Colby Brown On The Xperia 1 III | An Adventure Photographer’s Perspective By Sony I Alpha Universe

Hello everyone, my name, is Colby brown, and this is the Xperia one. Mark iii Sony's latest flagship camera phone. Now I was lucky enough to take this phone with me on my recent adventures to Alaska, to see what it was actually capable of helping me capture, and I have to say that I came away pretty impressed, but before I get too ahead of myself, let's quickly jump into that intro video montage, so starting off on the right foot. Let's talk a little about what this video is and what it isn't. This video is not an in-depth review of the Xperia 1 mark iii. There are plenty of other YouTubers and tech journalists that will dive into the nuances of this phone.

Talking about how incredible the world's first 120 hertz, 4k, HDR OLED display is, is gorgeous or how great the battery life is. It's pretty great instead think of it more like an exclusive, hands-on experience from a professional photographer's standpoint. I am much more interested in how this device will fit into my gear workflow and how it helps me actually create content when I'm actually out there in the field and, if you're, watching this video. I really hope you are too so with all of that. Out of the way, let's first direct our attention to the photography and still image side of things.

There are some important changes and advancements worth talking about here. That really made a difference for me when I was in Alaska, the camera still puts out a 12 megapixel raw or JPEG image, using a backside, illuminated stacked image sensor, but things have quickly improved from there. The most significant change from the previous models has to be with the lenses of which you now have four different focal lengths to play with 16 millimeters 24, millimeters, 70, millimeters and 105 millimeters. Last two are special because they're actually housed in the same lens, otherwise known as a variable tell lens moving from 70 to 105, actually happens, optically, providing much better results than the digital zoom options, with other phones having the flexibility to move between. All four lenses easily made the Xperia 1 mark iii, much more versatile to use in Alaska.

I could quickly zoom in on a beautiful light. I saw on a distant mountain peak after having captured an ultra-wide shot of the same scene for some behind the scenes. Content for the project that I was working on. I had fun experimenting with all four different lenses on a variety of scenes which allowed me to visually demonstrate the differences between the lenses and how they can be used in practical situations. Now, having the ability to reach 70 to 105 millimeters optically with a smartphone is certainly more impressive than I first realized when we were on our way to Lake Clark in Alaska, where I was filming a wildlife focus project, I was able to use my Xperia 1 mark iii to capture a variety of different scenes out of the window of our small Cessna airplane, using different focal lengths, as the situations called for it.

Now, aerial photography of any kind can be challenging, but the ability to shoot raw images while optically picking the millimeter length that worked for the image I was trying to capture made me much more confident in using my smartphone for a situation like this. Additionally, the autofocus system on the Xperia 1 mark iii has been vastly improved, providing a better all-around autofocus experience. You now have real-time eye autofocus tracking, as you can see here as I was taking some portraits of my fellow Sony, artisan Jermaine Horton, as we were, having some fun by a nearby stream, but I'm also happy to report that the eye autofocus now also works with animals such as cats and dogs. Now, as a wildlife photographer, that is usually using 600, millimeter plus lenses to capture images, the Xperia 1 mark iii won't be replacing my Sony anytime soon for this kind of work. But I had a lot of fun testing this feature with my pets when I was back here at home here in eastern Pennsylvania, this helps showcase how you can use some continuous autofocus throughout the different focal lengths, which is something that's new to the Xperia 1 mark iii.

Now. Lastly, I'm also happy to report that the camera app situation on the Xperia 1 mark iii has been improved. You no longer have to decide between the two different camera apps as the basic and pro camera modes are now housed under one roof. When you first jump into the camera app, you will automatically start in the basic mode which allows you to quickly grab a shot. But if you want more creative control, you can simply tap on the basic button in the top left-hand corner of the scene, and then I can choose from a variety of different camera modes, including manual, which is where I often find myself here.

I can dial in my shutter speed ISO and adjust any other number of features such as frames per second autofocus mode, white balance and much more as a photographer. All this feels very at home and natural, which I am sure, was Sony's goal when it came to the user experience specifically to the camera app itself. So what about the video side of things? While I am a photographer? First and foremost, I think you would be hard-pressed to find another creative out there that doesn't feel that the significance of capturing quality video is increasing by the day. So even as a photographer, I was blown away by the video that I was able to capture with the Xperia one mark iii. This is not only because it is capable of shooting, incredibly crisp, 4k footage which it can or because of the slow motion, features which are fun to play with, but because of two other major factors.

First, the cinema pro app is great. Here I have full creative control over the video's resolution frames per second picture profile, shutter, speed and more additionally, Sony has put a lot of work to continue to improve the color science used here to better match the footage I can capture using my professional Sony, camera bodies. So what does this all mean? Basically, in many situations, I can quickly use my Xperia 1 mark iii to fill my scene or some b-roll for a video project, I'm working on, and then I can match it with the other footage. I've captured with my alpha line of cameras, which is a pretty big deal. The footage I captured in Alaska with the Xperia 1 mark iii looks fantastic, is close and tone to the other footage that I've shot, and it is in the same 24 frames per second mode so that I can actually use it in a professional setting now, as an added benefit for cinematographers out there.

The Xperia one mark iii has another little known feature that feels like icing on the cake for creatives. At any point, I can use my Xperia 1 mark 3 as an external monitor when it is paired with a Sony alpha, mirrorless camera, with a simple hot shoe, mount smartphone holder and the right HDMI to USB cable. I can have a much larger display to view the content I'm creating when I'm out there in the field for video people out there. This is often a required tool to get the job done, and now I can easily do this with just the phone. That's in my pocket.

So, just as I said at the start of this video, the Xperia one mark iii has left me quite impressed when it comes to what it is actually capable of capturing now. Sony has continued to not only push the boundaries of what is possible when it comes to the cameras found on the Xperia line of phones, but also continued to blur the lines between their professional alpha line of cameras and the Xperia devices, which, coincidentally, are now both housed under the imaging department at Sony now with the world slowly and hopefully safely, starting to open back up for travel. I look forward to seeing what opportunities the Xperia 1 mark iii brings with it. Now that it is part of my gear setup moving forward. I hope you've enjoyed this video.

I will see you guys next time, thanks again for watching.

Source : Sony I Alpha Universe