Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 5G review

A triple camera setup with a 108MP at the helm

The Redmi Note 13 has a 108MP main camera. It is based on the Samsung S5KHM6 sensor, which is commonly known as the HM6. It is a fairly popular sensor used in many devices like the Xiaomi 12T and the Realme 10 and Realme 11 generations. It just has PDAF, no OIS or anything fancy like that. It is complemented by an 8MP OmniVision ov08d10 ultrawide camera and a 2MP depth sensor.

On the front, the Redmi Note 13 has a 16MP snapper. It is either based on the GalaxyCore gc16b3 or the OmniVision ov16a1q. Both are listed as possibilities in the config files. It is just a simple fixed-focus unit, nothing fancy yet again.

• Wide (main): 108MP Samsung ISOCELL (S5K)HM6 , 1/1.67", 0.64µm, f/1.7, 24mm, PDAF; 1080p@30fps
• Ultrawide: 8MP, OmniVision ov08d10, 1/4.4", 1.0µm, f/2.2, 16mm, fixed focus; 1080p@30fps
• Depth: 2MP SmartSens sc202cs, 1/5.1", 1.75µm, f/2.4, fixed focus; 1080p@30fps
• Front camera: 16MP, 1/3", 1.0µm, f/2.4, 24mm, PDAF; 1080p@30fps

It is worth noting that despite having ample resolution at its disposal, the Redmi Note 13 and its Dimensity 6080 chipset are limited to 1080p video capture.

The camera app is the usual Xiaomi affair. You get a carousel for modes on the right and additional settings for each mode on the left in a pullout menu.

Pro photo mode is quite elaborate, with features like a histogram, zebra patterns and focus peaking.

Daylight photo quality

Main camera

The main camera on the Redmi Note 13 captures pretty competent shots. These come out in 12MP by default due to pixel binning. Detail is good overall, though very fine geometrical patterns can look a bit odd due to sharpening artifacts and general processing. On the plus side, things like grass and foliage look pretty natural.

Redmi Note 13: 12MP main camera samples

There is some softness on uniform surfaces, which is pretty noticeable. Colors are natural, which means that they might look a bit muted to some. Contrast is a bit low and could be better. Dynamic range is quite decent, though also mostly unimpressive.

People come out very nicely on the main camera. Plenty of skin texture comes through, and skin tones look very natural.

Redmi Note 13: 12MP main camera samples

Portrait shots look decent but are nothing to phone home about. Subject detection and separation are alright and can trip up occasionally, especially with busier backgrounds. Still, we generally like how portraits look.

Redmi Note 13: 12MP main camera portrait samples

You can force full-resolution 108MP capture on the main camera, and the resulting shots look a bit more natural and less processed with less noise when pixel-peaking. However, the file sizes are huge and very inconvenient to actually deal with.

Zoom photos

The main 108MP camera has plenty of resolution to do digital zoom. The camera UI offers two quick zoom toggles - 2x and 3x. At 2x, the photos look very soft and oversharpened.

Redmi Note 13: 12MP main camera 2x zoom samples

Interestingly enough, 3x zoom shots look very clean and sharp in contrast. Much, much better than 2x ones.

Redmi Note 13: 12MP main camera 3x zoom samples

Ultrawide camera

The 8MP ultrawide camera produces okay photos, but nothing more than that. Quality is about what we have come to expect from the hardware at hand. Detail is pretty poor, especially if you start zooming in. Everything just looks soft.

Redmi Note 13: 8MP ultrawide camera samples

The colors match well with the main camera and are, hence, quite natural. Dynamic range and contrast are decent for an ultrawide of this class.

Macro shots

The 2MP supplementary camera has always been more of a novelty and a "stocking filler" of sorts for the PR and marketing department to inflate the camera count. Unlike the Redmi Note 13 4G, the 5G variant lacks a macro camera and has a depth sensor instead. Still, the phone has a dedicated macro mode with shots captured with the main camera at an inexplicable resolution of 2MP. Given the limitations, we think that the macro photos captured by the Redmi Note 13 are decent.

Redmi Note 13: 2MP macro camera samples

Selfie camera

The Redmi Note 13 captures some rather impressive selfies. You just need to make sure to be within the camera's fixed focal plane. That isn't all that hard since it is fairly deep and quite forgiving. The selfie detail is great, with awesome skin texture and tones. Colors are nice and natural, just like with the rest of the phone's cameras.

Redmi Note 13: 16MP selfie camera samples

We have no real complaints. Selfie portraits look just as good. We like the quality of the background blur.

Redmi Note 13: 16MP selfie camera portrait samples

Low-light camera quality

The main camera captures pretty likable low-light photos. There is plenty of detail, and the shots are surprisingly well-exposed. Dark areas are very well developed. Highlights look great, too, and so do light sources. There is a little bit of noise on surfaces, but that's hardly a dealbreaker.

Redmi Note 13: 12MP main camera low-light samples

The Redmi Note 13 is clearly applying some form of automatic night mode processing. There is a manual Night mode beyond that as well. It offers a bit more sharpening on fine detail and takes a good few seconds to capture. Manual Night mode only works on the main camera.

Zoomed shots remain pretty clean and usable at 2x.

Redmi Note 13: 12MP main camera low-light 2x zoom samples

At 3x zoom, things start getting muddy, though.

Redmi Note 13: 12MP main camera low-light 3x zoom samples

Low light shots from the ultrawide camera are mediocre. There is plenty of softness throughout the frame. Shadows are crushed, and highlights are clipped with blown-out light sources.

Redmi Note 13: 8MP ultrawide camera low-light samples

Still, you can't expect much more from the hardware at hand.

Video capture quality

Unfortunately, the Redmi Note 13 is limited by its Dimensity 6080 chipset to just 1080p video capture. You only get 30fps as well, if that matters to you. Video capture is done in a standard 20 Mbps AVC video stream and a stereo 48 kHz AAC audio stream inside a standard MP4 container. You also have the option to save some space and capture in h.256/HEVC instead.

Quality isn't particularly impressive overall. Given the resolution limitations, the primary camera does alright, but that's about the most praise we can offer. Well, colors look pretty nice and natural as well. Dynamic range isn't particularly impressive, and neither is contrast.

There is no option for video stabilization that we could find. Footage in motion is on the shaky side, but we've seen much worse. The focus-hunting is not ideal.

We actually have fewer complaints about the 1080p footage from the ultrawide camera, probably since we've conditioned to seeing this level of quality from modern 8MP mid-range ultrawides. Perhaps noise could be a bit better.

We are not particularly impressed with the low-light video quality of the Redmi Note 13 overall. The main camera footage is passable, but that's about as much praise as we can offer. The ultrawide is very dark and noisy. You can check for yourself.