Bring Xiaomi to America for the holidays, 10 days too many beautiful photos
I had a short trip to the US to attend the JBL 80th anniversary event and visit my son. This trip I did not use a camera but used Xiaomi 17 Ultra. The goal is to take the most normal, simple photos, of events that I participate in, the type of photos taken while traveling, not taking photos of beautiful or artistic angles. Please see the picture. On this trip to the US, I used the Xiaomi 17 Ultra version, not the LEICA LEITZPHONE version. Previously, I used the portable Leica version before Tet, this time I used the Xiaomi 17 Ultra version. The result is no difference. I also do not use accessories such as camera grips or additional cables or tubes. I want it to be a thin and light camera like a smartphone. The thing I like most about shooting with the Xiaomi 17 Ultra is that I can comfortably zoom through very photographic focal lengths such as 28mm, 35mm, 50mm, 75mm... because at these focal lengths I understand its true nature better than 1x, 2x, 3.2x... However, the problem is that the image quality is uniform across all focal lengths and are very beautiful, very emotional, the camera does not push the colors too much or too smooth... picture Can be used immediately, no need to adjust anything afterward. The pictures you see in this article are taken exactly like that. I didn't edit it, just used LightRoom to make it 2048px horizontal and reduce the quality to 70% to make it suitable for posting online. I have placed the full size image at the flickr link below. If you want to see it, please download it. https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCSto3
I took this photo while waiting for a plane at Hong Kong airport. This trip I flew United Airlines so I transited through Hong Kong. JBL invited me on this trip so I went with the plane ticket they bought. I remember the first time I came to America more than 15 years ago, I also flew United Airline and because Qualcomm bought the ticket, I also stopped by Hong Kong.
At the airport, I hung my backpack on the table through the most convenient backpack hanger for Vietnamese users that I introduced to you guys.
On hand and give away the best backpack hangers for Vietnamese users After using nearly 10 different backpack hangers, I came to the decision that the hanger from Japanese brand Muji, code MJ-TGTF1, is the most suitable type for Vietnamese users because we often have to hang backpacks on stainless steel tables in restaurants. This hook has... Tinhte.vn
On hand and give away the best backpack hangers for Vietnamese users
After a long flight, I arrived at LAX airport. The organizers gave me a voucher for 120 USD so I could take UBER to the hotel. I took this photo while waiting for an Uber at LAX airport. For this photo, I chose a more yellow preset than usual. You see, I zoomed in to 200mm to take this photo. The device will use a 200MP sensor with a focal length equivalent to 75mm (on full frame 35 system), but zoom up to 200mm, about 2.6 times. Choosing a 200MP sensor helps zoom in a lot but still achieves the necessary detail because the image has very high resolution.
After returning to The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, I attended an exchange party with JBL's event participants, about 30 media from everywhere. I belong to the APAC team so I go together and interact with this team. The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel opened in 1927, making it 99 years old.
The next morning the group moved to BMO Stadium in Los Angeles. BMO Stadium, one of the most modern and high-class football stadiums in North America, is designed as a cozy "outdoor arena" of top quality. The field has a seating angle of up to 34 degrees - one of the steepest angles in MLS, providing perfect visibility, the closest field is only 12 feet (about 3.6m) from the touchline, and all seats are located within a radius of 135 feet (41m) from the field surface. The field uses improved natural Bermuda grass, perfectly adapted to the Southern California climate, with an area of 86,000 sq ft, ensuring the field is always flat and durable for professional matches. The stadium is LEED Silver certified for sustainability, equipped with a modern ETFE roof, large public spaces, and advanced sound & lighting technology. All of these elements combine to create a luxurious, Hollywood-class experience true to Los Angeles. BMO Stadium is a symbol of luxury in sports and entertainment.
Standing from the entrance of the BMO yard, I took a photo of the opposite building. When I researched, I found out that it was George Lucas's soon-to-be-opened museum. Tomorrow I will go to this museum because I am a Star Wars fan. It is said that George Lucas spent billions of dollars to build this museum. I took this photo with a 75mm camera and the resolution of the sensor on this camera is 200Mp so you can see the details are good. I also turned the light down one notch because I wanted to save the fire in the high tower of the building. However, the feeling of watching pictures is more pleasant and comfortable. You can see the full version of this photo in the Flickr link above to see it better. Lucas Museum of Narrative Art was funded by George Lucas (father of Star Wars) and designed by architect Ma Yansong (MAD Architects), located right in Exposition Park, next to BMO Stadium. Uniquely shaped like a spaceship or floating cloud, the curved metal surface reflects the bright Los Angeles sunlight. The museum will officially open in September 2026, displaying diverse narrative art works, including paintings, films, comics and digital art. In the United States, it is a long-standing and popular tradition for billionaires and private collectors to invest in museum construction and establish endowment funds to ensure long-term operation. Unlike many other countries that depend mainly on the state budget, most large museums in the US operate as private non-profit organizations. Wealthy donors often spend hundreds of millions to billions of dollars to build facilities, collect works, and then establish an endowment fund (permanent investment fund) to earn annual interest to pay for operating, conservation and expansion costs, helping the museum not need to depend on government subsidies. An admirable point of American private museums is that most are open for free or have free days to the public. This allows Americans and visitors to enjoy art without the cost of admission. Typical examples include the Getty Museum, The Broad, Lucas Museum (expected) and many other museums all applying this policy. Thanks to that, art and culture are no longer the privilege of the elite but become the common property of society. It is this model that has helped the US build a system of rich, diverse and world-class private museums, making an important contribution to the preservation and dissemination of art and culture. This is a clear testament to the spirit of philanthropy - the charitable spirit of America's super-rich.
