SONY XPERIA Z1

The Sony Z1 is the most rugged phone among the batch; it’s the only one that’s dust and water resistant, making it the only phone you can shoot with in the rain. The slightly curved edges make it more comfortable to hold than the Xperia Z, and it comes with a dedicated shutter release button which can also open up the camera app when the phone is locked.

There are two main modes with one big difference; in Manual mode the Z1 can shoot using the camera’s full 20MP image sensor, in Superior Auto the Z1 will only save a downsampled 8MP image in a 16:9 aspect ratio. Shot-to-shot response is quick on both as is auto-focus, although if you shoot at low ISO in low-light, AF speeds will drop noticeably. When that happens, the Z1 has a disturbing habit of shooting when the preview image is out of focus, so you never know if the shot is actually in focus or not.

There seems to be a tap to focus bug in both Auto and Manual mode, once you tap to focus, the focus point remains locked in the same position, even after you take the picture the camera never returns to multi-area AF. You have to exit the mode, or exit the camera app to have the camera let go of the focus point.

“THE SONY Z1 IS THE MOST RUGGED PHONE AMONG ALL; IT’S THE ONLY ONLY PHONEYOU CAN SHOOTWITH IN

THE RAIN.”

Unlike the Xperia Z, the Z1 comes with its own dedicated shutter release button.