Poco X3 NFC review

A quad-camera on the back

The Poco X3 NFC features a quad-camera on its back that has been quite common across the Xiaomi's Redmi series. It has a 64MP primary snapper, a 13MP ultrawide shooter, followed by a 2MP macro cam and a 2MP depth sensor.

The Poco X3 NFC packs a 64MP primary camera with Sony IMX 682 Quad-Bayer sensor with f/1.9 lens, 0.8µm pixels, and PDAF. This is the only camera that supports Night Mode.

Second is a 13MP snapper with 13mm f/2.2 lens and 1.0µm pixels.

The macro camera is 2MP with f/2.4 aperture, 1.75µm pixels, but lacks autofocus. Finally, there is a 2MP depth sensor.

The selfie camera has a 20MP sensor behind an f/2.2 lens. The focus is fixed.

The default camera app is a typical MIUI affair - switching between modes is done by swiping left and right, and all available modes but Macro are on this rolodex. The zoom shortcut on the viewfinder switches between ultrawide, regular 1x, and 2x zoom (digital).

On the opposite end of the viewfinder, you have a flash mode switch, an HDR switch, an AI toggle, Google Lens, and a magic wand with beauty effects and filters. Behind a hamburger menu, you'll find some more options, including the Macro mode, plus the shortcut to the settings. What you won't find is an option to set the output resolution for any of the cameras.

The Pro mode works with the normal camera, the ultra-wide, and the macro. Manual 64MP pictures are also an option. For the main camera, you can use up to 30s shutter speed and ISO up to 6400. For the ultrawide, the slowest shutter speed goes down to 30s, while for the macro - it's 1/4s.

Poco X3 NFC camera app

Photo quality

Before we start talking about the photo quality, we want to make it clear that our unit has a lens issue on the primary camera that makes for a huge blurred spot around the bottom left part when focusing at infinity. We do think, and hope, this is a unit-specific problem and not a widespread thing.

With that said, the default 16MP photos from the main camera are excellent for this class. There is enough detail, high contrast, and commendable dynamic range (HDR was off). The colors are bit warmer than they should have been, but other than that - quite lively.

The noise reduction is gentle - it leaves some noise but also detail at areas of uniform colors such as walls or windows on residential buildings.

What could have been better - maybe toning the sharpening a notch down and dealing with the purple fringing around high-contrast areas. But for a €200 - we'd say the Poco X3 performs splendidly.

Main camera, 16MP

High-resolution 64MP mode is available - it requires a couple of seconds to save the high-res image, and each photo eats about 30MB. The images are okay, but they look like upscaled from 16MP for the most part, and we'd suggest staying away from the 64MP mode.

There is a case to be made for shooting in 64MP, though. Since there is no zoom camera, there is still a way to get a 2x photo of nicer quality. You can snap a photo in 64MP, then crop 16MP from the center and voila - you'd have a 2x zoomed 16MP image of much better quality than what you get by using the 2x switch.

Of course, you can do the same with the regular 16MP photo in the default mode - crop 8MP from the center and present it as an 8MP telephoto image. After all, many mid-range tele shooters are 8MP in resolution.

It is a hassle that will be just too much for many, and a gimmick that will not go unnoticed from the pixel peepers. But if you want to experiment, the 64MP mode is there for you.

Main camera, 64MP

And speaking of zoom, here are a few shots with the default 2x digital zoom. They are lacking in detail because of the upscaling back to 16MP. If you really need 2x optical-like zoom, just crop the center of a 64MP or a 16MP photo - it will be better than some of these.

Main camera 2x zoom, 16MP

There is a 2MP depth sensor on the back that is used only when shooting portraits. The Poco X3 NFC seems to be a capable portrait shooter with proficient subject separation and natural-looking blur. The portrait shots are also pretty detailed, and we do believe everyone will be happy with this mode on the Poco X3.

Main + depth camera, 16MP

The 13MP ultrawide photos are quite good for a mid-ranger. They are quite detailed, the colors are nice and there is a reasonably wide dynamic range. The lens distortion correction is not amazing and there is purple fringing in the corners, but that's alright for the segment.

Ultrawide camera, 13MP

The Poco X3's 2MP macro cam has a fixed focus at around 4cm, so it will be a hit-and-miss until you get used to it. The macro photos present enough detail and low noise but are not as contrasty as the rest of the bunch. Still, this 2MP will do for the occasional snap of a flower or bug.

Macro camera, 2MP

The low-light photos from the main camera are okay, but nothing extraordinary for the mid-range class. In fact, we've seen better. While there is enough detail and the pictures aren't terribly blurry, the noise reduction often smears a lot of the fine detail. The colors are warmer than they should be, the contrast isn't great either.

Main camera, 16MP

Overall, using Night mode is well recommended after dusk. It brightens the whole scene and restores the blown highlights. It has an even stronger noise reduction than the regular photos and it completely wipes out fine detail, but we still prefer those photos. The photos look great on the phone's screen and in low resolution on social media.

Main camera with Night Mode, 16MP

The 13MP ultrawide photos are poor in detail and the exposures are quite dark. We'd say they are mostly unusable past sunset. Unfortunately, this camera doesn't support Night mode.

Ultrawide camera, 13MP

Finally, let's look at some selfies. The 20MP samples from the front camera present enough detail, the colors are nice, and the contrast is excellent. While you have a limited range for the focus sweet spot, the Poco X3 offers enough leeway to cover the different arm lengths and those who prefer closeup shots

Selfie camera, 20 MP

Portrait selfies are available, but it seems the algorithm is struggling when presented with simple haircuts, so we can only imagine the mess that will become the more complex haircuts. We'd refrain using the selfie camera for portraits.

Selfie camera portraits, 20MP

Once you're done with the real world samples, head over to our Photo compare tool to see how the Poco X3 NFC stacks up against other phones.

Poco X3 NFC against the Redmi Note 9 Pro and the Realme 6 in our Photo compare tool

Video quality

The Poco X3 NFC captures videos 4K@30fps videos with its primary and ultrawide cameras. The mainstream 1080p modes at both 30fps and 60fps are available for both, too. The macro camera is limited to 720p video capturing.

Let's talk about the main camera. The video bitrate is 40-42Mbps in 4K and about 20Mbps in 1080p at both 30fps and 60fps. Audio on in stereo with a 96Kbps bitrate.

The 4K clips are average in detail but the X3 handles the scene very well - the colors are accurate, the contrast is great and the dynamic range is enough for a pleasant and lively picture.

The main camera offers very good 2x digital zoom when shooting in 1080p@30fps and the quality is dependable.

The 4K videos from the ultrawide camera are pretty good, too. The resolved detail isn't spectacular, yes, but it is a lot, more than some far expensive phones offer. The colors are once again accurate and the picture has good contrast, though the dynamic range is limited.

Electronic stabilization is available for the primary and ultrawide cameras and it can be used at any resolution and frame rate.

Here's a glimpse of how the Poco X3 NFC compares to rivals in our Video compare tool.

2160p: Poco X3 NFC against the Redmi Note 9 Pro and the Realme 6 in our Video compare tool