Xperia 1 iv anyone?

[vladi]

Nice, Could you please post a 100% crop of your dog nose on the first picture, or simply the original photo?
The photos somehow has been resized inside MR.
I would like to compare the details of yours to an old 1ii photo and one my current iPhone.
Thanks!

1 IV brings up some mixture of clarity and sharpening so it will look a lot sharper than yours 1 II especially in high frequency such as hair or nose texture. 1 IV will look soft compared to iPhone which sharpens even more but has a clever way to hide that on the first sight.

 

[Wildkraut]

1 IV brings up some mixture of clarity and sharpening so it will look a lot sharper than yours 1 II especially in high frequency such as hair or nose texture. 1 IV will look soft compared to iPhone which sharpens even more but has a clever way to hide that on the first sight.

Well, one thing I dislike on iPhone photos at 100%, is that their texture structure looks like a watercolor painting. Regarding this the 1 II was already much better with its DSLR like grainy texture structure which I prefer, but as you said it was very very soft.

 

[vladi]

Well, one thing I dislike on iPhone photos at 100%, is that their texture structure looks like a watercolor painting. Regarding this the 1 II was already much better with its DSLR like grainy texture structure which I prefer, but as you said it was very very soft.

To my eyes iPhone sharpens and then rebuilds the contours and texture and then tries to kill the grain. It's not just sharpening that is going on. More of a ... healing brush in Photoshop. Sometimes it does it seamlessly and sometimes it misses by a long shot. If you are a fan of super sharp and contoured fuzz then yeah. I'm not. I don't want my sand and ruble particles to be so sharp that they take over the focus of the image.

 

[babyexercise]

This seems to be the best phone (almost) out. I'm surprised nobody seems interested?

Crazy expensive phone with zero camera AI and almost 99:1 non practical narrow screen.

 

[babyexercise]

I used to only buy Sony phones. I bought the mark 1 version of this phone for the 4k display but returned it after a few weeks. The screen is too narrow and the camera whilst apparently being the best in the business, took pictures that looked worse to my eyes. I don't care about it apparently making pics look more natural or more realistic. The pics just looked obviously worse than the pics from a Samsung Note or Iphone. Perhaps it was the post processing.

However, the narrow screen was the main reason I did not like this phone. It was as narrow as the Fold 2 and 3 front screen meaning it was pretty useless without the ability to fold out into a big screen.

Would love to see Sony succeed but their phones just do not cut it for the price.

Because Sony has the best camera hardware but zero AI, iphone and samsung photos look pretty mainly because of the AI.

 

[babyexercise]

I have the Xperia 1 III since launch. The hardware itself is very good. Once I upgraded to Android 12, the software department is a major letdown. Did your purchase come bundle with any accessory (e.g. wireless earbud)

Sony software part no matter camera AI or updating Android is a joke.

 

[minik]

Sony software part no matter camera AI or updating Android is a joke.

The battery life isn't good since Android 12 update.

 

[vladi]

Crazy expensive phone with zero camera AI and almost 99:1 non practical narrow screen.

There is no such thing as AI in camera processing cause if there was that would mean that phone would always adjust and make better images as the time goes by. This is not a case with any single phone in existence. There are hardcoded scene optimizations and how camera detects them. Samsung has hardcoded over 20 scenes for it's S22 family, moon being one of them for example. Every new phone they release will have even more scenes implemented.

Fun fact is Sony has them too but they are limited to general uses such as:

• 
  : Gourmet
• 
  : Macro
• 
  : Soft snap
• 
  : Infant
• 
  : Backlight portrait
• 
  : Backlight
• 
  : Night portrait
• 
  : Night scene
• 
  : Low light
• 
  : Landscape
• 
  : Spotlight
• 
  : Document

And they are applicable in three conditions

• 
  : Motion
• 
  : Walking
• 
  : Tripod

So in Sonys case it's pretty much garbage compared to iPhone, Samsung, BBK, Xiaomi, Huawei which have a lot more elaborate scenes to deal with.

