The Chinese tech giant Xiaomi have launched their new flagship camera, the 15 Ultra. It brings some interesting enhancements over the Xiaomi 14 Ultra that was launched last year, making it even more suitable for the filmmaking crowd. With 8K/30, 4K/120p, 10-bit Log recording, and more, Xiaomi is continuing their collaboration with Leica on this phone (or should we say, “a camera with a phone”). Let’s take a closer look!
As far as we are concerned, up until now, Apple, with the iPhone 15/16 Pro, did not really have any notable competition when it comes to video features that cater to serious content creators. When we refer to “video features”, we look beyond resolution and frame rate, as those are indeed important, but only tell half of the story.
Now comes Xiaomi and with the support of Leica brings an interesting device to the table, and in all honesty, as an iPhone user, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra is the first “non iPhone device” that caught my attention and raised my curiosity.
Xiaomi 15 Ultra – video capabilities
The Xiaomi 15 Ultra allows for 4K video recording at 120fps with both main and periscope telephoto cameras. The phone incorporates Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) and Electronic Image Stabilization (EIS) to reduce shake and maintain video quality. It supports Dolby Vision video recording at 4K 60fps and 10-bit Log video recording across all focal lengths. According to the company, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra is Android’s first ACES Product Partner, it provides industry-grade color accuracy for professional videography. The device includes a 4-Mic array for immersive audio recording with multiple directional recording modes.
Much like with the 14 Ultra, Xiaomi’s new flagship has a quadruple rear camera laid out in a large, round module that dominates the design. It’s equipped with Leica Summilux lenses, offering focal lengths from 14mm to 100mm zoom.
In summary, not much has changed from last year’s 14 Ultra, but the 100mm telephoto lens, now equipped with a 200MP sensor. So, the 15 Ultra has four cameras/lenses: a 14mm ultra-wide camera (a 50MP sensor f/2.2), a 23mm main camera with a fast f/1.63 aperture (features a 50MP Sony LYT-900 1-inch sensor), a 70mm “floating telephoto” (50MP sensor f/1.8 aperture), and a 100mm ultra telephoto (200MP sensor 1/1.4″ sensor size, f/2.6 aperture). 10-bit Log video recording next to 4K/24/30/60p can be conducted across all focal lengths. 4K/120fps is supported when recording on both the main 23mm camera and 100mm periscope telephoto. The phone supports 4-axis OIS image stabilisation in the main 23mm camera, next to EIS for improved image stabilisation. According to Xiaomi, Dolby Vision can be enabled at any focal length to record a greater dynamic range.
On the audio front, the 4-Mic Array includes directional audio recording, omnidirectional audio recording, and audio zoom. Unfortunately, it seems as if the phone does not support external video recording to an SSD, although it features a USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 terminal.
The Photography kit
Here is where it gets a bit more interesting… Like with the Ultra 14 offering, the “Photography kit” (connection via the USB-C), will offer additional protection, a multifunctional camera grip (The grip can also be used as a power bank, it also supports charging your smartphone without removing it), a zoom lever, a dedicated video recording button and quick control over aspect ratio, exposure, and more. The kit includes a decorative metal ring, and after attaching the 67mm filter adapter ring, the lens can be equipped with 67mm ND, Variable ND filter or other camera filters. Last but not least, with the photography grip attached, the phone together with the grip meet the IP54 standard for dust and splash resistance.
I’ll let you guys decide if this new model is worth the upgrade over the 14 Ultra, but no doubt, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra is a good example of the rather incredible journey mobile phone manufacturers have been on. Now that they finally recognized that advanced video recording capabilities are just as important as photo, we might see even more manufacturers offering expanded video recording versatility, but will it be (even more) at the expense of traditional mirrorless cameras? Only time will tell…
The Xiaomi 15 Ultra phone will be sold for around $1,600 (€1,500). For more additional information, please head to Xiaomi’s website here.
The future of mobile phones for capturing images by Xiaomi
In an interesting twist, Xiaomi demonstrated their vision for the future by introducing what they call a “Modular Optical System”. As we can see in the above video, an f1.4 35mm lens backed by a Micro Four Thirds sensor is magnetically integrated to the phone, allowing streams of data to wirelessly be transferred to the phone. We also see how photos will be treated, but hopefully this kind of concept can be implemented for video too. There is no mention of when and if this concept will become a commercial product, but regardless of this, the direction of Xiaomi and others like RealMe is clear. As we mentioned many times before, when it comes to R&D budgets, it will be difficult for traditional camera manufacturers to compete.
Do you see yourself giving up on your Apple iPhone 15/16 Pro and using the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, and if yes, why? Please share your thoughts with us in the comment section below.
