Sony launches Xperia Pro-I with its RX100 VII 1-inch sensor onboard

Sony's latest premium camera shifts focus to photography enthusiasts or professionals who want a more powerful camera on their smartphones. The new Sony Xperia Pro-I comes equipped with a 1-inch sensor borrowed from the company's RX100 VII point-and-shoot camera. 

It gives the primary sensor on this handset impressive 2.4µm-sized pixels, promising better performance in low light. (That's also twice the pixel pitch on the newest Pixel 6 Pro.) This sensor can also shoot 12-bit RAW files and native 4K video at 120 frames per second with eye-detection auto-focus. The auto-focus on this sensor has 315 points that cover 90 percent of the frame.

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But as Engadget pointed out, the Pro-I uses a crop instead of the full readout of the sensor. It can't output images at 20.1-megapixel as the RX100 VII does because that means it'll need a larger lens to make this happen, which won't be possible on a smartphone. 

You still get an impressive set of features. The Pro-I has Sony's BIONZ X imaging processors onboard, capable of shooting up to 20 frames per second with both auto-focus and auto-exposure enabled. This fast readout speed avoids the rolling shutter effect. It also offers phase-detection autofocus. 

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In front of this 1-inch Exmor RS sensor is a Zeiss-coated, stabilized 24mm lens with a variable aperture that goes from f/2.0 to f/4.0. That camera is flanked by a pair of 12-megapixel cameras, including a 16mm f/2.2 ultrawide sensor and a 50mm f/2.4 2x telephoto shooter. 

According to Sony, they decided on this arrangement after consulting with photographers about the setup they wanted to match their collection of prime lenses.

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Sony is offering a separate Vlog Monitor you can attach to the back of the phone, so you can take advantage of the 1-inch sensor to film your vlogs. It comes with a 3.5-inch 1,280 x 720 monitor.

Beyond these camera features, the rest of the phone is essentially a souped-up version of the Xperia 1 III. 

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It runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor paired with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of expandable storage. It also has a 6.5-inch 4K OLED with a 120Hz refresh rate and a 4,500mAh battery with 30W fast-charging support from the included power adapter. On the audio side, it has a 3.5mm headphone jack and support for Sony's LDAC and DSEE technologies.

The Sony Xperia Pro-I will set you back pretty significantly, though, at US$1,800 (around CA$2,230 converted), which will be available for pre-orders in some markets on October 28, and general availability follows in December.

Source: GSMArena