Database Users

Comparison test pic between Z1 and Z3

dont be disappointed for those who have unlock their bootloader on their Z3. both of my Z1 and Z3 bootloader is unlocked.
at least there is something to cheer up about!
a test pic taken on Z1 and Z3 have shown better results. camera setting for both phone is the same.
Z1 cropped
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Z3 cropped
Z1 cropped
Z3 cropped
Z1 full resolution
Z3 full resolution
Z1 full resolution
Z3 full resolution

both phones have unlock BL right?
What settings did you use for taking these shots.. Auto/Manual etc

vidge1111 said:
both phones have unlock BL right?
What settings did you use for taking these shots.. Auto/Manual etc
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes. both phone hav already unlock bootloader.
on manual settings.

Please upload original pics to compare. Xperia phones can't capture png files as normal and of course not 32bit depth

Zanr Zij said:
Please upload original pics to compare. Xperia phones can't capture png files as normal and of course not 32bit depth
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Z1
Z3

chunlianghere said:
dont be disappointed for those who have unlock their bootloader on their Z3. both of my Z1 and Z3 bootloader is unlocked.
at least there is something to cheer up about!
a test pic taken on Z1 and Z3 have shown better results. camera setting for both phone is the same.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2730097
The stock camera on z1 is really bad, it doesn't need to do testing because almost everyone know it. Can you flash the Chocolatetrain's mod cam V8 8MP on Z1 and compare it to Z3 again? Make sure your Z1 is on 4.4.4 because the camera focus on 4.4.2 is very bad.

chunlianghere said:
Z1
Z3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh! Just download them .
2 pics are different in file size so I can't say anything to compare. If you can, compare Z3 UB and LB.

I have unlocked mine and this is the picture I took awhile ago..
Updated pic link (too large to attach here)
Click here

z3 pretty good

Sorry, guys.
No comparison possible with reduced size photos. With reduced size, you cannot see fine details, you cannot even spot the Z3's non-focus areas at the picture's edges.
Please post photos in FULL resolution, only. Everything else is just a waste of time, making everything look great.

Chefproll said:
Sorry, guys.
No comparison possible with reduced size photos. With reduced size, you cannot see fine details, you cannot even spot the Z3's non-focus areas at the picture's edges.
Please post photos in FULL resolution, only. Everything else is just a waste of time, making everything look great.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
its already in FULL RESOLUTION!
right click the pic, open in new tab
Sent from my D6653 using XDA Free mobile app

chunlianghere said:
its already in FULL RESOLUTION!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So 1024 x 768 is the full resolution of our Z3's camera ?

Chefproll said:
Sorry, guys.
No comparison possible with reduced size photos. With reduced size, you cannot see fine details, you cannot even spot the Z3's non-focus areas at the picture's edges.
Please post photos in FULL resolution, only. Everything else is just a waste of time, making everything look great.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can check out my link above. For the Xperia z3 picture in Flickr. Ignore the rest.

bb_hershey said:
You can check out my link above. For the Xperia z3 picture in Flickr. Ignore the rest.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did. Z3 performs quite well in low-light situations but FAILS with shots taken under bright sunlight. Especially plants, flowers or grass are rendered in a horrible way. Quality is like an 8 MP camera even in 20.7 MP mode, with unfocused areas at the picture's edges (left and right image borders).
Just try, watch the results in 1:1, FULL resolution at your monitor. :/

Chefproll said:
So 1024 x 768 is the full resolution of our Z3's camera ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oops! stupid photobucket! :crying:
Z1
Z3
Z1
Z3

chunlianghere said:
oops! stupid photobucket! :crying:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you very much for providing these pictures !
Picture 1: Have a look at the playground down in the middle: Sharp contours, looks very good.
But then have a look at the trees on the right hand side of the picture, focus the leaves: All blurred, just a muddy green slurry. Especially visible if leaves are in front of another green background like above the tiny lawn with the street lamp on it.
So we've got real sharp objects AND totally blurred objects in the same picture. - Caused by Sony's inferior software.
Picture 2: Concentrate on the D-Link box, note the part just below the line "mydlink Camera Video Recorder".
Left hand side ("Home/Small Office"): Focused. Right hand side: Blurred. - Spoiled by Sony's inferior software.

