Sony unveils new ultra-premium camera phone for photograpers: Xperia PRO-I

(Image credit: Sony)

Sony has revealed its latest premium camera phone offering: the Xperia PRO-I ('I' for 'Imaging'). Positioned alongside the flagship Xperia PRO and above the Xperia 1 III, it's designed to be a more conventional flagship device than the existing, rather more niche Xperia PRO.

PRO-I combines many of the PRO's professional-grade features with an even more impressive camera set-up, and for a lower price. 'Lower', however, translates to £1,599, which though significantly less than the eye-wateringly expensive PRO, is still a huge outlay and makes the likes of a 512GB iPhone 13 Pro Max look almost a bargain!

Arguably the centrepiece of the Xperia PRO-I is its new 1-inch Exmor RS sensor used for the primary rear-facing camera, apparently taken from the RX100 VII compact camera. Sony is claiming this to be the "the World’s First Smartphone to Include a 1.0-type image Sensor with Phase Detection Autofocus". Sony can't quite claim the title of simply being the first to use a 1-inch sensor in a phone, as Sharp already managed that feat with its Aquos R6.

This 24mm-equivlaent camera boasts Zeiss Tessar Optics with an f/2.0 max aperture, but 'only' a 12-megapixel resolution. This does however mean each pixel is exceptionally large for a phone camera, at 2.4µm. Consequently Sony is claiming exceptional low light performance, along with huge dynamic range, helped by the phone's ability to shoot in 12-bit RAW. Sony is using its BIONZ X for mobile image processor in the Xperia PRO-I, which is said to deliver "unprecedented speed and improved image quality in a wide range of scenes".

The other two rear-facing cameras in the PRO-I are a 16mm ultrawide f/2.2 module, and a 50mm f/2.4 telephoto camera, giving an equivalent 2x 'zoom'. Both cameras shoot at 12MP, so all three rear-facing cameras will output images of the same image size. Naturally, the image sensors used for the ultrawide and telephoto cameras are of a much smaller size than the 1-inch primary camera, so don't expect image quality to be the same across all three cameras.

The Xperia PRO-I also includes Sony's new Videography Pro feature which groups creative settings in a single location. Users can intuitively and accurately adjust settings such as focus, exposure and white balance even while shooting a movie, to fit to the shooting environment. In addition, Xperia PRO-I adopts a high-precision Level meter that has been individually calibrated at the factory. By assigning the "Videography Pro" application to the "shortcut key" on the side of the body, it's possible to start shooting video immediately like a dedicated camera. You can also assign other applications or features to the shortcut key.

Sony has designed the Xperia PRO-I firmly with vlogging in mind. It can be connected directly to the new Vlog Monitor accessory to allow you to record using the rear-facing camera while still maintaining a visible video preview when the main phone screen is facing away from you. This 16:9 secondary add-on display is a 3.5-inch LCD monitor with a 1280 x 720 resolution, housed in a metal holder. It features an easy magnetic attachment system, as well as a 3.5mm 3-pole microphone jack which enables the connection of an external microphone, mounted on the accessory shoe on the top of the screen holder.

Audio fidelity is boosted by Dolby Atmos support, Full-stage Stereo Speakers, 360 Reality Audio, and there's the welcome inclusion of a 3.5mm audio port. The handset includes stereo microphones, along with a built-in monaural microphone next to the main camera. This makes it possible to focus on recording speech while other sounds remain in the background. The Xperia PRO-I also includes Sony’s audio separation technology to filter out wind noise, both for stereo and monaural microphones.

Despite packing such a huge primary image sensor, the Xperia PRO-I is just 8.9mm thick, while being 166mm long and 72mm wide. Though undeniably thin, the ridged edges of the handset should help make the PRO-I easier to hold than many other flagship camera phones, while the long-travel physical shutter release button is designed to give a more ergonomic camera shooting experience. The PRO-I is water and dust resistant with an IP65/68 rating, and its display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus.

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Ben is the Imaging Labs manager, responsible for all the testing on Digital Camera World and across the entire photography portfolio at Future. Whether he's in the lab testing the sharpness of new lenses, the resolution of the latest image sensors, the zoom range of monster bridge cameras or even the latest camera phones, Ben is our go-to guy for technical insight. He's also the team's man-at-arms when it comes to camera bags, filters, memory cards, and all manner of camera accessories – his lab is a bit like the Batcave of photography! With years of experience trialling and testing kit, he's a human encyclopedia of benchmarks when it comes to recommending the best buys.

Sony unveils new ultra-premium camera phone for photograpers: Xperia PRO-I

Premium camera hardware

Pro-grade video capabilities

Advanced audio

Display, exterior and other hardware

Pricing and availability

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