this is the Xiaomi Mi 9 SE and this is the Google pixel 3a I'm Ben from
authentech, how's it going and today we'll be doing a camera comparison test
between these two phones the mi 9 se is currently on sale down to three hundred
and thirty dollars the pixel 3a is priced at $400 they are semi closely
price and both have some awesome features but I want to know which has
the better camera setup huge thanks to banggood for sending me the mi 9 and
thanks to Google for sending me the pixel 3a check out my other pixel 3a
vids after this one and make sure you follow me on Instagram if not already I
hit that thumbs up for YouTube's algorithm and let's jump right in first
things first the me 9 has a triple rear lens setup the pixel has only a single
lens so it makes it slightly more complicated for comparisons but still
very interesting results that 123 degree alter wide angle on the me 9 is
fantastic captures these wide landscapes and squeezing so much into camera frame
it shoots with great clarity and sharpness and the dynamic range still
looks really nice to the edges sometimes have a little softness to them but not
too bad at all switching to the primary lens side by
side versus the pixel the me sports a 48 megapixel Sony sensor and honestly
producing some very surprising results the HDR or high dynamic range is looking
pretty awesome on both there's very few phones out there that can compete with
Google's magical HDR processing another thing to notice it looks like the blacks
are crushed a little bit more on the pixel more of a punch your contrast
while the me 9 allows you to see a little bit more detail in those shadow
areas colors and saturation look really nice on both pretty well-balanced on
each good white balance and in some of these shots the photos have some really
good pop to them in a few shots the pixel looks a little bit more saturated
but then other times well the me 9 takes over so a bit of a tie there overall
though both sides looking really really good in my opinion in this shot and the
alleyway looking at the sky we can see the pixel did a little bit better job of
HDR processing there on this building rooftop the ultra wide-angle show
just how much more content fits into camera frame its immersive and almost
feels like you're there in the scene back to the standard angle and sharpness
and clarity is maintained well this photo shows the dark shadows again on
the pixel but really good HDR and here looking at the stairs two really small
but telling areas we can zoom in on and see how the HDR is just slightly better
expose with those bright highlights on the pixel in the hanging light and on
the sun rays hitting the brick wall nonetheless pretty close call check out
this sweet building streetscape the me nines ultra wide lens
squeezes the whole thing into one shot very cool perspective and great job
exposing for those bright puffy clouds in the side-by-side primary lens versus
pixel the photos look pretty similar with a little bit more details in the
shadows on the me9 another wide-angle shot happy spring and without taking a
step forward the primary lens comparison both shots
look good I always love to do a little pixel peeping and zooming way in I don't
think I even turned on that 48 megapixel high-res shot option on the me 9 yet the
lettering on the building still looks a little bit more crisp and clean over the
pixel here's a wide shot of the beautiful Huntsville landscape and now
here's a primary lens on both we're slowly zooming into the rocket see it
way off in the distance and then jumping to the telephoto lens plus a digital
zoom on the me 9 and then only digital zoom on the pixel two key takeaways for
me first very very impressive on pixels part for maintaining such great clarity
on one single lens with only digital zoom however secondly there's just a
little bit more clarity and detail I'd say on the me 9 to 8 megapixel telephoto
lens another ultra wide shot shooting right towards the sign and without
stepping forward primary lens shot on both slightly warmer colors on the meat
then punching in with optical zoom versus digital and another very similar
competing shot which I'd be content with either this one I'd almost have to give
it a straight tied too close to call what do you guys think leave me your
votes down in the here's a rear lens portrait shot and
even though the background blur is adjustable on both by default it's much
stronger on the pixel over the meat and that pixel outlining is a little too
aggressive for my taste the me looks a little bit more natural fade off looking
here switching to the front facing camera and snapping a few portrait shots
even though I made sure studio lighting and beauty effects were turned off
oddly enough the meas shots were all turned out way overexposed and too
bright the blurring is pretty horrible and I'm not exactly sure why it can't
snap a correct exposure but in this test the pixel clearly takes the win jump
into some low ish light and dark photo samples a few things I notice here the
sofa cushions and wood grains all look to have a little bit better detail on
the pixel over the meat and now the pixels known for having an awesome
low-light camera with Google's special night sight camera mode the me 9 also
has a night mode which I made sure to switch on for a balanced comparison the
meat isn't horrible by any means in most of these shots however it's always fun
and interesting when you place them side-by-side and in these examples we
can see just how much more noise and grain than pixelation there is on the me
while the pixels keeping a fairly clean crisp sharp photo which is truly
incredible for being handheld on a smartphone and then just for fun I
zoomed way in on the telephoto lens and digital crop on both and looking at the
drastic differences of pixels between the two is pretty crazy now switching to
some video tests these are some of my favorite comparisons both cameras Mac's
video res is 4k 30fps again just to remember this is the me 9 s II which is
the budget-friendly version of the flagship me 9 which has some slightly
better camera specs and features for example it can shoot 4k 60 however that
