Xiaomi 12S Ultra was announced last week and we are working on a complete review. Part of that process is taking camera samples – a lot of samples – that we can examine and ideally compare with another phone.
We’re still working on the review, but we thought you’d like to see some of the photos we’ve taken so far, including comparisons with the previous camera king from Xiaomi – Mi 11 Ultra. We leave the technical discussions about image quality to the review, because now it’s just to enjoy the sights.
Reminder: you can use the “compare” button to put two pictures side by side. This allows you to compare a Xiaomi 12 Ultra and an 11 Ultra shot head to head, but also compare some of the shooting modes on the new phone (which was developed jointly by Leica).
We start with the star of the show, the 1 “Sony IMX989 sensor in the main camera. Here are daylight shots, taken in Leica Vibrant mode. The first time you open the camera app, it will ask you to choose between Leica Authentic and Leica Vibrant ( there is no “none of the above” option to choose from.) We think most people will prefer the Vibrant setting, but of course we also have Authentic images (use the comparison feature to see how they differ ).
Xiaomi 12S Ultra: main camera, Leica Vibrant mode
Xiaomi 12S Ultra: main camera, Leica Authentic mode
Here are pictures from Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra for comparison. Notice the difference in dynamic range (especially in scenes that mix shadows with well-lit areas), color reproduction, sharpness, and so on.
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra: main camera
The camera has 12 MP mode by default, but you can also take full-resolution photos – for the IMX989, that means 50 MP. Here are a few pictures that you can take a closer look at:
Xiaomi 12S Ultra: main camera, 50 MP resolution, Leica Vibrant mode
The 1 “sensor is the largest ever used in a smartphone. This means nice natural bokeh without having to resort to computer photography. Here are a few examples:
Xiaomi 12S Ultra: main camera, look at that bokeh!
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra: main camera
While the 1 “module is by far the most impressive camera on board, the Xiaomi 12S Ultra has two other highly competent cameras. Let’s first look at the 5x periscope with a 48MP sensor (1 / 2.0”) (shot in 12MP resolution). ).
Xiaomi 12S Ultra: 5x camera, 12MP resolution, Leica Vibrant mode
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra: 5x telecamera, 12MP resolution
Next stop, 48MP ultra wide camera (here we only include images in 12MP resolution). This lens is a bit narrower than last year’s ultra (13mm vs. 12mm), see how much of a difference it makes.
Xiaomi 12S Ultra: ultra wide, 12 MP resolution, Leica Vibrant mode
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra: ultra wide, 12 MP resolution
The massive 1 “sensor is paired with a surprising f / 1.9 aperture and is supported by optical image stabilization (OIS) and omni-directional PDAF. It promises spectacular images in low light, even before we turn on night mode.
The first batch of images is turned off with night mode, this is just the raw ability of the sensor. Below are the same scenes with the Mi 11 Ultra for a head-to-head comparison.
Xiaomi 12S Ultra: main camera, night mode off
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra: main camera, night mode off
There is an option that lets the camera app activate night mode automatically, but for this next set, we switched to the dedicated night mode in the app.
Xiaomi 12S Ultra: main camera, night mode on
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra: main camera, night mode on
If we go on to the 5x telecamera, we will just show you the pictures with night mode activated so far.
Xiaomi 12S Ultra: 5x telecamera, night mode on
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra: 5x telecamera, night mode on
The same with the ultra-wide camera. We have many more camera examples at hand, but we will leave them for the full review.
Xiaomi 12S Ultra: ultra wide, night mode turned on
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra: ultra wide, night mode turned on
Again, we have taken many more pictures, including those with automatic night mode and with night mode disabled. But we are in the process of analyzing how much of an impact these conditions have, so let’s leave them for the full review.
As you can imagine, there is so much to cover in the review – we have not even talked about the video recording options. They also benefit from the sensor’s natural bokeh and wide dynamic range.
It’s our queue to go back to work on the review, which is coming soon. Of course, it will cover the camera in detail, but it will also go over the rest of the phone – Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 is yet another new addition compared to the previous Xiaomi 12 series phones.
