Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 4G review

50MP main camera with the usual auxiliary ones

The 4G version of the Redmi Note 12 features a slightly different camera setup, theoretically better than the 5G counterpart. The main shooter uses a 50MP, 1/2.76", 0.64µm sensor coupled with a wide f/1.8 aperture.

The other two cameras are the usual suspects - 8MP f/2.2, 1/4.0", 1.12µm ultrawide one with advertised 120-degree field of view and a 2MP f/2.4 camera for macro photography.

And as for the selfie, the handset works with a 13MP, f/2.5, 1/3.0" shooter.

Camera menus

The camera app is a rather straightforward implementation, though it does have its quirks. First, basic operation for changing modes works with sideswipes, 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 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.

Camera modes

The hamburger menu at the far end is where you'll find additional options, including the Macro mode, which apparently still doesn't deserve a place in the main carousel with modes. Next to that hamburger menu, you have a flash mode switch, an HDR switch, an AI toggle, and a shortcut to Google Lens. We noticed that the HDR toggle always turns off after closing the camera app. So be aware of that and always check if the HDR switch is turned on. We recommend leaving it on, even though the software rarely chooses the HDR mode.

Settings

At the near end, you have the camera zoom switch that operates in one of two 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 slide sideways to reveal even more zoom levels - 2x and 6x, plus a slider for intermediate magnifications. Also around is a magic wand with beauty effects and filters.

There's a nicely capable Pro mode, where you can tweak the shooting parameters yourself. You can use the primary and the ultrawide cameras here. 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, and shutter speed (1/4000s to 30s/0.8s for main/ultrawide) and ISO control with the range depending on which camera you're using. A tiny live histogram is available, and a toggle for zebra patterns (exposure aid) can be found next to the hamburger menu.

As expected, there's a host of extra modes, including Long Exposure with its own set of different presets - moving crowd, neon trails, oil painting, light painting, starry sky, and star trails.

Night mode is available only on the main camera and in 2x zoom mode.

Daylight photos

Main camera

The main camera captures more than decent photos. Objectively speaking, there's little to complain about the main camera performance given the Redmi Note 12's price tag. As long as the lighting conditions are good, even indoors, you can expect good enough photo quality.

Sharpness and detail are sufficient, colors are close to natural (you can boost them with the available AI toggle), and contrast is nice.

Speaking of contrast, it appears to be a bit too aggressive, and you regularly get gritty-looking photos. In challenging light, the shadow details gets crushed, too.

Also, it's been a while since we've seen noisy daytime photos, but here they are. The Redmi Note 12 doesn't seem to be tuned to clean up fine luminance noise, and you can see the graininess when you zoom in from up close.

Daylight main camera samples

Daylight main camera samples

2x zoom

The 2x zoom photos are largely unimpressive as the upscaling is quite obvious - jagged edges, more visible noise and overall softer photos. It might get the job done for social media posting under the right lighting conditions, though. Expect the same processing as in the standard 1x Photo mode.

Daylight 2x zoom samples

Ultrawide camera

We didn't have high expectations from the ultrawide camera, and rightfully so. The photos look lively, with pleasant colors and contrast. Still, there is plenty of noise, overall soft images and some visible color fringing.

Daylight ultrawide camera samples

Macro camera

It's hard to recommend using the 2MP macro camera. It produces bleak photos with not much detail, low contrast, and the tiny sensor is very sensitive to changes in the lighting.

Macro camera samples

Low-light photos

Main camera

The main camera struggles in low-light conditions. Overall quality is unimpressive, but it's mostly what you'd expect from a phone in this price range. Dynamic range is poor, sharpness isn't amazing, shadows are way too dark, and noise can be spotted from afar. Also, colors are also washed-out, and contrast is low.

Low-light main camera samples

Turning on the night mode produces slightly brighter photos and takes care of some of the noise. It also widens the dynamic range, fixes the clipped highlights and adds a bit of detail in the shadows. However, images remain soft and with bleak colors.

Night mode main camera samples

2x zoom

The 2x zoom mode is hard to recommend as it produces extremely soft and noisy photos. The dedicated Night mode doesn't seem to fix anything either.

Low-light 2x zoom: Normal • Night mode

Ultrawide camera

Unsurprisingly, the tiny ultrawide camera is hard to recommend after dusk. It produces low-quality photos with extreme softness, noise and limited dynamic range.

Unfortunately, Night mode is not available for the ultra-wide camera.

Low-light ultrawide camera samples

Here's how the primary camera on the Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 4G stacks against the rest of the competition in the controlled environment of our Photo Compare Tool.

Redmi Note 12 4G vs. Samsung Galaxy A14 5G and the Motorola Moto G72 in our Photo compare tool

Portraits

The device produces pretty good portraits with convincing bokeh, as long as the background isn't too complex. Even in challenging lighting conditions, the subject is well-exposed, with plenty of detail, while colors are nice and natural.

Portraits

Selfies

It's hard to make a good case for the selfie camera unless your face is well-lit. Otherwise, you will get with muddy and noisy photos.

More than half of the samples we took were extremely blurry, and we even kept some of them to show you. If the lighting conditions aren't perfect, the images are unacceptably soft, noisy and blurry.

Selfies

Video

Due to the chipset's limitations, there's no 4K video mode available. The video recording capabilities cap at 1080p@30fps on all three cameras - the main, ultrawide and selfie. EIS seems to be present in videos taken with the main and ultrawide cameras.

Unfortunately, even for 1080p quality, the videos aren't amazing. The main camera produces soft-looking videos with a narrow dynamic range. Colors, on the other hand, are decent enough.

The same goes for the ultrawide camera, but it's even worse. The video is softer, with washed-out colors, clipped highlights, crushed shadows, and if you look close enough, you may notice some noise too.

Once you are done with the real-life scenarios, take a look at our video compare tool to see how the Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 4G stacks against the other phones we've reviewed.

1080p: Redmi Note 12 4G vs. Samsung Galaxy A14 5G and the Motorola Moto G72 in our Video compare tool