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Xiaomi launches affordable Mijia smartphone gimbal

16 Jun

Modern high-end smartphones can shoot impressively smooth and stable video at 4K resolution, thanks to intelligent combinations of electronic (EIS) and optical (OIS) image stabilization. However, for a real steady-cam effect, you’ll need a gimbal.

Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi has launched an affordable smartphone gimbal option under its Mijia sub-brand which already offers a gimbal designed for action cameras. The new model can accommodate phones with a width of up to 86mm and a weight of up to 200 grams which easily covers even larger devices such as the Huawei P20 Pro or Google Pixel 2 XL.

The Mijia provides 3-axis stabilization and comes with a dedicated app offering 360-degree auto-tracking and a function for creating time-lapses

The gimbal is capable of supplying power to the phone via its built-in 5000 mAh battery, allowing for extended shooting sessions. If not used for charging the phone, the battery should last up to 16 hours. The gimbal itself weighs 476 grams and comes with a standard tripod-mount at the bottom.

The Mijia provides 3-axis stabilization and comes with a dedicated app offering 360-degree auto-tracking and a function for creating time-lapses. The new Mijia gimbal will be available in China from June 16 and set you back CNY 600 (approximately $ 95). There is no word yet on international availability.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Xiaomi Mi 8 launches with tele-camera and AI-powered portrait mode

01 Jun

Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi today announced its latest high-end smartphone, the Mi 8. The new model comes with very similar camera specifications to the Mi MIX 2S, featuring a wide/tele dual-camera setup.

The main camera uses a 1/2.55″ Sony IMX363 Sony sensor with a 1.4µm pixel size, F1.8 aperture lens and a 4-axis optical image stabilization system. The longer lens offers approximately a 2x zoom factor. The sensor comes with smaller 1.0µm pixels, and at F2.4 the aperture is not quite as fast as the main camera’s.

The camera uses PDAF to focus and a LED-flash helps illuminate your subjects in very low light. Artificial intelligence offers auto enhancement for more than 200 types of scenes and there is also an AI-enhanced portrait mode, similar to the iPhone X’s portrait lighting. The latter is also available on the 20MP / F2.0 front camera.


Xiaomi Mi 8 portrait effect	Xiaomi Mi 8 portrait effect

Images can be framed and viewed on a 6.21-inch Samsung AMOLED display with 18.7:9 aspect ratio and Full HD+ resolution and the device is powered by Qualcomm’s top-end chipset Snapdragon 845. For those relying on their phone’s GPS when out shooting images, it’s worth noting that the Mi 8 is also the first smartphone with Dual GPS, combining L1 and L5 frequencies. This should provide faster and more precise location services than most devices.

Pricing starts at CNY2,699 (approximately $ 420) for the 6/64 GB version and go all the way up to CNY3,299 (approximately $ 515) for the 6/256 GB model, which, compared to some direct competitors, represents pretty good value. The Mi 8 will be available online and offline from June 5th.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Xiaomi establishing dedicated camera team

15 May

Many smartphones use camera hard and software components that are provided by third-party suppliers, but those components can only get you to a certain point. If manufacturers want to squeeze the maximum image quality out these third-party camera systems, an in-house camera team is indispensable.

It appears Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi has just come to this realization. A leaked internal email from CEO Lei Jun shares details about the creation of an in-house camera department.

With most important smartphone components, such as displays and chipsets being largely indistinguishable between devices, the camera remains the major differentiator in an ultra-competitive market. The new team at Xiaomi should be able to improve camera performance noticeably compared to existing devices.

This is good news, especially when considering the company’s latest dual-cam model Mi Mix 2S is already doing very well in the camera department, scoring 97 points overall and 101 for Photo performance at DxOMark.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Xiaomi unveils Mi 6X with dual-camera and AI-powered scene detection

25 Apr

Dual-camera equipped devices have really been taking off this year, and with the Mi 6X, Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi has just thrown its hat into the dual-cam ring as well. As has been the norm with virtually all recent device launches, Xiaomi is putting a lot of emphasis on the Mi 6X camera capabilities: claiming the new model competes with rivals such as the iPhone X or OPPO R15 in the imaging department.

We’ll have to get hands on a test unit to confirm if that’s true, but the camera specs do look promising. The main camera uses a 1/2.9″12 MP Sony IMX486 sensor and F1.75 aperture lens. The secondary camera comes with a 1/2.78″ 20MP sensor and the same lens specifications as the main camera. Xiaomi says the secondary camera uses a 4-to-1 pixel binning mode for reduced noise levels. It is also deployed to generate a fake-bokeh portrait mode.

The front camera uses the same Sony IMX376 sensor as the secondary unit, which should ensure image quality that is a cut above your average small-sensor front camera.

