Ziomi showed an interesting new camera concept in this year’s MWC in Barcelona, Spain. Although it is reminiscent of other manufacturers’ past efforts, Ziomi’s approach is fundamentally different. Sony, for example, tried to use external lens controlled by Xperia smartphones.
The main advantage of Ziomi’s concept is that it uses ISP of smartphone, so all post-processing devices are done. The phone and lens are connected to Ziomi’s ownership laserlink and data transfer, occurring in nanoseconds. The transfer rate is 10 Gbps.
The lens connects the Xiaomi 15 with the same Q2 magnet on the iPhone. Snaping the module is rather unclear, however, it should be in a certain proper position, and you have to arrange it with two pins on the back. The gentle “instant” tells you that you are in the right place, but it is somewhat subtle, so if the lens is attached, we will always have to double-pattern. Another way to know is – an icon on the camera’s viewfinder tells you that you are successfully connected.
Since the Ziomi 15 is a small and somewhat thin device, the wide 100-gram lenses make a little fantastic to catch the entire setup, and obviously you can’t use it with the case.
Overall utility is surprisingly good. It almost doesn’t look like an idea. There is no leg, and switching between other cameras and modular lenses is integrated. Speaking of other cameras, the lens is a lot out of the way, it comes like an ultravide camera, so you can see it in your photo.
The external lens only draws power from the smartphone when it is active. Once you switch to another camera, it closes. The drawback is that it takes one or two seconds to launch, which can sometimes cost you a great shot.
The lens itself contains impressive specs. It has a 100MP Light Fusion X Micro for Third Sensor, using some Android flagship phones, including the Ziomi 15 Ultra, is larger than the 1 inch type of sensor. It also offers a 2X crop factor for the 50mm equivalent. The sensor uses quad-engaging, so the original photos come in 25MP resolution.
The sensor is connected to a 35 mm lens with a hole from F/1.4 to F/11. There is also a manual focusing ring, but the speed of the shutter can only be configured by Pro Camera mode.
Modular lens controlled
Interestingly, the entire module is built indoors without any third-party involvement. This includes the lens. Once the prototype is widely prepared to be produced, Ziomi does not deny the involvement of potential licca.
Xiaomi has not shared any plan to make this a market-finished product, so don’t catch your breath.
