Evaluation topic of Xiaomi Institute of Photography

There are currently three models of Xiaomi 12 series: Xiaomi 12, Xiaomi 12 Pro and the second flagship Xiaomi 12X. Among them, the three lenses of Xiaomi 12 Pro are all 50 million pixels, and the sensor configurations of Sony IMX707 and Samsung JN 1 are used.

In this issue, we will talk to you about the static shooting and video shooting of Xiaomi 12 Pro. At the press conference, Mr. Lei announced that Xiaomi 12 Pro, as the benchmark of Apple, had made a further breakthrough in its image. So what is the actual performance of this mobile phone in image performance? We feel one by one through samples and long-term experience.

Before the press conference, Xiaomi transferred Lao Wei, the head of the CIVI series for female users, to the digital flagship series. After the actual use of Xiaomi 12 Pro, we think that the "design" of Xiaomi 12 digital series has really undergone earth-shaking changes! Xiaomi 12 Pro changed the body design of the "straight man in science and engineering" in the past, and spent a lot of ingenuity on the material of the back plate of the mobile phone and the camera module.

Xiaomi 12 Pro provides four high-value color schemes: black, blue, purple and yuan Ye Green. We have a blue version in our hand. The machine adopts a brand-new flash sand technology, which will have mysterious flash vision under the light and a delicate frosted touch. The whole backboard of the mobile phone has a sense of design.

The 6.73-inch 2K AMOLED screen is almost all hardware and parameters. With the LTPO 2.0 adaptive refresh rate of 0- 120Hz and the brand-new E5 luminescent screen and microprism technology, the power consumption of 2K screen has been well controlled with the help of new materials and technologies, and the whole system is impeccable.

In addition, its sound quality is also commendable. As in the past, Xiaomi continues to jointly develop with Harman/Kardon, and has built-in dual-Yang four-unit speakers, which makes this product have good sound effects whether watching videos or playing games.

Xiaomi 12Pro adopts a camera module with an average of 50 million cameras, which is quite satisfactory on the whole. Compared with the previous generation Xiaomi 1 1 Ultra, Xiaomi 12 Pro adopts a common rectangular design, and the camera module is more concise, but the arrangement style is unique. It adopts the design of one dragging two, and the three cameras are not on the same axis.

Wide-angle main shot: Sony IMX707,11.28 inch, 1.22μm is equivalent to 2.44μm, and F 1.9 aperture is equivalent to 24mm, wide;

Double portrait: Samsung JN 1, 1/2.76 inches, 0.64μm is equivalent to 1.28μm, and F 1.9 aperture is equivalent to 48mm；;

Super wide angle: Samsung JN 1, 1/2.76 inches, 0.64μm is equivalent to 1.28μm, F2.2 aperture, 1 15 degree viewing angle;

A dividing line is used between each camera and the flash, which makes the original arrangement not very uniform and has a sense of order and design. If it is removed, it will be slightly mediocre, so this dividing line actually plays the role of making the finishing touch.

Let's talk about the hardware foundation and shooting ability of Xiaomi 12 Pro in detail. Xiaomi 12 Pro launched Sony's new sensor IMX707 in the world. IMX707 has the characteristics of large bottom and high pixels, and the sensor size and pixels are the same as those of Huawei P40 and Mate 40 series main cameras IMX700.

IMX707 is a minor modification and upgrade of IMX700. The biggest difference between them is that the IMX700 adopts RYYB arrangement and the IMX707 adopts RGGB arrangement.

Compared with RGGB arrangement, RYYB arrangement has the advantage of large luminous flux and the disadvantage of color cast. RYYB arrangement has higher requirements for the optimization of manufacturers, while RGGB arrangement can better restore colors and make it easier for manufacturers to adjust. I believe that in the next new product release, we should be able to see that this sensor is more widely used in a variety of flagship mobile phones.

The sensor size of Samsung JN 1, 1/2.76 inches is adopted in the two auxiliary images, and the unit pixel area is 0.64μm (the smallest in the industry at present). Smaller sensor size means that JN 1 can occupy smaller body space and help the mobile phone slim down.

In addition, only the wide-angle main camera has optical image stabilization, and the other two lenses have no image stabilization. With the help of outsole and anti-shake, the wide-angle main lens is much larger than the other two auxiliary lenses in camera arrangement.

Xiaomi 1 1 Ultra adopts112 inch of Samsung GN2. The super-large bottom sensor not only brings better optical quality, but also leads to a huge camera module, which is unfriendly to the thickness and weight of the fuselage and has a poor grip experience.

So on Xiaomi 12 Pro, we saw a relatively balanced but slightly flat design-the main camera, outsole and high pixels ensure the best imaging picture; Auxiliary photography, small bottom and high pixels ensure a relatively good imaging picture. This combined configuration brings about an acceptable protrusion of the camera module. 6.73-inch screen, 204 grams of body weight, the thickness is only 8. 16 mm ... it is relatively thin in many flagship mobile phones.

Before entering the real shooting session, let's learn about the image performance of Xiaomi 12 Pro in terms of theoretical performance. The tested version is MIUI 13.0.25.

00 1 resolution test

By using the main camera, the ultra-wide-angle lens and the double-camera lens respectively, from the perspective of 100% magnification of the center and corner of the screenshot, the center image quality of the main camera, the ultra-wide-angle lens and the portrait camera is very good, and the picture is very stereoscopic. In terms of corner quality, the performance of the main camera is still good, and the details of the picture are rich and not softened; Both the super wide-angle main shot and the portrait main shot have a slight tailing feeling.

Generally speaking, in terms of image quality, the main camera of this mobile phone is the best, while the super wide-angle main camera and portrait main camera are relatively weak, and there is still more room for optimization and improvement.

002 tolerance test

When using Xiaomi 12 Pro, you can choose "professional" mode to shoot materials in JPG and RAW formats at the same time, so our tests also tested the tolerance of JPG and RAW formats respectively.

It can be found that under the JPG format, the dynamic range of the JPG format photos of Xiaomi 12 Pro is between -4EV and 0EV files, and some highlights are lost from the+1EV file, and a large number of highlights are lost with the gear upgrade again. In terms of tolerance, it can cover the range from -3EV to 0EV. At -4EV, details are lost and obvious noise appears. At -3 EV, noise will appear, but it is within the acceptable range.

After using the RAW format, the dynamic range of Xiaomi 12 Pro has been improved, which can cover files from -4EV to+1 EV, only covering one file more than JPG. The tolerance of Xiaomi 12 Pro is obviously improved, but in general, the tolerance of Xiaomi 12 Pro is relatively low, and it can't be completely pulled back from the test results when the +2EV file is overexposed. It can be seen that Xiaomi 12 Pro tends to protect dark details and does not suppress highlights well.

003 high sensitivity test

Xiaomi 12 Pro supports the change of sensitivity from ISO50 to ISO 12800. We use the main camera to shoot the same pattern, and increase ISO step by step to enlarge it, looking at the details and dark parts:

There is a good dark performance in ISO800, until ISO 1600, the dark part has a slight smear feeling, and the dark part also has noise; Since ISO3200, the smearing feeling of the picture has been further enhanced, and ISO 12800 is basically useless.

004 deformation test

Today's smartphones have good distortion correction, and Xiaomi 12pro is no exception. From the picture below, the main lens and super wide angle are basically horizontal and vertical, which will not affect the picture composition when shooting. There is obvious pincushion distortion in the double portrait lens.

Static shooting performance

00 1 Faster and more stable image performance

Xiaomi 12 Pro played the slogan "Faster and more stable". After actually using Xiaomi 12 Pro for a period of time, we think it is also very suitable in terms of images.

"Fast" is shown in 1, the camera application opens quickly, 2, the shooting speed is fast, and 3, the continuous shooting speed is fast. This is subtle, but it is a real and effective way to improve the user experience.

"Stability" lies in the imaging quality. The wide-angle main camera is smaller than the previous generation Xiaomi 1 1 Pro, but Sony IMX707 sensor with large base and high pixel is introduced. From a practical point of view, the imaging is more stereoscopic and brighter. Xiaomi has been criticized by a group of netizens for inaccurate white balance, and now it has improved better, especially on Xiaomi 12 Pro.

Photographer Jiang Jihang

The three lenses cover 14mm super wide-angle to 48mm double-portrait lens, which is basically enough for daily use. You can switch between digital zoom of 5, 10 and 20 by clicking any focal length, but this extreme mode is not recommended here because of the compression of image quality and the loss of details.

In telephoto aspect, Xiaomi 12 Pro changed its light from 5 times to 2 times instead of rising. Simply put, it is from taking a long-term view to taking a portrait, depending on personal choice. At the same time, the double lens lacks optical image stabilization. Although the shooting effect is good during the day, it may be blurred by the slight jitter caused by the hand-held mobile phone because it takes a long time to expose at night.

Photographer Jiang Jihang

Photographer Jiang Jihang

Like most flagship Android phones equipped with the new Snapdragon 8 processor this year, Xiaomi 12 Pro also lacks a periscope telephoto lens. Compared with periscope telephoto lens, we think periscope telephoto lens will be more practical. Maybe Xiaomi is paving the way for the next 12 Utlra.

