Xiaomi 15 Series

[RyanJ]

What exactly is the magnification achievable in Super Macro?

Always wanted to find out, since smartphone manufacturers do not publish reproduction ratios of their "macro" functions.

15 Ultra Macro uses the 70mm floating telephoto 1/2.51" sensor, likely MX858 but exact dimensions are nebulous so we stick to the published 5.7 x 4.3mm.

Magnification/Reproduction ratio = a subject's image size on a camera's sensor relative to the actual size of the subject.

For a 1:1 magnification ratio, (1x) a 5.7mm long subject fills the width of a 5.7mm wide sensor.
For a 2:1 magnification ratio, (2x) a 2.85mm long subject fills the width of a 5.7mm wide sensor.
For a 1:2 magnification ratio, (0.5x) a 11.4mm long subject fills the width of a 5.7mm wide sensor.
and so on . . .

( Digital cropping is NOT true magnification )

Native Super Macro at 140mm..
22mm on a 5.7mm is 1:3.9 magnification ratio , only 0.26x.

Adding additional Macro Filters

Cross adapting my Raynox DCR250 clip on macro filter, a triple element achromat.

Just nice the macro image sensor is the most "centered" so the filter was useable, the 1 inch sensor with more lateral placement suffered vignetting with this filter

+8 macro dioptre, triple element achromat.
15mm on a 5.7mm is about 1:2.6 magnification ratio, about 0.38x

+3 macro dioptre, dual element achromat.
18mm on 5.7mm is about 1:3.16, 0.32x

Combining both +3 and +8 macro dioptre.
Unfortunately plane of focus was very thin, I was not too parallel and the right side was blur, not because of optical issues but my misalignment. Magnification gained seemed minimal over +8 and likely not worth the added weight.

13mm on 5.7mm is 1:2.3, about 0.44x

* White balance was on auto, the higher the magnification, the shorter the working distance, the less light / more shadow probably affected the WB. *

** Not sure if I have really gotten it correct, welcome if anyone can chip in **

 

[RyanJ]

Will we see new dedicated co-processors (integrated or not) developed just to handle the image/video crunching?

Poco F7 Ultra is the first smartphone to have an additional GPU VisionBoost D7 Chipset on top of Elite 1 processor. ( the rebadged Redmi K80 Pro has D1 )

Apparently performs even better than IP16 PM and S25U and likely 15U in certain graphics metrics.

Source - https://www.forbes.com/sites/bensin...enshin-impact-better-than-the-1300-s25-ultra/

And since this small domestic GPU chip is built "only" on 12nm process, it should be easily within reach of china fabs to do.

If XM is already willing to add on to their current gen mid tier Redmi and Poco, I would not be surprised if they start adding separate GPUs it into 16 series and beyond, so as to further differentiate from other snapdragon elite phone manufacturers. Or maybe it should be expected of them

* Only issue is ? additional power draw *

 

[RyanJ]

Xiaomi 212W Hypercharge Powerbank.

Delivery was unexpectedly fast.
Ordered from Xiaomi store.

24500 mah capacity means there is abit of heft to be expected.

Notice that it also supports Samsung AFC and Huawei FCP charging protocols as indicated on the screen.

Naturally, juicing up the XM is a breeze.

Happy with the powerbank(s), the clear case exposing the circuitry beneath is cool, but I forsee hazing from microabrasions of the acrylic in the long run.

I think it is criminal that various manufacturers have their own fast/turbo/hyper charging protocols...

 

[Exaita]

In pursuit of faster charging all come out with different protocol, now we wait for solid state or nuclear battery ....

 

[ranmaru1987]

Anyone have tips on using xm15 cameras? For example



1) scenarios to use master or leica portrait

2) scenarios to use leica authentic or vibrant

3) pro mode presets

 

[dreamcast18]

Xiaomi 212W Hypercharge Powerbank.

Delivery was unexpectedly fast.
Ordered from Xiaomi store.

24500 mah capacity means there is abit of heft to be expected.

Notice that it also supports Samsung AFC and Huawei FCP charging protocols as indicated on the screen.

Naturally, juicing up the XM is a breeze.

Happy with the powerbank(s), the clear case exposing the circuitry beneath is cool, but I forsee hazing from microabrasions of the acrylic in the long run.

I think it is criminal that various manufacturers have their own fast/turbo/hyper charging protocols...

the exposed circuitry very deathstar like theme... super cool. just like EV charging..eventually will have one single standard..hopefully!

at least no more lightning cables!

 

[RyanJ]

Anyone have tips on using xm15 cameras? For example



1) scenarios to use master or leica portrait

2) scenarios to use leica authentic or vibrant

3) pro mode presets

Alot to unpack but in broad strokes the automatic / photo mode acts like a "point and shoot".

It determines the parameters including iso and shutter speed according to the own way of metering. You can still use Xiaomi photo editor to apply filters and post processing.

However in certain occasions where you want the picture to pursue a particular direction where the automatic metering or settings may not be competent e g
- deliberate overexposure or underexposure
- high shutter speeds because subject is very fast

- low shutter speeds for long exposures
( But under Photo mode there are competent long exposures which is even easier to use )

Then enter the Pro mode. You can customize your fav shooting profiles down to setting contrast and saturation etc etc.

