Fujifilm’s X100 V became a surprising viral hit thanks to influencers who loved not only its performance but also its retro-chic cool factor. Now, the company has launched its successor, the similar-looking but more-capable X100 VI. It’s only been on sale a short time, but retailers are already reporting months-long waiting lists.

It features some key improvements over the previous model, including a much higher-resolution 40-megapixel sensor, in-body stabilization and better video. At the same time, it retains the looks and compact size people loved about the X100 V.

Samuel Dejours for Engadget

Fujifilm’s X100 VI is a near-perfect update to the X100 V, keeping everything buyers liked while adding extra resolution and stabilization. The only downsides are mediocre battery life and autofocus.

Pros

• Beautiful design
• Excellent image quality
• Much-improved video
• In-body stabilization
• ND filter available

Cons

• Autofocus not the best
• Mediocre battery life

$1,599 at B&H Photo Video

I couldn’t wait to get a hold of one to check out the performance for myself and see if it’s worth a purchase or upgrade. To test, I hopped on the Eurostar over to London with my French photographer friends to see if it’s worth the high price and considerable wait.

Body and handling

The X100 series is beloved in large part because of the vintage rangefinder camera styling, and Fujifilm didn’t mess with that. In addition to the near-identical looks, the X100 VI’s button and dial layout is unchanged. Fujifilm also kept the previous model’s 23mm f/2 lens.

To accommodate the in-body stabilization, the X100 VI is slightly chunkier and weighs 18.4 ounces, about 1.4 ounces more than before. That’s not much, but every bit counts for a camera designed to be carried around all day.

The control design with dedicated dials for ISO, shutter, aperture and exposure compensation is a bit old-fashioned compared to modern cameras. But it does serve a purpose, showing settings at a glance. That’s a must for shooting on the fly.

The X100 VI isn’t just cosplaying as a rangefinder, either. On top of the 3.69-million dot electronic viewfinder (same as the last model), it offers a rangefinder-style optical finder and a hybrid of the two with a picture-in-picture EVF. The last setting is for people who still want a digital security blanket, and it works very well.

Also unchanged is the rear display, allowing basic up and down tilting for high or low angle shooting. That’s not great for selfies or vlogging, but perfect for shooting from the hip.

The menu system is mostly the same, which is a good thing as it’s relatively easy to find key settings. To avoid diving in, though, you can use the quick menu and numerous buttons and dials for easier adjustments. It’s also customizable and I’d advise buyers to set it up to their preferences to avoid any shooting errors.

The X100 VI has a single slot that only supports slower UHS-I cards, unfortunately, along with a USB-C port for charging and data. The MicroHDMI port also lets you use external recorders, though the tiny camera looks awkward with one attached. Finally, the battery is the same smallish one as before, unfortunately — more on that in a bit.

Performance

Despite the higher resolution, the X100 VI still shoots at a decent 11 fps, with buffer space for about 17 uncompressed RAW frames. JPEG bursts are a bit faster at 13 fps in electronic shutter mode and the buffer size jumps to 37 frames in that case.

Unless you really need total silence, the mechanical shutter is your best bet. It’s very quiet, and you’ll see considerable rolling shutter in electronic mode.

Autofocus is much-improved compared to the V. It’s more reliable for subject tracking and adds new autofocus modes for animals, birds, cars, motorcycles, airplanes and trains. Fuji’s eye- and subject-detection are in separate modes though, forcing you to change settings.

Fujifilm’s AF system was already middling, lagging behind Sony and Canon. The X100 VI is even less effective than Fujifilm’s larger X-H2 and X-T5, due to the slowish motors on the fixed lens. That means focusing on moving subjects is a bit hit or miss. That said, burst shooting is not what this camera is for and the fact that it’s decent at all is a bonus.

In-body stabilization might be the biggest improvement to come to the X100 lineup. With six stops of shake reduction, you can get sharp photos down to about a quarter second. That lets you blur motion to make interesting, creative shots.