 

[vladi]

Samsung scenes include:
Face, Baby, Person, Dog, Cat, Food, People, Beaches, Sky, Mountain, Sunset, Sunrise, City, Snow, Waterfall, Watersides, Scenery, Stage, Vehicles, Drinks, Flowers, Trees, Greenery, Animal, Shoes, Backlit, Indoor, Text, Clothes, and Night view.

 

[babyexercise]

There is no such thing as AI in camera processing cause if there was that would mean that phone would always adjust and make better images as the time goes by. This is not a case with any single phone in existence. There are hardcoded scene optimizations and how camera detects them. Samsung has hardcoded over 20 scenes for it's S22 family, moon being one of them for example. Every new phone they release will have even more scenes implemented.

Fun fact is Sony has them too but they are limited to general uses such as:

• 
  : Gourmet
• 
  : Macro
• 
  : Soft snap
• 
  : Infant
• 
  : Backlight portrait
• 
  : Backlight
• 
  : Night portrait
• 
  : Night scene
• 
  : Low light
• 
  : Landscape
• 
  : Spotlight
• 
  : Document

And they are applicable in three conditions

• 
  : Motion
• 
  : Walking
• 
  : Tripod

So in Sonys case it's pretty much garbage compared to iPhone, Samsung, BBK, Xiaomi, Huawei which have a lot more elaborate scenes to deal with.

Not really, you Google what does AI do in Apple or Samsung camera app. What you are talking about is 10 years ago stuff.

 

[babyexercise]

There is no such thing as AI in camera processing cause if there was that would mean that phone would always adjust and make better images as the time goes by. This is not a case with any single phone in existence. There are hardcoded scene optimizations and how camera detects them. Samsung has hardcoded over 20 scenes for it's S22 family, moon being one of them for example. Every new phone they release will have even more scenes implemented.

Fun fact is Sony has them too but they are limited to general uses such as:

• 
  : Gourmet
• 
  : Macro
• 
  : Soft snap
• 
  : Infant
• 
  : Backlight portrait
• 
  : Backlight
• 
  : Night portrait
• 
  : Night scene
• 
  : Low light
• 
  : Landscape
• 
  : Spotlight
• 
  : Document

And they are applicable in three conditions

• 
  : Motion
• 
  : Walking
• 
  : Tripod

So in Sonys case it's pretty much garbage compared to iPhone, Samsung, BBK, Xiaomi, Huawei which have a lot more elaborate scenes to deal with.

How Apple Uses AI To Produce Better Photos | CDOTrends

Spoiler: Using a deep neural network on the iPhone 13.

www.cdotrends.com

 

[vladi]

That's lot of marketing talk but like I said AI is used to recognize scenes and apply scene scenario for output. Even that is very limited in what it can do. People have a notion that neural network in iPhones means it's something self sustainable that grows and learns or something like Skynet. That is not the case.

 

[babyexercise]

That's lot of marketing talk but like I said AI is used to recognize scenes and apply scene scenario for output. Even that is very limited in what it can do. People have a notion that neural network in iPhones means it's something self sustainable that grows and learns or something like Skynet. That is not the case.

Basically the AI would identify what items in the photos like sky then make the sky part unreal beautiful. Just like you can point to an object with Pixel 6 then delete it and the AI can make up the fake background of it. All of these is not applying "scene" filter for whole picture and only possible with AI.

 

[jamezr]

I've only had the device for 24 hours, but thought I'd post some initial thoughts.

I've had many Sony devices before, but skipped the 1 iii so the last one I had was the 1 ii.

Firstly, Sony hardware remains some of the best out there. I personally love the shape, size and feel of this phone. I went for the Ice White variant and it's an interesting colour. There's nothing white about it for a start! It's more of a grey tone with some blue / green tones in certain lights. I like it a lot though.
The flat screen is also a huge bonus. Give me this over a curve ANY day. I've even managed to get a glass protector installed with no fuss.
Mine is Spigen and it was a two pack for £10.

