Xiaomi Mi 9 – New DxoMark No 1 for Video
A while ago, I posted the DxoMark league table for the best smartphone cameras, but looking at video only. The Samsung Galaxy S9+ came out on top with 99 points (not sure if that assessment has been lowered by recent changes to the OS which dropped pro video mode).
There’s now a new chart topper for video according to DxoMark – the Xiaomi Mi 9.
DxoMark say:
At 99 points, the Xiaomi Mi 9 achieves the best score for Video we have seen so far, making it the current go-to device for mobile videographers. The overall video score is derived from a number of sub-scores in the same way as the Photo score: Exposure (85), Color (91), Autofocus (94), Texture (70), Noise (78), Artifacts (80), and Stabilization (92).
4K Video by Default
The Mi 9’s excellent video score is party due to the fact that the Xiaomi is the first phone we have tested that records video at 4K resolution by default. This gives the device a distinct advantage in the texture and detail department.
Texture
…in video mode the camera captures very good texture in bright light. Detail levels reduce with light levels, but the camera still captures good textures under interior lighting, and edge detail is consistently good down to low light.
Overall, the Mi 9 is the best phone for video texture we have tested so far.
Noise
The Mi 9 is also the currently best device in terms of texture/noise balance. The camera not only manages to capture excellent video detail, it is also capable of keeping noise low across most illumination levels. Noise becomes more visible in low light, however, especially on moving subjects in the scene.
Inbuilt Stabilisation
Given that video footage in 4K resolution requires a lot more processing power for efficient stabilization than Full-HD video, the Xiaomi also performs impressively well for stabilization, achieving a score of 92 points. Stabilization is slightly more efficient in bright outdoor light than under typical indoor lighting conditions, but works equally well when holding the camera still or when walking while recording.
Xiaomi have been pushing their “Mi 9 Closed-loop motor”. The company has always put emphasis on their smartphone cameras, being first to the 4 Axis OIS technology with the Mi 5. Since then they have continued to innovate on the camera front.
Most high end phones now have OIS (Optical image stabilization) and advanced auto focus tech. So the camera cannot be fixed and needs a certain range of motion to stabilize or focus. A VCM (Voice Coil Motor) is a basic motor that can move in a straight line, moving the smartphone camera closer or farther from the object it’s focusing on.
In the “Mi 9 closed-loop motor” there’s an extra position sensor that continuously monitors the position and gives feedback to the VCM. With hand shake, the sensor will immediately inform the VCM and helps increase focus speeds. If you like understanding tech, here’s more reading on this.
I think the above video shows almost gimbal levels of stability. At least when walking in one direction.
Colour
The Mi 9 is also our top device for video color, thanks to generally pleasant color rendering in all situations and no color shading. Occasionally we observed a bluish cast in the shadow regions of video frames, but that’s only a very minor issue. White balance transitions under changing light sources are fine as well, with only some slight stepping under indoor lighting.
Exposure
There’s no reason to complain about video exposure either. Target exposure is very good, even in low light, and transitions are smooth. Dynamic range is somewhat limited, but the Mi 9 has that in common with most of its direct competitors and overall, only the Apple iPhone XS Max with its HDR video algorithm achieves better dynamic range in video mode.
Artifacts
Artifacts are well-controlled overall, but we noticed some aliasing on diagonal lines and a slight judder effect when panning. There are also some dropped frames in all conditions, but our testers counted only about four dropped frames per minute of recording, so the effect will hardly be noticeable to the casual viewer.
Autofocus
The Xiaomi autofocus system worked well in video mode, too. It is good at tracking and is always responsive. It’s also pretty fast, but not the fastest we have tested. The only situation in which we noticed a loss of focus was walking while recording under indoor lighting.
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Interesting article. I look forward to seeing where the Sony Xperia 1 comes when it’s released around June. It looks like it’s going to be a big deal for mobile filmmakers.