Here’s the Sony Xperia Pro mounted on a Sony A7S III mirrorless digicam. An HDMI cable means that you can use the Pro’s 4K show as a area monitor.
Patrick Holland/CNET
Over the previous few years, with telephones just like the Xperia 1 II (learn as “one mark two”) and the Xperia 5 II, Sony’s moved away from mainstream attraction and aimed itself at picture and video fans. The new Sony Xperia Pro is essentially the most excessive instance of this transfer up to now. The $2,500 telephone (which converts roughly to £1,830 or AU$3,250) is not meant to compete with the likes of the iPhone 12 Pro Max or the Galaxy S21 Ultra. Its HDMI port transforms it from a telephone into a number of different units for photographers, videographers and reside broadcasters.Remember in 2007, when Steve Jobs first introduced the unique iPhone? He teased the viewers saying that he had three revolutionary merchandise to launch: a widescreen iPod, a telephone and an web communicator. I’d be the primary to cease any comparisons between the Xperia Pro and the unique iPhone. But following Jobs’ method, the Xperia Pro is 4 merchandise: a telephone, a digicam monitor, a speedy picture file switch system and a 5G machine appropriate for broadcasting and livestreaming.
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The Xperia Pro goals to fill the void left by the 2018 Red Hydrogen One telephone, which misplaced itself on the earth of 3D (or 4V as Red known as it) and upset filmmaking fans and professionals who hoped for the final word video recording telephone. Aside from a cameo on Dominic Toretto’s dashboard within the F9 trailer, the Hydrogen line of telephones shut down on the finish of 2019 when Red’s CEO and founder Jim Jannard retired.The Sony Xperia Pro is available in black. In sure mild it appears to be like darkish grey. The again and the perimeters of the telephone are in what looks as if a built-in case.
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I bought my palms on a preproduction Xperia Pro, which solely had assist for mmWave 5G (the ultimate telephone will assist each sub-6 and mmWave 5G). The Pro is basically an Xperia 1 II repackaged into a brand new and greater physique, full with the primary ever micro-HDMI port on a telephone. The again and the perimeters of the telephone are coated by what looks as if a built-in case. Gone is the glass again on the Xperia 1 II.The Xperia Pro has a devoted shutter button, a brand new shortcut button and a side-mounted energy button and fingerprint reader. It has the very same cameras because the Xperia 1 II. Powering the Pro is a Snapdragon 865 5G chip and 12GB of RAM. There’s an easy-to-open dual-SIM card tray that may also be used with a microSD card for further storage. Even earlier than you join a devoted digicam to its HDMI port, the Xperia Pro is able to taking glorious images and movies.On paper, the HDMI enter together with the Xperia Pro’s 6.5-inch 4K show and 5G connectivity make it a super companion for photographers, video shooters and content material creators. There’s a lot to check and I’m actually trying ahead to it.The Xperia Pro’s $2,500 value will certainly trigger sticker shock. But should you add up its performance (telephone, 4K monitor, 5G mobile modem) the worth turns into simpler to swallow. And for a sure sort of artistic, the Xperia Pro may very well be price each penny. The Xperia Pro is now on the market within the US.
Sony Xperia Pro as a digicam area monitorOn the underside of the telephone you will discover the USB-C port on the left and the micro-HDMI port with a canopy within the center. To use the Xperia Pro as a area monitor, merely plug in an HDMI cable from a digicam (with a micro-HDMI connector at one finish), flip the digicam on and open up the aptly named External Monitor app on the Xperia Pro.Depending in your digicam’s settings and output, you will see a preview of what you are filming on the Xperia. Unlike many digicam screens, the Xperia Pro allows you to use it like a telephone. To zoom the picture in or out, merely pinch the display. The app has instruments for display lock, brightness management, zooming, grid strains, body strains and a 180-degree picture flip.A typical 4K digicam monitor prices a whole lot of {dollars}. The Xperia Pro can turn out to be a 6.5-inch monitor and it does not want exterior batteries.
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Smartly, Sony hasn’t made any of the performance proprietary. I attempted the Pro out with each a Sony A7SIII and a Panasonic S1H mirrorless digicam and the app labored nice for each. The Xperia Pro’s show helps 10-bit coloration, however at present the monitor app solely helps 8-bit video. Sony says an replace to 4:2:2 10-bit video is deliberate.A typical 4K digicam monitor prices a whole lot of {dollars}. The Xperia Pro can turn out to be a 6.5-inch monitor with out the standard bulk of most screens. As a monitor, you may nonetheless work together with it like a telephone. And better of all it does not require heavy exterior batteries to energy it.The Xperia Pro for reside streaming and broadcastThe mixture of 5G and the micro-HDMI port means that you can stream reside video from a devoted exterior digicam by way of the Xperia Pro. It can join on to social media platforms like YouTube. That means I can use a Sony A7SIII mirrorless digicam and good lens to seize video reside and have the Xperia Pro add the video sign over 5G (ideally mmWave) to whichever broadcast platform I’m utilizing.In phrases of reside streaming, there’s so much to be skeptical of right here. But I’m excited to check its talents completely. Over the previous months, an fascinating proof of idea just like the Xperia Pro was on full show alongside the sidelines of NFL video games. NFL Gameday host Mike Garafolo shared a photograph on Twitter of a digicam rig nicknamed The Megalodon which was utilized by the Fox NFL broadcast crew. The rig is made up of Sony A7 IV mirrorless digicam, a gimbal, a monitor and a mobile modem (within the backpack) which shares the video sign to the printed truck. It’s not exhausting to think about an Xperia Pro being utilized in lieu of the mobile modem or the monitor.
The superior on-field pictures on FOX’s broadcast of #Seahawks-#WashingtonFootball Team are courtesy of this contraption the crew nicknames “The Megalodon.” Here it’s. And right here’s Mike Smole, who is working it immediately. He calls it a “poor man’s Steadicam.” We ought to all be so poor. pic.twitter.com/RWuYjeaBCe— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) December 20, 2020
To allow you to self broadcast, Sony constructed a Network Visualizer app that shows add and obtain speeds in actual time. The app can turn out to be a PIP window and run over any app you are utilizing for broadcast.The Sony Xperia Pro mounted vertically on a digicam with the Network Visualizer app opened. I ought to be aware that there wasn’t a mmWave 5G connection the place I photographed the telephone.
Patrick Holland/CNET
Xperia Pro can add images shortly to an FTP serverThe Xperia 5 II introduced assist for USB-C tethering to the Sony A7SIII for fast picture file transfers to a file switch protocol server. The Xperia Pro inherits the identical means. But with the addition of 5G, you may have even sooner speeds — in concept.Compare Sony Xperia Pro specs vs. Sony Xperia 1 II, Sony Xperia 5 II
Sony Xperia Pro
Sony Xperia 1 II
Sony Xperia 5 II
Display measurement, decision
6.5-inch 4K HDR OLED; 3,840×1,644 pixels
6.5-inch 4K HDR OLED; 3,840×1,644 pixels
6.1-inch FHD+ HDR OLED; 2,520×1,080 pixels
Pixel density
643ppi
643ppi
449ppi
Dimensions (Inches)
6.7×3×0.4 in
6.5×2.8×0.3 in
6.22×2.68×0.31 in
Dimensions (Millimeters)
170.2×76.2×10.16 mm
165.1×71.1×7.62 mm
158x68x8 mm
Weight (Ounces, Grams)
7.9 oz; 225g
6.4 oz; 181g
5.75 oz; 163g
Mobile software program
Android 10
Android 10
Android 10
Camera
12-megapixel (commonplace), 12-megapixel (ultra-wide), 12-megapixel (3x telephoto)
12-megapixel (commonplace), 12-megapixel (ultra-wide), 12-megapixel (3x telephoto)
12-megapixel (commonplace), 12-megapixel (ultra-wide), 12-megapixel (3x telephoto)
Front-facing digicam
8-megapixel
8-megapixel
8-megapixel
Video seize
4K
4K
4K
Processor
Snapdragon 865 5G
Snapdragon 865
Snapdragon 865
Storage
512GB
256GB
128GB
RAM
12GB
8GB
8GB
Expandable storage
Up to 1TB
Up to 1TB
Up to 1TB
Battery
4,000 mAh
4,000 mAh
4,000 mAh
Fingerprint sensor
Right facet
Right facet
Right facet
Connector
USB-C
USB-C
USB-C
Headphone jack
Yes
Yes
Yes
Special options
5G sub-6 and mmWave, rated IP 65/68, adaptive battery charging and care, Dolby ATMOS, Zeiss lens coatings, time of flight sensor, {hardware} shutter button, {hardware} shortcut button
5G-enabled (not in US), wi-fi charging, rated IP 65/68, adaptive battery charging and care, Dolby ATMOS, Zeiss lens coatings, time of flight sensor, {hardware} shutter button
5G-enabled (not in US), 120Hz refresh price show, rated IP 65/68, adaptive battery charging and care, Dolby ATMOS, Zeiss lens coatings, time of flight sensor, {hardware} shutter button, {hardware} Google Assistant button
Price off-contract (USD)
$2,500
$1,200
$950
Price (GBP)
Converts to £1,830
£1,099
£799
Price (AUD)
Converts to AU$3,250
Converts to AU$1,710
Converts to AU$1,350
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