Sony Xperia Z3 Compact

[terminator363]

Just to update yall, still no news from Sony since I shipped the phone.

When I do get the phone back (I will in the end if it kills me) I want to get some good accessories. I'm already planning to buy the Magnector charging adapter to prolong the waterproof flap life but I need a good case.

I was looking around on forums and there aren't that many great cases for this phone. The best one I've seen (with magnet hole opening) has a glorified Android logo on the back:

The best choices at the moment are CaseMate's Tough case. I'm not a fan of the massive opening on the left side of the phone though:

 

[BobK]

Just make sure it's waterproof, okay?:

 

[sems4arsenal]

For cases I have the Spigen clear case for the Z2, love it, it adds protection and is clear (usefull for a sony product since their phones are arguably the best looking) and is well priced.

I'm looking at a tempered glass protector so maybe you'd want one of those.

You can get some incredible bumper cases (look for them on XPeria blog)but they are too expensive for me.

 

[Tornado]

I just use a simple 2 piece holster cover like my Droid had. Easy to remove and provides good grip without adding much in the way of bulk.

 

[terminator363]

For cases I have the Spigen clear case for the Z2, love it, it adds protection and is clear (usefull for a sony product since their phones are arguably the best looking) and is well priced.

That's a great case but they don't make it for the Compact. Also no magnet cutout.

 

[sems4arsenal]

That's a great case but they don't make it for the Compact. Also no magnet cutout.

Not sure if it has a magnet cutout but how about this

 

[terminator363]

Not sure if it has a magnet cutout but how about this

Too much bulk. The metal isn't all that great for shock absorption either.

 

[Pseudopod]

Owner of a Z3 Compact here.

There's a lot of good things going for it, here's some that come to mind straight away:

• Very fast Snapdragon 801 processor (2.46GHz) and is quad-core.
• Plenty of RAM at your disposal (2GB), you won't be running out of it so easy.
• Supports up to 128GB MicroSD cards.
• Uses Sonys UI, which goes for a simplistic look and works very well.
• 4K photos and videos from the back camera.
• Native DualShock 3/DualShock 4 support.

There's more pros to this phone, but this is what comes to mind immediately.

4k photos is just about 8 MP, though.

 

[terminator363]

The photo quality is good but the pictures are extremely washed out. It's a software issue that makes the 21 megapixel shooter look really bad.

 

[Pseudopod]

It's not like pixel count has ever directly translated to picture quality anyway

 

[Grayfox]

The photo quality is good but the pictures are extremely washed out. It's a software issue that makes the 21 megapixel shooter look really bad.

I would say sensor.

As i got told you don't want to pack a huge amount of pixels into a small sensor area.

Trying to pack 21,000,000 pixels into a 1cmx1cm sensor.

But try other camera apps, but it could be the drivers for the camera itself.

 

[Murcie_LP640]

I've been actually fairly disappointed with my Z3's camera, even though I don't use it particularly often because I have a DSLR for quality, I did expect better for all the hubbub about the camera's quality.

Washed out colours are the main issue. Might try some new programs see if they can't coax some life into them.

 

[Korza]

I've been actually fairly disappointed with my Z3's camera, even though I don't use it particularly often because I have a DSLR for quality, I did expect better for all the hubbub about the camera's quality.

I think that's the problem. I have a Z2 and I too am disappointed with the camera, probably because I've been spoiled by having a proper camera.

 

[jacnob]

To you guys complaining about the camera, have you been using the auto mode? It for some weird reason defaults to only using 8 mp in that mode. You'll have to use manual settings to use the maximum MP.

 

[sems4arsenal]

Don't mind the Z2 camera at all, I use manual mode and tend to fiddle with the settings (love the HDR mode), then again I ain't no photographer, it's the front camera that I hate.

 

[Grayfox]

To you guys complaining about the camera, have you been using the auto mode? It for some weird reason defaults to only using 8 mp in that mode. You'll have to use manual settings to use the maximum MP.

Some times using a lower Megapixel setting gives you a better picture.
More pixels does not always mean better quality.

 

[Pseudopod]

Correct. Any old 8 MP DSLR would blow any 20 MP phone camera out of the water

 

[Robin]

Correct. Any old 8 MP DSLR would blow any 20 MP phone camera out of the water

My old 2.0 Mega Pixel Sony Cybershot still blows most phone cameras out of the water in clarity (if you don't need it 4000X4000 or something) and most especially colour reproduction. The optics matter more than the MP.

 

[Pseudopod]

Optics, and sensor size/quality. Depends on the situation I guess. In perfect conditions, a phone sensor with ludicrous megapixels might outperform a bigger sensor with fewer pixels, but once the sun goes down, it'll be the other way around.

 

[terminator363]

Update: still no word from Sony

 

[Grayfox]

Update: still no word from Sony

Dont worry.
That is normal

It is like that here in Australia as well.

 

[sems4arsenal]

Update: still no word from Sony

They're incredibly slow, that is indeed normal.

 

[Korza]

Update: still no word from Sony

It typically takes 10 working days when stuff is sent away for repairs.

 

[terminator363]

Sony gave me a new phone!

 

[BobK]

Sony gave me a new phone!

Great! Are you going to try drowning this one?

 

[terminator363]

Great! Are you going to try drowning this one?

HELL YEA! I might wait a bit and enjoy the phone before I decide to kill it (or it dies on me).

 

[terminator363]

No Lollipop for this bad boy some how. Bell Canada has only rolled out 4.4.4.

 

[terminator363]

I've got some weird spots on my camera when I look at it. Any one else have this problem (it's not noticeable in the photos though).

 

[Tornado]

"Weird spots"? Like, on the lens? Or on the screen when looking through the camera?

 

[Grayfox]

provide photos.