The optical finder takes some getting used to, as it’s not a direct view through the lens like with DSLRs. It’s off to the side of the lens, so this parallax means subjects that are close to the camera may not be framed the way you expect. That’s why the EVF insert mode is so handy as it supplies a second true view of the scene.

One issue is battery life, with only 450 shots on a charge or 310 if you use the EVF. I found that one battery wasn’t enough for a full day’s shooting, so factor extra ones into your buying decision. You may also want an external charger, as Fujifilm doesn’t supply one in the box.

Image quality

The 40MP sensor obviously delivers a big boost in resolution over the X100 V’s 26MP. The extra pixels are also handy if you need to crop in, which is a common requirement with a fixed wide-angle lens camera. And while the lens is the same as before, it’s sharp enough to resolve the extra detail.

If this sensor seems familiar, that’s because it’s the same as the one on the X-T5 and X-H2, so the image quality here is similar to those. In-camera treatment of JPEG and 10-bit HEIF files is handled well, with pleasant, accurate colors and a nice balance of noise reduction and detail. You can often share photos straight out of the camera, too, something that’s important to street photographers who do little to no post-processing.

The 14-bit RAW photos offer plenty of room for fine-tuning, even in bright or dark areas. However, if you underexpose shots and try to boost levels, noise can get out of hand compared to a full-frame camera.

The higher resolution doesn’t hurt image quality much at higher ISOs. Noise is well controlled up to ISO 6400, and you can go up to 12800 if exposure is set correctly. I was impressed with the quality when shooting in bars and other dark environments.

And of course, the X100 VI offers Fujifilm’s full array of film simulation modes. You can experiment with popular looks like Velvia, Eterna or Acros black and white, and still have a full-color RAW backup. As the only major camera company also selling 35mm film, Fuji’s simulations are the most pleasing and realistic.

Video

The X100 VI’s excellent video specs are another bonus. It has nearly the same feature set as the X-T5, so you can shoot 6.2K at 30 fps with a 1.23x crop, or 4K at up to 60 fps with line-skipping and a 1.14x crop. The camera also offers sub-sampled 4K at up to 30p using the full sensor width, or high-quality 4K 30p with a 1.23x crop. Fujifilm also introduced 10-bit and F-Log2.

It took me a while to get used to the different modes and cropping levels. At 6.2K and 4K HQ, rolling shutter is pronounced so you’ll need to be aware of that. At the same time, full-sensor sub-sampled 4K is noticeably more low-res than the HQ mode.

Video autofocus matches what I saw with photos, meaning it was decent but not super reliable for moving subjects. The AI-powered AF did lock onto subjects, but again, couldn’t always keep up to flying birds, animals or vehicles.

Handheld video is now a realistic option with in-body stabilization. It worked well as long as I didn’t move around much, and offers a “boost” mode that smooths out jiggles further. Digital stabilization is also an option, but isn’t supported with the 6K or HQ modes, and doesn’t really reduce jolts for walking or fast movements.

Video quality is solid for a small compact camera, offering the same accurate colors you see in JPEG photo modes. Shooting in 10-bit F-Log makes it possible to adjust footage considerably in post or get creative. You can also shoot video using the film simulation modes if you want a specific look straight out of the camera.

Wrap-up

Fujifilm has made all the right moves to keep the X100 VI’s popularity high by tucking a very competent street and travel camera into a beautiful retro-cute body. The extra resolution, in-body stabilization and new video features should be more than enough to tempt owners to upgrade.

At $1,600, the X100 VI doesn’t have a lot of competition — which is odd, given its success. Leica springs to mind with the Q3, though that costs a whopping $6,000. Another option is the $1,000 Ricoh GR IIIx, which also offers in-body stabilization and an ND filter. However, resolution is lower at 24MP and it lacks the X100 VI’s high-end video features.

Sony’s ZV-1 II is also in this compact category, but it’s mostly designed for video. Keep an eye on Panasonic, as it may release a new compact camera, according to recent rumors. In any case, if you’re in the market for a high-end compact and can afford the X100 VI, I wouldn’t hesitate — there’s a lot of camera inside that beautiful body.

By Anne W. Semmes

As part of the Greenwich Library’s Signature Series some 244 attendees in the Berkley Theater were captivated last Thursday week by the stories and images shared by award-winning marine photographer Brian Skerry, of his decades long underwater explorations of the oceans of our world. Often the cover story of National Geographic magazine his work is represented in the magazine’s “50 greatest photos of all time.” His growing concerns of that undersea world brought his talk title of “Ocean Soul.”

Before he mesmerized the audience with getting up close and personal with a southern right whale, he described the significance of our “living on a water planet.” How “three quarters of the earth surface is about 72 percent ocean…that 98 percent of the biosphere of the biosphere where life can exist on earth is ocean” and “that 50 percent of the oxygen that we all breath is generated by the sea.”

Thus, in those underwater decades Skerry has seen how our environment is affecting those who live underwater such as the Harp Seals in the arctic. A moving photo capture was of a mother seal “frantically” pushing her seal pup up to the surface. He explained how years back the ice would have been “25 foot thick for as far as eye can see with no water at all,” but with climate change that ice has grown thinner and thinner. So, those seal pups “need a stable platform of ice to nurse from their mom” to get strong enough to be on their own. That pup only days old “still had a piece of the umbilical cord on its belly.” So, with no stable platforms the pup mortality rate is now at 100 percent he told.

And then he introduced us to the world’s most endangered North Atlantic right whales, with a photo taken of his assistant standing on the sea floor remarkably close to a “45-foot long, 70-ton Southern right whale,” a cousin of the North Atlantic whales newly discovered off the Auckland Islands of New Zealand. He had found those Southern whales “extremely curious.”

Also memorable was Skerry sharing his photographic pursuit of the Great White Shark along the Cape Cod coastline of Massachusetts. With extraordinary funding from National Geographic a look-like-seal decoy was made to attract that shark. A resulting video brought gasps as the hungry shark ferociously attacked the thus demolished (and expensive) decoy.

And, as an underwater shark cage has been the traditional approach to photograph/study of those dangerous as well as endangered right whales, Skerry had a story to tell connecting sharks to Greenwich’s late resident, Peter Gimbel, heir to the department store founded by his grandfather. “Peter had an estate called Chieftans – a beautiful place, [King Street and Sherwood] but he was also a legendary explorer. He was the first guy to dive to the wreck of the SS Andrea Doria and his photos of the ship were published in ‘Life’ magazine in August 1956.” It was Gimbel’s shark cages used in Gimbel’s notable 1971 film “Blue Water, White Death” that Skerry wished to take away and rebuild.

That Gimbel visit was in the early 1990’s, some 20-plus years after the debut of “Blue Water, White Death,” the first filming of the great white shark, “It’s still in my estimation,” said Skerry, “the greatest shark film ever done.” The film had led to Peter Benchley’s book, “Jaws.”

Skerry looks back fondly to that first visit to Greenwich, “falling in love with it,” he said, “and it’s wonderful to be back here again now talking about that shark.” He then reflected across those years and his experiences in the sea through his work as a photojournalist. “As you heard, I’ve been working for National Geographic Magazine for about 26 years, and even before that I started diving and making pictures.”

As his underwater career unfolded, he was seeing “a lot of problems occurring in earth’s oceans” not evident to “most people…unless you’re slipping your head beneath the waves on a regular basis.” He addressed “that problem of overfishing.” He’d read in the British journal “Nature,” that 90-percent of the large predatory fish “like tuna and billfish and sharks had been taken post World War II.” So, why not as a photojournalist, he thought “show some of the solutions because if there’s no solution, then what’s the point?”