Chefproll said:
Thank you very much for providing these pictures !
Picture 1: Have a look at the playground down in the middle: Sharp contours, looks very good.
But then have a look at the trees on the right hand side of the picture, focus the leaves: All blurred, just a muddy green slurry. Especially visible if leaves are in front of another green background like above the tiny lawn with the street lamp on it.
So we've got real sharp objects AND totally blurred objects in the same picture. - Caused by Sony's inferior software.
Picture 2: Concentrate on the D-Link box, note the part just below the line "mydlink Camera Video Recorder".
Left hand side ("Home/Small Office"): Focused. Right hand side: Blurred. - Spoiled by Sony's inferior software.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so u mean "Spoiled by Sony's inferior software" is because of unlocking bootloader or?

chunlianghere said:
so u mean "Spoiled by Sony's inferior software" is because of unlocking bootloader or?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The software without unlocking is faulty, too. See several reviews. But there is a fair chance they fix it with a software update. The sensor is great, the software is holding back the quality.

chunlianghere said:
so u mean "Spoiled by Sony's inferior software" is because of unlocking bootloader or?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, this problems are not caused by unlocking the bootloader. It's just Sony spoiling the camera by using a SUBZERO camera software. Maybe there's a deal as Sony sells camera modules to other manufacturers: "We'll buy your Sony cameras if you make sure that your own Smartphone's cameras are far inferior to ours."
We've got a capable sensor - but the Sony software castrates it down to 8 MP level. :/

Chefproll said:
No, this problems are not caused by unlocking the bootloader. It's just Sony spoiling the camera by using a SUBZERO camera software. Maybe there's a deal as Sony sells camera modules to other manufacturers: "We'll buy your Sony cameras if you make sure that your own Smartphone's cameras are far inferior to ours."
We've got a capable sensor - but the Sony software castrates it down to 8 MP level. :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The fact that automode makes it 8MP isn't that much the issue btw (for me at least), oversampling is a common technique to get the best MP image using all the pixels of a large sensor. The problem is that Sony's implementation is mediocre at best and you can not really count on it.
As this has been the case since the Z1 I'm very sceptical of them actually fixing it, but I do remember firmware updates for the Z1 for example which really improved fotos. It is frustrating though, the hardware is awesome but they don't get the most out of it because of the software.
Still, it's not as much crap as people here give it. I have shot many great fotos with the Z1 (although only owning the Z3 for a few days now I can not yet comment properly on its pictures) but the fact that it's advertised as the best camera phone ever sets the bar high and it can not (always) live up to that.

Camera/picture samples - before/after unlock

FWIW, since there's probably quite a few people concerned about the picture quality on unlocked phones, I did a simple comparison. One Z3C with completely stock/locked bootloader, and one Z3C rooted with unlocked bootloader.
Here are a few of the pictures. The first couple taken with Auto mode, the locked bootloader consistently came out much cleaner - especially in low light. Switching to 20Mp Manual mode, however, both phones took fairly comparable photos and the unlocked one actually did an ever-so-slightly better job focusing.
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I assume that using an alternative camera on our phone implies not using sony proprietary tecnology, so a test can be easily carried out on any phone regardless of the bootloader.
Am I wrong?

I suspect only the 8MP and lower modes trigger the post processing. That'd also be why the SCN modes are only available at 8MP and less.
That means 8MP manual mode.
Then if you dont have the DRM files, it never triggers and you just get whatever additional post processing stuff the camera app does.
In particular in low light mode it does pixel correlation (ie pixel binning) which works rather well IMO... heck even the 12800 ISO mode works. Turns black images into something visible, even if the quality is not exactly great

Interesting, thanks for posting the pics. It sounds like it's the software holding it back, maybe some backports or third party alternative might solve this?

Thanks for the comparisons! Are low light photos as effected in 20.7MP manual mode as they are in 8MP?

If we root without unlocking the bootloader and install an AOSP ROM, will we still get image quality similar to an unlocked bootloader one?

There is no installing of any ROM (except official) without unlock.
And yeah, every Custom ROM will not have the Sony postprecessing except if somebody is able to activate it without DRM and also port it.

Bäcker said:
There is no installing of any ROM (except official) without unlock.
And yeah, every Custom ROM will not have the Sony postprecessing except if somebody is able to activate it without DRM and also port it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What about the L Camera APIs? Will they help the unlocked bootloader's camera performance be similar to the one without unlocked bootloader?

darkgoon3r96 said:
What about the L Camera APIs? Will they help the unlocked bootloader's camera performance be similar to the one without unlocked bootloader?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We won't know until L lands and is available on devices!
In theory, you should be able to simulate camera performance sans-DRM keys by using another camera such as Google Camera. However not all camera apps are equal, so it's not really a 'fair test'. Should give you an idea first hand though.
This is a post I made yesterday which might help clarify the issue surrounding the camera and DRM (as per my understanding)
Scottland said:
My understanding is that with a custom/unlocked recovery, you'll lose the TA partition with DRM keys. So you'll lose out on anything that needs the DRM keys. If a root exploit is found, then you could use the standard ROM with root and not touch the bootloader/recovery/TA partition. But as soon as an update rolls out, you'll lose root again (and likely the exploit with it).
Backing up the TA partition means that you can restore it to stock (i.e. to sell or for warranty repair).
Again, as per my understanding - any AOSP/CM based ROM will lose any of the Sony proprietary software and features anyway, no different to Samsung or HTC in that respect. I remember having a HTC One (M7) last year where the camera was worse on CM because HTC used their own post processing software within their camera app.
In theory, it may be possible for someone to come up with a stock based ROM with root baked in that keeps some the Sony proprietary software etc, but this is unlikely I would say.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

ragnorok161 said:
Thanks for the comparisons! Are low light photos as effected in 20.7MP manual mode as they are in 8MP?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. I took some more comparison shots using different modes, and the unlocked phone consistently shows a bit more noise than the unlocked one using both auto, as well as manual modes.
That said, in normal lighting conditions, I am finding that Sony trends to overcompensate and many of the pictures from the locked phone are over sharpened when I zoom in.
When i get some time tonight, I will try to get some comparison shots using the stock android camera app using both devices.

