Xiaomi Xiaobai Smart Camera 1080p IP Camera (CMSXJ17A)

Content

• 1 Description
• 2 Characteristics
• 3 Disadvantages 3.1 Noise when shooting with Wi-Fi turned on
• 3.2 Muffled sound from microphone
• 3.3 The lens is out of focus 3.3.1 Taking photographs and measuring the angle of rotation of the lens
• 3.3.2 HDMI + FullHD monitor

How does Xiaomi Yi record sound?

Just a spoiler - the device does not record sound very well, even when shooting at a distance with an open monopod. It is very difficult to make out the voice, and in windy weather this becomes especially noticeable. At the same time, you get a dull sound that you don’t want to listen to at all. There is a Buzzer volume improvement, but in practice it does not provide any benefit. The same applies to noise reduction, which the manufacturer mentioned.

This is not the main option of an action camera, which is immediately noticeable. The emphasis is on the quality of the video, and not on how you express your emotions during extreme travel or active sports. In addition, this drawback can be easily corrected by connecting a good external microphone.

Characteristics[edit]

Dimensions of Xiaomi Yi at a glance

• Dimensions: 60.4 x 42 x 21.2 mm
• Weight: 72 g
• Ambarella A7LS GPU

Xiaomi Yi sensor device

• Sensor: 1/2.3″ SONY “Exmor R” CMOS with 16 megapixels, with back-illuminated technology designed for shooting in low light conditions. With backlighting, the wires are located under the photodiode rather than above it.
• Aspherical glass lens, large aperture, wide angle, 155°, F2.8 aperture
• Underwater shooting up to 40 meters (you need to buy an additional waterproof case)
• HD Video Recording, MP4 video format
• Video shooting modes: 1080p
  60fps / 48fps / 30fps / 24fps
• 960p
  60fps / 48fps
• 720p
  120fps / 60fps / 48fps
• 480p
  240fps

Test: standard mode, day

Let's look at pictures taken in good lighting with cameras

iPhone 7 Plus and Xiaomi Mi Note 3…

...Xiaomi A1

The results are disappointing from the first shots. The color balance suffers seriously, and the most unpleasant thing is that it is unstable. It is impossible to predict the behavior of the camera in order to make a massive correction. Photos from the A1 are grainy at long distances; close-ups are good, but the loss is noticeable.

The main disadvantage: Xiaomi's loss of detail at the edges of the frame, insufficiently developed details, and not always natural colors.

On the other hand, a number of frames from the MI Note look much more believable than their iPhone counterparts.

A1 behaves similarly, but its results are marred by defects that appear in areas of too different coloring. The optics of this smartphone are too demanding on lighting.

Disadvantages[edit]

These shortcomings were discovered by the first users of Xiaomi Yi (that is, they were in the first batches of the camera), then all or some were eliminated.

• Quick discharge of the built-in battery. Solution
• File size limit of 1.99GB (regardless of the file system of the memory card)

Noise when shooting with Wi-Fi on[edit]

Location of the Wi-Fi antenna (shown by a green arrow)
The proposed solution is to disable the Wi-Fi antenna by sealing its contact on the outer cover. You can seal it with tape or self-adhesive paper. Without an antenna, you can successfully connect to Xiaomi Yi via Wi-Fi within 5 meters, which is quite enough for setup.

Muffled sound from microphone[edit]

In other words, the quality of the recorded sound is poor. In principle, this is a lack of design, circuit and technical solutions.

But the problem in some Xiaomi Yi units is aggravated by the rubber gasket on the microphone. The rubber is very soft, so when it is inserted into the camera, it moves and covers the microphone.

To fix this, you need to unscrew the 4 screws, open the case and cut a larger hole in this rubber band, then insert it back in the same position as when pulling it out, but not sideways. In this position, the rubber band will no longer be able to cover the microphone.

Lens out of focus[edit]

Poor focusing, blurry, out-of-focus images when shooting video and photography - one might say, a birth defect of a considerable number of Xiaomi Yi copies.

