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[Q] How good/bad is the Nexus 5 camera?

I'm just wondering, is it really good as some people say or is it just average? I didn't get a tracking number yet so I don't think I'll be able to test it myself for a while. Some shots you've taken recently would suffice, just to see the strengths of the camera.

The quality of the actual pictures are fine, but the real deal breaker is how slow it is. Even after achieving focus, there's always this 1-2 second delay after you hit the shutter button. It's terrible. It doesn't matter if the camera took the highest quality shots in RAW if it's too slow to capture anything you could consider a "moment."

aznxk3vi17 said:
The quality of the actual pictures are fine, but the real deal breaker is how slow it is. Even after achieving focus, there's always this 1-2 second delay after you hit the shutter button. It's terrible. It doesn't matter if the camera took the highest quality shots in RAW if it's too slow to capture anything you could consider a "moment."
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On mine, an HDR+ shot acquires focus and snaps the picture in about 1 second. Regular shots take maybe half a second or less.

aznxk3vi17 said:
The quality of the actual pictures are fine, but the real deal breaker is how slow it is. Even after achieving focus, there's always this 1-2 second delay after you hit the shutter button. It's terrible. It doesn't matter if the camera took the highest quality shots in RAW if it's too slow to capture anything you could consider a "moment."
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Which mode are you speaking of?
Dungeon47 said:
On mine, an HDR+ shot acquires focus and snaps the picture in about 1 second. Regular shots take maybe half a second or less.
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That's not bad, but not insanely fast. If pictures took only a second I wouldn't mind but if it is as bad as he says, then I might have to download Focal and see how that works.

Dungeon47 said:
On mine, an HDR+ shot acquires focus and snaps the picture in about 1 second. Regular shots take maybe half a second or less.
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I would agree with this experience. The camera app itself loads fairy quickly too: 4 seconds from touching the camera icon to having the photo snapped and saved to storage.

androidrockz said:
Which mode are you speaking of?
That's not bad, but not insanely fast. If pictures took only a second I wouldn't mind but if it is as bad as he says, then I might have to download Focal and see how that works.
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I also like how it maintains focus based on facial recognition.

It's alright.

androidrockz said:
Which mode are you speaking of?
That's not bad, but not insanely fast. If pictures took only a second I wouldn't mind but if it is as bad as he says, then I might have to download Focal and see how that works.
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Just tried Focal and it couldn't take any pictures. Might need an update before it works.

Dungeon47 said:
Just tried Focal and it couldn't take any pictures. Might need an update before it works.
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It's probably not compatible with Kit Kat yet. Are there reviewers having the same issues?

I actually think the camera is pretty good. About the same as a iPhone 5s. Definitely not great though. However, the app sucks. Right now I'm using Camera MX and it's better than the stock app. Mine is pretty fast BTW. Not a long time between shots.

KingSolomon said:
I actually think the camera is pretty good. About the same as a iPhone 5s. Definitely not great though. However, the app sucks. Right now I'm using Camera MX and it's better than the stock app. Mine is pretty fast BTW. Not a long time between shots.
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Does Camera MX take burst shots?

androidrockz said:
Does Camera MX take burst shots?
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Nah, not that I can tell. But there are plenty of free camera apps that will probably perform better than the stock.

I think the camera is very good considering the overall top of the line phone specs vs price.
The OIS works amazing, try it, you can really shake the phone around and the image stays perfectly still - really what a small low mass smartphone needs! As even just tapping the screen to take a photo causes blurred photos.
I also like how it uses the flash to help you pre-focus, something my Desire Z never did, even with JB.
HDR+ is also pretty amazing, I can't fault it yet in my limited use, the photos come out much more vibrant, very impressive for the phone's small size!
Now what is bad is the shutter lag, between taking photos and when pressing the shutter, even if pre-focused... Come on Google, please fix that in your next update .
Other phones take photos a lot faster.

god camera is amazing well down google
i am in love with this phone its surpassed all the non ois equipped device like iphone5s, s4, even not 3 in low light
hdr+

digweed4me said:
god camera is amazing well down google
i am in love with this phone its surpassed all the non ois equipped device like iphone5s, s4, even not 3 in low light
hdr+
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I'm impressed. I'm wondering how it does macro shots, that the real thing I want to know. Are those with HDR+ enabled?

