The Sony Xperia 1 Review: A 21:9 Take of the World
by Andrei Frumusanu on July 26, 2019 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Mobile
- Sony
- Smartphones
- Xperia 1
Camera - Low Light Evaluation
[ Xperia 1 ] - [ S10+ (E) ] - [ S10+ (S) ]
[ P30 Pro ] - [ G8 ] - [ Pixel 3 ] - [ iPhone XS ]
In the first shot here, it’s a typical situation where a camera which only has a certain level of limited dynamic range, has to choose between exposing between the darker parts or the highlights of the scene. The Xperia 1 chose to go for exposing more for the shadows which has the adverse effect of really blowing out the highlights.
Unfortunately Sony here can’t compete with other phones which just have better and wider dynamic range processing – for example Apple’s iPhone XS manages a significantly better result.
The phone is already bottom barrel as it is, however against phones with dedicated night modes it’s no longer much of a competition.
On the wide-angle the dynamic range is still bad, however Sony’s detail preservation as well as noise reduction is top notch, while other phones end up with quite blurred out and ugly noise reduction.
[ Xperia 1 ] - [ S10+ (E) ] - [ S10+ (S) ]
[ P30 Pro ] - [ G8 ] - [ Pixel 3 ] - [ iPhone XS ]
In more artificially lit scenarios such as this one, the composition differences between the phones are relatively small. The biggest difference remains detail, and notice how the Xperia manages to preserve the dirt on the foreground wall.
The wide angle continues to show a dynamic range weakness and it blows out highlights too much.
[ Xperia 1 ] - [ S10+ (E) ] - [ S10+ (S) ]
[ P30 Pro ] - [ G8 ] - [ Pixel 3 ] - [ iPhone XS ]
This scene was a disaster for the Xperia 1 as the stabilisation didn’t manage to get a clear shot and there’s lots of blurring due to longer exposures both on the main and wide angle. It’s a pretty bad result.
[ Xperia 1 ] - [ S10+ (E) ] - [ S10+ (S) ]
[ P30 Pro ] - [ G8 ] - [ Pixel 3 ] - [ iPhone XS ]
Here we also see the phone struggling with dynamic range and it’s just not able to get sufficient light into the sensor.
[ Xperia 1 ] - [ S10+ (E) ] - [ S10+ (S) ]
[ P30 Pro ][ G8 ] - [ Pixel 3 ] - [ iPhone XS ]
In dim indoor light, the phone still struggles to get much light in, so while details are alright, the exposure isn’t sufficient. The competition’s night modes are just way ahead.
[ Xperia 1 ] - [ S10+ (E) ] - [ S10+ (S) ]
[ P30 Pro ] - [ G8 ] - [ Pixel 3 ] - [ iPhone XS ]
Finally while in extreme low light, even though goes into a special mode, it seems to be all that this does is capture longer exposures, and there’s not too much in way of computational photography.
Low-light Camera Conclusion
While the Xperia 1 has good noise reduction and detail preservation, its lack of dynamic range is extremely evident in low light as it just can’t deal with many scenarios as well as the competition can. The phone actually performs worse than the iPhone XS which is a bad place to be at, as it means that the device definitely can’t keep up with other Android devices which have developed their computational photography capabilities.
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FunBunny2 - Saturday, July 27, 2019 - link
"I use it whenever I can, especially when I'm at work where i need to keep the phone charge."As I understand it, these sorts of batteries are limited by the number of charge cycles, irregardless of how much charge is made each time. IOW, repeated teeny charges chew up that limit long before the battery is really dead.
cfenton - Saturday, July 27, 2019 - link
That's not correct. A charge cycle is made up of 100% of the capacity of the battery. It doesn't matter if it's one 100% charge, two 50% charges, or ten 10% charges. Each of those count as one charge cycle. That's a bit of an oversimplification, but what's important is that a series of small charges are not each an entire charge cycle.s.yu - Sunday, July 28, 2019 - link
Wow, I didn't realize some people still use "irregardless".s.yu - Sunday, July 28, 2019 - link
You're doing it all wrong. Well the tech tree's grown in the wrong direction thanks to Apple's greed too. There's supposed to be two C ports, keep a magnetic adapter plugged in one and use headphones in the other, or if you actually just use BT then keep the C port plugged with a magnetic adapter and use magnetic cords, they work like Magsafe only they also transfer data. Hold the adapter close to the cord and it attaches automatically, you could charge your phone, use it in your hand, and hold that toddler with the other.That I can't give up the magnetic charging is a major reason why I won't consider any device without a headphone jack, the C port is always occupied and pulling the magnetic adapter out then inserting a C-3.5 adapter is ridiculous and unacceptable.
flyingpants265 - Monday, July 29, 2019 - link
That sounds OK, but wireless charging PLUS two ports sounds even better.s.yu - Wednesday, July 31, 2019 - link
Yup, and I'd like a kitchen sink too.khanikun - Monday, July 29, 2019 - link
If it has wireless charging, guess what else it has? Plugged in charging too. It's not a one or the other, it's both. You get the option of both. Just because you don't use it, doesn't mean it's a useless feature. Just useless to some ppl.I don't care much about the camera in the phone, as I have a better point and shoot. So quality of it doesn't matter to me, but doesn't negate that other people want a good camera in the phone. So of course, some ppl will grumble about it.
flyingpants265 - Monday, July 29, 2019 - link
No, it's so you can charge the phone with one hand, it takes only 1 second, as opposed to 3-5 seconds plugging and replugging my cable each time. Phone is basically at 100% all the time. and not need to plug the cable in, wiggle it around, and eventually bust the USB-C port. Those ports and their internal assemblies are quite fragile. It also doesn't need to add any thickness, as the wireless charging pad can be inside an external case, wired to the phone through a contact pad like on an older Xperia.No babbling about how you've personally never broken one, please. USB port is one of the most common fixes, apart from screen. Anandtech users are supposed to be power-users, yet you keep spending $900 on phones lacking basic features.
yacoub35 - Friday, July 26, 2019 - link
lol @ no headphone jack. what a failure for a device with a resolution so clearly intended for movie watching.UtilityMax - Thursday, August 1, 2019 - link
This makes choosing the next phone so much easier. Galaxy S10 for the high end, or Pixel 3A for less money.