Sony Xperia 1 VIII review

No more continuous zoom; main and ultrawide unchanged

Sony's smartphone camera hardware isn't quite like any other brand out there, and they're keeping things different on the Xperia 1 VIII, though there is a somewhat significant change compared to the Xperia 1 VII. The telephoto has been reimagined, scrapping the continuous zoom lens of the predecessor, while the rest of the modules are essentially unchanged.

The Xperia 1 VII had a telephoto camera with continuous zoom in the 85-170mm range that it inherited from the 1 VI, which in turn was an improved version of the Xperia 1 IV and 1 V's 85-125mm zoom cameras. The thing is, none of these models' telephoto performance was particularly impressive.

So Sony decided to pivot to a more conventional approach on the Xperia 1 VIII and fitted a fixed focal length lens paired with a notably larger sensor than any of those more ambitious variable focal length designs could accommodate. Hence the 70mm focal length and 1/1.56" optical format imager. The marketing materials may mention 140mm too, but there are no moving lens bits that will get you optical zoom reach to that level - it's digital zoom, one way or another, and some do it better than others, so we'll have to see where the Xperia stands on that one.

The ultrawide has been carried over unchanged, and it's based on the same IMX 906 1/1.56" sensor now found on the telephoto - technically 50MP imagers, but Sony specifies the cameras as 48MP.

The main camera is also the same as last year, the IMX 888 sensor enduring since the Xperia 1 V. The selfie camera is not a spring chicken itself either - we saw that same IMX 663 fitted on the Xperia 1 IV in 2022.

• Wide (main): 52MP (48MP effective) Sony IMX 888 (1/1.35", 1/1.43" eff., 1.12µm - 2.24µm), f/1.9, 24mm, dual-pixel PDAF (9cm - ∞) , OIS; 4K@120fps.
• Ultrawide: 50MP (48MP eff.) Sony IMX 906 (1/1.56", 1.0µm-2.0µm), f/2.0, 16mm, dual-pixel PDAF; 4K@120fps.
• Telephoto: 50MP (48MP eff.) Sony IMX 906 (1/1.56", 1.0µm-2.0µm), f/2.8, 70mm (2.9x zoom), dual-pixel PDAF (15cm - ∞), OIS; 4K@120fps.
• Front camera: 12MP Sony IMX 663 (1/2.93", 1.22µm), f/2.0, 24mm, fixed focus; 4K@60fps.

There's a new AI Camera Assistant feature, which will pop up a live preview of a suggested enhanced version of your photo. If you tap on the suggestion, you'll 'activate' the changes (tweaks in five parameters which you can further alter and also save as a preset). You can also swipe between several other suggestions.

The pop-up implementation can be distracting and it can also get in the way of your framing, but you can minimize it to an arrow icon. The AI assistant can also trigger the Bokeh mode automatically, and it should be able to suggest changing the zoom level where appropriate.

AI Camera Assistant

Little else has changed in the camera app as well, where the influence of Sony's Alpha camera division shines through in the Pro Photo and Pro Video modes, with some hints of it in the all-purpose UI as well. You get the green square visualizations for focus points, there's Eye AF, real-time tracking AF, and a similar menu structure.

There are weird counterintuitive bits like the way you don't have any indication which mode you're going to land on if you swipe along the mode selector - there are better implementations out there. Also perplexing is the already mentioned lack of full-res shooting modes for the ultrawide and the telephoto - all the sensors are 50-ish megapixels, but only the main camera can save 48MP files, while the others are limited to 12MP, even in Pro mode.

Of course, a long-standing feature of the Xperia lineup - the two-stage shutter release button remains. It's nicely tactile and has well-defined half-press and full-press positions, and is an interesting alternative to the trendy touch- and pressure-sensitive implementations from other makers. Works great for launching the camera too, which we imagine is the main use case anyway.

