It’s the just-announced (as in: today, July 19!) Xiaomi Mix Fold 4. It looks beyond promising even past the camera front, but I’ll leave the rest of the bells and whistles for another article.
The Galaxy Z Fold 6 (and Z Fold 5) camera performance
Is that all you got, Samsung?
The Galaxy Z Fold 6’s rear triple camera setup. | Image credit – PhoneArena
So, before we proceed over to the Mix Fold 4 and its camera, let’s see what the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is all about when it comes to photography.
It’s known that the Z Fold 6 is retaining the familiar 3-camera rear setup as before, including the 50MP main camera, 10MP 3x telephoto, and 12MP ultrawide. The sensors and the rest of the hardware stack appears to be unchanged from what we saw in the Galaxy Z Fold 5.
Galaxy Z Fold 6 rear camera specs:
- 12MP Ultra-Wide Camera, F2.2, FOV: 123˚
- 50MP Wide-angle Camera, FOV: 85˚
- 10MP Telephoto Camera, 3X optical zoom
Our review testing showed that most of the time, there isn’t a significant difference between the Fold 6 and the Fold 5, meaning we have a competent (but not industry-leading) camera. If you want top camera performance from Samsung, you should definitely check out the Galaxy S24 Ultra. What a beast.
As far as the telephoto capabilities on the Z Fold 6 go, the camera is essentially the same as before with minor software enhancements, resulting in mostly negligible improvements over the Z Fold 5.
The Galaxy Z Fold 5 from 2023. | Image credit – PhoneArena
Last year’s Z Fold 5 scored 140 points on our PA Camera Score, while the Z Fold 6 has slightly surpassed it with a total score of 142. In comparison, Samsung’s top camera phone, the Galaxy S24 Ultra, boasts a PA Camera Score of 154.12 points might not seem like much, but personally, I’m not impressed with Samsung’s cameras on their foldables. Yes, they can take nice photos. That’s not what I’m after, if I’m paying top dollar for the Z Fold. That’s the harsh truth.
The OnePlus Open camera: amazing!
The OnePlus Open is a mighty machine. | Image credit – PhoneArena
If we’re talking about foldables and cameras, we can’t neglect the OnePlus Open, a personal favorite of ours here at PhoneArena. When we reviewed it, we came to the conclusion that this right here is probably the best camera on a foldable!
The OnePlus Open features one of the most impressive camera setups seen on a foldable phone to date. True to OnePlus’ flagship standards, the camera system is fine-tuned by the renowned camera company Hasselblad. Let’s explore what the OnePlus Open camera can do.
The prominent rear camera array includes a 48MP main camera with a large 1/1.43″ Sony LYTIA-T808 stacked sensor. This new sensor has an innovative pixel design that captures more light and provides better dynamics than much larger traditional camera sensors. OnePlus claims that the main camera on the OnePlus Open rivals those with 1-inch sensors while being much more compact.
The phone’s telephoto camera is a 64MP unit with native 3.0X optical zoom. Due to its high resolution, this camera can also achieve 6.0X lossless zoom by cropping the center of the 64MP sensor. The telephoto camera can zoom up to 120X, giving it significant bragging rights.
Interestingly, the OnePlus Open is likely one of the first Android phones to emulate the iPhone 15‘s customizable focal lengths for the main camera. Users can select from 24mm, 28mm, and 35mm focal lengths directly from the camera app’s settings. However, unlike the iPhone’s implementation, tapping the 1X button in the camera app has no effect.
In good lighting conditions, the OnePlus Open simply excels. The main camera, with its innovative dual-layer sensor, delivers impressive dynamic range. However, bright highlights, such as the sun, can sometimes be overexposed.
As the light dims, the OnePlus Open maintains its impressive dynamic range. Low-light photos reveal a wealth of detail in dark and shadowy areas, while highlights and neon lights are well-controlled, appearing vibrant and natural.
The main course: the Xiaomi Mix Fold 4’s camera
Image credit – Xiaomi
On the outside, Xiaomi has slightly redesigned the rectangular rear camera module on the Mix Fold 4. It is larger than its predecessor, and now features a curved bottom edge.
That’s where the following cameras are installed:
- 1x, 50MP main camera: f/1.7 aperture;
- 0.6x, 12MP ultrawide camera: f/2.2 aperture;
- 2x, 50MP portrait telephoto camera: f/2.0 aperture with floating elements that allow for macro photography;
- 5x, 50MP periscope telephoto camera: f/2.9 aperture.
Naturally, the Mix Fold 4 comes with various Leica filters, photography styles, and more. The Leica colors are simply outstanding, and I can only wish I could somehow get them on my Oppo Find X7 Ultra. Eh, you can’t have it all!
That Summilux goodness should result in crisp and clear images. | Image credit – Xiaomi
The lenses are Summilux-branded, meaning that they’re co-developed with Leica and should be clear and crisp. Xiaomi announced all four lenses are Summilux-branded, but a true Summilux lens has a maximum aperture brighter than f/2, so this could turn out to be true only for the main (f/1.7) camera.
Here’s a gallery with presentational images from the Mix Fold 4’s cameras:
Now, it’s true that these were carefully selected among many to best suite the presentation. This is what the Mix Fold 4 is capable of doing, but you have to know how to take photos in the first place.
To me, the Mix Fold 4 shots look great: great colors, superb contrast and sharpness, great for action, and also for macro. Honestly, these look out of a dedicated camera, not a smartphone, let alone a folding one! In other words, it’s a bang for the buck!
Why foldable for mobile photography?
This is a legit question: why bother with foldables that are clearly behind the maxed-out camera-centric flagships?
Because of the screen.
If you’re the type of person who takes photos in RAW format (instead of the default JPEG format), I can say with a 111% certainty that you’re editing.
Editing photos, as you probably could imagine, is not fun on a small display. I remember back in the day when I finally bought a 24-inch desktop monitor for my Lightroom editing sessions. What a revelation! What a relief!
That’s where foldables come into play. With their bigger inner screen, it’s far more convenient than on the regular slab phones.
Yes, you can always carry around a laptop or a tablet for editing, but… can you carry those around always?
So, in the end, when it comes to foldables and photography, I think that the Mix Fold 4 is the way to go! Those Leica colors are really something! Plus, that periscope 5x zoom is really useful and looks sharp enough to put many non-foldables and their dedicated zoom cameras to shame.
