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Author Xperia Mini: better than Vivaz (especially camera)?
Centerguy
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Posted: 2012-06-11 02:46
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Hi!
Well, i own the SE Vivaz, but i'm not really happy with it.
The main reason i bought this phone for was the camera, especially the 720p video recording function.
But i'm a bit disapointed about the camera, especially about the HD videos...
They look kinda blurry and lack contrast and color intensity, compared to other 720p-phones. Even the WVGA-videos of the Satio (which i had before) were better in terms of contrast and sharpness.
Well, now i'm able to swap the Vivaz for the Xperia Mini (the new one with HD video recording function, not the old X10 Mini).
Would the Xperia Mini be a good replacement for the Vivaz? Is the camera of the Mini (especially the video camera) nearly as good, or even better, than the one from the Vivaz? I've seen some 720p-videos of the Xperia Mini on youtube and they look pretty sharp and colorfull compared to the ones from the Vivaz. Like i mentioned before, the HD-videos of the Vivaz don't really look HD to me...
And what about the 5 MP photos taken with the Mini? Are they much worse than the 8 MP ones taken with the Vivaz? At least the Mini has a LED-flash...
Well, after all, would it be a good idea to swap the Vivaz for the Xperia Mini?
[ This Message was edited by: Centerguy on 2012-06-11 01:47 ]
mode
Sony Xperia Z1
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Posted: 2012-06-11 04:37
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This would be best answered by Bonovox. He's owned every single phone on this planet He can tell you
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idumbakumar
Sony Xperia Z1
Joined: Oct 01, 2007
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From: chennai,india.
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Posted: 2012-06-11 06:06
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On 2012-06-11 04:37:16, mode wrote:
This would be best answered by Bonovox. He's owned every single phone on this planet He can tell you



No u r certainly wrong. he's not owning iphone5
annafee
Xperia Arc Black
Joined: Aug 18, 2010
Posts: 82
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Posted: 2012-06-11 09:23
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Sorry but i have to disagree with you Centerguy. AFAIK the vivaz i an old warhorse and is one of the very best 8mp camera's around..it in the same league as X10,C905,Aino... the vivaz captures plently of details(still camera) wher as the 2011 Xperia mini is an average contestant.

Still camera department

Here's the Vivaz review on camera: http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_ericsson_vivaz-review-447p6.php
Here's the mini review on camera: http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_[....]n_xperia_mini-review-634p6.php
Quote for vivaz:
Image quality
Sony Ericsson Vivaz produces splendid photos. The colors are vibrant and rich (too bad we don't have the weather to prove it), the amount of resolved detail is very good and the noise levels are low.
There is no over sharpening or purple fringing. Had the amount of resolved detail and contrast been just a tad more, we surely would've called it the ultimate camera on a phone.


Video

Vivaz: http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_ericsson_vivaz-review-447p7.php
Mini: http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_[....]n_xperia_mini-review-634p6.php

Here's a comparision:

The vivaz is by far a better camera than the mini....it produces splendid photos yes the 720p video aren't so good compared to today's standards and lack a bit contrast but trust me it still records better videos than the mini....

If you want to swap for the camera then pls dont stay with the vivaz, but otherwise the vivaz is not such a good cellphone the OS is a major drawback...it's been ages with Symbian S60 v5...and it's got a ton of bugs...the speaker sound is low, ressistive screen;where as the mini is an excellent budget phone. It's fast does decent multitasking plus it's upgradable to Android 4 ICS.

Bottom Line: if you want a better camera vivaz is you choice or if you want a better smartphone you can get the mini
Centerguy
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Posted: 2012-06-11 10:50
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First of all thanks a lot for your detailed reply annafee

Well, the still images of the Vivaz are top notch - no complaints about that! I compared them with photos taken with the Satio (and even with my old 7 MP Digital Camera). But only in perfect/good lighting conditions... in the evening or night most photos are pretty noisy and blurry. I think that's because of the lack of a LED-flash

Same with the videos: in perfect/good lighting conditions videos are pretty good (but still lack contrast and vibrant colors IMO), but in dark areas they get really noisy and blurry - no more real HD...

Take a look at those 2 test videos by GSMarena (don't forget to choose 720p-quality):

Vivaz

Xperia Mini

As you can see, the video taken with the Xperia Mini is sharper and has much more contrast and richer colors. Also sound is much better.

