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Sony Xperia Z Ultra Review - Camera Quality Review

Michael Sawh By Michael Sawh
Contributor

Camera Quality

Sony's 6.4-inch phone is a big performer. It is just too large for your pocket

By Michael Sawh June 25th 2013 2:18pm
Sony Xperia Z Ultra smartphone displaying colorful screen.

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Sony Xperia Z Ultra – Camera Quality

While it doesn’t match the Xperia Z1 in the photo-taking department or let you put a T-Rex on your mate’s head like that phone, you do get a decent 8-megapixel main camera. in the Xperia Z Ultra. It uses Sony’s Exmor RS image sensor and has a 16x digital zoom. 

Additionally, there’s a 2-megapixel front-facing camera and both cameras are capable of taking full HD video. The Galaxy Mega 6.3 in comparison hosts a 1.9-megapixel front-facing camera and an 8-megapixel main sensor with a f/2.6 aperture lens.

Xperia Z Ultra screenshots 1Photo demonstrating camera's focus quality on a keyboard.
The Xperia Z Ultra camera app in action

 

Like the Z1 and Z, the Ultra uses the same camera UI with settings displayed above the screen. While it lacks Social Live and the augmented reality based Info Eye, there’s still plenty of shooting modes to stir your creativity including Burst mode, sweep panorama, HDR and even something specifically to take pictures of food.

Sony Xperia Z Ultra product 24Low-light photo of a busy city street captured by camera.

Photo taken in Superior mode with 8-megapixel resolution

Sony Xperia Z Ultra product 25Close-up photo showcasing camera's macro detail on leaves.
Photo taken in Superior mode with 8-megapixel resolution

 

Sony Xperia Z Ultra product 22Close-up photo of a yellow flower showing camera detail.
Photo taken in HDR mode with 8-megapixel resolution

You really shouldn’t expect Z1 or Nokia Lumia 1020-like images here. The decent colour reproduction makes the biggest impression here and you can capture good, but not fantastic photos in the right light. 

Upload the images to a computer for a closer look and you’ll begin to notice some of the slightly grainy, overprocessed nature of images. Even in bright daylight, things can look a little gloomy. HDR does help to enhance photos but on the whole images will not blow you away When you need to get up close though, the macro mode impresses and offers good levels of detail.

 

The lack of a flash makes it even more of a tough task to take photos in low-lit environments. Again, colour accuracy is good, but images can look blurry and out of focus and zooming in shows the distinct lack of quality.

Sony Xperia Z Ultra product 21Photo of flowers at night showcasing camera flash quality.
Photo taken in low-light mode with 8-megapixel resolution

 

Sony Xperia Z Ultra product 23Close-up photo of daisies demonstrating camera's low-light performance.
Photo taken in low light mode with 16x digital zoom and 8-megapixel resolution

The front-facing camera has similar issues down to lighting where can become an issue, but in general is good enough for video calling and selfies. You can shoot Full HD video of yourself which is a nice addition.

 

In terms of shooting film, the main camera can record video up to Full HD 1080p in 16:9 ratio but doesn’t support HDR. Despite its exclusion you can choose from a series of different modes to adjust settings slightly whether you are filming at a sport event or at the beach. It’s on par with the Xperia Z and Z1 producing good quality, high resolution video.

We test every mobile phone we review thoroughly. We use industry standard tests to compare features properly and we use the phone as our main device over the review period. We’ll always tell you what we find and we never, ever, accept money to review a product.

Find out more about how we test in our ethics policy.

Used as our main phone for the review period

Reviewed using respected industry benchmarks and real world testing

Always has a SIM card installed

Tested with phone calls, games and popular apps

Michael Sawh
By Michael Sawh
Contributor

Michael Sawh is a Freelance Journalist specialising in wearable and fitness tech. Previously Editor of Wareable, he’s also spent time manning the features section at Trusted Reviews and T3. His words …

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Why trust our journalism?

Founded in 2003, Trusted Reviews exists to give our readers thorough, unbiased and independent advice on what to buy.

Today, we have millions of users a month from around the world, and assess more than 1,000 products a year.

author icon

Editorial independence

Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.

author icon

Professional conduct

We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.

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