Follow-up mobile question. Considering Xiaomi over Huawei!

LWonderstache on 09/01/2019 - 12:56
Last edited 14/01/2019 - 12:43

EDIT: My other post got merged to this one, with the following:

A few days later (and more research in to camera quality) I'm now accepting to fork out a few more $$ for the Xiaomi Mi 8 (https://www.kogan.com/au/buy/xiaomi-mi-8-128gb-black-xiaomi/) which I'm hoping will give me a much longer phone lifetime, with excellent quality photos.

I'm looking to make a final decision today/tomorrow and I personally feel like this may be the right phone, but I'd love to get some final opinions on this as I'm still currently comparing this phone to the following:
* LG G7 ThinQ
* Xiaomi Pocophone F1
* Huawei Honor 10
* Nokia 7.1
* Nokia 7 Plus
* Oppo R15, Oppo R15 Pro, Oppo R17 Oppo R11s
* Huawei Nova 3i

(I think I may avoid Oppo though, due to the user being locked in to their custom OS, with some difficulties rooting)

My budget was previously max $500 but I'm willing to pay a max $700(ish) now if it means the phone will provide the following:
* An amazing selfie/rear camera
* Control over android experience (e.g. allowing root capabilities, removing crapware, facebook etc without root)

Thank you all so much for your input so far! :)

(Original post):

Hi there,

In a few months I'm travelling overseas and I think I'm long overdue for a phone upgrade from my Galaxy S5 and I'm wondering from personal experience, what's a good phone to use to snap sharp and colourful high quality photos?

I've currently got my eyes set on the 'Huawei Nova 3i' which impresses me quite a bit with it's megapixel specs and it's price tag!
Link: https://www.jbhifi.com.au/phones/Outright-Mobile-Handsets/hu…

My max budget is $500 but I want to make sure whichever phone I get, the photos are going to come out incredible from day and night photos! (Hopefully this isn't too much to ask for!)

Additionally, if you have the Huawei Nova 3i could you please give me your feedback on it's low-light photo quality?

Thanks Ozbargain! :)

Mobile

Comments

  • [Deactivated] on 09/01/2019 - 13:11

    Poco

    • Wonderstache on 09/01/2019 - 13:27

      Is this the one you're referring to? https://www.kogan.com/au/buy/xiaomi-pocophone-f1-64gb-rosso-…
      If so, it seems to have smaller megapixel specs than the Huawei, unless I'm missing something?

      • Beanvee on 10/01/2019 - 12:31
        +1

        Megapixels is a misleading way of measuring camera quality as there's far more to the picture than the pixel count. The majority of what differentiates a 'good' picture from a 'bad' one is the physical sensor design, size, quality, and then the software processing of the data the sensor captures.

        For example all the Pixel phones use a 12MP camera, compared to competitors 20MP+ and yet they're generally considered to have the best image quality for point and shoot.

        Your best bet is either to look at reviews, sample shots, or dxomark. While DXOMark is good, make sure to look at the individual scores and not just the total.

        • Wonderstache on 10/01/2019 - 15:25

          Thanks for clarifying! DXOMark was an excellent site to help me out, I also tried some of the phone camera in-store at JB.
          The Pocophone F1 and some of the Oppo phones seem quite nice! Just hopefully I can grab something sharp with a $500 price tag. :)

  • CodeXD on 09/01/2019 - 13:15

    Your budget will allow an older gen flagship, especially if you want to go down the path of refurb phones. If you can wait, I would recommend something like refurb samsung s8 which was $480

    • Wonderstache on 09/01/2019 - 13:28

      Thanks for letting me know. Have you used the S8 before? I'm unsure how to know the comparison of photo quality with the Huawei.

      • CodeXD on 09/01/2019 - 14:01

        Plenty of reviews for the s8 online. I have s7 and partner has s8 and it is pretty much a general upgrade overall. Camera is fantastic too.

      • CodeXD on 09/01/2019 - 23:21

        Looks like refurb samsung s8 is still available for $480 at phonebot

  • 87percent on 09/01/2019 - 13:21

    MIGHT be able to get a Pixel 2, would have to be pretty lucky though.. but it's regarded as having one of the best cameras on the market

    • Wonderstache on 09/01/2019 - 13:36

      Finding a second hand/refurbished one isn't a bad idea, although I don't know if I require the camera to be THAT incredible but it would be nice!

