Sony Xperia Pro-I review: a niche photophone sold at a high price – archyworldys

Unsurprisingly, this Xperia Pro-I is expected in the field of photography. It adopts a fairly original configuration, mainly composed of an Exmor RS sensor inherited from the compact RX100 VII body, and presented as measuring one inch. For the occasion, we have prepared a lab article devoted to the latter.

The opportunity to see that the device does not use all of this sensor, far from it. Despite Sony’s marketing twist – see our news dedicated to this sensor – its rendering convinced us. The image often turns out to be more faithful to reality, where some of its direct competitors use and abuse software processing. However, the latter often offer a more flattering result, especially when viewed on … a smartphone screen.

This “exceptional” sensor is accompanied by a 12 Mpx ultra wide-angle lens whose lens opens at f / 2.2, but also a 12 Mpx telephoto lens (f / 2.4). We will take a look at this duo in the following lines. We chose to compare it to Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, which remains one of the best in the exercise.

Ultra wide-angle module: 12 Mpx, f / 2.2, eq. 16 mm, 124 °

Ultra-wide-angle modules are rarely convincing, but high-end smartphones now offer more and more interesting photos. Sony is doing well, but we expected no less.

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra (12 Mpx, 13 mm eq, f / 2.2, ISO 80, 1/100 s)

Sony Xperia Pro-I (12 Mpx, f / 2.2, 16 mm eq., ISO 50, 1/60 s)

Under good conditions, this ultra-wide-angle sensor is one of the best in its class. It maintains a high level of detail and displays more natural colors. That of the S21 Ultra tends to overexpose the scene and to force on the contrast. The image is therefore easily readable, but not really faithful to reality. Sony advantage.

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra (12 Mpx, 13 mm eq, f / 2.2, ISO 2500, 1 / 20s)

Sony Xperia Pro-I (12 Mpx, f / 2.2, 16 mm eq., ISO 1000, 1 / 8s)

Without really shining, the Sony does quite well at night, a formidable exercise for smartphones. The whole remains crisp and fairly detailed, while digital noise is widely used on the S21 Ultra.

Telephoto module x2.1: 12 Mpx, f / 2.4, eq. 50 mm

Telephoto modules are becoming more popular on high-end smartphones, but the rendering offered is not always well made. The Sony Xperia Pro-I offers a really interesting 2.1x optical zoom. The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra opts for 3x, which must also be taken into account in the comparison.

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra (10 Mpx, 70 mm eq, f / 2.4, ISO 100, 1/100 s)

Sony Xperia Pro-I (12 Mpx, f / 2.4, 50 mm eq, ISO 100, 1/100 s)

By day, the image of the Xperia Pro-I looks more natural. It retains many details and offers good sharpness, as can be seen on the color charts. That of the S21 Ultra is more exposed and more saturated. Samsung’s algorithm gives a greater impression of sharpness by strongly emphasizing micro-contrasts. The result is easy to read, but not really faithful to our scene.

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra (10 Mpx, 70 mm eq, f / 2.4, ISO 1250, 1 / 11s)

Sony Xperia Pro-I (12 Mpx, f / 2.4, 50 mm eq, ISO 1000, 1 / 8s)

In the dark, our choice is more obvious. Sony’s smartphone manages to reproduce the elements of the scene while that of Samsung loses its footing. A blur falls on the image. As with ultra-wide-angle, software processing fails to reproduce enough detail, even by forcing the contrast.

Front and video module

The 8 Mpx module present at the front is far from being as versatile. The 8 MP (f / 2.4) sensor delivers decent selfies as long as you don’t move. The white balance is not always optimal and the sensor struggles to cope with strong light sources, which sometimes causes a halo effect. We would also have appreciated a little more dive. The Xperia Pro-I can be an excellent smartphone for vlogging as long as you use the shooting handle (optional)… and the front sensor.

The smartphone is capable of filming in 4K up to 120 fps and Full HD at 240 fps. Optical stabilization does its job well. The software suite offered by Sony is comprehensive, although it can be confusing for newbies. It is inspired by the one found on the brand’s real devices. As for the photo, we find here a fluid image, in natural tones, particularly faithful to the filmed scene. But once again, real videographers could expect more for this price.