yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Xperia Z5 General] FYLin21:
What disappoints me more is the lack of manual options or RAW capture. HTC on the other hand had "bad" JPEG processing on the M9 but they later added RAW capture (even the next midrange device, the One X9 may have it). Sony on the other hand doesn't seem willing to give RAW capture.

I'm not really sure as there aren't enough videos out there, but it seems to me like the digital zoom only crops off of the 1080p frame, so you're losing resolution. Since 1080p is only 2MP, theoretically you should be able to get a decent "loseless zoom" when filming video as Nokia has done with their phones and Sony and Panasonic do with their camcorders. Correct me if I'm wrong but it seems the lossless zoom is only there for still capture.

As for SteadyShot, some people are bashing this phone for not having OIS. It has an actuator that moves the sensor around to correct camera shake, but it's restricted compared to sensor-shift on an actual camera and therefore combined with electronic stabilization on the Z5. I hope that if Sony continues with sensor-shift stabilization it is more versatile in the next phone, but this would mean a wider gap inside the camera sensor space for the sensor to move.

Of course for wildlife a smartphone can't cut it, but having to change SLR lenses (if I happen to see a good opportunity for a wide-angle shot) in the field can be bothersome, so I think carrying a smartphone with a wide angle camera is a viable option in the field.

I was going to buy the Xperia Z5, as I wanted a phone with a good camera, removable storage and stereo speakers. The other option would be the Moto X Style, but sadly it is not being sold in Canada and its camera manual options are also restricted. Unfortunately the lens blur and low volume complaints are putting me off... 2015 has been a crappy year for new phones thanks to Qualcomm's problems and HTC and Sony being like "let's not change much" this year.

I'm currently using the HTC Butterfly s which only has the 4MP "Ultrapixel" camera. It's very good for low light due to the larger pixels, but the resolution is greatly compromised as a result and many times I wish it was higher. It too suffers from the left blur problem!

A lot of people post about how you can take good photos still with a smartphone camera with a poor reputation, and that is often true, but that's mostly because you're a good photographer not because the camera is good. So I was a bit surprised to see this thread right off the bat.
[Xperia Z5 General] doministry:
There are certain things you will never be able to do with any device with any fixed lense. So smartphones are not the only ones which are limited but all the devices without the lenses beeing replaced.

But having a smartphone, a flat pocket device with THIS kind of quality? That's impressive. Best smartphones can actually beat cheaper cameras in video quality.

For me ATM Z5 is almost sufficient.

Beeing able to make such photos in low light is already quite amazing.

And yes the photographer is very important but the camera matters too. I feel my Z5 is very capable.

And I love the focus speed of Z5. It's so much easier to make a photo now.
[Xperia Z5 General] pressytcn:
I did a few test shots with the samsung galaxy s5 and the z5 i took a picture of a coin being held the sony was ok but blury the sgs5 had evey detail even down to the fingerprints from the hand holding the coin and it's the same with other macros but when taking pictures of red food like kimchi the sgs5 gets a grayish look to and the z5 has a much better true to life color
[Xperia Z5 General] _Dennis_:
Crazy, I can't get my S6 (I know different then the S5 but still a Samsung) to focus when taking macro shots, it focuses through the steps, including some really nice focus points, but it just by passes them and then focuses wrong.
[Xperia Z5 General] joe_dude:
AFAIK, the Z5's wide-angle lens means macro distance is not going to be as close as a much more narrow lens like the S5. Need one of the photography experts can explain it.

:cyclops:
[Xperia Z5 General] EQ2000:
Closest focal point for Z1-Z3 is 8cm (or 10cm, memory is a bit rusty!), Z5 it's 12cm. The wider the sensor the further away the focal point is. To get 'closer focal point' one can use 16:9 aspect ratio in SA mode vs 4:3.
[Xperia Z5 General] pressytcn:
i think i know what you meen it seems that the s5 has a bigger focus earea also the flash is brighter and that realy helps alot but even in a bright day it seems strange that the best camera phone gets beatin that much by last years model i'll upload the pictures

[IMG="s5 coin"]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/9396191/sgs5z5/s5coin.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG="z5 coin"]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/9396191/sgs5z5/z5coin.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG="s5 wallet"]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/9396191/sgs5z5/s5wallet.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG="z5 wallet"]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/9396191/sgs5z5/z5wallet.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG="s5 plant"]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/9396191/sgs5z5/s5plant.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG="z5 plant"]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/9396191/sgs5z5/z5plant.jpg[/IMG]
[Xperia Z5 General] joe_dude:
Looks like a combination of being too close, poor lighting and not holding the camera steady. I haven't seen a lot of pics of the S5 compared to the Z5, but I think you're gonna need to play around with the Z5 more to get good pics like the other guys here.
[Xperia Z5 General] pressytcn:
The pictures are taken from a mount i never had these problems with the z1 and z3 ?
[Xperia Z5 General] _fenix_:
I tested the 4 pieces of new mobile SONY XPERIA Z5, all marked as R2. All have the disadvantage blurring and vertical bending line especially on the left.

