Sony Xperia Pro Review: Best camera, but ...

Read this review because you are interested in this weird phone of Sony.I, personally, I love him and I would take it and use it as the main phone, but it also has elements that make it difficult to recommend for the majority.First of all let's talk about design.

For this model, Sony largely kept the representative design of its phones in recent years.Pro-I is a long and narrow smartphone without notch or perforation in the screen but with small black and down edges.Also there are the two speakers and the selfie room.On the back we see the biggest change: the look and location of the cameras.Sony Pro-I is the first smartphone with a 1-inch sensor with self-focus on phase detection, and that is seen: the main camera being larger than the other two.In the room module we also have a 3D tof sensor, a microphone and a flash.We also see Sony and Zeiss logo also here.

Other important changes take place on the edges of the phone.Sony has created these lines, striations or how do you want to tell them which offers a better grip and a much more enjoyable look.He also added two elements that I hope to see on other phones: a dedicated video button, but whose function can be personalized by each one for what he wants and is this perforation that was created to attach a street., like those found in cameras.So you no longer worry that your phone will get out of your hand when you pose or shoot.Would have been excellent if they were included in the box.

The photographic dedicated button is greater and textured what it means is pleasant to the touch.This is excellent and allows you to press it in half for focus then to the end to make the photo.The start button still works as a fingerprint sensor, and the SIM and microSD drawer is still very easy to remove with the nail.This model is dual-sim hybrid and can be used with two SIMs or a SIM and a microSD card.

The phone is one with a pleasant weight of 211 grams, but despite a larger photo sensor it is not very thick at 8.9 mm.The structure is aluminum, and on the face and back we have Gorilla Glass glass.It also has water and dust resistance.

It is a premium, elegant phone that I like very much and I think it is Sony's best design on phones.The only dissatisfaction in this chapter remains the fingerprint sensor because when I use the phone touch the fingerprint sensor too often with other fingers and when I want to unlock it appears that warning message that I have tried too many times.

Good and now let's move on to the most important aspect of this phone: to the cameras.And what does it mean to have a phone with a larger sensor.

Sony Xperia Pro-I's cameras

Xperia Pro-I is developed on the basis of the same technology we find on Mirrorless Alpha cameras and is the first smartphone in the world that includes a 1-inch AF sensor for phase detection.There were two other phones in the past with a sensor of this size like Panasonic CM1 and Aquos R6.But more recently I saw that Xiaomi M11 Ultra that has a comparable size sensor.

This sensor has 12 MP and an opening of the f/2 or f/4 diaphragm, the equivalent of 24 mm.Has optical stabilization and 315 focus points covering 90% of a frame.Beside we have a 12 MP F/2 sensor.4 Phone Equivalent 50 mm with optical stabilization and 2x optical zoom.The system is completed by an ultrawide f/2 camera.2 and a 3D tof sensor to detect the depth of field.So we have a good system for about anything: landscapes, portraits, street photography, video and so on.

Why is that big 1-inch sensor important in a phone?Because it somewhat erases the line between a smartphone and a camera.Such a sensor is found in the Sony RX100VII camera, but in a much smaller and more compact body and pro-i a phone, not just take pictures.

Computational photography works wonders, but it also takes a high -performance, larger sensor, larger pixel for better photos..Such a sensor gives you a more natural bokeh in portraits, it is brighter because larger pixels can capture more light, it is able to capture more details in a photo.

To figure out what that means I took more photos with Xperia Pro-I and Xperia 1 III (see video).As can be seen in the pictures, Pro-i captures more details as you can see in this brand ornament and in the bottom wood.Also here we can see more details in the bark of the tree and a more intense and more beautiful bokeh.In this picture you can see more details in the leaves, but also on the building at the top.All these photos were taken on the car mode so as not to influence any final result.

It can also be seen in this video that Pro's sensor takes more light and at the same ISO has less noise in the picture, but the image is more soft, but that seems to be a weak point of pro-and.In 4K clips to 24 FPS we don't have as many details as I would like on the video.When the subject is in front of the camera I like the image but if I film a landscape or a broad frame you can see the lack of details.Me, from these comparison, I am quite clear to the superiority of a higher sensor.

The Xperia Pro has 315 AF Phase detection detection that covers 90% of the image surface, as well as real-time for humans and animals, real-time tracking, gust photographing at 20 frames per second.What this means?Basically you will not have problems with focus, the phone manages to find very easily the eyes of a man or an animal and keep the focus there, no matter where or how quickly they move in the frame.This is true of video but also in photography.

Something extraordinary is the possibility of making 20 frames per second, and the subject will be in the focus if the light is good.Absolutely fantastic, not even some Pro cameras can reach this performance.

The other two cameras take good photos in different types of scenes, but the ultrawide camera is not good in low brightness or night.In fact, unfortunately Sony Pro-I do not do a good job on any of the sensor.Images are at most...Ok but don't get closer to what others do like Apple, Huawei or Samsung.

