Xiaomi 13 Ultra: Why these cameras are so special! 

4K version of this video on my Patreon! www.patreon.com/posts/xiaomi-13-ultra-82526567

I've forgotten how much this channel/reviewer influenced my last few phones over the past decade. Honor, Huawei, Redmi. And it's funny how much of an Android fan I have been since day one. (Shout out HTC dream/original G1) My daily driver needs aren't as "refined" as the 13 Ultra would be. But man I would love play with a phone at powerful this one.

An interesting note about the cameras. Xiaomi chose the Sony IMX858 sensor instead of the IMX890 used on the ultrawide/mid-tele of the Oppo Find X6 Pro because it's essentially the miniaturized version of the IMX989, using the same LN2 noise reduction, DOL-HDR and 12-bit ADC as the IMX989, on top of having the Multi Camera Synchronization System. That should explain why the photos taken by all 4 cameras are so, so consistent, making the entire camera setup feel like a streamlined solution compared to everything I saw on phones so far.

This phone has me seriously considering importing it. The collection of cameras are wonderful. Hoping Xiaomi releases the international version soon.

"there's never a winner camera phone but the Xiaomi 13 ultra is probably the closest ever to curb stomping the competition into submission"

Wow, such an amazing phone 👏🏼 Yes, not having consistent camera features on ALL sensors is frustrating 😅

This was beautiful....

I like what Xiaomi have done with the ultrawide and telephoto cameras. Since we won't be seeing optical zoom camera coming back on smartphones, it's a welcome move to use identical sensor for them. Oppo got it close with the vanilla Find X6. The ultrawide camera is completely different, but both the main and telephoto camera use the same sensor.

"Who's down for looking at some pretty pictures?" Do you even have to ask? _____ Those photos finally feel like they're worth the Leica tag. Nice punchy contrast (without clipping), subtle vignetting that's situation dependent, great natural detail (at least at RU-vid reaolution), fantastic bokeh. Looks like a winner, so far. Most people don't appreciate how much sensor matching counts until they're trying to color match photo sets taken on even just two of the thre or four rear cameras for consistent looks across the set.

love the enthusiasm on the camera details not just on this phone, but all the phones that you reviewed. No other channels that i watch goes in depth like you do. Better for you not to care how others are doing their channel but you focus on what you do best.

Always the best camera hardware and software reviews on the tube!

My biggest disappointment with recent Xiaomi phones (13 Pro in my case) is their proclaimed "natural-color" authentic mode. My conclusion is that there is absolutely nothing natural about the pictures taken in this mode. They are definitely more artistic but absolutely not natural. I must say I hate the vigneting in authentic mode which unfortunatelly cannot be switched off - once you see the vigneting in the photos, you cannot unsee it. And everyone was asking why my pictures have dark corners. So vignetting is easy to spot. I bought Xiaomi because of authentic mode promises about producing more natural pictures (unlike other unnatural oversaturated and oversharpened shit like Samsung). But I ended up shooting Vivid because it is less terrible than Authentic. Moreover the exposition in AUTO mode is definitely not perfect. Photos taken at bright daylight feel much darker than they should be and at low light they are too bright. You can adjust exposition manually in AUTO but you need to do it for every shot and it is impossible to be consistent among shots. AUTO mode produces also oversharpened pictures despite many reviewers claims about less artificial sharpenning than the competition. Not true, IMO. Maybe a little bit better than notoriously oversharpened Samsung but still oversharpened. So I ended up shooting always in PRO mode. Fortunately Xiaomi has the option to adjust saturation, contrast and sharpness. And this is actually what I liked about Xiaomi the most, other brands do not allow this. So shooting in PRO in vivid mode with saturation minus 1 and sharpness minus 1 and this produces quite natural photos. And manually take care about correct exposition of course. Then it was quite good. But this worked well only for the main camera, for ultrawide and tele, the pictures were not so good. Also 50 MP mode disappointed me, 12 MP pictures were often better, especially in lower light. After one week I sold my phone. The capabilities did not convince me that the high price tag is deserved. I am staying with my old Huawei P30 Pro which makes acceptable pictures (yes, Xiaomi was way better but it was 5 times more expensive and is much bigger and heavier) and in situations where I care about taking good picture I am still using my Sony RX 100 VI. No phone can match it. Only for handheld night photo, I am using the phone. PS: I am talking about 13 Pro but I am afraid Ultra will share the same weaknesses. 13 Pro has very bad ultrawide camera (compared to the main camera) and just a mediocre tele camera. I expect that this is what will be probably much better in Ultra. PPS: Recently I also had shortly Vivo X80 Pro and Samsung S22 Plus. Both were worse than Xiaomi 13 Pro however... So Xiaomi is not bad but not great either.