androidrockz said:
I'm just wondering, is it really good as some people say or is it just average? I didn't get a tracking number yet so I don't think I'll be able to test it myself for a while. Some shots you've taken recently would suffice, just to see the strengths of the camera.
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Better than the wifes iPhone5 is my rating. It's better is daylight, better is low light, better at HDR, and the photosphere is a game changer.

androidrockz said:
I'm impressed. I'm wondering how it does macro shots, that the real thing I want to know. Are those with HDR+ enabled?
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Macro is very good
This shot was just testing out closer photos - I think I could go even closer. HDR+ was off so these are just standard quick shots.
I have attached a photo which I guess will be higher res, and also put it on imgur for the guests viewing.
You can see tiny bits of specs of dust and paint on the rotor blade (rc model heli), very good quality. The blade is covered in oil btw...
http://imgur.com/fBNSRIl
The bokeh is not bad either!
Oh, and reviewing photos on the HD display is beautiful, you can easily see if they are sharp and the colours / clarity is spot on even in daylight.

few more on both regular and hdr +
---------- Post added at 10:08 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:01 PM ----------
androidrockz said:
I'm impressed. I'm wondering how it does macro shots, that the real thing I want to know. Are those with HDR+ enabled?
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top one is hdr +
and one thing why ppl complaining about slow focus mine is almost instant focus and camera shots.

Compared to the Galaxy Nexus camera, I think the camera of the Nexus 5 is an improvement. It performs way better under suboptimal lighting conditions, and it supports HDR which snaps really nice pics with good colors.

LaurenceGough said:
Macro is very good
This shot was just testing out closer photos - I think I could go even closer. HDR+ was off so these are just standard quick shots.
I have attached a photo which I guess will be higher res, and also put it on imgur for the guests viewing.
You can see tiny bits of specs of dust and paint on the rotor blade (rc model heli), very good quality. The blade is covered in oil btw...
http://imgur.com/fBNSRIl
The bokeh is not bad either!
Oh, and reviewing photos on the HD display is beautiful, you can easily see if they are sharp and the colours / clarity is spot on even in daylight.
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Click to collapse
This is beyond expectation. Do you have an example of a pure bokeh, pure isn't what I mean, but like, a shot and then the background is completely bokeh.

[Q] Better camera app/settings?

So far, I'm pretty happy with this phone but very disappointed with the stock camera app. The camera does pretty well outdoors and in low light, but is terrible in moderate light conditions (i.e. normal indoor conditions.) I just took a bunch of blurry, grainy pictures of my kids with their Easter baskets that all snapped 1/2 a second after I clicked the shutter. The thing that makes me think the camera can do better is that everything looks great on the screen up until I ask it to take a photo, then it refocuses and everything goes to hell. I tried Samsung's sports mode, and that is only marginally better. My wife's new S5 is suffering from the same problem.
Has anyone had better luck with other camera apps or a change in settings? Camera Zoom FX and Google's new camera app don't seem any better. I don't care about effects, HDR, manual photo settings or gimmicks; all I want are sharp, in-focus photos that take without a bunch of lag.

Bazirker said:
So far, I'm pretty happy with this phone but very disappointed with the stock camera app. The camera does pretty well outdoors and in low light, but is terrible in moderate light conditions (i.e. normal indoor conditions.) I just took a bunch of blurry, grainy pictures of my kids with their Easter baskets that all snapped 1/2 a second after I clicked the shutter. The thing that makes me think the camera can do better is that everything looks great on the screen up until I ask it to take a photo, then it refocuses and everything goes to hell. I tried Samsung's sports mode, and that is only marginally better. My wife's new S5 is suffering from the same problem.
Has anyone had better luck with other camera apps or a change in settings? Camera Zoom FX and Google's new camera app don't seem any better. I don't care about effects, HDR, manual photo settings or gimmicks; all I want are sharp, in-focus photos that take without a bunch of lag.
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Turn picture stabilization off and it gets rid of the picture lag.
But yes, otherwise similar issues.
That's the thing. The HTC M8 wins on indoor/low light pics (if you don't get that purple blob effect), this will on outdoors. That's where the whole MP vs. sensor size come into play as larger sensor means more light but not as sharp vs. more MP means sharper but due to smaller sensor less light thus not always great.
Anyway I've found it takes me about 2 pictures to get one I like with HDR and image stabilization off. With that on that all seem to suck due to the delay. Would have been nice to have some true optical image stabilization too. Samsung just doesn't seem to learn/care though.
We get good HW but they cheap out on the little things that make it better.

