A few day ago, ocworkbench team was invited to go on board the Royal Albatross to attend the Xiaomi 17 Series and Leica Leitzphone media event. The main focus is the Xiaomi 17 Series. There were also other products on display and they include the Xiaomi tag, mobile magetic battery pack, tablets and watches.
We took the opportunity to test do a hands on test of the mobile phone in photography and videography in low and night environment. The cruise started during evening hours with cloudy backdrop. It started to rain and despite the ship rocked, I am able to take stable video footage in Dolby Vision in very low light environment.
Before you check out the photos and videos, here are some basic spec of the phone.
Spec
1-inch sensor is 2026 formula to win in the low light photography. With a larger sensor, it can take in more light and thus night scenes are brighter and we can see more. Something interesting on the Xiaomi 17 Series is the LOFIC HDR. Basically, it keeps the details when shooting at bright skies or objects.
The larger ƒ/1.67 aperture, this is a must for low-light stabilization tests we love to run.
The 200MP Zoom on the phone is a mechnical optical zoom, you can basically zoom in and crop later without losing details.
Macro: You can get as close as 30cm, which is perfect for unboxings or looking at chipsets up close.
There is also a 50MP front camera on the 17 Ultra is all about authentic skin texture. It actually has Auto Focus, best for vlog.
Powering the device is the Snapdragon® 8 Elite Gen 5. It did not heat up even after 30 minutes of 4K Dolby Vision Recording. It remains cool. It also comes with 90W wired and 50W wireless HyperCharge will have you back in the game before you’ve even finished your coffee.
Photos & Videos
The photos and videos were exceptionally sharp and there isn’t much noise even when it is zoomed. Of course, if it is zoom beyond it’s optical capability, there is bound to be some slight artifacts.
Below are photo shots taken using the Xiaomi 17 Ultra and a video recording in Dolby Vision (second half using Xiaomi 17 Ultra).
Below is the youtube video in HDR, shot in Dolby Vision using the XIaomi 17 Ultra. Do take note the vlog nature of this film, we shot the first portion using a Redmi note 15 Pro. The videos shot in Dolby Vision (Xiaomi 17 Ultra) begins after we boarded the ship.
The camera was able to capture the details of the rain drops and lightning. The most stunning part is that there wasn’t much noise in the video when it was shot under such dim lighting.
Conclusion
Testing a phone on a ship turned out to be quite an experience. Between the low light, the sunset lighting, rain and trying to keep steady while the ship was moving, it was definitely a real-world test.
What do you think about the video quality? It really looks its best when viewed on an HDR display. Again, the pity is that the video recording doesn’t come with 50 fps.