When Sony finally acknowledges the problem?
[Xperia Z5 General] Andrewtst:
Sony Xperia Z5 vs Samsung Galaxy Note5.

(Auto mode)

Sony Xperia Z5

Samsung Galaxy Note5
[Xperia Z5 General] pressytcn:
It seems the sony is blury when looking at the accessories shelf
[Xperia Z5 General] Andrewtst:
What you said is correct, the accessories part is completely blur and can't seen anything when zoom.

Actually I had try the 8MP setting as well. It get slightly better but not good until where.

The sample I post here is 21MP.

Z5 had slightly wider view which I believe same viewing angle as HTC One M8. The M8 I own before and it can get clear image and not blur issue. Just can't zoom much due to only 4MP. The M8 no longer with me but I can pretty sure it can get better output than Z5 when view without zoom.

Z5 compare previous Z series is far faster but it is not extremely fast focus. I find my Note5 get even faster focus speed.

When playing manual mode, Z5 had too less manual setting compare with Note5 or G4.

The photo process algorithm in Z5 is nearly identical with previous Z series which isn't great.

Natural color? The photo turn out wrong white balance in auto mode and too dark than actual place.

Did Sony improve the camera? Yes but still not good enough, simply any brand high end phone can get better output. I believe the video is much better and that is also the main reason it got scores higher in DxOmark.
[Xperia Z5 General] Timaustin2000:
AGAIN, the problem is not accounting for the lens. It's doing 2 things, here;

1 - because the scene is "zoomed in" on the galaxy, you're looking at a smaller section of sensor when searching for individual details on the Sony. This means less light on each element and, thus, less detail.

2 - because there is much more white on the Sony, as more of the white walls are in frame, it has adjusted the exposure and ISO much differently.

You are learning little from this beyond the fact that the Sony has a wider angle lens.

Frame both shots identically and try that again. Find two elements on either side and arrange both shots so that those elements touch the edge of the shot. Then take the picture.

You will not take a valid comparison shot where you can judge the processing or sensor of either unless you do this.
[Xperia Z5 General] pressytcn:
True the video part Is great but i rarely use that i'm glad i own the qx10 lens it does a great job but for those times where i need to get it perfect i use my sony hx60v or the lumia 1020
[Xperia Z5 General] Andrewtst:
You may continue give a lot phrase Z5 camera is great.

M8 having much wider lens or identical with Z5 and never had such issue where blur on each edge. :)
[Xperia Z5 General] Timaustin2000:
With respect, yes it did; you would have seen just as little detail but it would have been disguised by the tiny resolution. You would not have been able to crop in and see the lack of detail, frankly.

This is nothing to do with my favourites - I have been clear that I think competitors have advantages and disadvantages.

This is simply not a good comparison.

And my Z5 has nothing like that level of distortion, especially after the second firmware which reduced the edge barrelling somewhat.
[Xperia Z5 General] Andrewtst:
ISO in Z5 is 64, 1/100s

ISO in Note5 is 50, 1/50s

ISO 64 can get such noise and blur consider pretty bad.

This is another unit I test in another shop and both give me similar result.
[Xperia Z5 General] Timaustin2000:
And if you'd been using them the same of course you would have. I'm trying patiently to explain that your result is a matter of physics that you have not accounted for in your side-by-side test. Either of them.

I'm going to add in my surprise that you've managed to get a shot that blurry from a Z5 at all: I have taken numerous indoor photos from mine which have been very significantly cleaner than the one you display.

