Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S 5G review

2+1 cameras on the back, 13MP selfies

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S 5G features a fairly standard rear camera setup for the class that includes a high-res main unit, an ultrawide, and a basic 'macro' unit. That puts it one 'macro' ahead of the otherwise same-ishly equipped Poco M4 Pro 5G, though we wouldn't count that as an advantage.

The primary camera uses the Samsung JN1 sensor, a 50MP unit with a 1/2.76" optical format, tiny 0.64µm pixels and a Tetrapixel color filter array that outputs 12.5MP photos using 4-to-1 binning. Paired with it is a lens with an f/1.8 aperture.

The ultrawide camera is based on the Sony IMX355, which the Internet is leading us to believe is a 1/4" sensor with 1.12µm pixels, 8 million of them. The aperture here is f/2.2, and the focus is fixed.

The 'macro' camera is a 2MP unit using a GalaxyCore sensor and a fixed focus lens with an f/2.4 aperture - it's not the nice Xiaomi 5MP telemacro we've seen on other models.

For selfies, you'd be relying on a Samsung 3L6 sensor - 13MP, 1/3", 1.12µm. The lens has a fixed focus and an f/2.4 aperture.

The camera app is the familiar MIUI implementation. Basic operation for changing modes works with side swipes (on the black bezel, not the viewfinder itself), 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.

You can add, remove, and rearrange modes in the main rolodex by going to the More tab and navigating to the edit button, and you can access that from the Customize portion of the settings menu as well. The unused modes will still be in that More tab, but you can switch to a (less intuitive) pull-out pane that's summoned from a line next to the shutter release.

The hamburger menu at the far end of the screen is where you'll find additional options, plus the icon to access the settings. Here is where you should look for the 'Macro' mode instead of that More tab we mentioned above - a long-standing Xiaomi idiosyncrasy. Next to that hamburger menu, you have a flash mode switch, an HDR switch, an AI toggle, shortcut to Google Lens, and a magic wand with beauty effects and filters.

On the near end, you have the camera zoom switch that operates in several different fashions. The first one is simply tapping on one of the three dots that represent the ultra-wide, primary, and 2x digital options. Or you can tap on the active magnification and choose one of several preset levels or use the slider for intermediate magnifications. That preset/slider combo also appears if you press and hold on one of the dots for the inactive zoom level.

There's a nicely capable Pro mode, where you can tweak the shooting parameters yourself, and you can use it with both the main and the ultrawide cameras, as well as the macro. You get to pick one of 4 white balance presets or dial in the light temperature with a slider, there's a manual focusing slider (with peaking as an option), and shutter speed (1/4000s to 30s for the main camera or 15s for the ultrawide) and ISO control (50 to 6400 for the main camera or 1600 for the ultrawide). The tiny live histogram we've seen other Xiaomi's isn't available, but a toggle for zebras can still be found in the hamburger menu (where focus peaking is also found).

Camera UI

Daylight image quality

Regular daylight photos out of the Redmi Note 11S 5G's main camera turned out solid for the class. We like the wide dynamic range and overall good contrast. Colors have a pleasing level of saturation - reserved enough to leave room for the AI boost not to be over the top, but not dull either.

On a pixel level, we're looking at a good level of detail, on par with other 12-ish MP cameras, though it does have a relatively artificial look. Some noise is also readily visible.

Daylight samples, main camera (1x)

The AI toggle worked as expected and introduced an increase both in color pop and contrast, but we'd say it's a fairly restrained implementation that we wouldn't straight up dismiss as we often do. If anything, it makes these shots more appealing and better suited to the target audience, the way we see it.

Daylight samples, main camera (1x), AI on

The nominal 50MP resolution mode is practically useless - these shots have a distinctly upscaled and oversharpened look with no extra detail in them.

Daylight samples, main camera (1x), 50MP

The 2x zoom mode is just a crop of those, or a crop of the 12.5MP images, then upscaled to the same level. The point is - it's not good for pixel peeping, though you can get away with using the images at fit to screen magnification or for sharing online.

Daylight samples, main camera (2x)

The ultrawide camera is colorful enough with no AI on, so we didn't feel an urge to enhance its output. It does a great job with contrast and dynamic range too. Upon closer inspection things are somewhat less exciting as detail isn't the sharpest, plus the 8MP sensor doesn't allow for a whole lot of it, to begin with. Still, we were pleasantly surprised by the lack of purple fringing that is all too common on ultrawide, budget and expensive ones alike.

