Unlocking the Xperia Z1 bootloader will screw up your camera, warns Sony

If you've just picked up a shiny new Sony Xperia Z1 and want to get hacking away at the device, you may want to hold off for awhile. A new message on the Sony Mobile bootloader unlock site warns that —

"Warning! At the moment, unlocking the Xperia™ Z1 boot loader will stop the camera functionality."

So presumably if you go ahead with the unlock process, that fancy 20.7-megapixel Exmor RS camera will turn into a pumpkin. It's likely this is a temporary glitch — and given Sony's track record with allowing devices to be unlocked we'd expect a fix to arrive in due course. Nevertheless, if you want to actually take photos on your Z1 it seems you'll need to keep your hands off the bootloader for now.

We've got an email out to Sony, and we'll update this post with any further info they provide.

Source: Sony Bootloader Unlock; via: XperiaBlog

View the original article here

Sony Xperia Z1 camera samples, fresh off the IFA booth

The Sony Xperia Z1 went official yesterday at IFA in Berlin, and today we've got the camera samples taken directly from our visit to the Sony booth.
First up are several 16:9 camera samples in the maximum allowable resolution for that aspect ratio, 8MP. You'll see some accurate colors and good dynamic range considering the interior lighting, but the oversharpening filter is working overtime to restore the sharpness lost after the generous noise reduction. At 8MP these shots have been downsampled from what essentially is a 20MP sensor, so the photos noise levels have certainly benefited from that.

Sony Xperia Z1 16:9 samples

The same cannot be said about our full resolution 4:3 shot, measuring 5248 x 3936 pixels, which takes advantage of the entire 20.7MP sensor on the Z1. this one is noticeably more noisy, but remember, the light conditions at the Sony booth were pretty bad.

Sony Xperia Z1 20.7MP camera sample
Finally, here's a quick 1080p video we shot. The rather dim lighting conditions made for some repeated autofocusing attempts.

Given the interior lighting conditions and that the Xperia Z1 may not have finalized software, we won't be too quick in rendering a final judgment on Sony's new flagship.
For more on the Sony Xperia Z1 and its 20.7MP camera, check out our extensive hands-on.

View the original article here

Sony Lens Camera Ad Leaks – Check Out the Video!

Sony’s new ‘lens camera‘ has yet to be officially announced but a steady stream of leaks have been popping up for the last month or so. The peripheral is expected be unveiled tomorrow (Sept. 4) at IFA in Berlin, along with Sony’s much-anticipated Xperia Z1 Honami. But today an ad for the new camera leaked, showing the QX100 and lower end QX10 lens camera’s in action.  Check it out below!

The ad shows a chipper fellow making strolling and flirting through his day, finding great photo ops along the way. The ad shows off the easy coupling and uncoupling of the camera with a smart phone, using a simple NFC bump. The accompanying camera app looks great too, with several editing features available at a touch. The higher end Qx100 model is mostly showcased, as the scruffy protagonist documents his day. But the sleeker QX10 makes an appearance as well, sporting its own special case.

Sony’s lens camera attachment will come in two flavors. The lower end QX10 will feature a 10x zoom f/3.3-5.9 lens with a 1/2.3 inch 18-megapixel CMOS sensor. This is on par with modern consumer point and shoots, and smart camera’s like Samsung’s Galaxy Camera.

The higher end QX100 is really something special, however. It will sport the same sensor as Sony’s excellent  RX100 Mark II. As previously reported, the high-end accessory will feature a 1-inch 20.2-megapixel Exmor R sensor and an f/1.8 Carl Zeiss lens. This will add some serious power to your smartphone photography, and essentially put a high-end, prosumer camera in your pocket.

Both devices have a power button, microphone and display panel, with the DSCQX10 touting a microSD and battery indicator as well as a tripod mount, shutter button and a zoom lever.

While the leak of this video might have stolen a little of Sony‘s thunder for tomorrow’s event, it’s great to see the Qx100 and QX10 in action. I still don’t see a big market for these products, but I’ll be darned if they aren’t cool! We’ll find out the pricing tomorrow, but the rumor mill has suggested that the QX100 could be going for $450 and its lower end counterpart at $250.

[Via: Android Central]

Wade Keye is a writer, filmmaker, and nerd of every stripe. Currently he resides in the Pacific Northwest.

View the original article here

Meizu MX3 with Exynos 5 Octa and 8MP camera goes official

Meizu has officially announced its latest flagship smartphone, dubbed MX3. Meizu's newest addition packs a punch with its powerful hardware and brings a touch of class with its Android 4.2 Jelly Bean-based Flyme 3.0 user interface, which is said to bring 324 updated interactions and 1,579 new visual features.

Meizu MX3 comes with a 5.1-inch display with an unusual 1800 x 1080 pixels resolution and just a 2.9mm of screen bezel. The smartphone measures 139 x 71.9 x 9.1 mm and weighs about 143 grams.

Under the hood is an Exynos 5 Octa chipset that has four Cortex A15 cores running at 1.6 GHz along with the quad Cortex A7 clocked at 1.2 GHz. MX3 also features 2 GB of RAM, a Sony-made 8 megapixel sensor that comes with f/2.0 lens, zero-delay image stabilization and Fujitsu's ISP to enable capture speeds up to 20fps. The 2-megapixel front facing shooter completes the camera department.
Meizu MX3 is equipped with Wolfson audio chip that gives 113dB signal-to-noise ratio with a low distortion rate of 0.002%. The Dirac HD codec and a dedicated audio amplifier are also present along with the triple-mic setup for a better voice clarity.

Meizu's latest smartphone comes with a wide range of connectivity options that include NFC, dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 and GPS.
The juice for the elegant device is provided by a 2,400mAh battery, which according to the company lasts 9 hours on 3G browsing, 10 hours on Wi-Fi or 7 hours on 1080p video playback.
Meizu MX3 will be available in 16, 32, 64 and 128 GB of memory options and the device will be up for grabs starting from CNY2,499 (about $410) and reaching CNY3,999 (about $650) for the 128GB version. Unfortunately, there is no word on the global availability of the smartphone.
Source

View the original article here