Additional to that is something I've mentioned to a few others, here: all you do by taking a shot in a store display is show how the camera performs,... in a store display. I spent an hour testing the Z5 against an S6 Edge in numerous environments and settings and I found the Z5 to be the equal in most and superior in others. Strangely, I found that one of the places that the Z5 beat the S6 in my testing was in the indoor, strip-lit O2 store where I bought it (The Z5 was exposed correctly where the S6 over-lit the scene, the Z5 also had correct colours where the S6 was too yellow and, despite your protestations, the Z5 was the more detailed of the two at maximum crop. The only thing the S6 won in that shootout was slightly lower levels of noise in shadows.)

Samples:

https://flic.kr/s/aHskoqWgjm - new firmware.

https://flic.kr/s/aHskn4W5uU - origin firmware.

https://flic.kr/s/aHskmx3AzK - a demonstration of what I'm saying about FOV and Supersampling.
[Xperia Z5 General] a00r:
they both use sony camera sensors....
[Xperia Z5 General] Katsigaros:
The Z5 has the newer sensor while the Note 5 uses an older one.
[Xperia Z5 General] EQ2000:
But they dont want it to be better. If they take 3 samples then they wont choose the best one as they spend lots of time here despite disliking the camera in the Z5 quite tells they actually find it challenging hence they just cant 'drop the mather'. Anyway I looked at lots of G4, S6 and Note 5 photos from Flickr (all that where original, full resolution and with exif data, jpeg compression of atleast 95% or more and of the best I could find for each unit). Downloaded them checked them at 100% and well they surely dont look all clean and perfect as some wants others to believe. Far from it.

I even compared alike sceneries with my 21MP photos and fairly similar ISO and shutter speed (I am at a disadvantage here due to poor lighting conditions where I live due to weather and time of the year) and saw similar detail loss between them all at 100% except the G4 kinda has lots of RGB noise in dark areas/shadows even in prime lighting conditions (1/1000 or faster, ISO 50 or lower) and S6/Note 5 goes wild with the unsharp mask and tonal contrast/relief "pixel shift" method (say a mix of soft relief/tonal contrast + noise reduction/antialias and unsharp mask) in many scenarios creating lack of depth in photos as it gives it the layered look. As for low light photos the Xperia Z1+ family just has a even more noticable advantage ISO for ISO and shutter speed for shutter speed although with a tad more noise in some situations but more fine grain detail preserved. The noise is though barely visible after resampling either by hosting sites like Flickr for showcase (max viewing resolution is 2048 for the width and same for most other sites).

That said the Z5 algorithms needs more tweaking. The focus system and detail sorting kinda looks off. Some noticable areas where detail should be preserved are instead recieving less importance and then getting smoothed out in the postprocess creating 'blurry' blotches in different parts of the photo.

I'll add in this interesting test between the Z5 and Note 5!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmvrdYMzgYc
[Xperia Z5 General] Andrewtst:
Why don't you said you can't accept when people said Z series phone camera really not good until where, it just simply you can't accept it.

All my photos always upload at Flickr and you can get full size as you wish. I never alter and won't. I am not that free, I just telling the truth. I take few times and it is behave same. Sony since 1st Z already got photo algorithm issue. I am user of Z, ZL and Z Ultra. I never pick Z1, Z2, Z3, Z3+ and recent Z5 as it still practically same without improvement on the process algorithm.

Full Size

Sony Xperia Z5 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/61623717@N04/22866802909/in/dateposted-public/

Samsung Galaxy Note5 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/61623717@N04/23208639756/in/dateposted-public/
[Xperia Z5 General] joe_dude:
Don't bother arguing with Andrewtst. He used the 20 MP mode and didn't correct for FOV. Also, either the lens was greasy/dirty, or he didn't hold the camera steady (the entire pic is blurred!). Probably fingerprints on the lens from people testing it. Until he tries it on 8 MP and adjusts the FOV, it's not a real comparison. It's same mistakes being made over and over by people not familiar with the Z5. IMHO, he's probably better off with the Note 5.

Oh, also glad to see Manila Shaker's pic comparisons! The adjusted FOV puts the Z5 on top in most pics, as expected from the slightly bigger sensor. That 24 mm lens has confused so many reviewers... she's a tricky thing to review!

:eek:
[Xperia Z5 General] pressytcn:
I still get those pictures even when the phone is in a mount and no other phone has behaved like that for me so either there are defective models out or the pics taken are done in controlled environments the video is good I'll give it that but it's not the best camera out there when it's so easily beaten by predecessors and last year's models
[Xperia Z5 General] tomo100brt:
If you have this XPERIA Z5 I suggest to you: take your XPERIA Z5 to repair service. Probably the lens are not good. I saw this blur like yours on two XPERIA Z5 devices in my city and service gave them new one. This new ones don't have blur. My XPERIA Z5 doesn't have this blur from start. This camera blur on XPERIA Z5 series is known issue.

