Xiaomi 14T Pro camera tour through Barcelona: the Leica camera in everyday use

In Barcelona, I had the chance to put the camera of the Xiaomi 14T Pro through its paces. With its cityscape, the city offers a wonderful backdrop for it. According to the video description, the video is marked as an ad.

The Xiaomi 14T Pro camera

Thanks to the partnership between Xiaomi and Leica, the 14T Pro also has Leica lenses. Leica also had a hand in the software and contributed filters and presets that make photos and videos look better with one click.

• Main camera: 50 megapixels with a Leica lens
• Telephoto camera: 50 megapixels
• Ultrawide: 12 megapixels
• Selfie camera: 32 megapixels

There is also an extensive Pro mode for anyone who can handle it. It always overwhelms me a bit. Don’t panic: with the Leica presets and filters, you can already optimize quite a lot. I took all the shots in the video point and shoot, meaning without adjusting any settings beforehand. That reflects everyday use, and in my view that is what cameras have to be measured against.

Sightseeing: vivid colors despite gray weather

Whether it’s the Sagrada Família, the historic diving pool with a view over the city or the Olympic stadium: I notice that the colors come across beautifully despite the rather gray weather. The whole image is detailed and high-contrast. I like this tuning a lot. For some it may be too strong, but you can change everything with a preset.

• Zoom: The 30x digital zoom is okay. The AI gets quite a bit more out of the image, but in my opinion renders it very softly. I don’t like that quite as much. On the plus side, you can make out almost everything in detail even from a distance.
• Selfie camera: At 32 megapixels, very good photos and videos come out. In portraits, the foreground is sometimes not cut out of the background quite cleanly.
• Portraits with the main camera: They turn out really nice. On both the main and selfie cameras, the blur can be changed afterward.
• Focal lengths: With the small lens icon, you choose between different focal lengths in portrait mode. That is not real optics, but software. The focal lengths in millimeters are conveniently sorted into possible scenarios. I already found that handy on the Xiaomi 14 Ultra.

What is missing: the macro mode

An important difference from the Xiaomi 14 Ultra is that the 14T Pro has no macro mode. I think that’s a shame, but there have to be differences between an expensive and a cheaper model.

Night shots at the Museum of Modern Art

In return, quality in low light and at night is surprisingly good. The Museum of Modern Art in Barcelona was an excellent backdrop for it. Videos and photos are surprisingly low-noise, really nicely sharp and high-contrast, actually on the level of the Xiaomi 14 Ultra. In the comparison, you can also see what I meant earlier: the 14 Ultra’s shot next to it is much more balanced, and the 14T Pro’s colors and contrast are more vivid. I like this style, but it’s a matter of taste.

Food and shopping

The 14T Pro is also great for food: you can document everything well for Instagram, and the high contrast and intense colors fit that. While strolling through the little boutiques in the Gothic Quarter, I came away with a small bag that goes well with the 14T Pro’s Titan Grey. The smartphone just about fits in it.

Verdict

The 14T Pro is a great travel companion. In every situation, it takes really good photos and videos with the Leica camera, which largely keep up with those of a 14 Ultra.