Notes:
- The Elite X3 still only shoots in 16:9 at 10MP - we're expecting a Camera update at some point to add other resolutions and aspect ratios back in. However, 10MP isn't a million miles from the 16MP (at 4:3) images from the Mi Mix, especially allowing for the narrower angle optics on the Elite X3, so we don't have to worry too much about a mismatch for our comparator, below.
- All shots were on full 'auto', apart from manual focussing on the red berry example.
- In each case, the overall scene is shown as the X3 sees it - you'll say this is because this is AAWP and I'm biased, but it's more that, having looked at the shots below from both phones, I judged that the X3's were less 'processed' on the whole, plus the AAWP audience will be very familiar with the Windows 10 Camera image processing, so it's a known starting point.
| Note that the interactive comparator below uses javascript and does need to load each pair of images. Please be patient while this page loads, if you see a pair of images above each other than you've either not waited long enough or your browser isn't capable enough! You ideally need a powerful, large-screened tablet or a proper laptop or desktop. This comparator may not work in IE or Edge on Windows phones. Sorry about that. |
Test 1: Sunny scene
My local supermarket, in unexpected winter sun. Here's the overall scene, as shot by the Elite X3:
In case you want to grab the original images to do your own analysis, here they are, from the HP Elite X3 and Xiaomi Mi Mix, click the links to download. And to look at the images in more detail, here are fairly central 1:1 crops, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
Slightly more artefacts and noise in the Mi Mix photo, despite the ideal light conditions, plus the sky is an artificial shade of blue. I'm giving this one, by a point, to the HP Elite X3.
Elite X3: 9 pts, Xiaomi Mi Mix: 8 pts
Test 2: Overcast outdoors
A (ahem) 20 foot T-Rex! Here's the overall scene, as shot by the Elite X3:
In case you want to grab the original images to do your own analysis, here they are, from the HP Elite X3 and Xiaomi Mi Mix, click the links to download. And to look at the images in more detail, here are fairly central 1:1 crops, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
Aside from the resolution/angle differences, there's not that much between these two shots - don't worry about the field of view, since I moved between shots, concerned that the wide angle optics in the Mi Mix wouldn't give me enough subject matter. I may (ahem) have overdone it. Anyway, a cracking shot from both phones under dim overcast light.
Elite X3: 9 pts, Xiaomi Mi Mix: 9 pts
Test 3: Close macro
An extreme macro of just about the very last berry of the year in my garden. For this, I used manual focus on each phone and got as close as the focus would let me, since auto-focus wasn't picking up the small subject. Here's the overall scene, as shot by the Elite X3:
In case you want to grab the original images to do your own analysis, here they are, from the HP Elite X3 and Xiaomi Mi Mix, click the links to download. And to look at the images in more detail, here are fairly central 1:1 crops, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
It's tempting to say that the Xiaomi Mi Mix camera made a bit of a hash of this, but the focus is so critical when the subject is this close - and parts of the surrounding twiggery were in better focus. Suffice it to say that on both phones a degree of trial and error would have been involved in getting a perfect shot. Here, the X3 got it first time and the Mi Mix failed (on the phone screen it looked fine), but I'm sure the Mi Mix could do better if I could have another crack at it. Still, a slight win to the HP for not messing me around and nailing the shot on try no. 1.
Elite X3: 9 pts, Xiaomi Mi Mix: 8 pts
Test 4: Another macro, but auto-focus
Aware that manual focussing made for a tough comparison test, I tried a subject a little further away and a little larger - a dewey cobweb on the lawn, stretched from a leaf to the surrounding grass. Here's the overall scene, as shot by the Elite X3:
In case you want to grab the original images to do your own analysis, here they are, from the HP Elite X3 and Xiaomi Mi Mix, click the links to download. And to look at the images in more detail, here are fairly central 1:1 crops, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
Focussing was still tough, but both phones did a decent job - I'm giving the win to the Mi Mix for nailing it, while the X3's shot isn't quite as crisp, plus it (as it tends to) over-exposes a few highlights and bright spots. (Top tip for X3 owners: whenever the sun is involved, consider using the manual mode in Windows 10 Camera to shoot at EV-0.7 or similar - you can always make a photo brighter in processing, you can't get rid of blow out highlights.)
