topic Re: Z2 camera- Higher resolution, a lot less features in XPERIA archive

Z2 camera- Higher resolution, a lot less features

vandal1976 — Sun, 22 Jun 2014 18:14:47 GMT

Hello everyone,

Having purchased my Z2 and looking forward to use the camera I must say I'm dissapointed.

Sony advertises this phone as having a 20MP camera (which it does), but fails to state that to use the maximum resolution means that we will lose on the superior auto mode, HDR, scenes, etc. The default mode, and the only one that you can use with pretty much all features, is a mere 8MP!!

The camera is seriously lacking on higher resolutions, and my question is: Is this something that can be resolved with a firmware update? And will it get resolved?

GSM arena talk about this here:

http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_xperia_z2-review-1078p8.php

Thanks

Re: Z2 camera- Higher resolution, a lot less features

vandal1976 — Mon, 23 Jun 2014 20:07:52 GMT

Anyone?

Re: Z2 camera- Higher resolution, a lot less features

azzido — Mon, 23 Jun 2014 20:49:10 GMT

Everyone is experiencing it, but I do not have answer tto why it is like this. Maybe it is hardware limitation?
I am sorry, but I simply do not know.

Re: Z2 camera- Higher resolution, a lot less features

ghani667 — Mon, 23 Jun 2014 23:03:50 GMT

its not the hardware limitation 8mp is fine it does over sample the images from the 20.7 hardware and yes we should have an option like old xperia tx software that we can set at maximum resolution in superior auto .........another thing is the software lacks alot of things specially in low light pictures its really poor it does alot of post processing and compression so the images come noisy if sony fixes this itll be the best camera in android

Re: Z2 camera- Higher resolution, a lot less features

vandal1976 — Tue, 24 Jun 2014 06:08:28 GMT

Yes, I have read in other forums that people are not happy with this, and some have complained to the ASA as they think it's misleading advertising.
There are many issues with this phone, and overall I really regret moving from an iPhone to an android phone...

Re: Z2 camera- Higher resolution, a lot less features

MrNutt — Tue, 24 Jun 2014 12:14:51 GMT

Mine takes some superb images, well about six, then it has to turn itself off.

Re: Z2 camera- Higher resolution, a lot less features

paulell45 — Tue, 24 Jun 2014 17:59:24 GMT

I've found the pcitures to be significantly inferior to the Z1. They look like lower resolution images and I was pretty amazed to find that on Superior Auto mode you only get an 8mp image. This seems to undermine much of the marketting hype. When using manual mode I've found that after five or six pictures the camera app closes down with a warning about overheating. The top of the phone does seem to get very hot very quickly. Maybe the is the reason Sony are restricting the auto mode. It may point to a hardware rather than software issue. It may also result in me returning the phone...

Re: Z2 camera- Higher resolution, a lot less features

azzido — Tue, 24 Jun 2014 18:35:21 GMT

I am on newest .402 soft, I can take a lot of picture, for sure more than 5 or 6, the phone is warm but not overheats, no closes itself.

Re: Z2 camera- Higher resolution, a lot less features

paulell45 — Tue, 24 Jun 2014 20:02:13 GMT

I'm on the latest version as well so it sounds as though I may have a faulty phone in addition to the software limitations!

[Edit] Update: Looking elsewhere on the forum overheating seems to be a general problem especially when using the camera. Looks like this is going back.

Re: Z2 camera- Higher resolution, a lot less features

gfinlayson — Wed, 25 Jun 2014 08:45:23 GMT

Why would you need a 20MP image from a phone? Are you planning on printing wall posters from the images? The idea is that the sensor captures a raw image at 20MP and then uses downsampling to reduce noise and improve the final image quality. You're not going to get a great looking 20MP image from the tiny pixels in a sensor as small as the one in a smart phone.

Re: Z2 camera- Higher resolution, a lot less features

ghani667 — Wed, 25 Jun 2014 10:02:39 GMT

did u research what hardware sony used for z1 z1c and z2 its almost as same as sonys qx10 so xperia z2 should produce almost the same results as the qx10 only thing z2 wont have is optical zoom rest is almost the same only thing z2 is getting murdered is because of the post processing and compression in the software if the fix it then z2 will be the best android cameraphone

Re: Z2 camera- Higher resolution, a lot less features

vandal1976 — Wed, 25 Jun 2014 10:08:14 GMT

Then why do Sony advertise it as such? I don't know about you, but when I buy a phone that says it's capable of shooting 20MP photos I'd expect it to do just that, and not have to sail through a sea of caveats to ACTUALLY take a 20MP photo, regardless of quality.

Yes, the 8MP default is NOT stated anywhere in the ads, all that is advertised is the superior quality and the high MP count of the camera. I was quite shocked with that, they don't make it obvious.

Having written to Sony, they replied, apologising, and asking me to read through the manual (patronising much?) and if I thought my phone was missold I should contact my phone provider. They are very good at passing the problems on.

However, I have gone ahead and made a formal complaint to the ASA, and I would suggest everyone to do just that.

Sony don't care if you have an overheating problem with your phone or not, and if they blatantly misadvertised their products; they have your money and that's all that matters to them.

Re: Z2 camera- Higher resolution, a lot less features

vandal1976 — Wed, 25 Jun 2014 10:21:39 GMT

It does sound like there is a huge problem with the over heating issue... I would love to know how are they going to fix this, if at all. I think ignoring it won't work...

Re: Z2 camera- Higher resolution, a lot less features

ghani667 — Wed, 25 Jun 2014 11:22:21 GMT

in the gsmarena review clearly mentions

What we don't like:

Superior Auto delivers noticeably better image quality but it's only 8MP
The preset Scenes shooting modes (including the HDR mode) work only in 8MP Manual mode
You have to manually set the orientation of the phone when shooting a Panorama (and it's only 5MP in size)
The flash light output is underwhelming
Images have high noise levels, especially in 20MP mode and in low light
There is no change in the still camera, compared to the Xperia Z1

still camera conclusion

The Sony Xperia Z2 is a very capable shooter, especially in good light. Sony still hasn't found the post-processing formula and it still exhibits high noise levels in low light. Unfortunately, there don't seem to be any changes in the still camera department, compared to the Xperia Z1

so this is because of sonys horrible post processing and compression in their software they need to fix it become kings

Re: Z2 camera- Higher resolution, a lot less features

vandal1976 — Thu, 26 Jun 2014 11:33:25 GMT

I did read that review, but only after buying the phone, which is not helpful...

The jpeg engine used is not good, and I agree they could fix this, but knowing Sony, good luck waiting for that. They are notorious for delaying these things when others have them pinned down from the start.

Re: Z2 camera- Higher resolution, a lot less features

ghani667 — Thu, 26 Jun 2014 13:58:33 GMT

yeah sony could easily become camera kings but for some lame reason sony is going down the road where there is no success

Re: Z2 camera- Higher resolution, a lot less features

z2elmo — Mon, 08 Dec 2014 21:06:16 GMT

I've noticed that not only is the image quality NOT improving when selecting 20mp settings but also it hardly DECREASES when selecting 2mp. Other words the pics on my Z2 all look like 2mp size, I can't sometimes even tell the difference between front and rear camera. I expected taking pictures was easy and free from problems on the Z2 but after all I'm not so sure anymore...

Would that be a reason to turn the phone in?