Got my Sony Xperia Z5 (Green) in Hand

[zerogear]

Got my Sony Xperia Z5 (Green) in hand, willing to answer any question you may have about it, so AMA!

 

[isekii]

Where did you get it and how much did it cost ?

 

[isekii]

Pics or Ban ?

 

[zerogear]

Where did you get it and how much did it cost ?

Grabbed from eBay, Taiwan import for $622 (after 5% eBay discount)

Photo of the said phone is here:
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-...b3FVOZQ/w1095-h821-no/2015-10-22+22.50.39.jpg

(Yes, I already tried the waterproof function)

 

[isekii]

that's a sweet color. is it still glass in the back ?
Do you get full LTE?

 

[zerogear]

that's a sweet color. is it still glass in the back ?
Do you get full LTE?

It is frosted glass in the back, which is quite nice in terms of resisting fingerprints, though I'm not sure how well it would fare against scratches as I don't think it's Gorilla Glass.

I am on T-Mobile, I am getting both Band 4 and Band 12 LTE.

 

[postmortemIA]

how's the signal strength?

 

[luv2liv]

How to get that 5%off?
Did you jump up and down while filming to test the stabilization?

 

[zerogear]

how's the signal strength?

It's a bit weaker than my old phone, (by maybe one bar) at my house, generally don't have any signal issues though

 

[zerogear]

How to get that 5%off?
Did you jump up and down while filming to test the stabilization?

Haven't had a chance to do that. The 5% off just seemed like a limited days promotion. Seems to be expired now.

 

[Kelvrick]

Which version do you have? From my research, it looks like if you want Tmo non-lte 3g/4g, you'd want the dual E6683 since it can handle 1700 (AWS). I'm disappointed Sony took away the magnetic charging while not giving another non-plug option like QI.

 

[Trader05]

How's the camera software? I've read it really takes a long time to launch and get started.

 

[Cakefish]

How's the camera software? I've read it really takes a long time to launch and get started.

Yes, it does. Sony will be releasing a camera software update in November (probably in time for the launch of the Z5 Premium) that hopefully resolves this. It's not terrible by any means, but it's noticeable.

 

[zerogear]

Which version do you have? From my research, it looks like if you want Tmo non-lte 3g/4g, you'd want the dual E6683 since it can handle 1700 (AWS). I'm disappointed Sony took away the magnetic charging while not giving another non-plug option like QI.

E6653 -- Single SIM -- I'm not too worried about AWS, since they are rolling out Band 12 LTE

 

[zerogear]

How's the camera software? I've read it really takes a long time to launch and get started.

Honestly, it varies, sometimes it starts within a fraction of a second, sometimes it takes 1-2 second to start -- I'm not sure, but it might have something to do with resource availability or the temperature of the phone. Though I haven't had huge issues with it.

I generally like the manual mode more, but Superior Auto does quite a good job in taking photos, although green in Auto mode seems to be a bit off.

 

[lopri]

Does it really shoot videos like these?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxkJMutHOfk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaU_lPhS5Lo

Other than the blown-out sky, the quality is amazing especially @1080p with EIS. I thought they captured and conveyed the atmosphere of London as exactly as I imagined.

 

[zerogear]

Does it really shoot videos like these?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxkJMutHOfk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaU_lPhS5Lo

Other than the blown-out sky, the quality is amazing especially @1080p with EIS. I thought they captured and conveyed the atmosphere of London as exactly as I imagined.

The general video camera quality is like this, even if you're walking, the stability is quite nice -- I haven't tried the jumping up and down part yet -- For the Image Stabilization, it's not quite all EIS, it's paired with Sensor shift stabilization, iirc from the Sony presentation slides

I tried to "overheat" my phone by taking 4K video -- It clocked in at around 25 minutes of 4K video before the camera shut down due to heat. So I don't see heat as a big issue as many people have been clamoring on teh intarwebs.

 

[crankytinkle]

how's the battery life?

 

[zerogear]

how's the battery life?

So far in testing, I find it slightly better than my previous Note 4. Getting around 4.5 hours screen on time on average of mixed Wifi and LTE.

 

[zerogear]

Some sample photos using 8 megapixel SA mode

 

[SAWYER]

WOW

 

[lopri]

Exquisite. The dark trees could use a bit more detail, but the colors are gorgeous.