Gadgetory

at CES Sony called it the best camera in a waterproof smartphone acclaim t-mobile USA is all too happy to reiterate on its website but our experience with Sony smartphone shooters over the years has been an inconsistent one so we wanted to test the Xperia z1s for ourselves to see just how well its camera performs fortunately the folks at t-mobile USA we're able to send us a review unit and while it is a little too late for a full review it's never too late to have some fun with smartphone photography I'm Michael Fisher with PocketNow and this is a test of the Sony Xperia z1s camera both above and beneath the waves the z1 s certainly isn't lacking for optical prowess on the spec sheet a twenty point seven megapixel autofocus camera sits around back and packs a twenty-seven millimeter f/2 sensor with up to three times lossless zoom and an LED flash all of it controlled by something we always love to see a hardware shutter key on the phone side pressing and holding that shutter key fires up the viewfinder software and Sony's is one of the better implementations we've seen if you've ever used a Sony mirrorless camera you probably be familiar with the iconography the shooting modes even the sound effects are the same we'd like to see more manual controls offered a complaint that persists from our time with the earlier z1 but otherwise there's an awful lot to play with here it's just a fun software experience particularly when you dig down into the various modes like picture effect which allows you to apply various quote-unquote artistic effects to a photo like sketch if you want to look like you're in a 1985 music video from AHA or Harris shutter if you want to see the world through Geordi LaForge as visor there's also room for modes that can plug in from third-party apps like Evernote and even a home screen widget so you can jump right into the mode of your choice which is convenient in more traditional still photography the camera defaults to eight point three megapixel shots and in open-air settings performance can venture into the truly excellent outdoors in balanced afternoon lighting some shots offer colors that are more muted than real but others are vibrant and gorgeous we probably have the intelligent Auto filter to thank for that inconsistency but on the whole the camera delivers solid photos viewed at normal size it's only when you zoom in that you start to see Sony's characteristic color modeling which were disappointed but not necessarily surprised to see and that fuzziness is only amplified in low-light shots which do a good job of brightening up a scene that these photos came out much brighter than the true life conditions but even a small bit of magnification reveals the loss of detail you have to deal with in exchange these photos are all available at pocket now in the link in the description below if you want to take a closer look for yourself under good daylight conditions video is nice you'll notice a smooth shot here something we took to be digital stabilization until we took a closer look at the lens and saw the camera module moving when activated true to t-mobile's word this is Hardware image stabilization resulting in a nice clear picture the frame rates a little low in the default setting but otherwise we have very few complaints in the open air as you might have gleaned from some of our device photography it's pretty cold outside so rather than test underwater performance in the Charles River we opted instead for a kitchen sink a pretty dull testing site which we promptly liven up with a Koosh ball a baking soda powered submarine and a crashing Starship Enterprise underwater shooting is still pretty challenging due to display visibility problems and the tendency of the screen to get a little wacky on first immersion but it's worth the trouble if you can keep the object you're shooting in the frame the clarity of the footage is outstanding and the autofocus does a good job even in changing lighting conditions stills - are impressive under the waves and here's where that hardware shutter key really earns its money because half press to focus works just as well underwater as above at first glance this Koosh ball almost looks like it was photographed in a professional studio floating in some ethereal mist but loaded with color and though the submarine here starts in a distant out-of-focus cloud it resolves into a beautiful close-up honestly I don't recall ever seen underwater results this good from a smartphone camera once again if you want to see him close-up all these photos are available to review in full size at pocket now we proved with last month's smartphone guessing game that phone shooters can surprise you and surprised is a good word to describe my feelings toward this camera is it the best I've ever used now would I want to use it if I took most of my pictures in low-light settings also no but is it capable of capturing great photos absolutely and I didn't expect that given my experiences with Sony's smartphone cameras of the past plus the viewfinder software is some of the best thought out and most responsive I've used so I don't really mind if I have to try a photo again is it in fact the world's best camera on a waterproof smartphone well given the wide range of shooting modes that reliable Hardware camera key and the great results we were able to get underwater let me put it this way we can't say it isn't the world's best underwater smartphone camera we'd have to try everyone in the world to ultimately prove or disprove it but given our excellent experience here Sony's claim is tough to challenge if you're a swimmer looking for an excellent freshwater smartphone shooter the z1 s is probably the best you can hope for right now and it's pretty good even if you're a landlubber to everyone you know where you can find the full size sample images you saw in this video click the link down in the description below it will take you right to pocketnow.com and on your way please drop us a like if you enjoy the video the meantime stay tuned for more on the z1 s including a comparison with the z1 compact coming very soon until next time this has been michael fisher with PocketNow please follow us on social media if you don't already but most importantly thank you for watching we'll see you next time fortunately t-mobile USA damn I can't that framerate oh god I need to know more about photography fortunately t-mobile USA was able to send us a review unit and while it's a little too late for a full review it's never too late it's never too late it's never too late to have some fun if curse I'll have to do what's the out looking like SIM card removed oh oh actually not good at all