The just released Xperia XZ3 had a lot of rumors surrounding the slow-motion capability which was to be a cut above previous releases but as first-hand reviewers have shown, the camera module is carried over from the XZ2 and what the phone really changes are the first ever Sony OLED display in HDR, larger battery and a larger screen as main feature changes.
The Slow Motion component is unchanged from the XZ2 at 960fps in Full HD 1080p and 720p with just 6.4 seconds worth of playback at 30fps and 3.2 seconds at 1080p 30fps timeline. The hone only records for 0.1 seconds at 960fps in 1080p and 0.2 sec for 720p. Hardly a usable slow motion format for the people looking to capture long slow motion in the several second time-range.
Sony Xperia XZ3 Features:
| Main Camera | 19 MP, f/2.0, 25mm, 1/2.3″, 1.22µm, predictive PDAF & laser AF |
| Camera Features | LED flash, panorama, HDR Video Capture |
| Video Frame Rates | 2160p@30fps, 1080p@60fps, 1080p@30fps (5-axis gyro-EIS), 1080p 960fps |
- Xperia XZ3 Other features:
- MEMORY AND STORAGE
- 4 GB RAM, 64 GB UFS internal memory1, microSDXC support (up to 512 GB)
- WEIGHT
- 193 g
- DIMENSIONS
- 158 x 73 x 9.9 mm
- DISPLAY
- 6.0”, 18:9 OLED QHD+ (2880 x 1440) HDR display , TRILUMINOS™ Display for mobile, X-Reality™ for mobile, Dynamic Contrast Enhancer
- CAMERA
- 19 MP Motion Eye™ camera , 1/2.3″ Exmor RS™ for mobile memory-stacked sensor, 960 fps Super slow motion video (FHD/HD), Predictive Capture (motion / smile), Autofocus burst, 5 MP front camera
How will the 960fps mode look?
We think the camera being the same sensor and hardware will yield identical results in slow motion to the Sony Xperia XZ2 which did ok but not great in the resolution department as there is line loss at the 960fps speed. We have added some samples from the XZ2 until the XZ3 samples are available so you can see a clear expectation of results.
Sony Xperia XZ2 super slow motion test – 960 fps by Audrius Gavėnas:
Sony Xperia XZ2 Super Slow Motion Camera Test (1080p Full HD 960fps) by Phone Battles:
Sony Xperia XZ2 Super Slow Motion 960fps by Tinh tế:
Should I buy it?
If you need it for the slow motion only then you should definitely take a look at the older XZ2 which has the same camera performance. Also take a look at the Galaxy S9, S9+ and OnePlus 6 as alternatives. Also, the new iPhones will be announced in September so you should wait and see what they come up with as upgrades to the camera module. We will have some XZ3 samples when available so you can compare to the XZ2 and others -HSC
Disappointing. Let’s see what Huawei has to offer coming october with its new Kirin-980 processor that should be able to handle high fps for a longer time.
It’s all about the buffer and how you feed the data. OnePlus 6 found a way to do it at 480fps.