Yeah, turning off stabilization, HDR etc helps, but there's still a noticeable lag. The lag bothers me less than the fact that my near-stationary subject is coming out blurry. If the camera would simply capture the exact image that is on-screen at the moment I hit the shutter, I would be thrilled...
Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk

So here's kinda the problem. And it happens a lot with people taking pictures on your phone.
A phone was not meant to be a camera. It just wasn't. In the early days of low resolution things went faster. When you try to run 16 megabit... things are necessarily going to be harder.
Here's the easiest solution to your problems: Practice taking pictures with the phone. Keep your arms tucked in at your sides, keep the phone closer to your body. Shoot in landscape instead of portrait so your hands are in better position. I use the flip case for this phone which means I can use that as well to have better grip and stability. Take the picture... and keep the camera pointed just where you were taking the picture for at least 1/2 sec after you tap the "shutter release". Shutter lag will only be exacerbated by being too quick to move the phone. Also, you don't have to mash the on screen button, light tap and whatnot. Oh and the 1/3 of a sec focus time is their "fastest" rating. While in truth that is pretty darn decent, it's also the fastest you'll have. Expect a possible 1/2 to 3/4 sec focus time. And make sure you're PICKY about your focus. Do it over and over again if it's not right.
Also, your metering mode will have a big impact on your images. Get used to changing them to suit your subject.
I have 13+ years experience as a photographer. If it weren't absolutely absurd, and say all of my bodies died at the same time... I would be carrying a monopod or tripod for use with my GS5... Stability is the key to image quality. Who cares what you look like when you take the picture, it's the picture that matters.
Oh and one other thing, image blur is exacerbated when objects are either very close, or very far away. One because the contrast elements (edges and such) are easy to distinguish from the rest and when they're blurry... you notice it. The other because detail elements are TINY at that range, down to even 1 pixel width, so any shake makes those disappear entirely into blur.
Just some basic things to do. Honestly if it's a choice between getting the shot with my Nikons... or getting it with my GS5? the Nikons will win every time. But in a pinch, the camera on the GS5 is good enough. Just takes the right hands and the right frame of mind.

Arkanthos2015 said:
So here's kinda the problem. And it happens a lot with people taking pictures on your phone.
A phone was not meant to be a camera. It just wasn't. In the early days of low resolution things went faster. When you try to run 16 megabit... things are necessarily going to be harder.
Here's the easiest solution to your problems: Practice taking pictures with the phone. Keep your arms tucked in at your sides, keep the phone closer to your body. Shoot in landscape instead of portrait so your hands are in better position. I use the flip case for this phone which means I can use that as well to have better grip and stability. Take the picture... and keep the camera pointed just where you were taking the picture for at least 1/2 sec after you tap the "shutter release". Shutter lag will only be exacerbated by being too quick to move the phone. Also, you don't have to mash the on screen button, light tap and whatnot. Oh and the 1/3 of a sec focus time is their "fastest" rating. While in truth that is pretty darn decent, it's also the fastest you'll have. Expect a possible 1/2 to 3/4 sec focus time. And make sure you're PICKY about your focus. Do it over and over again if it's not right.
Also, your metering mode will have a big impact on your images. Get used to changing them to suit your subject.
I have 13+ years experience as a photographer. If it weren't absolutely absurd, and say all of my bodies died at the same time... I would be carrying a monopod or tripod for use with my GS5... Stability is the key to image quality. Who cares what you look like when you take the picture, it's the picture that matters.
Oh and one other thing, image blur is exacerbated when objects are either very close, or very far away. One because the contrast elements (edges and such) are easy to distinguish from the rest and when they're blurry... you notice it. The other because detail elements are TINY at that range, down to even 1 pixel width, so any shake makes those disappear entirely into blur.
Just some basic things to do. Honestly if it's a choice between getting the shot with my Nikons... or getting it with my GS5? the Nikons will win every time. But in a pinch, the camera on the GS5 is good enough. Just takes the right hands and the right frame of mind.
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Lots of truth to your post in regards to the pointers about technique and settings. I've got an EOS-1Ds I use when I plan to take photos, and you need to know how to use your gear and be practiced if you want to take a decent photo.
However, I disagree when it comes to expectations for smartphone camera performance. I used to have the same attitude you expressed about taking photos with a phone, until I recently backed up and printed some of the photos off my wife's old iPhone 4S. The photos it took were shockingly good, and my disappointment with the Galaxy S5 camera stems from the fact that it is getting severely outperformed by the 3 year old iPhone. If the Apple crowd has been able to rely on their iPhones as a competent point-and-shoot camera for years, I see no reason why my flagship Android phone should be no different.
In other news, I've been playing with different settings and apps all afternoon, and still aren't seeing any improvement in performance. Camera Zoom FX allows for ISO 1600, and that's giving me the best performance so far in terms of reducing lag and image blur. (Of course, the images are quite grainy...boo hiss.)

