Testing out Xiaomi 13 Ultra’s camera in the hills of Ooty: Out-of-reach perfection

Although the camera powerhouse will never see the light of day in the country, Xiaomi decided to flaunt its photographic prowess anyway to Indian consumers, just for the heck of it. I was lent the phone for a few hours and during my limited time with it, I was blown away by its daylight imagery. Below is my camera-centric review.

First, a look at the camera specs

Since it’s an ‘Ultra’ device, the Xiaomi 13 Ultra is fully spec’d-out with the absolute cutting-edge, top-of-the-line features in the Android smartphone world. It’s therefore no surprise that the phone stuffs four large 50MP sensors into the ginormous camera module at the back.

Despite its thickness (9.1mm) and weight (227g), the Xiaomi 13 Ultra feels surprisingly easy to handle thanks to the curved screen and leather-like back. (Image: Zohaib Ahmed/Indian Express)

There’s a camera for every occasion and lighting condition here, headlined by a 50MP Sony IMX989 sensor featuring a variable aperture that oscillates between f/1.9 or f/4.0 depending on the lighting conditions. This is joined by a 50MP OIS periscope telephoto lens supporting 5x optical zoom, another 50MP OIS telephoto lens supporting 3.2x optical zoom, and finally a 50MP ultrawide sensor. These secondary cameras are powered by the Sony IMX858 sensor.

But in a world of AI imaging algorithms, it’s software that concludes the overall look of your shots. Xiaomi has partnered with Leica to tune the Xiaomi 13 Ultra’s lenses and create photographic styles and some filters.

Primary camera in daylight

Toward the start of my 1-day session with the Xiaomi 13 Ultra, Ooty presented me with a moody weather with mild showers. Despite the reduced lighting, the Xiaomi 13 Ultra captured some stunning shots with plentiful detail that barely diminished even if I cropped in later. Notice how well the phone exposes the foliage on the ground in the image below while also balancing the colour of the sky. My only complaint was that the trees in every shot of these scenes were surrounded by a white aura, a sign of HDR processing that was set to auto at the time.

Notice how well the phone exposes the foliage on the ground while also balancing the colour of the sky. (Image: Zohaib Ahmed/Indian Express)

I also tested out the ultrawide while jaywalking the rails in anticipation of the train. While the resolution is identical to the primary sensor, the output is slightly different in terms of dynamic range, exposure, and details. Still, the difference isn’t as wide as I have seen in other more affordable phones I have tested.

Details aren’t as great as on the primary camera on the ultrawide snapper. (Image: Zohaib Ahmed/Indian Express)
When the train finally arrived, I was able to land a shot I am most proud of. (Image: Zohaib Ahmed/Indian Express)

The Xiaomi 13 Ultra’s OIS came into play during the Jeep ride. Despite the bumpy ride to Coonoor, the phone consistently nailed all attempts to capture another Jeep trailing us from all lenses.

Xiaomi x Leica’s watermark, although a bit tacky, add a nice touch to images. (Image: Zohaib Ahmed/Indian Express)

Telephoto cameras

Coonoor’s topography meant that there were always houses sitting atop hills around that I could zoom into. I immediately switched to the 5x zoom and captured a beautiful, scenic view of those. Leica’s colour processing was apparent here as the shot looked perfectly natural, with true-to-life colours. The 3.2x lens produced very similar-looking images.

A perfectly-handled 5x zoom shot. (Image: Zohaib Ahmed/Indian Express)

I also liked how seamlessly the phone switched between lenses, both when you pinched in to zoom or used the buttons in the camera viewfinder. I only wished Xiaomi allowed zooming in as close as the Samsung flagships do.

Portrait mode, boosted by Leica

Next up, the Xiaomi 13 Ultra and I embarked upon a leisurely stroll through one of the busy marketplaces in Coonoor to test out the portrait mode, which Xiaomi had lavishly hyped up during the phone’s press briefing earlier.

An extremely natural-looking blur…except it’s actually far from natural. (Image: Zohaib Ahmed/Indian Express)
(Image: Zohaib Ahmed/Indian Express)
Portrait mode on Leica natural. (Image: Zohaib Ahmed/Indian Express)
Say cheese. (Image: Zohaib Ahmed/Indian Express)

Portrait mode on any of Leica’s filters and “Master-lens system” is easily the strongest aspect of the Xiaomi 13 Ultra. The edge detection is perfect and takes almost every stray strand of hair into account. The black and white filters (Leica BW natural and Leica BW high contrast) also add an old-school charm that’s missing on smartphone photos these days. However, using the portrait mode raw, without any presets, was a hit or miss for some reason. Several shots failed to properly handle highlights, often blowing them up, and details took a hit sometimes too. I am guessing this is a software flaw that can be tuned with updates.

Primary camera in low-light

As the sun set and we were on our way back to the hotel, I once again attempted to click photos of the Jeep trailing us. While I was able to get a few good clicks, it was clear that night shots require a far steadier hand.

A shaky shot in a very shaky Jeep. (Image: Zohaib Ahmed/Indian Express)

I felt the same way when we stopped and I captured a couple of shots of a parked Jeep. The two photos I clicked looked a tiny bit shaky when I zoomed into them.

(Image: Zohaib Ahmed/Indian Express)

Xiaomi 13 Ultra camera review verdict

The Xiaomi 13 Ultra is almost entirely betting on its camera capabilities, particularly on the features brought out of the Leica partnership. One scroll through the endless camera samples on the phone’s China site and you’d immediately tell so. Fortunately for the Ultra, that’s a department where it exceeds, so camera enthusiasts will love its output. However, since the phone will never make it to the Indian market, it’s just a concept that demonstrates what Xiaomi is capable of and not something you can pick off a shelf from a store near you.

The Xiaomi 13 Ultra comes in Black, Olive Green, White, Orange, Yellow, and Blue colours. (Image: Zohaib Ahmed/Indian Express)

Die-hard Xiaomi fans can go for the Xiaomi 13 Pro instead, which features a very similar camera system, minus the 5x zoom and a couple of Leica filters.