Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 review

Four cameras on the back, punch-hole on the front

The quad-camera setup is almost the same as on the Note 9S but with one small difference - the 5MP f/2.4 camera has been swapped for a 2MP f/2.4 one with autofocus, which is a very welcome feature because it makes macro photography that much easier.

The main camera has been borrowed - 48MP with f/1.8 aperture as well as the ultra-wide unit - 8MP with f/2.2 aperture. The ultra-wide's sensor is quite small measuring at 1/4.0" with 1.12µm. And, of course, the 2MP depth sensor, which serves more of an aesthetic purpose than functional one.

When it comes to selfies, a 13MP f/2.0 shooter sits in the cutout. It's 1/3.1" big and has 1.12µm as opposed to the 16MP unit with similar specs on the Note 9S.

Camera menus

The camera navigation is pretty straightforward, and there's nothing out of the ordinary. Swiping left and right takes you through the different camera modes and, of course, there's a Pro menu, which not surprisingly gives you full control over the camera settings. There's also a 48MP toggle in there as well as the option of shooting in RAW.

Camera menus

The so-called hamburger menu in the upper-left corner of the viewfinder gives you a couple of more options as well as the general settings menu.

Interestingly, the macro mode is in that hamburger menu. Strangely, the dedicated macro lens doesn't get a camera mode of its own.

Daylight samples

Main camera

The main camera produces nice, lively colors with satisfactory sharpness in the better part of the images. It tends to get soft in the shadows. Noise can be seen only from up close.

The dynamic range leaves a bit more to be desired and there's not enough detail in the scenes which we usually take photos of. At least compared to the similarly priced Realme 6.

Main camera daylight samples

Ultra-wide camera

The ultra-wide camera understandably produces lower quality photos. They are noticeably softer, noisier, the highlights look clipped, and details get lost in the shadows as well.

On the other hand, the lens correction algorithm is doing a great job and subjects that are close to the camera and are in the center look pretty sharp.

Ultra-wide camera daylight samples

2x zoom

The 2x zoom photos have identical processing to the main camera as they are just a crop from it. Don't get fooled by the 2x zoom toggle - it's still a crop. This means that pictures appear noisier, softer, and the edges are jagged if you look close enough.

On the bright side, the 2x photos are quite alright for use on social media assuming that they will be viewed mostly on smartphone screens.

2x zoom daylight samples

Macro camera

It seems like the autofocus bit does wonders on the macro photography. It's a must-have feature on a macro camera because it makes shooting that much easier. You don't have to be absurdly close to the subject for the phone to focus and moving objects like flowers in the wind are much easier to capture.

Macro camera samples

Still, the 2MP resolution might be a bit too low for detailed close-ups, but our overall impression of the macro camera is positive. At least compared to other dedicated macro solutions in the price range.

Low-light samples

Main camera

To our surprise, we were more satisfied with the low-light samples than with the daylight shots. Part of the reason might be the excellent Night mode.

Even without the Night mode, we found that low-light photos look quite good. Sure, the noise is aplenty and the photos are generally soft but that's expected in this price range. We were, however, impressed with the dynamic range, good contrast, juicy colors, and how the light sources are handled. There's definitely some HDR at play here because you can see a lot in the shadows, while the highlights don't look clipped. We noticed that it takes some time for the photo to be processed when taking low-light photos using the standard Photo mode which seems to support our guess.

Low-light main camera samples

With the Night mode on, the noise is still there, but the dynamic range and sharpness are vastly improved. There's even more detail in the dark, and highlights are well-contained. We recommend that you use the Night mode in all low-light situations. The wait for the phone to stack all the images is well worth it.

Night mode main camera samples

Ultra-wide camera

Unfortunately, we can't say the same for the ultra-wide camera. Photos look like they are out of focus, muddy and noisy with washed-out colors. And there's no Night mode to make things better.

Ultra-wide camera low-light samples

2x zoom

The 2x zoom photos that are actually cropped from the main camera look surprisingly usable. Surely, there's even more noise and are noticeably softer but there's also a Night mode that can improve dynamic range and take care some of the noise. However, the Night mode makes the images look like they are out of focus - considerably softer. So you might want to stick to standard 2x zoom photos if you are really compelled to do 2x zoom night photos at all.

2x zoom low-light samples: Normal • Night mode • Normal • Night mode • Normal • Night mode

You can also take a look at our photo compare tool and see how the Redmi Note 9 stacks against some of its rivals.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 vs Redmi Note 9S and the Realme 6 in our Photo compare tool

Portraits

The portraits look really decent with satisfactory sharpness, accurate colors and natural skin tone. When light starts dropping, the detail and quality starts to deteriorate fast. We are particularly impressed by the edge detection and the dynamic range. It seems that in both aspects, the software fares quite well. You can see that even with more challenging background - or even foreground - the subject is well separated.

Portrait samples

Selfies

The selfies aren't particularly impressive in terms of sharpness and detail, but colors pop and the dynamic range is wide. We even snapped two side by side photos - one with HDR on and one without. The difference is night and day. You will get the best results in well-lit conditions. If it starts to get dim, image quality goes down fast.

Selfie samples: Normal • Portrait • Normal • Portrait • Normal • Portrait

Selfie samples: HDR off • HDR on

Video recording

Unfortunately, the phone supports video recording only up to 1080p at 30 fps. There aren't many modes in which you can shoot in either. A cinematic aspect ratio is available to add some dramatic effect to the video, but that's pretty much it.

The Full HD video itself is a bit on the soft side and the dynamic range seems a bit too narrow. You can't see anything in the shadows and clouds in the sky are just a tad brighter than they should.

The ultra-wide video offers similar processing, but it gets even softer towards the edges of the frame.

There's also a 2x zoom video that's cropped from the main camera, but as you expect, the result isn't great.

You can also take a look at our video compare tool and see how the Redmi Note 9 stacks against some of its rivals.

1080p: Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 vs Realme 6i and the Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 in our Video compare tool