Sony Xperia Pro-I THE Pocket Sized DSLR in 2024!

The Sony Xperia Pro-I has been out for a while, but a phone I wanted to use for such a long time, and with my trip to Switzerland I took it with me, and I LOVED the experience! This is truly a pocket sized DSLR!

#Sony #SonyXperia #sonyxperiaproi
@Sony @SonyXperia

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[pete]

I have an Xperia Pro-i and upgraded to a Samsung Galaxy S23 ultra for what was supposed to be a much stronger camera.

As far as features sure, the Samsung proved much more powerful. But then there were three things about the Samsung that really dissappointed me compared with the Sony.

First, I found that the photos on the Samsung had really extreme processing - the sharpening was so aggressive that in scenes where you have a lot going on (like grass, leaves, etc) it was sometime left looking so artificial that it almost looked like an oil painting. And even taking images in raw in pro mode did not seem to completely remove this processing - I found that I hadd to install a seperate pro camera app from the samsung store (cant recall what it was called) in order to take photos without the added processing, and that camera app had to be manually launched every and really was not a very good user experience beause it made it hard to quickly switch between lenses and settings.

Secondly, even when I did use that specialist pro Samsung app, there was still a very unnatural white balance to the images that made them look horribly unnatural - like a yellowish or greenish tint. It was worse on some images then others, and on some images it was so extreme that I couldn't even get the white balance looking natural when I edited the raw images in post.

Thirdly, the Sony used a raw format that allowed me to make use of the powerful noise reduction features in lightroom, and I was absolutely blown away with some of the results I was able to get in some horribly low light situations using that feature. I had taken some very low light indoor photos that were absolutely covered in noice to the point where my partner's face was pretty much unrecognisable - and those noise reduction features got the images to the point where that were obviously far from professional, but perfectly good enough to post in a smaller size on social media. The raw format that the Samsung uses did not support those noise reduction features though, and I've taken low light shots on the samsung that were nowhere near as bad, and yet were still completely unusable because there was nothing I could really do in post to save them.

It's funny because every single phone comparison on earth would tell you that the Samsung camera is infinitely superior to the Pro-i camera, and maybe to the amateur photographer who just likes to take quick point-and-shoot pics in auto mode and post on social media, that migth be true. But for anyone who is even semi-enthusiast about photography and is very particular about getting good, natural looking shots and have good creative freedom over how those shots present, the Sony can give you results that you could never dream fo getting on that Samsung.

In fact I did have an outdoor event I went to with my partner - at some local botannical gardens - where I did take some photos with both the Xperia Pro-I and with my Nikon Z6 (I used both because I only had a 50mm prime on the Z6 at the time, which didn't always allow the best framing). I edited both sets of images in post, and then I look at the absolte best looking shots I took on the Sony, they came frighteningly close to the ones I took on the Z6. Could I tell the difference? Sure, pixel peeping at them side by side on my 48" 4K OLED monitor I could tell which was which. The sony wasn't as sharp at the edges, had a tad less detail, . didn't have quite the same dynamic range, a bit more chromatic distortion. But I guarantee if you showed anybody who isn't a photography enthusiast they would have a hard time picking which one came from the phone and which one came from the full frame dedicated camera.

Sadly I'm in Australia and my local telco no longer supports this phone, so I can no longer use as my primary device because it cant make calls, get mobile data, etc. If it could I would gladly sell my Samsung and go back to the Sony. I'm even considering keeping it ay was and using it as a dedicated pocket camera for times when I am not bothered hauling around the Z6 and lenses.

[michaelsmit]

Great work a little help to keep you doing wat you are doing

[mktzu]

You’re underrated. You deserve a million subs

[MrOrtmeier]

The background setup looks fantastic.

Great review. Stunning photos. I don't have this phone but it's so nice to know that there's a Pro phone like this that captures such natural high quality photos and also has RAW support and equally excellent videography abilities.

People using regular premium phones don't realise how massively over processed their photos are and how much they are losing in fidelity and authenticity.

I hope Sony let you keep it ..🙏

[GroundedTech]

Nice video mate. Get jealous of all these locations you go to. Stunning!
The Pro-I sure is my favourite Xperia design. I still want one even if the 1 V makes way more sense these days.

[sidersproductions]

I'm trying to understand why Sony hasn't released a sequel to this phone yet. I really don't understand their decision making some times. Looking forward to see what the Xperia 1 VI brings this year though.

[philamguambomb]

I just bought this phone. Used but barely used that it's practically mint. For $380. Thank you for this video. I can't wait to use the camera and it's features

[deep_space_dave]

I love my Xperia Pro-I! Other than overheating with video thanks to way too much tech crammed in :-) it still takes stunning photos that people think were done from a DSLR because the images are pure and not touched by preprocessing. With that in mind, I treat mine like a DSLR and carry a white balance card with me to adjust every the WB so often. Thanks for the video 🙂

[ThroughJermainesLens]

what do you guys think of the new background setup!? :D

[KananNallainathan]

as a Sony Xperia fan this one caught my eye! great video... and very informative! many thanks Friend!

[Alexander]

Ive always said when it comes to you mate that you'd take beautiful photos with any phone, what makes these photos great is YOU primarily, you give someone this phone who has no idea about photography it would be a different outcome 😆. Really beautiful stuff mate, always enjoy seeing your photos, composition is always perfect too and always my kinda photo!!

[epidemicsound]

🎶 track? It’s *Night Stalker* by *Wave Saver* - and yes we are THRILLED to be your trusted provider.
// Epidemic Sound

[sosiehtesaus]

I have the Pro i and I love it. There are few points of criticism.Display could be brighter, software updates, 50 and 16 mm sind gut aber nicht überragend. In addition to the camera, the sound is also outstanding. I bought the B&W PX8 and in combination with APTX-adaptive and Qobuz it is simply incredibly good.

[jindrichsenekl]

There's something about your videos that makes one really excited about (mobile) photography. And it is coming: Xiaomi 14 Ultra or Xperia 1 VI. I am into that direction after those years with Apple and Samsung thanks to your videos😉

[dark-california]

I had a Pro-I from day 1 and loved it.
If you have the time, have knowledge on (manual) photography and the right (steady) subject it's a killer phone.
If you can't check all above ... get another phone

[___David__]

This one seems to be, to me, like the P30 was: a great camera on an otherwise crappy phone (software-wise).
I could see myself buying it to use exclusively as a camera IF I found a good deal on it. But since Sony withdrew from most markets worldwide, even here in Europe became hard to find good deals on their phones. Shame.


(PS - I actually liked the unedited photos a lot more than the edited ones. That's a good sign in my book :P)

[Soul.]

Please tell me, on a smartphone, can you pause a video and continue filming?

[michaelsmit]

Great video love the picture's and sony pleas let him keep it😊 and we have something that feels like mountains the tax 😂

[kaganturktur]

Im still waiting the Xperia Pro I 2. When they come out with a new one I will retire my xperia xz premium

[kimkaye]

Nice shots taken from the camera phone! What LUT are you using?