yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Xperia Z3 General] erasat:
Due to the mixed experiences by different users, I think it would be a great idea if we post the settings that we are using, I mean, most of us no-photo-experts are used to just point and shoot in Auto Mode, so if things are different with the Z series then it will be of great help if we can post the settings that we think are giving us the best pictures.

So far I have read to not use Super Auto, to use 8MP instead of 20 MP, to use 4:3 instead of 16:9, to use ISO 12800 in manual but in 8 MP etc.., so as you can see for the non expert this is kind of confusing and stressful, so if at least we can get the settings that people seem to coincide then at least we can have a base to go from there and obviously adjust depending on personal preferences.

What do you think?
[Xperia Z3 General] tamilplaya98:
With "all" i mean all people, who have that problem. You cant just wait, if you dont do something, sony wont do something. Thats why i said it.
[Xperia Z3 General] IchHabDickeEier:
these pictures arent bad :)
[Xperia Z3 General] bb_hershey:
Hi guys,

I have unlocked the bootloader unfortunately without knowing the lost functions.

This image I taken considered 'OK' for me after bootloader unlocked.

Click here
[Xperia Z3 General] ziuta24:
LB, Auto settings
[Xperia Z3 General] plsdunbiteme:
How did you get the camera fix on Z2? I have a Z2 updated to latest firmware. 314 but my pics are still as fuzzy as my z1
[Xperia Z3 General] jamezr:
That pic is not bad......
[Xperia Z3 General] shrubz:
Coming from an M8, the detail on these photos is amazing.

https://plus.google.com/photos/1117...ms/6067518894795615809?authkey=CKnarpCCypXONQ
[Xperia Z3 General] fain2daniel:
Your pic's are awesome.
[Xperia Z3 General] GoyoNeuff:
Thanks a lot.

Are these pictures untouched by Editing Software? If yes, they are simply amazing for what you can get out of the camera phone !!!

Cheers,
[Xperia Z3 General] Jumaqidi:
Hey I was looking at this thread. Is the Z3 camera improved from the past or still as bad? I like to take pictures in 16:9 aspect so yeah. And how is the shutter speed?
[Xperia Z3 General] radicans:
It will be really interesting to see the new breed of camera apps that will no doubt pop up once Android 5 and its RAW functionality becomes more widely adopted! I imagine in-camera settings like noise reduction amount and precise manual WB control.
[Xperia Z3 General] Stixxbixby:
Illumination only from an iPad mini.

Sent from my Z3
[Xperia Z3 General] subhani:
I agree with you both. Thank you Reza, for the comparisons, it helps put things in perspective by contrasting with the competition. I know some may dismiss the dull color as more natural/realistic but I definitely prefer the general look of the images taken with the Moto! More vivid and fuller in life. I'm surprised because I actually had the Moto down for likely being weak in optics. I am wrong of course.

Thanks for your valuable feedback. I've ran out of thanks for today :(. Waiting for you to get your hands on the Z3 to show us what this baby can do. If you're saying that the iP6+ and the Z3 are comparable, after my noob snaps then I would like to see what magic you can do with shots that you take yourself.
[Xperia Z3 General] marc539:
Thank You, these were taken at Southpointe Park in South Beach, Miami FL. I noticed that some of my better shots were taken using Defocus Mode vs SA. On Auto mode I noticed colors didn't pop and looked a little washed out and was not as detailed.
[Xperia Z3 General] alirezaircn:
I'm also shocked by the quality of Moto G photos. The reason lies with "control focus & exposure" feature of Moto camera. I can move the indicator to any place in camera and it adjusts the light automatically based on the area I leave it....This way I can decide how much light I need. I can make it light or dark....However, in Sony you have no such handy feature.

I don't use Z3 for photos recently and just regret why it's that over exposured in camera.
[Xperia Z3 General] radicans:
Some more photos
[Xperia Z3 General] Cryssie:
I have the phone a week now. Here are some of the shots I took.

