Recently we posted that we wanted Digital Camera World readers to review the Sony Xperia Z5’s camera. We were given three of Sony’s brand new Xperia Z5 phones and hoped to find some tech-savvy readers to test the camera on Sony’s new smartphone over the course of three weeks.
Ray Liu, Liz Haydon-Turner and Martin Snelling stepped up to the challenge, and for the first week of their assignment we asked them to use the Xperia Z5 to shoot portraits. Here’s how they got on…
Martin Snelling
Sony’s new flagship mobile phone with 23 megapixel camera, fingerprint scanner and the ability to shoot 4K video might be good enough for Mr. Bond, but is it good enough for me? I go hands-on “on hands” with the Sony Xperia Z5 to put it to the test.
Before I give you the low-down on the Xperia Z5, I want to tell you that I love technology, and I love photography. I have a bit of a confession; I suffer from is know as acute GAS (gear acquisition syndrome). I also collect film cameras and currently have a collection of around 50 (I haven’t counted in a while and I recently picked up a couple of box cameras from the 1930s).
So, when I was offered the chance to roadtest the new Sony Xperia Z5, I jumped at the chance as even though I have a cupboard full of cameras, I shoot a lot of my photography with my mobile phone; currently a Sony Xperia Z1.
As you’ll see from this write-up, I do favour black and white photography to me I find it a very powerful medium when used right. I do shoot colour too; but more often than not, I will ‘see’ mono.
For the review, I was tasked with making photographs covering three different topics; portraits, cityscapes and autumn. This part will focus on portraits, with the remaining two in the next two weeks.
Now, I’m not a portrait photographer, and so being tasked with photographing portraits posed something of a challenge. But who’s to say that portraits have to be of faces? As the Xperia Z5 now features fingerprint scanning technology, I thought to myself “hand portraits!”
I couldn’t think of anything more apt given the new finger-scanning tech embedded in the power button on the side of the phone. This new feature adds an extra layer of security to your phone and I must say it works a treat.
Let’s talk tech specs for a bit; the Z5 features a 23-megapixel, 1/2.3” Exmor RS™ for mobile image sensor with 24mm wide-angle lens. Under the ‘hood’ you’ll find the BIONZ™ for mobile image-processing engine, which, according to Sony, produces vivid, realistic colours and reduces pixelation and noise.
Sony are really pushing the Xperia Z5 as a camera phone; to enforce this, they’ve placed a dedicated camera button on the lower right side of the phone. It’s placement makes it more like a traditional camera shutter button when the phone is held in landscape mode.
The ultra-fast 0.03sec hybrid auto-focus lets you capture the moment as it happens not after it. You can simply frame your shot, touch the screen where you want to focus, the phone then does the rest. Simply, touch, focus, capture.
As an existing Sony Xperia Z phone owner, I already knew my way around the camera app and so was able to jump straight in and change the settings to my liking. It’s worth noting that in order to make use of the full 23 megapixel resolution, the Z5 crops the images to 4:3 ratio – not ideal for landscapes, but perfect for portraits and day-to-day use.
There are a number of different camera apps available to download from the Play Store, however, the ones I tried did not make use of the full 23 megapixels.
The standard camera app on the Z5 has a number of different modes including ‘Superior Auto’, ‘Manual’ ‘4K video’, ‘Sweeping Panorama’ as well as some fun modes which allows you to add stickers and special effects to your pictures and videos. Other modes can also be added via downloads. For this task I set the camera to ‘Superior Auto’ mode as this works really well at recognising the scene and adjusting the camera settings accordingly.
After I captured my subject’s hands, I imported the photos into the free post-processing app Snapseed (available to download from the Google Play Store). It’s a great app that allows you to enhance your images with a few flicks of the finger. One thing I did notice that compared to my Xperia Z1, the Z5 is incredibly fast; handling the photos with speed and ease.
With the images, I increased the structure to enhance the level of detail already captured by the camera. I adjusted the levels to make more of the contrast between light and dark; converted the photos to black & white and added a narrow border around them.
I felt that the hands were stronger in Black & White than in their original colour. It was commented that they share a similar style to that of renowned photographer Tim Booth who has been snapping hands, fingers and palms for more than 20 years.