Corrections:

Photographing with measuring the angle of rotation of the lens[edit]

Xiaomi Yi lens rotation angle meter template

1. Remove the front panel (with your fingernails or something sharp, but carefully with the plastic latches.
2. Make an o (right on top) to remember the initial position of the lens and use it as a reference point.
3. Remove the hot-melt adhesive that secures the lens with a knife or something else sharp.
4. Cut a small piece of cardboard or paper, cut a semicircle in it, along the diameter of the lens - this will be a template to measure the angle of rotation of the lens.
5. Mark and number 15 marks on the template, one at 12 o'clock (directly at the top) so that it coincides with the lens position mark made earlier, and 7 on both sides so that there are even divisions from the 9 o'clock position to the 3 o'clock position "
6. Secure the template to the camera with tape so that it does not move.
7. Take photographs in maximum resolution at each position of the lens, when the previously made mark on it coincides with the mark on the template (you should get 14-15 photographs). If the task is to set the focus for aerial photography, that is, “to infinity,” then it is better to take test photographs on the street or from a balcony, so that it is convenient to point the Xiaomi Yi at the same remotely located object (the distance to it should be at least a couple of tens of meters. Taking photographs from a window onto the street is a less suitable method, since the difference in air temperatures inside and outside can cause significant distortion in the photographs. Alternatively, download, print and place in front of the camera (at a distance of at least 5 m) template for setting focus.
8. Compare the resulting photographs, enlarging their fragments in the most contrasting areas of distant objects.
9. Having selected the clearest photo and compared it with the mark number on the template, rotate the Xiaomi Yi lens so that the mark on the lens coincides with the selected mark on the template, or is located between the marks if two photographs with almost the same clarity were selected.
10. If desired, you can fix the lens with hot glue in the new position.

This is a very precise way of adjusting focus because you can enlarge the photographed image and see details with pixel precision, even on a low-resolution monitor.

HDMI + FullHD monitor[edit]

Xiaomi Yi can be connected to a TV or monitor with FullHD resolution (1920x1080) via an HDMI cable and adjust the focus, focusing on the sharpness of the picture displayed on the TV.

Minuses:

• You need a microHDMI-HDMI cable, which is not usually used by radio modelers.
• The focus adjustment will still not be very accurate due to the relatively small resolution of the 1920x1080 video image, although the result will probably be much better than before the adjustment.

Equipment and appearance

Like all the company's devices, Xiaomi Yi comes in a minimalist box. In this case, there is not even a company logo on the packaging. By the way, it is not on the camera itself - the name of the camera “Yi” appears everywhere. It’s not entirely clear how to correctly pronounce the name of the gadget – yuI? yu? Wai? Vai? Be that as it may, with such a name it will not be easy for a gadget in Russia.

The box itself is miniature and contains a minimal set of components: the camera itself, a USB cable, documentation and a battery. After the recent review of GoPro Hero4 cameras, it’s especially unusual to see such a package.

This package corresponds to the camera in the Basic Edition modification. The company also offers Xiaomi Yi Travel Edition with a good metal monopod with a tripod threaded mount included, as well as its advanced modification with a control panel. If desired, the monopod can be purchased separately from the camera.

If a monopod is an optional, albeit very nice addition, then an aqua box is a thing that I would like to see included directly “out of the box”. However, it is not there - the company decided to sell all accessories additionally (however, Apple does the same thing). The official Waterproof Box is now available, and various mounts and more are expected to appear in the future. However, the mounting of the “YI-y” box coincides with the “go-pro” one (the GoPro pressurized box itself does not fit the YI, although it’s strange), so there’s no need to wait for branded accessories.

We had a white version of the camera at our disposal. There is also a brighter (yellow-green) color. The camera body is made of matte, slightly rough plastic. The material has a ribbed texture around the perimeter (exactly the same as GoPro), which ensures a comfortable grip on the camera in your hand.

On the front side, apart from the lens and a large key responsible for turning the camera on/off and switching modes, there is nothing else. There is no display, even a monochrome one, in the camera (it would have significantly raised the price tag), so for convenient and comfortable use you will have to install a mobile application.

The user is also asked to trust the LED indication (of which the camera has three). The first, ring-shaped indicator, is located around the power key and is responsible for the battery charge level. It can light blue (battery charge at 50-100%), purple (15-49%) and red (0-14%).

The top end of the camera is equipped with a shooting start button, a small slot for a microphone and a round status indicator. Exactly the same indication elements are located on the rear panel and below.

They glow exclusively red with different behavior. Inactive indicators mean that photo shooting mode is selected, blinking means video recording is in progress, constant light means video mode is selected. This method of display is not obvious, but you can get used to it after several shooting sessions.

