Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro 5G review

Photo shootout - Mi 10 Pro vs. Galaxy S20 Ultra vs. P40 Pro

We just couldn't miss the opportunity to pit the Mi 10 Pro against a couple of popular smartphones known for their cameras. And so we took the Mi 10 Pro, the Galaxy S20 Ultra, and the Huawei P40 Pro for a spin and the photos are in.

In broad daylight the Mi 10 Pro easily wins when it comes to resolved detail. It's simple math if you will - you'd find more intricate detail in the 25MP images when compared to any 12MP ones.

The Mi 10 Pro offers more accurate colors than the P40 Pro, which favored warmer saturation. The Galaxy S20 Ultra tends to pop the colors and make them a bit unrealistic, so it's not on par either.

Other than that, we can't complain of any deficiencies of contrast or dynamic range in either one of the phones.

Mi 10 Pro 25MP

Galaxy S20 Ultra 12MP

P40 Pro 12.5MP

All ultrawide snappers turned out pretty capable, but if we are to rank them, the Galaxy's would be last - it has the least detail and the most inaccurate colors. Not that 12MP ultrawide shots from the S20 Ultra are bad, on the contrary, it's just the P40 Pro, and the Mi 10 Pro have them better.

As far as detail goes, we are not sure if we downsize the Mi 10 Pro 20MP shots to 10MP we'd get more detail than the Huawei. We do get a wider field of view, for sure, and somewhat livelier colors, and if these are what matter to you - the Mi 10 Pro can be considered superior.

Mi 10 Pro 20MP ultrawide

Galaxy S20 Ultra 12MP ultrawide

P40 Pro 10MP ultrawide

Both the S20 Ultra and the Mi 10 Pro use tricks to achieve 5x zoom, while the Huawei P40 Pro has the proper optics and relies purely on hardware instead of smoke and mirrors. Well, smoke at least.

Anyway, the Huawei P40 Pro easily beats the rest in terms of resolved detail, but it also offers a bit farther zoom as well - the subjects are closer on the P40 Pro photos than on the rest of the bunch.

Still, the Mi 10 Pro is a better magician than the S20 Ultra, as it manages to offer more detail and more accurate colors in its 5x photos.

Mi 10 Pro 8MP 5x zoom

Galaxy S20 Ultra 12MP 5x zoom

P40 Pro 12MP 5x zoom

The night photos from the main cameras of all three phones are great, but the Mi Note 10 Pro may provide marginally better detail when downscaled to 12MP than the P40 Pro. And it will have more of it than the Galaxy.

Elsewhere - the images are bright enough on all three phones and retain good color saturation.

Mi 10 Pro 25MP

Galaxy S20 Ultra 12MP

P40 Pro 12.5MP

All three phones support Night Mode on their primary cameras, though the Galaxy and P40 Pro can also do Night Mode with the ultrawide and tele snappers.

So, when using Night Mode, the Huawei P40 Pro is the least capable and yet it takes the longest time to shoot.

The Galaxy's Night Mode photos are simply great, and while the Mi 10 Pro has higher resolution, we are not sure whether we are seeing more detail than on the S20 Ultra photos.

Mi 10 Pro 25MP

Galaxy S20 Ultra 12MP

P40 Pro 12.5MP

The ultrawide camera of the Mi 10 Pro snaps soft and noisy images at night - far inferior to the Galaxy S20 Ultra's, let alone the outstanding P40 Pro kind-of-ultra-wide photos.

Mi 10 Pro 20MP ultrawide

Galaxy S20 Ultra 12MP ultrawide

P40 Pro 10MP ultrawide

Finally, let's look at the 5x zoom photos we took at night. When Huawei P40 Pro decides to use its dedicated tele camera - it shows excellent photos and beats the rest (images 1 and 2). But 3 out of 5 times it will use digital zoom over the main camera (images 3 and 4) and the results are pretty bad.

The Mi 10 Pro and the Galaxy S20 Ultra always use their tele cameras at night, and the Mi 10 Pro photos are always better and less noisy than the Galaxy's. But when the P40 Pro decides to flex some zoom muscles, it's impossible to beat.

Mi 10 Pro 8MP 5x zoom

Galaxy S20 Ultra 12MP 5x zoom

P40 Pro 12MP 5x zoom

Well, there you have it. All three phones are excellent for photography, no matter the occasion or weather. The Mi 10 Pro doesn't shine at night - especially with its ultrawide camera, but other than that - it turned out on par or better than the Galaxy and the Huawei.

Still, no matter which one of these you have in your pocket, you can rest assured it will provide you with one of the best camera experiences available on any phone.