Sony Xperia 1 V Review - The Audiophile's PRO Camera Phone 🤔
The most common criticism against the Sony Xperia 1 V is it’s too expensive for what it offers especially in the camera department. I’ve seen reviews that say the camera’s not as easy to use for beginners, and because many competing phones have seen massive improvements in terms of shooting natural looking photos and videos, to the point where I do feel comfortable using those for work.
But I will argue that this is actually a fantastic camera phone especially for pro photos and videos, and, if you’re serious about audio. How? Keep reading.
Is it for you?
We’ve got to remember that what makes the Xperia 1 V’s camera so different from the competition is who it’s meant for. People who love snapping photos and videos the old school style as they would a Sony mirrorless camera.
With most flagship phones, it’s so easy, you can simply snap and almost immediately get a “perfectly” exposed picture. So even if you’re shooting with the sun behind the subject (which is something that noobs often do) you still get perfectly balanced exposure.
Now don’t get me wrong, if you’re a beginner I’m not saying that 1 V’s a difficult camera to work with. There is a lot of automation built in, so even if you’re a complete newbie at photography you can shoot nice pictures and videos in the default Basic mode without worrying about things like overexposure and focusing, since it has HDR and Sony’s famous face and eye autofocus tech.
Basic mode also has S-Cinetone for getting that cinematic look.
What’s not so easy is that its HDR is not as aggressive, which means you will have to pay more attention to things like lighting, angles and framing compared to other phones.
In other words, you will actually learn the basics of photography, instead of mindlessly snapping photos.
Not going to lie, it’s like playing a game on Normal mode instead of Easy, but if you’re always playing on easy you’ll never learn the game. I’ve shot some sample photos both in the day and at night. Video samples here.
Camera Critique
Its main camera is great for the same reasons why I loved the 1 IV like the soft, natural lines and colors. Similar to what I get from my Sony A6400, which I’m shooting on now. But I do have some criticisms about its HDR processing. It can balance exposure pretty well, even when my back is faced against a bright LED display.
But it does struggle when dealing with a bright sky. In the day shots there were supposed to be visible clouds in the background, but the sky just looks blown out.
Also, when shooting Ultra Wide and Telephoto in low light conditions, you’ll have to shoot either in Basic or Auto, otherwise they’re going to appear quite noisy, especially the telephoto lenses. That’s because those sensors are only 12MPs, and only Basic or Auto has Night Mode which does a pretty good job at cleaning up the image in low light.
The main 48MP camera does well either way because it pixel bins into 12MP which helps take in a lot more light. But I’m not impressed at all with the front camera. Under natural lighting it’s good, but, I look very washed out indoors under artificial lighting, using the standard filter.
Front 12MP Camera indoors under artificial lighting.
Of course for more advanced users, you can shoot in other modes like shutter priority or manual, which lets you control both the shutter speed and ISO.
You can also do manual for videos, but that is in separate apps like Video Pro, and Cinema Pro which lets you achieve looks similar to Sony's Cinemaline cameras.
And just like an actual Sony mirrorless, the dedicated shutter button’s still there. It’s one of my favourite features of Xperia phones because it behaves like a 2 step shutter. Half press to focus, click to snap.
And with Sony cameras, it is also possible to use this as a monitor. So instead of having to grab a second screen on your shoots, this links directly through USB. You will need a HDMI to UVC converter though, Sony doesn’t provide that.
Audiophile’s Phone?
As for the audio, audio is part of the Sony DNA, and the Xperia 1 V’s got tech which enhances and improves sound quality in various ways like 360 Audio upscaling, turning your stereo audio into more immersive versions, or Dolby Atmos if you prefer that instead.
Even its speakers support spatial audio which does make its already loud speakers sound a little bigger, more spacious for music, movies and gaming. There’s even some thump and gravity in the bass so it doesn’t sound thin at all. Listen to the sample here.
Ultimate Power!
The Xperia 1 V’s got DSEE Ultimate, which is Sony’s most advanced audio upscaler. But what is this exactly?
The fact is, if you’re going wireless, even with Hi-Res codecs there’s going to be some data loss in the process during compression. So DSEE Ultimate uses AI tech to patch those missing bits of data back in the high frequencies. It’s a very subtle difference, so it’s not going to make listeners go ‘wow’, but this is still appreciated by people like me who could do with some extra air and Hi-Frequency detail. Here’s a sample recording with and without DSEE Ultimate.
If you’re using Sony earbuds and headphones you might already have some version of DSEE on the earbuds themselves. So this is going to be more useful for those of you who use other brands of headphones or earbuds.
LC3? Well, about that…
What I do hope to see is LC3 codec support. It’s listed in Developer’s settings, but when I tried to activate it using the WF-1000XM5, it wouldn’t work. Later I found out that only the Xperia 1 IV actually supports LC3.
Sony has assured me that LC3 support will be coming to the 1 V in a software update, but there is no timeline for that yet. If you don’t know what LC3 is, watch this video below.
Reasons to buy the Xperia 1 V
Here’s a few more reasons to dig the 1 V, things which I’m glad Sony brought over from the previous versions. Its 21:9 aspect ratio is not a very popular form factor but there are people who do prefer this particular longish design. People like me, because I find it easier to hold and use one handed. (Not that my hands are small…)
And compared to other phones:
the new textured glass backing provides better grip, especially for sweaty palms.
You don’t need a tool to remove the SIM slash microSD expansion slot. And of course,
the 3.5mm jack. It’s still there. Granted, most phones can still do wired connections using a USB converter, but this allows you to both charge and listen wired at the same time, for people who prefer wired audio over Bluetooth.
This also has fantastic thermals. It gets warm when shooting pics and gaming for a few hours, but never hot. Also the battery life is good enough to last for more than 24 hours at least. 5000 mAH is pretty juicy.
So those are reasons to get it. Now we’re going to discuss what could be better.
Cons…
The fingerprint sensor. It’s still on the right edge instead of on the screen. In that position, it’s just not as responsive or easy to reach when using it left handed. I didn’t like it on the 1 IV, and I still don’t like it on the 1 V.
It also doesn’t have face unlock. And in terms of the screen, it doesn’t have LTPO variable refresh which in theory, could have improved its battery consumption on top of it’s already great battery life.
Its screen is bright enough to be usable in daylight, but could be better. Compared directly to the iPhone 14 Pro you can see the difference at max brightness.
And for this price, it doesn’t come with any accessories. (Not even a charging cable!)
All that, and what I said about its camera limitations, do make the Xperia 1 V feel less value for the everyday consumer. But as I’ve said, for a very specific market of content creators and audiophiles, the Xperia 1 V could be exactly what they’re looking for. Check in the links below for the latest prices.
Sony Xperia 1 V Latest Price
Amazon - https://amzn.to/4aYUSV1
Lazada - https://s.lazada.sg/s.bDNBt?cc
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