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Sony Xperia 1 VI PhoneArena camera score: Promising, but with some issues

By Peter Kostadinov

Published: Jun 17, 2024, 10:04 AM

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Sony Camera

Sony Xperia 1 VI PhoneArena camera score: Promising, but with some issues

The Sony Xperia 1 VI is Sony's latest flagship for 2024, which comes with an intriguing triple camera.

The most interesting aspect of the camera here is the telephoto one, which features stepless optical zoom between 3.5x and 7.1 and hints at spectacular zoom quality. On paper, the rest of the cameras are pretty decent, too. Can all of that help the Sony Xperia 1 VI to perform excellently in the PhoneArena Camera Score test? Let's run it through the paces.

Specs	Sony Xperia I VI	Sony Xperia I V
Main camera	48MP, F1.9, 1/1.35", 1.12 μm pixel size	48MP, F1.9, 1/1.35", 1.12 μm pixel size
Telephoto camera	12MP, 3.5x to 7.1x optical zoom (85-170mm), 1/3.5" sensor size	12MP, F2.3, 5.2x optical zoom, 1/3.5" sensor size
Ultra-wide camera	12MP, F2.2, 1/2.5" sensor size, 1.4 μm pixel size	12MP, F2.2, 1/2.5" sensor size
Front-facing camera	12MP	12MP

Overall, a rather similar setup to last year's Xperia 1 V, with the new telephoto camera being the fascinating novelty. Although the resolution has been kept the same, we get a much more versatile zooming setup in contrast to the previously fixed 5.2x optical zoom.

We'd have loved for further adjustments to the rest of the cameras, but seeing the overall camera score achieved by the Xperia 1 VI, it seems that Sony has found a way to squeeze more out of the existing cameras.

Sony Xperia 1 VI

PhoneArena Camera Score

BEST 158

138

PhoneArena Photo Score

BEST 165

144

Main (wide)

BEST 87

Zoom

BEST 29

Ultra-wide

BEST 26

Selfie

BEST 30

PhoneArena Video Score

BEST 153

131

Main (wide)

BEST 80

Zoom

BEST 27

Ultra-wide

BEST 24

Selfie

BEST 28

Sony Xperia 1 VI Camera Score compared to its rivals

Phone	PhoneArena Camera Score	Photo Score	Video Score
Sony Xperia 1 VI	137.6	144.1	131
Sony Xperia 1 V	126.9	129.5	124.3
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra	153.5	159.5	147.4
Google Pixel 8 Pro	148.2	155.5	140.9

Although it lags behind the Galaxy S24 Ultra and the Pixel 8 Pro in overall camera capabilities, Sony has scored a serious jump in comparison with its predecessor, the Xperia 1 V. However, despite scoring many improvements, the camera still can't tackle serious camera phones like the Galaxy S24 Ultra and Pixel 8 Pro.

Pros

Great main camera with realistic colors
Very capable stepless telephoto camera, delivering excellent detail
Decent video quality
Pleasant and natural selfies

Cons

Ultra-wide camera is soft
Oversharpening issues with most cameras, both in photo and video
Some exposure issues in some modes

Main Camera

The Sony Xperia 1 VI features a very decent main camera. Some signature characteristics of it are the realistic color reproduction and lack of tinting. Exposure is okay, though phones like the Galaxy S24 Ultra, Pixel 8 Pro fare better. There's some oversharpening present here, which isn't ideal. While the phone supports high-res 48MP images, it won't give you a high-res or HDR preview.

Zoom Quality

3.5x

7.1x

The telephoto camera delivers very decent detail on both ends of the zoom range, matching and beating its rivals and its predecessor. As a reminder, the stepless optical zoom takes the reins between 3.5x and 7.1x. Of course, you can zoom past that, but have in mind anything past 7.1x will involve digital zoom. There's no over-sharpening here, which is great.

Ultra-wide Camera

The ultra-wide camera somewhat struggles to nail the correct exposure in comparison with the Galaxy S24 Ultra and the Pixel 8 Pro, but interestingly, its predecessor has also fared better. Some oversharpening is present here as well. Details captured with the Xperia 1 VI's ultra-wide camera are not so good: the phone's rivals all capture more detail, and so does the older Xperia 1 V. At least we get a dedicated macro this year.

Front Camera

The front camera delivers very realistic photos, with proper exposure and mostly correct colors. Detail is much better than before, but some slight oversharpening can be seen here, too.

Main Camera - Video

Turns out that video is not a strong suit of this Xperia phone. Exposure and colors are decent, but this is where most great things about this phone's video-taking capabilities end. Detail is simply not good in video. The phone also exhibits some stabilization issues which drag it down in comparison with the Galaxy 24 Ultra, Pixel 8 Pro, and even last year's Xperia 1 V, which is a shame.

Zoom Quality - Video

Telephoto 3.5x video frame

Telephoto 7.1x video frame

When it comes to video taken with the variable telephoto, the phone is a pleasant surprise. The video exposure is great, colors are true-to-life, and the stabilization works good here. There's no oversharpening, so the remarkable level of detail on both ends of the 3.5x-7.1x spectrum are preserved in the best way possible.

Ultra-wide quality - Video

You can capture some decent videos with the ultra-wide camera. Aside from little to no distortion, it has very decent exposure and nice color rendition. Some finer details lack, but at least there's no excessive oversharpening.

Front camera - Video

Video taken with the front-facing camera is good, but it has some shortcomings: background highlights are often blown out, and there's some oversharpening going on. Detail is soft, but leaves a lot to be desired.

Conclusion

Although it shows great promise, the Xperia 1 VI has some issues that sadly take away from the overall experience.

The phone exhibits some issues like oversharpening and sometimes fails to nail the correct exposure. Although not too severe, those issues prevent the Xperia 1 VI from being on just the same level as the top contenders, like the iPhone 15 Pro Max, the Galaxy S24 Ultra, and the Pixel 8 Pro.

Still, there are some great things about this Sony's camera. It delivers very true-to-life colors and has a very intriguing and capable telephoto camera. We hope that this stepless optical zoom camera sticks around and gets picked up by other phone makers, as it will elevate phone zooming a step ahead.

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Peter, an experienced tech enthusiast at PhoneArena, is captivated by all things mobile. His impartial reviews and proficiency in Android systems offer readers valuable insights. Off-duty, he delves into the latest cryptocurrency trends and enjoys sci-fi and video games.