Do I understand that right? I only get good pictures on a stock rom with sony camera app, since Google camera (or any other camera app) has no use for the DRM library?
---------- Post added at 03:40 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:38 PM ----------
dew.man said:
Yes. I took some more comparison shots using different modes, and the unlocked phone consistently shows a bit more noise than the unlocked one using both auto, as well as manual modes.
That said, in normal lighting conditions, I am finding that Sony trends to overcompensate and many of the pictures from the locked phone are over sharpened when I zoom in.
When i get some time tonight, I will try to get some comparison shots using the stock android camera app using both devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you do your shots with Focal too? To see the difference between stock and third party app!?

spychodelics said:
Do I understand that right? I only get good pictures on a stock rom with sony camera app, since Google camera (or any other camera app) has no use for the DRM library?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No exactly. Initial results between the Sony camera and the stock/android camera were very comparable (at least with normal lighting). I'll try to get more specifics later tonight, but right now, I'm thinking the major difference lies in Sony's proprietary noise reduction algorithms for high-ISO/low light scenarios. Looks like their camera application does a very good job of pulling shapes/images out of low light conditions.
spychodelics said:
Can you do your shots with Focal too? To see the difference between stock and third party app!?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you mean by "focal"? I presume you're referring to the focus mode in manual settings?

Nope, im sorry, i meant to use a different camera app, like Focal.
I would really appriciate to see the difference
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=fr.xplod.focal

dew.man said:
Yes. I took some more comparison shots using different modes, and the unlocked phone consistently shows a bit more noise than the unlocked one using both auto, as well as manual modes.
That said, in normal lighting conditions, I am finding that Sony trends to overcompensate and many of the pictures from the locked phone are over sharpened when I zoom in.
When i get some time tonight, I will try to get some comparison shots using the stock android camera app using both devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks dude, I really appreciate this. Please take alot of comparison photos - the more the merrier. And, if possible, also use different apps such as Focal or Google Camera as discussed above. Not meaning to put too much workload on you, but I seriously think that we'll be waiting for quite some time (at least months) before there's a new exploit available to root our phones with locked BL. Therefore, these comparison shots are just about the only way we'll be able to decide if it's worth it to unlock the bootloader now instead of waiting. I think you're one of the few lucky people out there with both a locked and unlocked Z3C available. Personally, I'm really dying for root and feel hamstrung every day without it, so if the quality loss isn't too severe, I'll probably go ahead and unlock the BL and never look back.

Thanks very much OP. Much appreciated. As others mentioned it'd be great to see more including the stock Google Camera for comparison!

More pics
Sorry guys - been very busy at work today so I didn't get any outdoor pics.
Looks like the Sony proprietary stuff is MOSTLY for the stock camera High ISO mode. Google camera and Focal pics come out very similar between the two phones. However, one or two of the shots do appear to have a bit more noise in the dark areas on the unlocked phone so their customization might go a bit deeper.
Here are a couple shots in very low light using the Google camera
Here is the same picture but using the Sony Auto mode. It really is amazing what Sony is able to pull out in those conditions (keep in mind this is without flash).
And now the same scene using the Google camera but with a flash
Lastly, here is a picture with normal lighting using the Focal camera. The thing that caught my attention here, is that even using a third party application, while the pictures appear very similar in overall quality, the locked phone seemed to do a slightly better job with the noise reduction in the darker/shaded corner.
That's all I have for now. Will try to get some more tomorrow with better lighting and more landscape/further objects. Unfortunately, time is very tight this week so I can't make any promises...

Oh, and here are some comparisons between the different cameras (Sony, Google, and Focal)
First from the locked bootloader
and next from the unlocked/rooted phone

It appears to me from the auto pics that in auto mode the z3 is using a high f-stop to force a very small focus range.
Does the z3 have an adjustable f-stop?
I have used cameras where you could set the f-stop and then the camera would auto set the ISO to adjust the exposure level. Can the z3 do that?

Well, wait, all of this is by definition in software, right? It's not like it's keeping the camera from catching an image a certain way. Since the hardware reacts the same with or without DRM, isn't it possible to fix it yourself? Add your own noise-reduction, keep it from oversharpening... That could even be preferable to a lot of people's tastes. Look at the whole situation around the Moto G's camera, and the switch for noise reduction they found and immediately turned and left off.

