Poco C65/Redmi 13C 4G review

50MP main cam and now a dedicated macro cam

The Poco C65 is equipped with a 50MP primary camera, just like the Poco C55. It could be the exact same camera. We just can't tell for sure since the Poco C65 reports supporting two 50MP sensors - the OmniVision ov50d40, which has a 1/2.88" sensor size and 0.612 µm individual pixels and the Samsung s5kjns, which we assume is the JN1 with an 1/2.76" optical format and 0.64 µm individual pixels. Either way, the camera is 28mm wide, has phase detection autofocus and sits behind an f/1.8 lens.

The other camera on the back of the C65 is a 2MP dedicated macro snapper. It is based on the SmartSens sc202cs sensor with a 1/5" sensor size and 1.75 µm individual pixels. It sits behind an f/2.4 lens.

The Poco C65 also seems to have a third camera on the back. A very small one that the official website only lists as an “auxiliary” unit, whatever that means. We assume it is a depth sensor of some sort. However, covering it up doesn’t seem to affect the portrait-capturing capabilities of the phone.

Finally, we have the 8MP selfie camera. It is based on the OmniVision ov8856 sensor with a 1/4" sensor size and 1.12 µm pixels. It sits behind an f/2.0 fixed focus lens.

Camera app

The camera app is a straightforward implementation, though it has its quirks. First, the basic operation for changing modes works with sideswipes (on the black bezel!), and you can also tap on the modes you can see to switch to those directly.

Up and down swipes don't work for switching between the front and rear cameras; only the toggle next to the shutter release does that.

There is no More tab for modes on the C65. All of the available modes fit inside the main rolodex.

Camera app UI

There is a pull-out menu from the top of the camera UI where you'll find additional options, including the Macro mode, which still hasn't been added to the main carousel with modes. Next to that, you have a flash mode switch, an HDR switch and a shortcut to Google Lens. Oddly enough - there is no Ai toggle like on other Xiaomi devices.

Camera app settings

Also absent from the Poco C65 is a Pro mode of any kind. Night mode is available on the main camera.

Daylight photo quality

The main camera on the Poco C65 captures in 12.5MP resolution by default. These photos look nice enough, especially for such a budget device. The frame has plenty of detail, and the colors are mostly natural and true to life.

Poco C65: 12.5MP main camera samples

There are, however, clearly visible amounts of sharpening applied liberally and quite a bit of noise, especially on uniform surfaces. Contrast is a bit of a problem, and so is dynamic range. But again, keep in mind that this is an extremely budget-friendly device.

You can force the main camera to capture in its full 50MP resolution. These photos don't really look too different compared to their 12.5MP counterparts. The amount of detail is about the same and so are the colors, contrast and dynamic range. That being said, there does seem to be less artificial sharpening applied to the frame in 50MP mode, resulting in slightly softer but much more natural-looking shots.

Poco C65: 50MP main camera samples

Here is how the main camera of the Poco C65 compares to the competition in our vast camera comparison database. Pixel-peep away.

Poco C65 against the Samsung Galaxy A14 5G and the Xiaomi Poco M4 Pro 5G in our Photo compare tool

50MP: Poco C65 against the Samsung Galaxy A14 5G and the Xiaomi Poco M4 Pro 5G in our Photo compare tool

The main camera also captures pretty decent portrait shots. Subject detection and separation are spot on almost every time. We also like the quality of the background blur effect. Skin tones look convincing and quite natural.

Poco C65: 12.5MP main camera samples

Poco C65: 12.5MP main camera portrait samples

Unfortunately, there isn't much skin texture in these portraits, even without any filters applied. Still, that's a relatively small gripe to have.

Non-human subjects work surprisingly well, too. The C65 has very little issue picking up these subjects and focusing on them properly, which is something much more expensive phones often struggle with.

Poco C65: 12.5MP main camera portrait samples

The Poco C65 lacks a dedicated ultrawide camera or a telephoto one. Two snappers are all that fits within its shoestring budget. Still, the main camera has plenty of resolution to pull off zoom shots. The camera app even features a 2x zoom toggle, indicating that Xiaomi is confident enough in the phone's zooming capabilities.

And indeed, these 2x zoom shots look pretty decent and quite similar to the 1x ones. Detail is plenty, and colors are nice.