Elite X3: 8 pts, Xiaomi Mi Mix: 9 pts
Test 5: Reindeer time
Heading indoors, here's a reindeer, shot at around 4 metres under artificial light. Here's the overall scene, as shot by the Elite X3:
In case you want to grab the original images to do your own analysis, here they are, from the HP Elite X3 and Xiaomi Mi Mix, click the links to download. And to look at the images in more detail, here are fairly central 1:1 crops, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
Ignore the antlers moving between shots - what's evident here is very different image processing, with the HP producing texture which looks like matted fur, while the Mi Mix's algorithms have blurred things and removed too much detail. The fence just behind the reindeer is crisper, but there shouldn't be a depth of field effect at this range. And no, the reindeer wasn't moving, and no, there wasn't a fingerprint on the camera glass, so I have to mark the Mi Mix camera down a notch here...
Elite X3: 9 pts, Xiaomi Mi Mix: 7 pts
Test 6: LED tree
Talk about tricky lighting - a Christmassy tree in a dark alcove. Here's the overall scene, as shot by the Elite X3:
In case you want to grab the original images to do your own analysis, here they are, from the HP Elite X3 and Xiaomi Mi Mix, click the links to download. And to look at the images in more detail, here are fairly central 1:1 crops, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
I tried several shots, but the Mi Mix couldn't seem to get the hang of the exposure needed (perhaps the bright LEDs triggered something in the algorithms) - this one was typical and at 1/1000s, while the Elite X3 nailed the shot at 1/30s and without blowing out the LEDs completely. I get the impression that Xiaomi's Camera application is slightly hobbled together and not very mature, while the Elite X3 benefits from five years of Nokia's Windows camera expertise, all inherited in Windows 10 Camera.
Elite X3: 9 pts, Xiaomi Mi Mix: 5 pts
Test 7: Night time
My local golf clubhouse, always a great subject and here floodlit at night. Here's the overall scene, as shot by the Elite X3:
In case you want to grab the original images to do your own analysis, here they are, from the HP Elite X3 and Xiaomi Mi Mix, click the links to download. And to look at the images in more detail, here are fairly central 1:1 crops, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:
Exposures were similar, but the HP Elite X3 somehow managed to keep the resulting shot pretty crisp (maybe I got lucky) - neither phone has OIS to eliminate hand shake. The Xiaomi Mi Mix camera clearly struggles here and the slight shake in my hands even in 1/15s is enough to cause ugly blur. To be honest, handheld shots with OIS at 1/15s at night should be nigh on impossible, so take the Elite X3's luck here with a pinch of salt - the result could have been the other way around.
Elite X3: 7 pts, Xiaomi Mi Mix: 5 pts
Verdict
It's somewhat telling that I kept coming back to the Elite X3 'getting lucky' and to the Mi Mix as 'can I just have one more go at that shot?' While, in theory, the Mi Mix camera should be superior, it wasn't in practice and I had the feeling in use that Xiaomi needs to put more effort into their camera settings algorithms and image processing. Maybe this will come in 2017 - though the X3's camera will improve too, I'm sure, in future firmware updates.
For the record, from this somewhat small (seven) pool of test photos, the score was:
- HP Elite X3: 60/70pts
- Xiaomi Mi Mix: 51/70pts
I gave the Elite X3 the 'win' in my original head to head with this other futuristic phablet and I stand by this judgement. That the X3's camera is less than cutting edge is understandable - after all, its mission statement includes snapping whiteboards in offices, etc. But the more consumer-focussed Mi Mix is odd - to include a (merely) average camera in a device costing the best part of £1000 seems crazy, and the answer surely has to lie in Xiaomi's determination to keep the phone thin and to not have any camera bump - the camera glass here is actually recessed from the main ceramic body. Physics (usually) wins though and the larger optics and sensor in the Elite X3, along with the more mature Camera software ensure more reliable results at the end of the day.
