Camera wars continue: OnePlus One vs. Sony Xperia Z1

Yash GargMay 9, 2014

Besides the Snapdragon 801 CPU and 3GB RAM, it is the camera on the OnePlus One that has managed to attract most attention. It’s a 13 mega-pixel Sony Exmor sensor, with some cutting edge tech baked into what OnePlus thinks makes an all-round performer.

We’ve previously seen the OnePlus One camera battle the older-gen OPPO Find 5 and a full-blown camera in the form of the Nikon D3100. Although the unit used to produce pictures used in the comparison wasn’t the retail version of the OnePlus One, but it still managed to impress most especially with the low-light performance.

This time round, we have another imaging giant in the form of the Sony Xperia Z1 (the devices have a bit of a history) pitted against the wallet friendly OnePlus One. The Xperia Z1 as we know packs an Exmor sensor as well, but a 20.7 mega-pixel at that which dwarfs the 13 mega-pixel on the OnePlus One. However, this isn’t 2010 and we know that it isn’t just the megapixel count that defines how good pictures from a camera will be.

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OnePlus One vs. Sony Xperia Z1 camera shots

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In all fairness, I’m quite impressed by the OnePlus One camera yet again. The Xperia Z1 was announced as a purely camera centric smartphone, and still carries a price tag much higher than what the OnePlus One will sell for.

What I particularly like is the focus, which appears to be sharp and precise in almost every picture. Not usually a fan of HDR (colours at times look ‘synthetic’ to me), I can say that the OnePlus One has impressed in that regard as well.

That was for us, let us know what you think!

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Yash Garg
Yash is a blogger by profession, builder of things by passion and foodie by birth. You'll usually find him talking about technology, music, travel and the game of cricket on the streets of Pune when not busy writing or speeding his way through the country! Read more on retro handheld gaming on RETRO91
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Porscheproletos
May 9, 2014
To speak frankly….OPO is starting to bother me. yes..exciting…yes..nice piece of tech. OPO here..OPO there… o_O Its so wonderful…its so perfect….yes. fine. can I buy it? nope! and still marketing machine is running. sorry….Its a release without a realease. Just nonsens like…get 100 items for one dollar. get invitations… yeah…eat my shorts. i am tired of OPO kindergarten!
- Airyl
  May 9, 2014
  Good things come to those who wait, so they say.
- Yury
  May 10, 2014
highwind
May 9, 2014
- Cuerex
  May 11, 2014
  - - Cuerex
      May 11, 2014
Comparing a new unreleased smartphone with an 1-year-old smartphone isn’t exactly competitive.
Ruub
May 9, 2014
LoL, they cost the same by now… As the price of Z1 has fallen since it was released
- zyvy
  May 10, 2014

Porscheproletos
May 9, 2014
To speak frankly….OPO is starting to bother me. yes..exciting…yes..nice piece of tech. OPO here..OPO there… o_O Its so wonderful…its so perfect….yes. fine. can I buy it? nope! and still marketing machine is running. sorry….Its a release without a realease. Just nonsens like…get 100 items for one dollar. get invitations… yeah…eat my shorts. i am tired of OPO kindergarten!
- Airyl
  May 10, 2014
  Good things come to those who wait, so they say.
- Yury
  May 10, 2014
  while OPO will come on market, we will see mi3s with 805
- Yury
  May 10, 2014

provokanter Tabellenführer
May 9, 2014
- Cuerex
  May 11, 2014
- nice selfie!
  taken with your oneplus one? xD
- Cuerex
  May 11, 2014
Comparing a new unreleased smartphone with an 1-year-old smartphone isn’t exactly competitive.
Ruub
May 9, 2014
LoL, they cost the same by now… As the price of Z1 has fallen since it was released
- Guest
  May 10, 2014
- Frank Wu
  May 9, 2014
  Yah, I m also sick of people singing how good the OPPO is. Show me the phone dammit!!
  - Airyl
    May 9, 2014
- desponent
  May 9, 2014
  I’m not sure, it looks more ilke contrast and filter difference which can easily be done with some post processing apps.
  - Yasin
    May 11, 2014