Also Pro mode allows for 50MP / 200MP / Raw / UltraRAW.

If you would like to learn , I suggest you could fiddle with Pro mode and play around with shutter speed and iso and white balance etc and see how each parameter affects the picture.

There is the photographic concept of the exposure triangle and in this case aperture is fixed, just need to know how iso/shutter speed affects outcome.

 

[dreamcast18]

In pursuit of faster charging all come out with different protocol, now we wait for solid state or nuclear battery ....

 

[ranmaru1987]

Thank you for your reply. For auto mode would u recommend vibrant or authentic? And for portraits master or leica?

And for exposure metering under settings which would be better? Average or face?

Sorry for so many questions just figuring what will be the best set and forget settings for most scenarios and thanks in advance..

 

[dreamcast18]

Alot to unpack but in broad strokes the automatic / photo mode acts like a "point and shoot".

It determines the parameters including iso and shutter speed according to the own way of metering. You can still use Xiaomi photo editor to apply filters and post processing.

However in certain occasions where you want the picture to pursue a particular direction where the automatic metering may not be competent e g
- deliberate overexposure or underexposure
- high shutter speeds because subject movement
- low shutter speeds for long exposures
( But under Photo mode there are competent long exposures which is even easier to use )

Then enter the Pro mode. You can customize your fav shooting profiles down to setting contrast and saturation etc etc.

Also Pro mode allows for 50MP / 200MP / Raw / UltraRAW

+ another mode - Dynamic Shot

Xiaomi phones feature a "Dynamic Shot" mode, also known as "Live Photo" or "Motion Capture", which allows users to capture a series of photos in a short timeframe and then select their favorite shot from the sequence. This feature helps capture moving objects and subjects with more detail and accuracy.

 

[rrr2015]

Xiaomi 212W Hypercharge Powerbank.

Delivery was unexpectedly fast.
Ordered from Xiaomi store.

24500 mah capacity means there is abit of heft to be expected.

Notice that it also supports Samsung AFC and Huawei FCP charging protocols as indicated on the screen.

Naturally, juicing up the XM is a breeze.

Happy with the powerbank(s), the clear case exposing the circuitry beneath is cool, but I forsee hazing from microabrasions of the acrylic in the long run.

I think it is criminal that various manufacturers have their own fast/turbo/hyper charging protocols...

weighs 830g? might have been tempted if i hadn't bought baesus blade 100W powerbank

 

[RyanJ]

Possible to crank until hit turbo charge levels ?

Thank you for your reply. For auto mode would u recommend vibrant or authentic? And for portraits master or leica?

And for exposure metering under settings which would be better? Average or face?

Sorry for so many questions just figuring what will be the best set and forget settings for most scenarios and thanks in advance..

The differences between vibrant vs authentic is actually not very big. Down to whether u like ur pic style a little more vibrant or less saturated.

I take plenty of pics of my family , my kid so I set metering to "face" so that the face exposure does not swing because background is dark/bright. Still somewhat competent even for landscapes

For a start the easiest 'best' settings for the average scenes is just Photo mode and shoot and start off from there. What works for me/others may not work for you.

But off hand if you do more street photography you might want to fix a profile at something 1/400 or faster, since your movement / handshake / people walking can cause motion blur at lower shutter speeds.

+ another mode - Dynamic Shot

Xiaomi phones feature a "Dynamic Shot" mode, also known as "Live Photo" or "Motion Capture", which allows users to capture a series of photos in a short timeframe and then select their favorite shot from the sequence. This feature helps capture moving objects and subjects with more detail and accuracy.

Haven tried that !

Good idea.

weighs 830g? might have been tempted if i hadn't bought baesus blade 100W powerbank

Ya feels substantial / heavy.

 

[Exaita]

I think you crank the phone also lose battery faster then going in

 

[speedknight]

Alot to unpack but in broad strokes the automatic / photo mode acts like a "point and shoot".

It determines the parameters including iso and shutter speed according to the own way of metering. You can still use Xiaomi photo editor to apply filters and post processing.

However in certain occasions where you want the picture to pursue a particular direction where the automatic metering or settings may not be competent e g
- deliberate overexposure or underexposure
- high shutter speeds because subject is very fast

- low shutter speeds for long exposures
( But under Photo mode there are competent long exposures which is even easier to use )

Then enter the Pro mode. You can customize your fav shooting profiles down to setting contrast and saturation etc etc.

Also Pro mode allows for 50MP / 200MP / Raw / UltraRAW.

If you would like to learn , I suggest you could fiddle with Pro mode and play around with shutter speed and iso and white balance etc and see how each parameter affects the picture.

There is the photographic concept of the exposure triangle and in this case aperture is fixed, just need to know how iso/shutter speed affects outcome.

