Sony Xperia 1 VI review: Sony shifts its pro phone course | Expert Reviews

Sony Xperia 1 VI review: Cameras

Sony has kept with the same 1/1.35in 48MP main sensor as the Xperia 1 V. Together with its consolidated camera app and a new emphasis on AI processing, Sony is clearly looking to make the Xperia 1 VI a better point and shoot tool than previous models.

It has succeeded, but only to a certain degree. The Xperia 1 VI remains one of the best in the business at focusing, locking on with often uncanny speed and precision. Sony’s natural colour science also avoids the trap of making shots look gaudy and unrepresentative.

In general ‘fire and forget’ shooting conditions, however, I would still take an iPhone 15 Pro or a Pixel 8 Pro out with me over the Xperia 1 VI. It’s not that they have better cameras as such, but rather that they routinely return more consistently pleasing snaps when it comes to dynamic range, low noise levels, and exposure.

This largely comes down to the fact that Sony, as a respected camera maker, prefers to not go overboard with image processing. If you’re willing to go hands-on with the vast array of controls in the camera’s now built-in Pro mode, that makes for a brilliant photography tool.

But if you’re looking for, say, a nicely balanced out shot when shooting an intermittently shady area on a sunny day, the Sony won’t perform so well. The same applies to night shots. I took an iPhone 15 Pro out with me one evening alongside the Xperia 1 VI, and Apple’s flagship captured markedly sharper, cleaner, less noisy low light images. Sony’s phone also seems way more prone to lens flare.

Ultrawide shots are decent, with what appears to be the same 12MP sensor as before, and a comparable colour tone to that main sensor. But the main advance here is a new 12MP telephoto camera that can shoot anywhere between 85mm and 170mm – that’s 3.5x and 7.1x zoom, in smartphone camera lingo.

This increased zoom performance makes the Xperia 1 VI a pleasingly flexible tool. Besides nice sharp zoomed-in shots (in decent lighting at least), Sony has implemented a neat telephoto macro mode. Rather than getting right up close to your subject, you can stand at a further remove and use a manual focus slider (activating the focus peaking tool is recommended) to bring the desired area into focus. This feature can also get you some nice creamy background bokeh on your close-ups.

You can even capture 4K video at this zoomed-in macro range. Indeed, the Xperia 1 VI is a strong video performer all round, extending right up to 4K at 120fps. I was particularly impressed with the sound quality in the footage I captured, though zooming whilst shooting isn’t the smoothest experience.