Our first camera samples with the Xperia XZ Premium!

by Preslav Kateliev / Apr 27, 2017, 8:46 AM

Our first camera samples with the Xperia XZ Premium!

It was 2 months ago when Sony announced the Xperia XZ Premium, back at MWC 2017. The phone is the successor of the 2015 Xperia Z5 Premium and continues its 4K legacy. Unfortunately, the units that were displayed at MWC weren't exactly ready for prime time, and we didn't get much of a chance to play with them.

Today, we are at a top-secret location, getting our very first hands-on with the fully functional Xperia XZ Premium. We were getting eager to play with the camera, so we nabbed a unit and made a lap around the hotel. Now, you get to see the first samples we took with the 4K phone.

The Xperia XZ Premium rocks the same Motion Eye as the Xperia XZs — a 19 MP sensor with incredibly fast autofocus, Sony's Intelligent Active image stabilization, and the capability to shoot ultra slow-motion clips at 960 FPS. Of course, we tested out those modes and made a bunch of photos. Check out our gallery below for a good look at them!

Sony Xperia XZ Premium photo samples

View more + 21 images

Sony Xperia XZ Premium video samples

1080p-with-Intelligent-Active-stabilization

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PhoneArena Rating:

8.7

Read Full Review

User Rating:

9.8

Based on 5 Reviews

Display 5.5" 2160 x 3840 pixels

Camera 19 MP / 13 MP front

Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, Octa-core, 2450 MHz

Storage 64 GB + microSDXC

Battery 3230 mAh(24.7h 3G talk time)

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35 Comments

1. FlySheikh

Posts: 444; Member since: Oct 02, 2015

Ayyy...

posted on Apr 27, 2017, 8:55 AM 0

6. Bankz

Posts: 2550; Member since: Apr 08, 2016

Why dont they ever do camera comparisions with other top dogs? Anyway, this sensor looks promising.

posted on Apr 27, 2017, 9:05 AM 2

14. sgodsell

Posts: 7419; Member since: Mar 16, 2013

Considering Sony makes the camera sensors for almost all the OEMs, including Apple, Samsung, LG, HTC, and many others. It's no surprise that they would have the best cameras. Besides this is the first to have a 960 fps camera in a smartphone. I remember paying $3000 for a 1000fps camera at a company I use to work. That was just the cost of the camera only. Mind you that was a good few years ago now.

posted on Apr 27, 2017, 9:35 AM 2

18. bucky

Posts: 3790; Member since: Sep 30, 2009

But they certainly dont in any comparison i have ever seen. They fail consistently in the post processing department. The hardware is always top notch though.

posted on Apr 27, 2017, 9:59 AM 6

26. danny_a2005

Posts: 365; Member since: Oct 06, 2011

That was exactly what I was going to say, for example the pixel uses a sony sensor, but their post processing is amazing, and that HDR+ feauture makes your pics stunning, sony needs to work on that a lot, I would request some google assistance lol

posted on Apr 27, 2017, 12:46 PM 2

34. askarak

Posts: 23; Member since: Aug 25, 2015

The camera can do 960 fps, but for less than a second, IIRC.

posted on Apr 28, 2017, 1:16 AM 0

2. bucky

Posts: 3790; Member since: Sep 30, 2009

They look good but i take all of these (same with apple and samsung) with a grain of salt.

posted on Apr 27, 2017, 8:56 AM 0

3. abdoualgeria

Posts: 928; Member since: Jul 27, 2015

I love that imx400 ...

posted on Apr 27, 2017, 8:58 AM 3

4. shamrock_sean

Posts: 37; Member since: Apr 27, 2017

They look good but Phone Arena I have a suggestion. Can you change your photo viewing software as I cannot zoom in and see detail of images

posted on Apr 27, 2017, 9:00 AM 8

10. ibend

Posts: 6747; Member since: Sep 30, 2014

even if you can zoom, you still can't see much detail on it, since the the full size of images that posted here been resized (for faster page load I guess) i.ehttp://i-cdn.phonearena.com/images/articles/286280-image/Sony-Xperia-XZ-Premium-photo-samples.jpg (they should include 100% crop :-/)

posted on Apr 27, 2017, 9:22 AM 0

5. AmashAziz

Posts: 2931; Member since: Jun 30, 2014

The problem is I haven't seen the actual images in reality. So I cannot tell how accurate they are.

