yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Xperia Z3 General] subhani:
That picture is superb!

The Z3 records excellent framerate in video so very smooth playback. As smooth as our iP6+ or better. During slow mo record, it has a much better segmenting tool to isolate multiple sections of the clip to slow down and then speed up and then slow again. The image stabilisation on the Z3 is easily better than the iP6+ optical image stabilisation. Both in my experience and also see video by btekt comparing this.

Details appear to be the area where the Z3 trails behind the iPhone but this is only noticeable directly side by side with the iPhone. For this, you are able to record 4k, which the iphone can't.

But dynamic range strangely varies, sometimes better than the iphone, occasionally worse. See inam ghafoor's comparison on his channel.

As mentioned by others above, the conditions are completely different and I KNOW first hand that those conditions are also where the iphone humiliates the Z3 but in outdoor shots, the Z3 fares better. In indoor shots, you need to tweak some of the ISO and do better metering, which is what i'm still learning. But in very low light, the Z3 is unbeatable. See my previous posts.

A few people have responded to this with varied opinions:

1. The S4, Note 4 etc ARE actually VERY good and this is my position. This doesn't mean that the Z3 is bad, just that the S4 would probably outpace most other flagships too, ala the Z3.

2. The shots were from different conditions i believe

3. The crops were from two different sections of the two images.

That's what most people said. The comparison wasn't conclusive although I am inclined to believe that SS cameras are actually the best in the industry right now. All the reviews online showed the Note and Galaxy Series just outpace the competition. But I hate the rest of their hardware style and material and I hate TW with a vengeance.
[Xperia Z3 General] bart-videophile:
Thanks so much for this! This is just what I've been looking for. Since I've heard the Note 4/IP6+ are basically the devices to beat camera wise (including video) (barring perhaps Nokia 1020), a direct comparison between the Z3 and IP6+ by someone who has spent a fair amount of time with both is very useful indeed. Despite my (remaining) doubts about the (still) camera, this might actually make me decide to just stay with the Z3 (since I really value the video). Supposedly there was a problem with WB and exposure but I suppose this can easily be tweaked. Also somewhat with focussing. I've downloaded the app Cinema FV-5 that I think gives more freedom here (allowing you to manually focus, as well as force focus before recording starts). Not sure if this really works though. But your opinion judging from experience with both Z3 and IP6+ means a lot (since this was one of the smartphones I was considering as an alternative [next to Note 4][unlike many, I'm fine with both OS's ;) ]

Alright yeah, I suppose a lot more experimenting is necessary. But yeah, so far I haven't had much luck indoors. Outdoors neither to tell you the truth, but I haven't shot a huge amount of photo's yet (and then mostly on cloudy, drab days, which unfortunately is the trend here of late). But to summarize: outdoors the Z3 fares better than the IP6+? And in very low light also? But the iPhone humiliates the Z3 in moderate light/indoor-situations? Is that about it?

Well, I'm not really against TW that much (on my S2 I did use another launcher though, so I guess I somewhat agree) and if the S4 really outpaces the Z3 this would be even more the case for the Note 4 I assume. And also for the IP6+ which supposedly is on the same level as the Note 4 (but perhaps not if I take all your comments at face value). And if this would be the case, then that would be good information to have. If the difference is really dramatic, it would normally make me want to switch to the Note 4 or IP6+ surely. If I just didn't hear from you that the Z3 is the equal (and sometimes winner) of those phones when it comes to video, that is. That will probably be a tradeoff I'm willing to make.
[Xperia Z3 General] bart-videophile:
pics

Anyway, since this is a picture thread, let me make some more contributions. A couple of sunny, indoor pics. Different mp counts. Both manual and 50 ISO I believe (sorry, should have documented it properly, I suppose).
[Xperia Z3 General] bart-videophile:
Well, I'm kind of curious now. Which is which? :)

I guess I know the answer simply because of the file extensions, but even without this knowledge I would have said the low light pic is Z3 and the bright one is IP6+. So, is this correct or did you trick us? :)

What would be really interesting now is if you would reverse lighting conditions for these phones (i.e. use the IP6+ for the dark scene and the Z3 for the bright one). Is that possible? Or have you already done this perhaps?

