The Mi 9 delivers authentic colors and terrific long-range performance, but the Honor 20 Pro's paradigm-shifting Night mode is more versatile and aesthetic.
Even with the tremendous advances in smartphone photography, clear night photos remain the exception, not the rule. At close range, we're treated to blinding glares and blurry light columns, which provide the effect of cheap studio lighting. At long range, a brilliant cityscape is often reduced to a distant haze.
That's why it was such a joy to play around with the Mi 9 and Honor 20 Pro. Both phones perform admirably, taking bright and sharp night photos, but while the Honor 20 Pro features sterling performance in every conceivable low-light environment, the Mi 9 has a few conspicuous flaws that limit its versatility in close range shots. I'd recommend either model for photography enthusiasts, and reserve high praise for the Honor 20 Pro.
Distance Shots
First, a look at some long-range shots. Both pictures below are stunning, the kind you'd happily post on Instagram if you're exploring a new city after dark.
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On a more subjective note, I prefer the landscape colors on the Honor 20 Pro. The colors on the new Xiaomi model meet the naked eye test, and are actually more authentic. The sky was that shade of gray-blue, not the Starry Night-reminiscent deep blue in the Honor phone shot, and the bridge was a duller orange-gold as seen in the Mi 9 photo.
Van Gogh took some liberties with the night sky, and so does the Honor 20 Pro, in order to create a richer visual tapestry. This is a philosophical difference. There's something to be said for an honest reproduction of reality. Nonetheless, I'd guess that most users are like me, and prefer impressive night photos to completely realistic ones. We have 16 waking hours a day to view the world as is; pictures are by their nature, moments in time that are intended to dazzle.
Portrait Shots
Details are also better retained by the Honor 20 Pro, and this becomes obvious when a night portrait shot is taken. Foreground object recognition and color reproduction are consistently superior on the Honor 20 Pro, though they are still quite good on the Mi 9.
Color is the greatest area of discrepancy. The red and blue railing leaps off the screen in the Honor shot, the light reflections on the water are fuller colors, and the grass below me can be identified as green. By contrast, in the Xiaomi shot, the railing is duller, reflections much less vibrant, and the grass is barely discernible.
The starkest difference occurs when direct lighting intrudes on a night scene. The pictures speak for themselves.
There you have it. Two phones, and two night modes: one extraordinary, and the other merely excellent. It didn't take too long to discover that, because as the poem goes, the night has a thousand eyes.
Related
A very satisfied Note 4 user. The camera is beyond fantastic for a phone camera. However, I would love to switch to an S6 because of the form factor (I don't really need a phablet, the big screen doesn't do anything for me). BUT only if the S6 camera is on par or better than the Note 4's. So I have been trying to get my hands on camera shootouts and found this very detailed one from GSMArena:
http://www.gsmarena.com/shootout_galaxy_s6_note_4_galaxy_s5_iphone_6-review-1229.php
Results seem inconclusive? Note 4 still scores higher on some aspects. In fact, the blind camera test says Note 4 scored higher on multiple dimensions.
http://www.gsmarena.com/galaxy_blind_camera_test-review-1228p2.php
I am kinda bummed out by this I really wanted the S6 to come out on top. What do you guys think?
The Note 4 pictures look more pleasing because the increased sharpening levels bring out more detail (even if that detail is extrapolated and not real detail). However, keep in mind these are blown up portions of a much larger photo. If you do look at the full size photos, the ones shot with good light all look nice, regardless of camera. You probably won't see much difference there. I would have liked to have seen more low light shots. It kind of drives me crazy that most of these photo shootouts are of landscapes and tsotchkes instead of people and kids. I'd also like to see some fast motion comparisons considering how fast the S6 camera is.
Hanson68 said:
The Note 4 pictures look more pleasing because the increased sharpening levels bring out more detail (even if that detail is extrapolated and not real detail). However, keep in mind these are blown up portions of a much larger photo. If you do look at the full size photos, the ones shot with good light all look nice, regardless of camera. You probably won't see much difference there. I would have liked to have seen more low light shots. It kind of drives me crazy that most of these photo shootouts are of landscapes and tsotchkes instead of people and kids. I'd also like to see some fast motion comparisons considering how fast the S6 camera is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good point. Zoomed out crops aren't always representative of real world results. I do also agree with you on the S6 camera supposedly being faster. The thing that bugs me about the Note 4 camera is the slow shutter speed - see below.
