A glorious #sunrise over #London's #HeathrowAirport this morning.

Shot with #SonyXperiaPROI.

#LifeByStills #TravelByStills #Photography #TravelPhotography #GoldenHour #AvGeek #Sony #SonyXperia #Xperia

Chyba już po wichurach.
Fot. #SonyXperiaProI

#photography #mobilephotography

Photographer Shoots an Entire Wedding Using Only a Smartphone

#mobile #news #spotlight #jasonvinson #mobilephotography #photography #review #smartphone #sony #sonyxperiaproi #test #wedding #weddingphotography #xperia #xperiaproi

Sony’s Cursed Strategy Sees it Finally Ship a Phone it Launched Last April

Sony's camera division has pretty much perfected product launches, but its mobile division has been mired in a cursed strategy that has seen its phones lose all hype and enthusiasm thanks to months of delay between announcement and availability.

Sony does not make bad phones, quite the opposite actually. The devices that PetaPixel has evaluated all perform admirably and most reviewers across the mobile space agree. But despite phones that look great, have solid specifications, and perform well, Sony's market share of smartphones in the United States and globally is abysmal.

According to PhoneArena, in 2017, it held less than 1% of the global market share, 4.8% in Europe, and 16.3% in Japan. Things did not get better with time, as it continued to hold a sub-1% global share in 2020 and even lost share in Japan, falling to 9.73% in the fall of that year. By September of 2021, its market share in Europe had fallen to below 1% and its phones have failed to even appear on U.S. sales charts.

Today, Sony doesn't even show up on the list of smartphone sales leaders globally.

Selling a smartphone is hard. There are multiple factors that can tank success, especially in the United States where manufacturers have to work with the likes of Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile in order to get phones to market, and each has different requirements and fees associated with a launch -- and that's before any marketing agreements like commercials or special deals that are bundled with data plans.

But outside of these issues, Sony has historically been the worst at letting the hype it builds for new releases die on the vine. The Sony Xperia 5 III was announced in April of 2021 and only became available to purchase in the United States yesterday. Not only has smartphone technology advanced beyond what was state of the art in the spring of 2021 (there is even a new Qualcomm Snapdragon processor), but the small percentage of prospective buyers for the device who were even paying attention probably have already forgotten it exists.

This enormous gap between announcement and availability is sucking the life out of Sony smartphones well before they have a chance to become popular. This is not an isolated case either, as this practice has been in place for quite some time.

Sony Xperia Pro-I

Luckily, Sony might be finally learning this lesson. The company launched the Xperia Pro-I last fall and that phone has been widely available for some time (and is pretty good, too). While it is comical that a phone that was launched six months after the Xperia 5 III was announced came to market first, it does show that Sony perhaps has realized that it needs to be faster about getting its devices on store shelves sooner than it has historically been willing to.

#mobile #news #smartphones #sony #sonyxperia #sonyxperia5iii #sonyxperiaproi #xperia

Sony Xperia Pro-I Review: An Alpha Camera Made into a Phone

The designated "I" in the title says it all. It stands for imaging, making it clear what Sony prioritized when it developed the Xperia Pro-I. This is more like a point-and-shoot Alpha camera first and smartphone second, yet putting the two together does lead to inherent advantages over competitors.

Sony doesn’t even shy away from looking at it that way, suggesting it has the best smartphone camera on the market, anchored by the larger 1-inch image sensor inside. It’s just a question of whether it’s worth the $1,800 Sony currently charges for it. Unique devices often come with a premium, and the main reason for that, in this case, lies with the imaging capabilities. The phone stuff is just supposed to be icing on the cake.

Design and Build

Sony tried to push the envelope with the Xperia Pro-I by squeezing in the same 1-inch Type Exmor RS BSI CMOS sensor it already used in its RX100 VII camera, except there’s a catch. It doesn’t make full use of the sensor’s actual size, which explains why output maxes out at 12-megapixels in spite of the 20.1-megapixel images the sensor would otherwise be capable of.

This is significant for a couple of reasons. First, it means the Xperia Pro-I only uses the middle portion of the sensor, possibly to the point of a 1/1.3-inch equivalent, though that’s not a confirmed figure. Second, Sony managed to maintain larger 2.4 Micron pixels within that usable space, all but doubling what most other leading smartphones offer right now.

Sony also put in a two-stop variable aperture of f/2.0 and f/4.0 that you manually control through the camera interface. No matter how or what you’re shooting, it’s you -- not the camera -- that determines which stop to use. The only other company that truly tried this was Samsung, going back to the Galaxy S9 which also offered two stops, albeit with some automation involved in selecting either one depending on the shooting mode.