In any case, both pics look nice, although the dark one (Z3?) does indeed show more blurriness at the edges. But perhaps that is inevitable under these lighting conditions.
[Xperia Z3 General] sanakin:
Pic Z3

[IMG="Pic"]https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/10943857_713846748729809_8505183983229513269_n.jpg?oh=8c4d3496c7d7cd23f2bba698111060cc&oe=555756B4&__gda__=1431810782_919210d2fd67ecb7754093a8fff9eb57[/IMG]

[IMG="pIC1"]https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/10945534_713846738729810_7732336591499476100_n.jpg?oh=e3797e14ab02b5fb989eff6ce22f9a38&oe=5563018C&__gda__=1431389926_cbe385ca99257535822ee7fb053c1bac[/IMG]
[Xperia Z3 General] radicans:
Well, from the tests/comparisons I have made, and the comparisons I have seen on the web, I think the Z3 is one of the worst flagship cameras for outdoor shots. If you have wide shots of trees/nature or scenes with complexity the Z3 fails miserably because of overzealous image processing. City shots with lots of straight lines are ok, and macro are pretty good though. It also suffers from very low chromatic detail, due to noise reduction I presume. Another annoyance is that everything red gets a pink hue to it, and photos generally have a pretty "cold" color balance, especially outside. But I should not repeat myself too much, the other posters here have heard enough of my rants :)

These three posts highlight the issues I have with the Z3.

http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=56445124&postcount=431

http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=56291934&postcount=329

http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=55980596&postcount=127

But when scaled down to 2MP on the monitor or on the mobile screen, it's of course not so obvious.

(Fixed url's)
[Xperia Z3 General] bart-videophile:
Hi radicans, thanks for your straightforward, honest reply. But it doesn't make it easier I must say. So many opinions...

I looked at all those posts you linked to, and yeah, I can see your problems with the trees. At the same time I can see more detail on the BBQ (the drops of rain for instance) and some other places in the Z3 pic. I also keep hearing that 20 MP isn't actually the best setting to shoot in. So have you experienced the same awful behavior when shooting in 8 MP? And have you tried out all/the most optimal settings in manual? I don't want to insult you or anything, and I take it your analyses already went far beyond that, but I was just wondering...

Out of interest: you said for people expecting (to do) more with their gear (than looking at photo's on their phones) this is important. So where do you use the pics for (or in what size do you look at them, normally)?

Also, you mentioned you were going to sell your phone. Have you already sold it? And if so, what model did you buy in return? The Note 4, the IP6+, Lumia 1020, G3, something else? In short: which flagship phone is the one to pick if you want the best camera performance?

Finally, while I'm very disappointed to hear/read this, how do you feel about video (recording)? As someone in the film business, you surely must have tried out the various recording modes and settings? Are these as bad as the still photo shooting capabilities? Or would you agree with subhani that the Z3 is actually equal to the IP6+/Note 4, or even better in some cases? If video recording is actually inferior too (and this is certainly something that I want to watch on a [much] bigger screen), then my mind is made up. (If not, I'd have to think about it some more.)

I'd be very interested in hearing your overall recommendations as to what would be the best (Android or IOS) smartphone pic in terms of photo as well as video performance.
[Xperia Z3 General] radicans:
I tried some 8 vs 20MP shots. In my first test case (also in this thread) they were pretty much identical. But then I shot an outdoor photo of a building, and the 20MP had much better details in the bricks, where the 8MP version had weird blurred out patches, but sharp otherwise. Also an image processing "feature" I suppose. So, for the most detail 20MP is the way to go I think. Although, you can happily post-scale that down to 5MP without losing much, because there simply isn't even close to 20MP of actual information in the photo. The "detail" that is there is all due to sharpening filters etc. This goes for most phones in general though, but especially for Z3 I would argue.

I rarely look at my photos in more than 2MP. It's fine on the mobile, but on a bigger monitor, the processing artifacts (and poor color balance of course) are still evident in the worst case scenarios, even at a low 2MP/HD res.