I have also filmed a song at a (LOUD) metal concert and the camera performed above expectations, sound-wise. The microphone sensitivity can be altered for your needs. This particular soundtech had his faders pushed way WAY up and I had a video with some clipping in the audio but it was listenable. Way to go Sony!
[Xperia Z3 General] dtroup64:
You guys are killing me with these photos. Radicans— you're gonna cost me $599! I'm sittin' here with my Note 2 and I can't get anywhere near these shots.
[Xperia Z3 General] Drzfr3shboialex:
On my way to work.
[Xperia Z3 General] id3alistic:
Wow the concert photo. What were your settings?
[Xperia Z3 General] radicans:
Thanks! Although I think most shots (with most cameras) will look good in a small format like in the browser. They were taken in manual mode 8MP, but I think the key here is that none of the shots have chromatic fine detail, or much color at all. One of my beefs with this camera is the lack of color separation (making photos less vivid), which of course can be circumvented by taking photos with less color complexity :)
[Xperia Z3 General] CandyAndy:
I am totally lost here. Whatever I do I just can't get even a decent picture with this phone. 16mp is slightly better than 8mp here. Granted it's dark here but I could get better images in similar conditions with m8
[Xperia Z3 General] hanime:
Heard Z3 had a tough time with trees on auto mode. I took these a while back, but finally got a chance to upload.

Enjoy.
[Xperia Z3 General] Cryssie:
Oh my, thank you! [emoji1]

I took it on automatic, 8 mp. Beer was flying, people were headbanging. Manual mode was a hassle [emoji14]
[Xperia Z3 General] doministry:
I believe it's dark there?

Steady hands + proper zooming mode....

I usually tinker between multipoint and tap-to-zoom.

Lower ISO?
[Xperia Z3 General] undercover:
I have a simple answer to this. Moto uses auto HDR. It even says so in the name of the pics. Enable HDR on Z3 and then compare (if it has that mode?)
[Xperia Z3 General] subhani:
That's interesting to know about defocus. Did you work that out yourself or did you read it here? A couple of us suggested that as a theory for better crispness and less artifacting.

Hit THANKS if I helped, cheers! Sent using a Z3 via Tapatalk.

---------- Post added at 10:55 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:49 AM ----------

To be fair, the only app that can produce similar dynamic range on the Z3 is the Better Camera App in Single Shot mode with DRO enabled. The Sony stock app using HDR doesn't do enough for me.

Hit THANKS if I helped, cheers! Sent using a Z3 via Tapatalk.
[Xperia Z3 General] undercover:
Could you try Google camera for comparison shots and post results here? Make sure to select 4:3 to make use of the full sensor.
[Xperia Z3 General] radicans:
Out of curiosity I took a photo (manual mode, auto WB) of my monitor displaying a synthetically generated spectrum. Here is the original image, and the photo.

*deleted photo*

The darkening on the edges on the photo might be a viewing angle thing, but I did keep a good distance.

I have no conclusions really, there are many parameters and one could question the use of this, but maybe someone finds it interesting?

EDIT: I just realized that for this photo to say anything at all, it is vital that my display monitor (which I photographed) is completely correctly calibrated. I can't guarantee that it is, so I removed the photo.
[Xperia Z3 General] Cryssie:
Auto mode again. Lazy
[Xperia Z3 General] radicans:
Great shot of the butterfly! Must be right on the edge of how close you can get with this camera!
[Xperia Z3 General] raviboy100:
some shots i took all manual high iso and the last one in hdr
[Xperia Z3 General] radicans:
Another backlit photo.. :)
[Xperia Z3 General] Cryssie:
Thank you! Yeah, I was about 3 or 4 inches away.
[Xperia Z3 General] undercover:
Still need it? I shall deliver. So far I'm not that impressed tbh. It's ok and on manual mode with steady hands can produce some amazing results. Point-and-shoot aspect not so great, although that superior mode is not as bad as it looks first. I could go into full analysis of pics, but I don't see the point, picture tells a thousand words.

Most annoying thing to me is that we can't choose 12/13mp with 4:3 aspect. I really don't want to be storing pictures weighting 8-9mb each. Heck, my Nikon D90 has smaller pictures, but obviously that's not a fair comparison.

What i'm going to do is to attach pictures here. Can't be delving with uploading in full res every pic, but might do upon request. It's a phone camera, so if it looks good at uploaded size, it's good enough imho. It's not like anyone is going to be printing an album out of it. Well, maybe some.....

---------- Post added at 12:52 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:45 AM ----------

---------- Post added at 01:16 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:52 AM ----------

1st is auto 2nd is manual settings at 8mp, 4:3, auto iso, steady shot enabled (don't think it did much), center metering.

I prefer second. Why? Although auto "appears" sharper it is achieved by artificially increasing contrast between details loosing edge. In second one, although it's blurrier, our brain makes up for loss in detail and ended appear more natural. It's all about perception. Best place to look at to see what I mean is Mercs alloys. Also, due to more normal exposure of the sky it doesn't appear as unnatural as in auto mode. Our eyes see a bit more like in auto mode with vastly greater dynamic range, but again, due to how we are used for pictures to be exposed, manual appears more natural.

Next pics will be just that, with very little analysis, nothing like above.
[Xperia Z3 General] undercover:
More. As always 1st is auto 2nd is manual with settings as above.

Difference is not huge in daylight with even lighting , but I prefer manual mode just by a hair.

---------- Post added at 10:09 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:26 AM ----------

1st conclusion. In daylight, with even lighting just fire up superior auto (as long as you are happy with 8mp)for quick snaps. If you are taking more "fancy" pic that you might print/post/use as wallpaper go manual with 20mp for the detail. So far settings in the post above work best for me so assume I am using them at all times.

---------- Post added at 10:20 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:09 AM ----------

Auto vs Google camera comparison. Pretty much identical. I think software wise there isn't much more to do, unless Sony improves drivers/image processor. 1st Sony auto, 2nd Google cam. Both 8mp 4:3, which will be default in my future pics unless stated otherwise.

---------- Post added at 11:10 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:20 AM ----------

1st auto, 2nd manual. Once again, prise goes to manual imho. And just a random shot of heli on auto.

Edit. Forgot that manual was on hdr, so not exactly fair comparison, sorry.
[Xperia Z3 General] undercover:
1st auto, 2nd manual.

Metering change doesn't do **** on this phone. Also, Google camera touch metering doesn't work either.

As usual, I prefer manual.

---------- Post added at 01:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:57 PM ----------

All manual. I'm now going to use 15mp which is still manageable at 5-6mb.
[Xperia Z3 General] undercover:
---------- Post added at 03:56 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:59 PM ----------

Manual, 15mp, +1 ev

---------- Post added at 04:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:56 PM ----------

Also, a little trick, a lot easier than to play with exposure settings. Point at the object you want to shoot. If it's too bright, move slightly to lighter area and wait for metering to compensate. Now press shutter half way, move back to what you want to shoot and press all the way now. It's a lot easier than it sounds. Best way to practice is sky/ground. Move down, lock, move up, shoot. And vice versa.

---------- Post added at 04:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:01 PM ----------

How to control Sony Xperia exposure:

http://youtu.be/LIRjk6UDoZA
[Xperia Z3 General] One Twelve:
Bingo! i've been trying to get people to do this but its very difficult to put across. What you did here will work with any phone camera.

Now try the same with HDR too and lets see the difference. focus on the brightest, if there is no brightest turn around and find something much brighter and then revert back to your intended subject.

A lot of the time people take shots with a huge difference in lighting and getting the right exposure is difficult. It is even with a proper camera unless you use bracketing.
[Xperia Z3 General] undercover:
Unfortunately, it will only work on a phone that has hardware button. Or supports that in software. Nexus does. Touching anywhere on a picture on Nexus will meter to that point. On Sony, pointing only works for focus, not metering, so thank God for that hw button.
[Xperia Z3 General] One Twelve:
What about the soft button ?

only when you swipe away or remove your finger from the button does it take the shot.

hardware button will give you shake in lower light. or landscapes.
[Xperia Z3 General] undercover:
Whoa, good shout, didn't think about it :)

Thanks mate.

By the way, superior auto is proving itself to be best option for low light photos unless you have good few minutes for trial and error method with manual.
[Xperia Z3 General] One Twelve:
This pair is a good example of when and when not to take a shot, ofc depending on intent.

Not pointing at the sun easier to get foreground & background, see how blue the sky is and the truck is still ok. could try to get the truck more exposed but this was a moving shot so not much time. As good as it gets.

blown highlights, blown sky, best bet is expose for the sky and end up with a silhouette. There is too much difference between the sky & the foreground. it would need a grad filter to get right on a dslr.
[Xperia Z3 General] undercover:
Indeed. That was pure point-and-shoot. But yep, you are spot on. No composition either as you can see :)

I'm literally shooting anything and dumping it here for people to see the most diverse use possible.
[Xperia Z3 General] One Twelve:
Another example of what it takes to get the shot

Expose for the sky, get a silhouette.

Expose for the foreground, blow out the sky.

Final effort tries to get a bit of both by working within the two lighting extremes. Waited for the sun to go down. Well done.
[Xperia Z3 General] subhani:
Dynamic range test

Better Camera DRO on

Xperia manual BLHDR

Xperia Superior Auto

Sorry for the poor effort since I just uploaded them from my mobile via Tapatalk. It may look sunny but it was cold and my hand was shaking. Also, I have uploaded them in the above order, three scenes, three modes, as far as I can remember because I took quite a few random snaps. Selecting the correct ones without looking at the details was 20% guesswork.

In any case, I never make apologies for bad camera performance. If its bad, and some are, and if it is due to the limitations of the camera itself then it is only evidence of that.

Hit THANKS if I helped, cheers! Sent using a Z3 via Tapatalk.
[Xperia Z3 General] undercover:
My choice is.

1b

2b

3c

HDR is way overdone in first mode.

Superior auto.

I'm beginning to get seriously impressed with that mode. Very good in most night shots.
[Xperia Z3 General] jayr04:
Yea I used to hate how the camera always opened to SA but now I appreciate it.
[Xperia Z3 General] subhani:
Very true. I think SA mode was getting more stick then it deserved. Problem was that a lot of people favor detail quite heavily, including myself sometimes but SA is more than capable in most situations, esp in VERY low light. It's quite intelligent too, in choosing the correct scene mode automatically, be it low light, or HDR.

Hit THANKS if I helped, cheers! Sent using a Z3 via Tapatalk.
[Xperia Z3 General] undercover:
Further proof that SA is quite decent. Have a look at colour shift in second picture on manual.
[Xperia Z3 General] luvmygadgetz:
Superior Auto mode
[Xperia Z3 General] undercover:
Ha, gonna quote myself. Looking now on laptop, manual IS better. Much sharper. I'll take that over slight colour improvement anytime.
[Xperia Z3 General] xxquicksh0txx:
Visited the aquarium yesterday, some quick snaps I took
[Xperia Z3 General] XASPERATED:
That pic is just WOW! i wish i could pics like that:o
[Xperia Z3 General] subhani:
LOL. That's exactly what I said in the post directly above yours! In #835...

Also, see my previous post here http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=56978095 and look at the two shots of the keyboard. I prefer the Z3's less crisp but less noisy, better exposed image than that of the iPhone 6+, if just looking straight at the image without zooming and cropping. But once you zoom in, you realise that the iPhone retains loads of more detail although this is of no benefit because you can't see the keyboard properly anyway, being it's too dark.

Hit THANKS if I helped, cheers! Sent using a Z3 via Tapatalk.
[Xperia Z3 General] undercover:
Thing is, I didn't zoom in on laptop. It was obvious right away that manual looks better.
[Xperia Z3 General] jhun80:
http://imageshack.com/a/img901/8964/7AgFX4.jpg
[Xperia Z3 General] radicans:
Some photos from todays sunday stroll. Out in the forest, so lots of detail.

In general, as long as the photos are on the phone, it's quite ok. But it's hard to not get disappointed as soon as you view them on the computer. Really looking forward to RAW!
[Xperia Z3 General] One Twelve:
Are these HDR or what ?

can't tell **** since you insist on using tapatalk.

Flickr FTW.
[Xperia Z3 General] sefelizrc:
I'll try to upload larger images, maked with fv5 not using rgb channels, this is the better app I've used for taking pictures in my opinion ;)
[Xperia Z3 General] undercover:
These are not HDR. And since I use mobile 99 percent of the time to post, Flickr is a pita. I could just create a folder on the cloud somewhere and update here I guess.

As you can see, I keep challenging camera without bothering much about composition.

Full size images. https://mega.co.nz/#F!7Nc1FKyJ!-51W2wqZrZDRr4BNaQ1AHw
[Xperia Z3 General] radicans:
Huh, aren't those Android 5.0 buttons on the far right (back, home, recent)?
[Xperia Z3 General] undercover:
Indeed they are. Sony is themeable.
[Xperia Z3 General] radicans:
Aha, thought for a while you had a version of Android 5.0 with a working camera!
[Xperia Z3 General] sefelizrc:
I think this are full size and links must work...
[Xperia Z3 General] muhawarik:
Is the video of z3 foggy when shot in outdoor?

Why most of video camera of z3 i see on youtube are mostly foggy ?

Do u experience the same? Im planning to buy z3 this christmas i already test it on sony store and i didnt find it foggy maybe because it was indoor so i need input for the outdoor video result

This really bother me before i buy it thank you
[Xperia Z3 General] luvmygadgetz:
Great outdoor videos

Here is a link to 3 short videos I took last weekend on a cruise ship... not foggy at all !!