Great comparison OP. And yes, like you, I am completely floored by stock Sony camera's ability to capture shapes and colors in essentially complete darkness. Yes, there's noise (although they touch it up nicely I must say), but that's better than just blackness that every other camera captures under the same conditions.

Final test - Locked vs Unlocked BL Camera (Z2)

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That's it. Now we know what really happens when you unlock the Xperia BL. The DRM (?) is responsible for the anti-noise feature in the camera.
Perhaps, everyone who's got his Z2 unlocked probably won't be able to get a new mint condition Z2 from their retailers... all I can hope is for some dev to find a way to restore that processing. Z2's camera is absolutely one of the most powerful around - it is a shame (not to say other things) that Sony actually let this happen.
Images used:
http://imgur.com/OoD3IS8 (taken by me, last night)
http://imgur.com/wzUkc0p (it was used for a review, you can find the unmarked image here: http://www.electrony.net/media/2014/03/Xperia-Z2-low-light-photo-and-4K-video-samples9.jpg)

That's what you can do with Pixlr Express (Smoothing : 3)

Honestly couldn't spot the difference!

jaffa1980 said:
Honestly couldn't spot the difference!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bionz could do it probably better, but honestly you need some glasses.

Ha ha i do?!
---------- Post added at 09:43 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:37 PM ----------
Ha ha oh i see now the noise in the square. Still negligible though. Take a photo of the same thing on the same settings with locked and unlocked boot loader. It could be different settings even if done with superior auto (ie night scene vs night portrait etc) and as he said in previous post just smooth with a photo editor ?

But i notice a lot of banding, even if i turned in antibanding to auto, 50 or 60Hz it won't go. Indoors btw, i think it is cz of the lights, but my dads s5 is not showing any bandings.

you take two total complete Pictures and compare them?.... great job!
If you want to compare for real get a locked phone, make the picture, unlock it and take the picture again within 5 minutes and with the same light condition!

Haldi4803 said:
you take two total complete Pictures and compare them?.... great job!
If you want to compare for real get a locked phone, make the picture, unlock it and take the picture again within 5 minutes and with the same light condition!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1

Haldi4803 said:
you take two total complete Pictures and compare them?.... great job!
If you want to compare for real get a locked phone, make the picture, unlock it and take the picture again within 5 minutes and with the same light condition!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since I am not able to get another locked phone, I can't do such test. Besides, black is black in any picture you see, is it not?
Modes, EV, ISO, etc. - all these are factors need to be put in balance when you compare pictures. However, I am comparing how the sensor works with noise. And that's really it.

rodritank said:
Since I am not able to get another locked phone, I can't do such test. Besides, black is black in any picture you see, is it not?
Modes, EV, ISO, etc. - all these are factors need to be put in balance when you compare pictures. However, I am comparing how the sensor works with noise. And that's really it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Regardless, it's not really the fairest comparison.

This comparison is total nonsense. You're comparing two images with completely different exposure levels in an area with completely different luminance, and they were probably shot at completely different shutter speed and sensitivity to boot. Both images have been resaved and recompressed, probably multiple times, and have been rescaled by completely different factors. They've also had the EXIF information stripped, and quite possibly have been modified in other ways.
If your goal was to make the least valid comparison possible, then congratulations -- you've probably succeeded.
If you wanted to make a meaningful comparison, then sorry, this isn't it and this thread should probably be closed or deleted to stop it misleading people.
"Final test" indeed -- no testing has been done here.

knoxploration said:
This comparison is total nonsense. You're comparing two images with completely different exposure levels in an area with completely different luminance, and they were probably shot at completely different shutter speed and sensitivity to boot. Both images have been resaved and recompressed, probably multiple times, and have been rescaled by completely different factors. They've also had the EXIF information stripped, and quite possibly have been modified in other ways.
If your goal was to make the least valid comparison possible, then congratulations -- you've probably succeeded.
If you wanted to make a meaningful comparison, then sorry, this isn't it and this thread should probably be closed or deleted to stop it misleading people.
"Final test" indeed -- no testing has been done here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Whoa, I can't understand why people are so mad and rude.
You are not obliged to concur with my test - however, I did not pull it out from my ass - thing you are doing when you speculate that it has been "resaved and recompressed, probably multiple times, and have been rescaled by completely different factors".
No dude, they were not. I got both photos and didn't compress them to generate artifacts. EXIF is stripped because IMGUR does that. The test is to show how it renders the noise in low light.
While I have stated this is not the best comparison test, it's the best someone could come up with until now. I'd be REALLY happy if you could prove me that my unlocked phone hasn't had loss of low light quality since I unlocked it, though.

