The Xiaomi Mi 11 Review: A Gorgeous Screen and Design
by Andrei Frumusanu on March 10, 2021 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Mobile
- Smartphones
- Xiaomi
- Snapdragon 888
- Mi 11
Camera - Zoom with no Telephoto
The camera setup of the Mi 11 is rather simple in that we’re only really dealing with to modules: the 108MP main camera, and the 13MP ultra-wide unit. This creates an interesting situation in that we’re dealing with a flagship device without a dedicated optical telephoto, which is becoming a bit of a rarity nowadays, but also not exactly unique – Samsung’s S20 and S21 series also had no such unit and relied on the 64MP secondary sensor. Xiaomi here has the opportunity to use the ultra-high-resolution main camera for crop magnification.
[ Mi 11 ] [ Mi 10 Pro ]
[ S21U(S) ] [ S21U(E) ]
[ S21(E) ] [ S20+(E) ]
[ Note20U(S) ] [ iPhone 12 Pro ]
[ Mate40 Pro ] [ Pixel 5 ]
[ X-T30 ( )( ) ]
Starting with the first scene here, there’s a few different unique aspects to the camera. In the predefined zoom stages in the camera UI, 2x, 5x and 10x, we’re seeing different resolution results. At 2x and 5x, unfortunately it looks like Xiaomi is still doing digital upscaling of the 27MP binned sensor input. This is alright at 2x, however the quality is a bit disappointing at 5x.
At 10x, however, the phone produces a 12MP picture. This isn’t a native crop but still a up-scaled result, but it’s out of the 108MP of the camera. Comparing the full frame 108MP picture to the 10x result actually ends up not much different in terms of details, however there’s large differences in exposure and metering.
[ Mi 11 ] [ Mi 10 Pro ]
[ S21U(S) ] [ S21U(E) ]
[ S21(E) ] [ S20+(E) ]
[ Note20U(S) ] [ iPhone 12 Pro ]
[ Mate40 Pro ] [ Pixel 5 ]
[ X-T30 ( )( ) ]
This method of zooming in can be extremely competitive when we compare the Mi 11 against all other devices which feature a more traditional 12MP class sensor setup, the Mi 11 here for example destroys the iPhone 12 Pro’s camera setup, and also does better than the 64MP unit of the S21.
Lower zoom levels are also surprisingly good, albeit don’t compete with some of the optical modules in the line-up.
[ Mi 11 ] [ Mi 10 Pro ]
[ S21U(S) ] [ S21U(E) ]
[ S21(E) ] [ S20+(E) ]
[ Note20U(S) ] [ iPhone 12 Pro ]
[ Mate40 Pro ] [ Pixel 5 ]
[ X-T30 ( )( ) ]
In scenarios where more dynamic range is required, this method of zooming doesn’t fare as well as the 0.8µm pixels of the sensor don’t have sufficient capability to capture the dynamic range throughout the scene. Periscope modules such as on Huawei’s phones or the S21 Ultra are much higher quality.
[ Mi 11 ] [ Mi 10 Pro ]
[ S21U(S) ] [ S21U(E) ]
[ S21(E) ] [ S20+(E) ]
[ Note20U(S) ] [ iPhone 12 Pro ]
[ Mate40 Pro ] [ Pixel 5 ]
[ X-T30 ( )( ) ]
In some situations, the phone produces fuzzier telephoto pictures than usual, the OIS really needs to be highly performant to be able to keep up with the minute movements required to get a sharp 108MP capture needed for better quality telephotos.
[ Mi 11 ] [ Mi 10 Pro ]
[ S21U(S) ] [ S21U(E) ]
[ S21(E) ] [ S20+(E) ]
[ Note20U(S) ] [ iPhone 12 Pro ]
[ Mate40 Pro ] [ Pixel 5 ]
[ X-T30 ( )( ) ]
In this scene, the phone’s exposures in the telephoto ranges really didn’t do well, but admittedly it’s also a very demanding scene and few phones were able to generate a satisfactory result.