For example, “Seafood is being harvested, and it is wildlife.” And that harvesting method he described as “probably the most common method of fishing in the world” was a bottom trawler.  “You’ve got a net in the middle between two big steel doors, and floats on the top and a lead weighted line on the bottom.” And that trawler assembly is being towed behind a fishing boat. “So, it’s very effective at catching whatever the intended species might be.” Such as shrimp in Mexico – and “everything else in its path with no commercial value” to be “thrown back into the sea as trash.”

Skerry showed the fisherman’s hands holding the few shrimp he had caught after towing that trawler for an hour. And splayed over the deck of his boat was the “bycatch,” to be thrown back into the sea. “So, this is the true cost of a shrimp dinner, seven or eight shrimp, and maybe 15 pounds of other animals that have to die in the process of catching those shrimp!”

The long-awaited Lee Miller biopic starring Kate Winslet is scheduled for release later this year, and the first trailer has recently dropped, adding to the excitement. 

After having success touring film festivals last year, the hotly anticipated film Lee is a biopic of the renowned war photojournalist Lee Miller, and stars the Oscar-winner Kate Winslet in the leading role. The trailer shows the harrowing extent of being a photographer during the Second World War, and the long-lasting effects it had on the people who witnessed it. 

Lee Miller is considered one of the greatest war photojournalists of all time, and most remarkable female icons of the 20th century. Born in New York, Miller began working life as a model for Vanity Fair before moving to Paris to study Photography with renowned photographer Man Ray. 

After moving to London during the outbreak of WWII, Miller’s extraordinary photographs earned her a key place in the history of art, and her post-war home in Sussex, UK, is home to the Lee Miller Archives. 

The movie Lee is produced by Sky and captures Miller’s determination to capture the truth of the Nazi regime, however tough and morally questionable this may have felt at the time. A line in the trailer sums this up perfectly, “Even when I wanted to look away, I knew I couldn’t.” 

Female correspondents had the odds stacked against them during this time and were not allowed on the front lines, but despite this, Miller’s perseverance created some of the most important images of WWII, “for which she paid an enormous personal price.”

The movie takes inspiration from the well-known book and biography, The Lives of Lee Miller, an account of the life of Lee Miller written by her son Antony Penrose. Antony Penrose himself was a consultant on the movie, adding more authenticity to the production. 

Lee Miller was an entirely fascinating and inspirational photographer and a remarkable person, and the trailer for Lee looks unbelievable. Tears welled in my eyes just watching the trailer, I imagine I will be in floods when the movie comes out in September 2024.

Lee Miller created images with her trusty Rolleiflex – see our guides for more information on the best film cameras and the best film for 35mm.

Mesut Hancer holds the hand of his 15-year-old daughter Irmak, who died in the earthquake in Kahramanmaras, close to the quake’s epicentre, the day after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck the country’s southeast on Februrary 7, 2023. Rescuers in Türkiye and Syria braved frigid weather, aftershocks and collapsing buildings, as they dug for survivors buried by an earthquake that killed more than 5,000 people.

Adem Altan has also won several awards for this same photo, including the World Press Photo 2024 for Europe and 3rd prize in the News Single category at the Istanbul Photo Awards 2024.

Adem Altan has been a photojournalist for the past 40 years and joined AFP 15 years ago.

His production contributed to the overall coverage of Turkey, where he made an impressive reportage during the Gezi riots, near Taksim Square in Istanbul in 2013 and he took this picture, which has won several international awards.

GREENWOOD, Ind. – St. Olaf College Athletics Creative and Digital Media Strategist Hannah Robb was selected as one of four finalists in the College Division in the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Photographer of the Year (Portfolio), as announced by the CSC Creative & Digital Design committee on Tuesday.

Robb’s portfolio of 25 photos from the 2023-24 academic year was chosen from the nominations in the College Division, which includes all NCAA Division II and Division III schools, NAIA schools, Canadian institutions, two-year colleges, and high schools. The other three finalists are Brittany Iamale from Eckerd College, Jordan Lester from William Penn University, and Samuel Rice from the University of Lynchburg. The winner of the contest will be announced live during the Special Awards Luncheon during the 2024 CSC Convention in Las Vegas, Nev. on Wednesday, June 12.

