[Redmi Note 7] Camera - AI & 48 MP Weird Results...


Sakat

Members
Feb 1, 2013
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Hey there,

I've just bought a Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 (Hongmi Note 7 or 小米红米Note 7) and started doing some camera tests to see which settings are the best. I'm opening this thread to share some observations that I did concerning the so-called "AI" mode and the "48 megapixels" mode, or I should say, observations that I didn't do .

I think a picture will illustrate it much better than a long paragraph so you will judge by yourself.


At first here is the "normal mode" and the "AI mode":

1_3_Normal-AI.jpg

(Normal mode is inside the squares while the rest is "AI" mode)​

Honestly even viewed at 200% on Photoshop, I see no difference at all (light, shadows, contrast, quality, digital noise, color aberration, ...). Well, this didn't surprise me that much, I'm still not really convinced by these AI functions. But the next one let me more doubtful about Xiaomi....


1_6_Normal-48MP_1.jpg


1_6_Normal-48MP_2.jpg

Of course none of these pictures were edited to improve or decrease the image quality, colors, exposure, ... I just opened the 48 megapixels picture (8000x6000) in Photoshop and then imported and resized the picture taken in normal mode (4000x3000) to put them side by side.

I know that by doing so the normal picture is resized by 400% and so will loose image quality (resizing doesn't add pixels), but as you can see even once resized by 400% the normal picture doesn't look that much different from the 48 MP one (in terms in image finesse and resolution). Some branches of the trees are slightly more fine, but if you look at the poster or the stair rail the normal mode looks better.

As I already said, you will be the judge, but it looks to me that, even if 48 MP mode does take 8000x6000 pictures, the image quality is pretty much the same. Maybe it's limited by the camera sensor or maybe 48 MP is just a fake mode that upscale 4000x3000 normal pictures to 8000x6000... What's sure is that one file is 6.7 Mo while the other is 17.5 Mo, not sure that it is worth the quality "increase".


MIUI version used: 10.2.8.0 by Xiaomi.eu (Android version: 9.0) with original camera app. But I actually tried several other apps (Google official one, Open Camera, ...), none of them allows me to take picture of a resolution higher than 4000x3000. Same info in Aida64.




Cheers!



Sakat





#Edit: After more research the camera of the Redmi Note 7 is a S5KGM1, which is a "48Mp 4in1 to 12Mp (1.6um)":
https://www.samsung.com/semiconductor/image-sensor/mobile-image-sensor/S5KGM1/
For what I understood they use a kinda of way to get better image quality by having 4 pixels mixed into one but the processed image isn't really 48 Mp. Maybe the normal mode takes advantages of it but the "48 MP" option in Pro Mode is still not really worth it based on the pictures I took and it still doesn't really explain what's the process to output a 8000x6000 resolution picture (which the CPU of the Redmi Note 7 apparently can't support). More info in Spanish here:
https://elandroidelibre.elespanol.com/2019/01/como-funciona-camara-redmi-note-7-48-mpx.html
 
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Hi @Sakat

I found this thread very interesting. I have a Mi 9 which offers a 48MP (8000x6000) mode for jpegs and only 12MP (4000x3000) mode for RAW for 3rd party apps. I've noticed that with the latest *no-support-for-this-app-on-this-forum* port, despite the settings being on 48MP, all images are taken as 12MP.

The 12MP *no-support-for-this-app-on-this-forum* pics are LOADS better than the the 48MP stock cam images. The 48MP ones are sharpened and saturated to within an inch of their lives and produce the much maligned 'oil painting' effect.

The sensor in the MI9 is the Sony IMX586 48MP. I wonder if all images from this sensor are pixel binned down to 12MP and then upscaled to 48MP by the stock app?

Interestingly, the Camera2 Probe app reports 4000x3000 (12MP) max resolution.

My main interest is to shoot 48MP RAW for 3rd party apps (Open Camera). Yes I know the images will be soft and unsaturated, but that's fine by me as I can fix this without blasting the details with too much processing.

Well after all that, I know this is the wrong thread, but I think you hit the nail on the head.

Cheers

Steve
 
Hi @Sakat

I found this thread very interesting. I have a Mi 9 which offers a 48MP (8000x6000) mode for jpegs and only 12MP (4000x3000) mode for RAW for 3rd party apps. I've noticed that with the latest *no-support-for-this-app-on-this-forum* port, despite the settings being on 48MP, all images are taken as 12MP.

The 12MP *no-support-for-this-app-on-this-forum* pics are LOADS better than the the 48MP stock cam images. The 48MP ones are sharpened and saturated to within an inch of their lives and produce the much maligned 'oil painting' effect.

The sensor in the MI9 is the Sony IMX586 48MP. I wonder if all images from this sensor are pixel binned down to 12MP and then upscaled to 48MP by the stock app?

Interestingly, the Camera2 Probe app reports 4000x3000 (12MP) max resolution.

My main interest is to shoot 48MP RAW for 3rd party apps (Open Camera). Yes I know the images will be soft and unsaturated, but that's fine by me as I can fix this without blasting the details with too much processing.

Well after all that, I know this is the wrong thread, but I think you hit the nail on the head.

Cheers

Steve

Think that *no-support-for-this-app-on-this-forum* developers probably have to adapt to these new 48Mpx sensors to make optimal use of them.

If you want a large no.of "real" pixels, you probably have to buy a phone that has that.

My Mi Note 2 has (5488*4112) 22.6Mpx.

It takes really good pictures in full daylight, regularly over 20Mb in size.
With the right *no-support-for-this-app-on-this-forum* it takes decent lowlight photos also these days.
 
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Think that *no-support-for-this-app-on-this-forum* developers probably have to adapt to these new 48Mpx sensors to make optimal use of them.

If you want a large no.of "real" pixels, you probably have to buy a phone that has that.

My Mi Note 2 has (5488*4112) 22.6Mpx.

It takes really good pictures in full daylight, regularly over 20Mb in size.
With the right *no-support-for-this-app-on-this-forum* it takes decent lowlight photos also these days.

Hi thanks for your reply. Are you saying the Sony IMX586 can't be used in 48MP RAW mode?

I've opened a new thread here:

Mi 9 48MP RAW

So I don't hijaak this one :emoji_slight_smile:
 
I found this thread very interesting. I have a Mi 9 which offers a 48MP (8000x6000) mode for jpegs and only 12MP (4000x3000) mode for RAW for 3rd party apps. I've noticed that with the latest *no-support-for-this-app-on-this-forum* port, despite the settings being on 48MP, all images are taken as 12MP.

Thanks for your answer and info. Well more weeks have passed since then and I stay on my position. This 48 mgpxl things is just marketing bullshit. Maybe it helps a bit with the quality in compare to a normal 12 mgpxl sensor, but it's not about resolution bullshits. To me this is a very sneaky way to cheat the customers. I had a long talk with Xiaomi's customer service, they were very very very careful about their answers about it.