Camera Test Overview

• Xiaomi Mi A2 (€250) compared against OnePlus 6 (2x price) and Galaxy S9+ (3x price)
• Response to viewer requests after unboxing video
• First budget phone to compete closely with flagship cameras

Daylight 4K Video Performance

• Mi A2 keeps up remarkably well in color and contrast
• OnePlus 6 excels with incredible HDR
  • Maintains brightness and detail in shaded areas better than other two
• Mi A2 stabilization issues
  • Other two flagship phones eliminate human sway effectively
  • Mi A2 lacks proper stabilization at 4K

Slow Motion Capabilities

• Galaxy S9+ preferred output
  • 720p resolution, sharper than OnePlus 6
  • Can record slower than OnePlus but not continuously
• OnePlus 6: 720p, continuous recording capability
• Mi A2: fewer frames captured, maintains 1080p for cleaner look

Walking/Movement Video Test

• 4K recording comparison
• Samsung excels, OnePlus close behind
• Mi A2 either completely disabled or significantly reduced electronic image stabilization at 4K
• At 1080p, Mi A2 introduces stabilization

Daylight Photography

• Mi A2 performs well against phones 2-3x more expensive
• Image processing introduces higher contrast subtly
• Brings out more sky detail
• S9+ appears softer compared to other two
• Mi A2 provides slight extra definition

Backlit Photography

• OnePlus 6 best at keeping foreground well-lit with direct light source
• Close competition, none performing badly

Mid-Light Performance

• Mi A2 loses some punch but less affected than other two
• Surprisingly least affected by challenging lighting

Low-Light Video

• Mi A2 struggles most
• OnePlus 6 applies strange blue filter (post-launch software update)
• OnePlus 6 sharpest of three due to slight over-sharpening and better detail capture
• All phones recording at 1080p
• Mi A2 stabilization kicks in at lower light

Low-Light Photography

• Galaxy S9+ clear winner
  • Variable aperture gathers more light
  • Produces cleaner photos with less noise
• Mi A2 secondary lens analysis
  • Helps in dim conditions
  • In very dark conditions, primary lens performs better
  • Secondary lens creates brighter but less detailed images
• Mi A2 performance close to OnePlus 6 quality

Portrait Mode

• S9+ requires zooming into image (inconvenience)
• S9+ creates more cinematic quality with intense background blur
• OnePlus 6 best at handling dynamic range
• Mi A2 gets core subject well but loses background detail and color

Selfie Performance

• Mi A2 excels with punchy images straight from camera
• Moderate skin smoothing (not excessive)
• Portrait mode from front camera solid across all three
• Mi A2 has consistently vibrant color profile
• A2 and S9+ suffer from overexposure for beautification
• OnePlus 6 better controls light areas

Super Low-Light Selfies

• Mi A2 clear step ahead
• Better t-shirt detail and stitching definition

Zoom Capabilities

• Mi A2 has no optical zoom (concession for budget)
• OnePlus 6 also lacks optical zoom but can zoom 2x clearly
• Mi A2 struggles with zoom
• S9+ has optical zoom with zero quality loss at 2x

Detail/Texture Analysis

• 12x zoom comparison on texture shots
• OnePlus 6 slightly more definition (16MP vs 12MP sensors)
• S9+ and Mi A2 similar performance
• Samsung has less noise and artifacting, smoother photos