002 focusing performance

Xiaomi attributed the autofocus technology of "Cyberdog Dog Egg" to Xiaomi 12Pro this time, and created a very network name called "Cyber Focus Everything Chasing Focus", which can identify people and pets. Even if you deviate from the picture and return to the picture, you can firmly focus on the subject. Everything that pursues focus can be applied to still photo shooting and video shooting.

The technology of focusing everything is also because the sensors corresponding to these two lenses, IMX707 sensor has the hardware foundation of full pixel eight nuclear focusing, and Samsung JN 1 has double super PD focusing. Of course, manufacturers need to polish and adjust this to have a better focusing effect.

Through the actual measurement, it is found that when someone appears in the picture, all three cameras have good focusing performance, which can immediately respond to aim the focusing frame at the face or human body, and there is no out-of-focus situation in real shooting, which has good performance in daily shooting and street sweeping shooting.

Photographer Jiang Jihang

Photographer Jiang Jihang

In terms of focusing and tracking performance, we can only focus on the object under the wide-angle main shot and the double-portrait lens, and the use method is also very simple. Double-click the subject to focus, and a yellow focus tracking box will appear. From the actual shooting point of view, Xiaomi 12 Pro has excellent focus tracking ability.

Most of the ultra-wide-angle lenses of many mobile phones are pan-focus lenses, and the ultra-wide-angle lenses of Xiaomi 12 Pro are no exception. It uses a large depth of field, and the scenes before and after focusing are within the depth of field, which ensures that the pictures taken by the super wide-angle lens can be presented more clearly.

Photographer Jiang Jihang

Photographer Jiang Jihang

In addition, when using the wide-angle main camera and the dual-lens to shoot at close range, when the mobile phone moves to the nearest focus distance, there will be a phenomenon of blunt jump, and at the same time, the back of the object will be blurred, and the subject will show a shallow depth of field effect, making the subject more prominent in the picture.

This operation is the same logic as when the wide-angle main camera on iPhone 13 Pro is close to the subject, and it is converted into super wide-angle macro. The realization of Xiaomi operation only uses its own close-up characteristics, and the super wide angle is not involved. In addition, there is no autofocus in this operation, and it is necessary to move the position of the mobile phone to master the focus.

In the official introduction, Xiaomi 12 Pro does not have any publicity about close-range and macro shooting, so it is equivalent to a hidden small egg. We also suggest that users who have purchased Xiaomi 12Pro can try this operation to take more vivid and interesting pictures.

003 dark light performance

Xiaomi 12 Pro is equipped with the self-developed "Owl Algorithm 2.0". Under this algorithm, all three focal segments have good dark light shooting performance. After taking a photo, compared with the previous "circle imaging" which takes 5-6 seconds or even longer, this dark light shooting takes about 2-3 seconds, which shortens the shooting time by 2-3 seconds, but it can reduce the blur caused by long-term exposure and improve the possibility of successfully taking a clear photo.

Powerful algorithm, with large cardinal number, large aperture and high pixels, can have more light, improve the brightness of dark parts and denoise the whole picture.

In the following sample, on the left is the ambient brightness of the actual scene shot after manual brightness reduction, and on the right is the unprocessed imaging picture of Xiaomi 12 Pro, after pressing the shoot button.

Intuitively, the picture on the right has a great degree of brightness improvement. You can see that the details and dark parts are pure and there is not much noise. Only after the overall processing, the overall color optimization is rich, and the picture will be slightly dirty. The algorithm optimization of Xiaomi 12 Pro in dark light shooting is still a bit too radical.

Among them, what makes us feel incredible is that when shooting in some gloomy environment, we can't help shouting at the moment we see the image. This is a new generation of "night vision equipment"! After imaging, the brightness of the picture is greatly improved, and at the same time, it has good sharpness and clarity. The dark part is clean and there is not much noise, but relatively speaking, the performance of suppressing highlights is not satisfactory.

Only when shooting in low light mode, you need to hold the camera for 2-3 seconds after pressing the shooting button to prevent the picture from shaking and multi-frame synthesis failure, but overall, Xiaomi's human-killer algorithm actually performs very well.

Photographer Jiang Jihang

Photographer Jiang Jihang

00 1 video shooting

The video shooting mode of Xiaomi 12 Pro can be divided into "video recording" and "professional".

"Video" is shot as soon as it is turned on, and it is more suitable for daily shooting records without adjusting any parameters.

"Professional" mode deeply simulates various parameters of professional cameras, such as log mode, movie mode, peak focusing, exposure feedback and metering mode, and manually adjusts shutter, ISO, white balance and focusing mode. This shooting mode is more suitable for users who are not satisfied with "video recording" and like tossing, because it can give you the greatest freedom to adjust.

