Sony Xperia Z2

[danneth]

Got mine today, couldn't decide on paper between the S5, Z2 and M8 so went and tried them and for me the Z2 was by far the best overall package.

Couple of hours in and it's great, screen is really good ( even in sunlight... ) Camera / Video both stunning and it feels nice and premium as well, I didn't expect getting the noise cancelling headphones with it so that was a nice plus as well

[anonymous-user]

Not so impressed with camera..

Can't set image stabilisation in the auto mode, taking photos of an A4 bit of paper, half the black text is missing, seen banding across the photo.

It might have loads of pixels but IMHO the one the galaxy S3 is much more user friendly, its only a bloody phone so why so complicated. I do like lots of things on the phone but it is starting to piss me off.

[robsa]

Strange post! The camera is absolutely incredible. The phone doesn't have ois, but uses software stabilisation on the video camera, and its rather good too.

There is a document mode on the camera in manual mode, but I find most people use it to take pictures of things, rather than as an Oct reader, which it excels at. Saying the s3 camera is better is rather odd...

Edited by robsa on Thursday 15th May 20:02

[anonymous-user]

I know all the reviews say how wonderful the camera is but the one in the phone I have isn't. I don't expect to see green bands across the photos what ever settings the camera has, I do expect to be able to use image stabilisation in any mode and I also don't expect to have a ripple in the backlight of the screen when previewing photos.

I can only assume the phone is duff and I am waiting for a replacement before deciding when to get a refund, piss poor covers it.

[danneth]

robsa said:

Strange post! The camera is absolutely incredible. The phone doesn't have ois, but uses software stabilisation on the video camera, and its rather good too.

There is a document mode on the camera in manual mode, but I find most people use it to take pictures of things, rather than as an Oct reader, which it excels at. Saying the s3 camera is better is rather odd...

Edited by robsa on Thursday 15th May 20:02

This, for a smartphone the camera is pretty awesome.

http://www.dxomark.com/Mobiles/Sony-Xperia-Z2-over...

[bodhi]

Aye I think you have a duff one, no OIS on my Z either, however it never really needs it unless in very low light. Some of the photos I've seen taken by a Z1 and Z2 have been stunning for a mobile, easily up there with the Lumia 1020, but running an OS you can actually do stuff on.

[The Beaver King]

gottans said:

I know all the reviews say how wonderful the camera is but the one in the phone I have isn't. I don't expect to see green bands across the photos what ever settings the camera has, I do expect to be able to use image stabilisation in any mode and I also don't expect to have a ripple in the backlight of the screen when previewing photos.

I can only assume the phone is duff and I am waiting for a replacement before deciding when to get a refund, piss poor covers it.

I'd say that your phone is probably broken.

I'm not massively into taking pictures, but the camera quality is superb.

I took this at Shelsley Walsh last weekend, didn't touch the settings, just point and click:

[anonymous-user]

Well it does seem to be related to interference from fluorescent lights but is way more sensitive to this than a galaxy s3. The S3 is quite happy until it is a few inches away from the lamp and only affects the display not the photo. The Z2 gets all upset at six feet away, there does appear to be some form of tuning going on as the interference does stop but it is there everytime the camera is used.

I don't think this is acceptable so replacement on the way but if this same then refund will be the only option.

[VEA]

Can you show us?

[Mick87]

My Z2 died today First the screen went funny and froze, so I reset it with the little red button and then it just wouldn't do anything. The only thing that worked was the LED when you plugged it into a computer.

CPW replaced after a phone call to customer service as the local store manager refused to change it/refund me as he claimed it was only a 14day warranty policy on it. He didn't seem to happy when I returned an hour later and told him to check his email for a note about it been a 28 day warranty for faulty goods!

[danneth]

for a gimmick feature they don't come out to bad imo

[robsa]

Square shapes work really well, complicated shapes not so much. I really recommend Photoshop Touch on the phone if you want to do really good wide aperture effects.



The new forest, adjusted in Photoshop touch.



Another one of the new forest using the Z2..



And another...

Bad camera? Mmm....

[anonymous-user]

Doing a direct comparison to another Z2 and a Z1 the camera is noticeably worse, the image looks washed out and it is more susceptible to banding and ripples from fluorescent lighting. It is not perfect but the replacement Z2 is a lot better so will be keeping the replacement.

[robsa]

Scratch pervert: got my tablet z yesterday. Ridiculous value for money! It comes with a 4G sim too, which is rather nice. Took a while installing the updates, it's now running Kitkat. It's incredibly thin, beautiful full HD screen, can't fault it really. Oh, camera is rubbish but who cares about that?
I will order the case and keyboard for it soon i think. Rather annoying, they are for the Z2 which has the power button lower down and fouls on the tablet z, so i will have to cut a slot in it with a dremel.

Edited by robsa on Saturday 24th May 13:12

Edited by robsa on Saturday 24th May 13:13

[scratch pervert]

robsa said:

Scratch pervert: got my tablet z yesterday. Ridiculous value for money! It comes with a 4G sim too, which is rather nice. Took a while installing the updates, it's now running Kitkat. It's incredibly thin, beautiful full HD screen, can't fault it really. Oh, camera is rubbish but who cares about that?
I will order the case and keyboard for it soon i think. Rather annoying, they are for the Z2 which has the power button lower down and fouls on the tablet z, so i will have to cut a slot in it with a dremel.

Edited by robsa on Saturday 24th May 13:12

Edited by robsa on Saturday 24th May 13:13

Thanks for the update!

I got a text on Monday to say my order is being processed but not heard anything since.

Well done on blagging the 4G version

[robsa]

I imagine you will get the same. It's a lovely tablet. I'm going to get the keyboard case for the Z2 (the tablet z doesn't have one) but it looks like it fouls the power button so will require a bit of dremeling to make it fit... also, sometimes the screen flickers when the keyboard is up, which is annoying as there is no fix currently. You can stop it by turning off suggestions though.

Apart from that, it's amazing. For under a hundred quid, it's incredible! A full HD, waterproof 4G Kitkat tablet... mental.

[Cpl nobby nobbs]

Had my Z2 a week now and it's by far the best phone I've had, although I have come fron a Galaxy S2 so it's not had much competition. Battery life is awesome, the S2 would just about manage a day.
Very happy.

[robsa]

Yep, had mine a month nearly and it just impresses more and more. Battery is amazing, camera is superb, screen is fantastic, speakers are very good and noise cancelling headphones are brilliant. The fact that it has 8gb of 4G data is a real eye opener too. My work phone is an HTC one on Vodafone (another brilliant phone) so this is the first time I've had 4G. Ask I can say is... Wow! Just insanely quick. When browsing in chrome the pages load so fast. Downloading i'm getting 18meg/s and I can stream in Hd no problem.

Biggest problem for me so far is trying to decide what accessories to get for it first! I want:

1 the wrist band for when I am jogging and out walking in the country etc.
http://www.sonymobile.com/global-en/products/smart...
About 75 quid.

2 the stereo microphone - really want to try this out when birdwatching.
http://www.sonymobile.com/global-en/products/acces...
About 25 quid

3 bluetooth stereo headphones - these look fantastic and will be great when jogging

http://www.sonymobile.com/global-en/products/acces...

About 80 quid

4 case

5 car dock - there is an active one by Brodie which looks really good

6 tripod stand for photography

So many options!

[bob-in-toon]

Moved from a 5 to z2 last week and it's the best decision I've ever made, fantastic phone and really easy to use. As others have said camera is great. Using this really makes an iPhone feel 'old'

[Allblackdup]

Chaps how are you all getting on with the Z2?

Can anyone tell me how they find the battery life please?