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The screen is amazing. Every review you see of this phone, and previous Sony flagships, it's the same thing. "4k is not necessary". Well, I disagree. I think it looks amazing when you can natively watch back 4k content you've shot. I also think the colour accuracy of this panel is so much better than the overly neon screens you see on Samsung phones and Pixel (when 'vivid' is selected).

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I've enabled 120hz and I had set me screen preference to 'creator mode'. However I've noticed in this mode the 120hz drops of its own accord (sometimes for battery, sometimes for seemingly no reason) so I'm trialling 'standard mode' and so far it's remained rock steady at 120hz with no drops.

The UI is a strange one. It's very much stock, but I prefer to be able to tinker a little bit more. After using Material You since the Pixel 6 came out, this feels like a bit of a step backwards now. You can't change the grid size for your home screen or app 'drawer' so the icons all look tiny. Just a personal preference thing, but I prefer bigger in your face icons and widgets.
I've slapped Lawnchair launcher on mine and essentially turned it into a Pixel. Just my preference.

What I am surprised about, though, is how easy it is to get a Pixel software experience on this phone.

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One HUGE improvement I've noticed Vs the older Xperia's is the haptics. No one is talking about this! They're tight and crisp. Absolutely lovely and it makes typing a dream. They're loud, though. You can hear how powerful the haptic motor is! But it's no longer a 'buzz' like the older cheap haptic motor they used to use gave you. It's proper haptics.

The phone has ran quite warm on a number of occasions. Sometimes due to heavy load, downloading apps, using the camera extensively etc. But nothing too major. I will keep an eye on that, though.

The camera. So this is the most interesting feature of this phone. I liked the camera on the 1 ii, but for point and shoot, it just wasn't it. I know that no one is buying this phone to point and shoot as it isn't the phone for that. Having said that, the auto mode this phone provides it much improved over the 1 ii. I've not had much time to tinker with the camera, but the zoom looks really impressive and being able to go between points at native zoom is really good. My problem with the Pixel 6 Pros zoom, is whilst 5x is great quality, it sometimes was too zoomed for what I needed. But if I zoomed back to say 4x, the quality was not great as it was just the main sensor cropped in to 4x. With this phone, it retains that quality from 3.5x right to 5.2x. Some of the shots I've taken in this zoom length have been good!

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Lower light is also much better, considering there is no night mode on this phone. Just using Auto mode, the phone will pick the right settings for you based on the subject and the conditions. I've found more success with this mode than the Basic camera mode. Even in lower light, details remain in photos that previously would have been a bit of a blurry soft mess.

View attachment 2020759

The front camera, another pain point in previous Xperia's, has been updated to a 12mp sensor. I hardly use it, but when I did on my 1 ii I used to just laugh at how exceptionally bad it was. Not the case anymore. Much improved and decent results!

Haven't tried video yet, but I rarely shoot anything meaningful with video. Just the odd thing for an Instagram story which I'm sure this will be fine for.

The speakers are front firing and they are so good. This is another reason I love Sony phones. You can hold your phone properly in landscape and watch a video and not be blocking a speaker. Not only is that a win, but the speakers are easily the best I've ever heard on a phone.

I got the Sony WH-1000XM4's included with my 1 iv. I decided to unbox them and try them out as I've always heard good things about them. I'm blown away by them. With the 3 month free Tidal membership I've got with the phone too, these are incredible. My ears get fatigued with in ear buds, yet I've had these XM4's on for over an hour and no a single bit of discomfort. Paired with this phone, they're amazing.

View attachment 2020785

So they are my initial thoughts and impressions. I knew I'd like the phone, as I loved my 1 ii, niggles aside. Those niggles are completely gone now and I take my hat off to Sony for literally just improving year after year with this phone. Let's face it, most manufacturers do the same thing, but they use marketing gimmicks and new camera housing to make you feel like you're getting something new, when essentially it's just the same phone. Sony have actually made some big leaps now and I'm really impressed.