Hmm, i really don't know what to do...
[ This Message was edited by: Centerguy on 2012-06-11 09:51 ]
rikken
Xperia Arc Black
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From: Norway
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Posted: 2012-06-11 11:05
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They say that the Xperia Mini's camera will improve with ICS, which is beeing released one of these days
Centerguy
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Posted: 2012-06-11 11:21
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On 2012-06-11 11:05:45, rikken wrote:
They say that the Xperia Mini's camera will improve with ICS, which is beeing released one of these days


LOL
rikken
Xperia Arc Black
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Posted: 2012-06-11 11:29
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Some people here reporting of improved quality due to larger image files : http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_[....]eria_mini_pro-reviews-3713.php
degraaff
Sony Xperia Acro S
Joined: Dec 20, 2007
Posts: 170
From: poo
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Posted: 2012-06-11 20:31
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On 2012-06-11 11:21:32, Centerguy wrote:

On 2012-06-11 11:05:45, rikken wrote:
They say that the Xperia Mini's camera will improve with ICS, which is beeing released one of these days


LOL


His lens has smudges, hence the blurriness on the right.
His white balance settings is probably also wrong.
His indoor photo's are "noisy" because the light conditions are very low and night mode seems to be turned off.
Apart from that, the quality doesn't seem any worse/better than in 2.3.4
Xperia acro S
gayannr
Xperia Mini Pro Black
Joined: Jun 23, 2008
Posts: 499
From: Sri Lanka
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Posted: 2012-06-18 05:56
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Does the Mini still suffer from back button bug ?
razec
W800
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From: Mars
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Posted: 2012-06-18 11:08
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Hands down I'd say Xperia Mini is better at everything except still image photography. may of us would say more pixels equates to worse image quality but in this case Vivaz is downright superior due to better signal-to-noise and better processing of JPEG photos. many 2011 8mp Xperia (despite the so-called Exmor-R back illumination technology) users reported worse image quality compared to last year's Xperia X10, Vivaz and even Aino which I believe shares identical sensor with the two. though we don't know exactly how large the sensors that these two camera phones had within.
10 years at Esato
Centerguy
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Posted: 2012-06-18 21:14
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Yeah, i already made a decision.
I'll sell my Vivaz and get myself a Xperia Mini

Video quality of the Xperia Mini is indeed much better compared to the Vivaz. I compared the 720p Videos taken with the Vivaz with WVGA videos taken with the Satio. Believe it or not, but the videos of the Satio look the same in terms of sharpness. But contrast and colors are even better in the Satio videos! The only advantage of the Vivaz is the continuous autofocus.

And like i mentioned, videos taken with the Xperia Mini really do look like HD. Videos taken with the Vivaz do look like interpolated WVGA videos... and they get really pretty noisy (and much blurrier as they are already) as soon as it gets a little darker - absolutely no more HD quality at all.

And don't forget the MUCH better sound quality of the Xperia Mini (in stereo!). Vivaz' sound is just too low...

Still images of the Vivaz taken in good lighting conditions are very good - even less noisy then images taken with the Satio. BUT (!), only in good lighting conditions. As soon as it gets dark, the pictures taken with the Vivaz are really blurry and really dark... thanks to that poor LED light, which really doesn't help in low light...

I hope the Xperia Mini images taken in the dark are much better then the ones taken with the Vivaz, i mean the Xperia Mini does have a LED flash at least.

Well, as you mentioned already razec, the Xperia Mini is better indeed. Above all it's an Android phone! Symbian (especially S60 5th) really sucks big time compared to Android (and also compared to nearly any other OS )

Anyway, can't wait to get the Xperia Mini
[ This Message was edited by: Centerguy on 2012-06-18 20:28 ]
rikken
Xperia Arc Black
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Posted: 2012-06-18 21:41
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Congrats on tour choice it is a charming and well functioning little rascal
Centerguy
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Posted: 2012-06-18 21:58
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On 2012-06-18 21:41:35, rikken wrote:
Congrats on tour choice it is a charming and well functioning little rascal



Hehe, i hope so
gayannr
Xperia Mini Pro Black
Joined: Jun 23, 2008
Posts: 499
From: Sri Lanka
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Posted: 2012-06-19 07:45
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On 2012-06-18 21:41:35, rikken wrote:
Congrats on tour choice it is a charming and well functioning little rascal


What about the touch button issue ??
[ This Message was edited by: gayannr on 2012-06-19 06:45 ]
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