rodritank said:
Whoa, I can't understand why people are so mad and rude.
You are not obliged to concur with my test - however, I did not pull it out from my ass - thing you are doing when you speculate that it has been "resaved and recompressed, probably multiple times, and have been rescaled by completely different factors".
No dude, they were not. I got both photos and didn't compress them to generate artifacts. EXIF is stripped because IMGUR does that. The test is to show how it renders the noise in low light.
While I have stated this is not the best comparison test, it's the best someone could come up with until now. I'd be REALLY happy if you could prove me that my unlocked phone hasn't had loss of low light quality since I unlocked it, though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FYI, Imgur compresses images that are over 1MB, so your image has been compressed (unless your source image was under 1MB, which I highly doubt):
http://imgur.com/faq
Also, a better way to compare is to take two images by yourself from the same scene, at the same time. Maybe you know a friend who has a Z2 as well with his/her bootloader still locked. This is because you don't know if the other website modified the images in any way. (EXIF data can be faked very easily btw)
I'm not saying your comparison doesn't make any sense, but you could probably improve it a lot with the things I mentioned above.

rodritank said:
No dude, they were not. I got both photos and didn't compress them to generate artifacts. EXIF is stripped because IMGUR does that. The test is to show how it renders the noise in low light.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, "dude", they were. You didn't shoot both photos, and you have no idea what has been done if anything to one of them. Neither photo is at a native resolution the camera supports, so both photos have been downsamples and/or cropped.
You cannot downsample or crop losslessly, so both photos have been saved using lossy compression, then recompressed and resaved again using lossy compression, at LEAST once and possibly more times.
This "comparison" is totally flawed on every single level, and the only meaningful conclusion that can be drawn from it is that "both locked and unlocked phones can take pictures". Every other conclusion you attempt to draw is utter nonsense.

B1nny said:
FYI, Imgur compresses images that are over 1MB, so your image has been compressed (unless your source image was under 1MB, which I highly doubt):
http://imgur.com/faq
Also, a better way to compare is to take two images by yourself from the same scene, at the same time. Maybe you know a friend who has a Z2 as well with his/her bootloader still locked. This is because you don't know if the other website modified the images in any way. (EXIF data can be faked very easily btw)
I'm not saying your comparison doesn't make any sense, but you could probably improve it a lot with the things I mentioned above.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Indeed. Thanks for the input. Like I said, I lack of a second locked phone - so I compared the grain.
I just hope someone will make a new comparison under fair conditions then.

Random note
I saw 0 difference from bootloader unlocked or relocked
Tested with x-reality off and dithering off to remove any potential spoilers
If anyone wants i could give 2 pictures with a direct download so you can see for your self

knoxploration said:
Yes, "dude", they were. You didn't shoot both photos, and you have no idea what has been done if anything to one of them. Neither photo is at a native resolution the camera supports, so both photos have been downsamples and/or cropped.
You cannot downsample or crop losslessly, so both photos have been saved using lossy compression, then recompressed and resaved again using lossy compression, at LEAST once and possibly more times.
This "comparison" is totally flawed on every single level, and the only meaningful conclusion that can be drawn from it is that "both locked and unlocked phones can take pictures". Every other conclusion you attempt to draw is utter nonsense.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
first things first, I totally agree with you. Your logic is concrete and your method is scientific, I am impressed.
BUT, can you rephrase your words so that it is less intruding? Although you are the correct one, but these words might lead to keyboard war. Your words are like a dictator, which is not supposed to happen here in XDA. Perhaps if you know more than him, you can GIUDE him to enlightenment

While true that his tone might come off as a bit rude, I'd say that's partially because the OP is very bombastic when he states the following in the first post:
That's it. Now we know what really happens when you unlock the Xperia BL. The DRM (?) is responsible for the anti-noise feature in the camera.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which, frankly, turns out to be BS.
A "final" test of this would be taking several pictures of several different motives/scenes with the exact same settings, the exact same motive, the exact same lighting and the exact same position, first with a locked bootloader and then with an unlocked bootloader.
A time-consuming task that requires the right equipment and person doing it, which is why there's no definitive answer to this yet.

rodritank said:
Since I am not able to get another locked phone, I can't do such test. Besides, black is black in any picture you see, is it not?
Modes, EV, ISO, etc. - all these are factors need to be put in balance when you compare pictures. However, I am comparing how the sensor works with noise. And that's really it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, black is black! But... Here it comes...
The Sky is not Black! There are a lot of stars in the sky! You will not find a Black spot on this earth. Not even in a totally closed of room you could create a photo of black with your smartphone, simply because the light of your screen would reflect from the walls!
So for 'nearly' Black pictures, to compare, values like ISO, aperture and shutter speed are most important.
And as you stated before. Most people are that happy to root their new phone, they either don't care or totally forget about Foto quality and noise reduction ^^
That's why there has not been such a test before.
@Envious_Data
Relocked Bootloader with restored DRM keys? And restored Bavaria engine?

