New Device: Xiaomi Yi M1 Review of the first mirrorless camera from Yi Technology

New first mirrorless camera Xiaomi Yi M1 review – is a product of Yi Technology, quite a young company founded in 2014 that develops advanced imaging technology and a member of the Xiaomi concern. Many were surprised by the announcement of the chamber, said the usual dominance of Japanese and Korean manufacturers on the formed photographic market. Given the lack of proper experience, the company in a specific industry, we do not expect anything from the novation Yi M1, but this is the first attempt of experts from “China” to create a serious device for photos that deserves attention.

VIDEO REVIEW AND TEST NEW MIRRORLESS CAMERA XIAOMI YI M1:

ACQUISITION, DESIGN, AND ERGONOMICS: NEW FIRST MIRRORLESS CAMERA XIAOMI YI M1 REVIEW

New first mirrorless camera Xiaomi Yi M1 Review/Test from Yi Technology

His owner new first mirrorless camera Xiaomi Yi M1 review meets a quality cardboard box black. To us came extended completion, with two lenses: 12-40mm – zoom lens with a floating value of f / 3.5-5.6 aperture, and the second lens 42,5mm – is fixed aperture lens with an aperture of f / 1.8 and the ability to switch to macro mode.

Both optical systems are made of plastic and assembled a good idea, but when they’re holding in their hands a sense of cheapness does not leave. This is especially true of the portrait lens focus ring is – nothing more than an imitation.

In the box, there is also USB-charging cable, lens cleaning cloth and Neck strap, visually good quality, but there are questions about his reliability, segments, and loops of thin enough to be deformed over time, which can lead to slipping buttons.

New first mirrorless camera Xiaomi Yi M1 review is a compact camera, made in a minimalist style, with the ability to change lenses. It is available in two colors: metallic gray and matte black.

Externally, the new device is reminiscent of the legendary German photos Brenda the Leica the TL, the similarities end there. The body is almost entirely made of plastic, with the exception of certain functional elements including, of course, place the lens mount. The quality of finishing materials corresponds to the price of the product categories – nothing to surprise.

Camera weight with battery is only 280 grams. Overall dimensions – 113.5 × 64.3 × 33.6 mm. The device, in spite of their small size, fits comfortably in your hand. Adds ergonomic advantages a small ledge on the front panel with a rubber lining that serves as the grip.

The few controls are focused on the top panel: switch, power switch framing trigger button, the parameters change the wheel, the mode dial with a bit recessed into it button video recording. Also, there is an indoor cap, hot shoe for external flashes, which are located on the sides of the microphone hole.

Connectors micro USB, micro HDMI and an SD card slot – closed plug in the right pane.

On the front panel, there is only AF assist lamp and the bayonet lock.

The back side meets touch screen 3-inch LCD display with a resolution of 1.04 million pixels, it can happen all the interaction with the camera. Call it can be responsive to stretch, it reacts to touch uncertainly. Reserve brightness is sufficient to control indoors, but outdoors in bright sunlight can cause problems.

On the right, near the display housed two mechanical buttons: image viewer and return to the menu, as well as the function key is responsible for the appointment of the focus point in shooting mode, and control some auxiliary operations in playback mode.

The battery is located in the shaft on the lower side of the casing. The compartment is located at a short distance from the tripod socket and access to it when working with a tripod will be blocked.

FUNCTIONALITY: NEW FIRST MIRRORLESS CAMERA XIAOMI YI M1 REVIEW

One of the main advantages of the camera is a 20-megapixel sensor the Sony IMX269 the Micro the Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm). The pixel size in this sensor is 3.3 μm. This is quite a lot compared to other widespread technologies. The larger the pixel, so, consequently, its area is greater, and therefore the amount of light collected. Thus, we obtain a higher sensitivity matrix that allows you to reduce noise at high ISO settings. Another big plus can be called observance of standards Micro Four Thirds – this makes it possible to use a very wide park optics are not limited to complete.

New first mirrorless camera Xiaomi Yi M1 review has a focal point 81 and supports the determination of the person in the frame. In practice, Yi M1, there are problems with focus, which often misses the mark, his speed is also not impressive.

The maximum photo resolution – 5184 x 3888 pixels, supports sRGB color space and advanced AdobeRGB, ISO range of 100 to 25 600 units. Yi M1 supports saving the data in Adobe RAW DNG format. Open standards will allow to easily find a convenient converter or software for processing files. The format is supported even by some popular mobile applications such as, for example, Snapseed.