Daylight samples, ultrawide camera (0.6x)

Low-light image quality

In low light, the main camera proved a little shaky in its performance, often producing dramatically different images from shot to shot of the same scene but sometimes rendering scenes entirely out of... character (what's that third sample all about). We'd pin that on a less than perfectly tuned HDR algorithm or the phone failing to keep up with capturing multiple shots in rapid succession and applying all the necessary processing to each of them.

With that in mind, the low-light images from the Redmi's main camera are about okay. Contrastier scenes will tend to have well-contained highlights but way too dark shadows, while more balanced lighting will net you generally well-exposed photos. Detail is good to very good when there's some light to work with, less so in the shadows. Colors are relatively reserved, but we wouldn't call them desaturated.

Low-light samples, main camera (1x)

Night mode addresses a bunch of these deficiencies and improves dynamic range significantly, giving the shadows a healthy boost. A nudge in color saturation also helps make these more pleasing.

Low-light samples, main camera (1x), Night mode

When it comes to 2x zoom shots, we weren't thrilled with the 1:1 results during the day, and they're not looking any better at night. We'd stick to Night mode and fit-to-screen viewing - that way, you'd be able to enjoy the relatively good color and tonal development and be spared the broad brush strokes you'd get instead of individual pixels.

Low-light samples, main camera (2x)

Low-light samples, main camera (2x), Night mode

The ultrawide doesn't enjoy the night one bit. It maxes out at ISO3200, and that's often not enough in darker scenes to get a decent exposure at the 1/15s shutter speed floor they've established. But even in better-lit scenes where that isn't the limiting factor, images are overly soft, especially in the shadows. Some facades will still make for decent images, you just have to pick well-illuminated ones.

Low-light samples, ultrawide camera (0.6x)

Once you're done with the real-world samples, head over to our Photo compare tool to see how the Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S 5G stacks up against the competition.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S 5G against the Realme 9 Pro and Galaxy A33 5G in our Photo compare tool

Portrait mode

Portrait mode is actually quite dependable on the Redmi Note 11S 5G and delivers very good subject detection and convincing bokeh. Dynamic range can be a little lacking, particularly in backlit scenes, but the phone will still prioritize exposing your subject, so you won't be left without the important part of the shot.

Portrait mode samples

Selfies

Selfies are remarkably good on the Radmi 11S 5G. Detail is excellent, and it holds up well indoors too. Skin tones are nice, and the overall color rendition is very pleasing as well. Dynamic range is wide...enough, with the HDR on, which, again, you might need to keep an eye on, to make sure it's working.

Selfie samples

There won't be HDR saving the highlights in contrasty backlit scenes when in Portrait mode, but that's par for the course at this level. Subject detection is also not quite as proficient as in the rear camera's portraits, but unless you deliberately look at the border areas between subject and background, you'll be alright.

Selfie samples, Portrait mode

Closeups

The macro camera is of the caliber that's only good for increasing camera count, but not so much for actual picture taking. It's a low-res 2MP unit with fixed focus and not the useful 5MP one with AF Xiaomi fits on higher-end models. So, here you won't be getting all that much detail, colors are muted, and dynamic range is limited.

Macro mode samples

Video recording

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S 5G records video up to 1080p at 60fps with its main camera, while the ultrawide is capped at 1080p at 30fps. You get always-on stabilization at 30fps on both cameras, but not at 1080p60 on the main one. The option to use the h.265 codec for encoding is also there.

1080p footage at 30fps from the main camera is soft and watercolor-y, though it's probably just about acceptable for the class. There's no noise in it, for what that's worth. Dynamic range is okay considering the price point, and colors have a good level of saturation though we're seeing this warm cast that's not consistent with reality and is not necessarily pleasing.

Digital zoom at 2x from the main camera is not worse in terms of detail, which is sort of a compliment in this context - you'd be getting consistent results at both zoom levels, even if they won't be amazing results.

That's not the case with 60fps clips, which are worse than 30fps ones, be it at 1x or 2x. They exhibit strong interlacing, which is particularly in your face at 2x. Then there's the matter that we were getting 54-56fps and not the nominal 60fps.

Moving on, ultrawide's color reproduction is more in line with what the eyes were seeing, but its footage has issues, like the limited dynamic range and general softness.

Stabilization is very effective on the main camera and irons out walking shake, without much focus hunting issues we've seen ruin the output of other phones. Pointing the phone in one direction results in super steady footage, and pans are smooth, too.

There are no issues with stabilizing zoomed in footage either, and 2x clips are stable as can be.

It's a similarly great performance on the ultrawide.

Here's a glimpse of how the Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S 5G compares to rivals in our Video compare tool. Head over there for the complete picture.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S 5G against the Realme 9 Pro and Galaxy A33 5G in our Video compare tool