Xperia Z1 Compact... finally the holy grail for "normal sized" phone enthusiasts?

Richdog · 4 Feb 2014 at 12:24

Arthur Hucksake said:
Just covered the flash on mine, and took a pic. Phew! No issue.

The flash is not bleeding through here, black model.

Lucky, and genuinely glad for you! The good news to that is also that if yours is fine, it means it does not affect all phones, and that I can exchange it for one that works!

PS: The media also picked this up so hopefully Sony will make a response soon It seems the press are now aware and will be following this up... hopefully Sony will make a response soon when they see the evidence http://www.inside-handy.de/news/303...xperia-z1-compact-problem-bei-fotos-mit-blitz

PS: I just did that test and my bleed is really bad.

Richdog · 4 Feb 2014 at 12:41

Arthur Hucksake said:
I may have spoke too soon. Two pics seemed fine, but I was using a cloth to cover it, and I have a case on.

Others did exhibit blue flash in the corner. Not sure if I have covered it fully at the same of taking the picture.

Weird thing is, I haven't seen any ill effects when taking pics in dark rooms with the flash on. Very strange.

Best way is to set the flash to "Fill" mode and then lay it flat on the desk. Cover the flash with something thick and heavy like a notepad (cardboard side pressed firmly down over the flash). Then use the side shutter button to take a photo and you will see for sure if there is bleed or not. It's fail-safe.

Richdog · 4 Feb 2014 at 13:25

Did you see the flash appear in the lens at all, or was it completely lightless as though nothing had happened?

Richdog · 4 Feb 2014 at 14:58

MJ said:
I have just done a few test.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Is_NjafRq8k/UvD5z-8SO5I/AAAAAAAALh8/aEDZuoUOtyM/w891-h501-no/DSC_0003.JPG

Covered it with all sorts in a dark room and in my office no light bleeding at all, and I have the lime varient.

I can see the flash going of but there is no bleed into the lens as far as I can see.

Can you try please taking a photo in a very dark room, as dark as possible, preferably with some distance between you and the wall, and then see if it exhibits any bleed?

It seems to be especially visible with 3-4m of space in front of the camera, like outdoors at night.

My thread on the Sony forums is now picking up pace, and some horrendous examples of the problem are on there http://talk.sonymobile.com/t5/Xperi...mera-so-poor-Comparison-shots/m-p/542883#M138 :eek:

Richdog · 4 Feb 2014 at 15:28

Interesting, thanks a lot for testing!

Just out of interest again... could you please try taking the same picture on manual setting with 200 ISO, and lets see how much cleaner the image is than Superior Auto mode?

PS: I recommend putting your images in side quotes to stop people quoting them.

Richdog · 4 Feb 2014 at 19:56

Arthur Hucksake said:
It is very hard to carry out this camera test and I have to question the results of some of the posters on the other forum.

When covering the lense with a notepad, a small bit of light can still creep around the sides. It's near impossible to totally black out the flash. Tried various things to do it, and there is always small amounts of light that get through.

I can tell some of the results people are getting are not indicative of the actual problem at hand. They aren't getting a full flash cover. LOL

No, it didn't creep around the sides... it went through the glass. The whole point of the test is to ascertain if it reflects inside the the glass and it reaches the sensor.

This is being discussed at length on several major forums including XDA, so feel free to go and "LOL" at them and see the reception you get... http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2634565

Richdog · 5 Feb 2014 at 21:23

MJ said:
Just an update for some people worries about the camera, not that these are very good shots but there is not a lot wrong with this camera.

I took a few shots this eve of a friends bike in the pitch black apart from a small side light.

Look great on the phone, lots of detail.

Please post the settings when you post a photo so we know which you used.

Richdog · 6 Feb 2014 at 21:51

On a positive note, the camera is pretty stellar with manual settings and ISO control (no flash)... check the detail...

Photo 1:

20.1MP
SCN: Disabled with 20MP photos (no idea why)
Photo 1: ISO 50
Focussing: Multi
Metering: Average

Photo 2:

8MP
SCN: None
Photo 1: ISO 400
Focussing: Multi
Metering: Average

Those are very good results. It's just the flash which sucks...

PS: Facebook has compressed those so they aren't original quality.

Richdog · 7 Feb 2014 at 12:38

kona786 said:
why there is film on the the front and back I don't know. The iPhone's did just fine without.

