Dual lenses - > Top camera useless except for zoom? - Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S Questions & Answers

So the Mi Mix 2s has dual lenses. But just out of curiosity, what does the second lens actually do but zoom in? I can take every picture, incl. Portrait pictures with the top lens covered up without any ill effects. Is that lens just there for the zoom and to appear fancy? Or does it actually do something useful?

The second lens is a telephoto lens. If you go to 2x zoom it uses that lens to get a sharper and less noisy image than a digital zoom. The reason why they call it a portrait lens is because a telephoto lens compresses the person's facial features resulting in a more attractive face. It's also reduces the amount of background and blurs it.

jonnyczi said:
The second lens is a telephoto lens. If you go to 2x zoom it uses that lens to get a sharper and less noisy image than a digital zoom. The reason why they call it a portrait lens is because a telephoto lens compresses the person's facial features resulting in a more attractive face. It's also reduces the amount of background and blurs it.
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So basically, it never uses both lenses together for fancy effects? It's always just one lens doing what it's good at? Good to know Thx

Firipu said:
So basically, it never uses both lenses together for fancy effects? It's always just one lens doing what it's good at? Good to know Thx
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Exactly. The only reason it might use both cameras at the same time is to create a fake bokeh effect.
Speaking of cameras I have a camera issue with the phone, can you check it out?
https://forum.xda-developers.com/xiaomi-mi-mix-2s/help/glaring-camera-issue-live-exposure-t3797029

Related

Does the camera hitting the glass limit its focus range?

Every time I focus the rear camera, I can hear the lens hitting the glass window. Has anyone determined if this design flaw limits the focus range of the camera?
Cleanskinned said:
Every time I focus the rear camera, I can hear the lens hitting the glass window. Has anyone determined if this design flaw limits the focus range of the camera?
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I hear a tiny click. Are you sure that the lens is actually hitting the glass? My focus seems to be fine.
If hitting the glass is actually limiting the camera's ability to focus, that would be a severe design flaw.
I'm pretty sure everyone hears a tapping sound, correct? What is causing it then?

Rear camera distortion

Just noticed that when things are in the top portion of the picture with the camera tilted down slightly things get distorted. It makes heads oblong and alien looking. Wondering if other people have this same issue or if it's just my phone. So it's really a question of whether the phone is being exchanged or returned.
I've attached two pics. When the tv is in the top portion of the pic it looks a lot taller than when it's in the center of the pic. Both pics were taken from the same distance at the same zoom amount.
Did you take the plastic film off the lens that comes from the factory?
s197 said:
Did you take the plastic film off the lens that comes from the factory?
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I was gonna say the same! Although mine lately has not been focusing at all unless i shake it. View is immediately blurry, but up close to something it is fine. Like it is stuck in close up. Shake it and seems good. This is before ROOT and playing around. Any ideas?
s197 said:
Did you take the plastic film off the lens that comes from the factory?
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Did you have a plastic film on your camera? I had one over the fingerprint sensor but if there is one on my camera it's near impossible to detect, I feel like I'm just scratching at the glass although my fingernail is definitely catching on something. I just cant tell if it's the edge of the glass for the camera or a film covering it.
i had the same issue so i boiled my kettle, and held the phone above it after it boiled and let the steam peel the lense sticker.
omgi0wn said:
Did you have a plastic film on your camera? I had one over the fingerprint sensor but if there is one on my camera it's near impossible to detect, I feel like I'm just scratching at the glass although my fingernail is definitely catching on something. I just cant tell if it's the edge of the glass for the camera or a film covering it.
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If you had the plastic on it, you'd know it. It was very noticeable on mine.
droidiac13 said:
If you had the plastic on it, you'd know it. It was very noticeable on mine.
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I really can't tell if it's there, if it is it lines up almost perfectly. It isn't causing me issues for now though so I'm not going to mess with it.
omgi0wn said:
I really can't tell if it's there, if it is it lines up almost perfectly. It isn't causing me issues for now though so I'm not going to mess with it.
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You would notice in the center of the lens. The plastic would have a cut. Once it's off, the lens is perfectly flat across the top.
The plastic was still on, but no change in distortion taking it off. I'm guessing the cutout in the center of the plastic makes it so it doesn't impact photos.
So I tested on my computer monitor and am able to somewhat replicate what is happening in your shots. However, this distortion is natural because you're tilting the camera downwards on its axis. Its called perspective lens distortion and is common to all cameras without a tilt shift lens (a lens that costs several thousand dollars). You should be able to replicate the effect with any camera phone.
Yeah I've noticed distortion in other cameras but it's just not so extreme. On the s6 the distortion makes any pics with the subject on the edge ridiculous and unusable.
I think I've narrowed it down to when the s6 is set up to shoot max resolution at 16:9. When I switch it to 4:3 the distortion is pretty much gone since that distorted area is just cropped out but that reduces it from 16mp to 12mp. Other phone cameras I've had (moto x 2nd gen and s3) crop the other way (max resolution at 4:3 and then crop to get 16:9).
So the s6 presumably has a 16:9 sensor where the others had 4:3. But the extra width is pretty much unusable.
I'm not sure how I feel about this. What's the point of having a 16mp camera if you can only effectively use 12mp?
Any update on this? I was hoping there's a post processing software in Android/Windows/OSX that can compensate for the lens distortion even though it'll reduced the resolution a bit. I have a AT&T Galaxy S6.
I tried DXO Optics Pro 8, and it works very good for shots from my Nikon D7000 to un-alienize the faces, but there are no modules for the Galaxy S6 lens.

Any other good smartphone with wide-angle lens, worth the comparison with the Z5?

Hi,
Assuming I want to get a smartphone with a wide-angle lens, is there any other top-notch phone out there worth the look, which can compete with the Z5?
And do all phones with wide angle lenses exhibit blur in the corners? Wide-angle seems tricky to get right.
Thank you.
Z5 has by far the widest angle lens of any flagship phone. The lens is in the ultra wide angle category (especially in 16:9 mode). Actually i don't know any camera phone with as wide field of view. So Z5 does not have any competition, in terms of FOV.
Yes, the soft corners are a trademark of bright ultra wide angle lens. It is a feature, not a flaw. If you hate soft corners, you better stay away from bright ultra wide angle lenses. Especially the one's with fixed aperture (like Z5).
frankm87 said:
Hi,
Assuming I want to get a smartphone with a wide-angle lens, is there any other top-notch phone out there worth the look, which can compete with the Z5?
And do all phones with wide angle lenses exhibit blur in the corners? Wide-angle seems tricky to get right.
Thank you.
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Clip on lens

Has anyone used a clip-on lens with their Z5?
I tried this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01CY0085U
However the wide-angle lens seems to be poorly sized as I see a circle (corners are black).
4K video seems ok as 4K seems to be zoomed in for some reason.
Looking two different kits of lenses of another brand on amazon, I noticed two different type of wide angle lenses, with or without le black corners you said. I thinks this depends by the type of lens, not by the Z5 camera...

Rear camera too bright.

S7 snapdragon sony lens. When I take photos using the rear camera they come out too bright / over exposed. The front camera produces better point and shoot images. Also, the rear lens gets dirty very easily. I've come from a moto g4 plus and had no such problems. Has anyone got any suggestions?
Check you're using AUTO mode for the camera and the exposure level slider when you tap the screen to focus is not all the way up
As for the dirty lens, that's down to how you use your phone, either get a case or be more careful not to touch the lens, I always wipe mine on my top before taking pics, takes 2 seconds and easy to get into the habit

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