“This is such a well-deserved recognition for Hannah and her work,” said St. Olaf Assistant Athletic Director for Strategic Communications Michael Abdella. “From the moment she set foot on campus, Hannah has done a phenomenal job in her role and has elevated everything she has had a hand in. For someone who had minimal photography experience when she started, earning this recognition is a testament to her talent, desire to learn new things, and dedication to her craft.”

Now in her third year at St. Olaf, Robb is primarily responsible for generating content for the St. Olaf Athletics social media channels (@StOlafAthletics) and website (athletics.stolaf.edu). She also oversees a staff of student photographers and videographers and serves as the department’s primary graphic designer. Robb started at St. Olaf as the creative and digital media manager in 2021-22 and 2022-23, a position funded by the NCAA Ethnic Minorities and Women’s Internship grant, before moving into a newly-formed full-time position prior to the start of the 2023-24 academic year.

A December 2020 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-River Falls with a bachelor of science in stage and screen arts/communication studies, Robb played four years of volleyball for the Falcons and was a CSC Second Team Academic All-America ® honoree in 2019. She was also a three-time Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) All-Defensive Team honoree and a two-time All-WIAC selection while racking up 2,467 digs, 342 assists, and 165 aces in 136 matches.

Robb also worked in athletic media operations at UW-River Falls, generating multimedia materials to promote the department’s teams and student-athletes, including pre/post-game graphics, recruiting posters, and social media content. She also conceptualized, shot, and edited various videos for the department and worked extensively with the department’s live-streaming platform. After graduation, she worked as the director of photography and editor for The Remember Project.

When people think of Xiaomi, most associate the brand with budget phones that provide value for money. However, the company also has a thriving flagship lineup that competes with the likes of Samsung and Apple. While its previous attempts weren’t quite at the level of Samsung’s Ultra series, the Xiaomi 14, however, could be the best all-round flagship phone of 2024, with its impressive cameras, stunning design, and great price. Without spoiling any more, let’s get into the review of the Xiaomi 14.

Xiaomi 14 Review: Design and Hardware

Unlike the industry trend of removing everything from the box, Xiaomi has generously provided all the bells and whistles. The box contains the Xiaomi 14, a 120W fast charger, a compatible cable, and a soft-touch silicone case.

We received the Jade green variant of the Xiaomi 14, and it’s the best color of the bunch. For long-time Xiaomi 13 fans, the design of the newer model might seem familiar, as the company has only made small changes to refine the looks. While it isn’t very flashy, the design is sure to turn heads because it’s sleek and screams premium.

Talking about that bump, Xiaomi has incorporated a pretty ring around it, which resembles an analog watch. However, we are also sure that the company placed the ring to move the focus away from the sheer size of the camera module, which makes it impossible to use the phone on a flat surface.

Coming to the materials, Xiaomi hasn’t left anything on the table here as well. Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus protects the back and front, which proved adequate in protecting the phone, as I dropped it on the road from a hip height without a case. The flat sides are shiny aluminum, with the same color as the back, and while I love the way it looks, the sides attract a lot of fingerprints, thus mandating constant cleaning.

However, perhaps the best part of the Xiaomi 14’s design is the size. With a 6.36-inch display, the device feels compact compared to phones such as the S24 Ultra. Although we cannot properly convey the in-hand feel of using the phone, it is the best out of any flagship released in 2024, as the front display is flat, and the back gently curves into the sides.

Xiaomi 14 Review: Display

Getting the specs out of the way, the Xiaomi 14 supports a flat 6.36-inch CrystalRes C8 AMOLED 120Hz LTPO display manufactured by TCL. Additionally, the device supports Dolby Vision and HDR10+, meaning users can enjoy all their favorite content in excellent quality and HDR. Speaking of HDR, the Xiaomi 14’s display boasts an HDR peak brightness of 3000 nits. However, it is important to note that in outdoor conditions, the entire display can reach up to 1400 nits, more than adequate for visibility in direct sunlight.