me 9 is usually around five to six hundred dollars a couple hundred bucks
more for today's testing the me 9 se and the pixel 3a are both the
budget-friendly options of their flagship siblings however both capture
some really impressive shots first impressions here i've mentioned this in
previous videos the pixels cropping and way too much in my opinion when
recording a video it's just too narrow of a field
of view the Me's sticking with a wider angle which I really appreciate and both
have some pop in HDR the inside shadows are a bit dark on both but the bright
vibrant skies through the windows here are well exposed with nice color balance
the pixel looks a little bit more reddish hues and the me has slightly
greenish hues we can also notice a bit more shake and wobble on the me over the
pixel but we'll cover more on stabilization in just a minute when I
point up at the ceiling interesting how much more noise gain is added to the
pixel the me is keeping those dark levels a bit lower
when pointing at the trees the clarity and sharpness and all those leaves
honestly both look really nice and sharp colors on the me are a little bit more
saturated I think overall but still keeps us smooth and natural look which I
appreciate again both cams have good white balance and dynamic range in video
the me 9 how does the audio sound and this is audio on the pixel 3 8 how does
the audio sound audio test 1 2 3 4 audio test 1 2 3 4 as for audio both are too
quiet in my opinion no edits applied both are doing an okay job with wind
reduction and they both sound very similar overall when I try that
stabilization test I notice a few things first skin tones look a little bit more
natural and realistic on the meat also we can notice how much tighter that
pixel crops in on frame though the pixel wins for stabilization clearly as the me
is way too shaky maybe that EIS isn't even working in 4k I'm not sure I also
understand that a lot of people record their home videos at simple 1080p which
is fine and sometimes II is works better there however for my testing I like to
push these cameras to the limits see what their max capabilities are in my
opinion optical or electronic image stabilization is one of the most
important specs and features on any smartphone camera and I like to see that
video to be as smooth and stable as possible if we pixel peep and zoom in
400% in this 4k video it's pretty amazing
see the differences between the two much better clarity on the pixel also if we
look over at the docks and zoom in the me doesn't seem to allow video recording
on that telephoto lens it's only digital zoom just like the pixel very
interesting and I'm not sure why switch into the ultra wide angle and the Mian
still record in 4k 30 I love seeing how much wider lens this is over a single
pixel camera now of course pixel still has better
stabilization and flat natural colors in saturation I love the versatility on the
meas triple lens setup and especially the fun uses in clever ways you can use
that ultra wide lens jump into slow-motion the pixel maxes
out at 240 FPS 720p the me 9 can match that and here's a sample side by side as
four pixels quality and saturation they all look pretty similar here nice smooth
motion blur good exposure and focus on both now for one feature that the me has
over the pixel it can shoot up to 960 frames per second this is still at 720p
now on a negative note there definitely seems to be some motion interpolation
going on and we can see it in the bird's wings but if you don't really know what
you're looking for or the background or the subject is clean and clear some
people won't even notice and it's super fun to play with I really wish all
phones support a thousand frames per second by now 240 FPS is so two years
ago as for the front-facing video test both are recording max 1080p I believe
the pixel has infinity focus locked while the me I'm not certain I couldn't
find it online and it looks to have a more shallow depth of field with its
focus point so that background has some nice blur to it however I don't think it
has autofocus either because I couldn't get the background to come into focus
both are blowing out some of those bright highlights
they'll flatter natural colors all around I also notice there's quite a bit
of wobble on the meet when I step inside both can't seem to handle the bright HDR
from the windows to well though the pixel slightly winds however each is
raising up the noise levels a bit even more grain on the pixel over the meat
and lasts up low light on those rear Lenz's unlike photos both cams are
keeping some nice details in this sofa cushions we can notice the me has
slightly warmer tones versus the pixels keeping that LED lamp clean white as it
is in real life when aiming at the super dark wall while the me has sharper
details with more contrast the pixel is slightly washed out with softness and
loud noise all around overall which one do you guys prefer which camera do you
think your gain more bang for the buck I always love it when each phone has its
unique pros and cons winning some tests but losing in others if you could have
either which one would it be here's a few other impressions I have on
the me 9s II there's a lot of things I enjoy like the phone size it fits
perfectly in my hand it's comfortable to hold
ergonomic thin and premium feeling it has this glossy glass finish on the back
and I really like that ocean blue color but it is definitely a fingerprint
magnet me UI 10 has come so far since back in the day I remember when I was
routing phones and flashing it over manually that camera bump is well I like
the in screen fingerprint scanner very slick well positioned accurate and fast
the screen features a samsung amoled display which is beautiful bright and
vibrant crisp and sharp has a small but minimal teardrop notch up top like the
one plus I like it and lastly this device i think is the chinese version
from bangkok though they also sell the global version for a few bucks more make
sure you do your research on the software compliance and phone bans
within your country and networks i'll give you all the links plus some coupon
codes from banggood you guys so much for watching and I'll
see you next time