Read more
Xiaomi 12 review: A content creator’s dream
After using the Xiaomi12 to capture and edit photos and videos, it's easy to understand why it is so popular and highly coveted.
Xiaomi 12. Picture: Supplied
The evolution of the internet and the exponential proliferation of various social media platforms has resulted in a world where content is king.
At first, it was mostly just photos and now it seems everything is pivoting to video and everyone finds themselves having to become a content creator in some capacity.
People are, therefore, more discerning about the devices they buy and what these devices can do and it becomes easy to understand why devices like the Xiaomi12 are so popular and highly coveted.
Xiaomi 12 camera
While most new models boast the popular quad camera, the Xiaomi 12 features a triple-lens main camera with a combination of a 50MP wide-angle camera, a 13MP ultra-wide angle camera and a 5MP telemacro camera.
The phone comes with Xiaomi ProFocus which allows for motion-tracking focus, eye-tracking focus and Motion capture.
It also comes with long exposure mode with six effects – moving crowd, oil painting, neon trails, light painting, starry sky and star trails.
Photo clones, timed burst, photo filters, night mode (wide/ultra-wide), 50MP mode, document mode, AI camera Google Lens and movie frame are also available on this device.
The selfie camera is a 32MP f/2.5, 26mm wide camera that allows for HDR and panoramic filming along with video at 1080p (30/60fps) as well as 720p at 120fps.
Like the rear camera, it also has the Xiaomi ProFocus built-in and allows for ultra night video, one-click AI cinema (magic zoom, slow shutter, time freeze, night time-lapse, parallel world, freeze frame video) HDR video, HDR10+ video, pro time-lapse, vlog mode, dual video (selfie camera and main camera, )video editing, video pro mode, video log format and slow motion video at either 120fps, 240fps, 480fps, 960fps or 1920fps.
Content creation on the Xiaomi 12
As a journalist, you are a content creator by default and with the rise in popularity of mixed media, the pictures and videos you collect on the job find more longevity through the various platforms you are now able to share them on.
Using the Xiaomi 12 in the course of my work was a dream, beginning with the experience of unboxing the phone.
Setup was also fairly easy as everything on the phone – which uses the MIUI 13, android 12 operating system – is not hard to find or set up.
My first outing with the phone was at the Comedy Central Roast of Khanyi Mbau where I was able to capture stunning photos and some of the steadiest, well-lit video I have ever captured on a mobile device.
@kay_tatyana Chatting it up with local celebs on the #redcarpet at the Comedy Central Roast of Khanyi Mbau #southafrica #comedy #voxpops ♬ Sip (Alcohol) – Joeboy
This was followed by a visit to GRK restaurant in Rivonia where the Xiaomi12 not only captured stunning, crisp photos of the food but it also allowed me to capture wide shots of the store to best illustrate to readers what the store and its decor looked like.
The ability to capture wide-angle shots is becoming increasingly popular among content creators, especially in the travel and decor arena as it allows for better shots of rooms to better show off both the decor and layout of a room.
The selfie camera is also a firm favourite as it not only captures some of the clearest pictures you will ever take but it seems to capture you the way you would want to look without making use of overly-blurry skin filters or weird settings that give you bug eyes and an inhumanly small chin.
Other noteworthy features
The phone, which was first announced and released in December 2021, comes in three colour options; gray, blue, purple, green.
With a height of 152.7mm, width of 69.9mm, a thickness of 8.16mm and weight of 180g, the phone is relatively light, even when placed in the standard protective case.
The phone comes with a 67W charger in the box and that, coupled with the Xiaomi Adaptive Charge and 67W wired turbo charging via USB type-c means that your 4500mAh battery charges in less than hour and wil give you at least 2 days of battery life with moderate use.
The phone also has 50W wireless turbo charging capabilities and 10W reverse wireless charging.
At the time of writing, the Xiaomi 12 was priced at around R17 999 (recommended retail price) according to official communication from the brand.
