Xiaomi is being one of the main protagonists in this Mobile World Congress. The first reason are the looks that your Su7 ultraits electric beast that is beating reserves records in China. The second is its new family of high -end models, the Xiaomi 15 and Xiaomi 15 Ultra.
The third, and everyone’s craziest, is its modular optical system, one that allows the phone to connect a professional optics and enjoy (with some but, as I will now tell) of professional objectives on a phone.
Xiaomi Modular Optical System. As its name indicates, the idea is “simple”: use a professional optics (DSLR or Mirrorless) on a mobile phone. It is not the first time that Xiaomi tries something like that, but the first one that does so through such an effective system.
The connection to the phone. The objectives connect to professional cameras through a pine system. So Xiaomi has decided to do exactly the same. Connecting the lens is as simple as pasteing it to the huge magnet that has the phone in its rear. And no, there is no risk of falling, it is very well fixed.
Once adhered to the rear, we can select in the camera app if we want to use the new lens or if we want to use the phone sensors themselves.
The lens does not come alone. The madness of this concept is not alone in the lens, a very light 35mm with opening f/1.4. The wildest of this idea is that the lens itself has its own sensor. One called Light Fusion X with a resolution of 100 megapixels.
The thing does not end in the resolution, we talk about a 4/3 micro sensor. These types of sensors are used in professional cameras, although their size is lower than that of APS-C and Full Frame.
The Peros. My first and main doubt with this combination of lens and sensor is the concern that I have been dragging for years with the telephone hardware: What is the use of all this if the defendant is not good?
I have barely been able to spend a few minutes with this lens/sensor, but expanding the image a bit, the result was … that of a phone. What distinguishes a mobile camera is not just the lens, it is the processing, and this will be the key for systems of this type to mark the difference.
For these systems to work perfectly, the phone would have to have two processing algorithms. One for your main sensor and another for external lenses. Similarly, it would be necessary for RAW to be RAW, and not processed files to obtain more dynamic range.
Be that as it may, this concept is still a prototype without commercial views, but more than interesting. We will follow it very closely to check if it ends up becoming a reality.
Image | Xataka
In Xataka | I have tried Xiaomi Hyperai: Xiaomi’s weapon to compete with the best in Mobile