Xiaomi 14 Ultra camera and RAW video mode

[Andrew Reid]

I have one on the way after looking at the image samples here:

https://www.gsmarena.com/xiaomi_14_ultra-review-2683p5.php

The 75mm F1.8 lens in particular...

Like some of the famous Zeiss Distagons it has a floating element to get close.

With such a fast aperture in combination with the close-focussing abilities make it look incredible.

The 14 Ultra in fact has two such lenses, a 75mm and 120mm.

And the main imager is 1"

Which also in the close-to-mid focus range has a very shallow DOF.

I have lighted tweaked that last one in Pixelmator Pro, the JPEGs have a surprising amount of chonkiness to play with.

Then there's the RAW capabilities...

With Motion Cam Pro there's the RAW Cinema DNG recording.

Within Xiaomi's own camera app is the expert RAW mode for stills, with Leica's colour tuning.

This allows you to completely turn off any noise reduction and sharpening... one of the main caveats of modern smartphones.

I think at £600 used this is the real deal.

The 15 Ultra doesn't change things very much, indeed to go any better would require a big leap.

We're talking at least Micro Four Thirds size sensor instead of 1", and F1.4 maximum aperture.

And to make this pocketable is going to require a lot of physics bending.

There are some other options like the Oppo Find 7 Ultra, and Vivo X100 Pro which have a large 1/1.4" sensor on the telephoto lens, 200MP.

But the lens quality itself is a bit compromised as a result.

The Vivo X100 Pro has the Zeiss modes, Zeiss lens simulations, even RAW video built into the main camera app I believe.

But I find Xiaomi's image processing with Leica to be the best of the bunch.

Looking forward to when it turns up from CEX this weekend with the photography kit which gives it ability to use filters and a proper shutter release button!

I think for street photography requiring stealth, 3 lenses in one pocket and very high speed, this is a better choice than a proper camera, X100 VI or Leica Q. The ultimate shot getter?

[fuzzynormal]

Let us know how it goes.  I have the 12 and find using it for video is too fiddly for me to enjoy it.  I've captured great shots with it, but not without effort.

[stephen]

Have the older Xiaomi 13 Ultra for almost 2 years. Same sensors and lenses except 75mm telephoto one is 62mm in reality.  My idea was to use it as a pocket video / cinema camera that is all the time with me. And also as my main and only camera on some trips where I don't want to bring additional photo / video equipment.

Still use it from time to time but not as much as thought would be using it. It has many limitations that make getting good footage difficult and ruin as a whole the joy to shoot.

Maybe as a photo camera it would be better

The good:

•     Picture and video quality from main sensor is really good. Can be treated as BM BRAW video in Resolve. Can easily color grade it and get great results. Really impressive picture quality from a smartphone and tiny camera that is always in my pocket
•     Main 1 inch sensor (23mm) lens is good in low light
•     All 4 sensors/lenses are capable of shooting RAW video at 4K 24fps, 30fps and 60fps
•     As you said, those smartphones have standard case that makes attaching ND filters really easy. I use 67mm magnetic ND filters and they work like a charm.

The not so good or the shortcomings and limitations

•     Lens optical IS should be working in MotionCam but in practice I can't get stable handled footage by just using the phone with a simple plastic case for the filters. Gimbal or special metal case with  two handles are needed which totally kills the idea of pocket cinema camera for me. This was not the case with iPhone which I could use and get stable handheld footage by simply holding it and even when walking with no additional support.
•     Main sensor is good in low light but the other (three) 1/2'' inch sensors are not.
•     Multiple dot like flares when shooting at night. This is common problem with all smartphones including iPhone. Because of the lenses being so small at night when there are multiple light sources on some occasions you can get multiple small bright dots dancing in your frame. It can completely ruin the footage.
•     Limited lens focal lengths. My preferred focal length for video are 35mm and 50mm. Xiaomi best sensor is on the 23mm lens. MotionCam can't crop the sensor. It can't even properly frame to 35mm or any given focal length other than native one. Can zoom in the screen which is also the viewfinder but there is no indicators to which focal length it corresponds. Video still will be shot at 23mm and I have to crop in post to get 35mm or 28mm eqv. focal length field of view
•     Bad ergonomics.  Yes I can get the shots but there is no joy in the process.
•     While picture quality is impressive for a smartphone it can't match a Full Frame sensor or even APS-C sensor. As you said it can't bend the law of physics
•     I need to look from time to time trough a viewfinder. Old habit and addiction that I can't overcome. 🙂

Bottom line: I still prefer a hybrid camera and a lens and I don't use much Xiaomi 13 Ultra as camera.

Watched a video about street photography where the author argued that having a tilting screen and shooting from waist  level is the best if we want to take stealth photos where people don't stare at the camera. We can even keep interacting and talking with the people while shooting. This would be impossible with a smartphone.

Anyway this is my experience, hope it will work better for you.

[Cosimo]

On 4/18/2025 at 12:39 PM, Andrew Reid said:

The 75mm F1.8 lens in particular

Defocus Test:  1+8 pro with Vega20mm @f2 wide open  (78mm FF equivalent) Vs canon 5D3 with Lomo 75mm @f4

[Cosimo]

1+8 pro with Helios 58mm on a steady tripod, 226mm FF equivalent.

[Andrew Reid]

Nice shots.

