yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Xperia Z3 General] bart-videophile:
Man, all these comparisons are driving me quite insane, I must say (and taking up waaaaay too much of my time ;) ). I mean, I'm grateful for all the info I can find and the internet can be an awesome medium/tool for finding every little thing there is to say (about anything), but sometimes the more you learn, the harder it gets. But it's something that I do to myself, so never mind. Let's carry on :).

I've now looked at many more comparison videos (looking at video more closely). While the Z3 seems to win in the stabilization department, in almost every other category it loses out to the Note 4. While the Note 4 comes out on top in comparisons with the iPhone. Still, not every comparison shows the same. In one instance, the Z3 had better autofocus while shooting video (during indoor shooting at close range), and in another the Note 4 clearly won (while shooting nature scenery). Often the detail and color reproduction were quite incredible (even though sometimes a tad too much on the warm side. More attractive, perhaps, but not necessarily more true to life. It could be the iPhone is the ultimate winner here). It's almost a no-brainer. Also, the microphone on the Note 4 is much better than that on the Z3. Warm and clear as opposed to rather slight and tinny. Not the most important thing for me, but it can all add up.

I also like the look and feel of the Z3, I must say, and like that it's very responsive/zippy. I also like the way text/pages seem to appear almost lie on top of the screen surface. It's hard to describe. Maybe it has to do with the large space the screen occupies horizontally (i.e. very small sides). While a tad big initially, I feel it's now perfect for me (or rather, a compromise I feel comfortable with, in return for such a nice, large screen). It's quite possible I would get accustomed to the Note 4 too, though.

Cost-wise, I think, it doesn't make that much of a difference here. A bit more expensive, but not excessively so. The (potential) lag of the Note 4 is probably the main thing that's making me rather hesitant. If I could 'solve' or alleviate this in any way, I'd probably go for this phone. At the same time, if I would be able to 'fix' the autofocus of the Z3 video, to make recordings more consistently sharp, I'd probably stick with the Z3. (Now, the iPhone would also potentially be an option, but it seems it loses out to the Note 4 in several important ways.)

Thanks for all the links! They were very insightful (while not making it a whole lot easier at the same time ;) ). Some I had seen already but there were a couple of new ones.

Anyway, the story continues... (for me, that is, I will try not to bore users on this thread too much anymore with all these doubts of mine :) ).
[Xperia Z3 General] radicans:
Well lots of my photos are in and of nature, and personally I don't want it to look like processed garbage with washed out colors, which it well and truly does in my eyes. If you focus on a tree, it will not come out perfectly by any means. But again that is up to each to decide, no right answer. What I see as horrible artifacts, others see as crisp detail, I have learned. But if you take mostly indoors or cityscape shots for example, then it won't matter so much, even if you don't like the way the Z3 does nature shots. And if you will mostly look at your photos on the mobile, then it is also not a problem.

You're welcome!
[Xperia Z3 General] xcut:
Here are some photos I took and yes I edit one on the phone :D
[Xperia Z3 General] subhani:
In the UK, the Z3 is selling for £479 although I got mine for £420 via Amazon, FROM Amazon.

The Note 4 on Amazon costs £569! That's almost £100 more. That's $150 or €132 more. The Note 4 is not £100 better than the Z3 even though its camera beats the Sony's hands down. And just because of the lag and slower responsiveness of their software, I would boldly say it is actually £100 worse than the Z3 and I still wouldn't buy it. The Z3 looks and feels better too.

So when speaking of looks... there's the iPhone, which I bought from the Apple store for ... Wait for it... A whopping £620! If you factor in that I bought my Z3 for £420 via Amazon, then the iPhone is £200 overpriced which is otherwise a really good phone. Regardless of OS flaming, iPhones are NOT worth THAT much more than their Android counterparts.

Apologies for the OT discussion but the ARGUABLY 'weaker' camera in the Z3 is really not a deal breaker when you factor in the whole picture including the display, premium feel, design, BATTERY LIFE, stereo front speakers, ps4 remote play etc etc. The camera on the HTC M8 however WAS a deal breaker for me.

You're very welcome, Bart.

Hit THANKS if I helped, cheers! Sent using a Z3 via Tapatalk.
[Xperia Z3 General] sanakin:
Sony Xperia Steddy Shot

[IMG="Steddy Shot 8MPX"]https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xfp1/t31.0-8/10497075_716322061815611_5412664093297922954_o.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG="Sony XperiaZ3 Ultra Shot half Resolution8MPX"]https://scontent-b-mxp.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/t31.0-8/10960030_716351415146009_6167799418566491649_o.jpg[/IMG]
[Xperia Z3 General] doministry:
[MENTION=6357844]bart-videophile[/MENTION]

Are you aware of the fact that NOBODY will answer this question for you besides yourself?