Haldi4803 said:
Yes, black is black! But... Here it comes...
The Sky is not Black! There are a lot of stars in the sky! You will not find a Black spot on this earth. Not even in a totally closed of room you could create a photo of black with your smartphone, simply because the light of your screen would reflect from the walls!
So for 'nearly' Black pictures, to compare, values like ISO, aperture and shutter speed are most important.
And as you stated before. Most people are that happy to root their new phone, they either don't care or totally forget about Foto quality and noise reduction ^^
That's why there has not been such a test before.
@Envious_Data
Relocked Bootloader with restored DRM keys? And restored Bavaria engine?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tested
Relocked bootloader
Relocked via TA restore
Relocked then TA Restore
Freinds units
Never unlocked
Unlocked bootloader
Exact same placement, about 5-10 mins apart
Im going to upload some pics from my test
Results
0 difference in image quality
No x-reality at all
Settings
Manual
Iso 400
EV 0.0
Focal forced 1.5mm,3.0mm,3.0mm,1.7mm
White balance: -1
Spot metering
2MP
HDR OFF
Ill repost when uploaded

*Д Device specific reviews Д* Sony Xperia Z4

Welcome to the home of the Sony Xperia Z4
Device Reviews Thread​
In this thread please post the following:
Your personal reviews/Observations/Findings
Written reviews found online
Any and all
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videos can be posted in this thread (no need for 30 different YT threads)
:good:
Lets enjoy the input of others regarding their point of view.
Not all points of view may represent your thoughts, so please do not disrespect the views of others​

Xperia Z3+ & Z2 Lowlight Photo & Display Comparison
Just did a quick comparison between Z3+ & Z2 camera (lowlight pictures for now due to bad weather!). Sony did improve the processing in auto mode especially auto white balance. On Z2, auto white balance is always a bit yellowish. I also included shots from Sony RX100M2 & Xperia ZL
And the phone didn't overheat yet with my regular usage! I'll be playing some heavy games this weekend and will update if things heat up!
Photo Bucket Link

Here is the display comparison with default white balance setting on both. Z3+ has a (much) brighter display and I'll add an outdoor picture later on. It's colder too but it can be tweaked by playing with the white balance settings.

Great comparison brother.specially the screen as i have a z2 and considering Z4

josephnero said:
Great comparison brother.specially the screen as i have a z2 and considering Z4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problem. I just realized that I forgot to turn off 'Bravia Engine' on Z3+ . That thing got reincarnated in a new form called 'x-reality'. I'll try to post another set of pictures later on with that thing off on z3+.

schecter7 said:
No problem. I just realized that I forgot to turn off 'Bravia Engine' on Z3+ . That thing got reincarnated in a new form called 'x-reality'. I'll try to post another set of pictures later on with that thing off on z3+.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah but Z2 also has X-reality so no problems there

Hey bro you think you can do some low light tests and some camera tests?
and Do you get all the manual settings and all?

chesterr said:
Hey bro you think you can do some low light tests and some camera tests?
and Do you get all the manual settings and all?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure, I'll post more low light samples, hopefully by next Wednesday. I'm on a trip now and carrying the z3+ only.
Manual settings are there, didn't change much though. Not sure if that's what you asked...

schecter7 said:
Sure, I'll post more low light samples, hopefully by next Wednesday. I'm on a trip now and carrying the z3+ only.
Manual settings are there, didn't change much though. Not sure if that's what you asked...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure thing bro, Enjoy your trip
Well what I meant was to use this app if you already have it.
As you can see this video

Hey, would you mind answering a couple of questions with regards to this phone?I am thinking to upgrade from my Z1, currently using my brother's Z3.
How much RAM is available in average? Z3 has 1.5GB, but I've seen a report that Z3+ has around 860-900MB, which is quite a downgrade.
Another question is, how do speakers perform compared to other devices you own?
And the last one, does the device really heat up during extended use of camera or media exaggerates?
Thanks a lot for taking your time!

chesterr said:
Sure thing bro, Enjoy your trip
Well what I meant was to use this app if you already have it.
As you can see this video
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was planning to get that app! So yes, I'll include some samples from that app too.
alishmufan said:
Hey, would you mind answering a couple of questions with regards to this phone?I am thinking to upgrade from my Z1, currently using my brother's Z3.
How much RAM is available in average? Z3 has 1.5GB, but I've seen a report that Z3+ has around 860-900MB, which is quite a downgrade.
Another question is, how do speakers perform compared to other devices you own?
And the last one, does the device really heat up during extended use of camera or media exaggerates?
Thanks a lot for taking your time!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I get like 1.6GB - 1.1GB memory available (screenshots below) - depends on the number of running apps though. Just close the apps when you're done. They actually close pretty easily (from the multitasking view/button) unlike the previous android builds where they used to disappear from the list, but kept running in background.
Speakers are very good, maybe a bit better than Z2. I need to check on that when I get back home. Since you are using a Z3, you might find those a bit muffled though as Z3 speakers are more exposed. I'm not sure as I don't have a Z3.
I did a 4K video test (indoor). The camera app closed after 6.5 minutes. With heavy usage, it does get warm. So does my Z2. Z3+ probably gets warm a bit earlier than Z2 . There's certainly some exaggeration as it doesn't 'overheat'. Nothing exploded after 40 minutes of gaming It certainly got pretty warm, but that's expected. I personally don't think it's a big deal.
Btw, since you have a Z3, did you notice any image file size increase compared to Z1 in superior auto? I see around 300KB more on Z3+ compared to Z2.