It’s not all about hardware, though. Like some other recent high-end devices, the Mi 6X uses artificial intelligence to detect more than 200 scene types and adjust camera settings automatically—including 12 different portrait scenes. According to Xiaomi, the AI algorithms are capable of learning, providing better detail and subject separation in portrait mode the longer you use it.

Non-camera specifications include a Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 chipset, 4/64 GB, 6/64 GB, and 6/128 GB memory combinations and a 5.99-inch LCD display with Full HD+ resolution. Security is covered with a fingerprint reader on the back and Face Unlock support.

Pricing is in line with Xiaomi’s tagline: “the same specifications, at half the price.” In China, prices start from CNY 1,599 (approximately $ 250 USD) which, considering the specifications, makes the Mi 6X an enticing option. The global version of the device will likely be called Mi A2 but no international pricing information has been provided yet.

More information, including some camera samples, is available on the Xiaomi website.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Report: Chinese company Xiaomi may purchase GoPro

13 Apr

Chinese electronics company Xiaomi is considering an offer to buy action-cam makers GoPro, according to a report in The Information. This news follows GoPro’s January announcement that it would be exiting the market for drones in order to streamline business and become more profitable. At the same time, CEO Nick Woodman said in an interview with CNBC the company was open to a buy-out:

If there are opportunities for us to unite with a bigger parent company to scale GoPro even bigger, that is something that we would look at.

Details on the potential offer are sparse at this point in time, but the deal could be worth as much as $ 1 billion. Once valued at more than $ 10 billion, in its heyday GoPro was a success story in consumer electronics, but the company’s market capitalization has since fallen to about $ 761 million, mainly due to aggressive competition from China.

According to analysts, a buyer could leverage GoPro’s brand and make profits through device sales. Xiaomi in particular could also use some of GoPro’s camera IP in the development of camera modules for its smartphones. That said, if the Chinese company does end up buying GoPro, we hope they won’t just use the brand name and patents, and will let GoPro action-cams live on.

GoPro’s stock price has spiked 8.8 percent on the news.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Xiaomi Mi MIX 2S comes with 12MP dual-cam, OIS and 2x optical zoom

28 Mar

Earlier today, Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi unveiled its latest flagship smartphone: the Mi MIX 2S. Like with the original Mi MIX, one the new model’s most striking features is the large, almost bezel-less, display. However, the Mi MIX 2S has a lot to offer in the camera department as well.

The phone’s dual camera setup combines a main camera with 1/2.6-inch 12MP Sony sensor, F1.8 aperture and wide-angle 26mm equivalent lens with a secondary tele module, featuring a smaller 1/3.4-inch 12MP sensor, F2.4 aperture and equivalent 46mm lens for enhanced zooming and bokeh simulation. The main camera also boasts optical image stabilization, while the longer lens remains unstabilized.

Other imaging features include gyroscope-based Electronic Stabilization (EIS) in video mode, phase-detection autofocus and a dual-tone LED flash. And, of course, there’s a front-facing camera as well: a 5MP sensor behind an F2.0 lens.

The Mi MIX 2S is also one of the first devices to deploy Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 845 high-end chipset. In combination with 6 or 8GB of RAM, it should provide plenty of power to run the Android 8.0 operating system and apps. Between 64 and 256GB of internal storage mean there is plenty of space for image and video files, but unfortunately, an expansion slot isn’t on board.

A 5.99-inch IPS LCD display with 2160 x 1080 pixel resolution is available for general operation, as well as framing and editing of images. The 3,400 mAh battery should hopefully get you through a day of normal use.

The Xiaomi Mi MIX 2S will start at CNY3,299 (approximately $ 530 USD) for the 6GB+64GB version, and goes all the way up to CNY3,999 (approximately $ 640 USD) for the top model with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage, making the new model look like a good value proposition when compared to competing devices from more established manufacturers.

The phone is set to launch in China starting this April, followed by international markets sometime later. Unfortunately, chances we’ll see the Mi MIX 2S in the United States are slim judging from the push-back Huawei has faced while trying to break into the US market.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Xiaomi Mi Max 2 quick review

12 Aug

The Mi Max 2 is the latest incarnation of Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi’s large-format ‘phablet.’ It combines a very large 6.44″ Full-HD screen that allows for split-screen applications with Qualcomm’s upper mid-range chipset Snapdragon 625, 4GB of RAM and storage options up to 128GB. At 174 x 89mm the Mi Max 2 is definitely not small but, apart from the large display, the dimensions also allow for the use of a gigantic 5300 mAh battery that, according to Xiaomi, gives you 57 hours of call-time and also supports quick-charging via a USB Type-C port.

