The Sony Xperia 1 II falls short in the estimations of camera experts
Sony may brag about the Xperia 1 II's camera capabilities, but DxOMARK believes they are nothing to shout about. According to the self-appointed expert reviewers of smartphones, the Xperia 1 II's cameras rank 42nd in its overall smartphone leaderboard. DxOMARK has based its rating almost exclusively on image quality with the default camera app mind you, rather than the Photo Pro app.
Sony should be praised the latter, in our opinion. The Photo Pro app offers infinitely more possibilities than the default camera app, making the Xperia 1 II's cameras extremely versatile. The Photo Pro app is more comprehensive than the manual modes of other smartphone cameras, too.
Nonetheless, DxOMark criticised the Xperia 1 II for its limited dynamic range in more challenging lighting conditions, the frequency with which colour casts occurred, unstable autofocus and for the low-detail of its telephoto camera, among other things. On the other hand, DxOMark liked that the Xperia 1 II offered wide dynamic range outdoors, good detail with ultra-wide-angle shots and low image noise from its main camera. Moreover, the Xperia 1 II accurately estimated depth in portrait mode and got white balance correct when shooting videos outdoors.
Ultimately though, we feel that an assessment of the Xperia 1 II and its cameras should include the Photo Pro and Cinema Pro apps. Ignoring them feels somewhat short-sighted, especially as Sony pre-loads them on the Xperia 1 II.