I STILL think, the camera needs a simplistic mode with some AI built in to give people the ability to take an easy, social media ready shot. But keep all of the Pro smarts there for those who want it and have the time to get the best out of it. Most of my photos are of my dog who is like a whirlwind. This phone isn't the best choice for that, but the burst mode really comes into its own there - but only when lighting is good.

I look forward to carrying on my tinkering this weekend.

View attachment 2020765

Hey @Aneres11 how has it gone with this phone? Are you still loving the Xperia 1 iv?

 

[Aneres11]

Hey @Aneres11 how has it gone with this phone? Are you still olving the Xperia 1 iv?

Oh yes, still loving it!
I haven't sold my Pixel 6 Pro yet, part of me is wondering whether to keep it to see what trade in deals look like for the 7 - but they're rarely any good over here vs the US trade in deals.

I only turned it on once since it came back from repair, and that was to take it with me on a mini break away last week to take some shots alongside the Xperia. Day to day, I'm exclusively using the Xperia 1 IV and I love it.
I really like the natural looking photos the phone produces. I have always been firmly team Pixel for photos, but when I had both last week, I found myself disliking the portrait photos from the Pixel as they looked a bit 'fake' vs the very muted, true to like pictures I am now used to with the 1 IV.

I've always loved Xperia phones, though. Their hardware is unmatched for me. Flat display is a big win, I got a tempered glass screen protector day 1 and have had no issues as it's a side mounted FPS rather than in screen.
I also think the tall design lends itself to amazing feel in the hand. It's so comfortable.

Here are some recent snaps from the device I've taken since I've had it.
I am not saying this is the best camera phone out there - I don't think it is. And I personally am just shooting everything on 'Auto', so the phone is choosing the settings for me based on the scene. I think it does a better job vs the 'basic mode' (both are in the same app, you just choose between Basic, Auto, and 'full control' modes) but there's not much between the two.
I just think the photos are so natural, and using the telephoto to shoot portraits is amazing. It's such a good natural bokeh. It's also a very quick snapper. Important to me with the ol' doggo!

The device does run hot, to the point where the camera app will close if used extensively. It's only happened once to me, on a very sunny day whilst shooting a lot of photo and video of the dog outside. It's not acceptable, and others have returned the device because of it. But it's only rare circumstances that would happen for me. Not defending it, but its a small percentage of time it could / would happen. The rest of the phone is so good to use I can overlook it. Others probably couldn't and I don't blame them.

 

[Aneres11]

Oh one more thing. I received Sony WH-1000XM4's with this phone as a freebie. When I say they are utterly incredible I am not exaggerating. I was always an 'in ear' guy. But these bad boys, wired to the device is a game changer!

Also, I picked up a new MacBook Air on Friday last week, and plugging the headphones into my MacBook with Apple Music... Drool. It sounds SO good. Slight side note, but I would never have bought these headphones if it weren't for this phone, and they pair with it so well. 👍🏻

 

[jamezr]

Oh yes, still loving it!
I haven't sold my Pixel 6 Pro yet, part of me is wondering whether to keep it to see what trade in deals look like for the 7 - but they're rarely any good over here vs the US trade in deals.

I only turned it on once since it came back from repair, and that was to take it with me on a mini break away last week to take some shots alongside the Xperia. Day to day, I'm exclusively using the Xperia 1 IV and I love it.
I really like the natural looking photos the phone produces. I have always been firmly team Pixel for photos, but when I had both last week, I found myself disliking the portrait photos from the Pixel as they looked a bit 'fake' vs the very muted, true to like pictures I am now used to with the 1 IV.

I've always loved Xperia phones, though. Their hardware is unmatched for me. Flat display is a big win, I got a tempered glass screen protector day 1 and have had no issues as it's a side mounted FPS rather than in screen.
I also think the tall design lends itself to amazing feel in the hand. It's so comfortable.