In the camera department the Mi Max 2 offers a 1/2.9″ Sony IMX 386 12MP image sensor that is coupled with a F2.2 aperture and on-sensor phase detection AF. In video mode you can shoot footage in 4K resolution or 120 fps slow-motion clips in 720p. All components are wrapped up in a sleek-looking full-metal unibody with a fingerprint reader on the back.

Thanks to Gearbest.com, a retailer shipping Xiaomi devices worldwide, we’ve had the chance to try the Mi Max 2 and its camera, shoot a wide range of samples and see how it generally performs as a device for mobile photography.

Key specifications:

1/2.9″ Sony IMX 386 12MP image sensor, 1.25 µm pixel size
F2.2 aperture
PDAF
Dual-LED flash
5MP / F2.0 front camera
4K video, 720p/120 fps slow-motion
6.44″ 1080p IPS LCD display
Android 7.1.1
Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 chipset
4GB RAM
64/128 GB storage, microSD support
5300 mAh battery
Fingerprint sensor

Camera app

The camera app features a manual mode but no DNG Raw file format.

The camera app has been kept simple, with point-and-shoot operation in mind. Focus point and exposure can be set by tapping on the preview image and a mode screen offers a number of special options, including panorama, beautify and manual mode. The latter offers manual shutter speeds of up to 32 seconds but unfortunately capture in DNG Raw format is not part of the package.

The mode screen also gives you access to the settings menu where you can activate tap-to-capture, change contrast, saturation and sharpness or display grid lines in the preview image. A few effect filters are on board as well, and overall the app is simple to use and intuitive.

Image Quality

In bright light the Mi Max 2 camera captures contrasty images with punchy colors and does a good job at keeping highlight clipping at bay. During our testing we had a few exposures that were a touch brighter than we’d like, but overall the exposure system does a decent job and white balance is fairly neutral as well.

Detail is decent for this class of device but at a 100% view some oversharpening artifacts are visible and low-contrast areas can show some compression. The sharpness of the lens of our test unit is good, with just some minor softness towards the edges. Overall, in terms of image detail and noise, the Xiaomi cannot keep up with high-end smartphones but does a good job in bright light for a mid-ranger.

ISO 124, 1/806 sec

Skin tones tend to be pleasantly neutral and face detection ensures good subject exposure in most situations.

ISO 125, 1/121 sec

By default HDR is set to auto and in many bright scenes the camera makes use of the function. As a result, highlights are well preserved in bright elements of the scene.

ISO 125, 1/502 sec, HDR

Using the tap-to-focus function allows you to set focus and exposure point manually. This can help a lot when taking close-up images like the sample below where the flower was more extremely overexposed when shooting in standard mode.

ISO 125, 1/1328 sec

While detail is good, luminance noise is clearly visible in areas of plain color, such as the blue sky below. On some high-contrast edges you can also see a halo-effect, which is a sign of oversharpening.

ISO 100, 1/1881 sec

In lower light the Mi Max uses ISO settings up to 6400 and at very low light levels applies a multi-frame night mode. The ISO 320 shot below was taken indoors. Compared to the bright light shots above fine detail is noticeably reduced and luminance noise becomes quite intrusive. In the shadow areas some blurred chroma noise is creeping in as well.

ISO 320, 1/50 sec

The ISO 640 shot below was captured in a fairly dimly lit interior. When viewing at a 100% magnification blurred noise is very noticeable but the Xiaomi camera maintains decent edge definition and color in these conditions.

ISO 640, 1/33 sec

For the indoor portrait below the camera activated its low light mode which results in very soft detail. The white balance system also struggles with the mixed light temperatures inside this restaurant. The image is usable at typical social-media size but arguably not suitable for printing or viewing on larger displays.

In these conditions face detection also has trouble locking on and the difference between the Xiaomi and top-end smartphone cameras, such as the Google Pixel or HTC U11 is much more obvious than in bright light.

ISO 2000, 1/17 sec

The image below was taken in very low light and is quite soft and noisy. However, it’s a positive that the Mi Max is capable of capturing a decent exposure at such low light levels.

ISO 6400, 1/17 sec

HDR mode

As mentioned above, HDR mode is set to auto by default. As you can see in the samples below it is definitely not a bad a idea to leave this setting as it is. In high-contrast scenes HDR mode is capable of capturing noticeably better highlight detail then standard mode. Still, the HDR looks quite natural and not overprocessed.

ISO 125, 1/602 sec, HDR off

ISO 125, 1/602 sec, HDR on

Panorama mode

On the Mi Max 2 camera panoramic images are captured while holding the phone in portrait orientation. You can record an angle of up to 180 degrees but stop any time by hitting the shutter button.

Exposure is biased towards the first frame which can result in some underexposure like in the first sample below. Under closer inspection you’ll also find some stitching errors but the panorama mode deals very well with moving subjects in the scene and overall does a decent job.

