Without wishing to go over its full specs at this time, the new Sony Xperia 1 iii's main features are a large 6.5" 1644p OLED display, front-firing speakers, a Snapdragon 888 5G chipset with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. Plus 3.5mm audio jack, microSD expansion, two-stage camera shutter key, IP68 waterproofing, notification LED, and Qi charging (and reverse). It's quite the flagship, albeit at a price of just over £1000.
But it's the camera system that's perhaps most interesting of all, not least because of what Sony claims is the "world's first phone with variable telephoto lens". Well, maybe, though there have been several phones with variable zoom for the main lens which extend through the same territory. Cough. Samsung Galaxy K Zoom (I have one here). Cough. Asus Zenfone Zoom.
Regardless, the periscope lens system functions at 2.9x and 4.4x at 12MP, though - curiously - not at any zoom factor in between (this is done digitally). You'd have thought, if there are moving internal lenses, that zoom could be optical at all points between the two extremes? All very odd. Maybe a software update will reveal this in the future?
Specs-wise, then, I'm going to be pitching these three through some tough tests:
| iPhone 12 Pro Max (2020) | Sony Xperia 5 ii (2020) | Sony Xperia 1 iii (2021) |
|
12 MP, f/1.6, 1/1.9" main sensor, |
Dedicated two-stage shutter button/launch key
12 MP, f/1.7, 1/1.7" main sensor, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS |
Dedicated two-stage shutter button/launch key 12 MP, f/1.7, 1/1.7", Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS 12 MP, f/2.3, 70mm (2.9x telephoto), f/2.8, 105mm (4.4xtelephoto), 1/2.9", Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS 12 MP, f/2.2, 124˚ (ultrawide), 1/2.6", Dual Pixel PDAF 0.3 MP, TOF 3D, (depth) |
Note that, for a change, I'm using the iPhone 12 Pro Max in its default (HEIC) mode. I could equally have used the ProRAW mode, which omits all sharpening and edge enhancement, but I genuinely wanted to try and use the iPhone as regular folk might. This time. I may go back to reshoot some of this with ProRAW, since it's so impressive for a 'PureView'-lover of old. But Apple is always tweaking its image processing, so let's what the default can do in August 2021.
Test 1: Bright landscape
An easy test - with a well lit block of flats, with balcony detail that's high up and you can just feel a zoom test on its way. But here's the full scene:
And here are 1:1 crops from, in turn, the iPhone 12 Pro Max, the Xperia 5 ii, and the Xperia 1 iii (click each link to grab the full resolution originals):
In such good lighting, there's little to choose between the phone cameras, of course. The odd sharpened artefact here and there, but considering these are 1:1 crops in 12MP images, you'd have to - well - be me to complain at all.
iPhone 12 Pro Max: 10 pts; Xperia 5 ii: 10 pts; Xperia 1 iii: 10 pts
Test 2: Bright landscape, zoomed x3
The same well lit block of flats, but zoomed to 'about 3' times. The iPhone has 2.5x optical zoom, the Xperia 5 ii has 3.0x optical zoom, the Xperia 1 iii has 2.9x optical zoom. So well matched across the board.
And here are 1:1 crops from the zoomed images, in turn, from the iPhone 12 Pro Max, the Xperia 5 ii, and the Xperia 1 iii (click each link to grab the full resolution originals):
Some differences are starting to emerge. The iPhone's shot (remember, in default and no ProRAW mode) is cleanest, thanks to noise reduction, but it also shows some evidence of artificial sharpening. While the Xperia shots have slightly more genuine detail but with some natural noise and uncertainty. Understandable, down here at the pixel level in a zoomed camera phone shot.
iPhone 12 Pro Max: 9 pts; Xperia 5 ii: 9 pts; Xperia 1 iii: 9 pts
Test 3: Bright landscape, zoomed x5
The same scene, but zoomed to 'about 5' times. The iPhone thus has to use around an extra 2.5x software zoom, the Xperia 5 ii has to use another 2x software zoom, while the Xperia 1 iii has 4.4x optical zoom, so we'll leave that alone. In theory, it should win out here, just.
And here are 1:1 crops from the zoomed images, in turn, from the iPhone 12 Pro Max, the Xperia 5 ii, and the Xperia 1 iii (click each link to grab the full resolution originals):
In practice, all the shots have defects. The Xperia 1 iii's 4.4x optical zoom comes off best but still isn't as pure as I'd have liked, perhaps showing the challenges of long optical systems in a small phone body - or perhaps showing that Sony hasn't quite got its software right yet. While the iPhone and Xperia 5 ii shots are imperfect in terms of artefacts and noise but they're not that far behind in terms of detail.
