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With an 8MP rear camera, the Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact matches most higher-end tablets on camera resolution. It also brings a good deal of the fun experience we're after in camera setups that can't really be expected to match the quality of a top phone or dedicated camera.
Shooting is fast and pretty reliable, with good autofocus performance, solid shot-to-shot speeds and very little shutter lag. It's the sort of immediacy that takes the frustration out of photography.
The size of the Z3 Tablet Compact is a benefit here too. Tablets can often feel awkward or downright embarrassing to take photos with unless you're a shameless tourist, but being this small and light shaves off some of that effect.
The Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact uses a camera app similar to the Sony Xperia phone line-up. As standard, it shoots using a superior auto mode designed to take care of everything apart from the pointing 'n' shoot element. I tend to switch over to another mode in phones like the Sony Xperia Z3, but in a device like this that I would generally only use for emergencies, it seems the perfect fit.
If you want to get a bit deeper with your tablet photography, there are plenty of other modes too. There's the manual mode, which just gives you that little extra bit of control over, for example, whether to shoot using HDR or not, plus a massive collection of creative and more fun modes.
Photo collages, augmented reality, more filters than most people will ever need: the Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact camera app is certainly complete. You can also download more modes directly from within the app, filling until it's bursting at the seams if you wish.
This is a tablet that's particularly adept at amusing the kids, with positively loads of fun little gimmicks available.
But how is actual photo quality? It's fair, but not close to matching Sony's best phones.
As said earlier, focus is fairly reliable, and a reasonably good HDR mode is good at combating scenes with trickier lighting. However, contrast is a little on the low side at times and at pixel level photos look clearly processed, lacking the fine detailing of a more adept mobile camera.
As with lower-end Xperia phones like the Xperia M2 and Xperia E3, the Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact also struggles a bit with recreating realistic-looking red tones. They have a somewhat cartoony, incongruous appearance at times.
You're probably not going to want to frame any of these shots. However, I'm fairly happy with the low-light performance of the camera, which is particularly important as it has no flash to lean on.
It has a smart approach to low-light metering and processing, successfully brightening-up darker scenes so that what's in them is a good deal clearer. Many lower-end mobile cameras simply leave dark scenes dark. These shots don't hold up to close scrutiny, looking clearly processed and lacking in detail, but it's far better than the alternative: an indistinct black mush.
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