Cracking camera phones have taken a back seat recently, but Sony Ericsson has stuck to its guns with the Vivaz, rolling out a cam that can handle 720p HD Ready video, as well as snap 8.1 megapixel pics. So how does this peeper measure up? Read our Sony Ericsson Vivaz review: Camera and HD video now and we’ll put you in the picture.
Read the rest of our Sony Ericsson Vivaz review
Sony Ericsson Vivaz review: Overall review
Sony Ericsson Vivaz review: Apps and Symbian OS
Sony Ericsson Vivaz review: Design and build
Both the stills camera and video recorder inside the Sony Ericsson Vivaz have dedicated buttons shoved on the side. The former has been pared down from 12MP on the Satio, although 8.1MP is more than enough to crank out compact bashing images.
The megapixel count really doesn’t matter a jot on the Vivaz. This is one excellent camera phone, as good as we’ve used in the past year and better than anything found on the raft of top notch smartphones that have crossed our desks in recent months, Motorola Milestone and HTC Legend included.
Sony Ericsson Vivaz review: Apps and Symbian OS
The range of options available on the Vivaz’s snapper make basic cameras look pointless by comparison. Alongside the excellent smile detection function, you get face recognition (which we found to be a tad hit and miss when taking group shots) as well as a very nifty panorama fucntion. The latter takes some getting used to, taking three shots before stitching them together after you’ve aligned each shot in a dedicated box on the screen. First off we struggled, but break it out in landscape scenarios once you’ve had some practice and it really works like a dream.
With eight different shooting modes, manual exposure settings and even macro focus, the Vivaz’s snapper makes other cameraphones look tawdry by comparison. We got better shots in all conditions, including at night, with this compared to our ageing Casio Exilim compact. That’s impressive stuff and should sate the appetite of convergence junkies everywhere.
Likewise, the HD camcorder works like a dream. The 720p clips are a joy to behold and can be shovelled onto YouTube in just two taps. But it’s the fact this is so much better than cheap dedicated HD cams that really has us smitten.
The continual focus means you can capture sports images brilliantly without any nasty blur or lack of detail. Close ups look great too, and there’s none of that nasty blur, as often found with macro shots from Flip video cameras.
The level of control compared to, say the iPod nano, is astonishing too. You can turn the microphone on and off, tinker with exposure settings and flick on night mode with one press of the touchscreen.
Sony Ericsson Vivaz review: Design and build
It’s no exaggeration to say that this is the very best video camera on any mobile phone we’ve seen. Its ability to handle complex tasks is compelling and the pictures it produced in sunlight, or indoors, were far superior to similar images taken with our creaking Flip.
The camera is the Vivaz’s biggest draw and if you can live with a dodgy touchscreen, makes it a top recommendation for imaging fanatics.
Read the rest of our Sony Ericsson Vivaz review
Sony Ericsson Vivaz review: Overall review
Sony Ericsson Vivaz review: Apps and Symbian OS
Sony Ericsson Vivaz review: Design and build