iPhone 12 Pro Max: 7 pts; Xperia 5 ii: 8 pts; Xperia 1 iii: 9 pts
Test 4: Bright signed landscape
Another easy shot, though with signs to crop in on - the human eye loves to compare detail in text, since the brain is well tuned to reading. Here's the full scene:
And here are 1:1 crops from, in turn, the iPhone 12 Pro Max, the Xperia 5 ii, and the Xperia 1 iii (click each link to grab the full resolution originals):
Again, unzoomed in good light, there's little bwtween the shots. All are slightly over-edge-enhanced for my liking, but then I'm a purist. And, again, this is at 1:1 and there has to be some processing from the underlying Bayer filters on the sensor, so what we're seeing here is as good as you can get, short of digging out that old Lumia 1020 and traditional PureView oversampling. (Hey, anyone up for a Lumia 1020 versus Xperia 1 iii shootout?)
iPhone 12 Pro Max: 9 pts; Xperia 5 ii: 9 pts; Xperia 1 iii: 9 pts
Test 5: Bright signed landscape, max optical zoom
The same scene, but using maximum optical zoom, so 2.5x, 3.0 and 4.4x respectively. Here are 1:1 crops from, in turn, the iPhone 12 Pro Max, the Xperia 5 ii, and the Xperia 1 iii (click each link to grab the full resolution originals):
At last that 4.4x periscope option pulls ahead, albeit still with some uncertainty in the processing. In fairness, the Xperia 1 iii is very new and hasn't had its first monthly update, so maybe results will improve. Although the Xperia 5 ii's 3x optical result is behind in raw detail, I do like its processing. Not too sharp, not too vague. While the non-ProRAW iPhone shot is definitely over-enhanced, i.e. it's trying too hard - just look at the stones, look at the sign, none of it is realistic. (OK, I'm modifying my earlier article suggestion, let's have iPhone 12 Pro Max in ProRAW mode vs Lumia 1020 vs Xperia 1 iii...?)
iPhone 12 Pro Max: 6 pts; Xperia 5 ii: 8 pts; Xperia 1 iii: 9 pts
Test 6: Dual factor zoom again
Having established that I'm supposed to be featuring the 'dual zoom' system in the Xperia 1 iii, let's go for another example, testing both zoom 'positions'. But here's the full scene:
And here are 1:1 crops from, in turn, '3x' zoomed shots from the iPhone 12 Pro Max, the Xperia 5 ii, and the Xperia 1 iii (click each link to grab the full resolution originals):
The iPhone's shot is perfectly exposed and detailed, but ruined just a little by the default image processing (contrast, edges), while the Xperia 5 ii does a great job in feeling 'natural', even at 1:1, but doesn't seem to nail the dynamic range. The new Xperia 1 iii does well too, perhaps even lightening shadows a little too much.
iPhone 12 Pro Max: 9 pts; Xperia 5 ii: 9 pts; Xperia 1 iii: 9 pts
Test 7: Dual factor zoom part 2
The same scene, but this time zoomed to 4.4x/5x, i.e. using the longest optical lens in the Xperia 1 iii and some software zoom on the other two devices. here are 1:1 crops from, in turn, zoomed shots from the iPhone 12 Pro Max, the Xperia 5 ii, and the Xperia 1 iii (click each link to grab the full resolution originals):
Physical zoom always trumps digital zoom and you can see how much better the Xperia 1 iii shot is here, at the pixel level. Not perfectly sharp - and I still think Sony has work to do - but better than the smart-cropped and interpolated digital alternatives.
PS. I used '5x' zoom in the iPhone and Xperia 5 ii interfaces - in hindsight, I should have tried to set each to 4.4x, to match the framing. Oh well.
iPhone 12 Pro Max: 8 pts; Xperia 5 ii: 8 pts; Xperia 1 iii: 9 pts
Test 8: Sunny macro
A interestingly detailed, large flower. Here's the full scene:
And here are scaled crops from, in turn, the iPhone 12 Pro Max, the Xperia 5 ii, and the Xperia 1 iii (click each link to grab the full resolution originals):
Terrific results from each, as you might expect, each with natural bokeh too. Why did I include this photo if there are no differentiating factors? To demonstrate that I also shoot close-up scenes - but they rarely produce anything of note, since they're all easy to a modern smartphone camera. Even a £200 device could nail a sunny macro. Just saying...
iPhone 12 Pro Max: 10 pts; Xperia 5 ii: 10 pts; Xperia 1 iii: 10 pts
Test 9: Indoor moody detail
Indoors in this showroom, it's all artificial lighting, so we're starting to challenge the phone cameras. Here's the full scene:
And here are 1:1 crops from, in turn, the iPhone 12 Pro Max, the Xperia 5 ii, and the Xperia 1 iii (click each link to grab the full resolution originals):
The Xperia 5's shot is slightly more natural and gets the win for me here, with the iPhone's default mode over-enhancing everything too far. While the Xperia 1 iii's shot is slightly over-exposed - I won't take the blame since everything was on 'auto', but clearly it would have been trivial to dial things back on any of the three devices if I'd noticed a problem at the time.