You may ask 100 people and get 100% anwers.

I mean, you have to use your thinking and senses.

There are many reviews to see. Many of them are screwed in many ways,

like using one or two modes only etc.

Than there are tons of user's photos here which mostly speak for themselves.

Man, it's so easy to see Z3 is on top with some other phones.

It's sometimes a bit better or a bit worse, but in general it's on par with top performers out there.

I haven't seen anything killing it from any other phone.

But in the end - just try to get Note 4 and spent 3 days with it on head-to-head

comparison with Z3 and see how it speaks FOR YOU.

Nobody will answer that question.

As in fact, the end result mainly lies in your performance and your approach, and your ability of photo making.
[Xperia Z3 General] bart-videophile:
You are absolutely right. The problem is, though, that sometimes you find out about this setting or other that could have improved things, or you find out only later that the phone screws up in certain situations (like nature pics). I only have a small window to test this smartphone. If I would have the luxury to, without extra costs, try out several flagship phones for multiple weeks, then I probably wouldn't need to consult anyone, but since I can find many people online who have already done extensive testing (in some cases), then it makes sense for me to learn and benefit from their experiences.

I know that I must be annoying a lot of people on this thread with my questions and doubts, and I will stop this pretty much right now, so others can just enjoy their Z3 and post/compare their pics and share notes on the best settings. If I do contribute much more, it will be by posting (more) pics myself. So, don't worry, and sorry for disturbing this thread with my nagging. :)

Yes, this would be my perfect solution! Unfortunately, I'm not in the position to do this. If I tell the site/company where I ordered the phone I'm unhappy and want another one, then that phone will be pretty much it, I'm afraid. That's the reason why I try to be(come) as informed as possible beforehand.

In any case, I'm happy that not everyone is obsessing so much over this and/or that many users are simply very satisfied with their Z3's, like you. So, thanks for paying attention/replying to me, and, by all means, enjoy your Z3 to the fullest!
[Xperia Z3 General] Silverdace:
I've got hold of an s5 so will take some pics and post some comparisons. Any requests on what to 'focus' on?

I've only played with a couple of pics but in terms of detail it beats z3 big time. Colours however are not as accurate. It really highlights the weird smudging Sony does.
[Xperia Z3 General] bart-videophile:
Interesting. Also the thing about the colors. So you're saying that the colors on the Z3 are more accurate than those on the S5? (I wouldn't have guessed that, going by the Note 4 pics I've seen. Which I figured would be somewhat comparable to those of the S5).
[Xperia Z3 General] Silverdace:
Haven't had a chance to look at both on my monitor yet so it could just be amoled vs lcd difference. Will post some tomorrow.

---------- Post added at 09:33 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:32 PM ----------

Just have to say that the s5 is one ugly phone though. Don't know what Samsung were thinking there.
[Xperia Z3 General] bart-videophile:
Ok, thanks!

Ha! ;) Well, I agree the Z3 is pretty hard to beat in this regard.
[Xperia Z3 General] bart-videophile:
Z3 pics

To show you that I'm not just here to bore people out of their minds, here are some more Z3 pics... ;)
[Xperia Z3 General] bart-videophile:
Tulips with flash

One more.
[Xperia Z3 General] gadjet:
Close up, better photos when uploaded from my pc this time!
[Xperia Z3 General] mains75:
Are you from Pesaro??
[Xperia Z3 General] mains75:
Any other?

I have s2 and I would like to see the difference between it and my new future phone...(maybe)
[Xperia Z3 General] sefelizrc:
Just some nice pics, no more tests... I decided to enjoy this camera, that its on the top 5 of smartphones in every situation, sometimes top 1, other top 5, but allways good pics!
[Xperia Z3 General] brynte5:
very early at a café at gardemoen airport in norway, waiting for the plane to lanzarote (2015-01-23)...
[Xperia Z3 General] xvit096:
xperia z3, I don't know if this is good I'm not an expert. But I think auto superior is awesome. [emoji5]
[Xperia Z3 General] pchetan2:
Shot yesterday and edited in instagram

Shot yesterday and edited in instagram
[Xperia Z3 General] Silverdace:
S5 vs Z3

Well I've finally found a few minutes to take some pics with the Z3 and S5. All taken with S5 at 16MP and Z3 at 15.5MP on manual. No fancy composition or great deal of effort, just shooting.

