm not too fond of the diplay, Pentile matrix means less subpixels (=less sharpness) and effective resolution similar to qHD. It's clearly visible (rubbih harpness/dottiness) and just bad for the money.
Z3+ takes warmer pictures indeed but there's even more digital noise reduction:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly, I can't even see the difference in color tone between these photos. At most, I see that the plus didn't focus properly in this shot.
Sent from my Xperia Z3 Compact

PuffDaddy_d said:
Honestly, I can't even see the difference in color tone between these photos. At most, I see that the plus didn't focus properly in this shot.
Sent from my Xperia Z3 Compact
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here... its splitting hairs to say there is any difference in color tone. That could easily be randomness with the Z3 being warm in the next shot.

Look at the concrete. It's much warmer. Another pictures (from gsmarena):
Z3:
http://cdn.gsmarena.com/vv/reviewsimg/sony-xperia-z3/camera/gsmarena_015.jpg
Z3+:
http://cdn.gsmarena.com/vv/reviewsimg/sony-xperia-z3plus/camera/gsmarena_102.jpg

majaczos said:
Look at the concrete. It's much warmer. Another pictures (from gsmarena):
Z3:
http://cdn.gsmarena.com/vv/reviewsimg/sony-xperia-z3/camera/gsmarena_015.jpg
Z3+:
http://cdn.gsmarena.com/vv/reviewsimg/sony-xperia-z3plus/camera/gsmarena_102.jpg
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, yeah, the concrete does look warmer with the plus, but these are very obvious. Though, I question why it appears that so much time passed between shots. The sky is clear in one photo but is cloudy in the next. Overcast conditions will affect the white balance as well. Still a bit too soon for me to judge.
Sent from my Xperia Z3 Compact

Cronis said:
I will be very interested to see how that 16mp cam performs, if its anything like the S5 or S6 I may very well convert. Especially if they get the nicer build of the S6 in too, Just please no glass back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no much info yet so I can't tell about S6 Compact but we can make some safe guess here and probably quite close to the true specification.
1. Probably used the new ISOCell 16MP to save cost. We all know that S6 got two sensors which is Sony IMX240 and Samsung ISOCell. This time the ISOCell is improved and better than the one on S5, so it is a 2nd gen. It got better color during at low light while IMX240 got more details. On day time, both sensors are almost identical. Mine S6 got IMX240.
2. OIS is removed for cost.
3. Aperture down to f/2.2 or f/2.4 depending the price strategic
If Samsung willing to give it a f/2.2 then it is safe to say it is a killer for Z3c though Z3c will still own some advantages like waterproof and best battery life. Not sure about microSD card thing. Consider it got a powerful s808 so as a small flagship, very possible to own a f/2.2 aperture.
https://shopmeenova.appspot.com/st/p/mrg2.html
I use this otg to solve my storage problem on S6.

Aperture eans nothing without sensor's size. Z3 can have higher aperture because IMX220 one of the biggest sensors on the (mobile) market right now.
We know nothing about the S6 mini, SM-G9198 sounds like SM-G9098's replacement:
http://gadgets.ndtv.com/samsung-sm-g9098-1608

majaczos said:
Aperture eans nothing without sensor's size. Z3 can have higher aperture because IMX220 one of the biggest sensors on the (mobile) market right now.
We know nothing about the S6 mini, SM-G9198 sounds like SM-G9098's replacement:
http://gadgets.ndtv.com/samsung-sm-g9098-1608
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think it is impossible to be the next G9098 bcoz it got only 3.7" size while G9198 is 4.6" with such powerful s808 cpu, they are in total different market segment.
Aperture is real meaningful in any size bcoz my One S(8MP 1/3.2") got f/2.0 so I know about it and Iphone 5s/6/6+ got only 8MP 1/3" f/2.2 but they are doing very well at low light too.

TheEndHK said:
I think it is impossible to be the next G9098 bcoz it got only 3.7" size while G9198 is 4.6" with such powerful s808 cpu, they are in total different market segment.
Aperture is real meaningful in any size bcoz my One S(8MP 1/3.2") got f/2.0 so I know about it and Iphone 5s/6/6+ got only 8MP 1/3" f/2.2 but they are doing very well at low light too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe they want to reduce bezels? Or make it bigger? SM-G9098 has very powerful CPU as well, actually it was the most powerful back in 2014..
They're ok in low light situations (partially thanks to decent image processing) but you can't trick physics.

majaczos said:
Maybe they want to reduce bezels? Or make it bigger? SM-G9098 has very powerful CPU as well, actually it was the most powerful back in 2014..
They're ok in low light situations (partially thanks to decent image processing) but you can't trick physics.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
G9098 is 3.7" size while G9198 is 4.6", the different is big enough because there is no 4.6" size flip phone becoz when you put a 4.6" screen together with a physical keyboard, the phone will be very fat and large and customer will end up prefer to get a Note4/5 instead with similar size. But I like the good old day flip phone style, actually I want to see more coming out.

Thanks for all the help guys. Just thought I'd give an update if anyone is interested.
I still really dislike the z3c camera and was considering selling the phone and picking up a galaxy s6. I do however like the other aspects of the z3c, so I ended up buying a proper camera instead. I can use my wife's note4 for a quick snap if I don't have my camera nearby. It's a compromise, but I think it made more sense.