8 15 June 2019I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI subscribe 0330 333 1113
Sony
Xperia 1
ThenewXperia1 inherits
functionalityfromSonyAlpha
cameras.MichaelTopham
gotachancetotryitin Venice
EARLIERthisyearSonyunveiled
threenewsmartphones:the
mid-rangeXperia10;theXperia 10 plus;
andtheall-singing,all-dancingXperia1.
Thelatteris Sony’slatestflagshipmodel
andintroducesthemostadvancedsetof
camerafeatureswe’veseenonanySony
smartphonetodate.What’sinteresting
fromanimagingperspectiveis theway
Sony’smobiledivisionhascollaborated
withSony’sAlphateamtocreatea mobile
devicethat’smoreadvancedwhenit
comestoshootingstillsandrecording
video.Beforewestudythecamerasideof
thingsin detail,let’sstartbyacquainting
ourselveswithwhat else is new.
Features
TheXperia1, withits6.5in,21:9aspect
ratio4KHDROLEDdisplay,feelsrather
longandthinin thehandcomparedto
conventionalsmartphonesthatdisplayin
the19:9aspectratio.This‘CinemaWide’
screenis aimedat movieloverswho’dlike
towatchfilmsorcreatetheirownmovie
storiesformattedin thisaspect.Sony’s
ideaof tailoringtheXperia1 to
filmmakersandthosewho’dliketocreate
cinematic-stylefootageis reiterated
throughtheinclusionof a newlyadded
CinemaProappthatimitatesthelook
createdusingSonyCineAltavideo
cameras.Unlikethebasicvideomode
that’s accessed via the native camera app,
Ataglance£849SIM-free■6.5in21:94KHDR
OLEDdisplay
■Triple-lens,12-million-
pixelmaincamera
■QualcommSnapdragon
855 chipset
■6GBRAM
■EyeAFfunctionality
■ 3330mAh batteryWaterproof
UnliketheXperia 10 and
Xperia 10 Plus,theXperia 1
featuresIP65/IP68certified
waterresistance.Availability
Availablenow,theXperia
1 willbesoldin black,
purple,greyand
whitecolours.Colour
TheXperia1 features
10-bittonalgradation,
helpingtodeliverdeeper
levelsofblackandmore
naturalcolour.Operating
system
TheXperia1 shipswith
Android9 Pie.Various
contractdealsareavailable
andSIM-freepricesstart
from£8 49.Imageprocessing
TheXperia1processesitsimagessimilarlytoAlpha
cameras.Ratherthantakinga picture,compressingit
intoa JPEGandaddingnoisereduction,theXperia 1
takesa rawimageandaddsanalgorithmtoreducethe
noiseonthisrawimagebeforecompressingit toa JPEG.
UnlikeSonysmartphonesof thepast,theXperia1 also
givesuserstheoptiontoaccessitsrawfilesviathird-
partyAndroidappssuchasAdobeLightroom,for
greater fl exibility and control during the editing stage.
it allowsuserstofilmmoviefootagein
21:9withlotsof manualcontrolat your
fingertipstochangevariablessuchas
framerate,ISO,whitebalance,shutter
speedandresolution.In addition,users
canapplyuptoeightexpression-based
colour-managementpresetstomovie
footage,whicharebasedonSony’s
expertisein digitalcinematography.
ThedurableCorningGorillaGlassat the
frontandbackwitha coloured metal
framecontributestoa
sleek-lookingdesign;
however like many of