cuhiep 2026 lookback: Xiaomi 17 Ultra is the best phone for taking photos, thanks Leica
The other day, I posted a status line on Facebook sharing my personal opinion that among current photography smartphones, Xiaomi's Ultra series, specifically this year's Xiaomi 17 Ultra, is still the choice that brings the most satisfactory feeling for photography needs, largely thanks to the very right handshake with Leica.
The article received a lot of interaction from people, some supported Vivo, others chose Oppo or Huawei, and iPhone and Samsung were almost left out of the comparison list by people who like photography. Seeing that the story has many interesting perspectives, I want to share in more detail why I appreciate Xiaomi's Ultra line so much.
Mobile photography is more about emotion than technical precision
The first and most important thing that makes me lean towards Xiaomi is the way this device shows light and color. The photos taken always bring a sense of depth and touch the emotions of the person taking the photo. When looking at other prominent names on the market, I see that each company pursues a completely different image processing philosophy. For example, on the iPhone or Samsung, the image colors produced are often quite pale, lacking personality, and when you look at them, you immediately see the familiar quality of electronic photos.
Taken with Xiaomi 17 Ultra
Taken with Vivo X300 Ultra
Taken with Oppo Find X9 Ultra Meanwhile, Oppo and Vivo invest heavily in camera hardware. These two brands seem to share a common research orientation when trying to reproduce colors as faithfully as possible. They are equipped with environmental light sensors to accurately calibrate colors. However, focusing too much on technical standards sometimes makes the photo dry, more like a product photo in a commercial studio than an everyday moment. As for Huawei, too much intervention in the image processing algorithms makes the frame look a bit thorny, artificial and lacks natural softness.
Leica's mark and difference in photography thinking
Xiaomi's difference comes from the partners they work with. While Oppo cooperates with Hasselblad, Vivo works with Zeiss, Xiaomi chooses to go with Leica. Looking back at the history of the optical industry, Hasselblad is famous for its medium format cameras that specialize in commercial and fashion photography in the studio, where colors and details must be absolutely accurate for printing or commercial purposes. Zeiss' core strength is the production of optical lenses. Leica represents a completely different spirit. For more than a century, the Leica M series has always been associated with street, documentary and lifestyle photography. Leica photographers are not too concerned about whether the photo is absolutely correct in each color range according to the measurement chart, but what they care about is the moment, light and atmosphere of the scene.
Leica M EV1, a modern Leica M camera
Realistic experience from long trips
My opinion does not come from reading the spec sheet or looking at test photos in a closed room. I really like taking photos and I buy almost every phone with a good camera to use. Whenever I go on a business trip or a long trip in Thailand, Japan or the US, I often leave my big camera at home and only bring my phone with me to record the trip. I myself have experienced generations from Xiaomi 12S Ultra, 13 Ultra, 14 Ultra to 17 Ultra, in parallel with top-of-the-line devices from Vivo or Oppo.
Thực tế ảnh chụp từ Vivo hay Oppo rất sắc nét, chi tiết cao và kiểm soát ánh sáng hoàn hảo. Nhưng khi ngồi xem lại toàn bộ hình ảnh sau chuyến đi, những tấm hình từ Xiaomi vẫn gợi lại cho mình nhiều cảm xúc nhất. Bên cạnh đó, việc giữ tiêu cự chính khoảng 23mm trên dòng Ultra giúp máy đáp ứng rất tốt đa số tình huống thường nhật. Gần đây các hãng có phong trào đưa ống kính tiềm vọng zoom xa để quảng bá, nhưng với nhu cầu chụp thông thường, những dải tiêu cự từ 23mm đến khoảng 75mm mới là thứ dùng nhiều nhất mỗi ngày.
A phone camera should ultimately serve well in capturing life's moments in a natural and emotional way, instead of just focusing on technical performance features. Please see more detailed pictures in the article below:
