Real improvement in camera software

[Renu1]

Hey there guys. Just wanna share with you my findings with the new sony xperia xz3 and its camera. So, even if it has the same hardware as xz1 and xz2, software processing seems to have improved, both for low light and day light. Here is a daylight comparison with the Iphone XS and a low light comparison with the Galaxy S9+. And to my eyes... it's better than both:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rfykvyh-IVU&t=511s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAJndlOAmB8&t=215s

[najodleglejszy]

@Forzanerazzurrican you post any sample photos?

and regarding super slowmo videos, they need very good lighting because of the high shutter speeds. the video will be noisy if you don't record it in strong sunlight or similar conditions.

[Britexz3]

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@Forzanerazzurri wrote:

I am having issues with the XZ3 camera as well. I have a dual sim phone on Taiwanese firmware 52.0.A.3.89 and im beginning to think this sensor is defective, its that bad. The grain in photos is unacceptble and results in weird coloring on faces and really really grainy effects everywhere. The low light video is even worse with multicolor pixel noise everywhere. Slow mo video is unusable its like watching a tv station full of static. Not sure what to do here...is it software, hardware? A defect? 

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The exact same issue i faced. In low light situations especially while capturing a person's face, the noise is most visible. I switched on to the US firmware as i had some other issues like no update for the software version i was having on the device. I don't think it has to do something magical to the camera issue, but there were improvements. I always use flash even in medium lit conditions and the results are pretty decent. The manual mode does a great job too when the auto mode just fails everytime.

But the point is, you are in 2018 using a latest flagship device of a company that are pretty good at the camera department, but you have to look into so much details or even use the manual mouse to capture a good moment most of the time. 

[Forzanerazzurri]

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@Britexz3 wrote:

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@Forzanerazzurri wrote:

I am having issues with the XZ3 camera as well. I have a dual sim phone on Taiwanese firmware 52.0.A.3.89 and im beginning to think this sensor is defective, its that bad. The grain in photos is unacceptble and results in weird coloring on faces and really really grainy effects everywhere. The low light video is even worse with multicolor pixel noise everywhere. Slow mo video is unusable its like watching a tv station full of static. Not sure what to do here...is it software, hardware? A defect? 

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The exact same issue i faced. In low light situations especially while capturing a person's face, the noise is most visible. I switched on to the US firmware as i had some other issues like no update for the software version i was having on the device. I don't think it has to do something magical to the camera issue, but there were improvements. I always use flash even in medium lit conditions and the results are pretty decent. The manual mode does a great job too when the auto mode just fails everytime.

But the point is, you are in 2018 using a latest flagship device of a company that are pretty good at the camera department, but you have to look into so much details or even use the manual mouse to capture a good moment most of the time. 

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Thank you for your help. I got the same results in the conditiosn you described. Ill try the US Firmware. What firmware were you coming from? 

[Britexz3]

The firmware version on my device was not even listed in the Sony website. I checked for the firmware version using Xperifirm too. I bought it from amazon us. Since i hat no option to update even though an update was available for other fws, i switched to the us firmware. .

[Strampke]

When you have unlocked your device the photo quality will diminish, especially in low light conditions.

From XDA

If you unlocked your bootloader on a recent Sony Xperia device, you probably know that the potential loss of warranty is not the only disadvantage you have to accept. Another fairly hidden issue is related to various proprietary features such as the X-Reality color mangement, BIONZ image processor and the active noise cancelling techniques.

Once you decide to unlock your bootloader, the process also removes a piece of data referred to as the DRM keys. These are tied to various services (such as streaming video and the like) offered by Sony but are also required for the features mentioned above to work properly. Put simply, once the keys are gone, you’ll face issues such as decreased low light camera image quality and the lack of the X-Reality mode.

[Britexz3]

The device isn't unlocked. There's no rooting solution until now, so no point in unlocking.

Whatever i mentioned was oobe experience. 

[DesertRat207]

I got my xperia yesterday, compared to the S7  the camera is absolutely terrible. There is no stabilisation, the pictures are grainy. There is absolutely no comparison, Samsung are a millions times better. 

I would even say on a whole the phone is worse than my S7!

[pilifida]

I do not know what happens with your phone. I find it making absolute stunning photos especially on night time. It really really impressed me alot. 

As i am saying this, also want you to know that i.m an amateur photographer owning dslrs and dji drones for this. And i say i have more than basic photographic knowledge

[pilifida]

Can the above photo be considered as unsharp/noisy etc? I say not!

[pilifida]

Also i forgot to mention the fact that the photos look also stunning on a laptop. Usually, at samsung, all the vivid colors and sharpness magically dissappear when photos are transfered to a laptop/desktop.