The Cali sun is not as harsh as the Saigon sun because the sun is slanting rather than shining straight down.
This beautiful girl from the organizing committee took me around during the days of the event. The voice was loud and clear, it was probably a JBL employee.
A JBL speaker hangs from the ceiling of a building in BMO Stadium. I mainly shoot in fastshot mode on Xiaomi 17 Ultra and in that mode, the basic focal lengths will be 28mm, 35mm, 50mm, 75mm... which means it is similar to the focal length concept of camera users. This photo I took at 75mm focal length, which means it will be taken with a telephoto camera.
A photo taken in a recording studio in LA. I took this photo at 28mm focal length. That means the camera will crop on a 1" sensor with 23mm focal length to produce this plate, meaning it doesn't use up 100% of the sensor area.
The 99-year-old hotel lobby of The Hollywood Roosevelt. I did not use fastshot mode for this photo but took normal photo mode to use the 23mm wide lens. At this time, it will use the full 1" sensor on Xiaomi 17 Utra. Please note that in this article, most of us do not use 23mm focal length, but mainly 28mm. Since the Xiaomi 14 Ultra, Xiaomi has allowed people to comfortably zoom through familiar criteria such as 28, 35, 50, 75, 105... without having to think about which sensor or camera the device is using. The output image is still of good quality, with beautiful and even colors.
Xiaomi 14 Ultra's photos are so emotional... I spent nearly a week with Xiaomi 14 Ultra and the Camera Kit accessory. It really gave me strong emotions when taking photos. As a photographer with many years of experience, not many cameras, especially phones, can give you this feeling. That's... Tinhte.vn
Xiaomi 14 Ultra's photos are so emotional...
In an American-style restaurant decades ago. Music is an indispensable part of American culture in the LA area. LA/Hollywood music is not just “a part” but one of the pillars of modern American popular culture. It shapes aesthetic tastes, lifestyles, and global influences (from K-pop, J-pop to Vietnamese music are also indirectly influenced by it).
Young Sohn (center) is Chairman of the Board of Harman International. He has held the top leadership role of the board of directors at Harman (part of Samsung) since Samsung acquired Harman in 2017. He is also a Senior Advisor of Samsung Electronics. Under his strategic leadership, JBL — one of Harman's most iconic audio brands — continues to grow strongly in portable speakers, headphones, professional audio and automotive solutions.
My group experienced music with an ambient sound system performed by a friend from Flux, a company recently acquired by Harman. Flux is a French company specializing in immersive audio (3D/spatial audio), high-end audio processing plugins, very powerful in live sound, studio and post-production. Flux is further integrated with JBL Professional products, creating a variety of joint immersive solutions.
I had the opportunity to visit JBL office. The JBL logo was designed by Jerome Gould in 1946 with the classic exclamation mark (!) symbol. In 1967, Arnold Wolf (JBL President) redesigned it, adding the characteristic red frame, creating the strongest and most recognizable iconic image in the audio industry to this day.
I don't remember this girl's name, but she talked about sound, technology and user experience related to headphones very well. This is the first time I've heard a woman talk about this issue and she's Asian, and I'm very impressed.
Not related to Xiaomi 17 Ultra, but in connection with JBL, I met the director of Harman's headphone department, I asked about the future of headphones and smartphones. As a result, we will basically continue to use Bluetooth for normal sound. If you want it to be good, use it here.
The hallway leading to my room at The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.
The main lobby ceiling of The Hollywood Roosevelt.
Opposite The Hollywood Roosevelt is TCL Chinese Threater, which opened in 1926, 100 years ago, with a front yard consisting of many concrete panels imprinted with hand and foot prints, signatures and messages of world-famous actors.
TCL Chinese Theater, formerly known as Grauman's Chinese Theater, is Hollywood's most famous movie icon, located on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Built by film producer Sid Grauman, the theater officially opened on May 18, 1927 with the premiere of “The King of Kings” directed by Cecil B. DeMille. The theater's architecture has a fanciful Chinese style, with typical details such as the pagoda, dragon columns and curved roof, designed by architects Meyer & Holler. Throughout its history, TCL Chinese Theater has hosted three Academy Award ceremonies from 1944 to 1946, and has been the premiere location for hundreds of blockbuster films. The theater is also a popular tourist destination, attracting visitors to admire the Forecourt of the Stars, which holds more than 200 handprints and footprints of Hollywood stars. In 2013, TCL bought back the naming rights for $5 million and upgraded the theater into a modern IMAX cinema. Up to now, TCL Chinese Theater still maintains its position as one of the most beautiful and important movie theaters in the world.