And he sums up my thoughts exactly: “When we look at a face we immediately make preconceptions,” he says. “Labels are added because of how someone looks. But when we look close up at hands we don’t do that.”
Ray Liu
Sony have clearly given a lot of thought to the Xperia Z5 being used as a dedicated everyday camera. A long press of the dedicated camera button (not seen on many smartphones) means that the camera is accessible within a second, ready to shoot in Superior Auto mode, all without touching the screen or unlocking.
Using it as a phone, the volume buttons on the right hand side seem a little awkward to get to, requiring your thumb (or your fingers if you’re left handed) to travel a distance away from the power and fingerprint sensor button.
However, this was cleverly thought out so that when photographing in landscape mode the volume rocker suddenly makes a lot of sense, doubling up as the zoom control, and within reach of the right hand index or middle finger.
The 16:9 mode in landscapes makes for some great group photos, but is a little long for portraits, but thankfully, you can also set the camera to use 4:3 ratio instead.
I personally preferred using the landscape mode even for portraits, mainly because the dedicated camera button screams to be used in landscape mode.
The touch point focusing was super quick, and what better way to test it on my 5 year old girl and 5 month old baby girl.
Children are not the stillest of subjects, so having quick focusing and taking the shot as quick as possible is a must. There’s even a mode for automatically taking a photo with a smile, great for taking pictures of children, young or old.
The resolution is set to 8MP by default but can be set to the full 23MP for more detailed shots (although Auto only goes up to 20MP and 23MP is only available in 4:3 ratio).
In fact, the camera application is very customisable, having a manual mode which allows for tweaking of settings such as white balance, ISO and metering amongst others, allowing for more detailed compositions when time allows.
There are other modes which allow for some fun effects. The AR Mask mode is fun and scary at the same time, allowing you to superimpose another person’s (or animal) face on photos or selfies!
A couple of really useful settings are the Colour and Brightness sliders which allow you to tweak colour temperature and brightness of the scene before taking the shot.
Liz Haydon-Turner
The portraits I take tend to be opportunistic, capturing my kids, family or friends when they’re up to something interesting.
Having three always-on-the-go boys is the reason I want a good camera on my phone, in line with the adage that the best camera you have is the one you have on you. Primarily I want to capture memories of them as they grow and change.
I’d been an xperia user (Z1c and Z3c) for the past 18 months and have captured some great shots of my kids that have stood up to being blown up to A4, and have rivaled shots from my Canon G series compact.
However the “Portrait” brief for this assignment scared me; I don’t “do” portrait photography and I wanted to test the Z5 camera in a range of lighting conditions.
I don’t like using flash and have never mastered Photoshop so I was really keen to see how the Z5 would handle tricky situations – high contrast, low light (where I found my older xperia phone cameras hunted a little), and if the claims for the faster and improved focusing would stand up.
So far I’m impressed. I shot at the highest resolution offered, holding the phone in portrait orientation (an aspect ratio of 4:3 is enforced at this resolution but the screen is big enough that I didn’t find this problematic).
The Z5 seemed to handle tricky lighting and contrast situations well. I shot my friend Den under tungsten lighting in a dim room. She’s wearing a dark top but you can still clearly make out details and the contrast between her top and her hair. Even though the light was low the photo is full of texture and detail.
The Z5 has a physical camera button, like all previous iterations of the Z series, that launches the camera even when the phone is locked. I love this feature as it makes using the camera feel like using a p&s rather than a phone.
I was disappointed that the start-up using this button was a little slower than on my Z3c (and I do wish that Sony could implement something like the Moto “twist to wake” feature to quickly launch the camera and make the most of the quick focusing abilities of the Z5).
The focusing does seem quicker than on my previous Z series phones. I was able to grab some shots of my boys without having to ask them to be still, (something they appear to find impossible).
I thought the snap of my son holding the bundle of long grass clippings would come out looking like he was holding a blurry ball, as I was shooting into the light and it was windy, but it is clear what he’s holding. Once again I’m pleased with the detail and contrast.
I like how Sony processes images. I find the colours natural and pleasing – skin tones seem realistic and images aren’t over sharpened. Thus far I like this camera a lot.
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