nice, i think sony may have done well with the update for Z3+/4, judging from the video below, the Z3+/4 lasted for 11~12 mins on 4k video recording.
theres no guarantee that the Z3+ in the video is using the latest update from sony.

LitoNi said:
nice, i think sony may have done well with the update for Z3+/4, judging from the video below, the Z3+/4 lasted for 11~12 mins on 4k video recording.
theres no guarantee that the Z3+ in the video is using the latest update from sony.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Edit: Oh shoot I am so sorry. I read it again lol my bad
19mins, whoaa, I think he might be in an AC room.

Thanks a lot! Seems like a great phone, especially considering that I do not play mobile games at all, will be a huge upgrade from my Z1.
schecter7 said:
Btw, since you have a Z3, did you notice any image file size increase compared to Z1 in superior auto? I see around 300KB more on Z3+ compared to Z2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Z1's size is 2.27 MB, while Z3's is 1.41 MB, but I assume it also depends on a lot of other conditions, such as lighting and stuff.

http://smartcam.club/node/3306
Maybe somebody with Z3+ will confirm...
The article says Z3+ doesn't allow Manual ISO control in higher res than 8mpx.

chesterr said:
Sure thing bro, Enjoy your trip
Well what I meant was to use this app if you already have it.
As you can see this video
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Manual camera crashed over 5 times in a minute. So I had to give up Did you use that app before?
doministry said:
http://smartcam.club/node/3306
Maybe somebody with Z3+ will confirm...
The article says Z3+ doesn't allow Manual ISO control in higher res than 8mpx.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Confirmed. Same 8mp limit just like what previous Z phones had

It's ok

schecter7 said:
Manual camera crashed over 5 times in a minute. So I had to give up Did you use that app before?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, Haven't used the app since My Z2 doesn't support, I thought it would work fine since the video showed everything should work.
Too bad the app crashed, I hope you're up to date bro. Anyways Waiting to see more photos from you

Singapore sets will come with the Sony Digital Noise Cancelling Headset (MDR-DNC31) and the Sony Quick Charger UCH10. Those who pre-order will also get the DK52 charging dock.

@schecter7 and @Jozinek
Thank you for your observations and reviews:good:

How to make Mi MIX camera digestible

Hi folks,
i wanted to share some of my insights from 2 days of usage of Mi Mix. As for most, camera was biggest letdown. I knew it was bad, but actual experience exceeded all expectations After some digging and thanks to some threads in xda forum i found a way to make quite decent photos with little sacrifice.
So few things first:
- I'm on rooted LineageOS with Camera API2 unlocked (to be honest i didn't have to unlock it - i suppose it is unlocked with LineageOS? )
- As some noticed before, the hardware isn't that bad, it's software that spoils photos with ugly postprocessing in most cases.
- I'm using Snap Camera HDR - i tried most of software in Google Play and only in it found something like Low Light Mode - if someone know software with similar feature - pls let me know .
So what i did is basically turning off all useless postpro in Snap Camera (sharpenning, denoising, post-processing, anti-banding) and enabled Low Light Mode in all photos . From what i understand i takes series of photos and compare them to make one clean photo. You can choose how many frames to take. More you take the better picture you will get but it will also take more time to process. The processing time is biggest letdown of this method. You can't take another photo during processing so burst mode won't work. I found 5 to be best compromise - it enhances photo noticeably and takes only 1-3s to process. If u can spare more time between photos u can crank it up to 32 - with that count i had really impressive results even with ISO around 1500-2000 but the processing can take 10-30s. Another letdown as you can probably guess is that you can have some issues with moving objects - the darker it gets, the more blurred will they be (slower shutter for every frame).
Now to main dish, examples
All photos taken in 16Mpx without flash or any tripod, all taken form hand for real life comparison. As photo is processed in Snap Camera the jpg lose photo metadata so i only write that data for stock camera, for Snap Camera i write how many frames was set for Low Light Mode. I know it's not very scientific but i take photos in both softwares almost at the same time, in same light conditions and on basic auto modes.
Stock camera on left, Snap Camera on right - I'm posting 100% crops, ill post full pictures if there will be some demand
1. [ISO 2500 1/15s] [5 LLM] - far objects in bad indoor lighting
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2. [ISO 1250 1/17s] [5 LLM] - some fine details - fur, fabric, wood texture in mediocre light
3. [ISO 1600 1/17s] [5 LLM] - small details in mediocre light
4. [ISO 160 1/33s] [32 LLM] - outdoor in good light - i took more frames to show some extra foliage details
5. [ISO 6400 1/15s] [32 LLM] - most hardcore example, very bad indoor lighting. Snap Camera algorithm made some wired border around Marshall logo, but apart form that great job.
I hope my post will help some of you with Mi Mix camera, please post your own experiences with camera - maybe there is even better solution for our phones