Camera photo quality

I've just bought the GEM-702L and I'm a bit disappointed with the main camera quality, even in very good lighting. Photos of things reasonably near are OK, but general scenic shots aren't very sharp at all particularly near the edges, regardless of whether I set it to 13 MP or 6 MP. The pictures look like they're not quite properly in focus. For comparison, the same photos on the Galaxy Note 4 are much sharper, even at the same number of pixels.
What do others think of the main camera quality? Any tips for getting better results? I'd be grateful if you could post some photos you've taken so I can see if they're similar to mine in quality.
I've linked two of my own photos for comparison, both at 6 megapixels, one from the X2, and one from the Note 4.
X2: https://app.box.com/s/8jdqn7gci9sn8nvl78apjzwi90en6qrs
Note 4: https://app.box.com/s/jl7sazpavt637em04vgbww3sudkaj67l

Auto focus is the problem
No replies - maybe this is a bit of a sore point with fellow X2 owners?
Anyway after more experimentation, I've discovered that the problem seems to be with the camera auto focus - it tries to focus too close. Tapping on a different part of the picture doesn't seem to help. However, if I assign focus to the volume keys and manually focus at infinity, scenic shots come out much better. That's not ideal, but it's a simple and easy workaround and so I'm a lot happier. Unfortunately I can't change my poll vote, but if I could I'd put it up one grade from poor to good.

Camera has been very good for me. Photos are crisp and clear

The camera isn't bad in broad daylight but it's not nearly as good as the camera on my Nexus 6.

In good light today and using manual focus I took a number of photos using manual focus and I was happy with the results, unlike the ones I took with autofocus. I've got the 702L, although I wouldn't have thought the camera software and results on the 703L would be any different. I tried using Open Camera, but that didn't help and wasn't able to control the focus.
Does anyone want to share any of their photos taken with the X2?

Moandal said:
In good light today and using manual focus I took a number of photos using manual focus and I was happy with the results, unlike the ones I took with autofocus. I've got the 702L, although I wouldn't have thought the camera software and results on the 703L would be any different. I tried using Open Camera, but that didn't help and wasn't able to control the focus.
Does anyone want to share any of their photos taken with the X2?
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Click to collapse
Here's one I took on my X2 in NY on my way to a camping trip in NJ. The second one is a photo I took a minute later with my Nexus 6. The next two are two I just took in low light conditions in my office. The first one is from the X2, the second from the Nexus 6. The same for the third set of photos.

Moandal said:
However, if I assign focus to the volume keys and manually focus at infinity, scenic shots come out much better. That's not ideal, but it's a simple and easy workaround and so I'm a lot happier. Unfortunately I can't change my poll vote, but if I could I'd put it up one grade from poor to good.
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Click to collapse
May I know how you did that? Sounds :good:

Go into the camera settings and look for the "Volume Button Function" option.