Flikr Album has the full size pics in.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/127371734@N05/sets/72157649102328586/

Z3 can hold it's own in low light, macro and whenever there's little detail. But whenever there's a lot of detail in the scene, particularly with bright light, reflections etc. it struggles.

I do believe it's all to do with the weird Sony processing that Radicans and others have pointed out with the Chroma blurring which is why detailed colour scenes (vegetation/people) get destroyed but simple colour scenes (cityscapes) come out fine.

Other things noted

Looking at Histograms of these pictures and indeed other pictures on here shows that the colour channels get their peaks 'chopped off' which I presume is reflecting the Chroma blurring issue?

The S5 goes to ISO 40 in bright light compared with Z3's min of ISO 50

Z3 tends to take faster shutter speed.

Z3 tends to overexpose or, looking at it another way, tries to brighten shadows.

So to me it appears as though a simple software fix (use iPhone or Samsung algorithms) would make this camera excellent.

Sony have said they used the Cybershot team's expertise, which I presume means they used their sharpening/de-noising algorithms?
[Xperia Z3 General] subhani:
Random SA shot on a gloomy cloudy cold day, using the hardware button.

Hit THANKS if I helped, cheers! Sent using a Z3 via Tapatalk.
[Xperia Z3 General] subhani:
Has anyone used an app called Camu? I've been testing it and I'm pleasantly surprised that apart from the UI looking very clean ala the iOS camera, the camera snaps pictures MUCH faster and more responsively. Shots are consistently in focus and the experience feels easy and effortless for some reason. Again, akin to the iOS experience LOL. Not to mention some VERY good filters that you can apply to the viewfinder in realtime, again effortlessly with easy swipe gestures. All in all, it's the most zero lag camera for the Z3. The HTC and Samsung cameras probably won't benefit much from this as their apps are already quite lag free.

The cons that I've noticed is that the image saved isn't as high resolution as the Sony camera saves. But this is only apparent upon zooming and cropping the saved image.

Lastly, the app doesn't seem to remember the last mode selected and reverts to default mode.

Hit THANKS if I helped, cheers! Sent using a Z3 via Tapatalk.
[Xperia Z3 General] gadjet:
Today whilst walking dinner time

Superior auto, dull day
[Xperia Z3 General] xvit096:
taken with z3. Auto superior and cheap macro lens
[Xperia Z3 General] Artood2s:
Was that BMW really that shade of red? This and the noise reduction are my only gripes with the Z3 camera. For anything other than snapshots, I won't be using my phone camera. A dedicated camera is still king.
[Xperia Z3 General] corallus:
Macro is automatic

---------- Post added at 01:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:43 PM ----------

https://www.flickr.com/x/t/0099002/photos/127759762@N03/
[Xperia Z3 General] jamezr:
Those are some pretty awesome pictures! Such great detail and vivid colors!
[Xperia Z3 General] jonmorris:
They're good, but still rather too softened and lacking the sharpness and detail that I get on my Z2. I cannot fathom why Sony has messed around with things when the latest camera app seemed to have got things almost perfect.

I was worried that my Z3 image sensor, or the lens, was perhaps faulty in some way - but these photos, awesome as they are when reduced, suggest it's on every phone.
[Xperia Z3 General] Chefproll:
And that's exactly the "master error" almost everyone makes: People don't watch photos 1:1, full resolution, full zoom - they just have a look at photos heavily reduced in size. That way, just every photo looks great, but you don't notice the great lack of details, the deadly impacts of Sony mindless oversharpening, the ugly face of the horrible antialiasing and compression algorithms used. :/
[Xperia Z3 General] ktek:
Couple of photos and comparison against Note 3 (and Sony a7). As I can't post links you have to bare with my reduced size image attachments. I wrote a small wrap up as well but I'm yet to translate it into English. Short version: Z3 camera is good (hardware great), not exceptional. Same problems as with other small sensor size cameras.
[Xperia Z3 General] Chefproll:
Sorry, useless. You cannot compare anything using that tiny pictures as they lack any details, can't reveal real differences and weaknesses.
[Xperia Z3 General] ktek:
While I understand that uncompressed originals would be better for pixel peepers I really don't know how you can't see the difference. Anyhow, comparison was not the point. Z3 camera is very capable but if you are expecting 35mm format performance you're gonna to have a bad time.
[Xperia Z3 General] kalo88:
How big are your pictures in MB, when I take anything in superior auto it is coming out 1.6-1.9mb in size which just seems tiny.

