Today, the Xiaomi 12S Ultra concept devicewas officially unveiled, the official said “the first time the Leica camera lens mounted on the phone”. Previously, Xiaomi and Leica jointly released the Xiaomi 12S Ultra in July this year.
After the announcement of the Xiaomi 12S Ultra concept, Lei Jun, founder, chairman, and CEO of Xiaomi gave a detailed explanation of the machine, saying that the Xiaomi 12S Ultra concept, when the lens is removed, looks and functions basically identical to the Xiaomi 12S Ultra and can be used normally.
According to the introduction, when the Xiaomi 12S Ultra concept machine screwed on the lens for a moment, the phone’s built-in second direct light sensor began to work, with ƒ/1.4 lens, the amount of light intake compared to the Xiaomi 12S Ultra improved by 1 time, greatly improving the phone’s shooting ability, to achieve the super high-quality blockbusters previously impossible to shoot.
The concept is based on the Xiaomi 12S Ultra structure rearrangement, claiming “an unprecedented two one-inch sensor”. The concept is based on the redesign of the Xiaomi 12S Ultra camera structure, adding a second direct light one-inch sensor in the center. To accomplish such a rearrangement, Xiaomi adjusted the internal structure of the Xiaomi 12S Ultra, moving the ultra wide-angle camera down and out of the way to ensure the one-inch sensor is in the center.
In addition, Xiaomi has optimized the circuitry so that its motherboard area is significantly reduced and padded with a special bracket to provide heat dissipation capability for the sensors. Wear and tear from daily use is not a concern, with enhanced sealing between the sensor and sapphire glass, and the entire device remains dust and water-resistant.
In terms of software features, the Xiaomi 12S Ultra concept supports peak focus, zebra lines, histograms and other common tools, and is capable of shooting 10bit RAW format files.
The following is the full text of Lei Jun’s interpretation of the Xiaomi 12S Ultra concept machine.
In July this year, we and Leica jointly released the Xiaomi 12S Ultra, which opened a new chapter in mobile imaging and was liked by many rice fans, and was recognized by many professional photographers.
However, we have been thinking, how else can an innovation-driven cell phone company, and a professional century-old imaging brand, make their products cooler and more fun? What other areas have we not explored?
After a lot of discussions, both teams came up with a really crazy idea.
To explore the boundaries between mobile and professional imaging by putting Leica’s M series camera lenses on the Xiaomi 12S Ultra to make a Xiaomi 12S Ultra concept camera.
Lei Jun explains the Xiaomi 12S Ultra concept machine: structural rearrangement, unprecedented two one-inch sensors
Take off the lens is the flagship phone, screw on the lens turned into a professional imaging equipment
This crazy idea originated from the rear camera module of the Xiaomi 12S Ultra with a round design, which made the engineers quickly associate it with a camera lens and found Leica’s engineers to communicate in the first place.
The Leica engineers particularly liked it, and the two sides hit it off, saying they would do it, and quickly reached a consensus on the solution: the concept must retain all the features of being a flagship phone, but give it a hidden identity, transforming into a professional imaging device at the moment of screwing on the lens!
After months of hard work, we really made it happen. Xiaomi 12S Ultra concept machine, when the lens is removed, the appearance and function are basically identical to the Xiaomi 12S Ultra and can be used normally.
But the moment it is screwed on, the second direct light sensor built into the phone starts working, and with the ƒ/1.4 lens, the light intake is increased by a factor of 1 compared to the Xiaomi 12S Ultra, greatly improving the phone’s shooting capabilities and enabling super high-quality blockbusters that were previously impossible to capture.
Here’s a sample shot from the Xiaomi 12S Ultra concept, and it’s amazing!
▲ Sunset ｜ The twilight at sunset always heals the heart, enjoying the maiden of the sunset, the warm afterglow of the city…
Black and White｜Black and white photos are more pure, like a game of “light and shadow”, and give people unlimited imagination.
Pictures
▲ Life｜Life can be written with ink or with images.
▲ Color｜The Leica shot is rich in color and natural transition, very ambient!
Based on the Xiaomi 12S Ultra structure re-layout, with an unprecedented two one-inch sensors
The whole program is a very complex process, we unanimously decided not to use the idea of the previous phone accessories, but to work on the structure of the phone itself, used to receive the light of the lens, preferably a bare sensor, and the structure of the camera to be exactly the same.
After many days of discussion and practice, the key solution was arrived at.
Re-layout of the Xiaomi 12S Ultra camera structure to include a second direct light-taking one-inch sensor extra in the center!
To accomplish this rearrangement, we adjusted the internal structure of the Xiaomi 12S Ultra, moving the ultra-wide angle camera down and out of the way to keep the one-inch sensor in the center.
In addition, we optimized the circuitry so that its motherboard area was significantly reduced and padded with a special bracket to provide heat dissipation capability for the sensor. Don’t worry about the wear and tear of daily use, the seal between the sensor and the sapphire glass has been strengthened and the whole machine remains dust and water-resistant.
Throughout the development process, we broke through many previous technical bottlenecks and made corresponding patent applications. This is also the first time we have integrated two one-inch sensors into a phone, and I’m really proud of the engineers in particular!
The lens is installed in the same way as the camera, a twist, a card, it is done, is not particularly simple? You do not have to worry about the weight problem, the concept of the overall structure of the machine again strengthening the protection of the lens module square structure completely redesigned, replaced by a sub-master screw fixed directly to the entire machine frame, can easily withstand the weight of the external lens, to achieve a solid not shake.
The flange distance of the mount is only 2mm, so you can use the adapter ring to transfer Leica M series lenses at will.
The Xiaomi 12S Ultra concept camera supports peak focus, zebra lines, histogram, and other common tools, and is capable of shooting 10bit RAW format files.
Raising the banner of technology to build a deeply rooted engineering culture
In May this year, Xiaomi announced a strategic partnership with Leica to achieve a comprehensive integration of their imaging capabilities across the entire smartphone imaging chain from optics, imaging, image processing, and experience, which is a new opportunity for Xiaomi and Xiaomi’s engineers.
As a company with a culture based on engineers, Xiaomi has always given engineers a strong voice, encouraging them to boldly explore technical no man’s land at any cost, regardless of reward, and without regard to mass-producibility, because we believe that to do technology is to be brave enough to try new things.
But not all ideas can poke through the ceiling and rewrite the landscape in one fell swoop. We insist that Xiaomi should not only applaud the successful ones, but also the brave ones who are on their way to making a bold charge.
The release of the Xiaomi 12S Ultra concept camera is a new attempt by us and Leica engineers in the field of new technologies, not to replace the camera, but to establish a benchmark for our internal R&D and to push us to keep trying to verify the possibility of externalizing our imaging capabilities.
Finally, I would also like to thank Leica engineers for their technical support and crucial technical input to this joint R&D. We look forward to making even cooler products together again in the future!
