z1 Camera

[IvanT]

Just wanted to address the unfortunate large amount of people complaining about the camera on the Z1.

Please invest some time to learn and undertsnd how to use the manual options on the camera app. The pictures i've been able to capture with this phone are exceptional, quality is fine as long as you position your self corectly, and adjust the settings to match the senario - and no i dont mean auto mode or 8mp SCN options...

just too many people whining and moaning due to lack of understanding and knowledge. Perhaps an iPhone is a better suited device if you wish to roll your face over the phone and expect things to either look nice or not at all.

[Archanos]

Yes, you are right mate.

Most people just use the "auto" modes, they don't really care about any settings - they count on the camera to set everything right. But Z1 is a very advanced one, as most of Sony's cameras it gives people a tool to use it their own way, but it needs some understanding first how it really works.

I personally (as a professional photographer) found it very useful in situations that even most DSLRs couldn't do much about the conditions. Sometimes I can make "impossible" with it, and I love this about it. It has a really big sensor there and extremely bright lens, this makes a real difference.

Congratulations buddy, you found a little time to make it your friend, so now you know it can do amazing things. I wish other people would find a while to play with the options available after some reading about what aperture is, what exactly ISO means, what this enigmatic f 2.0 is about, etc.

No other Android smartphone camera could do the same now. With a little more help from Sony with the software, it will turn into a monster very soon. I didn't see yet so much potential in the phone camera, it already is over most compacts with some "beta-like" software, I can imagine what it will became soon.

[pukoh]

Your argument is flawed. The auto mode is equal to a cake premix. You expect the bake a relatively decent cake from the mix.

We're complaining because the cake comes out.

And you're argument is we should learn how to cook. Which defeats the purpose of a premix.

What is even more infuriating is the photo you take is different from the preview you see just before you press the shutter. WHY

[IvanT]

You want premix and you don't want to get your hands dirty or clean up the mess.  

Your post highlights the utter ignorance that I find annoying.   Premix in comparison to a proper cake tasted like so if you would be happy with that analagy go get an iPhone. And join the lines of brain dead.  Good luck 

[pukoh]

Again your argument is flawed. Cleaning up as nothing to do with the quality of the cake.

I'm sorry You are annoyed when someone can put a coherent and logical argument.

Your statement implies that it is possible for a phone to take good looking auto mode photos. Which is what most of the complaint is about.

For sony, a company that has a whole camera business, to produce a product that takes undesirable pictures is embarrassing.

Sure you can go into the manual mode and take "amazing" pictures, but we're not complaining about the manual mode.

[IvanT]

Ah ignorance. Where would we be without you. Its hard to press a few buttons to take a good picture. Auto will never ever be as good as manual. Go read some photography tips you simpleton

[ImInHell]

I have a problem here maybe you can help this in not about the AUTO mode it is about the AR Effect.

Before i take AR Effect the view in the screen was great and bright but when i take a shot the photo was dark the original view (it is where the camera pointing) was dark the only bright thing you can see is the AR Effect it self.


Pls if anyone can tell me about this i can send some photo examples just message me privately and send your email to see my problem. Thank you guys.

[Archanos]

There is no way to satisfy everyone. Comparing a camera to a cake... yeah, there are so many similar things about them. But ok, let it be, the cake:

1. if you want to make a cake that is significantly better than cakes made by the others, you can't do this with premix. Everyone with the premix will make it pretty much the same as you.

2. If you don't know how to use an oven, no premix can help you to not screw up the cake.

3. Best cakes are not made from premixes.

4. Many companies make premixed cakes so you can bake them yourself, and each one will be different, even ingredients you need for them will differ. And you will still need some.

You like the iPhone auto - it's ok, get one and have fun. Nobody forces you to use your brain. It's your choice.

If you would at least try to understand the basics about the photography (I mean it, the VERY basic things!) you would know that you can help *any* automated camera mode to take much better photos.

Auto mode is not made to do everything for you, it is made to prevent you from ruining the good photo, at least to make it very hard to do so. But it can't succeed every time in the hands of the ignorant.

You make a problem where is none. It's black or white. You read a page or two about the photography basics and take outstanding photos with the Z1, or you don't bother reading anything and take regular photos with monkey-proof mode.

about the AR effect:

In this mode camera use a single, center spot for the light metering. This means if you aim the very center of the crop in the dark place, camera will brighten the whole picture. On the other hand, if you aim it in the very bright spot of the image, it will try to make the picture darker enough to not loose the details of this center place.

I had some trouble with this mode too in the very low light environments, then it is pretty hard to take a bright pics with this, even the above doesn't help in all cases. But I hope this clarifies some things for you.

[pukoh]

Yugzthugs: sony software tries to "fix" images after you take them. If something's dark it will brighten it, and if bright, darken it. A bit like the HDR mode.

that's why the preview you see before pressing the shutter is different from the final picture you get.

This image processing happens even in manual mode. Not sure there's anything you can do. Hopefully the new update will fix it.

[BangkokPete]

I nearly didn't buy the Z1 after reading reviews and comments about the camera - but after comparing the Z1 to the Note 3, iPhone, G2 and Nokia I went ahead anyway - and after using it for a while I'm still pleased with it.

I'm a keen amateur photographer using a compact system camera with a decent range of prime lenses - and I never expected it to rival the CSC.  I also use a waterproof Lumix compact and I hoped it would be close to this in quality with the obvious limitations of the small fixed lens. 

Yes there's some image noise - 20 mega pixels is a bit high for a small sensor but I guess the Sony marketing people needed the high mega pixel number to demonstrate it's superioroty over the competition.

But just using auto mode the pictures are better than most phones except the Nokia 1020.

And with a bit of care using the setting and ensuring the phone is kept steady it can also equal the Lumix compact in bright conditions and only when zooming in to the photo can you see any advantage of the compact camera over the Z1.

Using some post processing I've even managed to get some shots that almost equal the CSC - until you look too closely!

Here's what I've found works for me: (would be good to hear from others on what settings they use)

1. Use Manual mode 8 meg and set the ISO to as low as you can get away with.  (I normally use 200, dropping to 100 or 50 if it's bright enough)

2. Ensure you have the latest update so it returns to the same manual settig you were last using when you open the camera app.

3. Keep it steady.  Like all mobiles it tends to choose longer shutter times compared to a 'proper' camera - expecially with the lower ISO setting selected - so camera shake is an issue.  In landscape mode the shutter release button can help - but in portrait mode the screen shutter is better.  If the situation allows (scenery, buildings etc) use the 2 second self timer so you can the camera staedy by the time it takes the shop. The image stabilizer can also help to some extent - but keeping the camera steady is better in my view as any stabilizer has it's limits.

4. Select the appropriate focus system - multi mode works fine for 90% of the time - but if the subject is off centre choose touch focus.

5. Use the exposure compensation if the exposure is not right - the touch focus system does not adjust exposure so you may need to tweak the exposure up or down if the subject is not lit well.  You can also get a nice backlit 'studio' effect by shooting in front of a window and wacking the exposure compensation up to max.

Just using in Auto mode I think it's better than most mobile phones - but noise in low light and camera shake tend to be the main issues (as with most phones) so the above tips have worked for me and now I don't feel the need to carry a compact camera as well as the phone.