Camera Issues
So I know this is an old thread, but I love my phone but the camera just looks like crap. seems like there are bubbles on the lens itself. Anyone else have this issue?

t69broken said:
So I know this is an old thread, but I love my phone but the camera just looks like crap. seems like there are bubbles on the lens itself. Anyone else have this issue?
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I've never seen that. My camera in both my X2's are not bad. Here's a few I took with my 702L yesterday while looking at wedding venues. It looks like you have some kind of condensation or mold in the camera lens.

ajsmsg78 said:
I've never seen that. My camera in both my X2's are not bad. Here's a few I took with my 702L yesterday while looking at wedding venues. It looks like you have some kind of condensation or mold in the camera lens.
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Mold might be a bit extreme, but it looks like a bad tint job on my lens, it is the only reason I've thought of getting a different phone.

t69broken said:
Mold might be a bit extreme, but it looks like a bad tint job on my lens, it is the only reason I've thought of getting a different phone.
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IMHO it should be the first reason to ask retailer for replacing your phone...

Mi4c Camera issues (blurry in low/fluorescent light)

After purchasing the Mi4c and waiting for it for three weeks, I keenly unboxed it and started tweaking the living hell out of it. Among others I installed several Google apps, the google account manager (switch off sync in China as it will draaaain your battery), and MIUI 5.10.16 dev. So far so good.
However, when I tried the camera, the online shots of which were very promising, I was so disappointed I ordered the Nexus 5X straight away. In any circumstance that isn't sunny, the rear-facing camera will perform horribly. What I mean is that, unless you stabilize the phone securely with two hands, any shot in a fluorescent light or otherwise slightly dim environment will result in heavy blur. As if you were shaking the phone while you took the shot. Comparing with the Nexus 5 (2013), where you could take a shot from your wrist while riding a bicycle and still have an acceptable result.
Can anyone else confirm? Do I have the worse of two sensors, is it just the tiny objective, or is it software-related? Or is it just what I should learn to accept from a 1500 RMB phone?

Hello mate,
this is what you should learn from a 1500 RMB phone, camera sux as soon as conditions are not optimum. Tried a lot of apps, but the results is still the same. Some apps will focus better though (lenovo super camera v5 for instance).
Nevertheless, a part from the camera, the phone is way better with CM12.1 than the nexus 5X which handle apps horribly again... Very slow to open and reload apps. Which is kind of a big deal.

upload some pics if possible..
let's see it...

Maybe the camera app just sucks hard? You should try others to compare...

These are all shot from the wrist with minimal effort at stabilizing, the way I used to snap pictures with my Nexus 5

Try to take a few indoor shots with a steady hand. It could be that the software uses a quite long shutter time, which results in a blurry shot if the hand isn't steady.
The second step would be: manually set the shutter time according to your preference.

Sure, steadying the phone entirely will work. But that's not really a solution, as you often take a quick snap, the device is light and therefore in almost all situations your hand will be unsteady. It felt like the nexus5 was able to use shorter shutter times in low-light conditions and took steady pictures almost all of the time.

potentially a software problem; after flashing CM Rom the camera improved significantly (also switched from N5 to 4C)

agreed, it got significantly better with the CM rom. Still fairly noisy and a little blurry though. Looks like the camera app (I use Google Camera 4.0) actually takes its time to focus rather than attempting to deliver the quickest shot possible.

bluppfisk said:
agreed, it got significantly better with the CM rom. Still fairly noisy and a little blurry though. Looks like the camera app (I use Google Camera 4.0) actually takes its time to focus rather than attempting to deliver the quickest shot possible.
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Can you check which sensor you have please
http://forum.xda-developers.com/mi-4c/general/camera-sensor-sony-samsung-t3213510/page4

ermacwins said:
Can you check which sensor you have please
http://forum.xda-developers.com/mi-4c/general/camera-sensor-sony-samsung-t3213510/page4
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He already has, yesterday

Maybe we can have some more samples from another camera app ? We know you have the Sony sensor now, it could be interesting to see if someone has a Samsung one and how is it different in picture quality.

Here are some, as your see low light ones aren't very good and blurred. But even the sunlight ones are a little grainy and not perfectly crisp. Sony sensor.

bluppfisk said:
Here are some, as your see low light ones aren't very good and blurred. But even the sunlight ones are a little grainy and not perfectly crisp. Sony sensor.
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Ok thanks ! And this is with the MIUI app ?

