Poco F2 Pro review
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- Anonymous
- I@a
- 04 Jun 2020
Wow! These are one of the best (if not the best) daylight landscape and portrait photos and 4K videos I've seen from a mobile phone for a long time, at least, in the bright light shots. The skin colors, greenery, sky, clouds, wood grain and fabric textures are very color accurate and true to life. There's just so much uncanny realism in those daytime landscape and portrait photos that I haven't seen in a long while in most flagship smartphones. The color and luminance tonemapping/processing is excellent - it's like real life color gradations with nothing added or subtracted from the scene/subject. Not much color channel clipping that result to loss of chrominance accuracy.
The sharpening is sufficient and not excessive. Noise is well controlled and although not dSLR territory, I must say I like the light handed approach resulting in grainier/noisier pics at 100% crop rather than the oversmooth, oversharpened photo results devoid of life in more expensive flagship phones from other brands. So in short, I disagree with GSMArena team implying the Poco F2 Pro camera output as 'not flagship' territory. It certainly is, at least for me. The color and luminance processing actually reminds me of my Canon dSLR in 'faithful' picturestyle.
The low light photos are mediocre though, at least in terms of detail and noise in shadow areas. They're typical of mobile phone camera output in low light levels (except those using GCam with Night Sight). There's already GCam with Night Sight for the Redmi K30 Pro which means yes, you can use them for the Poco F2 Pro as well, and get VASTLY better low light photos and night shots than what the default camera can give you.
Inasmuch as I hate phones without micro sd expansion, the entire package of specs and features offered for the price in the case of this phone is just way too good for me to resist. You are getting waaay so much more than what Samsung and Oneplus offers in their flagship phones that sell for much higher prices. And the notchless, punch hole free screen with very thin bezels all around is the GOLD STANDARD to which all modern phones in 2020 and beyond must be judged. Anything less (with punch holes and notches) just looks old and dated, even the folding ones (with punch holes).
I'm certainly going to buy the 256GB model ($600) as the base 128GB model with no micro sd expansion is just way too little storage for me considering I'll be recording memorable and important events from now on, in 8K (I used to record exclusively in 4K only).
Two words, if you have $500-$600: Buy it! Buy it for the all-screen notchless, punch hole free amoled display. Buy it for the snapdragon 865 processor. Buy it for the huge battery/excellent endurance test, headphone jack, IR blaster and the camera. Buy it for
flagship specs and more features than most flagships offer for half the price.
Forget the wireless charging, waterproofing and the 90H/120Hz screen 99.9% of people can't see or appreciate. They're all more of icing on the cake than the essential base cake itself.
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- Anonymous
- Lj%
- 04 Jun 2020
IpsDisplay, 04 Jun 2020Can someone with camera know how explain some of these jarg... moreWhile macro lenses are often used to take photos of things close up, how they’re used isn’t actually what defines them. A macro lens has the ability to focus from infinity to 1:1 magnification, meaning that the size of the image in real life is the same size as it’s reproduced on the sensor. The magnification ratio tells you how the image projected on the camera’s sensor compares with the subject’s actual size, so a lens with a 1:2 ratio can project an image on its sensor up to half the size of the subject while a lens with a 5:1 ratio can project an image five times the size of the subject. Macro lenses also allow for closer focusing distances than normal lenses and often require you to get very close to your subject.
50mm = distance for 1:1 magnification is 6"
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- cherry
- S96
- 04 Jun 2020
superpup, 04 Jun 2020Today I learned that some people actually PREFER a heavy ph... moreYes, crazy. I don't get why they are so heavy. S20+ is just 186g having a slightly bigger screen and just a bit smaller battery.
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- IpsDisplay
- ri0
- 04 Jun 2020
Can someone with camera know how explain some of these jargons for me
I always say macro is useless just add autofocus to wide angle lens.. and some one countered that saying they lose out on 50mm if wide angle is used..
And im confused then the 2x magnification.. is the macro lens behaving like a telephoto lens???
So whats the significance of 50mm ? Why would someone prefer that Vs using a wide angle lens
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- impinas
- HB3
- 04 Jun 2020
The daylight shots are among the best I've seen lately. They have some noise here and there that means detail! The photos aren't oil paintings like Samsung or OnePlus. Good job! I hope they add night mode to the ultrawide though.
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- rythm007
- gwD
- 04 Jun 2020
does the main cam have OIS?
