Until now, Sony had a solid track record of implementing artificial intelligence (AI) into its cameras. Starting with Real-Time Eye Autofocus (AF) in the Sony A7R II, it laid the groundwork for modern AI subject recognition in its latest cameras such as the A7R VI.
However, the latest AI photo assistant feature that has been rolled out in the new Sony Xperia 1 VIII camera phone feels like another spoonful of unnecessary AI cough medicine being force-fed to us, just like every other tech company on Earth seems to be doing since the AI gold rush began a few years ago.
Essentially, the new Xperia 1 VIII AI assistant suggests four different shooting settings at moment you capture the shot, each offering a distinct creative aesthetic based on the scene or subject.
According to Sony, the assistant helps you “discover new ways of shooting” all while “expanding the joy of creating”. Jesus, I’m cringing.
ABOVE: the new Sony Xperia 1 VIII and its AI assistant explained
As you can expect, this hasn’t resonated well with photographers, who've made it clear in forum chatter and publications that this AI assistant is nothing but a waste of battery life dressed up as a creative outlet.
And I couldn’t agree more. What a load of baloney about it helping you to “discover new ways of shooting”. The AI assistant essentially adds post-production edits only during production, which hardly broadens your compositional horizons.
Having the AI analyze the scene before you press the shutter and suggest compositional changes would be impressive. I'd prefer to come to the conclusion myself without the help of AI but, admittedly, a feature like this could help you explore new angles.
But the Xperia 1 VIII AI assistant is far from this and, at best, its achievement has been compressing production and post-production into a single click of the shutter.
Was this necessary? Perhaps, if you’re in the game of saving time when taking photos. But for anyone who actually enjoys the traditional photographic process, it brings nothing to the table.
I’d like to think that Sony’s new AI assistant could help photographers develop their editorial eye by explaining what edits it actually made when coming up with its suggestions. However, as it simply creates these at the click of a button, you don’t even get the educational benefit.
To me, it’s simply creative outsourcing to a machine and the complete opposite of “expanding your range of expression” (another quote that came directly from the mouth of Sony).
As a longtime Sony shooter, I’m disappointed by this new AI assistant and can feel my gag reflex kicking in as I regurgitate the thought of this unnecessary feature.
I’m really hoping Sony doesn’t have the bright idea of bringing it to Alpha cameras, as I’m currently looking to upgrade from the A7 III to a newer model – and I have a slight suspicion that a future firmware update could see my next camera infected by this trash.
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