Don't give false information. Get your XPERIA Z5 on service.
[Xperia Z5 General] doministry:
No, he just didn' focus properly :)
[Xperia Z5 General] Timaustin2000:
I note that you've given no further comment on my direction that your tests were flawed so,.. here are a few shots to help you on your way,....

An interior shot that is entirely comparable to yours in all but one respect: this shot has poorer lighting - https://flic.kr/p/BtMG64

Perhaps this one? https://flic.kr/p/BgZCVz No? You gonna tell me that the details and colours on that are poor?

What's that you say? Poor in low light? - https://flic.kr/p/Bf4FJ4 or https://flic.kr/p/AAAxYn or, indeed, https://flic.kr/p/BkowRy or https://flic.kr/p/AVhfyg.

You take 1 BAD SHOT and you think that's telling you anything? No. I have more than a dozen shots equal to those - all on auto, all handheld. Drop to 8mp, adjust the FOV - you'll see where you're going wrong. Though, with the camera on that display unit (clear left hand blur lens issue), I doubt you will.
[Xperia Z5 General] tomo100brt:
Maybe you are wright. But this is or bad focusing or bad lans. We need more pictures to see what is wrong.
[Xperia Z5 General] doministry:
I don't need them :) I already know Z5 has a great Cam ;)
[Xperia Z5 General] tomo100brt:
Me too. I post my pictures in post #559. But with this XPERIA Z5 is something wrong.
[Xperia Z5 General] bloodfire1004:
Andrewtst seems to be a troll. From the looks of it, it seems he's intentionally making the Z5 perform worse and/or selecting the worst shot taken by the Z5 then uploads it and claims it has a bad camera. What a guy :P
[Xperia Z5 General] yyiimm:
Hi all,

I just created survey so that we can identify the blur issue with camera is something to do with week manufactured.

Form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1DSJM1ll-ADWu_a7v3KHIa72CQ3lu4Ogb9UlHzPyfTr4/viewform?usp=send_form

Result: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...nB842IFo_sPjNFHDFlqpjhVk8/edit#gid=1360823067
[Xperia Z5 General] ricodredd:
Done. Strangely, the Customisation number on the plastic tab you pull out of the SIM tray doesn't match my phone's one. It says "SI 1298-1284" but the phone is 1298-3675 from the factory - never flashed.
[Xperia Z5 General] CerberusSco:
I think it may also be best to include the handsets revision number on that survey too. The revision number can be found easily if you follow this post

For those who are unsure on how to locate their week number, please see the following link and consult your user guide for further info on how to locate your FCC label.

I am on my second Xperia Z5 E6653 now and both handsets I've had so far have suffered with the blur issue. Having spoken to the UK Customer Service Director, the issue has been forwarded to the technical team and I am expecting a further reply shortly.
[Xperia Z5 General] tori_mc:
So guys, to get the most of this camera, what are the recommended settings for the mid-user? Maybe 20 mp in auto and 8 mp in manual (to have the scene choice) or any other recommendation? In video mode, auto scene detection or disabled?
[Xperia Z5 General] doministry:
Krakow by doministry, on Flickr
[Xperia Z5 General] yyiimm:
Done. The question for revision number is added.
[Xperia Z5 General] ricodredd:
The links don't work anymore...
[Xperia Z5 General] CerberusSco:
Works fine for me :)
[Xperia Z5 General] ricodredd:
Yeah, they're back but I was getting an "Invalid link" message from Google when I posted.
[Xperia Z5 General] curiousgeorge1893:
Why is the zoom so crap on Sony phones and this phone? When shooting video it's even worse, the Samsungs and LG's are all much better.
[Xperia Z5 General] EQ2000:
When you zoom in with Xperia Z+ phones due to the wider angle lens the zoom-in factor will be bigger even if both phones are set to say 8x zoom and becouse of the cropping due to the SteadyShot function.
[Xperia Z5 General] Timaustin2000:
What makes you think so? Do you own one?