Very informative video. This is the kind of non bias reviews the public needs! Thank you for this review!

A lot of information in a single video and that is what i love about some gadget guy.

Super nice! I hope google *cough cough* gets inspiration from this phone's camera consistency

As someone whose taking pictures on thr Xiaomi 13 Pro i very much enjou the camera hardware on this phone than my S23 Ultra that i use for work. Everything about just looks good and that the telephoto lense on that phone has pumped out some incredible portrait shots for me.

It's crazy for those of us who are old enough to remember when there were .3 mega pickle phones and nearly every smartphone review would preface the camera segment "a camera phone was never intended to replace your camera." OH how times have changed lol.

Finally the only creator who understands the art of informative review. Im tired of these hype nonsense and influencers just doing videos for some extra cents. Defies the whole point of a product being launched only to be "reviewed" in the first week or month then, thats all... So stupid

U are the perfect person to review a smartphone for real man ❤

Great catch on the Samsung telephoto not shooting true 4k. Samsung really should've changed their telephoto hardware this year. It has been s long time coming

Matched hardware! Say it again for the people in the back. Yep, thanks for reminding us about flickr at the end.

It's worth mentioning that while Oppo doesn't have the optical range of the Xiaomi, its two secondary sensors are *substantially* larger than the 13 Ultra's three - 1/1.56" vs 1/2.51". I'd be really curious to see how the Oppo's 65mm with digital zoom added would look so it matches the native focal range of Xiaomi's 75mm and 120mm cameras. Which looks better? Larger sensor with digital zoom? Or smaller sensor using a longer native focal length?

Fantastic video once again nobody does it like you and really easily explained well done mate..

can you do cinematics video with this camera if you have time for it? That's will convince most people to this phone :)

Closely matched senors is something I've been waiting for!!

I agree and much of what you said relates to the 13 pro too, minus one camera and the mechanical aperture. The main and secondary sensors are all within that 50mp range (OK 50.3mp for the main but that .03mp is not a real noticeable difference). If the international version of the 13 ultra had been out when I needed a phone I would have got it over the 13 pro I have now. BUT the differences for me now are not worth selling the 13 pro to buy a 13 ultra as the 13 pro is a massive improvement over the Huawei 20 Pro I have been using (and significant over the Xiaomi 11 Ultra I had for a few months until it got smashed, meaning I had to revert to the Huawei 20 pro until the Xiaomi 13 pro arrived). It is not perfect as a point and shoot camera, but it is better than I have been used too, manual modes are a huge improvement over what I have been used to and actually make using manual modes enjoyable now. It's these links with the likes of Leica and Hasselblad that has pushed phones to be more of a creative device than just one for snapping memories or using the camera just like you would a disposable camera in the 1970's and 1980's. It has grown up so much over the past few years and seems to be now moving out of those teenage years where it wanted to do everything but not really understand why to being more adult and maturing into something that has a focus of where it would like to be and is starting to find its way along that path now.

Great Video Man

Juan, I hope to see your coverage of the Find X6 Pro, I recently upgraded from my Find X3 Pro to a S23U and I'm really missing the 1.56" IMX 766 ultrawide although I gotta say Samsung really does put in software work to make this 2.55" ultrawide close the gap. I'm really sad Oppo did not release the X6 Pro worldwide as the sensor choices there are arguably even more attractive than the ones on the Xiaomi and I'd have probably upgraded to that one. I'd really like to hear your opinions about how they stack up. Thanks for your work, as usual.