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- Anonymous
- S2T
- 04 Jun 2020
Price is dropping like a stone so holding back my purchase. Is down to 439 Euro in Europe..
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- Anonymous
- ajV
- 04 Jun 2020
There were 2 deparments in wich F2 should be upgrading over F1:
1. Cameras(ois+ ultrawide)
2. Quality of screen(LCD or OLED)
Maybe chipset, but not the latest. 855+ or MediaTek 1000/820 do the job very well.
But, those specfications are allready in mi 10 lite/zoom, 10x 5g, at very decent prices allready.
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- BrendonF
- HsF
- 04 Jun 2020
Decent but not good enough. As an F1 user I was thinking of upgrading by the end of the year or next year as Covid 19 has halted any major spending. But the Poco F2 just doesn't have the VFM that the F1 had.
Xiaomi should have used the 855 chipset instead and knocked off another $100 from the price tag. The other things like the 60 Hz screen I can overlook as obviously compromises have to be made to get the price tag low. Considering Xiaomis close relationship with Qualcomm they could have secured a great deal on old 855 chips for the Poco F2.
Sadly ill have to look elsewhere for the upgrade unless Xiaomi drops the price appreciable by the time I buy a new phone.
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- Anonymous
- U}}
- 04 Jun 2020
xiaomi is getting lazy
we love cheap poco, plastic, no fancy pop up camera, lcd screen, 4000mah battery would be enough but with 30W fast charger, and off course the best soc to date sd 865
is it too much to ask?
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- mobileman
- JcU
- 04 Jun 2020
yes,thanks for review GSMA!
indeed,good phone,sad that audio quality and no stereo speakers...if thouse was good...
anyway. i buy it...
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- Anonymous
- LiX
- 04 Jun 2020
Essen, 04 Jun 2020Don't know about GSMa, but the whole world seems to want or... moreYou can't have 4000mah + battery, screen bigger than 6.5", glass or alu back, at least 5 cameras, under 180+ grams... But you can have 150G phone, with 3000mAh, plastic back, 6.1", so, at least there is a choice.. Yes this one seems to heavy, but, look at similar phones in battery size, and dimension, and build, it's a similar stuff, anyway. I hope, OEMs will start with smaller, phones, it's ok 6.5-6.7-7-10" screen size, but, there is a room for 5.5-5.8-6.0-6.1-6.2" screens in 20:9 astepc ratio with small dimension, or in another word, like iPhone SE 2020 dimension, just with 6" screen
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- AnonD-641645
- Kx1
- 04 Jun 2020
Essen, 04 Jun 2020Don't know about GSMa, but the whole world seems to want or... moreThe problem is Moore's law doesn't apply to batteries. The energy density in today's Li-Po batteries is the same as it was 10 years ago. That 960 fps cams isn't gonna power itself, you know
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- Anonymous
- XRg
- 04 Jun 2020
Samath N8 808 owner, 04 Jun 2020This below mentioned reason is a bunch of lie, dear readers... moreThey've concluded that your headphones play a way bigger role in extracting best music performance out of your phone apart from 3.5mm jack and high quality DAC.
Most ppl here crying about lack of headphone jack don't even use high end headphones.
Sub 200 dollar headphones ain't gonna give you huge difference in quality with type C to 3.5mm converter compared to dedicated 3.5mm jack.
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- Anonymous
- 6p@
- 04 Jun 2020
Thanks so much for review. Very good job.
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- Jai
- Dks
- 04 Jun 2020
I thought it has 180Hz touch response
But didn't mention about it....
Does it have it or not??
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- Samath N8 808 owner
- Dkp
- 04 Jun 2020
This below mentioned reason is a bunch of lie, dear readers, don't believe it...
"" We've recently discontinued our audio output quality test.
The reason for that is that most phones that were arriving for testing were already EXCELLENT in this regard and whatever difference there was between them, it was marginal and probably INDISTINGUISHABLE to anything but our lab equipment. ""
I've time and again conveyed this to GSMArena staff, I don't get a response.
As usual, I'm open to a debate if they don't agree....
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- Dude
- mtM
- 04 Jun 2020
The camera will get updated. Superb beautiful device!
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- rabinossauro
- 3SW
- 04 Jun 2020
great review!
To whoever wrote this, thanks. Lately reviews on GSA have been looking a little bland and look-alike to each other... This one's a breath of fresh air. Keep it up!