Poco C65: 12.5MP main camera 2x zoom samples

There is some liberal sharpening applied, bordering on oversharpening and contrast, and the dynamic range is far from perfect. Still, these are perfectly acceptable stills.

Finally, we have the 2MP macro shots from the dedicated macro cam. These also look surprisingly good for what they are. Even with their low resolution, there is plenty of detail in the frame. Colors also look nice and well-matched to the main camera, contrast is good, and the focal plane is pretty wide and forgiving.

Poco C65: 2MP macro camera samples

The selfie camera on the Poco C65 captures excellent 8MP shots. Detail is great, and skin texture comes through nicely. Skin tones and colors, in general, look nice and natural. Even contrast and dynamic range are both good.

Poco C65: 8MP selfie camera samples

The only real gripe we managed to find with these photos is, once again, the liberal sharpening. Nothing too dramatic, though, and overall, these are some great selfies. Color us surprised.

Selfie portraits look equally great with excellent subject detection, separation, and convincing background bokeh effect.

Poco C65: 8MP selfie camera portrait samples

Video capture quality

As we already said, the MediaTek Helio G85 is not a particularly impressive chipset in any way. This goes for its video capture capabilities, too. As expected, video capture on the Poco C65 is limited to 1080p resolution. This is, however, the norm at its budget price point, so we can't complain too much.

By default, the phone saves videos in a standard AVC (h.264) video stream at around 20Mpbs with AAC audio inside an MP4 container. Unfortunately, the C65 only captures mono audio for its videos. On a more positive note, despite its budget nature, the Poco C65 still offers optional HEVC (h.265) video encoding. There is also an interesting option in settings to automatically lower the frame rate of videos in low-light and high-temperature environments. That's a pretty exotic option that you don't see too often.

The main camera on the Poco C65 captures decent, if largely unimpressive, 1080p videos. The level of detail is okay, given the resolution, colors are nice and mostly natural, too.

Dynamic range is a bit narrow for our taste. Contrast is cranked a bit high, which results in an overprocessed look. Overall, once again, we can't complain, considering the phone's price point.

Here is how the C65 compares to other devices in our video compare database.

Poco C65 against the Samsung Galaxy A14 5G and the Xiaomi Poco M4 Pro 5G in our Video compare tool

The C65 offers a quick toggle to capture 2x zoom videos. These look largely identical to the 1x ones, which is impressive in its own right. Again, we can't realistically ask for much better from such a budget device.

The Poco C65 doesn't seem to offer any form of EIS or other stabilization for its video. At least we didn't manage to find any such options. Here is a sample of video from the main camera in motion. It is quite shaky, as expected.

The selfie camera on the C65 is also limited to 1080p video capture. And, expectedly, just like the main camera, it also captures only mono audio, which is a bit of a bummer. Quality-wise, we can't complain, though. Detail is good, and so are colors.

Contrast is cranked a bit too high, and dynamic range could be better, but these are relatively small gripes.

Low-light camera quality

The main camera on the Poco C65 tends to struggle quite noticeably in low-light conditions. Photos come out looking quite soft and noisy with blown-out highlights and light sources.

Poco C65: 12.5MP main camera low-light samples

There is, thankfully, a dedicated Night mode, which is a bit slow to capture and process, as expected, but does introduce a noticeable all-around improvement to low-light quality.

Poco C65: 12.5MP main camera Night mode samples

The Night mode greatly reduces noise. Sharpness is improved along with the detail. Darker areas are handled much better. However, the biggest improvement must be to highlights and light sources. Night mode is the difference between a blown-out mess and actually usable shots.

2x zoom shots from the main camera at night expectedly look softer and noisier still than their 1x counterparts.

Poco C65: 12.5MP main camera 2x low-light samples

You can improve their overall quality quite noticeably through the use of Night mode, though, which does feature a 2x zoom toggle.

Poco C65: 12.5MP main camera 2x Night mode samples

Low-light selfies are nothing to phone home about. These are very soft and noisy. Most skin texture and finer facial features are totally lost. At least skin tones look quite realistic.

Poco C65: 8MP selfie camera low-light samples

Unfortunately, Night mode is not available for the selfie camera on the Poco C65.

Low-light video from the main camera is usable but mostly unimpressive. The amount of captured detail actually isn't bad for a 1080p video.

These videos are noisy and aggressively sharpened with saturation cranked way too high. The Poco C65 also struggles with light sources quite badly.