Xiaomi Redmi 9 (Prime) review

A budget quad-camera

The Redmi 9 camera setup looks a lot like the one we saw on the Redmi K30 - the snappers are in vertically aligned on an elevated pill-shaped island within a circle on the back. The four shooters are what you'd expect from a budget device these days - wide, ultrawide, macro and depth.

The main camera uses a 13MP OmniVision OV13B10 sensor with 1.12µm pixels and 27mm f/2.2 lens. It's the only one to offer autofocus and it's of the regular PDAF variety rather than some fancier technology.

The 118-degree ultrawide-angle camera has an 8MP Samsung S5K4H7 ISOCELL sensor with 1.12µm pixels and a 15mm f/2.2 lens. There is automatic distortion correction applied with no option to disable it.

Then there's the 5MP macro camera with 1.12µm pixels and lens with f/2.4 aperture. Autofocus is not available, you must keep the phone between 3cm and 5cm from your subjects to get them in focus.

The last unit on the back is the 2MP depth sensor.

Swiping left and right will take you through all modes while tapping in the upper right corner of the screen where the "hamburger menu" resides will expand the options. The Macro mode is hidden within this menu, which is a bit odd.

The real settings menu is in there as well, but it offers limited amount of options.

Camera app

The Redmi 9 has a manual (Pro) mode. It lets you adjust all the settings you'd need - white balance, focus, ISO, and shutter speed. The Pro mode works with the main camera, the ultrawide, and even the macro, although clearly focus settings only apply to the first one.

Image quality

The 13MP photos from the main camera are great for this budget class. They are not the most detailed, nor do they have amazing contrast or dynamic range. However they are doing a decent job in each one of those areas, while maintaining reasonably low noise levels - that's hardly the norm with €130 phones and the Redmi 9 deserves praise for achieving it.

The foliage, even if not the sharpest one, looks very natural and we have to thank the mature processing for it.

The photos below were captured with default HDR set on Auto, but it triggered just once or twice.

Main camera, 13MP

The Xiaomi camera app offers the so-called AI mode, which tunes the color depending on the scene recognition. It does add a bit of extra punch to your photos, boosting the color saturation and contrast, but some might find the overprocessed look a bit unnatural.

Main camera, AI mode, 13MP

The camera app has a 2x zoom toggle, and as you can imagine, it's just a digital zoom over the main camera.

Main camera, 2x zoom, 13MP

Redmi 9's 8MP ultrawide camera is among the better ones we've encountered through the entire budget and midrange segments, and it can even give some premium midrangers a run for their money. The shots have an average amount of detail, while colors are almost as accurate as those from the main camera. The dynamic range is also great for an ultrawide unit, while the frame-stacking triggered when in Auto HDR almost completely removes noise when sufficient light is present.

The distortion correction does a very good job at strengthening wrapped buildings or trees although it does come at the expense of corner sharpness.

Ultrawide camera, 8MP

The Redmi 9 has a 5MP macro camera, but unlike other Redmi phones, this one has a fixed focus at about 3cm-5cm. If you get the distance right, then you can expect detailed shot of flowers, bugs, cacti, or, say, banknotes.

Macro camera, 5MP

Finally, the 2MP depth sensor is aimed to improve the faux bokkeh of the portrait mode and it enables decent subject separation, provided the person is not having a messy hair day.

The photos are detailed enough, and the blur is convincing, so if you ever want to shoot portraits and blur the background, you will be happy with what the Redmi 9 can do.

Portraits, 13MP

We played a lot with the settings at nighttime and we found out that it is best to leave the AI cam active and the HDR at Auto. This way you get somewhat better colors and some extra preserved highlights, especially at sunset or sunrise.

Still, the 13MP photos taken in low light are nothing special and when it is dark, the camera just struggles to get the exposure correctly. However, when we look at the bigger picture we have to appreciate that the shots are often usable, even if noisy - at the very least for posting on the social networks. Again that's not something you should take for granted in this price range.

Main camera, 13MP

The 8MP ultrawide photos at night are noisier and less detailed, but we've seen a lot worse from more expensive phones. We don't recommend using this camera at night, but around sunset and sunrise, it will do an okay job.

Ultrawide camera, 8MP

Somewhat disappointingly, the Redmi 9 does not support Night Mode.

Here's how the primary camera on the Redmi 9 stacks against the rest of the competition in the controlled environment of our Photo Compare Tool.

Xiaomi Redmi 9 against the Redmi Note 9 and the Realme 6i in our Photo compare tool

Selfies

The Redmi 9 features an 8MP selfie camera with 26mm f/2.0 lens and fixed focus. The detail in the photos is mediocre, but the contrast and colors are okay. Noise is present, and the dynamic range is average at best, though HDR is available and it restores blown parts rather well.

Selfies, 8MP

Portrait mode is available for selfies, too, and it is as competent as a single fixed-focus camera can be. If your haircut is not that complex, and you don't mind a smeared ear or two, it might produce passable results.

Portrait selfies, 8MP

Video recording

The Xiaomi Redmi 9 captures videos 1080@30fps with its main, ultrawide, and macro cameras. There is no 4K mode, 60fps shooting is not available either.

The video bitrate is 20Mbps, while audio is recorded in mono with a 128Kbps bitrate. There is no support for electronic stabilization on the Redmi 9.

The footage from the main camera is average in detail and with dull colors, but the noise is low, and the dynamic range is rather good.

The 2x zoomed clip from the main camera is quite good. Its detail is a match for the non-zoomed footage, the colors are better saturated, and the contrast is a bit higher, too.

Finally, the ultrawide camera captures videos with better colors and contrast, while the detail remains unimpressive.

Once you are done with the real-life scenarios, take a look at our video compare tool to see how it competes against the other phones we've reviewed.

1080p: Xiaomi Redmi 9 against the Redmi Note 9 and the Realme 6i in our Video compare tool