Camera Shootout: Sony Xperia Z vs HTC Butterfly

Before we publish our full review of the 5-incher Xperia Z and HTC Butterfly (We know you’ve been waiting), here’s a camera comparison between the 2 devices. To recap, the Sony Xperia Z boast a 13MP shooter while the HTC Butterfly has a smaller 8MP camera which has a wider angle.

In terms of loading up the camera, the Sony Xperia Z is a tad slower due to a lack of dedicated camera shutter button that’s popular in its previous Xperia S. Starting up from the start screen tends to be a bit sluggish with a second pause which is where the HTC Butterfly performed better. If you are the paparazzi type, the HTC Butterfly feels more snappier however the burst mode on the Xperia Z is superior with up to 10fps. While the HTC Butterfly has a limit of 99 shots, the Xperia Z keeps on going even beyond 1000 shots.

In terms of quality, the low light capabilities is rather a mixed bag. In certain situations, the Xperia Z appears a little bit brighter however the noise levels can be rather high, making the 100% crop looking rather smudgy. The Butterfly in the other hand may look sharper but we can’t help but to notice there’s excessive post-processing sharpening with the photos. Looking at normal resized view, the Xperia Z colours appear to be better and more natural than the Butterfly. Note that the Xperia Z we have is a rather early release model and there’s room to improve with newer firmware.

As comparison, we have also included sample shots taken from a Sony Alpha A55 DSLR camera as well. All shots are taken in automatic mode for simplicity across. What do you guys think? Which is better of the two?

Head after the break for the comparison shots and videos.

Sample #1

Sony Alpha A55

Sony Xperia Z

HTC Butterfly

Sample #2

Sony Alpha A55

Sony Xperia Z

HTC Butterfly

Sample #3

Sony Alpha A55

Sony Xperia Z

HTC Butterfly

Sample #4

Sony Xperia Z

HTC Butterfly

Sample #5

Sony Alpha A55

Sony Xperia Z

HTC Butterfly

Sample #6

Sony Alpha A55

Sony Xperia Z

HTC Butterfly

Sample #7

Sony Alpha A55

Sony Xperia Z

HTC Butterfly

Sample #8

Sony Alpha A55

Sony Xperia Z

HTC Butterfly

Sample #9

Sony Alpha A55

Sony Xperia Z

HTC Butterfly

Sample #10

Sony Alpha A55

Sony Xperia Z

HTC Butterfly

Video Samples

Sample #1
Sony Alpha A55

Sony Xperia Z

HTC Butterfly

Sample #2
Sony Alpha A55

Sony Xperia Z

HTC Butterfly

Sample #3
Sony Alpha A55

Sony Xperia Z

HTC Butterfly

Sample #4
Sony Alpha A55

Sony Xperia Z

HTC Butterfly