OPINION : Xiaomi reveal the Redmi Note 12 range in Paris this week , offering a new generation of budget - friendly smartphones starting at just £ 219 . However , for me , it ’s the £ 449 Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus 5 G — and its 200MP camera in particular — that support out not just in Xiaomi ’s range , but the mid - range market at turgid .
I ’ve always say that there ’s much more to television camera quality than the megapixel tally , and while that ’s still very dependable , the new breed of 200MP sensing element from theSamsung Galaxy S23 Ultraand now theRedmi Note 12 Pro Plus 5Ghave surprised me . I ’m starting to see the appeal of high - re television camera — specially when used in conjunction with16 - in-1 pixel - bin tech .
That ’s further improved by the inclusion of a passably expectant 1/1.4 in sensor , OISand an impressive f/1.65 aperture that allow the sound to slurp in as much luminance as possible .
With all that tech onboard , Xiaomi claim that the Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus boasts a significant 159 % boost to low - brightness performance compare to theNote 11 Pro Plus 5G. That ’s arduous to quantify , but as I strolled around the streets of Paris snapping away , I was pretty impressed by the results on offer .
Take the above shot as an lesson ; it captures slew of light without passing the mete of being unnaturally well - lit while providing plenty of detail , even when zooming in . The sky is a slightly lighter shade than it was in real liveliness , but overall , the outcome were passably straight to aliveness .
It ’s not just a one - off either ; the above shaft was taken about 11 pm on a still Parisian street . As you could see , there ’s good deal of light catch but again , not to an unnatural level like some alternative . Colours are rightful to life ( Paris is fond of an orange streetlight ) and there ’s plenty of detail to be found . It ’s pretty impressive stuff , especially when you consider the monetary value tag .
Of course , it ’s not just low - light picture taking that benefit from pixel - binning tech . Shots remove during the Clarence Shepard Day Jr. are delicately detailed with vivacious colour without being too saturated . color still pop , but there ’s still a realistic aspect to images .
It ’s at this point I should mention that the 200MP camera is n’t the accurate same as that of the top - death S23 Ultra — though that should n’t come as much of a surprise study the Note 12 Pro Plus ’ £ 449 Mary Leontyne Price tag end , compared to the S23 Ultra ’s £ 1249 ask monetary value . However , both utilise Samsung ’s ISOCELL camera sensors , with the Note 12 Pro Plus sporting an ISOCELL HPX compare to the higher - performing HP2 of the S23 Ultra .
Crucially , the Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus 5 guanine isn’tjustfocused on photography . It ’s also sporting a 6.67 - column inch AMOLED display with a120Hz refresh rate , a 5000mAh battery and speedy 120W HyperCharge technical school that Xiaomi claims can go from savourless to full in just 90 minutes . The Dimensity 1080 lags behind the similarly priced competition , with the 1080 discover in Samsung ’s budget - focusedGalaxy A34that costs £ 100 less than Xiaomi ’s phone , but ritual killing have to be made at the cheaper end of the market .
Still , with solid feature article and that 200MP camera , I conceive you might struggle to find oneself something that takes better pic at a similar cost .
