topic Re: Z3 compact user in 2019 in Z Series

Z3 compact user in 2019

xperiafan8 — Mon, 29 Apr 2019 17:30:39 GMT

Hello,

I am getting my z3 compact tomorrow. I would like some input from existing users about the phone:

1) which official rom will give me the best user experience, meaning best camera, snappiness, the least problems/bugs. I usualy prefer the rom that the phone was shipped with, so is there a reason to go to newer rom, meaning better battery life, bug fixes, better camera ?

2) as i know camera on this phone is horrible, what do i need to know to get at least mediocre performance out of it ? Do u suggest superior auto or manual ?

3) anything else i need to know ? I will mostly use it for calls, camera, occasionaly google maps and music, almost never for webpage browsing or videos, never for games

Re: Z3 compact user in 2019

Uliwooly — Mon, 29 Apr 2019 19:06:14 GMT

@xperiafan8

1) Android 6.0

2) use manual also check this Xperia Tutorial Photography

3) If you are only using for phonecalls, camera and music, one wise move will be to get a SD card and move/keep media there (Photos, videos, music)

Re: Z3 compact user in 2019

xperiafan8 — Mon, 29 Apr 2019 19:46:41 GMT

Thank you for your reply !!

1) would you care to say why 6.0 ? Any special bug fixes or just because it is latest and there are no new bugs ?

2) Thank you for that link !! I will see how bad the camera is and act accordingly, reading through the link

3) Hmm, i wanted to store images/videos on internal memory (fast read speed for when i transfer things to pc) and just use the slow microsd card for my music. Care to explain why use microsd for everything ?

Re: Z3 compact user in 2019

Uliwooly — Mon, 29 Apr 2019 19:57:44 GMT

@xperiafan8

1) fewer bugs, new camera UI, compatible with more apps

2) you can take amazing pictures with the Xperia Z3, trust me, you can

3) the Z3 has limited internal storage, as long as you are using a SD card class 10 or faster, you won't see any issues.

Re: Z3 compact user in 2019

xperiafan8 — Mon, 29 Apr 2019 20:01:45 GMT

Again, thank you for the answers

1) you convinced me here so i will try with 6.0 and hopefuly everything will be smooth

2) That is indeed an awesome picture, reading gsmarena review i got very afraid that camera will be worse than on my s4 mini i own. As long as it will be same or better, i will be happy

3) Coming from 3.5gB internal memory, 16gb or maybe 13gb usable will be plenty for me, and i will also have 16gb microsd card for things where i dont need speed. It is quite slow to transfer pictures and videos so i will keep that on internal memory

Re: Z3 compact user in 2019

Uliwooly — Mon, 29 Apr 2019 20:06:58 GMT

@xperiafan8

don't worry about the android version, you can always flash a different firmware with Xperifirm

Re: Z3 compact user in 2019

xperiafan8 — Tue, 30 Apr 2019 16:22:03 GMT

Ok, i got my phone and here is what i think so far.

1) I took a picture of a box with small text i have on my table. And to my surprise, it took a much better photo then S4 mini 8MP (ok no surprise here), better than my S5 Active 16MP (big surprise here) and better than Samsung alpha 12MP (some surprise here). I will obviously have to do more testing to compare all of the phones because i am very interested.

2) Phone is fast. Not surprising since it has 2.5Ghz quad. I love that going around the interface is lightning fast.

3) Phone is thick. Its funny cause its about as thick as S4 mini which i have now, but since S4 mini is more rounded, for some reason Z3 compact feels thicker.

4) i would have loved a tiny bit smaller screen, as big as s4 mini is perfect for me. But i did notice its easier for me to use than samsung alpha. It just might be the sweet spot

5) Phone is slippery. Not as slippery as samsung alpha but still, it will take some getting used to it, i also ordered silicone case for it, but i am actualy angry that i have to do this, because this adds bulkiness which i dont want in a small phone. I wish there was some microscopic thin layer thing that i could add directly to my phone, maybe silicone duct tape or something. This would be perfect. I tried to polish the rubber of the phone but it didnt add much to it being less slippery

6) I have that i have to open the thingy to access microusb charging port. I dont care about water resistance so i might have to cut the thingy so i can access microusb without opening the thingy

7) Battery seems to be ok, which is surprising since this is many years old mobile phone

😎 i am so used to samsung interface that it will take some time to get used to it. But its not susprising, i had xperia mini before i moved to S4 mini and i remember how huge the S4 mini felt and how hard it was for me to get used to new interface.

Re: Z3 compact user in 2019

Uliwooly — Tue, 30 Apr 2019 18:28:46 GMT

@xperiafan8

1) told you, the camera on this phone it's amazing

2) just don't store a LOT of media files or install antivirus, this will slow it down a LOT

3) The Z3 (full version) it's nice and thin but, for some reason the compact variant it is quite thick

4) you'll get use ot it

5) you can buy a protective film which will solve this issue without adding much thickness as a protective case

6) this was the last flagship with the flap, the Z3+/Z4 and later phones are water resistant w/o it

7) it doesn't hurt to buy an extra battery + back cover + double sided tape, so you can replace the battery whenever it's needed.

😎 Enjoy your new device and welcome back to Xperia

Re: Z3 compact user in 2019

xperiafan8 — Tue, 30 Apr 2019 20:01:40 GMT

1. i will do some more testing, its funny though, gsmarena clearly says even samsung alpha has better camera then z3 compact. Mostly it is saying that there is lots of noise with z3 compact, colors are off, etc. I will do some head to head pictures and post it here.