Sony phones in the past always did similar things, massive amounts of compression to make the file size small.
[Xperia Z3 General] viking2.0:
Took this at my office. Manual mode with HDR on 8MP 4:3. Cant figure out why the leaves are blurred when zoomed in [IMG="Z3 pic"]http://i.imgur.com/ADHH0kd.jpg[/IMG]
[Xperia Z3 General] kelsusit:
Here is something ive noticed with my Z3 pics.

Like you, if i view my pic either via my album on Z3 phone, when I zoom in i see terrible compression. Now i sync all my pics taken on my Z3 to google plus (photos app) and I save full image as part of my auto backup settings.

Now heres the weird thing. I view pics on my Xperia Z2 Tablet. Find a picture that looks terrible, find that same picture on google plus pictures app, zoom in and wait a few seconds and that blurry leave suddenly becomes clear like it should look when you zoom in on a picture without the bad compression artifacts. Zoom back out and that horrible pic actually looks sharp and clear.

Am i going mad here? Has anyone else noticed this. Does this suggest pictures are nice at source and its some sort of software issue on Z3 when playing back image on screen or is google soley responsible for this fix. Weird thing is i also sync pictures to play memories online and its the same story as phone album, pics looks awful.

Interested to know if anyone else has noticed this.
[Xperia Z3 General] erasat:
Do you have any of the Image Enhancement turned on? By default one of them is. I noticed that some images are blurry with any of those 2 features on, after I turned it off I can see the pictures very similar to the way I was seeing them on my S5.
[Xperia Z3 General] kelsusit:
I have just checked and indeed the enhancement setting is on. Turned it off and agreed its much better! What exactly is it enhancing if it's having that sort of effect on pictures. Thanks for tip!
[Xperia Z3 General] GoyoNeuff:
Thanks. You really got me to think again. I am going to wait for the Nexus 6 (or whatever name they put on it), and going to check in the BestBuy Samsung store the Note 4. You have really valid points there. The hear rate monitor is a joke for me personally, but very good points you have made. I have checked some photos/reviews of the Note 4 camera and it does seem as if the OIS really helped a bit. Would be fantastic to see a Z3/Note4/Nexus 6 camera comparison. To be honest with you too, I am so very much disappointed with Sony and its event yesterday, was really lame. I have always put the camera first in my decisions for smartphones and that is why I still have a 808 with me. The Z3 came as the best candidate so far, but again, you had really good points specially with the Note 4 specs, new build quality, and mutitasking; also the Nexus 6 should be a great phone with a better camera now, plus it will come with Android L to which I hope, like I said multiple times, finally brings RAW capabilities.

Cheers,

G.
[Xperia Z3 General] figo_rulz11:
So took this picture when I was in NYC and google photos did some auto enhancement or something and this was the out come...thought it was pretty COOL! :cool:
[Xperia Z3 General] radicans:
Is it possible to get the unprocessed image from the sensor through the API? In that case one could make an app to get decent photos. Some workaround...
[Xperia Z3 General] viking2.0:
I just did a comparison between z3 and s4 and I was surprised how much detail and sharpness s4 has compared to z3. Even in 20MP mode there was so much detail lacking. No matter which mode I use 4:3 or 16:9 I just can't match the s4. I will post some pics when I get time. Hope this can be fixed with a software update
[Xperia Z3 General] plsdunbiteme:
Is this done in good lighting or low light situation? Why don't you upload the pics for us to take a look?

I have tested my Z2 with S4. Both are about the same in good lighting, but the Z2 is far superior in low light. Z3 should be even better.
[Xperia Z3 General] viking2.0:
This was done in my living room with some sun light coming in. I will post them soon
[Xperia Z3 General] Blaalad12:
Iam coming from a htc one which was hardly the best camera in the world so for me the camera is decent . However, Alot of people seem unhappy with the camera which is strange given that so many people loved the camera on the z2! The idea of the z3 was to improve upon the z2 surely even if only marginally! It would be a pretty dumb move to bring out a so called upgrade with an inferior camera especially when the z2 is now alot cheaper then the z3! I can only assume a software update will fix/improve the camera otherwise id be recommending people buy a z2 , save alot of cash and get a better camera!!
[Xperia Z3 General] viking2.0:
These are the pics i took. The focus was on the flowers. Z3 was in manual 20.7 MP mode with multi metering image stabilization on and 0 EV.