Here are some recent snaps from the device I've taken since I've had it.
I am not saying this is the best camera phone out there - I don't think it is. And I personally am just shooting everything on 'Auto', so the phone is choosing the settings for me based on the scene. I think it does a better job vs the 'basic mode' (both are in the same app, you just choose between Basic, Auto, and 'full control' modes) but there's not much between the two.
I just think the photos are so natural, and using the telephoto to shoot portraits is amazing. It's such a good natural bokeh. It's also a very quick snapper. Important to me with the ol' doggo!

The device does run hot, to the point where the camera app will close if used extensively. It's only happened once to me, on a very sunny day whilst shooting a lot of photo and video of the dog outside. It's not acceptable, and others have returned the device because of it. But it's only rare circumstances that would happen for me. Not defending it, but its a small percentage of time it could / would happen. The rest of the phone is so good to use I can overlook it. Others probably couldn't and I don't blame them. View attachment 2032836 View attachment 2032835 View attachment 2032837 View attachment 2032838 View attachment 2032839 View attachment 2032840 View attachment 2032841 View attachment 2032842 View attachment 2032843 View attachment 2032844 View attachment 2032845 View attachment 2032846 View attachment 2032847 View attachment 2032848 View attachment 2032849 View attachment 2032850 View attachment 2032851

Great shots! Thanks for the reply. I am pondering getting one off eBay. They are not available in the US yet
Thank you.

 

[Klyster]

Oh one more thing. I received Sony WH-1000XM4's with this phone as a freebie. When I say they are utterly incredible I am not exaggerating. I was always an 'in ear' guy. But these bad boys, wired to the device is a game changer!

I got a pair as a freebie with my S21 ultra, they are great, I still use them, the ANC is incredible.

 

[babyexercise]

Oh yes, still loving it!
I haven't sold my Pixel 6 Pro yet, part of me is wondering whether to keep it to see what trade in deals look like for the 7 - but they're rarely any good over here vs the US trade in deals.

I only turned it on once since it came back from repair, and that was to take it with me on a mini break away last week to take some shots alongside the Xperia. Day to day, I'm exclusively using the Xperia 1 IV and I love it.
I really like the natural looking photos the phone produces. I have always been firmly team Pixel for photos, but when I had both last week, I found myself disliking the portrait photos from the Pixel as they looked a bit 'fake' vs the very muted, true to like pictures I am now used to with the 1 IV.

I've always loved Xperia phones, though. Their hardware is unmatched for me. Flat display is a big win, I got a tempered glass screen protector day 1 and have had no issues as it's a side mounted FPS rather than in screen.
I also think the tall design lends itself to amazing feel in the hand. It's so comfortable.

Here are some recent snaps from the device I've taken since I've had it.
I am not saying this is the best camera phone out there - I don't think it is. And I personally am just shooting everything on 'Auto', so the phone is choosing the settings for me based on the scene. I think it does a better job vs the 'basic mode' (both are in the same app, you just choose between Basic, Auto, and 'full control' modes) but there's not much between the two.
I just think the photos are so natural, and using the telephoto to shoot portraits is amazing. It's such a good natural bokeh. It's also a very quick snapper. Important to me with the ol' doggo!

The device does run hot, to the point where the camera app will close if used extensively. It's only happened once to me, on a very sunny day whilst shooting a lot of photo and video of the dog outside. It's not acceptable, and others have returned the device because of it. But it's only rare circumstances that would happen for me. Not defending it, but its a small percentage of time it could / would happen. The rest of the phone is so good to use I can overlook it. Others probably couldn't and I don't blame them. View attachment 2032836 View attachment 2032835 View attachment 2032837 View attachment 2032838 View attachment 2032839 View attachment 2032840 View attachment 2032841 View attachment 2032842 View attachment 2032843 View attachment 2032844 View attachment 2032845 View attachment 2032846 View attachment 2032847 View attachment 2032848 View attachment 2032849 View attachment 2032850 View attachment 2032851

All new mobile phones photos look Ok when there is enough light. The problem would not when there is not enough light and Sony phone has no AI for photographic.

 

[Aneres11]

All new mobile phones photos look Ok when there is enough light. The problem would not when there is not enough light and Sony phone has no AI for photographic.

So you keep saying pal.