iPhone 12 Pro Max: 7 pts; Xperia 5 ii: 9 pts; Xperia 1 iii: 8 pts
Test 10: Low light indoor close-up
We're really starting to challenge the optics here, with masses of detail, 30cm away in what was very moody light. Here's the full scene, lighter here than it was to my eyes:
And here are 1:1 crops from, in turn, the iPhone 12 Pro Max, the Xperia 5 ii, and the Xperia 1 iii (click each link to grab the full resolution originals):
Although I still don't like the iPhone's default edge and contrast enhancement, it does rather well here. After all, the optimisations favour edges and text is all edges - so the 'Prince Charles' text, for example, leaps off the image on the iPhone 12 Pro Max shot, while being more gentle though realistic on the Xperias. But the Xperias both claw back the point on colour accuracy and mood, to my eyes. Honours even all round, though do grab the full resolution shots and do your own analysis.
iPhone 12 Pro Max: 9 pts; Xperia 5 ii: 9 pts; Xperia 1 iii: 9 pts
Test 11: Dusk boathouse
15 minutes after sunset, light levels were very low, so again we're challenging the optics and sensors. Here's the full scene:
And here are 1:1 crops from, in turn, the iPhone 12 Pro Max, the Xperia 5 ii, and the Xperia 1 iii (click each link to grab the full resolution originals):
It's fascinating to see the differences in colour, as each phone drops back to a multi-frame night mode in order to compose each photo. The iPhone probably gets closest to the right brick colour, but given the light conditions, any colour would be acceptable, I suspect - what we're looking for is detail in savagely poor light. The mounted print, showing a colour scene, is bleached to monochrome by the iPhone, while being much better rendered on the two Xperias.
They're all pretty good, considering the conditions, all taken handheld, etc., so it's tough to be too critical.
iPhone 12 Pro Max: 9 pts; Xperia 5 ii: 9 pts; Xperia 1 iii: 9 pts
Test 12: Zoomed detail out of darkness
I'm trying for the impossible here, but whatever, I'm supposed to be challenging the phone cameras. Hidden in the murk, around 100m away and barely visible to my eyes, is a string of moored boats. Here's the full scene:
And here are 1:1 crops from the 'night mode zoomed x3' shots from, in turn, the iPhone 12 Pro Max, the Xperia 5 ii, and the Xperia 1 iii (click each link to grab the full resolution originals):
Wow. I hadn't expected more than murky detail, but night is turned into day with modern multi-frame captures. The iPhone overdoes it, as usual, going for actual daytime lighting, while the two Xperias are happy to suggest dusk lighting. The Xperia 5 ii's shot ended up slightly blurry, despite the software's best efforts - possibly my fault, but I do try and stay as still as possible. The Xperia 1 iii takes this with a stunningly crisp, yet not too overdone photo.
iPhone 12 Pro Max: 8 pts; Xperia 5 ii: 7 pts; Xperia 1 iii: 9 pts
Test 13: Night boat, take 2
Another massively challenging scene, this time left unzoomed, i.e. using the main sensors. There's a boat up ahead, moored, around 200m away. Here's the full scene:
And here are 1:1 crops from, in turn, the iPhone 12 Pro Max, the Xperia 5 ii, and the Xperia 1 iii (click each link to grab the full resolution originals):
The iPhone again works wonder, in a science fiction way, to present the dimly lit boat as bright white, lit as a Star Wars stormtrooper! Impressive, though I think the Xperia 5 ii's photo is far more realistic in terms of its lighting and details. Flipping the scores from the previous test, this time it was the Xperia 1 iii that lost out slightly, with less than perfect focussing.
iPhone 12 Pro Max: 8 pts; Xperia 5 ii: 9 pts; Xperia 1 iii: 7 pts
Verdict
Adding up the scores gives us:
- Sony Xperia 1 iii (in stock Sony Photography Pro app): 116 pts
- Sony Xperia 5 ii (in stock Sony Camera app): 114 pts
- Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max (in default shooting mode): 109 pts
Bringing us to some takeaways:
- The Xperia 1 iii's shots aren't quite as crisp and well optimised as the earlier 5 ii's, or at least not yet. Sony has a habit of improving phone imaging with updates and the Xperia 1 iii's dual telephoto system is still very new, so I'm optimistic.
- Although you can't tell from the test scenes here, there were others omitted because one or the other of the Xperias really messed up in terms of focussing, in low light. To be fair, most phone cameras shoot a few duds in low light, so perhaps it's the iPhone here that's so good, with its LiDAR system. Factor in a few of these unsatisfactory comparison scenes and the iPhone would be right up in terms of points, i.e. almost a three way tie.
- The option of two genuine telephotos in a phone is really handy in real life, though I still don't understand why Sony won't give us continuous telephoto shooting between the two extremes. Again, maybe in an update? And while they're tweaking the code, zoomed shots were often just a little soft or out of focus. Again, updates, updates.
- The new all-in-one Photography Pro application is incredible - really well done and almost a reason to get the 1 iii or 5 iii on its own. Watch for my video review, which will demonstrate the interface.
I'd like to do at least one more big comparison piece with the Xperia 1 iii while I have it. Suggestions welcomed in the comments.