Easy synchronization with mobile devices via Bluetooth 4.0 and Wi-Fi Direct allows you to transfer images to a smartphone ready by YI Mirrorless application for further processing and publication in a social network.

Unfortunately, at the time of review, there were no problems with the application functionality: RAW files, as opposed to JPEG, is not transmitted to the mobile device, an interface module for the remote control of the camera was missing. It is possible, as is often customary with Chinese developers to the sales stage.

A nice bonus will record video in 4K format (4096 x 2060, 30p / 75 Mbps, MOV, H.264, AAC), but its quality is very severely affected due to lack of optical image stabilization in the lens, and autofocus. Small parts when planning in complex scenes merge into porridge, noticeable artifacts. Developers should work on the algorithm of reading information from the matrix. Manual settings in video mode are not available, the image control is not possible – for household-level approach, but no more.

The manufacturer indicates that the camera is able to make 450 shots on a single charge, this figure is quite enough to feel confident. But it is necessary to take into account the fact that in the long shooting video at a maximum resolution, the autonomy will fall much more rapidly.

INTERFACE: NEW FIRST MIRRORLESS CAMERA XIAOMI YI M1 REVIEW

The developers have done a sensor camera control as close as possible to the interface in mobile phones. That decision is necessary in order not to scare inexperienced users, and simplify the process of shooting. Everything is familiar and intuitive when you turn the camera a beginner is not lost. The only thing you should understand, so it’s icons in values, but without it anywhere – it’s the basics.

We should also mention mode key blanks, it really works. For novice photographers – it is a real treasure, which allows making nice pictures, without spending extra time. But do not forget that there is no magic button, and it is important to be able to properly convey the idea to the words of the model.

THE QUALITY OF IMAGES: NEW FIRST MIRRORLESS CAMERA XIAOMI YI M1 REVIEW

When shooting in JPEG camera delivers good quality, but the default settings do not always give the correct color. Often the camera is wrong with the white balance automatically.

With the increasing sensitivity of the noise is a natural increase, ISO 3200 can be considered suitable for most situations.

Delight pictures obtained by means of a portrait lens, without the purchase of this device can be considered worthless. Figure soft bokeh character is somewhat similar to that of the old Soviet lenses. A nice feature is the ability to take photos in macro mode for this form factor in a switch.

PHOTOS, SCALENE USING A FIXED LENS, 42,5MM

Select images obtained using a zoom lens, nothing special. If a desire to achieve the best results, and to experiment with complex lighting conditions, you can always use the data saved in the RAW format and is already in the process of post-processing to achieve the desired result.

PROS OF NEW FIRST MIRRORLESS CAMERA XIAOMI YI M1 REVIEW: SMALL SIZE AND WEIGHT, LIGHT-SENSITIVE SENSOR, AN INTUITIVE INTERFACE, THE ABILITY TO USE A LARGE FLEET OF OPTICS, GOOD AUTONOMY, THE PRESERVATION OF DATA IN THE FORMAT ADOBE RAW DNG
CONS OF NEW FIRST MIRRORLESS CAMERA XIAOMI YI M1 REVIEW: POOR DISPLAY RESPONSIVENESS, TROUBLE FOCUSING, LACK OF MANUAL CONTROL IN VIDEO MODE, UNFINISHED APP FOR SMARTPHONES

CONCLUSION: NEW FIRST MIRRORLESS CAMERA XIAOMI YI M1 REVIEW

Considering some shortcomings chamber should understand – it’s a camera for the casual user. For professionals, there is a technique which is more advanced in functionality, but its value is appropriate. The manufacturer is going to occupy a niche of active smartphone users who are not satisfied with the photographic possibilities of their vehicles. This is evidenced by the small size of the camera with a minimum of controls, a simple and intuitive interface and the ability to connect the device to your smartphone for the easy transition to the post-processing and publication of pictures. Trying to take a similar user segment is not new. For example, it was the Samsung with its Galaxy S4 Zoom hybrid running Android, but the expected popularity of idea did not quite get. But the output iPhone 7 Plus with two main chambers, which greatly expands creative possibilities of the camera phone, and did cast doubt on the prospects of the way, the proposed Yi Technology. One gets the feeling that this is another experiment designed to test the waters, and very likely we will not see positive progress in the story. It is possible that we are wrong and the Chinese manufacturer knows a little bit more. What effect will this bold step? Time will tell.