Sony Xperia 1 – A Surprise Smartphone Filmmaking Leader?
The iPhone is the device most commonly used (and thought of) when we think of smartphone filmmaking. The 3 most famous films shot on smartphones were iPhone films.
But if we’re not using an iPhone, then we might consider a Samsung or a Google Pixel. Huawei phones have stormed to the top of the DxOMark charts, but from the footage I have seen I’m confused as to why that is. Until I get to test one myself, my inner-jury is still out.
On the other hand, Sony smartphones have generally been underappreciated. By filmmakers, media, reviewers and smartphone owners in general. But the Xperia 1 has certainly got my attention.
For a start, Sony have it’s video viewing and shooting capabilities as virtually it’s main feature when other phone makers are focusing on stills photography.
Xperia is the brand name of smartphones and tablets from Sony Mobile. The name Xperia is derived from the word “experience”, and was first used in the Xperia X1 tagline, “I Xperia the best”.
So what are the video features on the Xperia 1 which stand out?
The Xperia 1 features a 6.5 inch Ultra Wide 4K (1644 x 3840px) OLED High Dynamic Range (HDR) display. Indeed, Sony claims the screen to be the “world’s first 4K OLED smartphone with 21:9 CinemaWide™ display (6.5”) and HDR remastering technologies”.
Sony also say, “Xperia 1 delivers a cinema aspect ratio and accurate colour reproduction that films are created in, for a viewing experience that’s true to what creators envisioned.”
So they are really appealing to people who watch movies on their smartphones and who might appreciate being able to watch them in full widescreen. There’s an irony there, considering the widescreen ratio was invented to tempt people away from their “small” TV screens and back to the cinema. So here we have the world’s smallest widescreen experience.
Perhaps something of a contradiction. But as more and more people are watching movies on their smartphones, there’s also a logic to it.
What about filming on an Xperia 1?
The Xperia 1 has 3 lenses: a wide 16mm (f/2.4), a versatile 26mm (f/1.6) lens and a 52mm (f/2.4) “telephoto”. Sony say the 52mm is equivalent to a regular 35mm lens. So when they call this a telephoto, bear in mind telephoto lenses usually start at 60mm and go up.
This “telephoto” is well below that, because smartphone cameras are generally very wide. So, a telephoto here is really more of a standard lens.
With the Xperia 1 you can record in 4K and benefit from the extended dynamic range you get from HDR.
The camera also features a Steady Movie recording option with optical and electronic image stabilization to help with handhelds shots.
Sony smartphone designers have collaborated with the engineers of Sony’s professional digital cinema camera division known for its CineAlta brand. So, exactly what RED have recently decided to do with their Hydrogen One smartphone.
Sony say you “…can shoot with natural cinematic tone and further apply expression-based colour management pre-sets with our new Cinema Pro feature”.
It sounds like the Xperia will allow you to create certain looks using their preset colour sets. They say there will be eight different “expressions”.
Manual control
Unlike Samsung who recently removed manual control from their smartphone systems, Sony are looking to give us more control with the Xperia 1. You will be able to take full manual control over your shutter speed and ISO, like any other Sony Alpha camera.
I’m not sure exactly how much control over frame rate there will be, but you will be able to shoot with the cinema standard 24fps.
There’s not too much else to go on yet, but I think this could be an interesting device for filmmakers. In some ways, the thinking behind the phone is closer to our hopes the RED Hydrogen One. We’ll have to wait and see if this device is truly for the video creator.
Sony say, Xperia 1 ships with Android™ 9 Pie and will be available in select markets from late Spring 2019.
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