This. I usually just pull out the phone and snap. I use it like a point and shoot camera. The pro mode is there so that I can have manual control if I did choose to. Occasionally I play with portrait modes too. The portrait mode allows you "change" the focus after (simply put they take information from auxiliary sensors like Time-of-Flight etc. so you can "refocus" in post-processing). Do note that a lot of us here are photography hobbyist, that's why we got this phone. On manual other than the fixed aperture (They have to sacrifice the variable to fit in the larger secondary sensors), there is a lot of things to learn from. It's a good way to learn photography. I wasn't blessed with such camera phones in the past, so I started with prosumer cameras like Panasonic FZ series and yes, its Leica lens too. You can learn things like Lens compression too, say if you take a certain subject, it may turn out nicer if you move back and use the zoom lens instead. Remember, the best camera is the one that is in your hand.

 

[dreamcast18]

What exactly is the magnification achievable in Super Macro?

Always wanted to find out, since smartphone manufacturers do not publish reproduction ratios of their "macro" functions.

15 Ultra Macro uses the 70mm floating telephoto 1/2.51" sensor, likely MX858 but exact dimensions are nebulous so we stick to the published 5.7 x 4.3mm.

Magnification/Reproduction ratio = a subject's image size on a camera's sensor relative to the actual size of the subject.

For a 1:1 magnification ratio, (1x) a 5.7mm long subject fills the width of a 5.7mm wide sensor.
For a 2:1 magnification ratio, (2x) a 2.85mm long subject fills the width of a 5.7mm wide sensor.
For a 1:2 magnification ratio, (0.5x) a 11.4mm long subject fills the width of a 5.7mm wide sensor.
and so on . . .

( Digital cropping is NOT true magnification )

Native Super Macro at 140mm..
22mm on a 5.7mm is 1:3.9 magnification ratio , only 0.26x.

Adding additional Macro Filters

Cross adapting my Raynox DCR250 clip on macro filter, a triple element achromat.

Just nice the macro image sensor is the most "centered" so the filter was useable, the 1 inch sensor with more lateral placement suffered vignetting with this filter

+8 macro dioptre, triple element achromat.
15mm on a 5.7mm is about 1:2.6 magnification ratio, about 0.38x

+3 macro dioptre, dual element achromat.
18mm on 5.7mm is about 1:3.16, 0.32x

Combining both +3 and +8 macro dioptre.
Unfortunately plane of focus was very thin, I was not too parallel and the right side was blur, not because of optical issues but my misalignment. Magnification gained seemed minimal over +8 and likely not worth the added weight.

13mm on 5.7mm is 1:2.3, about 0.44x

* White balance was on auto, the higher the magnification, the shorter the working distance, the less light / more shadow probably affected the WB. *

** Not sure if I have really gotten it correct, welcome if anyone can chip in **

What is your expert conclusion?

My lao hua sees no difference..that said I am also using a 27 inch corp decomm eizo monitor that is long past it's prime cuz everything is in big fonts

 

[RyanJ]

What is your expert conclusion?

My lao hua sees no difference..that said I am also using a 27 inch corp decomm eizo monitor that is long past it's prime cuz everything is in big fonts

Conclusion is if going by semantics they are somewhat generous calling it super macro

Traditionally a Macro lens is capable of 1:1 (1x) life size reproduction.
Recent decade even 1:2 (0.5x) half life size reproduction lenses can be labelled macro lens.

An Ultra Macro lens is anything that goes beyond 1:1 . Typically 2:1 and more etc. (2x)

XM Super Macro unaided is 0.26x.

But it is still great fun and convenient. Just need to clip on another macro filter for greater magnification.

Ur Eizo need regular calibration bo ? Issin it even more critical when it comes to colors.

 

[dreamcast18]

Conclusion is if going by semantics they are somewhat generous calling it super macro

Traditionally a Macro lens is capable of 1:1 (1x) life size reproduction.
Recent decade even 1:2 (0.5x) half life size reproduction lenses can be labelled macro lens.

An Ultra Macro lens is anything that goes beyond 1:1 . Typically 2:1 and more etc. (2x)

XM Super Macro unaided is 0.26x.

But it is still great fun and convenient. Just need to clip on another macro filter for greater magnification.

Ur Eizo need regular calibration bo ? Issin it even more critical when it comes to colors.

So in reality it should be mini Macro!

Eizo display port goes thru a Lenovo USB c hub which I think degrades the signal from the stinkpad as the stinkpad only does HDMi..plus I think the traders 3 yrs usage of it probably degraded the panel alot that even Jap manufacturing can't save nor crappy eye sight will value since it is currently used for Outlook and Excel

 

[rrr2015]

What is your expert conclusion?

My lao hua sees no difference..that said I am also using a 27 inch corp decomm eizo monitor that is long past it's prime cuz everything is in big fonts

big fonts means no need macro but wide angle, so don't worry so much about macro

 

[RyanJ]

Trump/US's unpredictable trade behaviour probably spooked if not strengthened the resolve of many to have a certain degree of self sufficiency or diversify chip supply chain

https://wccftech.com/xiaomi-forms-new-team-to-accelerate-in-house-chip-development/

As a side note Snapdragon Elite 3 will be on 2nm and (TSMC) warned of significant increase in fab cost. Time to pass cost to consumers... ( @dreamcast18 XM17 Ultra )

 

[speedknight]