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If you’re on a budget, maybe Samsung’s previous Galaxy S22 Ultra (opens in new tab) flagship is worth considering too. It also still holds its own when it comes to video and camera performance. It also has a large battery, which is ideal for those of us who want to stay connected and enjoy heavy camera use. Video from the S23 Ultra is punchy, crisp, and stable, thanks to its optical image stabilization system. It’s not a tool that will appeal to everyone, but it could be great for filming something taking place while capturing your reactions and commentary. Director’s view is aimed at vloggers and YouTubers, enabling you to record video from all of the device’s cameras simultaneously. It also has a quirky mode called “Director’s View”, which is only available when you use the dedicated Samsung Galaxy camera app. The Galaxy S23 Ultra has some eye-catching headline specs, including 8K video recording at up to 30fps, 10x zoom, and 480fps Full HD slow-motion capture. Since that benchmark release, Samsung has consistently delivered year-on-year improvements to both photography and video recording, making Samsung flagship devices a go-to choice for content creators.
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Samsung’s Galaxy S-series phones have received a significant bump in video-recording capabilities since the launch of the Galaxy S9 Plus. For more details, see our Sony Xperia Pro I review. And if you have a Sony mirrorless camera, you can also use the Xperia Pro-I as an external 4K HDR monitor. This combo allows you to plug in a microphone and use the main rear camera for vlogging. Sony has also produced some interesting accessories for this device that allow you to add a vlogging monitor via USB-C and a Bluetooth remote grip with physical controls.
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However, that also means that the wealth of settings, cinema picture profiles and controls may feel daunting to the uninitiated. Sony says it designed this smartphone’s video UI around the same menus and functions it deploys in its pro camera bodies, so it will feel familiar to Sony shooters in particular. Videography Pro mode allows you to control every aspect of exposure and focusing, even allowing you to make cinematic manual focus pulls. When it’s time to record video, the Sony Xperia Pro-I offers full manual controls, optical image stabilization, subject tracking and eye autofocus and a physical aperture that switches the lens from f2 to f4. The Xperia Pro-I has a 3.5mm headphone jack and expandable memory via microSDXC support up to 1TB two things no other major flagship offers right now. It also has a dedicated button for opening the camera app and another right beside it for opening one of its three video recording modes.Īnd there's more.
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It has a boxy form factor, with a 6.5-inch 21:9 4K HDR OLED display, one of the sharpest available on any smartphone right now. In a world where phones are so samey, the Sony Xperia Pro-I goes its own way.
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