Maybe I am blind, but I cannot for the life of me see this anti-shatter cover, so it must be applied damn well, in which case I'm fine with it.

Arthur Hucksake said:
The back of the phone does have the anti-shatter film in place and if it does become scuffed to an uncomfortable level, they will replace it free of charge and even eat the cost of shipping.

Go Sony!

Send my decive back and be without a phone, just to have a plastic film replaced? No thanks... not until the moment I want to sell it, anyway!

Richdog · 7 Feb 2014 at 14:15

Hmm I did drop my phone last week and I do have a couple of very small scratches on the back... so you are saying that both sides have this layer?

On the front I can't notice, see or feel it at all.

Richdog · 8 Feb 2014 at 19:06

There is a thread on xda and apparently Sony has now changed their own whitepaper to say that it's plastic. How they can do that I'll never know...

Richdog · 9 Feb 2014 at 10:54

Well, I went ahead and made a thread about this on the official forum http://talk.sonymobile.com/t5/Xperi...f-plastic-and-not-glass-as/m-p/549831#U549831

I must say Im very annoyed to find out its not glass... and the sneaky way in which Sony amended the whitepaper is pretty low. Does it really affect how I view this phone? Well, I still love it... but it's certainly not good in principle, and has somewhat marred my opinion of the quality.

Richdog · 9 Feb 2014 at 17:37

sam.wheale said:
Finally went into town and saw one in the flesh today - I was instantly sold! Got it from MPD in the end

Has anyone got a Sony magnetic changer? I was just wondering if they were any good.

@Richdog, is the sonymobile the place to be atm for any specific questions? I've had a look around at some of the more generalised Android forums that the Compact doesn't appear to have made much of a mark yet, still, its early days I suppose...

Its the place to get official responses...otherwise for general information etc theres the XDA forum.

Richdog · 12 Feb 2014 at 13:03

I bought this one form Ebay... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/390757171...eName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

The screen protector is beyond useless (I order more separately anyway) but the case actually fits pretty well, all ports and buttons are easily accessible, and it is made of "soft touch" hard plastic that feels a little rubbery. All in all pretty smart, and it reminds me of the cases I see on iPhones... though Im sure the quality is less considering how much it cost. Either way, it will do the job of protecting from everyday scuffs.

Richdog · 17 Feb 2014 at 09:40

I was just skiing in Davos, and it's so nice to have a pone that you can get out on the middle of the slopes, in wet and snowy conditions, and not have to worry at all about using or dropping it. Also, the battery is a trooper... I got through an entire day of use with the GPS and ski tracking program on for 5
1 hours (it constantly monitors your route, speed and progress), as well as constant messaging and screen on time to keep track of the people I was with, and still ended the day with 40-50%.

The phone is smooth as silk due to the power. The camera is great outdoors, like a real point and shoot, but indoors is not its strength, and the flash is weak.

Lack of Qi charging is also an annoyance, as is the plastic back, but these are by no means more than irritations rather than deal breakers.

Richdog · 18 Feb 2014 at 12:03

Tejstar said:
The back is made out of plastic - Xperia Blog has confirmed it.

It's been confirmed for around 2-3 weeks now...

Richdog · 23 Feb 2014 at 14:22

AndyCr15 said:
Never dared testing how waterproof these things are before...

Awesome.

PS, may I suggest a name change to Andydroid?

Richdog · 13 Mar 2014 at 20:42

Reeve said:
How are owners of this phone finding it? The main concern for me is that its reliable, I haven't owned a Sony phone in a long time.

Read the thread first and then ask some relevant questions?

Richdog · 15 Mar 2014 at 09:21

Saundie said:
That's generally my opinion of the Z1c as well - if you want a high end phone with a screen under 5", it's your only choice. I do have a couple of minor issues with it, specifically the lack of Qi charging and the fact that it won't fit in the charging dock with a case on, but otherwise it's perfect.

Lack of Qi charging is sadly a complete beeyatch.

Richdog · 15 Mar 2014 at 10:52

Saundie said:
I must confess, when I discovered we'd been deceived by the media about it having Qi charging, I was seriously considering sending it back. After a few days I realised that it actually doesn't matter very much to me, as I haven't needed to charge it during the day - I just dump it in the dock when I go to bed. So, while the lack of Qi charging was disappointing, it turned out not to be a deal breaker for me after all.

It's not a deal breaker of course, but it is highly irritating considering he charging port is covered by a flap.