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The Note 4 camera is awesome, for more reasons than just the sharpness though. The color reproduction is excellent.
Mod Edit
Thread already exists here;
http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s6/general/galaxy-s6-camera-thread-t3045206
Thread closed
malybru
Forum Moderator
How the Dual-Camera Setup on the Honor 8 Really WorksDual lens cameras seem to be the way of the future. We are seeing many smartphone companies make the switch to the two-lens setup. In this thread, I'll go over exactly how the cameras in the Honor 8 really work and why it's better than a traditional single-lens camera.
What do the Sensors do?
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RGB Sensor
The RGB sensor is designed to capture rich true-to-life colors.
Monochrome Sensor
The Monochrome sensor is dedicated to giving your photos increased sharpness and capturing more light.
Having dedicated lenses for different sensors allows for much higher quality photos. Here are some photos taken with the Honor 8, to show off the color and detail quality of this camera.
Hybrid Auto-FocusWhen reading about the hybrid focus, the Honor website states
The hybrid auto-focus enables laser focus for short range, precise depth focus for long range, and contrast focus — each working together to help you take better pictures in complex lighting conditions day and night.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I found this being a nice benefit in "complex lighting" situations. In photos with very dark and light spots, typically a camera will have to accommodate one or the other, leaving one part of the photo lacking detail. Here are some photos of situations with bright lights and dark shadows. Notice how everything is even and very detailed.
Dual ISPThe image signal processor is in charge of the autofocus, exposure and white balance. The built-in dual ISP improves the speed of the focus and process time when you're taking photos. This makes snapping high quality photos quick and easy, by removing time spent focusing your shot.
In conclusion, two lenses are definitely better than one and the Honor 8 does this very well.
<< Part 2
HI-Res Mode
HI-Res Mode is best for well-lit natural scenery and non-moving subjects. Compare with normal photo, the HI-RES can produce 8192 x 6144 Pixels dimensions photo, so that you have a clearer and better print quality.
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Filters
The camera system also features Hasselblad's Natural Color calibration and applied 3 master filters (Radiance, Emerald and Serenity) which calibrated with 3 Hasselblad photographers, it brings realistic professional color styles to mobile photography.
Serenity – calibrated with Hasselblad Ambassador Yin Chao who is a fashion photographer, when you capture a portrait you can apply this filter, but I tried this filter also can use in the indoor environment to create a classic and quite feeling.
Radiance – calibrated with Hasselblad Masters Ben Thomas who is a urban spaces photography, when you capture a colorful urban spaces you can apply this filter, it creates a colorful and styled feeling.
Emerald – calibrated with Hasselblad Masters David Peskens who is a landscape photographer, when you capture a landscape with wildlife you can apply this filter, it creates a mysterious and moody feeling.
These photos look amazing, right? It is all because of this MariSilicon X image signal processor to bring more powerful AI photo/video processing.
Here are some sample photos of OPPO Find X5 Pro that I captured in Singapore.
Mengguo’s Photography Tips:
1. OPPO Find X5 Pro Adaptive Sleep function can use in photography also, when you place the phone at a tripod and wait for the sunset and sunrise, you can use this function to avoid the display off.
2. When taking photos, you can always on Grid and guide, level in camera setting.
3. In Pro mode, you can separate the Focus and Metering, usually I will put metering point at the most brightness place, and focus point to the main object.
Battery Review
OPPO Find X5 Pro comes with 5000mAH large battery, with its 80W wired charging adaptor, your phone can charge extremely fast.
I did a test it can fully charge in around 30 minutes, instead of charging your phone a whole night when you sleep, you just power up before making breakfast and you can have a full day of charge.
Conclusion
If you are looking for a unique design with good performance, awesome camera system, fast charging ability, OPPO Find X5 Pro absolutely is one of your best choices.
>> Part 1
Kindly see post #2 for the review. There was a bug when uploading causing the duplicate post.
Dear readers, I'm gonna keep this review as short and as straightforward to the point as possible.
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Introduction:
What is the Find X5 Pro? Basically it's OPPO's flagship camera smartphone that is capable of taking some amazing shots.