All three Zeiss lenses on the rear of the Pro-I shoot at 12-megapixels with familiar focal ranges. The main lens, which uses the Exmor sensor, is a 24mm equivalent, and the only one that works with the variable aperture. The 16mm ultra-wide uses Sony’s smaller 1/2.55-inch IMX363 sensor and fixed f/2.2 aperture. The 50mm telephoto lens uses the 1/2.9-inch IMX486 sensor and fixed f/2.4 aperture. An IMX316 ToF camera rounds out the rear array. Of all those cameras, I could only access the telephoto by zooming from the main lens, as there was no shortcut to it in the camera interface.

The rest of the phone’s internals bear a strong resemblance to the Xperia 1 III, starting with the Snapdragon 888 processor, 12GB of RAM, and 512GB of internal storage. There is a microSD card slot to expand storage further up to an extra 1TB. The 4,500mAh battery is also the same.

Even on the outside, things aren’t all that different. The 6.5-inch OLED screen has 4K resolution (3840 x 1644) and 120Hz refresh rate, looking vibrant and responsive all at once. More significantly, however, Sony used a ridged design for the edges to improve grip, including a dedicated hard shutter button, as well as a customizable button that defaults to the video app out of the box.

Setting Up to Shoot

If you were hoping for an HDMI port like the Xperia Pro before it, you will be disappointed. Sony didn’t build the Xperia Pro-I to act as a monitor, but it did make it to take the kind of command you otherwise can’t on competing devices. Unsurprisingly, the company plays up its 5G connection as a means to upload and share photos with greater ease, considering how big RAW files tend to be.

To solidify that point, Sony also did away with separating things between two photo apps and consolidated everything into one. The new Basic mode replaces the previous standard camera app, offering a simpler point-and-shoot setup, while Auto mode goes a bit further in using Sony’s dynamic range optimizer to assess a scene and set up the composition. Using either of those modes means you relinquish control of key features, like shutter speed, ISO, exposure compensation, white balance, and metering. At least you can shoot in RAW, switch lenses, and shuffle between the two available f-stops under Auto.

Captured in RAW via Auto mode.

The good stuff is in the Manual, Shutter Priority, and Program modes. There’s also a Memory Recall mode to save presets so you can shoot images without having to fiddle with controls when you know how you want to set everything in advance.

Sony Xperia Pro-I burst photo.

Shooting in RAW negates the 20fps burst the phone pulls off without breaking a sweat for JPEGs. But it does have incredibly fast autofocus, including face and eye detection that we’ve seen in Sony cameras for some time. It works with both humans and animals, and can attest to it being far superior to anything I’ve seen on other smartphones to date.

Any experienced Sony shooter will acclimate very quickly with the Xperia Pro-I simply because of how much the interface blurs the line with the company’s cameras.

Image Quality

It is hard to argue with the results, but there is a learning curve that comes with this camera. This is not so much with the settings and options, but more with how to get the most out of the available features. For example, the Xperia Pro-I is easy enough to shoot in outdoor situations, and you can either try Sony’s D-Range Optimizer (with RAW) or HDR (with JPEG) to balance out shadows and highlights. Finding the right combination does take time, though you do get the hang of it after a while.

Granted, you could always tweak the various other settings to try getting the composition you want, but you do reach certain optical limits. The variable aperture proves its worth, except you can’t always rely on it to make a huge difference with how much light actually passes through to the sensor. In other words, if you have a preset you like to use on your Alpha camera with anything other than the two stops you get here, you will have to make adjustments to deal with the limited optics involved.

Even so, the phone can take excellent shots in all conditions. Switching apertures also lets you take advantage of the phase-detection autofocus (PDAF) to shoot in macro with more bokeh, or determine how sharp you want the background to be.

I prioritized night and low-light shots because I feel that’s where we see the biggest discrepancies between different phones. Sony wades deeper into manual controls than others do, and the larger Micron pixels do help bring out more detail, particularly when shooting in RAW to work in post. Naturally, the results won’t match what an RX100 can do, but they’re still very impressive for a phone.

The Basic and Auto modes work a lot like night modes do on other phones, using HDR stacking to come up with the best possible image in low-light conditions. Go manual and you can better control how the output looks, including if you don’t want Sony’s D-Range Optimizer to help out.

Points of Emphasis

Part of what works here is that Sony isn’t trying too hard. Where other brands may zealously process JPEGs, the Xperia Pro-I actually comes off looking muted and natural by comparison, and it does that without losing detail or desaturating colors. The challenge is that the likes of Google and Apple figured out better ways to balance bright highlights and dark shadows within the same frame. Sony’s software isn’t quite there yet.

You do get consistency, though. If I switched from the main lens to the ultra-wide, I worried less about losing quality and composition despite them using different sensors. And when it comes to challenging shots, be they low-light or action, a tripod can make a world of a difference. You’re just trying to stave off any noise and chromatic aberration that can creep in along the way, which is why I rarely ever ventured above 400 ISO while shooting with this phone.