On the right side there is a Wi-Fi activation key. As you already understand, Xiaomi decided to assign a different indicator for each camera function, and Wi-Fi is no exception. Therefore, the third LED will light blue when the wireless connection is activated - it is needed to synchronize the camera with the application. We have yet to talk about the degree of importance of the latter in the device.

A rather nice little detail is located on the bottom of the camera. In addition to the aforementioned indicator, there is a thread (1/4″) for mounting on a tripod (something GoPro cannot boast of). One of the advantages is that you can safely connect various monopods, tripods and mounts to the camera, but the disadvantage is that the depth of the hole is not very large. A standard monopod screws in tightly, but for other accessories you may have to come up with some kind of crutch in the form of a gasket for reliable fixation.

Finally, the back panel has two covers. Behind the first there is a slot for a memory card (microSD) and MicroUSB and miniHDMI connectors.

Behind the second is a removable Chinese battery (capacity 1010 mAh). Both plugs, as in the case of the GoPro, are easy to lose, since they are not equipped with a mount.

Useful[edit]

• On the bottom edge of the Xiaomi Yi body there is a standard inch thread that allows you to mount the camera on a tripod or other mounts without any additional adapters, which is usually required for other action cameras.
• Disassembly does not require the use of any special tools; just carefully pry and remove the front panel.
• In cameras without the L
  , the infrared filter IRC (Infra Red Cut, IR Cut) is implemented physically, while in others it is implemented in software! The IRC filter cuts off part of the invisible IR spectrum, which is perceived by the matrix as flare. There is an opinion that cameras with a software implementation of this filter have a sharper image, but remove the IR spectrum worse, while cameras with a physical filter do the opposite!
• If you record an AV signal from microUSB, the strips of the picture at the top and bottom are cut off, but if you connect the camera via Wi-Fi to the phone, the picture becomes normal. If you turn off wi-fi, the picture remains normal, but if you restart the camera, the picture is cut off again.

Photo and video

That's why I bought the camera - to film my vacation. But you shouldn't expect any special achievements from this gadget. Here are just the most common problems that can be seen in the pictures taken by this video camera:

• The photo “floats”, making the picture strange and unattractive. The detail when using 100% crop is simply disgusting;
• The image is unclear in the corners, but if you don’t look closely, such an error is not so noticeable;
• When turning on the lens rectification function, be prepared that the picture will be clear only in the area strictly in the center, but the rest of the photo will be seriously blurred;
• Exposure is unclear, causing colors to appear greenish-yellow rather than vibrant as advertised.

As for video, there are problems here too. For example, a review of the Xiaomi Yi Action Camera showed that this device is capable of recording videos for no longer than 5 minutes. Nothing can be done about this, but you can shoot many five-minute videos, constantly filling your memory with them. In general, for its price category, the camera is more than good, although not without its flaws.

Where to buy[edit]

• Find all offers from stores for Xiaomi Yi and its accessories
• GearBest.com [1] [2]

Accessories[edit]

• Polarizing filter to eliminate flare of light objects (due to a bright sky).
• Waterproof case declared immersion depth up to 40M [3] [4] [5]
• Lens protection [6] [7]
• Video signal cable for FPV. More

Cameras of the flagship Mi line

The development of top xiaomi models is continuous. The newest developments are constantly announced, Mi7 is already on its way. And if in budget models you can find the entire set of optics manufacturers with whom the company works is more or less constant: Sony, Samsung and OmniVision, then for a flagship smartphone the best of the best camera is selected.

Recently, the manufacturer chosen by the company's management was the Sony concern. The latest top models are equipped with a matrix from it. And it’s not surprising that 40% of the optics market is occupied by this giant, which aspires to world domination. OmniVision is gradually disappearing from the attention of developers; if the flagship Mi5 of last year sported an OV4688 sensor for the front camera, then the Mi6 is already equipped with the best SonyIMX486 at the moment

Mi 5 series

Xiaomi Mi 5 appeared in 2020 and fueled the fading interest in the company. The flagship came out top-end in every sense; special attention was paid to the camera. Continuously working optical stabilization has appeared, as well as a number of additional features, enhanced in subsequent models - 5S, 5SPlus. In 2020, 2 more smartphones from this series appeared - 5C and 5X. To choose which model to choose, a summary table of parameters will help.

The flagship evolved, and along with it its optical capabilities developed. Mi5 was the first to come out and proved itself more than worthy, especially by providing optical stabilization coupled with electronic stabilization.

