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The Xperia Z4 Tablet doesn't really need a new kick-ass camera, and Sony knows it. No one walks around taking photos with a 10-inch camera (and if you do, you shouldn't); we all have phones that take much better images.
As such, the rear camera on the Xperia Z4 Tablet doesn't seem to be anything special. It has an 8.1MP sensor that can capture images of 3264 x 2448 pixels, but it never seems to really make those specs work. A slight zoom with the camera causes a noticeable drop in clarity in images, which is a shame.
Click here to see the high-res image
Click here to see the high-res image
It also has a strange position on the slate. Where most manufacturers would place it slap bang in the middle, so that when you hold the tablet up you have a rough idea of the image you're going to get, Sony has placed it on the far right, in the top corner.
When I was composing a shot I found myself instinctively using the middle of the tablet, and I had to keep reorientating it after reminding myself where the camera actually was.
This means that when you're taking photos of family and friends you're likely to end up doing the 'mum and dad photography' thing, waving the tablet around for while before you actually take the picture.
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Colours seem to be reproduced quite well, but on the whole I've not been impressed with the rear camera at all.
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There's more to be said for the front-facing camera, which has a 5.1MP sensor and features a wide-angle lens that enables you to squeeze more into the frame than you might expect.
While the colours may not be as good as those from the rear camera, I found the clarity of images to be much better.
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This means that the video call image is quite clear as well, as long as you're on a fast enough connection to keep up with the high-res image.
A quick note about the camera UI, which generally hasn't changed much since last time: it's a pain in the posterior to take a selfie.
I tried to take this image with my pet squirrel one-handed and it just wasn't possible – this is when you really miss having a dedicated camera button, so that you don't have to reach your thumb over the bezel and onto the button on the UI.
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Sony has an entire app store to bring new features to its cameras as and when it wishes. This time around you're kicking off with Superior Auto, Manual, AR Mask, Face in Picture, Sound Photo, AR Fun, Multi Camera, AR Effect, Creative Effect and Sweep Panorama.
Sony has been supplying the AR apps for some time now, and I never cease to be entertained by adding a roaming dinosaur to my photos and videos.
I find that AR apps entertain kids for at least twenty minutes, and love to show them off to my niece and nephew whenever I have a new device hanging around.
This time Sony has added in AR Mask, an app that sounds like it's going to be lots of fun, with popular masks like Darth Vader or V for Vendetta. But no, the effects are actually terrifying.
Here are some of the results of my experiments with AR Mask...
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Instead of throwing a mask on top of your face it throws someone else's face on top, and it's horrible. So, so horrible.
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It's not just for selfies though – you can also do it to your friends using the rear camera.
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The rest of the apps are either good fun to play around with or offer up some real functionality, and Sony has incorporated some interesting features here.
As for video recording you're restricted to 1080p at 30fps; there's no 4K video recording as there has been in the past.
Some may miss this feature, but considering that the Xperia Z4 doesn't have a 4K screen I don't see it as a big omission. However, it would have been nice to double up the resolution and get 2K video on such a good screen, and I don't really understand why Sony didn't go for it.
All in all though video recording looks great, and I didn't find any issues with it.
