Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro vs ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M1: camera showdown

“We compare the cameras of two of the hottest affordable handsets in the market right now”

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro (review) is arguably the company’s most sought-after affordable smartphone currently and with good reason. The handset boasts powerful specs, is equipped with a beefy battery, runs the latest version of Android and ships with capable cameras. However, the same can be said for the recently-unveiled 6GB RAM variant of the ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M1 too (review), which ships with the same specs, an even beefier battery and runs a near-stock version of Android Oreo. Now, both the devices are neck-and-neck when it comes to daily usage, but when it comes to camera performance, there’s one clear winner. Curious to know which one? Read on to find out.

Let’s start by comparing the performance of the rear cameras of the two smartphones. Spec-wise, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro is equipped with a pair of 12MP and 5MP sensors, with f/2.2 and f/2.0 apertures respectively. On the other hand, the ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M1 ships with a 13MP primary shooter coupled with a 5MP assisting shooter with f/2.4 aperture. Now that we have the specs out of the way, let’s take a look at some photos.

Note: The pictures in the post have been optimised to load this page faster. For full resolution images from the two smartphones, head over to the links below. Also note that in the image samples below, the ones on the left have been shot using the ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M1 6GB variant, and the ones on the right have been captured using the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro.

ASUS Zenfone Max Pro M1 full-res samples – https://ift.tt/2mMahlk

Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro full-res samples – https://ift.tt/2K3U83N

Long shot

Upon first glance, you won’t see any noticeable difference between the long shots we took with the two smartphones. However, once you zoom in, you’ll notice that the images from the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro (right) are crisper. The same is evident when you crop the building’s image and focus on the Mahajan Imaging logo, which is noticeably sharper on the Redmi Note 5 Pro.

HDR

When we reviewed the ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M1, the smartphone’s built-in HDR mode stuck out as a sore point. Unsurprisingly, the handset failed to impress us when we compared it against the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro too, and shots from the ZenFone (left) pale in comparison (quite literally) to the ones we took from the Redmi Note 5 Pro.

Non-HDR

With the camera set to automatic mode, the ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M1 (left) manages to churn out excellent images which are on par with Xiaomi’s offering. As a matter of fact, it’s hard to tell the images we took from the two smartphones from one another.

Portrait mode

Most dual-camera smartphones nowadays come with support for portrait mode, which blurs the background of the subject to give a bokeh effect. Unfortunately, in the case of most affordable handsets, the edges and borders of the subject are blurred out erratically. That said, between the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro (right) and the ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M1, the clear winner is the latter, as there’s noticeably less softening around the edges of the subject.

Lowlight mode

In lowlight scenario, the ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M1 (left) was playing catch up to Xiaomi’s offering when we clicked pictures with the flash turned off. As can be seen from the sample shots we’ve attached, the picture from Xiaomi’s Redmi Note 5 Pro is noticeably sharper and has less grain too. However, with the flash turned on, we got a completely different result and at a 100-percent crop, we found that the pictures clicked from the ZenFone retained more sharpness throughout the scene and were less noisy too. 

Front camera

In today’s day and age, a smartphone’s front camera is just as important (if not more) as its rear-facing shooter. Therefore, we put the two contenders selfie-shooters through their paces in three different scenarios listed below.

Daylight selfie

One of the biggest changes ASUS introduced with the newer ZenFone Max Pro M1 is the inclusion of a 16MP selfie shooter. Unsurprisingly, the handset managed to click outstanding selfies in well-lit scenarios. However, we felt that the selfies from Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro’s 20MP front camera (right) had slightly more detail, and the handset’s colour reproduction was more pleasing to the eyes too. 

Portrait mode

If you want to add a bit of jazz to your selfies, then the two contenders we have here today give you the option of adding an artificial bokeh effect to your self-portraits. While both the handsets do a fantastic job at differentiating the subject from the background, we felt that the portrait selfies from the ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M1 (left) were slightly better, with clearer edges and more defined borders.

Lowlight mode

Thanks to the presence of dedicated LED flash module on both the smartphones, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro and the ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M1 (left) click identical selfies at night, provided the flash is turned on. However, with the flash turned off, we liked the pictures clicked by Xiaomi’s contender more, as there was significantly less noise in the images. 

Verdict

The ASUS Zenfone Max Pro M1 and the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro draw parallels in terms of design and performance but when it comes to cameras, we must admit, the Note 5 Pro has a clear edge over the ZenFone Max Pro M1. Although ASUS’ offering managed to impress us with its portrait mode, the Redmi Note 5 Pro offers you a more well-rounded photography experience. Therefore, if you’re confused between the two smartphones and prioritise camera performance over everything else, then we’d recommend you go for the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro.

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