Moving over to the quality, we have nothing negative to report in this regard. The superb display quality, with excellent color reproduction, enhances the viewing experience of any show or movie you watch. Moreover, the incorporation of LTPO also pays significant dividends. This is because the display can refresh from 120Hz to 1Hz, significantly improving battery life. Furthermore, we encountered no issues with the refresh rate switching.

Display Options

Considering Xiaomi is known to offer a plethora of features and customization options, it has done the same for the screen as well. While the device comes with the “Original Color PRO” setting selected out of the box, if you don’t like the colors on your Xiaomi 14, you can change them to your preference. The options include Vivid mode, which boosts colors based on the content; Saturated mode, which consistently enhances colors; and the Advanced option, which contains a sub-menu where you can select a specific color gamut, such as Original, P3, and sRGB.

Moreover, in the advanced section, you can choose specific red, green, and blue values and tinker with the HSV color space. And although all this might sound a bit overwhelming, these features could be useful for someone with color blindness.

Furthermore, for users who find OLED screens cumbersome due to flickering, the Xiaomi 14 includes an anti-flicker mode, which uses DC dimming and significantly reduces eye strain. Finally, keeping up with the industry trend, the phone includes a slew of AI features that can convert any SDR content into HDR, add frames to videos, and enhance photos.

Xiaomi 14 Review: Performance

Starting with the specs, the Xiaomi 14 houses the flagship Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, with one X4 core reserved for high-demanding tasks, four performance cores, and four efficiency cores, along with the Adreno 750 GPU. In addition to the processor, the device comes with 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage.

As impressive as the specs sound, the real-world performance is even better. With new HyperOS optimizations, the device is silky smooth, with no hint of stutter or lag. Additionally, Xiaomi’s team has done an amazing job with the animations. Similarly, the 12GB of RAM and Xiaomi’s AI ensure that almost every app stays ready to go, meaning users don’t even need to stare at a loading screen for more than a second.

Moving to synthetic benchmarks, the Xiaomi 14 maintains its performance. In Geekbench’s single-core and multi-core tests, the 14 scored 2199 points and 6658 points, respectively. Additionally, in the AnTuTu benchmark, the device scored 1871198, putting it on par with other flagships. However, considering its small size, we expected to see some heating in the 30-minute 30-thread stress test, but the results were a lot worse. The device throttled to 72% of its performance and was too hot to touch.

Nevertheless, coming to gaming, the Xiaomi 14 delivered perfect results in games like BGMI and CODM, where I could crank up the graphics to the maximum and still enjoy great gameplay with no slowdowns or heating issues. Moreover, the included game mode provides a slew of options such as freeing up memory, monitoring performance metrics, screen recorder, voice changer, and much more.

Xiaomi 14 Review: Battery life

Xiaomi has always been amazing with battery life, and the same statement holds for the Xiaomi 14. The included 4,310 mAh cell, coupled with HyperOS’s optimization, performed excellently in my testing with no issues. The phone even lasted me two days during lighter workloads. However, when it eventually comes time to top up the battery, the 120W charger comes to the rescue, recharging the phone in under 35 minutes. Moreover, the device also supports 50W of fast wireless charging.

Xiaomi 14 Review: Cameras

It’s safe to assume that if anyone buys the Xiaomi 14, it will be because of the cameras. The device houses a triple-camera setup comprising a 50MP f/1.6 Xiaomi Light Fusion 900 main camera sensor with OIS, a 50MP f/2.2 ISOCELL JN1 112-degree UltraWide sensor, and another 50MP f/2.0 ISOCELL JN1 3.2x telephoto sensor with OIS. Moreover, Leica has also played a hand in the cameras with its custom filters.

