Still two years behind: The Sony Xperia 5's cameras play catch-up to the competition
Sony's smartphone cameras have been something of a disappointment for years, and that trend looks to have continued with the company's current batch of flagships. The Xperia 1 flopped hard when it made its way over to DxOMark a few months ago, and its refreshed, smaller sibling, the Xperia 5, has now managed to do the same.
The Xperia 5 recorded an overall score of 95. That's four more points than the Xperia 1 (91). Both phones share the same camera hardware, and what difference that exists between them—if there are any—is likely due to software improvements.
In the still photography segment, the Xperia 5 earned a score of 101. Notable weaknesses included limited dynamic range, depth estimation issues in bokeh shots, and inaccurate color rendering outdoors. In the video category, the Xperia 5 made do with a score of 83, with notable weaknesses including poor dynamic range, white balance instabilities, and judder when recording outdoors.
Both the photo and video scores of the Xperia 5 are, well, awful, especially for a phone released in 2019. Those scores put it in the same bracket as 2017 devices like the Galaxy Note 8, Huawei Mate 10 Pro, and iPhone 8 Plus. This is becoming a theme with Sony's smartphone cameras—being two years behind the competition.
Sony claimed that it would quit nerfing its cameras with the Xperia 1, and now had its Alpha team working on its phones' cameras. Well, going by DxOMark's evaluation, they don't seem to have done a great job.
It's important to note that DxOMark's scores should not be taken as gospel. You'd do well to read the review and have a look at the comparison shots yourself, although you'll find that the website's opinions on this particular phone are mostly spot-on.
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