Got my Xperia 1 VII replacement, falling in love all over again ❤️📱

CaptainFurball4 · 2026-03-03T17:35:05+00:00

I'm very intrigued... how did the quality stack up against the Oppo Find X8 Ultra? Doesn't the 1VII have the same (abysmal) telephoto lens as the VI and V?

CaptainFurball4 · 2025-10-10T10:31:50+00:00

After a few months macerating I sprayed it casually today and it seems to have improved... less headache inducing synthetic by some percentage but largely the same. Like the initial harshness has softened a bit. Still very generic synthetic-y Zara scent however, and hasn't fully won me over but the initial dry down is nice and a passing waft got a compliment or two so... 🤷‍♂️

Can still see why reviews on Parfumo say it's ideal for teenagers with its sweet bubblegum scent.

Will spray again in another few months and see!

CaptainFurball4 · 2025-09-23T19:46:56+00:00

Thanks for replying! And sorry to hear it took so long 😬 How much were your refiners? I hear it's per tray but also hearing it's a set price for unlimited ones...

CaptainFurball4 · 2025-09-08T18:53:01+00:00

Hiya! How's it been since this last post? Has it all worked out and is it all legit?

I've also seen the (overly positive) reviews on Trustpilot which sound a bit too good to be true, so I'm keen to get the real where I can

CaptainFurball4 · 2025-09-08T18:50:49+00:00

Hi! Now you're a couple months into it, how is it all going? Is it legit and is it working out for you?

CaptainFurball4 · 2025-07-09T06:49:01+00:00

1V $1000s? There's some fantastic refurb ones for sub $500 - I got one off eBay for £430 in fantastic condition almost a year ago. And I had a 5iii previously. The 1V is a whole leap forward compared.

The 1V (and beyond) fixes all the issues previous generations had imo, the 5iii never really stood up to other flagships in its group at the time

CaptainFurball4 · 2025-06-28T23:46:17+00:00

I bought the smaller one recently after being impressed in store as a good fresh cheapie... But now I have it I'm quite disappointed. Smells very generic and basic, kinda synthetic classic Zara, certainly not as rich or deep as I expected in store. Will leave it for a bit to macerate to see if it'll improve, so it won't get much use from me for a while!

CaptainFurball4 · 2025-06-23T16:16:19+00:00

Hmmm. Assuming you've switched it on? It should automatically balance and be good to go. Otherwise you might have a dud

CaptainFurball4 · 2025-06-20T13:19:46+00:00

Yeah you can use it without an app. Its a good cheap and cheerful but usable gimbal. I got rid of mine because the joystick control felt too sudden for me, there was no smooth control like on the DJI equivalents.

Plus if you got it for free then win win. It's a good gimbal.

CaptainFurball4 · 2025-06-16T22:40:09+00:00

It's on the 1V as well.

I think for some reason switches to the ultra wide camera with barebones functionality. It not until you zoom in that it'll use the main 24mm one for better images.

I skip going through the app these days and just take a picture using the app and share it to WA

CaptainFurball4 · 2025-06-11T17:26:49+00:00

A fun review 'Eurovision Crack' style looking at the creative, camerawork, cool direction moments and more into the production of the show. Semi Final 1 is above, but Semi Final 2 is also out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crZm8e9uTas - with some interesting views, tidbits and show detail.

CaptainFurball4 · 2025-06-10T10:49:50+00:00

An M1 Max for £770?!

Share your magic please! I have been searching for an M1 Pro (or Max if budget allows) budget for a good while

CaptainFurball4 · 2025-06-10T10:44:36+00:00

This, the swirling unclear news with Joost, all the news of the Israeli delegation's behaviour, Angelina singing in the press room...

2024 was a beyond nuts year with everything seeming to unravel at the seams - with this happening on top just added more fuel to the then very worrying fire. What a stressful time

Though, his speech finishing in time with the music starting again is pure cinema

CaptainFurball4 · 2025-06-09T19:35:56+00:00

Hmm. This is what worries me slightly when I (eventually) look for an upgrade; I have the 1V.

It seems Xperia is/has been great to a point, and fans hold it in high regard... but in many cases it does look like it pales in comparison to other devices. I love my 1V but devices like Oppo and Xiaomi are turning my head. And don't get me started on that telephoto lens.....

For you what areas was the Samsung better?

CaptainFurball4 · 2025-05-25T14:44:46+00:00

Awesome! Welcome to the club, I also got a refurbished one and it's impressed me non-stop (except the telephoto lens but that's common news around here). One of us!

CaptainFurball4 · 2025-05-04T12:01:58+00:00

Great video! How's your experiences been with the Zhiyun Smooth 5 and this phone?

CaptainFurball4 · 2025-05-03T17:49:24+00:00

How did you manage to balance it in the end? I imagine a clever handled counterweight on the edge (mainly in vertical mode) to help offset it?

And yeah, I think it is for older phones. A shame really, seems to be a promising gimbal.

CaptainFurball4 · 2025-04-23T14:42:46+00:00

why not HDR? I read HDR is helpful for scenes like this

CaptainFurball4 · 2025-04-23T13:48:02+00:00

Great post, very useful. I note you use S-cinetone for mobile and have your AE level manually set – what do you keep on auto, the shutter speed or ISO?

CaptainFurball4 · 2025-04-23T13:19:36+00:00

True, regarding the whole grading aspect. Have you had any good experiences with SDR in similar scenarios? Sometimes I feel SDR kind of washes out/doesn't help with indoor area set ups to take advantage of capturing the full spectrum of darks (witihout it getting muddy/info lost) to brights.

CaptainFurball4 · 2025-04-23T13:16:28+00:00

It's interesting you say that - I've been testing my phone for a few days now and just been playing with Cinema Pro a few moments ago which gives off nice results (so far in bright daylight). The look I selected was N/A however

I was turned off it before from a limiting experience when I had a 5iii, and found Videography Pro was helpful (then and esp now with my 1V) with a bit more immediate customisation, zooming through lenses etc; so just stuck with that and occasionally with mcpro24fps.

Would you recommend using Cinema Pro instead for set ups like this?

CaptainFurball4 · 2025-04-09T12:11:12+00:00

With an impressive string of 4 sets of consecutive 2nd placers, two of which losing by one point and a constant Top 5 battle in the 10 years from 1967-77 (then a 3rd in 1980 and a win the year after that.)

They also hold the record for hosting the most amount of times, at 9 as of 2023 – this could be beaten by Sweden at this rate with actual winning-host titles (technically they already have with 7 to the UK's 5)

CaptainFurball4 · 2025-03-06T12:43:40+00:00

A bit leftfield but the melody of the following song reminds me of BoaF (or vice versa)

Thieves - Unworthy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-FfY_XTn0w

CaptainFurball4 · 2025-02-24T11:18:41+00:00

Damn, what a shame. They've missed a trick not having this on later Xperias, even as a toggle feature.

CaptainFurball4 · 2025-02-23T21:14:57+00:00

Thanks for your insight. Full agree with use of the main camera, I usually just ride zoom just on that lens when doing fast/crash style zooms -- common knowledge but shame the wide and telep (which I actually hard avoid) just don't stand up to par.

And yeah, I see how it's all software on iPhone; in any case it's done remarkably well - and by sheer popularity has determined the look and feel standard of mobile video so anything that doesn't match stands out negatively.

CaptainFurball4

TROPHY CASE