A shot of Bukit Terisek with the main camera.
A shot of Bukit Terisek with the main camera.
A sullen weather taken using the main camera and it still captures rich shots.
A sullen weather taken using the main camera and it still captures rich shots.
A bit overexposed, but the main camera does a great job in other lighting.
A bit overexposed, but the main camera does a great job in other lighting.
A group picture taken with the ultra wide camera.
A group picture taken with the ultra wide camera.
Still delivers a nice quality, the ultra wide camera is sharper than before.
Still delivers a nice quality, the ultra wide camera is sharper than before.
 A wonderful portrait shot with the Xiaomi 12.
A wonderful portrait shot with the Xiaomi 12.
Another portrait picture takes in a darker weather, but is still very vibrant.
Another portrait picture takes in a darker weather, but is still very vibrant.
A close-up portrait picture of a butterfly.
A close-up portrait picture of a butterfly.
A nice bokeh effect on portrait mode.
A nice bokeh effect on portrait mode.
A beautiful macro shot of a tree trunk.
A beautiful macro shot of a tree trunk.
Spider lilies captured using the Night Mode.
Spider lilies captured using the Night Mode.
A picture taken using the Starry Sky mode by Xiaomi’s photographer @fikrifauzi.
A picture taken using the Starry Sky mode by Xiaomi’s photographer @fikrifauzi.

XIAOMI recently unveiled the newest addition to their 12-series family which is the Xiaomi 12 and I managed to explore its camera's capabilities to the maximum at Taman Negara, Pahang.

I managed to take a lot of pictures in multiple lighting and settings.

Let's find out more about the phone's camera capabilities.

THE CAMERA

The Xiaomi 12 smartphone sports some really good camera features.

It features a 50MP wide-angle camera, 13MP ultra-wide angle camera, 5MP telemacro camera, and other photography features that can add some "spice" in your photos like the Night Mode, that is available in wide or ultra-wide, Xiaomi Pro Focus, and AI Camera.

Of course, the rear camera video features a more extensive list of capabilities and it worked quite well for some shots for your social media content or Youtube vlog.

For the video camera, the Xiaomi 12 can record HDR and HDR 10+ videos as well as use the vlog mode for less hassle when vlogging.

It also has a dual video mode for both the selfie camera and the main camera for when you want to show your viewers your surroundings without cropping your face out of the frame, and there is such a thing as a Time-lapse Selfie, which is fun to use if you're trying to be more creative with your contents.

MAIN CAMERA

Starting with the main camera, I had high hopes for the flagship smartphone given their claims.

I shot some pictures in different light and weather conditions and I was astounded by how great the pictures looked.

Be it in the sweltering afternoon sun or the sullen clouds dimming our day, the camera took sharp and bright pictures that'll require little editing to make them look aesthetic.

However, if you're standing directly under the Malaysian sun, it does get a little overexposed and certain parts will get blurry. Just be wary of where you're standing and tweak some features as you go.

It's impossible to not get sharp and detailed pictures for outdoor shots and I hardly get an unsatisfactory outcome even with my non-photogenic hands handling the camera.

There's barely any image noise and even in low light conditions, I didn't get a lot of grain in my pictures either.

Maybe I'm so used to the decent colour contrast on my Xiaomi 11 lite 5G NE, I do feel like the pictures are a smidge saturated to my liking. But I suppose these loud statements suit the current Instagram trends they have these days since VSCO days are so 2011.

ULTRAWIDE CAMERA

There's nothing much to complain about the ultra-wide camera because it is pretty much the same as the main camera.

Same brightness, colour contrast, saturation, exposure, etc.

But you do see a difference in its sharpness that's a bit lacking if you zoom in a bit. But it's not to the point where it's conspicuous enough to ruin the entire shot.

Plus, some might agree there's uniqueness in having grains in your pictures.

PORTRAITS

I love the portrait shots that I took.

The camera provides sharp and detailed shots, and punchy colours with less, almost to none, image noise even in harsh lighting conditions.

Moreover, I enjoy the bokeh effect that blurs the background without tempering the subject too much with the AI mode switched on.

But you do have to take multiple shots to finally settle on a clean one. I find the bokeh to be quite inconsistent and tends to engulf the areas I don't wish to blur, so do spend some time focussing on your subject before clicking.

MACRO

I doubt anyone would use this feature the most, but it is intriguing.

After my unfortunate encounter with other brands' Macro Cameras, I was surprised with how Xiaomi really did raise the standard for it.

Normally, I'd have to stoop really low and wait very long to finally let the macro camera focus, and the pictures are often underwhelming.

But with Xiaomi 12, it took only a few seconds to get clear shots and emphasise the littlest details our eyes often missed. They have more punchy colours and the slight bokeh effect is just adequate.

NIGHT SHOTS

For low-light shots, I often go for the Night mode setting since everything is pretty much set for you.

With the mode, the pictures become sharp and they've made it look like it was catered for taking pictures at night.

The colour contrast is nice and the shadows and highlights were boosted fair enough that it didn't look exaggerated. What's more, I didn't see a lot of those annoying noises or crazy grains around some areas unless I was scrutinising it at a micro-level.

But I would suggest users try out the Starry Sky mode. It takes bewitching shots of the stars and milky ways that I didn't think existed in Malaysian skies.

The outcome of it did not have hints of artifice but instead further amps up how the sky naturally looks by brightening up the darkness.

In short, I think the Xiaomi 12 has one of the best cameras in a smartphone today, and to be frank, its camera quality is to die for.

The Xiaomi 12 is priced at RM 2,899 (8+128GB) and RM 2,999 (8+256GB).

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