No the last batch was with CM

I created a post on official eu.xiaomi.com about this bug, if you can, please, confim in "bug" section of xiaomi mi4c

link?

http://en.miui.com/thread-180040-1-1.html
Inviato dal mio Mi-4c utilizzando Tapatalk

So, i'm really very confused now... someone says it is very great (e.g. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=63730763&postcount=44) and you say it is bad and open a bug!
I would prefer great camera and battery over LTE band 20, but here i don't understand yet if mi4c have or not great camera... Can you please help me understand? Thanks

Well... Depends by user.. 50% say camera is awesome 50% not - You can see something like this on many phones

Camera

I'm considering the XZ, however there are very conflicting reviews of the camera. Some show really nasty photos, some show good photos. I'm assuming some of this has to do with SW versions and I know the XZ recently updated to 7.0.
I can't tell anything from a tethered store display unit.
Anyone have any comments regarding photo quality?
Manual mode is fine for me to shoot in. I almost always use manual mode on my cell phones and also my digital cameras.
Thanks in advance.

I find it pretty good, the manual shutter speed goes right down to 1/4000, manual focus ISO etc.
In MM I did realise the camera quality was worse than in 7.0 - so they did improve it.
Photos I have taken have great colours, and can usually be edited quite well in lightroom.
Big downside is the no RAW support (Yet, hopefully they release it)

nzzane said:
I find it pretty good, the manual shutter speed goes right down to 1/4000, manual focus ISO etc.
In MM I did realise the camera quality was worse than in 7.0 - so they did improve it.
Photos I have taken have great colours, and can usually be edited quite well in lightroom.
Big downside is the no RAW support (Yet, hopefully they release it)
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Click to collapse
Thanks.
Colors have pretty much always been good in reports. The main thing that some of the "bad" reviews have mentioned is the artifacts especially in lower light. The better reviews and pictures that I've seen online don't really show a huge artifact problem and some of the youtube videos show what appears to be very good lowlight performance using manual mode.
I knew about the lack of raw support and I've used LR for a long time.

Fred98TJ said:
Thanks.
Colors have pretty much always been good in reports. The main thing that some of the "bad" reviews have mentioned is the artifacts especially in lower light. The better reviews and pictures that I've seen online don't really show a huge artifact problem and some of the youtube videos show what appears to be very good lowlight performance using manual mode.
I knew about the lack of raw support and I've used LR for a long time.
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Sony has always been a bit dodgy with low light, but I have found the XZ really improves on that (Compared to ther Z3, and Z5) Manual mode really helps with some of that though (same as a DSLR though)
Another thing to note, the device unlocks super quickly, and same with the camera, good for those un prepared shots

nzzane said:
Sony has always been a bit dodgy with low light, but I have found the XZ really improves on that (Compared to ther Z3, and Z5) Manual mode really helps with some of that though (same as a DSLR though)
Another thing to note, the device unlocks super quickly, and same with the camera, good for those un prepared shots
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks again for the response.
I suppose that there isn't really any infor on their nrw 19mp camera used in thr XZs, nor have I found any pricing on it. At any rate it seems only a small upgrade from the XZ, with mostly the new camera and another 1 of ram

Pictures are generally very noisy and blurry when its not in extremely good light (inside with the sun shining through the windows with the lights on as well) Video however is very very good. I dont use manual mode since I don't know what to do, but as a point and shoot I can think of several phones that do better and probably cost less. If you want to buy it for the camera, just dont.

omarfarrah said:
Pictures are generally very noisy and blurry when its not in extremely good light (inside with the sun shining through the windows with the lights on as well) Video however is very very good. I dont use manual mode since I don't know what to do, but as a point and shoot I can think of several phones that do better and probably cost less. If you want to buy it for the camera, just dont.
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Noisy and blurry? Do you have a xz? In my xz i don't have those problems...

djgigi94 said:
Noisy and blurry? Do you have a xz? In my xz i don't have those problems...
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Click to collapse
Thats strange, I hope I dont have a faulty hardware , however did you try to take indoor pictures and zoom in, you'll really notice the noise atleast, and if I'm not still as a building then it will also blur.

Sometimes the SW can overboard with the sharpening, I wish there was an option to disable it. Most phones probably have this issue too though.
I dont know if this can be counted as an issue but the lens on XZ has kind of a fish eye effect, So If you are taking a picture of an object and put it i the corners, it stretches and looks a bit... uh, unnatural? Because of this I try to make sure to center people as much as I can.
Some also say that taking pics in 8 mp mode introduces some artifacts because of the conversion algorithm (23mp to 8mp downsizing). So I use 23MP to avoid any unwanted processing.

I find the colors of the photos, taken with the XZ, to be very dull and way too cold to my liking, and XZ's Camera UI and Camera API have very limited manual controls set, unlike the rest of the flagships out there. I made a few photos with my old Xperia Pro and my new Xperia XZ for comparison, you can check them here - https://www.dropbox.com/sh/0u28226fxm9z27d/AADrU08TmvfIUtSbprgharT-a?dl=0 . I was very unhappy with the XZ's camera so I sold it one week after I bought it.
EDIT: you check this thread for more information about the limitations, related to the manual controls of XZ's camera - https://forum.xda-developers.com/xperia-xz/help/enable-manual-controls-camera-t3580654

My experience, XZ pictures have a lot of noise (you can see that when you zoom in) when the light is not enough (and the phone is the one that decides what it means by enough )
I am coming from Galaxy s6 edge + to XZ Dual, and the S6 is the winner in my comparison.
If you want it for the camera, I wouldnt recommend you to go for the XZ.
---------- Post added at 04:10 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:09 PM ----------
check this for your reference
https://forum.xda-developers.com/xperia-xz/help/xperia-xz-dual-sim-camera-noise-t3582899

Fred98TJ said:
Thanks again for the response.
I suppose that there isn't really any infor on their nrw 19mp camera used in thr XZs, nor have I found any pricing on it. At any rate it seems only a small upgrade from the XZ, with mostly the new camera and another 1 of ram
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This review has sample photos in full res from XZS if you wanna know about picture quality. I own the XZ and i do see a difference in quality to the better in XZs compared to XZ..
https://www.lowyat.net/2017/128842/sony-xperia-xzs-review-one-trick-pony/

After I started using 4:3 full resolution instead od cropped 16:9 and disabled object tracking I very rarely see edge bluring and the photos in general are a lot better.
The "noise" people talk about in most cases is not really noise, it's a result of the image processing algorithm being too aggressive trying to eliminate noise even when there isn't any. First it sharpens the hell out of the photo to bring out as much detail as possible and then it tries to remove the resulting noise by applying heavy noise reduction. It's basically shooting itself in the foot. But, it really isn't as dramatic as some would say, you can't really see that effect until you zoom in really close. If Sony could find a middle ground, balance it out a bit, it would be perfect.
Sony's image processing has always been an issue for some unexplainable reason, they mastered sensors and image processing in photography a long time ago, but when it comes to phones it fails in software department, the sensor are the best on the market still.
It really is mind boggling, and they are aware of that, it's basically a software issue, it just needs some adjusting, why apply a noise reduction filter when there isn't any noise? HDR usually sucks as well. Then again, their DIS is top notch, the autofocus since the XZ is superb, the colors to me look great all around, low light photos are very good, specially in manual mode with adjustable shutter speed...there are great things about Sony's cameras, but usually things average user doesn't really see or cares about.
To be fair, the only time I see those artefacts is when I zoom in, not even when watching fullscreen on a PC, so I'm really pleased with the camera on Xperia since the Z3, but all things considered, Sony should have the best smartphone cameras in the world or at least be the top 3.
All that being said, shooting in manual mode is a different story, once you get a hang of it and learn how to use it, it can stand besides the best of them, easy. But that's not really a fair measurement, only auto modes, because that's what most people will use, and that's where Sony usually doesn't do that great.
The phone takes great photos, and I have yet to see a review that says it's a bad camera. It really isn't, it just isn't at the top few as it could be.
As for the XZs, currently it often produces lower quality photos than the XZ, depending on the scenario, it isn't a better camera, it's just different and has different strenghts in different scenarios. Plus, the slowmo gadget, if you care about that stuff. Other than that, there is no reason why it should be a better camera in average scenarios, maybe in low light because the pixels are bigger, but that's pretty much it.
If the quality of photos is your only concern about buying an XZ (or XZs, for that matter), you shouldn't be worried.