You can call it a phone. You can call it a camera. Either way, you’re correct — at least based on the presentation we saw.

The Sony Xperia PRO-I has been launched outside Japan as the first mainstream smartphone boasting a 1.0-type image sensor with phase-detection auto-focus. The Exmor RS sensor at its core stems from the one found in Sony’s popular RX100 VII compact shooter.

The sensor’s 2.4um pixel pitch should allow the device to capture more light, making it possible to take shots with less noise even in dimly lit situations. Detailed images in high dynamic-range conditions and natural-looking blur or bokeh should be achievable as well.

The Sony Xperia PRO-I’s 24mm lens with ZEISS Tessar optics comes with a variable aperture of f/2.0 and f/4.0, so you can opt for shallow depth of field or go sharp, depending on the effect you want.

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There are two other 12-megapixel cameras on the back — one is a 16mm for ultra-wide-angle shots and the other is 50mm for telephotos. We were hoping to see the 70mm-105mm variable-zoom periscope from the Xperia 1 III and Xperia 5 III here, but we can’t have everything, can we? Still, the Bionz X image signal processor in the Xperia PRO-I is the same one as the other two phones use.

Amazingly, there are 315 phase-detection AF points that cover 90% of the frame. The PRO-I likewise supports 12-bit RAW recording plus shooting in 4K at up to 120 frames per second.

And because the product is meant for content creators, it can be paired with a vlog monitor — a 3.5-inch 720p accessory, specifically — that you can attach to this Xperia model’s back, so filming oneself with the new 1.0-inch type camera sensor is possible.

The Sony Xperia PRO-I will be available in France, Germany, the Netherlands, the Nordics, and the United Kingdom in December with a suggested retail price of — cough, cough — €1,799 (roughly P106,074 in Philippine pesos and $2,090 in U.S. dollars). Well, what do you expect? Sony has always priced its smartphones high. If you want to buy the vlog monitor, you need to shell out €199 (P11,727 or $231) more for it plus an additional €89.99 (P5,304 or $105) for the back-cover attachment.

An evolution in smartphone design, Xperia PRO-I pairs Sony’s professional imaging technology with exceptional craftsmanship – from its 1.0-type Exmor CMOS image sensor to its ZEISS Tessar T* glass aspherical lens.#Sony #Xperia #SonyXperia #XperiaPROI #THECamera #ZEISS

— Sony | Xperia (@sonyxperia) October 26, 2021

The Sony Xperia PRO-I in a nutshell

The launch, in case you missed it

Sony Xperia PRO-I specs

• 6.5-inch OLED screen, 4K, 120Hz refresh rate, 240Hz touch sampling, 21:9 aspect ratio, Corning Gorilla Glass Victus
• 5nm octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor with 5G
• Adreno 660 GPU
• 12GB RAM
• 512GB storage
• Triple 12-megapixel main (1-inch Exmor RS sensor), 12-megapixel telephoto, 12-megapixel ultra-wide rear cameras with 3D ToF sensor
• 8-megapixel front camera
• Side fingerprint sensor
• 4,500mAh battery with 30-watt USB-C fast charging
• IP68
• Android 11
• Color: Black

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