It seemed that video shooting would finally stabilize and be able to compete with reference camera phones. But it was not there. The picture during the day turned out blurry and not bright enough. The optical stabilizer could not solve all stabilization problems, and a good matrix turned out to be dull, especially in the dark.

The next 5S already used only electronic stabilization, but the sensor became much more “vigorous” than the previous one. The photos look quite lively and are pleasing to the eye.

The 5S Plus was a step back. Despite the dual camera (the second is monochrome), the effect was rather the opposite; due to the lower aperture (f/2.2), the picture was not pleasing.

Finally, Xiaomi released two more models at the end of the year, one 5C for the Chinese market, there is no data on the matrices of both cameras, and 5X is an attempt to experiment before the launch of a new project - Mi6. But the dual camera from OmniVision with medium aperture did not satisfy the quality.

For comparison, 2 flagships with the best and worst performance were selected. These are Xiaomi Mi 5S and Xiaomi Mi 5C.

The best camera in this line is 5S.

Even in the dark and from a long distance, the clarity and richness of the picture is visible.

The worst camera in the line is the 5C.

The photo is gray and faded and does not stand up to any comparison with the previous one.

Mi 6 series

The series is represented by two models with a difference in output per year – 6 and 6X. A very fresh attempt to surprise the world is Xiaomi Mi 6X, the first sales took place at the end of April 2020 and received rave reviews from all over the world. The smartphone impressed first of all with its video cameras, ahead of its predecessor - Mi6 by a whole body!

The latest development does not have optical stabilization, like the previous version of the flagship, but look at what it is strong at! The dual main camera is impressive. To enhance the effect, a new pixel combining technology has been introduced into the second camera, due to which the size of the light element is almost doubled. In addition, the front camera is able to respond to changes in the external background; the sensor gives the most improved output image. Dual optical zoom nicely complements all the innovations in optics on the flagship.

Example photo of Mi6 with Bokeh effect (blurred background).

There are no reliable photos of Mi6X. Sales have just begun, and the phone has not yet arrived in Russia.

Mix Series

Beginning in 2020, frameless phones will hit the market. The very first Mix pretty much amazed Xiaomi fans, but the main thing was yet to come. The evolution of this class of smartphones has followed the path of increasing the power of cameras, this was especially clearly expressed in the transition from Mix 2 to Mix 2S.

From an average photo quality, Xiaomi in the latest version jumped into the sky. The main camera on the Mix 2S is considered one of the best today. Dual optics, vertically positioned, have Dual PDAF optical stabilization, optical zoom, background blur function in portraits and many other “signs” of intelligence. Photos taken at night are surprising in their clarity and bright colors, something that many of the brand’s smartphones previously lacked.

The changes did not affect the front camera, which is average for the class. In all three models it remained unchanged, 5 megapixel resolution and f/2.0 aperture

Sample photos are already available and leaked online, despite the fact that sales started in April 2020.

Max Series

The giant Mi Max has grown to the second version, but nothing significant has been added in terms of optics. In addition, the company did not release a new upgrade in 2018, and the smartphone is still gathering dust on the shelf.

Mi Note series

Xiaomi Note 2, released in 2020, was updated in 2020, the name has not changed, the CE mark has been added. What about cameras? It's not bad, Sony IMX318 Exmor ES with a resolution of 23 megapixels. This is the first time in its history that the company has raised the bar so high. And indeed, looking at the camera’s parameters, we are convinced of its capabilities. There is a hybrid and therefore fast autofocus, a fairly wide viewing angle, an acceptable aperture (f/2), digital zoom and digital stabilization.

Everything seems to be good, but there are also disadvantages...

Too many small pixels are pushed into the matrix and ideal conditions are needed for shooting. The presence of autofocus and digital stabilization does not help the video and it shakes a little when shooting. It can be unpleasant to take pictures in the dark, as “noise” immediately appears, a consequence of the flow of charge from one pixel to another, since there is an overabundance of them here. The camera does not cope well with exposure, often exposing or darkening various parts of the photo at its discretion.

As a result, the camera has more disadvantages than advantages. That is why, following the Note2, the magnificent Xiaomi Note 3 was born. Comparing these two versions is like a battle between David and Goliath, the difference between them is huge.

