Can Nokia 808 camera beat Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra?

The only one that would try to answer the headline question is the WillItBeatNokia YouTube account. Many are suspicious about this Youtuber, actually his/her way of doing camera comparison tests but you got to bow to this unique creator for dueling iconic Nokia camera phones with modern marvels like OnePlus 9 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro, Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra, and now Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra. Also, it is always so nice to listen to Tarrega’s Gran Vals.

Sweet memories from back then.

The difference between these two camera-centric monsters is huge, both in years of production and camera approaches taken back in 2012 and today. Nokia 808 has the largest camera sensor out there, with 41 MP hidden in the hump which is capable of creating super detailed photos so optical zoom is not necessary. On the other side, we have Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra with its 50 MP main shooter (f/2.0, 24mm, 1/1.12″, 1.4µm), capable of zooming 120 times.

 

Video:

By watching this interesting comparison, I can say that the classic approach that we had in Nokia 808 can’t be beaten so easily with today’s cameraphones in well-lit daylight photos. You can see that the Nokia 808 is holding well in the color and detail reproduction.
But, when you lower the light or try using 808 in low light conditions, that is where new smartphones will beat it almost every time except you are a camera photographer with a tripod and huge experience.

The thing that I was wondering about for quite some time was whether the Xenon flash will make its comeback on mobile phones or not. If you see the still low light shot taken by both devices, you can easily spot that Xenon flash is just not needed with all the software enhancements that today’s phones are coming with, and which can take the minimum amount of light in any space and make it super bright. Xenon might offer a bit warmer-looking photo, but where it stands up is in freezing the moving object like that turntable seen in the video.

Anyways, in the end, Nokia 808 managed to beat Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra mainly because of better daylight shots and astonishingly better 2X zooming capability.


I do recommend watching the video since where will you see Nokia 808 compete against today’s best.