I like your videos because I learn a lot photography. Most RU-vidrs just say things they don't know

New insight. Powerful, you even wrote a book . Great.

I'm thoroughly enjoying your content lately Juan. Thank you. All I really, really.. really want to know now is, how will that 1" sensor perform on the creepy tunnel ?!!! Big love, kindest regards, as always, Richard U.K

Oh and another thing since this is VERY important to me lol. Does this let you change lenses if you shoot 4k60 ? Do let me know would be very helpful

Finally some expert opinion and review for this cmaera behemoth

Interesting, would be fun to see you test out some of these if you haven't already: Lumix CM1: 114.9mm² Leica Leitz 1 & Aquos R6: 114.9mm² (mm² being utilized sensor surface area, aka the most accurate and best statistic - on that note, every 989 phone has so far "fully" utilized it, coming in at 112.5mm²)

This some Gadget Guy knows his stuff👍

I like the way you say pixel, pickle XD

Thanks for the great review. Question, what is the autofocus and capture time like?

Nice introduction to Xiaomi 13 Ultra! Hope to see a full review of camera capabilites soon. Definitelly subscribed to the channel! Can you make sure to check those reported flare effects visible when shooting at night. I guess Vivo has Zeiss T-coating so this is less of a problem (many other phones experience the same problem). Also, since this camera has such a large camera housing in the back, can it be used as a mirror for shooting selfies with main back camera? Since front cameras are always garbage in comparison with back cameras (for any manufacturer). Thanks!

In 3:24 you are telling that the telephoto sensor size of the Samsung Galaxy Note 23 is a lot smaller than a 1 inch sensor. But this is an advantage isn't it? You have bigger crop factor,which means you can shoot further away!

Thanks Juan for this. Can you sum up what RAW options are available on both 13 Ultra and X6 Pro? From what you say on the Xiaomi it can shoot Ultra-RAW on all cameras with native resolution. And only main camera can do it in Ultra RAW with 50 MP. Can Oppo do 50 MP RAW+ on all cameras? Or only on the main one or neither of them? thanks

Preach Juan, Preach....😁 You know it makes sense....😎

Features are consistent between S23U cameras as well. You just can't shoot 8K on the other sensors. Also 4k is not upscaled, you need about 8.2mp to record 4k video. But what's the most important is the results you get. S23U is more consistent and has better software.

I don't understand why no one has made a radial microscope-style rotating lens ring with 1 amazing sensor, so you can select your focal length physically

How does it compared to Find X6 pro?

Thanks, Juan for the video. One area would like a review more is the sound for video: The 12s Ultra has a lot of wind noise, and also in loud settings like concerts, will clip and distort. So is the 13s Ultra better? Also, related, does it support external mics by Rode, Shure, etc in the native camera app? Couldn't find out much information on Xiaomi for this, and android compatibility varies a lot. I don't have a USB mic and don't want to buy one if it doesn't work with the native camera.

4:21 holy shit I can't express how happy I am that all four cameras can be used in manual mode, and that focus peaking is a feature now. From what I know, only the main sensor can be used in manual mode for the Galaxy line, which was a huge minus for me when I was using the S20+

i reaaalllyyy like it!!! (and I kind of want to orange one haha)

Fantastic video, I can't wait fit this. Phone but 512gb or 1tb version. Have subscribed

Have the vivo X80 Pro Global and I love it!!! But definitely next year I'm looking at the xiaomi 14 ultra, vivo x100 pro plus if they have a global release, Sony Xperia, and others.

1/2.51 is not a big sensor but imx858 has tricks up its sleeves to compensate for its size. I only consider camera sensors reasonably large if their sizes are 1/2.0 or more like Oppo Find 6 pro.

Happy you mentioned Nokia. ❤

is it better to buy mi 13 ultra with 600 or x90 pro plus with 550

So, how's that Xperia 1v preview coming along? :p

Thank you for your feedback on this phone ! Does anybody know what's the game he 's playing at 7:47 please ?

OOhhh yeaaah that was good !

I think next year Xiaomi 14 ultra have 1inci sensor with 1,4-8/F

Yeah, there is very big possibility I will actually, finally give this amount of money for the smartphone or probably slave my self for 2 years contract with my carrier just because of this thing. Amasing!!! Me who said will never give more than 500 on smartphone. I was planning to buy Honor 70 which I think is amazing device, but now... Last time this tempting was with xiaomi mi 11 ultra, wondering how these two would compare side by side? Great stuff as always Mr. Juan💪🍻✌️

good morning Juan thanks for the always beautiful video, I want to ask you can the ultra wide angle lens shoot in 50 mpx raw? Thank you

does Google Wallet (Google Pay) work on Xiaomi 13 Ultra? Anyone tested it? thanks ;)

I'll probably never stop being annoyed that we are basically required to call the 8.8x13.2mm IMX989 sensor in question "a one-inch sensor" (even "one-inch TYPE sensor" seems a little less misleading), but that's hardly Xiaomi's fault (so much as Sony's and the general adherence to this anachronistically annoying metric); that aside, it does seem like a genuinely substantial improvement over the even smaller sensors we're used to (like those in my Xperia 5 IV). Thanks for the comprehensive evaluation!

What do you think should i get the xiaomi 13 or xiaomi 12t pro?

I thought the imx 858 was a small sensor

You are right about the hardware BUT although i am a google notlover but i tried the pixel 7 pro and it is amazing how much google is managing to get out of shitty hardware with their SW. So imagine what is possible with a good HW and good software.

Could you please compare to Oppo X6 pro ?

But Juan, if I don't have a single number score how can I proclaim my illiteracy to the tech fans at large?

Is it incorrect to call it "variable aperture" when it only has 2 apertures? shouldn't it be called DUAL Aperture and it should say from "this aperture AND this aperture"? I honestly thought it goes from one aperture all the way to another aperture stop by stop because of the wording used

Does this work on att

When I saw Samsung implement the variable aperture only to get rid of it while increasing the sensor size I was baffled. Does the industry not care or do customers not care? All I want is this camera system on a Samsung phone.

Xiaomi 13 ultra or sony Xperia I V???

Still loving the mi11 ultra, and would be so reluctant to lose the rear screen.

Hi, this or the pixel 8 pro. Which has the better camera's?

im not into chinese brands indeed. but that is impressive. come on sony!! make those 50mp lenses pls hahaha

oh, they would put inch sensors in all cameras. )

Too bad there is limiting here in Canada even Amazon doesn't have them

4k is 8mp. Are you sure the 10mp Samsung telephoto has to upscale to do 4k?

I really hope this lights a fire under Samsung's butt. Because I want a book-style foldable, with pen support and a desktop mode (so, basically Fold 3 or up), but damn if I don't wish my Fold 3 had much better cameras for me to play with.

But.....only scored 140 on dxomark......

Come iPhone go with canon or fujifilm

Ultra Always Means Bloody Overpriced...Ultrapriced...

I held the 13 pro this day i got scared even my acne scars and my dark eyebags my ringkled skin on my face is in the whole screen when i tried the selfie cam i don't get people when they ask 4k for front facing i don't get it😅😂

1080p Max Video @ Frontcam 😂

Have you experienced infamous foggy camera lens on this phone?

Only Sony and Xaomi unlocks same features on all sensors

Samsung's 4k s are fake? 3:39. This phone camera hardware is very good I agree but in selfie they forgot to match hardware/software. And next OS update ( android 14) I am sure Xioami gonna mess it up , making it a useless device, In India xioami ranked down from 1 st position to 5 th position solely because of this. Their low end, mid end, and high range nothing selling properly.

Sorry man i need to agree with you.. in the sun is phatetic… over exposure on front facing camera and something you don’t know i had only 5.20 hours of battery and 43 minutes from 0 to 100 procent in 43 minutes😂😂 wtf man for what I payed????

L

I'm the first 😂