I do all my shots in manual. Sometimes auto finds the best mode for ultra-low light scenes, though.

The video quality I haven't looked at in detail, only on my mobile where it looks fine. Color balance still too cold for my personal taste though, when judging from online comparisons. But the high frame rate modes are super cool! You can shoot 1080p at 60fps, and 720p at 120fps!! Awesome! Pretty sure the iP6+ can match that though.

For photographic quality, I prefer the iPhone5,6 and the Samsungs, with Note4 taking the top podium place! Note4 photos always look really vivid to me, and after examination it turns out they have the most detailed chroma channels compared to the other flagships! http://xdaforums.com/z3/general/camera-tests-z3-post-pics-t2887635/post56474927#post56474927

Haven't gotten rid of my phone yet, because I really like it otherwise! Was quite frustrated in the beginning, but now I figure I'd rather spend money on ski equipment than lose money changing phones because of a stupid camera :)
[Xperia Z3 General] doministry:
Strange. From the shots with a grill Z3 looks miles better, much detailed and real.

iPhone looks less detailed and a bit like after processing already, it's not even that clear....
[Xperia Z3 General] Huey85:
anyone who's rooted tried the 20MPX Superior Auto Mode Xposed module?
[Xperia Z3 General] sefelizrc:
A little test, just to try what everyone said. I tried to take the best picture that my knowledge and the phone lets me...

Note3 vs Z3

http://i.imgur.com/rqY24iF.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/J4EhSuW.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/yGpHC7X.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/wjcZrkE.jpg
[Xperia Z3 General] radicans:
Oops, fail. The middle link should be this:

http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=56445124&postcount=431

(And top one is should be this following post. It kinda finds the right place in my broswer, but I'm not sure how it appears in different browsers

http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=56291934&postcount=329 )

---------- Post added at 01:40 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:29 PM ----------

Well, this really shows that we all judge images very differently, and that there is no correct answer. I have the exact opposite opinion, as you would know :) I agree that the Z3 looks "sharper", but when I look at the sharp bits, all I see is the sharpening filter turned up to max and ruining the image. I think you would get the same sharp look, for those who appreciate it, from the iPhone if you put it through a filter. I might have to try..

Edit:

Original iP5: http://i.imgur.com/3eflDYr.jpg

Sharpened iP5: http://i.imgur.com/Dku9PBn.jpg

So now there is more "detail" in the sharpened one, but I personally prefer the unsharpened one though. Keep in mind also that the sharpened photo has been though 2 more jpeg compressions than the original: One when I save, and one when uploading to imgur.
[Xperia Z3 General] doministry:
Sure, but you can easily get the warmer feel of the Sony image with filters as well.

And probably using different White balance settings would change alot too.
[Xperia Z3 General] radicans:
Yes, but I would have to go in and change each and every photo by hand. And I can't ever undo the over sharpening.

I'm having trouble with finding a white balance that I like. It's either blueish or super orange. The different pre-set modes are huge steps apart in color, and the auto consistently guesses too cold for my liking. However, in certain lights you can get lucky and find a matching pre-set mode. I find evening sunlight to produce good color tones with the Z3. But we really need a manual white balance for Android! The API pre-lollipop only supported the auto and the pre-set modes. That's why there is no manual WB in the camera apps. So hopefully this will change now with Lollipop.
[Xperia Z3 General] doministry:
Great comparison.

As for the green shot, it's undecided for me, Samsung shows a bit better detail but I prefer Sony's colour.

As for the water landscape, Sony wins.

---------- Post added at 03:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:31 PM ----------

I get the point, nobody argues that more manual control the better for the user.
[Xperia Z3 General] Stixxbixby:
Does anyone know if the default camera ppi/dpi of 72 can be changed or augmented? Would be helpful to change it to 300, etc... Not only with the Z3, but smartphone cameras in general?
[Xperia Z3 General] sefelizrc:
Thanks to numbertwo from htcmania, here you can see it with more detail
[Xperia Z3 General] Macca1980:
I just got this... The separate focus & expose on camera awesome app don't work. The camera seems sluggish to use, flash indoors is pretty bad.

It seems OK outdoors though here a snapseed edit. (snapseed says the photos are too large too)

Rest of phone is great though, just a pity as i take a lot of photos. IPhone 5 is more intuitive, faster and better quality.

Just my 2p though I will keep clicking away. Still a great phone though.
[Xperia Z3 General] juanmaasecas:
Numbertwo in htcmania is juanmaasecas here :P

BTW, here you are some bootloader test I have just made (with my Z2...). Locked bootloader (envi rom v2.0), unlocked bootloader (MIUI rom) and CM12 in different scenes.

What do you think?
[Xperia Z3 General] sefelizrc:
I really dont know which one I prefer... It looks sometimes better with unlocked bootloader, but more noisy
[Xperia Z3 General] mias1:
Cm12 is worst, but locked and unlocked boot loader are the same, very little difference
[Xperia Z3 General] juanmaasecas:
This is what I think:

Cm12: it's like Z1 LB processing. Bad noise reduction, aggressive chromatic noise reduction.

Stock LB: Xperia Z2 processing. A little better noise reduction, aggressive chromatic noise reduction (not so high as in cm12 high ISO tough).

Stock UB: Xperia Z2 processing with NO chromatic noise reduction. Better colours, more natural pictures, but also more chromatic noise...
[Xperia Z3 General] radicans:
Agree, would prefer unlocked in daytime, but locked for low light/high ISO. And CM12 for never.. Do you think it uses the Z1 camera drivers?
[Xperia Z3 General] Macca1980:
What is this mode? I'm not rooted... Not really sure of the benefits these days.
[Xperia Z3 General] bart-videophile:
Why not? 20 MP is 20 MP, right? Shouldn't the stated amount of pixels at least be there? Wouldn't it be false advertising otherwise? Or do you rather mean you can hardly make out the 20 MP (or the big amount of MP is squandered) because of the overprocessing etc.?

So, for you personally, it actually doesn't matter, unless in the worst case scenarios (depending of course, on how often these scenarios arise)? Then I get why you haven't sold your phone yet. :)

The plot thickens... I'm quite surprised there aren't a whole lot of video comparisons lot to be found online (but maybe I'm looking in the wrong places), but this sounds rather positive. If the video is at least on par with the top dogs (Note 4 and IP6+ I assume) then I might yet hold on to the Z3 (since general UI/performance/design-wise, I love it).

I actually just saw a very telling comparison (though perhaps settings were different) between IP6+ and Note 4's video recording capabilities/quality (shot in sync and side by side), and the Note 4 was noticeably sharper and with more dynamic colors (not unnatural though). IP6+ looked as though it had a veil over it compared to the Note. (I could post the link if you're interested).

So, for you it ultimately wasn't worth it to lose money changing phones, but if given the chance (without losing money), I take it you would opt for the Note 4? Or would you still, perhaps because of other benefits, stick with the Z3?

In any case, I've send my Z3 in for repairs/servicing, since on top of the discussed problems, I also had issues with unnatural colors. For example, when shooting video I had to select 'cloudy' WB-mode to get anything approaching realistic color reproduction (even when shooting indoors in daylight). Otherwise reds would come out almost purple and orange almost pink. And certain colors were simply over saturated.

And no matter what, I can't get a realistic view on my mobile. I had to view the files on another computer (uploaded to YouTube for instance) to be able to see what the actual recorded colors looked like. That doesn't seem right. It's very well possible that there's nothing wrong with my Z3, but when they will have looked it over and I still have problems, I was told I could swap the Z3 for another model...