Download Google Camer Hdr+ from OnePlus 5 thread and all your problems will solved you wont need to do any kinds of settings and quality of photos will be much much better!!(i past this step that you are now months ago and i had tried hundred type of apps out there )

Jinthegodstyle said:
Download Google Camer Hdr+ from OnePlus 5 thread and all your problems will solved you wont need to do any kinds of settings and quality of photos will be much much better!!(i past this step that you are now months ago and i had tried hundred type of apps out there )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Big Thx, i will most certainly try it:good:

I'm considering getting this device, but the camera is the main thing holding me back (besides price for last year's SoC...)
Does the Google HDR camera make this acceptable? I don't necessarily need the BEST camera, but I'd prefer relatively fast rate of capture and at least mediocre detail. The initial reviews of the device's camera make it seem like utter trash.
Also consider I want to root the device & install something Lineage based, most devices you sacrifice camera quality when you go this route (because of lack of API 2 / hardware source).

crash4fun said:
I'm considering getting this device, but the camera is the main thing holding me back (besides price for last year's SoC...)
Does the Google HDR camera make this acceptable? I don't necessarily need the BEST camera, but I'd prefer relatively fast rate of capture and at least mediocre detail. The initial reviews of the device's camera make it seem like utter trash.
Also consider I want to root the device & install something Lineage based, most devices you sacrifice camera quality when you go this route (because of lack of API 2 / hardware source).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The camera is equally bad regardless what ROM you run

OT. Found this OP5 camera app(proted or something) on AFH by blackterroristh https://androidfilehost.com/?fid=817906626617944662

Kalisfura1001 said:
OT. Found this OP5 camera app(proted or something) on AFH by blackterroristh https://androidfilehost.com/?fid=817906626617944662
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you link the thread please? I get a parsing error during installation (stock global rom).

nr-thunder said:
Can you link the thread please? I get a parsing error during installation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No idea if there is one for it. As i said I found it on AFH, but works on my mix. Perhaps re-downloading by another browser or app?

Kalisfura1001 said:
No idea if there is one for it. As i said I found it on AFH, but works on my mix. Perhaps re-downloading by another browser or app?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately no, same with edge on desktop and yandex on mobile. Running rooted stock Global MIUI 8.5.5.0.

nr-thunder said:
Can you link the thread please? I get a parsing error during installation (stock global rom).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
https://androidfilehost.com/?fid=817906626617944662

caballon said:
https://androidfilehost.com/?fid=817906626617944662
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's the file link, I thought there is a discussion thread where I could ask for help because of the error. I also got parsing error with other ported Google Camera apks featured in XDA news, other 3rd party camera apps work though.

It's not prerequisite to have Nougat ? Stock Global ROM is under Marshmallow...

nr-thunder said:
That's the file link, I thought there is a discussion thread where I could ask for help because of the error. I also got parsing error with other ported Google Camera apks featured in XDA news, other 3rd party camera apps work though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Today tried it on Epic 7.11.9 and got the same error. Didn't really invest why.
lesscro said:
It's not prerequisite to have Nougat ? Stock Global ROM is under Marshmallow...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Perhaps but see my above post. Anyway it's not a ''wow'' app, just saying.

Received the Nightly OTA today, updated to V9.1.1.0 . Now I am on Nougat, the OP5 port linked in this thread works now , other versions of the google camera get installed but will close immediatly. Just tested it in my room and can't say that I see an improvement, maybe when tested outside at daylight. But I use the google camera anyway because I'm using immersive mode + dpi changes which make stock camera working less stable.

Hi. I updated yesterday to V9.1.1.0 via OTA. I tried the OP5 camera and is does a better job in lower light and image stays in better focus then stock camera. Is the OP5 the same as the google HDR camera. If not, is there a version of google hdr camera that works on Mi Mix without root? Also is there there a way to turn on some type of optical stabilization on stock camera. If I hold it really still when snapping pic the image is a lot sharper. It's actually pretty good. Just not practical to take pictures that way.
EDIT: OK. I guess no OIS on Mix...

I got my mi mix a bit more than a month ago coming from a OP3 and I was shocked by the awful camera of the mi mix. Sorry, I have no other words for it.
The op5 APK seems to make it digestible, but it's still not great. I know that for a GREAT camera I should've picked a different phone, but I didn't expect it to be like this.