In addition, Xiaomi 12 Pro also supports shooting HDR1HDR10+and HLG to obtain greater dynamic range and tolerance, but shooting in these two color spaces can only be carried out under wide-angle main shooting, and does not support double-portrait lens and super wide-angle lens.

In terms of recording format, Xiaomi 12 Pro can shoot 720 p 30 fps1080 p 30/60 fps; 4K 30/60 fps； 8K 24 fps video, and 720p120/240/480/960/1920 fps,1080p120/240/960 fps slow-motion video.

Among them, 8K video recording uses the wide-angle main camera by default, and can only be shot at the frame rate of 24p, while 720p/ 1080p/4K can be switched between ultra-wide-angle end, wide-angle main camera and double-camera lens, and shot with digital zoom.

8K video quality is better. In post-editing, there can be more room for secondary composition, but the requirements for post-editing are higher. At present, the 8K video shooting of mobile phones is not practical, so this time we mainly use 4K 60fps, which is the most commonly used in daily shooting, to shoot a lot of materials.

The 4K bit rate of Xiaomi 12 Pro is about 63Mbps, in which the wide-angle main camera has the best imaging, and the ultra-wide-angle main camera is much weaker than the double-camera imaging, so when recording video, the pictures taken by the wide-angle main camera and the other two lenses are easy to distinguish. I have to say that the wide-angle main camera with Sony IMX707 sensor is powerful, and Samsung Smecta still needs to work hard.

002 video stabilization

Xiaomi 12 Pro only supports optical image stabilization with wide-angle main camera. In video shooting, if you shoot with a wide-angle main camera, there will be some optical anti-shake blessing at any video resolution. There are "Super Anti-shake" and "Super Anti-shake Pro" in electronic anti-shake, but these two electronic anti-shake files can only shoot 1080p 30fps video.

We filmed the video of normal walking under three levels of anti-shake: optical anti-shake, super anti-shake and super anti-shake Pro. From this, we can see that the anti-shake effect of the three methods is that "Super Anti-shake Pro" is greater than "Super Anti-shake" and "Optical Anti-shake".

Anti-shake images of each file, as well as their viewing angles and cutting conditions.

Among them, "Super Anti-shake Pro" has the best anti-shake effect. Because it is anti-shake on the basis of super wide-angle lens, the visual angle of the picture is the widest among the three. After a certain amount of cutting, the video quality recorded by "Super Anti-shake Pro" drops the most.

"Super Anti-shake" is based on the wide-angle main camera to do anti-shake, the picture has been cut, and the image quality has also declined to some extent.

In daily shooting, if you mainly use the wide-angle main camera for shooting, we suggest you use 4K for shooting. When using the optical anti-shake of the main camera itself, it can have good anti-shake effect and image quality performance; If the jitter is large when shooting, the video quality of 1080P 30fps shot after turning on "Super Anti-shake" is acceptable. However, the demand for mirror transportation is large, so it is a better choice to choose a mobile phone stabilizer to shoot.

Undoubtedly, Xiaomi 12 Pro, as the flagship product of Xiaomi, has comprehensive and good expressive force. The performance in the image is also consistent with the official "faster and more stable". For still photography, all three cameras have strong hardware advantages. In the case of 50 million pixels in three shots, all things can be focused and excellent dark shooting performance can be achieved, and the image performance basically conforms to the positioning of a flagship product.

But correspondingly, Xiaomi 12 Pro only has a wide-angle main camera to support anti-shake, while the ultra-wide-angle and double-portrait lenses have no anti-shake, so they may be burned when shooting in dark light, and the image quality is a little different from that of the wide-angle main camera.

In the overall experience, we expect Xiaomi to have a better improvement in computing power, focusing, anti-shake and video frame rate. Perhaps the upcoming Xiaomi 12 Ultra will bring us special surprises.

Friends who have used or are interested in buying Xiaomi 12 Pro are also welcome. You can talk about your experiences and feelings in the comments section, and what expectations and thoughts you have for 12 Ultra.

Advantages:

1, the design language has changed, and the appearance is beautiful.

2. The image quality of the wide-angle main camera is excellent.

3. The owl algorithm is very powerful for the optimization of night shooting.

4. Rich shooting function

Disadvantages:

1, super wide-angle and 2x portrait lenses have no anti-shake.

Picture sample

Photographer Jiang Jihang

Photographer Jiang Jihang

Photographer Jiang Jihang

Photographer Jiang Jihang

Photographer Jiang Jihang

Photographer Jiang Jihang