Xiaomi wants to appeal to photographers with its new smartphone camera

Since our smartphones can take pictures and videos, we buy considerably less ordinary photo cameras. However, if you really want to take good photos, you are usually still at the mercy of purchasing an expensive SLR camera from Nikon, Canon or another brand. However, smartphone cameras are also getting better and better. As far as Xiaomi is concerned, even as good as SLR cameras of many hundreds of euros.

Xiaomi

There is one thing that always remains difficult for a smartphone camera: light. You don’t want a giant lens that bulges out at the back of your device. Some telephone makers still opt for such a slightly raised camera island, but it cannot be compared with the large lenses that you click on an SLR camera. Xiaomi thinks it can bridge the gap with a new smartphone: one that has interchangeable lenses.

The chance that the device will ever appear for the masses is very small, but Xiaomi is experimenting with it. It posted a video on Weibo showing a concept phone based on the Xiaomi 12S Ultra (which has only been released in China). You don’t see anything crazy, but at the back is a ring on which you can attach a lens from the Leica M series. In the middle of the camera module is a 1-inch sensor: the 50 megapixel Sony IMX989. We have seen this camera sensor more often in phones, namely on the Sony Xperia PRO-I. If you don’t ‘screw’ a lens on the back, the hole will be sealed by sapphire glass.

loose lenses

The main camera of 12S Ultra, a second Sony IMX989, is still a bit more to the side. However, the 48 megapixel wide-angle lens is now located where the 48 megapixel zoom camera was. That is no longer there at all, because of course you can probably zoom a lot with the attachable lens.

That large sensor means that software no longer gives that fuzzy effect (bokeh) in your photos, where what is in the foreground is sharp. That now happens naturally. In addition, the sensor can shoot 10-bit RAW images. Camera software is also still applied to the photos, so that you can choose a histogram or a specific focus, among other things.

Leica M lenses

The Leica M lenses are not equally good at everything. They last a long time and are very sharp, but they have to focus manually. The price tag is also a big disappointment: $ 2,795 for the cheapest lens in the series. People will probably still opt for an SLR camera for a while, although it is a logistical challenge to take it with you on a trip, for example. In any case, it is good to know that telephone makers continue to improve lenses and photography. Even if they are not yet able to completely replace the SLR camera.

Do you use an SLR camera in addition to your smartphone camera? Do you ever see that changing? Leave it in the comments.