Sony Xperia J review

Can the Sony Ericsson inspired J jump in and make a splash?

Sony Xperia J review
Mid- to low-end device brings curvy Ice Cream Sandwich at a low price

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The Sony Xperia J comes equipped with a rear facing 5MP camera and single LED flash, plus a VGA snapper round the front.

While this is acceptable for the price bracket the Xperia J falls into, better can be had for your money in the form of the 8MP-toting Orange San Diego – something you'll need to consider if image quality is a big factor for you.

Sony Xperia J review

As we mentioned in the interface section, the camera app takes it sweet time opening, with us having to wait several seconds before the Xperia J was ready to start taking pictures – no instant shots available here.

The camera app itself is a well designed, simple affair, with large menu keys making it easy to hit the options you want – far better than the offering on the San Diego and BlackBerry Curve 9320.

Sony Xperia J review

There's a limited range of options, including a panorama setting and five scene modes, while the flash can be toggled and a digital zoom is on board to get you closer to the action.

The zoom is controlled by the volume rocker key on the side of the Xperia J, but image quality is dramatically decreased the further you go in, so use it sparingly.

Sony Xperia J review

Auto-focus is in play on the Sony Xperia J, but at times it can take a second or two to sort itself out, which can be frustrating if you're trying to capture something quickly.

Tap to focus is also available, but this is disabled if you opt turn on the "touch screen to capture" function, if you don't fancy using the on-screen shutter key.

Sony Xperia J review

If you want to fine tune the settings a little more you can mess around with the exposure, white balance and metering levels, while geo-tagging will also pin the location of your photo to the image file.

Thanks to the auto-focus, the Xperia J does take a second or two to snap the image and return back to the shooting mode once you've hit the shutter key, which makes capturing shots in quick session almost impossible.

Sony Xperia J review

Image quality is acceptable at best, with the Sony Xperia J struggling to cope with multiple light sources and areas of light and shadow in the same image.

A lot of our shots looked grainy, and while we weren't expecting sparkling quality from the Xperia J, it has to be said we were disappointed with the results.

Sony Xperia J review

In even light the Xperia J manages to talk a decent picture

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Sony Xperia J review

It struggles with variable light though, with the area in shadow appearing darker than it was.

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Sony Xperia J review

The bright lights of this station means the Xperia J couldn't focus properly

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Sony Xperia J review

It was in all sorts of trouble with this shiny car and the strange lighting set up

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Sony Xperia J review

Up close the Xperia J does manage to focus, but results are grainy

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Sony Xperia J review

Back outside in even light is where the Xperia J likes to be

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Sony Xperia J review

The Xperia J found it difficult to focus on this scented candle

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Sony Xperia J review

The panorama mode isn't the best we've seen

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John McCann
Global Managing Editor

John joined TechRadar over a decade ago as Staff Writer for Phones, and over the years has built up a vast knowledge of the tech industry. He's interviewed CEOs from some of the world's biggest tech firms, visited their HQs and has appeared on live TV and radio, including Sky News, BBC News, BBC World News, Al Jazeera, LBC and BBC Radio 4. Originally specializing in phones, tablets and wearables, John is now TechRadar's resident automotive expert, reviewing the latest and greatest EVs and PHEVs on the market. John also looks after the day-to-day running of the site.