z3 - https://app.box.com/s/e2k1b160j96r99lt6h2h

S4 - https://app.box.com/s/8txhbtszzee5krkv9dsk

also upload it on flickr

z3 - https://www.flickr.com/gp/128583984@N06/8ME351

s4 - https://www.flickr.com/gp/128583984@N06/aY6u5f

[IMG="z3 image"]https://www.flickr.com/gp/128583984@N06/8ME351[/IMG]

[IMG="s4 image"]https://www.flickr.com/gp/128583984@N06/aY6u5f[/IMG]
[Xperia Z3 General] subhani:
It is that shade. I know some colours are more saturated. Red being one of them. And I actually like the minimal punch to those colours. Despite this, that shot of the red car is actually v close to the real red shade of that car if not precisely right.

I'll upload one from an iPhone and one from our z3 for you to compare. Bear in mind that the iPhone generally produced a more warm even yellowish finish in its daylight shots.

Hit THANKS if I helped! From a Sony Z3 via Tapatalk.
[Xperia Z3 General] juanmaasecas:
These are some 100% crops from a friend's pictures in a spanish forum. I just downloaded the pictures and make the 100% crops to easily compare. Z3 and iPhone 6.

http://i.imgur.com/Xjn6Bqw.jpg[/img

[img]http://i.imgur.com/WJnGoKW.jpg

I prefer the iPhone pics almost in every case...

Original post here

http://www.htcmania.com/showpost.php?p=17423758&postcount=594
[Xperia Z3 General] Mysterious92:
Hi juanmaasecas,

All z3 take red color like in the photo of the car?
[Xperia Z3 General] radicans:
If I may chime in..

If you take photos in daylight, and keep the white balance on auto, then yes. The whole image will most often look slightly "cold" since it seems to have too much blue in it, making the reds appear more towards purple/pink. Occasionally, one of the white balance presets works better. On a cloudy day, the cloudy preset is usually better, but it can also make the photo look way too yellow/orange if it's late in the day. Auto WB always make the photo look too cold/blue in my opinion. I would be very happy if there was an Auto WB compensation, just like exposure compensation.
[Xperia Z3 General] xxquicksh0txx:
I can't imagine that BMW being that red. It looks nothing like BMW imola red.
[Xperia Z3 General] brynte5:
here are a few pix i shot with the z3 during our recent trip to lanzarote.

i created a new album called sony xperia z3 and put them in there.

to get a good look, choose "view in full screen", under "album options"

http://brynte5.imgur.com
[Xperia Z3 General] cadboncopyvw:
Taken in the Newton Abbot Cider Bar. One of 3 remaining original cider houses in the UK. Poor light and SA. Didn't do that bad a job on my mug but the background is somewhat noisy. No post processing performed.
[Xperia Z3 General] GhostRaiderMX:
Can anybody here recommend any good camera apps for the Xperia Z3? The stock one is good but idk if there are any better out there.
[Xperia Z3 General] slonn:
Snap Camera HDR
[Xperia Z3 General] Xperiatheme.com:
Same question here :))
[Xperia Z3 General] bart-videophile:
I'd like to second that!

Actually, no matter if it's cloudy or not, I found that the 'cloudy' WB-preset almost always produces more accurate colors. For indoors shooting, for example, only cloudy gives me the correct color scheme.

(This is also true for the Z1, btw, which I got as a temporary phone right now).

So, perhaps a tip for those who find the colors on the Z3 too cold: use cloudy WB setting!
[Xperia Z3 General] bart-videophile:
Thanks for this comparison! I mostly prefer the iPhone pics too (with the exception of 2 or 3 pics, where I find the Z3 shows more detail).

Just wondering here... is it at all possible that the results will be different when comparing different portions of the picture? For example, when comparing the foreground rather than the background (for instance, in the case of the wall behind the fragrance). Perhaps iPhone and Z3 have different parts of the pic they focus on (perfectly). Or maybe the Z3 applies some slight background blurring/defocussing.

Also, would different WB-settings also produce different results in the clarity/detail department? I wouldn't assume so in exact terms, but maybe it could appear this way.
[Xperia Z3 General] juanmaasecas:
You can go to the original post and check the full pictures in flickr yourself so you'll find iPhone is better doesn't mind which part of the picture you look at... Even at higher isos, iPhone is better. Except in the first pic, in which I'm not sure which one I like the best... Shame on Sony.