Daylight photo quality

Main camera

The images from the Xperia's main camera are alright, they just won't be to everyone's taste - or rather, they lack a universal appeal. Sony loyalists will find the right arguments to defend the processing choices, and for some people, those may be just the right choices.

To us, the photos appear a bit too contrasty, and while the colors are not exactly bland, they're not particularly exciting either - a couple of notches of extra shadow brightness and a nudge in vibrance, especially in the greenery, would make them a lot easier to like. Dynamic range is good, but the high-contrast leanings might leave you with less than ideal results in certain scenes. White balance is pretty great, though.

Detail is good - sharpness is up from the 1 VII's results, and random textures look nice, though there's now somewhat stronger sharpening halos around contrasting edges.

Daylight samples, main camera (1x)

The 48MP mode's results exhibit stronger sharpening, the files come in at 3 to 4 times the size, and detail benefits aren't readily apparent.

Daylight samples, main camera (1x), 48MP

Just like before, the Xperia 1 VIII isn't too great with portraits - detail isn't rendered in the best way, and skin tones aren't exactly likeable. The default blur level in Bokeh mode is way too high, in our opinion.

Human subjects, main camera (1x): Photo mode • Bokeh mode

The 2x zoom level will essentially get you crops from the 1x 48MP images - there's not much of a difference in detail rendition and pixel-level processing. We expect better now.

Daylight samples, main camera (2x)

The 2x portraits aren't looking too hot, and there's also the excessive background blur in Bokeh mode.

Human subjects, main camera (2x): Photo mode • Bokeh mode

Telephoto camera

The reimagined approach to the Xperia 1 telephoto camera means you're now getting properly sharp shots at 2.9x (70mm), which you couldn't really say of the 1 VII's telephoto. Contrast is looking a bit lower here than on the main camera, and greenery is livelier too - both good things.

Overall, the Xperia 1 VIII’s new telephoto camera produces superbly natural foliage and fine detail at its native focal length.

Daylight samples, telephoto camera (2.9x)

We're also liking the telephoto's people shots better - detail is sharper and faces look more alive. Bokeh mode's bokeh is too much, as usual.

Human subjects, main camera (2.9x): Photo mode • Portrait mode

The 5.8x zoom level, or 140mm equivalent focal length, will get you usable shots with the same detail quality as the 2x shots from the main camera - other makers do better at extracting superior detail at these zoom levels.

Daylight samples, telephoto camera (5.8x)

Here's a couple of headshots at 5.8x, for completeness' sake.

Human subjects, main camera (5.8x): Photo mode • Portrait mode

Ultrawide camera

The Xperia's ultrawide does deliver more of a standout performance, capturing nicely sharp and detailed shots - more so than what a lot of the competition can muster. It does tend to underexpose and produce somewhat gloomy shadows, and overall contrast is on the higher end of the spectrum.

Daylight samples, ultrawide camera (0.6x)

Close-ups

The Xperia 1 VIII sounds like it should be able to do pretty decent closeups - the main camera and the telephoto have nicely short minimum focusing distances, and the AF-capable ultrawide is also an option, if you're that type of person.

Indeed, you do stand to get some pretty good results, whatever your choice of focal length and subject distance is. The telephoto's 5.8x setting will get you the largest reproduction, and generally solid pixel-level quality, though the native 2.9x may just be the best balance between quality and reproduction after all.

Shooting on the ultrawide, you're more or less bound to cast a shadow on your subject or simply nudge it with the phone. Here's how four scenes would look when shot at all the available focal lengths at minimum focusing distance.

Close-up samples, main camera (1x)

Close-up samples, main camera (2x)

Close-up samples, telephoto camera (2.9x)

Close-up samples, telephoto camera (5.8x)

Close-up samples, ultrawide camera (0.7x)

Low-light photo quality

Main camera

The Xperia 1 VIII's main camera captures good low-light photos, but they're not quite up there with the best of competitors, and it's not always easy to put your finger on what's lacking. Exposures can be dark, shadows can be soft, detail is a bit coarse in the well-lit areas and too soft in the darker ones - it's not that the photos are bad, it's just that they don't have enough of a flagship cameraphone vibe to them.

