When the Xiaomi Redmi 4a smartphone hit the market, reviews of its camera were good. Unfortunately, I was not able to twist the device in my hands, but its twin brother Redmi 5a fell into my hands for a couple of weeks. The device turned out to be surprisingly pleasant for its budget of 6,000 rubles: it not only worked well, but also pleased with a very decent camera for this segment. And then the next generation arrived. Let's see what the camera can do Redmi 6a.
Shooting features
All shots are made in fully automatic mode (just like ordinary users shoot). In order to evaluate them not abstractly, but relative to some point of reference, the Samsung Galaxy S7 is taken as a reference. Although this is an outdated device, it was once a flagship, and one of the best cameras for its time. Therefore, a direct comparison of the pictures would be completely incorrect, but it is quite possible to understand what the ideal could be, and how much the budget device loses to it.
Camera Specifications
The main camera of the device has a 13 megapixel matrix, f / 2.2 aperture and phase detection autofocus. Of course, there is no image stabilization: neither electronic nor, moreover, optical. How this affects the result will be shown in specific pictures.
Since the smartphone uses a processor Mediatek, there is no question of any use of gcam.
But enough words, let's move on to sample photos.
Flowers
This is a common storyline. I was walking along the road, I saw a beautiful flower – I took out the device, 'clicked' and went on.
Redmi 6a
Redmi 6a
Redmi 6a
Galaxy S7
Galaxy S7
Galaxy S7
In cloudy weather, all the shortcomings of the camera become obvious: the aperture is not enough to set a short shutter speed, and the lack of stabilization at a long exposure immediately transforms the slightest shake of hands into blur.
But if the lighting is sufficient for a short exposure, the photos are at least good, if not just good. They can be successfully cropped (not too much, but you can), viewed on an FHD screen, or even printed in 10×15 format.
Leaves
Redmi 6a
Redmi 6a
Redmi 6a
Galaxy S7
Galaxy S7
Galaxy S7
Here we see a picture similar to the colors. With sufficient lighting, the footage is very good. Yes, when zooming in and analyzing the crop, it becomes obvious that the detail of the camera Redmi 6a is inferior to that of the Galaxy S7, and the dynamic range is worse. But for this you need to look closely at the frames. At a cursory glance, the flaws are completely invisible.
Rowan
When I had a smartphone Xiaomi Mi 2s in my hands, I tried more than once to photograph a mountain ash. And each time to no avail: autofocus did not want to focus on red berries in any way.
Redmi 6a
Redmi 6a
Galaxy S7
Galaxy S7
C Redmi 6a there is no such problem. Phase detection autofocus easily makes great shots of red berries. And the quality of the photo is quite decent. Yes, when compared with the old flagship, it becomes clear what could have been better, but overall the frame is very, very good.
Bricks
One of the frequent complaints about the Galaxy S7 camera: it 'smears' bricks, turning them into 'watercolor'. How will Redmi 6a handle here?
Redmi 6a
Galaxy S7
No miracle happened. The budget device could not beat the flagship, albeit an old one. However, again, to notice the shortcomings of a photo, you will have to at least open it on an FHD monitor. When looking at the frame on the device itself, you will not see any deficiencies.
Cat
Animals are not only a favorite subject for many photo enthusiasts, but also an excellent test for the camera. They can twitch at any moment, and the frame will be blurry. But even if the camera sets a short shutter speed, it is necessary that the processing algorithms do not blunder and show every hair.
Redmi 6a
Galaxy S7
Unfortunately here Redmi 6a made a mistake. If the whiskers are still sharp enough, the grease is already visible in the cat's coat. Even when viewing a photo on the phone itself, it becomes clear that something went wrong.
Wood
A tree with leaves is a great test of the camera's detailing ability.
Redmi 6a
Galaxy S7
And again we see that the camera Xiaomi turned out to be very far from ideal here. It does not speak of any sharpness of the leaves at all.
Indoor photo
Indoors, there are often insufficient lighting conditions, unless it is, of course, a photo studio. But I want to get good shots.
Redmi 6a
Redmi 6a
Galaxy S7
Galaxy S7
There are a lot of noises in the photo with the books. But the photo is sharp enough, there is no blur even at a sufficiently long exposure of 1/12 s. no. All inscriptions on the spines are perfectly readable.
The bottle label in the store is also sharp, and without noise. We can conclude that the smartphone will allow you to comfortably use the Vivino, recognition problems due to poor photo quality are not expected.
Night photos
Redmi 6a
Galaxy S7
Initially, I had fears that Redmi 6a would pass on such a plot and the frames would turn out horror-horror-horror. But no, the photo, of course, is not perfect, but the noise is not fundamentally more than that of the Galaxy S7. Moreover, despite the slightly spoiled white balance (the left 'tree' turned out to have a bluish tint), the overall color rendition is not bad – there is no excessively high brightness, like in Samsung.
Other photos
Redmi 6a
Redmi 6a
Redmi 6a
Redmi 6a
Redmi 6a
Redmi 6a
Galaxy S7
Galaxy S7
Galaxy S7
Galaxy S7
Galaxy S7
Galaxy S7
conclusions
If you remember the price of the device (I bought it at a sale in Tmall for 5,992 rubles), the camera turns out to be surprisingly good for this price. It is quite enough to upload photos to Instagram or other social networks. Especially when taking close-ups. When transferring small details, everything may not be so rosy, but here you are how lucky. True, for such a scenario, the question remains how comfortable it will be to use social networks. Even a new clean device suddenly started to slow down right in the interface (settings, shutter, shutdown menu, etc.).