Make a plate of cali broken rice. After finishing work, I ran down to my son's place a few dozen kilometers away and invited him to eat rib rice, a restaurant I often eat at every time I come to Southern California. Kieu broken rice.
The sun shines on the rose tree.
Another restaurant I love in Southern California is Taco Nazo. This restaurant has very delicious and special fish tacos. If you are visiting Southern California, you should find this restaurant to eat.
Taco Nazo, a famous Mexican restaurant chain in Southern California, is considered a pioneer in popularizing Ensenada-style Fish Taco (Baja-style) since 1978. Founded by husband and wife team Gilberto and Maria Romero, Taco Nazo started out as a mobile taco truck in La Puente.
They brought the recipe for crispy fried fish, fresh cabbage, crema and salsa from Baja California to the US, creating the signature flavor that has become the standard for fish tacos in Los Angeles. The La Puente site is now recognized as a cultural monument. The restaurant chain currently has about 5-6 restaurants, including La Puente, Bellflower, South El Monte, La Habra, Walnut and Santa Ana. Taco Nazo is famous for dishes such as fish taco, shrimp taco, burrito and fresh seafood.
Your nephew cuts your hair. I taught myself how to cut hair and cut it extremely well, but looking at my head, I gave up.
Added a rose photo because it captures the color so beautifully.
The sanctuary of Saint Anthony's church. I often visit this church every time I come to Cali.
Sitting at the cafe opposite, I saw this beautiful Disney building and took a photo with the 14mm super wide-angle lens. You can see that even though the lens is super wide, the sensor is not as good as the 1" sensor on the main camera, but the image is still good.
Take 35mm focal length. I put the address as GPS coordinates on the picture. You can copy and paste it into mapping software to know exactly where it is.
A museum visitor rests on a chair specially designed to look like it's floating in the air. Reflective glass is glued to the edge of the chair to create that feeling. This technique was used by George Lucas in the 1977 film Star Wars to create the feeling of vehicles or objects hovering above the ground.
A guard at an art installation at The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
Some young people went to the museum with me
Corridor leading to the Brand museum.
In modern stores there are often some very strange things.
Very large table and chair set.
A very large rabbit-shaped balloon
A very large picture too
Inside the cylindrical glass elevator in the Brand museum. Reminds me of the circular elevator at The Lourve museum, Paris, France.
Escalators enter the sightseeing area in the Brand museum.
There are many highways in Cali, people move very quickly but there is still traffic jam during rush hour as usual.
Italian-style fish dish. I like Italian food. This restaurant is in Southern California, very delicious, you can see the address on the picture to go there.
Glass church cemetery area. You can't see the cemetery because it was designed to look normal.
In front of an office building or some organization at Glass Cathedral. Statue of Jesus playing with children.
One side is a glass church and the bell tower next to it. This church was built a long time ago and was built as a Protestant church but is now used as a Catholic church.
Statue of Jesus walking on water. Mt 14:25: “And about the fourth watch of the night he came to his disciples walking on the sea.”
While taking pictures, I was so hungry that I stopped by the restaurant next to the church to order baked potatoes stuffed with meat. Loaded Baked Potato in English.
The circle in the distance is the Monument of Our Lady of La Vang. Glass Church has a very large Vietnamese community here.
The main side facing the street of Glass church.
Christ Cathedral, formerly known as the Crystal Cathedral, is one of the most unique and impressive religious structures in the United States. Located at 13280 Chapman Avenue, Garden Grove, Orange County, California, the church was designed by famous architect Philip Johnson and inaugurated in 1980. The special highlight of this project is the more than 10,000 glass panels that reflect light, creating a sparkling crystal-like appearance, making Vietnamese people often call it the Glass Church.
Initially, this was the Protestant church of pastor Robert H. Schuller and the place where the world-famous religious television program "Hour of Power" took place. In 2012, the Catholic Diocese of Orange bought this entire 14-hectare campus. After the renovation and restoration process, the church was officially dedicated and renamed Christ Cathedral in 2019, becoming the Cathedral of the Catholic Diocese of Orange County.
With a capacity of more than 2,000 people, Christ Cathedral is not only a place of worship but also a cultural, artistic and spiritual center, attracting a large number of tourists to visit and admire. The Christ Cathedral campus includes the Tower of Hope, the Arboretum, the chapel of St. Callistus, the cemetery and the cultural center. Modern glass architecture blends with Catholic elements to create a solemn, peaceful and inspiring space. Currently, Christ Cathedral is a symbol of faith for the multicultural Catholic community in Southern California, attracting millions of tourists and believers to admire and pray.
Conclusion: no need to buy a travel camera anymore
Obviously, Xiaomi 17 Ultra in particular or current good camera phones in general can comfortably replace small travel cameras, which in my opinion cost about 20 million. Therefore, when you buy a high-end camera phone, you will get many benefits such as many focal lengths, many effects, fast and smooth operation, beautiful screen... and also a device to connect and access social networks. I strongly urge you not to buy a travel camera anymore:
