The Sony Xperia X Compact is one of the latest Sony smartphones, and offers a 23 megapixel back camera as well as a 5-megapixel front camera all in a small and easy to pocket body. The phone is available in 3 colours - mist blue, white and black. Here, we find out how it performs.
Sony Xperia X Compact Features
The Xperia X Compact has the same back camera is it's larger counterpart, the Xperia XZ. Sony has used a 23-megapixel sensor, and a bigger sensor size, with the sensor in the Xperia X Compact being a 1/2.3inch sensor. This is the same size that's used in most compact cameras. But with 23 million pixels crammed in, the pixel size is just 1.1microns, smaller than many smartphone rivals, such as the 12 megapixel Samsung Galaxy S7, and iPhone 7, with the S7 having 1.4micron pixels.
Sony has used a 24mm equivalent f/2.0 lens, and the camera also boasts 5-axis electronic image stabilisation, which should help in low light.
The camera features triple image sensing technology which Sony says allows it to capture movement and colour like never before. They are the only smartphone family developed using Sony's camera know-how from their Alpha and Cyber-shot cameras.
There are a number of shooting modes, including "Superior" intelligent Auto+, a full manual mode, and numerous scene modes. There is also the capability to shoot HDR images, and the camera features object tracking AF. In the video recording mode you can choose from a number of different scene modes, and the video mode also lets you use object tracking AF. To add additional features to the camera, there are a number of additional camera apps, including AR Effect, Creative Effect, Sweep Panorama, Sound Photo, Sticker creator, and Timeshift video, to name a few. You can add additional camera apps for free.
The X Compact updates the Xperia Z5 Compact, and runs Android version 6 (Marshmallow), with 3GB of ram, and 32GB of storage. The phone has a 4.6" HD 720p Triluminos display for mobile featuring dynamic contrast enhancement. The X Compact comes has all the bells and whistles we've come to expect from a premium smartphone, including NFC, Bluetooth, GPS, front stereo speakers, a fingerprint sensor (built-in to the power button), and Quick Charge 3.0 for faster battery charging. However, the X Compact is not weatherproof or dustproof, unlike its predecessor, which is a shame.
Key Features
- 23-megapixel sensor (1/2.3inch) BSI CMOS sensor
- 24mm f/2.0 lens, 5-axis electronic image stabilisation (gyro and accelerometer sensors)
- 5 megapixel, 25mm f/2.4 front lens with 1/5" Exmor R for mobile image sensor
- 4.6" HD 720p Triluminos display for mobile
- Laser and Predictive Hybrid AF
- FullHD 60/30fps video recording
- ISO50 to ISO3200 (standard range) up to ISO12800 (Low-light photo)
- 3GB ram, 32GB storage (64GB on dual sim version)
- HDR, Panoramic, Creative Effect, Scene modes
- 146x72x8.1mm, 161g, USB C, 2700mAh battery
- Available in 3 different colours
Sony Xperia X Compact Handling
The Xperia X Compact is still quite an angular phone, although this has been toned down slightly with a slightly curved screen and corners that are a little more rounded than on previous models. It still feels quite premium, although uses more plastic than the Xperia XZ. Despite being really smooth, the X Compact feels good in the hand. Unlike larger phones, it's not so difficult to get to all of the screen while holding it, which will be of benefit to those with smaller hands.
The phone features a dedicated two-stage shutter release button, with the first slight press focusing the camera, and a full-press taking the photo. This is also a quick way to get straight into the camera mode when the phone is locked by pressing it once and holding it down until the phone vibrates and the camera springs to life. Previous Xperia phones have had issues with the lens coating on the rear camera being easily scratched off, which adds to lens flare, loss of contrast, and can degrade image quality noticeably, so this is something to keep an eye on, and for this reason, a protective case is recommended.
You can use the touch-screen to set the focus point anywhere on the screen. The screen looks really good, with good colour reproduction, and the viewing angles are also good with whites remaining white even when viewed from different angles.
To access the different shooting modes in the camera app, you simply swipe up or down for the different modes (if using it in portrait mode, it's left to right), and you can quickly switch between iAuto (Intelligent Auto), Manual and Video recording. Scroll all the way to the right, and you can access the Sony Xperia camera apps, which includes: AR effect, sound photo, style portrait, creative effect, sticker creator, sweep panorama, timeshift video, and you can also add additional apps including a "Background defocus" app, and "Panorama 360" and more, all for free.
Running Android v6, the phone should be familiar to most, and even iPhone users shouldn't find it too hard to start using the phone. The phone should also benefit from an upgrade to the latest version of Android, when available.
The camera is responsive, but not as impressively responsive as the Samsung Galaxy S7, and despite Sony's claims of ultra-fast focus, you can see the camera focus hunt on screen (albeit quite quickly). Whereas the Samsung Galaxy S7 just takes photos straight away, without any perceptible delay due to focusing.
Battery life - The battery in the Sony Xperia X Compact is rated at 2700 mAh and like most other premium smartphones can't be removed. This should be good for a days use of the smartphone, and as is the case with most premium smartphones, daily charging is likely to be needed.
Sony Xperia X Compact Performance
The performance section is where we look at the image quality performance of the camera. Additional sample photos and product shots are available in the Equipment Database, where you can add your own review, photos and product ratings.
Sony Xperia X Compact Lens test images
However, one benefit of this is that whether you shoot 4:3 or 16:9 images, you still get high-resolution images, and 4:3 aspect ratio gives you 23-megapixel images, and 16:9 gives you 20-megapixel photos. With such a high-resolution sensor, cropping to 2x gives you an 8-megapixel image.