With the telephoto modules on the 14 Ultra they benefit from 3 things:

- Computational side

- Fast apertures

- Very close minimum focus distances

As a result, especially at the closer focus distances the small sensor look disappears.

The apertures are fast at F1.8 and F2.4 which for long lenses is impressive especially as they are the size of postage stamps in your pocket.

The computation side has also taken a huge leap.

On the main sensor there's so much more depth information and a shallower DOF to begin with which helps the bokeh simulation to be much more convincing.

On this shot of the car it has just embellished a bit the background separation which was already there at 1", F1.63.

It really is an extraordinary shot getter in every way.

Fast, tiny, wide range of Leica modes and you can create so many different styles of shot in a couple of seconds with a few swipes.

It is the moment for me when I realise that traditional mirrorless cameras and especially the lenses aren't long for this world.

[PannySVHS]

LX10 in photo raw is very nice. If it had 10bit HLG for video, it would be a perfect pocket camera, even moreso with an evf. I don't enjoy slippery phones for taking images, billions of people do though. I love the 24 to 70 F1.4-2.8 zoom on the LX btw. A 24 to 50 zoom coupled with a 1 or 1/1.5" sensor would be nice and a mechanical focus wheel as well. Afaik only a few phones offer the latter. Is that right?

Are these your shots? @Andrew Reid

Nice images and colours. @Cosimo   Colors remind me of GH2 palette when in use of skilled hands. Old school digi vintage look by oldschool 8bit masters like Martin Walgren or Andrew Reid.:) That reminds me how much of imagelovers GH2 users were when creating their pieces. I barely find any good stuff shot on recent cameras. The destruction of vimeo didn't help that I guess.

 

[Jip-Hop]

Hi Andrew exciting to see you have the x14u as well! I've started writing a Xiaomi 14 Ultra mod guide to maximize its MotionCam Raw Video potential. It's far from complete yet (still many questions unanswered xD) so all input is welcome 🙂. P.S. I've been reading your blog posts since forever and read new articles the same day they're posted. But I don't look in the forums that much, found this thread by coincidence. Would love to one day read a full blog post, featured on the front page, about your experience and experiments with the x14u! 😁

[Andrew Reid]

Nice work @Jip-Hop

I was working a few years ago with MotionCam devs on the Discord, really nice guys. The app has come on a lot since then. So much to get into.

I tested around 30 or 40 phones with it at one point. Personal favourites were the 6K capable Moto Edge+ (2020 version) with large 1/1.33" Samsung sensor, similar to Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro, both really cheap phones now on eBay, and the Oneplus 8 Pro did well with it too, 4K/60p and the dev's favourite... For a month or so I became completely obsessed with discovering the hidden raw video talents of telephones... Went round Berlin's Saturn stores and installed it on a few models there too 🙂

I had the RED Hydrogen to play with too, but that one's a bit old to support it.

Xiaomi 14 Ultra is a perfect tool for it, but yes the guide is much needed to get the settings optimised for it.

If you wanna collab on anything just DM me!

[Jip-Hop]

@Andrew Reid Do you by any chance own a smartphone DOF adapter like the Beastgrip or Ulanzi DOF Adapter? I'm really curious how it would match up with the 1" sensor in the X14U. Yes it's definitely not compact any more and rigging it will be a nightmare :') But the integrated aperture in the 23mm lens would serve as a variable ND substitute (and the DOF adapter itself will reduce light intake too). So using it like this may render using a VND obsolete. May be great for daylight. I think it would be fun to pair it with vintage lenses, or in the case of the Ulanzi with E mount anamorphic lenses. I even have a DJI Focus Pro to 'solve' the lack of autofocus. 😁 Considering I'm currently using an EOS M with Magic Lantern I think X14U + DOF adapter will result in highr framerates and hopefully better dynamic range. Not sure about resolution and lowlight though due to the DOF adapter. And I'm aware it will produce artifacts: texture and spherical aberration but that could actually look interesting. 🙂

[Andrew Reid]

Yes I have the Beastgrip DOF adapter, but... controversial opinion alert... Mirrorless cameras are a far better tool for interchangeable lenses. They have the grip, the physical controls, the EVF and the ergonomics and weight balance, where a smartphone just feels shit when there's a big weight on the front. For me, the Beastgrip was interesting to play with for a few shots, but nothing more.

I just didn't see the point when I could just pick up an X-Pro3 instead.

As a standalone camera the 14 Ultra has an upper-hand over mirrorless camera creatively though which is why I bought it... in that it's capable of firing off so many different shot styles on the spot, in a few seconds, with ease and speed... which I absolutely love and to do the same with interchangeable lenses would take forever and the shots would be gone or the light would be different.

Not to mention the stealth factor for street photography too.

I think the beauty of these smartphones is they are..... smartphones. Always with you, and no need to reach into a bag of lenses every time you see a shot worth taking.

[eatstoomuchjam]

I'd be alright with a smartphone with an M43 sensor and the ability to swap out the integrated lens for M43.  Then use like the Panasonic 14/2.5 or the Panasonic 20/1.7 with it - and maybe the Funinon 75mm for portraits.  Those lenses are really small/tiny and would fit in any sort of pocket or daypack.

But at the point where you're taking a tiny camera and adding a bigass DJI Focus Pro to it, complete with handle, lidar unit, and focus motor, you no longer have a tiny camera.  Then add a DOF adapter?  Is the goal to just make the weirdest-looking camera in the room?