(Interestingly, I received the Z1 as a loan/temporary model, and the colors or not oversaturated on this display. At the same time not perfect [to my eyes] either, since now I find them actually to dull/muted ;) )

As an alternative, I've been eyeing the Note 4. The only con I can find/have found is the lag/stutter that can crop up in this phone. Which I haven't experienced in the Z3, where everything is lightning fast and buttery smooth. But hey, there's always a tradeoff I suppose. There is no perfect phone.
[Xperia Z3 General] Macca1980:
Think I am gonna return this phone... It's heating up a lot too. Battery is great, but camera is a letdown :(
[Xperia Z3 General] radicans:
20MP is the amount of pixels you get, yes. But it doesn't contain the same amount of actual information. If you take a 8MP photo and upsample it to 20MP it and apply some sharpening, you will almost not be able to tell it apart from an actual 20MP photo. Hence, no more information in a 20MP photo, just more pixels.

It does matter to me, because the worst case scenario turns up often as I tend to take most photos outside with some nature in the background.

Well, if I knew what the camera was really like, instead of trusting some drunk reviewers, then I don't think I would have bought it. Sadly the Note 4 is too big for me, I have the Z3 compact, and it's the perfect size I think! But I do think the Note 4 has the best camera.

Maybe try turning off the X-reality image enhancement. It boost the saturation quite a bit. But yeah, I hear you with the WB, you have to try all the pre-sets because the auto WB consistently gets it too cold.

At the end of the day, you just have to decide if the camera quality is good enough for you. Some people love it, some people don't. I personally think it's a bit rubbish for daytime shots. But not enough to go through the ordeal of changing phones, when it is so good otherwise.
[Xperia Z3 General] guybrush2099:
first impact: z1 produces better/sharper images than z3

tested my old z1 8mpx iso 50 and my new z3 8mpx iso 50 (4:3)

I hope it isn't the right impression...
[Xperia Z3 General] Moglie:
Outdoors unlocked is better, Indoors locked...

But why is there a difference between CM and MIUI ROM in indoor?

MIUI Rom looks best for me all in all.

Can somone explain?
[Xperia Z3 General] juanmaasecas:
MIUI rom is "unlocked" (it's based on stock Sony firmware, non on aosp).

I guess MIUI rom uses Sony z2 camera drivers, but without drm functions, it is, no chroma denoising (and in consequence, more noise but better color overall and better detail)

.

Cm12 uses z1 camera blobls (I'm not sure but I think I read it in developer forums...) and it seems it preserved the locked bootloader look since there is Not chroma noise, but the noise reduction and the general processing seems worse...
[Xperia Z3 General] dedei:
http://gadgets.ndtv.com/mobiles/fea...neers-who-developed-the-sony-xperia-z3-654294

Here the engineer says that they shrunk the camera module from previous xperia so it would fit seamlessly with the back but some sacrifice was made. So it's very possible that z1 and z2 do take better pics than our z3, and that is dumb as ****!!!!
[Xperia Z3 General] subhani:
[MENTION=6357844]bart-videophile[/MENTION]

I think the Note 4 is actually noticeably better than the Z3 here.

But I prefer the Z3 because the Z3 looks and feels better and is less common than your Samsung device. The Z3 software performs more smoothly and responsively than TW. Z3 costs less in the UK compared to the N4. Z3 is smaller than the N4, rivalling the thinness of only the iPhone. Front facing speakers are great too. Z3 display brighter than every other display on the market.

Now regarding the iPhone. I will not let my love for Android make me lie. I do find the Z3 camera underwhelming, ONLY when I compare side by side with the iPhone shots, in MOST scenarios. However, I have had shots where the Z3 outperforms the iPhone in some examples:

-Very well exposed scenes outdoors in detail dept.

-Very low light scenarios

-Sports mode avoids blur in a moving subject much better than iPhone

Regarding video, they are closer matched but iPhone still produces greater detail when really looking hard. Otherwise:

-Microphone on Z3 is much better than the iPhone

-Image stabilisation is also NOTICEABLY better

-4K

-Better slow motion controls

See some of these reviews below

http://youtu.be/jbBfyDq78rA

http://youtu.be/90eUbWf_9xQ

http://youtu.be/2ZQHhqcJOwE

http://youtu.be/x4wDRx7B9hg

http://youtu.be/lCnNBrUV2eE

On the iPhone, it shines in following areas.

-consistency

-great responsive speed

-better detail in video

-faster autofocus and exposure correction

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