Doing The Best With a Simple Solution
In general, the Mi 11’s telephoto and zoom capabilities are above average – even though the phone has no telephoto module whatsoever. The 108MP main sensor and its default 27MP resolution is generally sufficient for the general use-case 2x magnification pictures without too much noticeable detail loss, while at longer focal lengths the module switches over to from out of the native 108MP capture modes. It’s satisfactory and adequate solution, although it doesn’t compete with the more advanced telephoto module solutions.
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asmian - Thursday, March 11, 2021 - link
What rubbish. I don't know why you're determined to attack me, rather than the original poster. I'm in no glass house, and no hypocrite, because I'm not going around attacking others based just on their nationality. Nor am I myopic to systemic faults, but calling a Tory government "fascist" (as you said elsewhere) is just leftist name-calling, not helpful politics. And it's patently untrue and ridiculous hyperbole when there are real fascist governments oppressing women actively in eastern Europe right now, within the EU.When someone calls an entire country "Nazis" then that can't go unchallenged. It's no hypocrisy to point out that making comments about an entire modern country based on the past actions of individuals, or the state (in a "democracy" that was able to be voted for by substantially less than half of the population at the time), is offensive. I wasn't defending those actions, so there was no "worthless defence". I just don't subscribe to the popular PC theory that every current citizen should feel guilty for actions in the past they weren't responsible for, which you obviously do, since you're so angry about it. And I know quite enough NOT to be lectured by some random internet knowitall who does nothing but troll every thread here as if it's their private blog.
Martin84a - Thursday, March 11, 2021 - link
Just a small observation. On one hand you say "hey, don't judge Britons based on the actions of our ancestors", but at the same time you say "hey, our ancestors fought the real fascist in World War 2." If you don't feel shame based on your ancestors actions, you shouldn't feel pride either. It's not like you took part in their actions.You can't have it both way mate. If you aren't connected to what someone in the past did, then you should feel shame for what they did. But you shouldn't feel the need to
hbsource - Wednesday, March 10, 2021 - link
Not sure Americans should be throwing insults around about killing Indians.Wereweeb - Wednesday, March 10, 2021 - link
I'm not americanBedfordTim - Wednesday, March 10, 2021 - link
Assuming you are talking about the Bengal famine, you seem to have forgotten about the assorted natural disasters that just happened to occur at the same time, the bombing of Calcutta which disrupted the rice market, and the loss of imports from Burma. Deaths through famine and misadministration do not equate to deaths in concentration camps.quorm - Wednesday, March 10, 2021 - link
I apologize for contributing to the derail.You're seriously saying that they are responsible for the deaths of millions, but because of the manner in which they died, its not so bad? Pretty sure the victims wouldn't feel the same way.
RSAUser - Thursday, March 11, 2021 - link
Pretty sure he just said you can't say they're directly responsible for it.Spunjji - Thursday, March 11, 2021 - link
They sure do look similar when the man in charge at the time saw those deaths as a moral good. Oh no, those "beastly people with a beastly religion" are dying, how sad, better keep forcibly expropriating the goods they need to survive.Nobody's "forgetting" any of what you mentioned, it's just not particularly relevant to discussion. It's like saying that Stalin didn't kill most of the dissidents who died under his regime, he just sent them off to places where they died from exposure and starvation. Go Stalin!
Spunjji - Thursday, March 11, 2021 - link
There are plenty of neo-Nazis here, and every single one of them voted Brexit. Not everyone who voted Brexit was a neo-Nazi, of course - they just voted for a magical unicorn *alongside* the neo-Nazis, spurred on by far-right voices in the popular press.hbsource - Thursday, March 11, 2021 - link
Bear in mind that I say this as someone who voted remain. If you blame 'the popular press' for Brexit then you misunderstand British politics.You have got it the opposite way around to reality. Which is a big reason why the left in this country has not won a general election since 2005.
People do buy The Sun and then decide to vote for right wing parties. The Sun pitches itself to right wing voters in order to sell newspapers.
If you think that without the right wing press then everyone would vote Labour, get ready for more decades without a left of centre government.