I have been pretty impressed by the zoom on this phone, with shots at 3x zoom that you can print to A4 size without noticing pixelation. I wouldn't zoom to 5x on ANY cameraphone.
[Xperia Z5 General] curiousgeorge1893:
I have owned the Z1, Z2, Z3 and the Z3+, I've played with the Z5 in several shops and tested it out thoroughly, the zoom on the G4 and S6 is very good even at 5x
[Xperia Z5 General] Shan89:
IF anyone is interested here's my photo comparison Z5 v.s M9 V.s m8

http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=64023020&postcount=31702
[Xperia Z5 General] EQ2000:
Your M9 photos are oversharpened. Your exif says "Contrast - Normal, Saturation - Normal, Sharpness - Hard". Is it customisable in camera?

Besides that a person I know owns the M9. Pretty phone but when we shot photos side by side my Z1 destroyed it and the worse the lighting the more the difference. She was not happy by seeing the big difference I might say hahaha!

And tests put the M9 behind the Xperia Z1+ series phones, pretty much all tests on the web.
[Xperia Z5 General] Shan89:
Yes the m9 vs Xperia tests were done with 1st or 2nd update of the camera which both sucked on m9 none reviewer bothered to ever look at m9 now after getting ton of updates, now after tons of updates things are much better still now it has yellow hue. The sharpness you speak of is the HTC default settings, if i've reduced sharpness ( since it has those options for contrast, exposure, sharpness etc in general settings ) shots would be much better regarding the sharpness, not so over sharpened as it is on my tests, i wanted this test to be fully stock.

As for the low light yep ... m9 is useless... unless you take a shot with RAW, P.S. RAW shots have even more detail then these that i posted, Xperia has none chance in detail battle when raw photo is compared.
[Xperia Z5 General] EQ2000:
No if you reduce sharpness the shots will be blurrier. Sharpening does a lot but it has its limits. However you will always get more detail with higher sharpening vs less but at the cost of to the eye badly cutting image (aka cheap digital camera look) and sharpening halos.

It doesn't work like that with RAW. You need to understand RAW will always provide far more detail but also lots of noise even in good lighting. If you could get out RAW of the Xperia Z1+ line phones you would have more detailed RAW files than the M9. But once you apply unsharp mask/high-pass filter, noise reduction the RAW image will look far less detailed. That's just how it is. A tradeoff, you cant have both.
[Xperia Z5 General] Katsigaros:
Because when you are shooting video the sensor based stabilization of the Z5 is less effective when zooming, in contrast with the lens based stabilization of the phones you mentioned. At photos from the other side the optical zooming of the Z5 seems to be much better.
[Xperia Z5 General] tori_mc:
Dear [MENTION=5126759]Timaustin2000[/MENTION]

I have to re-ask, what are the recommended settings for the mid-user to get the most of this camera? Maybe 20 mp in auto and 8 mp in manual (to have the scene choice) or inverse? Or any other recommendation? In video mode, is it better to set auto scene detection or leave it disabled?
[Xperia Z5 General] yyiimm:
Sorry guys.

The link I posted previously for blur issue survey seems wrong, and no longer work.

Following are the correct ones:

Form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1DSJM1ll-ADWu_a7v3KHIa72CQ3lu4Ogb9UlHzPyfTr4/viewform

Result: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...nB842IFo_sPjNFHDFlqpjhVk8/edit#gid=1360823067
[Xperia Z5 General] houmi1:
I am coming to Z5 from iPhone 6+ which I liked the camera quite a bit (decent low light / good day light + OIS), I mainly got the Z5 because I love my Sony RX100 mk2 (probably will get the mk4/mk5 next and a Sony full frame dslr) & remote play to PS4 on Z3 compact tablet.

I read some of posts here, and it's important to distinquish "bokeh" from smearing/smudging. but I have actually noticed some smearing/smudging when zooming on some of my photos, as well as over-sharpening issues (attached). Low light photos could be better as well (too much noise)

I hope Sony would include RAW formats in future updates and ability to change shutter speed as well. I am less than impressed by third party apps like Manual Camera, though FV-5 does a little bit better. And hope Camera2 API will be handled by Sony.

my 2c
[Xperia Z5 General] bronxdude:
hi guys! anyone tried a head-to-head comparison between s6 edge/+ and z5/p?

i am torn as i dunno what to get between the two.
[Xperia Z5 General] pressytcn:
I made this today with the z5
[Xperia Z5 General] bubimir13:
What do you guys think?

SS 0.5 1/2 i think, ISO 80
[Xperia Z5 General] AlexBurnout77:
This thread is laughable... probably max zoomed the Z5 while walking up closer with he Note 5 at full resolution. The Z5 is the best camera phone.