2. antivirus is uninstalled, pictures and videos will be on phone, but i will regulary transfer them to pc, judging by experience i shouldnt have problems with size

3. whats sad is that xz1 and xz2 (phones i plan to buy in about 2 years) are even thicker. But i guess i will get used to it, its easier to hold in hand as oposed to extra thin samsung alpha

5. Would you care to share ebay link to something cheap that would make the back side of z3 compact less slippery ? Maybe something to replace the existing backcase, something from rubber, silicone ?

6. i guess i will have to make a hole, no way around it

7. i am testing battery right now. After 94 minutes simulated web browsing Z3 compact is at 83%, both at max brightness. Samsung s4 mini with 700mAh battery (tested with battery tester) is also at 83%. I am not sure i am happy bout this, considering z3 compact is newer and has bigger battery and they both do the same work. Samsung alpha indeed has bad battery life, 1000mAh remaining battery capacity and it is at 71% after 94 minutes of web browsing

8. i am actualy quite happy about having a new phone, it is a lot faster then s4 mini. Like we said, i will just need a few days to get used to it

Re: Z3 compact user in 2019

Uliwooly — Tue, 30 Apr 2019 21:42:57 GMT

@xperiafan8

pretty much it's just a sticker that goes on the back of the phone, thus, making it less slippery

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Soft-TPU-Silicone-Case-For-Sony-Xperia-Z3-Compact-Phone-Back-Cover-Skins-Marble/253471152883?hash=item3b040edaf3:m:m_IXFj1f9LQLEVc1P1NU_tg

Re: Z3 compact user in 2019

xperiafan8 — Wed, 01 May 2019 11:56:07 GMT

Thank you, ordered it and another different one. Its cheap on ebay anyway and i got the phone very cheap also (30€, i even think i can sell my old s4 mini for that).

I have more questions about the camera.

1) manual is the way to go as far as i gathered ?
2) what resolution do u advice me to use ? I prefer 16:9 to 4:3, would 15.5MP be ok ?
3) what other settings should i use ? What kind of metering, etc ?
4) when in low light, what settings should i use, manual or auto ?
5) any other advices about camera ?

Re: Z3 compact user in 2019

xperiafan8 — Sat, 04 May 2019 16:09:44 GMT

Well i have to say i am not impressed with the camera, but i knew that before buying the phone. I am thinking whether i could improve it with some settings. It is very bad at taking photo of bright or dark objects. If i try to take a photo of another phones screen, it will make the picture completely dark/black. Its flash is very weak and kind of makes some images completely bright.

My ultimate goal is XZ1 compact, that is why i bought Z3 compact - to get used to the xperia phone while i wait for XZ1 compact second handed price to go down. I am wondering, is there any sense to switch from Z3 compact to Z5 compact or X compact, or go directly to XZ1 compact ? Is camera on Z5 compact and X compact any better than Z3 compact ?

Re: Z3 compact user in 2019

Uliwooly — Mon, 06 May 2019 00:01:04 GMT

@xperiafan8

You should skip them and go directly to the XZ1

Re: Z3 compact user in 2019

Uliwooly — Mon, 06 May 2019 00:07:04 GMT

@xperiafan8

1) indeed manual settings are the way to go

2) 16:9, that way you can always frop the photo or leave it as is

3) it depend on the situation but with regular light/sunlight you can go with:

HDR on (ISO will be set to auto)

Resolution 8MP 16:9

Metering Spot

Focus mode Touch focus

4) in low settings I still prefer to use manual > scn > night scene or high sensitivity

5) keep trying it in different conditions and light sources

Re: Z3 compact user in 2019

xperiafan8 — Mon, 06 May 2019 06:26:04 GMT

I would skip z5 compact and x compact, but sadly xz1 prices are still way to high for me. I will see what to do, maybe go to Z5 and X compact, and earn like 10 bucks selling them and add that money to xz1 compact budget.

Is there any history of screen problems in camera UI with Z3 compact ? Occasinaly (basicly only 2 times so far) i had some artifact/screen tearing in camera and it also kind of locked up when taking a photo. The next time it happens i might video record it with another phone.

Re: Z3 compact user in 2019

xperiafan8 — Tue, 07 May 2019 18:40:54 GMT

I have to hang on to Z3 compact, even though it feels so unbelievably unnatural in my hands compared to small s4 mini. But basicly this is the only chance if i want better hardware/camera, get used to z3 compact and wait for xz1 prices to drop

Re: Z3 compact user in 2019

Uliwooly — Tue, 07 May 2019 20:00:06 GMT

@xperiafan8

next time you have an issue do capture it somehow and try to remember which apps were running

Re: Z3 compact user in 2019

xperiafan8 — Wed, 08 May 2019 20:55:35 GMT

Btw i got today some silicone cases for samsung alpha and they are very bad. Make the phone even bigger and dont add much to being less slippery. I bought some silicone and will try to make z3 compact less slippery.

Re: Z3 compact user in 2019

Uliwooly — Wed, 08 May 2019 21:09:50 GMT

@xperiafan8

silicone cases are cheap, if your case its slippery you could sand the back a little bit to add texture, I know you shouldn't go to that extend but it might do the trick

Re: Z3 compact user in 2019

xperiafan8 — Thu, 09 May 2019 19:51:44 GMT

I tested many things and while bathroom silicone makes good grip, its useless because it peels off. I did notice though that epoxy 2 component glue makes for a very sticky surface. I am even playing with the idea of mixing epoxy with some aluminum dust to make some nice cover in combination with white phone.

I could use some advices regarding camera though because so far it really isnt very good. Maybe some settings i could change in manual, like metering, etc. ?