Xiaomi 14 Ultra video review Part 1. The most powerful smartphone with a wide range of “reduced” differences.[Modern Smartphone Shooting]Volume 04

A robust design reminiscent of a dual 8-inch tower-type camera!

The design trend of smartphones after the iPhone 13 is how to design multiple lens parts. From the perspective of the person being photographed, if the model has multiple independent lenses lined up, one wonders which one is currently taking the picture. It's hard to understand. The Xiaomi 14 Ultra has a circular opaque design that makes the four lens parts look like one lens. This allows the person being photographed to see the entire circular lens part as one lens, giving them a sense of security.

The design of this large circle with lenses arranged in a circular pattern is reminiscent of the turret-shaped film cameras found on 8mm film cameras from the Double 8 era. Advanced 8mm film cameras of the 1950s had three lenses: a wide-angle, a standard lens, and a telephoto lens, mounted on a rotating turret. They say that time moves in a spiral, but it’s really interesting to see that film camera design trends from over 70 years ago can be seen in the camera designs of the latest smartphones.

Which lens is responsible for what? It is important to understand!

The Xiaomi 14 Ultra has four lenses on the external camera. Let's say this is called 1 camera, 2 cameras, 3 cameras, and 4 cameras clockwise from about 11 o'clock on the watch face. One ultra-wide-angle camera (12mm), two standard cameras (23mm), three medium telephoto cameras (75mm), and four telephoto cameras (120mm). During this time, the processing is done digitally, but the focal length of each lens is displayed as a line in the viewfinder, making it easier to understand.

　
　　

Now, there are three types of camcorders available. This time I tested it in video mode, but there are also “Pro” and “Movie” modes. You can adjust the shooting settings greatly, such as the recording recording functions and the Lut simulation. They are equipped with functions that are very compatible with users who use camcorders. I would like to explain this in a separate review.

4 lens carrying feature!

It’s hard to carry four lenses of the same focal length with a single-lens reflex camera body. First of all, changing lenses takes time. The great thing about the Xiaomi 14 Ultra is how easy it is to instantly switch lenses and aim for the desired image without changing your position.

The SLR is suitable for commercial photography where the situation is carefully created, but it is much better for capturing the landscapes we encounter in everyday life. Here we will give three examples of images taken without changing the situation, in the order of 1 camera (12mm) → 2 cameras (23mm) → 3 cameras (75mm).

12 mm

　
　　

23 mm

　
　　

75 mm

　
　　

We'll also give an example shot on a summer day that makes it easy to understand how effective HDR is. It's a very challenging situation with high contrast, but the HDR processing is well balanced.

　
　　

　
　　

　
　　

Try shooting with a wide angle lens without image stabilization!

A sample video was taken at the Extinction Media Museum in Kanda. It's a private museum that offers a panoramic view of the history of home video cameras. The shelves are filled with media equipment, and I decided to shoot a detailed video on density.

A single camera with a wide-angle lens (12mm) is used. If you enable image stabilization in the settings, the angle of view will change, so turn it off. I didn't use any special gimbal or anything, I just held it in place with both hands, and took the pictures while walking slowly. Even when the camera was going down stairs or other steps, the shots seemed to float, as if it was using a gimbal.

The most powerful sub-camera for video shooting!

TV interviews are frequently conducted with the Museum of Extinct Media, so we carefully monitor what kind of video cameras reporters use each time. The main camera is often a handy XDCAM video camera, but the assistant director often uses a smartphone as a sub-camera. The Xiaomi 14 Ultra is the most powerful sub-camera for video shooting. With four different lenses, you can take close-ups from different angles, or use the wide-angle lens as the main camera for detailed videos, as in the example above. Just having this in your camera bag will greatly expand your range of “suppression” options. The culmination of 100 years of video camera history. It was an interesting time.

Humana Inu Studio Director and Museum of Extinct Media Director: Takuya Kawai