Airyl
May 9, 2014
According to the OnePlus One review on Engadget, the speaker quality and camera are a little subpar compared to others. Not sure how it compares to the Xperia Z1, but I’ll still take my chances and stick with the fantastic camera on the Find 7.
Guest
May 10, 2014
The 13megapixel oneplus camera makes better pictures then the 20megapixel of the sony z1
- Frank Wu
  May 10, 2014
  Yah, I m also sick of people singing how good the OPPO is. Show me the phone dammit!!
- desponent
  May 10, 2014
  I’m not sure, it looks more ilke contrast and filter difference which can easily be done with some post processing apps.
- Airyl
  May 10, 2014
  The Oppo Find 7 has been out for a while now.
- Guest
  May 12, 2014
  maybe i judged it to fast, perhaps you are even right.

Airyl
May 10, 2014
According to the OnePlus One review on Engadget, the speaker quality and camera are a little subpar compared to others. Not sure how it compares to the Xperia Z1, but I’ll still take my chances and stick with the fantastic camera on the Find 7.

Martin
May 10, 2014
In each of the 4 sets the Z1 is the clear winner
-set1: The OnePlus makes the seeds look like pees, way to green.
Also the leef is to green on the OnePlus, it needs more blue like in the Z1 picture.
-set2: The Oneplus agan is just to green like in set1.
More fine details in the Z1 picure.
-set3: Clouds are purple, the tree in the lower left corner is a black blob and the flowers
have no details. The Z1 is clearly better
-set4:OnePlus is just awful; purple clouds, the lower left tree has a halo and overall ther
is lots of noise
- desponent
  May 10, 2014
  Yeah, seems like OPO play the good ol game of “moar saturation” to try to fool the mass.

Guest
May 10, 2014
In each of the 4 sets the Z1 is the clear winner
-set1: The OnePlus makes the seeds look like pees, way to green.
Also the leef is to green on the OnePlus, it needs more blue like in the Z1 picture.
-set2: The Oneplus agan is just to green like in set1.
More fine details in the Z1 picure.
-set3: Clouds are purple, the tree in the lower left corner is a black blob and the flowers
have no details. The Z1 is clearly better
-set4:OnePlus is just awful; purple clouds, the lower left tree has a halo and overall ther
is lots of noise
- desponent
  May 10, 2014
  Yeah, seems like OPO play the good ol game of “moar saturation” to try to fool the mass.

Peter Pain
May 11, 2014
I presume, the Z1 has the original firmware NOT the updated firmware (backported from Z2).
The new Z1 firmware is a huge leap in image quality over the original. Not to mention the other software apps also updated to Z2 spec.
Peter Pain
May 11, 2014
I presume, the Z1 has the original firmware NOT the updated firmware (backported from Z2).
The new Z1 firmware is a huge leap in image quality over the original. Not to mention the other software apps also updated to Z2 spec.

Ricardo Franco
June 10, 2014
Clearly these are propaganda pics that use over saturation to make the Opo look more vibrant then the Xperia Z1.
The Z1 is and will always be a clear winner against the Oneplus One cam

Ricardo Franco
June 10, 2014
Clearly these are propaganda pics that use over saturation to make the Opo look more vibrant then the Xperia Z1.
The Z1 is and will always be a clear winner against the Oneplus One cam
Ricardo Franco
June 10, 2014
If you want unbiased review of this cam check http://www.androidpolice.com/2014/05/14/oneplus-one-with-cyanogenmod-11s-review-the-best-flagship-phone-you-cant-buy/
It’s really not that great
Ricardo Franco
June 10, 2014
If you want unbiased review of this cam check http://www.androidpolice.com/2014/05/14/oneplus-one-with-cyanogenmod-11s-review-the-best-flagship-phone-you-cant-buy/
It’s really not that great