[Xperia Z1 Compact General] ProjectER:
best way to use the 20 mp camera?

Greetings, I'm really interested in buying this phone but the camera feed back from the forums keep making me hesitate. What I'm really looking for is a camera that works well in low light conditions. I'm currently using a samsung galaxy s2. I use it to take pictures of power point slides during lectures or at conferences/conventions.That's basically my main "work related" goal for my smartphone camera. I believe in the adage that the best camera is the one you have with you. For lectures rooms with big projector screens at maybe 15-20 seats away, the S2 is fine for words on the slided but at 30-40 seats away... you can't make out the text anymore. This is really the reason I'm thinking of shifting to a newer phone.

I read an article at phone arena comparing the z1 Compact, z1, samsung s4, iphone 5s and LG G2 in terms of actual camera use. It was full of praises for the z1's except when it came to low light or night time shots where it was one of the lowest of the bunch. The article however did admit that they used the "SUPERIOR AUTO MODE" which as many have claimed is just plain terrible. I think it's been said that it just ramps up the ISO too high making the image grainy and terrible. In the article, the LG G2 was the best at night time photos but it wasn't as good anywhere else...

Here' the article:

http://www.phonearena.com/reviews/C...ne-5s-Samsung-Galaxy-S4-HTC-One_id3561/page/4

So my question is, how does one maximize the 20 mp shooter of the z1Compact? It's supposed to be better on paper but why does it "suck" so bad in low light? from what I've read, these are my possible solutions

1) use a different software app? do you have suggestions for this? I've read that sony's image processing is partly to blame for the terrible photos (it's not necessarily the hardware). I can't wait for sony to update their software so is there an app on google play which can improve the pictures particularly for low light conditions at lectures (which is what I plan to use it for)?

2) use manual auto mode? what's the best setting for my predefined conditions above? low light for taking power point slide pictures as far away as possible.

3) I believe that the flash bleed issue has been fixed (read the solution here at XDA) so I'm not particularly worried about it. I'm also getting the black one.

Or is the G2 even at 13 mega pixels simply unmatchable at night/low light (taking power point slide shots) even with the z1c's manual automode?

My last question is an extra. Does the screen mirroring of the z1c finally work for generic miracast devices? the problem with samsung devices is that they've adulterated miracast into that crazy samsung proprietay screening mirroring they have that works mainly with their proprietary dongle! the s4 is allegedly miracast "compliant" but not universally miracast compatible (that's a terrible play with words/marketing gimmick to force people to get their "dongle"). I mean can the z1c share it's screen to any other JB or KITKAT device as miracast should? or does sony have similar "sony works best with sony" mantra under the hood?

Thanks again and more power to XDA!