Xiaomi Redmi Note 15 5G review

108MP main camera, wide selfies

The Redmi Note 15 doesn't change much, compared to the previous generation and packs some decent camera hardware - nothing too fancy, but a high-res main camera and an ultrawide, even a basic one, is more than some competitors have to offer. The selfie camera is about on the same okayish level too.

The main camera uses a 108MP sensor, nona-binning those 108MP to 12MP in regular photo mode. It's got a stabilized 24mm equivalent lens with a bright f/1.7 aperture. The app has a 3x shortcut in the viewfinder too, suggesting some sensor-level zoom action.

The ultrawide camera is based on an 8MP OmniVision sensor, but it's not the 8MP unit with autofocus we've been seeing on some recent models - this one has a fixed-focus lens.

Also fixed-focus is the lens of the selfie camera. The 20MP sensor is a 4-cell design (OV's Quad Bayer branding) but you'll be getting 20MP images only from it - no 5MP mode.

• Wide (main): 108MP Samsung ISOCELL HM9 (S5KHM9, 1/1.67", 0.64µm-1.92µm); 24mm, f/1.7, OIS, PDAF (8cm - ∞); 4K30 video recording.
• Ultrawide: 8MP OmniVision OV08F10 (1/4.0", 1.12µm); 16mm, f/2.2, fixed focus; 1080p30.
• Front camera: 20MP OmniVision OV20B (1/4.0", 0.7µm-1.4µm); 21mm, f/2.2, fixed focus; 1080p30.

Daylight photo quality

Main camera

The main camera of the Redmi Note 15 captures very good photos, possibly even excellent for the class. There's great detail with fairly mature processing - although random textures may lack a bit of definition, at least they're not sharpened beyond reason. Dynamic range is good, though the tendency for slightly brighter exposures may leave you with harsh highlights in some scenes. The auto white balance is reliable and colors look nice, if a little over the top on occasion.

Daylight samples, main camera (1x)

When shooting people, we got lively skin tones and slightly unusual detail rendition. The Photo mode results are on the coarse side, while the Portrait mode shots have a nicer detail rendition (that's with the beauty enhancements turned off). The Portrait mode's background blur is fairly conservative and believable - we'd probably prefer that mode for photos of people, for a change.

Human subjects, main camera (1x): Photo mode • Portrait mode

The full-res mode is of little use - you'll get no better detail out of it.

Daylight samples, main camera (1x), 108MP

The phone offers a 3x preset zoom level and it comes with unexpected drawbacks. Detail is actually fairly decent - a lot better than the 108MP 1x images on a pixel level. What's weird is the desaturation that plagued some of our shots, and we couldn't figure out a pattern why it happened either - we got substandard outdoor and indoor shots and good indoor and outdoor shots too.

Daylight samples, main camera (3x)

Ultrawide camera

The ultrawide camera returns usable results - it's certainly not the best of its kind, as we have occasionally gotten an actually good 8MP camera, and this one isn't. Detail is decent, more so in better lit areas than in the shadows which can be pretty soft. Dynamic range is alright, though once again we'd be happier with slightly darker exposures.

Daylight samples, ultrawide camera (0.6x)

Selfies

Selfies are fairly soft if you look at them at 1:1, but they don't show it on the phone's screen or on a monitor at normal viewing distances. Skin tones are looking good though a nudge in overall vibrance wouldn't hurt.

Selfie samples

Low-light photo quality

Main camera

The Redmi Note 15's main camera returns a balanced performance at night. That is to say, it takes good photos that aren't exactly flawless. Detail is fairly mushy in darker settings, but pretty good in well lit scenes, though even then it has a night-mode-ish sharpened character. White balance did well in our experience and colors are mostly good if a bit oversaturated. Exposures are on the dark side, which does well for highlight preservation, but the deep shadows could certainly use a boost.

Low-light samples, main camera (1x)

The 3x zoom shots are very soft and noisy - we'd say they're barely usable.

Low-light samples, main camera (3x)

Ultrawide camera

The ultrawide camera has a more measured approach to saturation, producing more neutral colors. It has good dynamic range, too. Detail isn't too great, though - things are fairly soft and blotchy.

Low-light samples, ultrawide camera (0.6x)

Video quality

The Redmi Note 15 records video up to 4K30 with the main camera on the back, while the ultrawide and the selfie camera max out at 1080p30. There's no 60fps mode on any of the cameras - not at 1080p, and not even in the also available 720p. There's no Pro video mode, no 24fps recording, and no HDR capture either, though you still do get to choose between the h.264 and h.265 (HEVC) codecs.

There's no video stabilization toggle, but you do get electronic stabilization on the main camera up to 1080p30 - you need to pick between high-res 4K clips, which are non-stabilized and shaky even from a standing position, and decently stable 1080p footage. The ultrawide's 1080p30 clips are stabilized and, well, stable.

You can check out the playlist below, which includes multiple video samples.

Daylight 4K clips from the main camera at 1x are surprisingly good with nicely fine detail that's rendered naturally. Dynamic range and colors are pretty great too. The lack of stabilization is a somewhat major problem though - you either need to have a high tolerance for shake or carry around some sort of support (tripod/beanbag). The 3x zoom level isn't too sharp and it's also pretty shaky, so hardly a good idea. The ultrawide's 1080p clips are quite soft too.

Redmi Note 15 video screengrabs, daylight: 0.6x • 1x • 3x

At night, the main camera's footage remains very sharp, if a little grainy now. Colors are on point and dynamic range is decent too - the blown highlights from the cars are unavoidable but the facade's spotlights are also a little harsh. The shakiness is still an issue, of course. Pretty impressive overall though, we'd say. The ultrawide isn't in its element in the dark - footage is very soft and dynamic range is... limited.

Redmi Note 15 video screengrabs, low light: 0.6x • 1x • 3x