Panorama, 7552 x 3712 pixels

Panorama, 13148 x 3648 pixels

Video

The 1080p video below shows a similar color and tonal response to the still images. Detail is only average, but the video mode’s main problem is a tendency to continuously refocus when panning, making most clips virtually unusable. This is something that needs fixing via a firmware update ASAP, otherwise the Mi Max 2 is simply not suitable for video recording.

At 120 frames per second the slow-motion mode can slow motion down nicely and the 720p resolution still offers enough detail for the occasional slow-motion scene. Unfortunately the mode suffers from the same refocusing issues as the standard video mode, but AF is more stable when holding the camera still.

Conclusion

The Mi Max 2 camera can produce good images in bright light and is capable of capturing good exposures and color even in very dim conditions. However, pixel-level image quality deteriorates quickly as light levels go down and video mode is next to unusable as the camera tends to refocus very frequently while panning.

Still, there is a lot to like about the Xiaomi. Its battery life allows for at least two days of shooting and general use without any recharging and the large 6.44″ display is great for viewing and editing images. The microSD slot makes image transfer from other devices easy if you are not a fan of the cloud and for a mid-ranger the Mi Max 2 also comes with a nice metal unibody and good build quality. The Mi Max 2 with 64GB of storage is now available at Gearbest for $ 270. The coupon code “MAX2C” gives you a $ 10 discount.

What we like:

Decent detail in bright light and good sharpness across the frame
Intuitive camera camera app
Efficient HDR mode
Decent panorama output
Premium build quality
Excellent battery life
Screen size is great for image display and editing
Responsive general operation
Value

What we don’t like:

Noticeable luminance noise at base ISO
Smeared noise and strong softness in low light
Constant refocusing when panning in video mode
No Raw file format
Too large for most pockets

Sample Gallery

There are 20 images in our Xiaomi Mi Max 2 samples gallery. Please do not reproduce any of these images on a website or any newsletter / magazine without prior permission (see our copyright page). We make the originals available for private users to download to their own machines for personal examination or printing (in conjunction with this review), we do so in good faith, please don’t abuse it.

Unless otherwise noted images taken with no particular settings at full resolution.

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Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Xiaomi Redmi Pro quick review: dual-cam on a budget

08 Nov

Xiaomi Redmi Pro quick review: dual-cam on a budget

Dual-cameras are all the hype in 2016 and we have seen several high-end smartphones with the technology being launched in the past months, including the Huawei P9, LG G5 and, most recently, the Apple iPhone 7 Plus. While each device uses the dual-camera technology in different ways, one thing is common to all of those devices: a high price tag.

In the mid-range bracket of the market dual-cameras are still a rarity, but with the Redmi Pro, Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi has recently launched a dual-camera smartphone that is suitable for smaller budgets. The standard version with 3GB RAM and 32GB of internal memory is currently available for approximately $ 300. Not only is the dual-camera unusual at this price point, but its very solid metal body, deca-core chipset and 5.5″ OLED display make the Redmi Pro look and feel like a much more expensive device.

The dual-camera setup combines a 13MP Sony IMX258 1/3.06″ sensor with a 5MP Samsung depth sensor. The system does does not offer any optical zoom capability, as on the LG G5 or iPhone 7 Plus, nor does it combine the captured image information from both sensors for improved image quality, ala the Huawei P9. Instead, it uses the dual-camera to simulate the bokeh of a fast lens on a large-sensor camera, something we first saw on the HTC One M8. There is also a dual-tone LED flash and at the front the Xiaomi comes with a 5MP selfie-camera.

Thanks to retailer Gearbest.com that ships Xiaomi devices worldwide, we’ve had the chance to try the Redmi Pro and its dual-camera, shoot a wide range of samples and see how it generally performs as a device for mobile photography.

Key Specifications:

13MP Sony IMX258 1/3.06″ sensor
Secondary 5MP Samsung depth sensor
F2.0 aperture
Dual-tone flash
1080p video
5MP front camera
5.5-inch 1080p OLED display
Mediatek Helio X20 Deca-Core processor
3GB RAM
32GB storage
MicroSD support
4050mAh battery
USB Type-C port with quick-charging

Camera App

The Redmi Pro’s camera app is intuitively structured and easy to use.

The Redmi Pro’s camera app comes with a pleasantly simple and intuitive design. Above the shutter button you can find the button for switching to video mode. Other controls on the main screen let you activate HDR capture and the dual-cam’s Stereo mode. Swiping up opens the camera mode screen where you can enter Panorama and Manual modes among others. The latter only offers manual ISO and white balance, though. There is no manual control over shutter speed. Swiping down on the main screen opens up a thumbnail preview array of 12 simple filter effects.