Low-light samples, main camera (1x)

The 2x zoom shots are relatively soft, though really good 2x low-light photos are more of an exception to the rule, so in that context, the Xperia is less of a letdown.

Low-light samples, main camera (2x)

Telephoto camera

The telephoto camera's 2.9x results are good to very good, depending on the scene and lighting. We'd still prefer more brightness in the shadows, and darker scenes can be less sharp than on the best of rivals, but we're still feeling positive about these, overall. Dynamic range is alright and colors are on point.

Low-light samples, telephoto camera (2.9x)

5.8x zoom photos are decent, but they're softer than what you'd get from the big-name Ultras at similar zoom levels.

Low-light samples, telephoto camera (5.8x)

Ultrawide camera

The ultrawide's low-light results are respectable, with good sharpness all around, vibrant colors, and good dynamic range. We've seen as good, or even better results from smaller-sensor ultrawides though, so even this otherwise solid performance is leaving us a bit underwhelmed.

Low-light samples, ultrawide camera (0.6x)

Selfies

Selfies on the Xperia 1 VIII are about average. There's no autofocus, so you can forget about sharp closeups of your face. The HDR processing can be very harsh in terms of sharpening on facial detail, and that seems to be the case in all brightly lit scenes. In dimmer settings at higher ISOs you'll get a finer rendition, but neither is ideal.

Selfie samples

Video quality

The Xperia 1 VIII can record video up to 4K120 on all three of its rear cameras, right there in the regular video mode. Also readily available is a 4K24 setting; there's no need to go into Pro mode. On the selfie camera, you don't get 4K120 but everything else is still there.

There are two levels of stabilization and you also turn it off if you'd like. Standard mode goes up to 4K60, while 'High quality' is limited to 4K30. There's no electronic stabilization in 4K120.

The phone records in h.264 with no obvious way to change it to h.265 (HEVC). 4K120 and HDR capture do switch to HEVC but they don't tell you. Pro video mode does show the codec in the viewfinder, so at least there's that.

You can hit 'play' below and use the 'next' button to advance through the playlist of all video samples, or you can watch the full playlist on YouTube.

The Xperia's videos are, somewhat surprisingly, more easily likable from a global perspective than stills, showing wide dynamic range and a more measured level of contrast, plus lusher greens and a generally more vivid output.

The main camera and the telephoto have a slight warm tinge, next to a more neutral ultrawide, but ultimately all three look pretty nice.

You may have seen us commenting about suboptimal sharpness in videos by quite a few recent cameraphones, and that holds true of the Xperia's footage as well, across all three rear cameras - that absolute clarity and definition is lacking, perhaps even more so than on other top-tier models as of late.

Video screengrabs, daylight: 0.7x • 1x • 2x • 2.9x • 5.8x

In the dark, the Xperia likes to expose relatively brightly which is most welcome for the shadows and getting an overall livelier look, but it doesn't have the dynamic range to cover the highlights as well, so you'd be looking at a pretty harsh rendition of light sources and their surrounding areas. Detail is good on the main camera at 1x, and pretty great on the ultrawide in its own context, with the telephoto being less competitive. All three deal well with color rendition, no complaints there.

Video screengrabs, low light: 0.7x • 1x • 2x • 2.9x • 5.8x

You can expect mostly good stabilization out of the Xperia 1 VIII, with minor hiccups. Shooting from a stationary position, the main and the ultrawide camera return well-stabilized footage with smooth pans. The telephoto also pans well, but is slightly more fidgety when pointed in a fixed direction. Walking shake is ironed out reasonably well on the main camera.

One curious observation we had was that when you hit record, the phone does a pretty violent vibration feedback that visibly shakes the image in the viewfinder, but we're not sure if we're seeing it in the end results, or if it's canceled out well by the stabilization. Why it needs to happen in the first place is a separate topic.