I also can’t say enough about the hard shutter button for the simple fact I could launch the camera and snap a photo in mere seconds. The settings include an option to always stick with the last used mode, which was great if I had also locked the camera settings, too. Together, the two make for a great combination that caters to both quick snaps and methodically patient shots all at once. With a solid 5G or LTE connection, plus access to editing apps, the workflow from shooting to editing and posting felt smooth all the way.

Video Recording

My focus was on still photos, but the Xperia Pro-I is just as much a video recorder. The dedicated video button next to the hard shutter is one aspect, but so is the fact you have both the Cinema Pro and Video Pro apps preloaded.

Cinema Pro app records in 4K at 24, 25, 30, and 60 frames per second, as well as slow-motion at 120fps without any degradation. The built-in LUTs are back, along with full manual control over ISO, white balance, shutter, focus, and aperture. Both hybrid optical and electronic stabilization apply, and the app clearly takes as much as it can from the main sensor.

Sony wisely includes a pop-up disclaimer noting how hot the device can get after recording video for a while. So hot, in fact, that it recommends not even touching the thing when that happens. I never noticed anything like that, though never tried shooting a really long clip, either, so can’t say for sure. You can save footage in HEVC (H.265), and didn’t see an option to switch it over to H.264.

Video Pro is a more laid-back video recording app that defaults to H.264 (also offers H.265) and lets you use all three lenses to capture footage. You won’t go as deep into the settings with this app, but frankly, it dives in further than video modes on most phones anyway.

A Camera With a Phone Wrapped Around It

As a full-fledged Android phone, the Xperia Pro-I works perfectly fine, but it’s hardly going to stand out on those merits. This is every bit an advanced mobile photography suite that just happens to be in an Android phone. The distinction was obvious to me, and I suspect it wouldn’t be lost on anyone else who decides to wield one.

It is a bummer Sony didn’t unleash the full weight of the Exmor sensor, but I can at least understand the logic. By increasing the size of the pixels, it makes the Xperia Pro-I more consistent in low-light conditions. I just would’ve preferred a more constructive approach that at least gave shooters the option to shoot at full resolution in ideal conditions. I mean, you’ve already thrown in a camera menu system and put “Pro” in the product’s name, so why not make that possible? Pixel binning is common enough these days.

For all its capabilities, there was a "what if" element to using this that I couldn’t shake. What if I could shoot at full resolution in bright daylight? What if I could have more than two f-stops to work with? Perhaps it’s the gluttony talking when there are so many tools already available, but Sony can definitely build off this.

Are There Alternatives?

Sony’s own Xperia 1 Mark III probably stands out the most as a worthy alternative, only it doesn’t have the same primary image sensor. Other than that, the two phones share a whole lot of similarities in specs, though the Mark III does cost $500 less, and is a bit more ‘phone-friendly’ in that it supports things like wireless charging. If you wanted a phone to double as a monitor for your actual camera, the Xperia Pro is still the one option for that, except you pay extra for the privilege.

Either way, you would have to consider any alternative to the Xperia Pro-I based on the virtues of the camera because that’s really the major selling point here. If you’re looking for something with more basic controls and great output, the Google Pixel 6 Pro fits that bill nicely.

Should You Buy It?

Maybe, but only if you can splurge the $1,800 it costs to get this unique camera setup. Bear in mind that you are essentially paying at least $500 for the luxury of using a larger image sensor, only to be somewhat handcuffed on actually using its entire resolution. The Xperia Pro-I is one of the best phone cameras you can buy, but at that price, you have to weigh the cost-benefit of keeping your current phone and buying an actual camera instead.

#equipment #mobile #reviews #review #smartphone #smartphonephotography #sony #sonyalpha #sonysmartphone #sonyxperia #sonyxperiaproi #xperia #xperiaproi

Sony Unveils the Xperia Pro-I: First Smartphone with 1-Inch PDAF Sensor

Sony has launched the Xperia Pro-I, the world's first smartphone to feature a one-inch sensor equipped with phase-detection autofocus. It is positioned not just as a phone, but as a member of the Alpha series family of cameras.

The Xperia Pro-I (that's a capital "I" and not a numeral "1" which is no doubt confusing given the company's use of numbers through its camera line), combines Sony's one-inch sensor found in its RX100 line of high-end point and shoot cameras along with the advanced processing and autofocus found in its camera line with a 24mm Zeiss Tessar optic and compresses it all into a smartphone that is only 8.9mm thick.