At the time of the release of the third version of the smartphone, Xiaomi had a win-win option, and the company did not fail to take advantage of it. This is a dual camera from Sony, the pixel size has increased to 1.23 microns (compared to 1 microns for Note2), the aperture reached f/1.8, with optical stabilization and double optical zoom. Which together gave an undeniable result. The new version knocked its short-lived predecessor off its pedestal, and the latest camera's shots shifted priorities. Those who hesitated in choosing between the two versions began to lean in favor of Note3

Model Mi A1

This phone has found its way into flagships only because of its widely advertised dual camera. The optics are notable for the fact that, just like the iPhone 7 camera, it is located horizontally. But that's where the similarities end. The camera sensor is from OmniVision OV12A10, 12 megapixel resolution and f/2.2 aperture, which is not encouraging.

The second sensor is even smaller - f/2.6, from the same manufacturer. The 2x optical zoom inspires some optimism. But the problems of budget cameras remain in full force. This is excessive “noise” and not enough sharpness. Due to the tiny aperture, the user will have to shoot at slow shutter speeds, which is not conducive to quality photography. Stabilization is not stated at all.

Bottom line: there are more problems than necessary, especially for a phone marketed as a flagship.

Low light conditions

Of course, Liceu station cannot be called a completely dark place. But the conditions here are still quite difficult for smartphone cameras: in some places it is too bright from advertising or too dark, since the light from billboards does not reach, for example, the rails.

At first glance, the main camera did a good job. Although the navigation letters are starting to merge into one thing.

It is generally impossible to understand what is written on this crop. Of course, you can speculate, but this is somehow not good at all. In general, the main (and brightest!) camera leaked this frame.

But the 2x optical zoom helped: even in this form, from the computer screen you can easily see the following stations after Liceu: Drassaness and Paral-lel. Comfortable!

There is still some blur. Here either the camera shook, or the focus did not fully understand what to pay attention to. But you can see the boundaries of the maple leaves. Not bad.

This photo would look good in wide-angle format. By the way, here is the lens artifact again: apparently, the smartphone is trying to programmatically straighten straight lines curved by the lens, but this is not always successful. Look at the rail closest to the photographer: if such a thing existed in reality, the train would get off it on the first trip.

As you would expect, navigation is lost. This picture would not have helped me if my local analogue of Yandex.Metro had suddenly broken down. It's a pity.

Another very difficult condition for the camera: filming the exit to a sunny street from a dark passage. And then either Valya didn’t turn on HDR, or this same HDR didn’t work, but there was a wild light on the street. Because of this, you can only see two people and some kind of tree in the distance. But there is very little information about the street.

At first glance, the artifacts of the main lens are not noticeable on the crop: the camera has worked out the details well. But with the can of soda, a little speculation still happened. This makes it look very blurry.

When we meet, I will ask the photographer why he decided not to center the photo. But the “telephoto” did its job perfectly: I see that it is not Valentin who is taking the photographs. Because he and another Valentine are standing on the street.

There is noticeable shaking on something resembling a wall bars. Or is it just out of focus? By the way, now I can’t understand: is this a can of Cola and something else? The color seems to be yes, but it also looks like a can of Spanish beer Estrella Damm.

If you don't sprinkle, this is the most effective shot. The photographer just found a place where the “shirik” would be very appropriate. Pass! I really like the frame itself and how the texture of the walls is emphasized.

But on the crop, the texture of the walls doesn’t look so cool. And the frame of the lower canopy is not visible: everything merged, and the matrix simply did not see information about it. But in the frame taken with the main module, they are visible.

We can sum up preliminary results: Xiaomi has a very good telephoto lens and a good main camera module. But “Shirik” still looks like pampering in most scenarios: there are a lot of artifacts and the company has not yet learned how to work with it.

On the other hand, most users don't need a smartphone camera to view their photos at 100% zoom. But on Instagram, many of these shots would look very cool.

Control

This is done, for the most part, using three keys: shutter release, on/off, and Wi-Fi activation. If there is no connection to portable devices, you can only switch between “video” and “photo” modes. A full list of settings and functions becomes available only after installing proprietary software from Xiaomi.

We were unable to download the corresponding file from the official website, but we helped us figure out how to download the Russified version of the product on the 4pda forum. In essence, this is a fairly high-quality clone of the GoPro application with its own design and good functionality.

Establishing a connection with the smartphone was possible without any problems, but the principle of operation of the Wi-Fi key remained a sealed secret for us. The indicator lights up completely randomly, be it a single short press or holding down a key for several seconds. In a word, the button lives its own life. This function is implemented in a similar way in GoPro, but everything works flawlessly there.

Camera Xiaomi Yi Sport