Cameras
Now it’s time to talk about the main selling point of the 12S Ultra – the camera, specifically the 1-inch sensor. Xiaomi’s 12S Ultra is the third phone, behind the Japan-only Sharp Aquos R6 and the Xperia Pro-I, to feature this sensor.
Xiaomi’s 1-inch sensor is a 50.3MP Sony IMX989 sensor (designed just for this phone) with phase-detect autofocus and its entire area is used for image capture. This is in contrast to Sony’s which crops from the center of its sensor.
Before we move on, I need to explain something. The 1-inch sensor is not 1 inch in size. The term denotes the sensor’s optical format – refers to the diameter of the video camera tube needed to project an image that would cover the size of the sensor. This term was relevant when cameras were big and bulky, but they are used today often to make life easier.
Anyways, large sensors are great for photos because they allow a lot of light to pass through which means stunning pictures with a lot of details. The 12S Ultra’s 1-sensor also has a shallower depth of field which allows a lot more creative control on how focused you want your background in your shots.
Through Xiaomi’s collaboration with Leica, the 12S Ultra comes with an 8-element lens in front of its sensors.
In addition to the main camera, there is a 48MP Ultra-wide camera and 48 telephoto camera
Another thing to point out, the 1-inch sensor is not the one in the middle, it is on the left side in the picture above.
Camera App
When you first open the camera app, you have two Leica color options—Leica Vibrant or Leica Authentic. After setting that up, it is still easy to switch between the two modes in the app.
Aside from the Leica tabs, there is nothing else unusual about the app. The rest of the options at the top include an HDR tab, flash mode, an AI, and a hamburger menu. In the menu, you get additional options like dynamic shots, movie frames, and many more.
On the other side, the three round buttons represent the main, ultra-wide, and zoom camera. Holding and swiping the zoom and ultra-wide buttons will reveal a magnifier with which you can control how much zoom (up to 120x) or how far wide you want to capture.
For all the photography nerds, there are all the usual parameters you will expect from the Pro mode. These include the white balance, shutter speed, ISO, and all the other good stuff.
Photo Quality
If you still haven’t guessed it yet, Xiaomi’s collaboration with Leica means some really great pictures. Remember those two options earlier (Leica Vibrant & Leica Authentic)? I started with the vibrant, and here are some of the pictures it produced.
Later I switched back to Leica authentic mode and took pictures of the same place.
It is obvious what the two different modes do. In the vibrant mode, there is more focus on the highlights, giving the image a kind of liveliness with rich contrast. In the Leica authentic, however, it tries to keep the colours in the image as close to real life as possible. This is especially evident when you take pictures of plants. Look closely at the yellow colour. In vibrant mode, the yellow colour is highlighted, but it tries to retain its original colour in the authentic mode.
Zoom
As I mentioned earlier, the 12S allows zoom up to 120X, but in my experience, you would be better off just using the 2x zoom. Pictures after 5X zoom lose details, and you will miss out on those beautiful Leica colours.
Ultra-wide
Ultra-wide is also great at full resolution, but it struggles a bit in low light. As long as you have daylight or a light source, you are fine and your picture will be fine.
Night Mode
The pictures below are low-light pictures I took on the 12S Ultra. One thing that stood out is how fast the process was. Let me explain. When you take pictures at night, most smartphones will take some time because they will have to take several images, and apply post-processing before presenting the final photo. Thanks to its 1-inch sensor, the 12S can take in more light, so it can arrive at the final product much faster than other flagships.
As you can see in the pictures, these are probably the best low-light pictures you can get on any 2022 flagship. Xiaomi’s attention to contrast is evident in these images. Every light source is highlighted just enough while managing to keep the shadows well detailed. This is still slightly better than the night mode on the Mi 11 Ultra.
The camera also manages to maintain a nice level of colour saturation while capturing a good amount of details. Noise is barely noticeable, making the overall picture well balanced.
Videos
The Xiaomi 12S Ultra is capable of recording videos in 8k at 24fps, 4k at 30/60fps, and 1080p@30/60/120/240fps.
Xiaomi transferred that sweet colour science into its videos as well but it is available in the main camera only. If you try switching cameras to the ultra or telephoto sensor, the footage becomes grainy and you lose colour.
The sweet spot I found is in 4k at both 30fps and 60fps. In this setting, the phone showcases its dynamic range and contrast capabilities. Its HDR capability is at its peak, colour saturation is balanced while retaining a lot of details. It should also be noted that the stabilization on this camera borders on unreal.