Sony says that the Xperia Pro-I is developed with the same imaging technology found in the Alpha line, hence the insistence that it is just as much a camera as it is a smartphone. While there are other cameras that are available that leverage a one-inch sensor, Sony is the first to bring that size to a smartphone along with full phase-detection autofocus. Additionally, those smartphones aren't easily available in the west, and the Pro-I will be launched with full support in the United States (it will not be sold in Canada).

The Xperia Pro-I is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor, is compatible with 5G, features 240Hz touch scanning rate and heat dissipation (designed for gaming), features 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage capacity, and supports SDXC media up to 1 TB. It also still offers a headphone jack and uses a 4,500mAh battery that can fast charge to 50% in 30 minutes with the included 30W charger. The phone is also IP 65/68 water and dust-resistant.

Photography Features

The Pro-I uses the 1.0-type Exmor RS sensor with a 2.4µm pixel pitch that Sony says will result in "stunning" low light performance. It also supports RAW 12-bit shooting and a special dual aperture (f/2 and f/4) iris system that allows photographers to physically adjust the depth of field instead of relying on software. In addition to a 1.0-type sensor, the Xperia PRO-I features a BIONZ X for mobile and a front-end LSI. Sony says that this advanced processor allows the device to deliver unprecedented speed and improved image quality in a wide range of scenes.

That main sensor features the aforementioned 315 phase-detection autofocus points that feature 90% coverage of the sensor. Sony points out that in addition to a larger sensor, that 90% is an improvement over the 70% found on the Xperia 1 III. That coverage allows the Pro-I to support real-time eye-AF for humans and animals, real-time tracking, 20 frames per second AF/AE burst shooting, and an anti-distortion shutter that allows for cleaner capture of fast-moving objects.

While the main camera is a one-inch type, it is supported by two additional cameras with smaller sensors: a 16mm ultra-wide with a 1/2.5-inch sensor and a 50mm with a 1/2.9-inch sensor. Sony chose not to add a telephoto lens to this camera because it says that based on feedback, the majority of its users would rather have access to the three focal lengths it provided instead. In short, it says its users do not generally use a telephoto even when they have access to it. In addition to the three image-capturing sensors, the Pro0I also has a single 3D iTOF sensor.

It should be noted that all three sensors capture 12-megapixel photos, despite the fact that the one-inch main sensor is a 20-megapixel sensor. In short, Sony is using a 12-megapixel crop of the 20-megapixel sensor because of the space limitations between the sensor and the lens. The quality of the photos it can take will still be dramatically better than smaller sensors because it is using a larger surface area to capture images than typical smartphone sensors, but it's not using the full one-inch sensor here.

The photo app on the Xperia Pro-I allows for customized manual settings, easily accessible auto settings, and the ability to shoot in RAW that supports 12-bit photos. The app is designed to have an interface that is reminiscent of the Alpha line of cameras, and the aperture of the main sensor can be adjusted between f/2 and f/4 through the app.

The Xperia PRO-I also includes a dedicated shutter button that features the same shutter switch module as Sony’s RX100 series cameras and requires similar button strokes to operate AF and shutter release. The user can also long-press the shutter button to quickly launch Photography Pro and start shooting immediately, even when the display is off.

Video Features

Sony says the Xperia Pro-I is the world's first smartphone to allow users to shoot high-quality video in 4K 120p, which is to say the footage is actually captured and stored in full 120 frames per second rather than interpolated down to 24 frames per second after capture. It is also the first in the Xperia line to offer eye-AF technology and object tracking in video capture.

Video is captured in HDR H.265 .MP4 and HLG bt2020 10-bit with 4:2:0 bit depth.

Stable video is made possible thanks to a combination of Optical SteadyShot and Sony's "FlawlessEye" technology. The combination enables a reduction in shake even in low light conditions.

In addition to stereo microphones, the Xperia PRO-I features a built-in monaural microphone next to the main camera which allows for the clear recording of speech while other sounds remain in the background. In addition, The Xperia PRO-I includes Sony’s audio separation technology to effectively filter wind noise, both for stereo and monaural microphones.

Sony is also launching an optional 6.5-inch 21:9 4K OLED display with 120Hz refresh rate, the same screen as the one on the Xperia 1 III. It and the smartphone can connect to the Sony Bluetooth grip (GP-VPT2BT) to easily enable vlogging.

Below is a hands-on video by Ted Forbes:

The new Xperia Pro-I will be available in December for $1,800 and will ship in packaging that is devoid of plastic materials and instead replaces them with paper. The new vlogging monitor will be available for $200. Pre-orders for the new Pro-I will begin on October 28 at 10 AM EDT.

_Image credits: Header image by Ted Forbes and used with permission. _

#mobile #news #smartphone #sony #sonyalpha #sonyxperia #sonyxperiaproi #xperia #xperiaproi