posted on Apr 27, 2017, 9:03 AM 1

7. libra89

Posts: 2289; Member since: Apr 15, 2016

Wow! Amazing.

posted on Apr 27, 2017, 9:06 AM 2

8. Cat97

Posts: 1921; Member since: Mar 02, 2017

*yawn*...

posted on Apr 27, 2017, 9:21 AM 0

9. Xperia14

Posts: 1208; Member since: Sep 01, 2015

Best mobile sensor on the market. Perhaps the best camera on a smartphone.

posted on Apr 27, 2017, 9:22 AM 2

27. danny_a2005

Posts: 365; Member since: Oct 06, 2011

There is nothing better than the Pixel, sorry.

posted on Apr 27, 2017, 12:47 PM 1

33. Rocastle

Posts: 17; Member since: Mar 02, 2017

Who knows!

posted on Apr 27, 2017, 5:22 PM 0

11. Rafael1703

Posts: 20; Member since: Apr 22, 2014

Nice to see Portugal in the pictures :)

posted on Apr 27, 2017, 9:23 AM 2

12. Xperia14

Posts: 1208; Member since: Sep 01, 2015

Most beautiful country in Europe if you ask me!

posted on Apr 27, 2017, 9:27 AM 0

23. JohnnyD

Posts: 13; Member since: Sep 06, 2015

Were those pictures taken in Tróia?

posted on Apr 27, 2017, 11:14 AM 0

13. Landon

Posts: 1245; Member since: May 07, 2015

That ultra slow motion feature is flipping awesome!

posted on Apr 27, 2017, 9:29 AM 5

15. chancooluk

Posts: 20; Member since: Sep 13, 2015

Dynamic range doesn't seem great to me. Everything other than the sky is very dark on the majority of those shots.

posted on Apr 27, 2017, 9:47 AM 1

24. mixedfish

Posts: 1560; Member since: Nov 17, 2013

That is the correct way to expose a brightly lit scene. Anymore than this and you crush detail or are using some fake HDR.

posted on Apr 27, 2017, 11:43 AM 6

16. fsjon

Posts: 120; Member since: Sep 03, 2009

In good lighting, you can't really go wrong with any flagship nowadays...so amazing in daylight is a moot point. Low light is a terrible mess, noise galore with detail almost non-existent (the one at the hotel lobby, you can barely make out the out light of the white stones. The photo from the waiting area at the elevator is a complete mess with crazy noise, maybe turn on HDR may save that shot?) . But to be honest, that's typical post processing from Sony phone. How can they make such amazing low light DSLR camera, but so terrible with their phones? Is it another bad contract they sign somewhere so they can't make it amazing, similar with their "no finger print sensor for NAM devices" debacle?

posted on Apr 27, 2017, 9:50 AM 1

17. libra89

Posts: 2289; Member since: Apr 15, 2016

I think software is to blame here.

posted on Apr 27, 2017, 9:53 AM 0

20. SYSTEM_LORD

Posts: 1168; Member since: Oct 05, 2015

Lowlight performance is one of those extras that gets its value overestimated. I looked at my gallery, and less than 5% of my photos are lowlight. I really can't let that determine whether or not I get a phone. It's a nice extra, but no deal breaker. On another note, Sony and Google prove with their latest flagships that OIS is not necessary for great video and photos, respectively.

posted on Apr 27, 2017, 10:47 AM 3

19. Export

Posts: 98; Member since: Apr 24, 2017

Looks good, but needs comparisons of other flagships.

posted on Apr 27, 2017, 10:04 AM 2

21. Plasticsh1t

Posts: 3109; Member since: Sep 01, 2014

They look great. June can't come any faster.

posted on Apr 27, 2017, 10:52 AM 3

22. Cambapo

Posts: 23; Member since: Dec 24, 2015

It's pointless to show downsized images, they'll always look good. The details are visible in full size photos, such as noise and oversharpening issues.