Due to high levels of noise and over-processed edges image quality isn't as good as you might have hoped, and images are soft towards the corners of the frame. The lens is particularly susceptible to lens flare, when there is a light source in the frame, but also, annoyingly when there is a bright light source outside the frame. There's also quite noticeable lens distortion, with the image bending out (barrel distortion) towards the edges of the frame and bending inward (pincushion distortion) near the middle of the frame, although if you don't take photos of straight edges this probably won't be too concerning."
Sony Xperia X Compact ISO test images
Sony Xperia X Compact White-balance test images
Digital Filters - There are lots of creative effects available accessible inside the Camera app section. With the creative effects option, there doesn't seem to be a way to use these when shooting with the selfie camera, and images are saved at a resolution of 2 megapixels, so there's not much point using it, unless you want to send the images straight to Facebook or Twitter. There are numerous scene modes but these aren't available if you want to shoot at 20 or 23mp, instead you must select the 8mp resolution. The AR effect app is pretty cool, allowing you to turn yourself into a tiger, or even create AR worlds on your desk. We had fun with the dinosaur one, and you can even tap on the objects to move them around the frame and position them as you wish.
Sony Xperia X Compact Panoramic
The sweep panorama mode is disappointing, producing an image that is just 1080 pixels high, resulting in a 4-5 megapixel image. If you don't keep the camera perfectly level then you can end up with dark black areas in the image, and detail is quite low. This is particularly disappointing considering Sony practically invented Sweep Panoramas with Sony Cyber-shot cameras, and since then, the latest iPhones and other smartphones are able to produce impressive 41+ megapixel panoramics!
Video - This is one area where the 5-axis image stabilisation system works really well, with even handheld video stable and smooth. When recording FullHD video "Active" SteadyShot (Sony's name for Image Stabilisation) is available providing very stable video. There is a little "Jello" effect when recording video.
Value For Money
The Sony Xperia X Compact is priced at around £369 sim-free. To say this phone has a downgraded chipset than its predecessor and isn't weatherproof at all, it does leave you wondering why the phone is priced so highly. Similar priced phones, although most are larger, include the following:
| Sensor | Lens | OIS | Screen | WP | GB | Price | |
| Kodak Ektra Smartphone | 21mp | f/2.0 | Y | 5.0 | N | 32 | £449 |
| Samsung Galaxy S7 | 12mp | f/1.7 | Y | 5.1 | Y | 32 | £569 |
| HTC 10 | 12mp | f/1.8 | Y | 5.2 | N | 32 | £495 |
| OnePlus 3 | 16mp | f/2.0 | Y | 5.5 | N | 64 | £330 |
| LG G5 | 16mp | f/1.8 + | Y | 5.3 | N | 32 | £420 |
| Sony Xperia XZ | 23mp | f/2.0 | N * | 5.2 | Y | 32 | £399 |
| Sony Xperia X Compact | 23mp | f/2.0 | N * | 4.6 | N | 32 | £430 |
| Moto Z | 13mp | f/1.8 | Y | 5.5 | N** | 32 | £499 |
| iPhone 7 Plus | 12mp | f/1.8 ++ | Y ++ | 5.5 | Y | 32 | £719 |
| iPhone 7 | 12mp | f/1.8 | Y | 4.7 | Y | 32 | £599 |
| Google Pixel | 12mp | f/2.0 | N * | 5.0 | N | 32 | £599 |
+ LG G5 - has two (rear) camera, a standard 16mp, and an ultra wide-angle (8mp) camera.
++ iPhone 7 Plus - has two (rear) cameras, a wide-angle (28mm equivalent with OIS) and a telephoto (56mm equivalent without OIS) lens
* Google Pixel / Sony Xperia XZ feature electronic image stabilisation, using a gyro sensor, and additionally accelerometer sensor on Sonys
** Moto Z features a "water repellent coating" but is not classed as waterproof
Have a look at more smartphones in our Top 10 Best Smartphones for Photographers. You'll also need to buy a MicroSD memory card and a case or bag to keep your smartphone safe and protected - have a look at our complete guide to camera bags.
Sony Xperia X Compact Verdict
Despite the 23 megapixel sensor, the level of detail captured by the camera is a little disappointing. The inclusion of 5-axis image stabilisation is welcome, and helps, particularly with video, but the use of an f/2.0 lens is not up there with the best, and the electronic image stabilisation doesn't help with still shots.
There's a dedicated shutter release button, and it is nice to see this on a smartphone. The camera has a 5-megapixel selfie camera, but unlike other smartphones, the camera doesn't use the screen as a selfie flash, which means low-light selfies are poor. We can't help feeling that Sony is still trying to catch up with other smartphones in terms of the camera, the lens should be brighter, and in order to give better low-light performance, the sensor should have a lower resolution, with larger pixels, and optical image stabilisation would also be useful.
There are a number of shooting issues when using the camera, for example, you can't choose from the different scene modes if you have the camera set to the 20 or 23-megapixel resolution, and the camera defaults to shooting at 8 megapixels out of the box. It's almost as though Sony want you to shoot at 8 megapixels, and if that's the case, why not just put a lower resolution sensor in the camera in the first place? There's also a separate section to access Creative Effects, and Sweep Panorama. The panoramic mode is disappointing, which is surprising since Sony practically invented the sweep panoramic mode on their compact camera range.
The design of the smartphone has been updated, and now the X Compact features a larger body that the previous version, and also loses the waterproofing. Perhaps this will mean that the smartphones price will drop over time, but currently, this is being introduced with a higher price. We were disappointed that the phone does not feature any weatherproofing or dustproofing capabilities, which is a big step backwards. It's also frustrating that there doesn't seem to have been much of an upgrade in terms of performance - if anything, a slight downgrade.