As with other Xperia models, Sony comes with Photography Pro and Cinema Pro applications, to which Video Pro adds.You know the first two if you are familiar with Xperia 1 III or 5 III and allows you to change all the settings you are used to on a camera and you can select even 12 -bit raw photos for rich color gradations and allow a more advanced photo editing..

On the video side, the Xperia Pro-I is the first to provide the Posibility of 4K to 120 FPS that can be used at this speed or directly slow-motion up to 5x.This phone provides countless filming possibilities, just time to have.Maybe the only thing missing is the filming 8k but I would not like that.

The PRO video app has been integrated by Sony on this phone to allow for faster video clips.You enter here, you give the car or you change a single thing and you are ready to shoot.It's a simpler way to capture clips and you no longer have to stand to create projects in Cinema Pro when you want to change the resolution or number of frames per second.It is a welcome addition and I hope to appear on other Xperia models in the future.

On the video, the autofocus and stabilization is excellent and I liked the way it is filming and the 50 mm lens.I was only disappointed by the lack of details in the clips filmed with the 1-inch sensor, but I hope to be resolved in a software update.In addition to the stereo microphones, the Xperia Pro I have a third microphone near the main camera to provide users with clear audio recording.

It was to forget, there is a front camera for selfies, but a mediocre one, at most, and a phone of such a caliber would deserve something better.

Performance and Autonomy Xperia Pro-I

But I haven't finished, Pro is a good phone.Has a 6.5-inch HDR OLED 4K HDR screen with a 120 Hz refresh rate I have seen on Xperia 1 III.It is fantastic and games, movies look great, browsing is very fluid and pleasant.You have a standard view mode and a creative way that plays a more natural look for those who appreciate it.The only negative aspect is that the screen is 21: 9 long and when you spread the image throughout the screen there is very high chances of cutting from people's ends or losing information.Especially on youtube.On Netflix it seems ok to me because you don't lose so much in the picture.

I know the argument that 4k on such a screen doesn't make sense but the picture looks great.The pixel density is 641 ppi, I think the largest on a phone and it's a pleasure to look on this screen.And I am willing to sacrifice the battery for that.

For entertainment you also have two stereo speakers, Dolby Atmos and Extreme Dsee that restore the sound to a higher quality, and if you don't like it then you can put your favorite headphones because this phone has headphone jack..

At the performance level, we have the best at this time with the Snapdragon 888 5g processor, 12 GB RAM and 512 GB of storage space.So run all games without problems to big graphic settings.The problem is that it warms up hard if you play something like Marvel Revolution to high graphic settings.In stress Test with 3D Mark, the phone reached a high temperature of 49 degrees, at an ambient temperature of 22 degrees.In the summer time I think the phone will warm up and faster or louder.

However, in daily use we have not noticed problems from this point of view.I also filmed 4K at 120 fps for 10 minutes and the phone was warm, but I wouldn't say there are concerns.Sure, if you shoot out at 35-40 degrees it is possible that the phone stops the shooting sooner or getting hotter.

The phone battery is a 4500 mAh that can hold you a medium use day, but in my case I got about 3 hours or 3 hours and a half of one -loaded screen.If you give up 120 Hz Refresh Rate and don't shoot and don't photograph as much then it can expand this time.Pro-i load at 30 watts and reaches 50% in about 30 minutes.Unfortunately it has no wireless load.For connectivity and fast transfers, we have 5G and Wi-Fi 6.

Before you finish this review, I have to tell you about a very interesting accessory that Sony launches for this phone, but unfortunately I did not have the test.The Japanese launched a vlogging kit for this phone to shoot yourself with that big sensor when you go on your journey or everyday life.This kit consists of a vlogging monitor with a 3.5-inch screen that attaches magnetically on a metal support, then this support can be caught by a minitrepied.

This monitor allows you to see yourself when shooting and has a 3.5 mm jack jack to connect an external microphone.If you combine this monitor with a mini tripod like that of Sony then you can control the recording easily without having to touch your phone.

Because this pro-i can be considered a camera with a phone, Sony also brings a leather case, the same material you see on other cameras.

The monitor is quite expensive at 899 lei, and the case has a ridiculous price of 500 lei.

Before the conclusion let's see the pros and cons for Sony Xperia Pro-I.

Points for and against Sony Xperia Pro-I

Pro:

Versus:

Now we have reached the end and put all these things in the balance with the price.Xperia Pro-I is available for pre-order for 8500 lei and will be delivered from January 17 in Romania.It's a high price for a phone.It is a niche phone that will be attractive only for photographers, video and photo enthusiasts who want a phone with a large sensor, which could replace a portable camera as a Point and Shoot.

If I lived in an imaginary world where I could choose any phone and pay nothing, then it would be very tempting to me, but how we live in reality, I would take a camera anda phone of this money.I could take a Sony Zvo-E10 and a Midrange smartphone or a professional full-framed camera such as Sony A7C or A7III and an entry level phone.

I really like the design of the phone, the 1-inch sensor, the self-focus technologies, but I would like Sony to work more on the computational photography side and the price can decrease..