Name: Xperia T
Brand: Sony

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Camera

The Sony Xperia T has a rear-facing 13MP camera which is definitely one of its top features.

Both the quality of the photos, and the range of features included are superb. You also have a 1.3MP front-facing camera, capable of 720p HD, for video calls or Skype chats.

If you want to shoot in the standard 16:9 aspect ratio you have to drop down to 10MP, but as any photographer will tell you, there's more to a camera than just the number of megapixels.

A few of the usual settings are available, including red eye reduction, geotagging, smile detection and a self timer.

The Sony Xperia T features an f/2.4 aperture which is about standard for top-tier smartphones at the moment.

Interestingly, some of the more advanced features like white balance and ISO settings aren't included on the Xperia T. We've seen these on other phones – particularly the Nokia Lumia 900 – and photography buffs might take issue with this.

A couple of other notable features have made it onto the Xperia T such as the panorama shot. You pan the camera across from left to right and the Xperia T will stitch the result together to create a sweeping panoramic vista.

A feature Sony are keen to emphasis is the quick capture option that debuted with with Sony Xperia S last year.

This enables you to hold down the shutter button – even when the phone is locked – and it will fire up and take a picture in under a second.

In practice this works very well and means you won't miss the vital picture because you're too busy unlocking the handset and loading up the camera app.

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This picture shows plenty of detail in the fading light, and was taken without a flash with the Xperia T set to the 10MP 16:9 aspect ratio.

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Detail hasn't been much increased by switching to 13MP and 4.3 format here, although the photo is noticeably brighter, particularly in the background.

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Close ups come out well, and although there's no macro mode, the auto-sensor does a good job of picking out the detail.

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The Panorama mode is a nice feature that works particularly well with landscapes. The quality is good, but if you zoom in - particularly on the pavilion in this photo - the stitching is slightly wonky.