Sony Xperia Z1 packs mad camera skills into a waterproof package

Sony Xperia Z1 packs mad camera skills into a waterproof package
Nice snapper

Sony has gone big on camera tech in its new flagship Xperia Z1, with the handset packing a 20.7MP G Lens camera with detachable DSLR lens.

The handset's 5-inch screen takes the best of Bravia tech and rams it into smartphone stylings, with the Triluminous display also rocking X-Reality processing analyses the picture and delivers what Sony calls "super sharp videos".

Under the stylish aluminium casing we're looking at a 2.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor - that's the most advanced mobile processor around - backed up by 2GB of RAM and up to 16GB of on-board memory.

Happily, there's also a microSD slot that can handle up to 64GB so you won't be wanting for storage space.

Speed demon

The handset is 4G/LTE ready and as waterproof as its predecessor - this time with the added bonus of an uncovered headphone jack.

But what about that camera?

The 20.7MP snapper comes replete with Exmor RS sensor which means it should be a dab hand at lowlight image capture, while the 27mm wide-angle lens, fast autofocus and BIOS image processor round out the photographical goody bag.

It rocks some nifty software features too, including the ability to stream video straight to your Facebook wall, if that's the kind of thing you think you might want to do, while the TimeShift feature lets you scroll through the 61 frames captured in a second to choose the best, sharpest action shot.

The 2MP camera on the front of the handset is able to shoot 1080p video too.

There's also the optional extra QX100 Smart Lens that offers 10x optical zoom, image stabilisation and doesn't even need to be attached to the phone to take photos.

Although Sony Xperia Z1 pricing is yet to be revealed, it will go on sale in September 2013 in black, white and purple varieties.

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Former UK News Editor for TechRadar, it was a perpetual challenge among the TechRadar staff to send Kate (Twitter, Google+) a link to something interesting on the internet that she hasn't already seen. As TechRadar's News Editor (UK), she was constantly on the hunt for top news and intriguing stories to feed your gadget lust. Kate now enjoys life as a renowned music critic – her words can be found in the i Paper, Guardian, GQ, Metro, Evening Standard and Time Out, and she's also the author of 'Amy Winehouse', a biography of the soul star.