I have a Sony Xperia Z2 courtesy of the Clove Technology – http://www.clove.co.uk.
I wanted to give the Z2 another shot since I used it close to first release, and since then it has had several firmware updates. I also knew that a new one was just about to hit, firmware 17.1.1.A.0.438 which got installed late last night.
So my second views of the phone so far is that it feels a lot smoother moving from apps and more refined. Despite its large bezels, which don’t really matter, it is one of the few phones that in the hand look premium. The large flap for charging via traditional micro usb is an annoying, but it is one of the few phones with an IP68 rating, which makes it waterproof. However, I do have a magnetic usb charging cable that attaches to the side of the phone, which means no opening any flaps.
The screen is so much better than previous phones, but in bright sunlight I was struggling to see the content.
I am going to see how the camera fairs since the last firmware. Before applying the update, photos are super quick to capture, photographing kids and dogs is a total breeze. In fact in less than a few minutes I had 60 shots of my dogs in motion, all excellent.
I tried a few other shots, the fake bokeh effects, and the crazy burst mode. The burst mode takes in about a second, 30 photos before you press the shutter and 30 photos after you have pressed the shutter.
What I have noticed with the photos I took prior to the firmware update last night, is that the photos look great on the phone screen, even looked ok projected on to my TV screen, but zoom in and you see a lot of noise and artefacts in the pixels. But then, you have that shot of the dog leaping in the air. So I suppose it depends what is important to you – pixel quality or capturing that magic moment.
As I said, I will bring you more updates over the coming week.
And thanks again to Clove Technology – http://www.clove.co.uk – for all your smartphone needs.
Gavin's Gadgets & Photography 
Battery life much better now. Dual speakers also better than Z1.
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The Z2 for me personally is a keeper; so much to like which make it different from the current crop.
However, I have my eyes set on adding the LG G3 and given that the G3 has little in manual control on the camera it will be interesting to see how it can compare to the camera software add-ons you find on the Sony Z2.
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I think the G3 camera may not live up to your standards.
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Yes, I agree with you on this Gavin.
Although I am eager to try out the G3 I do confess to having concerns over the camera.
As to camera add-on software; although the Sony Z2 has this pretty well covered I am hoping some of my paid camera App software may be able to add a bit of extra.
However I don’t think titles such as Camera FV-5 and A Better Camera will be able to access changes to ISO.
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Only one way to find out then 🙂
Btw with your Z2 , what is your preferred camera settings or mode?
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Depends on the shot…. But an example would be ~ for indoor I use a resolution of 8MP 3264×2448 (4:3) and turn HDR on from the menu and not the Scene.
This gives me a better contrast setting where light will be more challenging.
For outdoor I mostly increase the resolution all the way to 20.7MP 5248×3936 (4:3) to give me as many pixels as possible for cropping.
Whatever method though I always use a 4:3 aspect over 16:9 as 4:3 gives you wider shooting in the opposite view ~ as in shoot portait will give a wider field of view in the horizontal.
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