topic Re: Camera Settings in XPERIA archive

Camera Settings

slipd — Sun, 01 Mar 2015 14:30:22 GMT

Hey guys,

I've had my Z1c for over a year and all I seem to do is take 'acceptable' pictures every now and then - nothing really that important...

Anyway, I'm off to Rome in a week and I'm not taking a dedicated camera so I want to be able to get as good a shot as possible with my phone. I'm not expecting SLR quality but I do expect to print some off my snaps out when I get back. Are there any known working settings that deliver the results? It always pains me to say it but when I used to have my 4S, point and click was all I ever used and the results were amazing! One of the few things I miss about it actually

I just want to take pictures of the landmarks, art etc.

Thanks.

Re: Camera Settings

Thommo — Sun, 01 Mar 2015 15:30:38 GMT

When I do take photo's I use Manual mode and not Superia auto

Re: Camera Settings

Uliwooly — Sun, 01 Mar 2015 19:17:35 GMT

Also, take advantage of the camera physical button to focus (press it half way > focus > press it all the way down to take the picture), I second Thommo, Manual mode will give you far better pictures than superior auto, for the most part.

Re: Camera Settings

slipd — Mon, 02 Mar 2015 22:05:03 GMT

Wow, thanks guys! Already I can see a big difference than on auto. Tell me though, are 20M photo's only possible in a 4:3 ratio?

If so I guess the 15M setting at 16:3 is the best all-rounder, especially for my requirements :smileysmileythumbsup:

Re: Camera Settings

slipd — Tue, 03 Mar 2015 19:19:23 GMT

Another quick question - does the mode I select and the settings I change stay or are they reset at the end of the session? Eg. if I select 15M now and come back to the camera tomorrow will that setting be preserved

And what does the SCN icon in the top-right corner of the camera's view mean? It's greyed out so I can't select it...

Thanks.

Re: Camera Settings

Phy — Wed, 08 Apr 2015 21:58:38 GMT

@slipd

Take a look at this guide

http://support.sonymobile.com/global-en/xperiaz1compact/userguide/Using-still-camera-settings/

Re: Camera Settings

Phy — Wed, 08 Apr 2015 21:58:58 GMT

@slipd

Also this post

http://talk.sonymobile.com/t5/FAQ/Capture-better-photos-in-low-light-conditions/m-p/395397#U395397

Re: Camera Settings

SergioPL1 — Sat, 11 Apr 2015 09:24:34 GMT

@slipd wrote:
Another quick question - does the mode I select and the settings I change stay or are they reset at the end of the session? Eg. if I select 15M now and come back to the camera tomorrow will that setting be preserved
And what does the SCN icon in the top-right corner of the camera's view mean? It's greyed out so I can't select it...
Thanks.

Stick to M mode as first. You already saw that it gives much better results.

Next - 20M and 15M modes are high resolution modes where almost no post-processing is being done. They are most useful when you scale picture a bit to get rid of all those noise that camera produces. I wouldn't expect 1:1 cropping, they don't fit that IMHO.

Now 4:3 and 16:9. The sensor inside camera is 20 Mpix 4:3 sensor. When you switch it into 16:9 part of the sensor is just not used. That is why you can't get 20 Mpix at 16:9. This is physical limit of the sensor itself.

Scene modes are available in lower resolutions, all 8 Mpix modes. And you can easly stick to that resolutions in M mode. Camera will grab hi res picture and scale it down. At the end you will have smaller files with similar quality as downscaled 15 Mpix pictures. From 8 Mpix you can get decent A4/Letter reproductions easly.

While in 8 Mpix modes consider setting manual ISO. While outdoors in sunny Rome you can try 50 or 100 ISO setting. In indoors 400 is minimum.

Doing pictures in very bright conditions and dark shadows calls for HDR mode ON. It will render pictures less colorful but you will get much wider dynamic reproduction in highligts and shadows - more details will be there. HDR mode should be used only on static scenes, because it is created from 2 or 3 pictures stiched together. If there are moving objects inside they will not look good. Then HDR should be OFF.

You can also play with WB. Sony tends to create realistic yet very cold colors. If you want to get them more warm try enabling manual WB and play with settings to get warmer colors.