OPINION: The Xiaomi 13 Professional is a top-end performer not solely by way of pace however images, with a primary rear digital camera backed by an enormous 1-inch sensor – one in every of only a few available on the market in 2023. Nevertheless, it’s not the principle lens that has impressed me most; that may be the telephoto lens.
When the Xiaomi 13 Professional was revealed alongside the Xiaomi 13 at MWC 2023, the corporate primarily centered on showcasing the principle 50MP rear digital camera – and it’s clear to see why. It boasts spectacular tech together with a 1-inch IMX989 sensor bigger than a lot of the competitors, together with the Galaxy S23 Extremely, together with an honest f/1.9 aperture, giant 1.8um pixels and the power to shoot in Dolby Imaginative and prescient HDR at as much as 4K@60fps – a beloved function of latest iPhones.
It’s not onerous to see why individuals had been excited in regards to the tech both; the principle digital camera is actually succesful in quite a lot of lighting eventualities, although I did discover that it didn’t suck in fairly as a lot gentle as I’d like, particularly in comparison with the Vivo X90 Professional’s 1-inch digital camera sensor.
Nonetheless, it was a lot sooner at capturing night time pictures than a lot of the competitors, and there’s one thing to be mentioned for the true-to-life look of the outcomes.
For most individuals, that would be the go-to digital camera when out and about – however I discovered extra pleasure from utilizing the 50MP telephoto lens, and that’s not one thing I’ve discovered with any telephone I’ve reviewed just lately, if ever.
Normally, it’s the principle sensor that will get all the eye, with further lenses serving extra area of interest functions, however that’s merely not the case with the Xiaomi 13 Professional. Possibly that Leica partnership is greater than a gimmick in any case…
The three.2x telephoto lens boasts a 50MP decision, which is pretty excessive for a telephoto lens and permits it to make use of pixel-binning tech to enhance element and light-weight, however that’s not what makes it so spectacular. It’s all the way down to Leica’s OIS-powered floating telephoto digital camera tech which basically permits the digital camera module to maneuver round to regulate focus and ensure your topic is all the time sharp and clear.
Which means that, in addition to offering a narrower 75mm equal lens perfect for portrait images, the telephoto lens is simply as succesful when used as a macro lens. Actually, it takes a number of the greatest macro pictures I’ve seen from a smartphone, with beautiful quantities of element and a pure DSLR-like bokeh impact.
Using the floating digital camera system meant that pictures had been all the time in focus with only a few, if any, must re-shoot close-ups upon inspection. It really works with topics as shut as 10cm away, which is admittedly just a little farther than some devoted macro lenses, however the elevated 3.2x zoom means there’s parity with the competitors.
For the primary time, I actively seemed out for doubtlessly attention-grabbing topics to shoot up shut as a result of I knew the outcomes would look nice. It’s such a stark distinction to utilizing a low-res macro lens or a crop of the ultra-wide digital camera, as many alternate options are likely to do.
It’s simply as performative when taking pictures portrait images. Apart from the perfect 75mm crop for portrait pictures, the Xiaomi 13 Professional’s ProFocus tech doesn’t simply detect faces however eyes specifically, with on-screen monitoring to let that it has recognised the topic’s eyes. This permits the telephone to completely deal with the eyes of the topic for optimum affect.
It additionally has a number of the greatest edge detection tech I’ve seen from a portrait lens with only a few, if any, errors, even on the subject of hairlines and glasses. Bundle in a pure DLSR-like bokeh and Leica’s Genuine images type that delivers true-to-life color replica and also you’ve received a succesful portrait lens.
Don’t get me fallacious, it’s not probably the most expansive telephoto lens round, sporting a quite quick 3.2x zoom in comparison with different top-end 2023 telephones just like the Samsung Galaxy S23 Extremely and its 10x zoom, however by way of total high quality and sheer versatility, I feel Xiaomi’s telephoto lens is unsurpassed.