While on most phones, judging the cameras is simple, it’s different on the Xiaomi 14 because of the sheer number of options. The company has jam-packed the phone with modes and features, which is a dream for someone who enjoys tinkering with the settings to get a specific look. Therefore, before we discuss the camera performance, we need to talk about the different options available:

1. Filters

On most phones, filters are just a fun party trick. But on the Xiaomi 14, they truly take the experience to the next level. I found myself spending a considerable amount of time trying to get a specific look, which not only gave character to the photo but also made it aesthetically pleasing. Additionally, considering that different scenes match with various filters, one can spend a lot of time dialing in the perfect look.

2. Movie mode

As the name suggests, the movie mode aims to give that wide look of a movie while incorporating features such as background blur. I tried the feature at an event and was amazed by the results, considering the videos were well-shot, stable, and had enough character.

3. Long exposure

Perhaps the most exciting feature on the list, the long exposure section has a few options, ranging from enabling you to capture the hustle and bustle of a city to capturing the stars in the sky in ways you would have never before. Moreover, there is also a Light Painting section, which allows you to paint using a flashlight and make stunning art designs.

4. Supermoon

While Samsung has undoubtedly been the king of moon shots for quite some time, Xiaomi isn’t behind either. Despite not having a periscope sensor, the moon shots came out with great details. Additionally, the company has also bundled extra filters for moon photography, which allow users to place objects such as an airplane in front of the moon for extra flair.

5. Short Film

Have you ever found yourself shooting a video for a friend and not knowing how to frame a shot? Well, Xiaomi has kept this situation in mind with the Short Film feature. Similar to Instagram’s editing suite, the feature enables you to choose a template for the video and then gives you ideas on how to shoot.

Daylight and portrait shots

Now that we have covered the features, let’s delve into the real camera performance. We tested the daylight performance in both the natural mode and the Leica Vivid mode, and the results speak for themselves. The photos came out sharp, detailed, and vibrant, showcasing a distinct style. While style is a subjective topic, we believe that Xiaomi’s processing is perhaps the best compared to competitors like Samsung.

Moving over to portrait shots, the Xiaomi 14 exceeded all our expectations. In a nutshell, the photos were crisp, with great HDR, edge detection, and a shallow depth of field. However, Xiaomi has also included a plethora of features here. First and foremost, there is the lens selection, where users can choose their preferred focal length. Additionally, you also get five different presets of portrait modes, which adjust the focal length and the background blur style depending on your preference.

Furthermore, we compared the Xiaomi 14 to the Vivo X100, and the results were interesting. In the samples below, you can see that Xiaomi tends to overexpose faces in harsh lighting, and the skin tones aren’t always accurate in some shots. However, it is important to note that shots from both cameras are impressive regardless of the comparison.

Nighttime photos

With the f/1.6 main camera, we had high expectations for the nighttime shots, and we weren’t disappointed. The Xiaomi 14 boasts some of the best nighttime modes on the market, with the phone able to capture details even in zero lighting. Moreover, the indoor lighting performance was adequate, with great details and minimal noise. However, we do have one complaint: shutter lag. When capturing photos from a moving car, they came out blurry, rendering them unusable.

Zoom and UltraWide shots

As you might have observed with the portrait shots, the zoom lens on the Xiaomi 14 is no slouch. It captures great photos with ample HDR and details in both daylight and nighttime, with no noticeable color discrepancy between the main and telephoto lenses.

Finally, regarding the 112-degree UltraWide lens, the photos fared exceptionally compared to competitors like the Vivo X100, with minimal distortion. However, it is important to note that there is a slight color variation between the UltraWide and the primary lens. Moreover, the UltraWide camera also doubles as the macro lens.

Selfies and Videos

The Xiaomi 14 houses a 32MP selfie shooter, and the photos were better than expected, with good details and surprisingly natural skin tones. However, similar to other Chinese brands, the phone tends to beautify the faces.

Coming to videos, the output was amazing! Coupled with all the modes mentioned above, the video-capturing experience is great, and the results look aesthetically pleasing, with great stabilization even on the highest settings.

Xiaomi 14 Review: Software

The Xiaomi 14 is the company’s first phone to run HyperOS, built on top of Android 14. If you watched the company’s event announcing the phone, you might have been led to believe that HyperOS is something revolutionary. Unfortunately, this isn’t entirely the case; on the surface, it appears almost identical to MIUI. However, this doesn’t mean there aren’t any improvements; there are plenty.

Interconnectivity and size

Firstly, HyperOS places significant emphasis on connectivity, making seamless integration possible if you own other Xiaomi products. For instance, if you have a Xiaomi tablet, you can use it as a second screen for your Xiaomi laptop or easily transfer content between different devices. Secondly, HyperOS is considerably smaller in size compared to MIUI, offering users much more storage out of the box.

While these features are undoubtedly useful, many users may not own a range of Xiaomi products, making the interconnectedness aspect irrelevant. Therefore, the primary evaluation criterion becomes everyday usability, and the Xiaomi 14 excels in this regard, albeit with a certain twist. If you’re transitioning from a Pixel or Samsung device, the UI may remind you of a different operating system. While the company hasn’t directly copied UI elements from iOS, there’s certainly some inspiration drawn. For example, similar to iOS, the notification panel is divided into two sections: notifications and controls. Swiping down from the home screen triggers the search function, and there’s no default app drawer.

Although HyperOS may have a learning curve, the experience thereafter is impressive. The phone seamlessly glides through the UI, offering numerous features to simplify your life. However, there is one aspect of HyperOS that we didn’t appreciate: the presence of bloatware. Considering that the Xiaomi 14 is priced like a flagship, we expected an experience free of any bloatware or pre-installed apps. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case, as the phone comes bundled with apps such as Booking.com, Snapchat, Amazon, and more. Moreover, we also encountered ads in the App Vault app, which left a sour taste.

Is the Xiaomi 14 worth it?

Starting at Rs. 69,999 for the 12GB + 512GB variant, the Xiaomi 14 competes directly with the Vivo X100 and the iPhone 15. While the iPhone 15 would be the preferred choice at this price point, if you prioritize photography and want a compact phone with top-notch performance and sleek design, then the Xiaomi 14 is worth considering.

The other winning photographers are:

John Francis (USA), Emily Fisher (USA), Emeric Lhuisset (France), Manuel Besse (France), Andre Hidayat (Indonesia), Elaine Klein (Israel), Fabien Dendiével (France), Ilaria Miani (Italy), Giovanni Diffidenti (Italy), Andrea Peruzzi (Italy), Zhenhuan Zhou (China), Jennifer Carlos (France), Md Tanveer Rohan (Bangladesh), Guillaume Petermann (France), Beamie Young (USA), Pedro Luis Ajuriaguerra (Spain), Silvia Alessi (Italy), Andreas Kanellopoulos (Greece), Mauro De Bettio (Italy), Alain Schroeder (Belgium), Maria Bratan (Moldavia), Gouguenheim Yannick (France), Dejan Mijovic (Slovenia), Martina Holmberg (Sweden), Achilleas Chiras (Greece), Georgi Georgiev (Bulgaria), Kazutoshi Kawakami (Japan), Daniel Sackheim (USA), Damian Lemański (Poland), Emily Marie Wilson (USA), Eric Davidove (USA), Deba Prasad Roy (India), Ares Jonekson (Indonesia), Sandro Maddalena (Italy), Jabin Botsford (USA), Mahmoud Hams (Palestine), John T. Pedersen (Norway), Gerdie Nurhadi (Indonesia), Francesco junior Mura (Italy), Alessandro Deluigi (Italy) and Ahmed El Hanjoul (Germany), Zay Yar Lin (Myanmar), Rémi Vinas (France).

The top 5 winners will be awarded $10,000.