The longest one was taken through a glass wall in case you see reflections.

http://goo.gl/cegfQE

:)
[Xperia Z3 General] undercover:
https://mega.co.nz/#!SVVWSbJT!U9arRG2zRT4geweijYdr3xY9LvKsBdnGcQiBBBTnHwI

---------- Post added at 05:41 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:38 PM ----------
[Xperia Z3 General] radicans:
Cool building! What is it?

(prefer the first photo BTW. Manual?)
[Xperia Z3 General] undercover:
Manual. T5, Heathrow
[Xperia Z3 General] radicans:
Bugs eye
[Xperia Z3 General] hanime:
These are awesome photos. I assume manual mode?
[Xperia Z3 General] radicans:
Thanks! Yep, Manual 8MP. Can't quite remember the exposure compensation but I tend to underexpose by around 2/3 to 1 stop on a regular basis.

---------- Post added at 11:28 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:07 PM ----------

I took a photo of the stove top some time ago, and noticed that the element was unusually pink. Did it again the other day, and also with a Fuji x20. When comparing, the reds on the teapot are quite similar, with the Z3 having a slightly colder red with a hint of blue in it. But obviously the element glow is *way* more purple in the Z3 photo, which is odd (the Fuji shot is how it appears to the eye). I first put it up as a difference in exposure and/or white balance. But that can't be, because the little red light indicator in the bottom left is the same red in both photos (and same light intensity as the stove). One difference is that the stove element is emitting heat/infrared, which the indicator light does not. This makes me wonder if the Z3 sensor picks up some far red/infrared, and somehow puts in the blue end of the spectrum, making it appear purple?

Not ranting or anything, just a curiosity really. Fuji on the left and Z3 on the right then, obviously.
[Xperia Z3 General] hanime:
What sorcery is this? This is very weird. Now this makes me want to test mine out.
[Xperia Z3 General] Tri3Dent:
What metering mode do you usually use for Manual 8MP? And you use 4:3 aspect ratio right?
[Xperia Z3 General] radicans:
4:3 it is. And I try to keep it at multi, but the darn app keeps setting it back to "face" all the time, so that's probably what is used. Although, I don't know what the behavior of face metering is if it cannot detect a face.

---------- Post added at 10:21 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:15 AM ----------

Please do! Maybe it's common in mobile phone sensors, a friend of mine with a cheaper Nokia WP has the same thing.

My guess is that the blue filter on the sensor opens up again on the far red end.
[Xperia Z3 General] sefelizrc:
So now we say that the z3 can take awesome pictures?

I think all the troubles about this camera were because of some phones with a bad sensor and some people not knowing how to take pictures...
[Xperia Z3 General] abhinav.tella:
Well most (general public) rely on the "auto" mode which does suck. On manual its actually pretty good, my only complaint is opening cam via hardware button defaults to auto mode.
[Xperia Z3 General] corallus:
Quick way to "see" infra red in mobiles.

Look at screen while in camera and press a remote control button while pointing the control at the camera.

The control will show a light human eyes cannot see.
[Xperia Z3 General] radicans:
Well how about that!

Really cool, but your campfire pics will be forever purple :p
[Xperia Z3 General] :
Not really good at professional photography though! :D
[Xperia Z3 General] corallus:
Only an issue when the infra red output is higher than visible light I.e remotes, heaters and cooker tops.
[Xperia Z3 General] One Twelve:
ok

Reason i asked is there were a couple of pics like these

---------- Post added at 07:09 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:05 AM ----------

Wanted to know if you can get the sky better. First one is cloudy so not possible but the second one might just be possible.

with hdr, there's three things you can do.

Focus on the sky then recompose, click.

Focus on the darker foreground, click

But i think the best hdr will be if you focus on mid grey and then recompose.

How to tell what is midgrey, take the shot in monochrome, the mid grey will be easier to spot.

hdr will take 3 shots one exp+ and exp- around a point you set.

---------- Post added at 07:19 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:09 AM ----------

Interesting, are these straight out of the camera or did you remove the colour in post.

The first though that i had is black & white will look better if there is more contrast. so harsher sun is less of a problem than in colour.

First one looks good.
[Xperia Z3 General] GIANGOX:
Sunset....

Sony Xperia Z3