Design:
The OPPO Find X5 Pro in ceramic white looks and feels premium. It is not heavy at all, and the one-piece back panel does look pretty unique in the sea of mobile phones today.
I personally prefer the white over the black in this case.
Display:
The OPPO Find X5 Pro has a 1440P AMOLED panel that refreshes at 120Hz. The key takeout here is that this display is one of the sharpest in the market today (525ppi), is able to automatically change it's refresh rate to save on power, and gets bright enough outdoors (1300nits) for good visibility. It's also super punchy and is one of the best display's you can get today.
Cameras:
This is the most important part of the OPPO Find X5 Pro.
50MP main camera - images taken from the main camera comes with a slightly colder tone, to which I personally prefer. Pictures taken during day and night come with excellent detail, as will be shared below.
50MP ultrawide - this is one of the best ultrawides in the market in my opinion. U/wide shots come with a ton of detail at 50MP, and the best part is you don't really see any image distortion.
Hasselblad colors - OPPO is promising more true-to-life pictures with the Hasselblad tuned images. I find that quite true as you can see from my sample shots.
Processing Power:
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 is Qualcomm's most powerful/efficient processor to date. With this, you can expect performance to be top-of-the-line with no lags/delays/stutters in any instance.
Gaming works great too with minimal heating.
Battery Life:
Battery life is sufficient for a full day's use on a single charge, but the charging speeds is on another level.
The 80W charger can charge the Find X5 Pro in crazy speeds so you don't have to worry about not charging at night.
Overall:
If you're looking for one of the best camera smartphones in the market TODAY, this is definitely something you should consider!
Photo Gallery:
Here's a quick video taken with the OPPO Find X5 Pro in a very dark environment.
Location: Sesame Street Ride @ Universal Studios Singapore
Some very nice shots! But those spam fries look horrendous
In-depth reviews and nice shots!!
Hello All,
It's time to share some shots with the OPPO Find X5 and see how this one acts at night.
Let's start with some architecture shots:
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One of the oldest fire casern
Some sculptures:
City at night shots:
Final thoughts:
So far, shooting at night is pretty straightforward. Depending on the color restitution you're seeking, the best is still to untick the HDR, especially at night.
AI mode is still doing the job. However, as usual, I have better results when I shoot with the Pro Mode. Sorry, I'm an old guy that prefers taking his time and fine-tuning before shooting and avoiding post-treatment. However, if you are in a hurry and just want to use the auto mode, it's working perfectly.
Just be aware depending on how low is the light around you, you might have 1 or 2 seconds capturing, so avoid moving or handshake.
There is also a dedicated mode, the night mode. For this one, I will advise you to take a tripod with you for the best result and choose the 3sc delay before shooting, except if you have a Bluetooth remote. By the way, in this mode, there is an option for tripod owners.
Another useful mode is the long exposure one. With three options, Water/Rainfall, Light trail, and light painting, your basics needs would be covered at 90%. The same for this mode; better to have a tripod with you.
I enclose some long exposure shots below.
So I have the OPPO Find X5 none Pro under SD 888 and only 2 axis stab vs the 8 Gen 1 and 5 axis stab of the Pro variant. Theoretically not the best combination of the X5 series. Still, it is pretty capable of shooting at night. Is it due to the MariSilicon NPU? Hard to tell as the experience is seamless. You don't have any indication when playing and when the smartphone is using it.
I think it could be excellent for OPPO to have a dedicated icon or information (as the 10 Bit mentioned) for indicating when their custom-made imaging NPU is ON on these scenes or shot mode with a direct live view with and without.
For the color science and the partnership with Hasselblad, I will advise you to untick HDR mode in the night shot as a first. You will have also better colors (at least close to reality with AI off). Again the best color restitution lies in the Pro Mode (when not everything is full auto). In other ways, you might have a red too much red-ish (same with blue going neon style), some oversaturated colors here and there. I know it's a trend since Samsung introduced its AMOLED tech and it's pleasant to the eyes, but still, if it's the reality you see through your eyes, shot without these options ON.
Again, thank you OPPO and @OPPO Ambassador Team for this opportunity.
Another Round with some monuments and building
Some green:
And some random shots
Finally, let's try the long exposure mode: