Sony Xperia 1 III review

05 July 2021


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  • Anonymous
  • vV5
  • 09 Jul 2021

Tann Hauser, 09 Jul 2021Oh, I get it, so in this case only, auto mode is unfair all... moreAnd how about my first question? Still going to remain silent over it?

    • ?
    • Anonymous
    • vV5
    • 09 Jul 2021

    Tann Hauser, 09 Jul 2021Oh, I get it, so in this case only, auto mode is unfair all... moreOh then please tell us what setting to use in manual mode to get the best night shots for Xperia? I would like to know. By contrast, night mode is just a toggle away for S21 Ultra, dude, just like selfie shots. Don't tell me you can get selfie shots on auto mode without swiping. Geez...

      Anonymous, 09 Jul 2021Why don't you go on? Your posts are entertaining. I wo... moreWhy dont you get an account for starters, so we could know how many folk here actually agree with your opinions?

        Nick Tegrataker, 09 Jul 2021"Ah, fella, we can go on with that yes, no, yes, less ... moreSeriously? You gonna still claim Xiaomis processing I linked there is any good? Its atrocious.

        I adressed all your claims, fella, all four points, and I dont see any point in adressing it further. Your analysis of Sonys processing is simply faulty, and you just seem to share arenas opinions on what night photography should be processed like, which I totaly disagree with.

          • ?
          • Anonymous
          • 70d
          • 09 Jul 2021

          Tann Hauser, 09 Jul 2021Ah, fella, we can go on with that yes, no, yes, less noise,... moreWhy don't you go on? Your posts are entertaining. I won't call it a debate, though.

            Tann Hauser, 09 Jul 2021Ah, fella, we can go on with that yes, no, yes, less noise,... more"Ah, fella, we can go on with that yes, no, yes, less noise, more detail, less DR, more DR, debating all day long"
            Yeah, and I really must wonder who started this whole argument by pasting a link to one extreme low light photo of S21 Ultra in auto mode just to disprove that Xperia's post processing is not as mature as Xiaomi's or Google's. Like really logical and effective, right?

            "But at the end of the day, this phone can and does..."
            Yeah, it's definitely true depending on a situation. It's just you never addressed any of the concerns that I've raised, maybe except for the noise reduction in higher ISO part (where I proved my point with the first set of night photos which indeed shows noise reduction being too excessive on Xperia). GSMArena's comparison chart that I linked to in the last paragraph of my previous comment pretty much says it all.

              Nick Tegrataker, 09 Jul 2021"That was also taken on an early firmware that still h... moreAh, fella, we can go on with that yes, no, yes, less noise, more detail, less DR, more DR, debating all day long...

              But at the end of the day, this phone can and does, same as other phones, make excellent night shots, and does, same as other phones, struggle in some scenarios that can ve enhanced via their Nightmodes, or Xperias MR modes, but either way makes excellent, just differently processed shots, that are absolutely subjective to ones personal liking.
              Even arena pointed it out with "in their opinion", with which I dont agree, as I think that nightmode shadow brightening they cheer for, is just too much for my taste of effective night photography.



                Tann Hauser, 09 Jul 20214 problems with your counterargument: 1. That was also t... more"That was also taken on an early firmware that still has an occasional overexposure and iso level issue, both of which will be fixed"
                ???ISO level issue? What are you even on about?

                "In first compare Xperia has better dynamic range and less noise, barely noticable less detail"
                No, Xiaomi exposes for shadows and Xperia exposes for highlights. You see more blown out highlights on the former while the latter crushes the shadows pretty badly, so Xperia does not necessarily have a wider dynamic range. As for details, Mi 11 Ultra retains them in the midtones, like "LARGO" logos or tile/line patterns under the arches.

                "In second compare Xiaomi has better dynamic range, much more noise, barely noticable more detail"
                Noises are noticeable in the sky on Xiaomi's shots because of the cloudy weather vs clear sky in Xperia's shot, not too sure about details since Xiaomi is capturing wider area in the frame (which is not caused by the lens, since they are both 24mm equivalent - it's due to a difference in the physical distance between the cameras and the buildings).

                "you should bring up samples that have it manually disabled"
                Sony's automatic long exposure stacking mode acts like a sort-of night mode and as far as I can tell there's no way for you to disable it in the Basic shooting mode, so it would be a lot fairer to use the auto night mode on Xiaomi too.

                "what in heck "natural rendition of details" even means"
                I don't know how you can even ask this kind of question when we're discussing about image quality, but if I'll be just clear here, I say it's more natural if it has less processed look - finer grain like noise patterns over blotchy one, less ringing or visible sharpening effect, properly rendered details that are not getting smudged or distorted by excessive noise reduction etc.
                https://www.gsmarena.com/piccmp.php3?idType=1&idPhone1=10712&idPhone2=10737&idPhone3=10528
                This is a good example of what I'm saying.

                  Nick Tegrataker, 09 Jul 20214 problems with your argument: 1. That was also taken on a... more4 problems with your counterargument:

                  1. That was also taken on an early firmware that still has an occasional overexposure and iso level issue, both of which will be fixed.

                  2. That's an extreme low light scene where obviously all cameras automodes struggle, but Xperia retains better end result processing due to less iso - in regular shots non-night mode Xiaomi shots do a lot better, like see these example:
                  Xperia 1 III: https://fdn.gsmarena.com/imgroot/reviews/21/sony-xperia-1-iii/lowlight/gsmarena_101.jpg
                  https://fdn.gsmarena.com/imgroot/reviews/21/sony-xperia-1-iii/lowlight/gsmarena_103.jpg
                  Mi 11 Ultra:
                  https://fdn.gsmarena.com/imgroot/reviews/21/xiaomi-mi-11-ultra/lowlight/gsmarena_108.jpg
                  https://fdn.gsmarena.com/imgroot/reviews/21/xiaomi-mi-11-ultra/lowlight/gsmarena_109.jpg

                  In first compare Xperia has better dynamic range and less noise, barely noticable less detail.
                  In second compare Xiaomi has better dynamic range, much more noise, barely noticable more detail.
                  Overall, equaly pleasing lowlight auto shots.

                  3. Xiaomi phones activate night mode automatically whenever it's needed, so if you really want a fair comparison, you should bring up samples that have it manually disabled, so that if you dont want or like the night modes fixed processing, with bad color reproduction or excessive noise reduction-canvas artifacts end results, you would know what to expect if its not used, even when AI chooses to not use it in automode.

                  4. In a good to medium lighting situations, Xiaomi's processing shows a barely noticable edge over Xperia's in terms of natural rendition of details and only noticable at max crop in:

                  https://fdn.gsmarena.com/imgroot/reviews/21/sony-xperia-1-iii/daylight/gsmarena_102.jpg

                  https://fdn.gsmarena.com/imgroot/reviews/21/xiaomi-mi-11-ultra/daylight/gsmarena_104.jpg

                  although one has to question what in heck "natural rendition of details" even means, so we ll call it slightly higher detail preservation due to higher mpx camera.

                    Tann Hauser, 09 Jul 2021Nope, Its the same thing with Xiaomi, auto mode processing ... more4 problems with your argument:
                    1. That was also taken on an early firmware that still had an occasional overexposure and white balance issue, both of which have already been fixed.

                    2. That's an extreme low light scene - in regular shots non-night mode shots do a lot better, like see these example:
                    Xperia 1 III: https://fdn.gsmarena.com/imgroot/reviews/21/sony-xperia-1-iii/lowlight/gsmarena_101.jpg
                    https://fdn.gsmarena.com/imgroot/reviews/21/sony-xperia-1-iii/lowlight/gsmarena_103.jpg
                    Mi 11 Ultra:
                    https://fdn.gsmarena.com/imgroot/reviews/21/xiaomi-mi-11-ultra/lowlight/gsmarena_108.jpg
                    https://fdn.gsmarena.com/imgroot/reviews/21/xiaomi-mi-11-ultra/lowlight/gsmarena_109.jpg

                    3. Xiaomi phones activate night mode automatically whenever it's needed, so if you really want a fair comparison, you shouldn't bring up samples that have it manually disabled.

                    4. In a good to medium lighting situations, Xiaomi's processing shows a distinct edge over Xperia's in terms of natural rendition of details.

                      • ?
                      • Anonymous
                      • iCb
                      • 09 Jul 2021

                      It should be worth pointing out that, apart from the Asus Zenfone 8, this is the only phone with a Snapdragon 888 (or any other flagship phones) that can be expanded with a MicroSD-card. With all those photos to be taken, 256GB simply doesn't always cut it. And then additional (cheap) storage is certainly welcome.

                        Nick Tegrataker, 09 Jul 2021If all you can do to prove that this phone has got a great ... moreNope, Its the same thing with Xiaomi, auto mode processing is unusable when compared:

                        https://fdn.gsmarena.com/imgroot/reviews/21/xiaomi-mi-11-ultra/lowlight/gsmarena_103.jpg

                        https://fdn.gsmarena.com/imgroot/reviews/21/xiaomi-mi-11-ultra/lowlight/gsmarena_103.jpg

                        So only thing worthy on these phones is Night modes.

                          Anonymous, 09 Jul 2021Still don't want to give up? We haven't seen you ... moreOh, I get it, so in this case only, auto mode is unfair all of a sudden?
                          I expected the usual "Sonys auto mode is...meh" rant here?

                          What about "you have to go to Night mode to get a usable shot here"...?
                          I would reply "you have to go to MR mode to get an even better brighter shot there"

                          Only meh worthy subject here... is your reply.

                          1III is excellent at auto night shots is the only fact here. And it does not even have to use night mode to obtain usable quality.

                            Tann Hauser, 09 Jul 2021What the heck are you talking about? https://fdn.gsmaren... moreIf all you can do to prove that this phone has got a great texture processing is to pit it against literally the worst flagship phone for rendering details (Exynos S21U) that runs on an outdated firmware and uses twice as high ISO to capture the same scene, I say you're doing a terrible job here. Also mind you that Xperia 1 II/III automatically turn on night-mode-like long exposure frame stacking in auto, so it's actually not very fair to compare it to other phones that rely on manual night mode activation.

                            Though the funniest part is that you brought up Samsung's flagship thinking that would somehow help negate my point when I had quite literally said "Google and Xiaomi clearly have an edge in this regard".

                              • ?
                              • Anonymous
                              • vV5
                              • 09 Jul 2021

                              Tann Hauser, 09 Jul 2021What the heck are you talking about? https://fdn.gsmaren... moreStill don't want to give up? We haven't seen you concede that Technick was wrong yet.

                              You posted a link to the auto mode photo, but the review makes it clear that Night mode gives superior photos than auto mode for S21 Ultra. Come back again when you have pixel-peeked at the night mode photos.

                                Nick Tegrataker, 08 Jul 2021While Xperia's colour reproduction is commendable inde... moreWhat the heck are you talking about?

                                https://fdn.gsmarena.com/imgroot/reviews/21/samsung-galaxy-s21-ultra/camera/gsmarena_104.jpg

                                https://m.gsmarena.com/sony_xperia_1_iii-review-2287p6.php#image54

                                Exact scene compare of two flagships:
                                The Xperia shot is better in quality as clear as day.

                                  • H
                                  • Hildr
                                  • pnK
                                  • 09 Jul 2021

                                  Anonymous, 08 Jul 2021With post processing I can make any photo look betterGood, because that's what it's make for, and that's 80% of the work when you do professional photography. Because no camera, even most expensive one, can take a photo as we saw it in real life.

                                    • ?
                                    • Anonymous
                                    • fJ5
                                    • 09 Jul 2021

                                    [deleted post]Is it all furry like the professional mics?

                                      Hildr, 08 Jul 2021All xperia 1 from mark I to III and beyond don't rende... moreThanks for your sharing. 🍻

                                        • J
                                        • Justwhy
                                        • uQ5
                                        • 09 Jul 2021

                                        Why Sony why, what are you guys up to? So little for so much money.

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