  • cansydint on 09/01/2019 - 13:33

    ive picked up a mate20 pro recently, its bloody amazing. took my fuji mirrorless along to a trip to Byron Bay over the christmas period and i rarely used it. the Mate20 Pro produces some great photos if you can navigate their system

    • Wonderstache on 09/01/2019 - 13:35

      Thanks for letting me know, unfortunately it's outside of my budget. My partner has the Mate 9 and it also produces amazing results. :)

  • backpack on 09/01/2019 - 13:58
    +1

    Got huawei p20. Pro and photos are stunning.

  • GTR12 on 09/01/2019 - 14:10

    Nokia 7.1, I have the 8.1, but its just out of your budget by $40. The 7.1 uses the same Carl Zeiss optics though.

    • tranter on 09/01/2019 - 15:53

      Nokia 8.1 has OIS.
      Nokia 7.1 does not.

      Where did you get the newly released Nokia 8.1 for $540? From ebay with discount code?

      • GTR12 on 10/01/2019 - 10:35

        Yup eBay, more specifically Qd_Au eBay. It was 20% off selected sellers, I posted it here, but people weren't interested.
        I could have got it even cheaper with 5% gift cards, but I forgot.

        • tranter on 10/01/2019 - 13:59

          How do you like the Nokia 8.1? Camera any good?

          • GTR12 on 10/01/2019 - 14:24

            @tranter: I wouldn't have mentioned it if it was bad, its more of an upgrade that is long overdue, from a Nexus 6 (which I'm using as a tablet now).

            Its got a whole bunch of pro camera settings which my friend says is excellent (he's a photography person), I have no idea what most of it does, but its good apparently…

  • pernunz on 09/01/2019 - 14:42
    +2

    Just picking up on something you've mentioned a couple of times. Number of Megapixels does not relate to a good quality pictures.

    • Wonderstache on 09/01/2019 - 15:11

      What specs could I compare a phone's quality by then? Some say it depends on the camera software etc so it's hard to compare online the best for value.

  • dcep on 09/01/2019 - 15:34

    if you're back shooter, honor 8x > nova 3i

  • Wonderstache on 14/01/2019 - 12:22
    Merged from Follow-up mobile question. Considering Xiaomi over Huawei!

    Hi there! Last week I posted a question asking if Huawei was the best camera-focused mobile brand to go with for mid-range phones and you all gave me some awesome responses! (https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/430884)

    A few days later (and more research in to camera quality) I'm now accepting to fork out a few more $$ for the Xiaomi Mi 8 (https://www.kogan.com/au/buy/xiaomi-mi-8-128gb-black-xiaomi/) which I'm hoping will give me a much longer phone lifetime, with excellent quality photos.

    I'm looking to make a final decision today/tomorrow and I personally feel like this may be the right phone, but I'd love to get some final opinions on this as I'm still currently comparing this phone to the following:
    * LG G7 ThinQ
    * Xiaomi Pocophone F1
    * Huawei Honor 10
    * Nokia 7.1
    * Nokia 7 Plus
    * Oppo R15, Oppo R15 Pro, Oppo R17 Oppo R11s
    * Huawei Nova 3i

    (I think I may avoid Oppo though, due to the user being locked in to their custom OS, with some difficulties rooting)

    My budget was previously max $500 but I'm willing to pay a max $700(ish) now if it means the phone will provide the following:
    * An amazing selfie/rear camera
    * Control over android experience (e.g. allowing root capabilities, removing crapware, facebook etc without root)

    Thank you all so much for your input so far! :)

    • Starlight8 on 14/01/2019 - 12:29

      Hi There,

      I was super reluctant to change from LG to Huawei.. but i'm glad i did.

      Huawei's camera is too good!!

      btw - i have a Huawei P20 Pro :)

      • Wonderstache on 14/01/2019 - 12:32

        Hey thanks for letting me know. :) Yeah I wish the P20 was cheaper but at 1k I can't justify that to myself haha, glad you like it!

        • Starlight8 on 14/01/2019 - 12:34

          I'm on a $55 plan and free phone. It actually works out cheaper than buying it outright.

          Maybe look at JBHIFI if your after it.

    • Hybroid on 14/01/2019 - 12:32

      I'm guessing privacy is not a concern? Huawei have quite a few question marks on their products and practices. I wouldn't buy their products no matter the cheap cost or decent specs.

      • Wonderstache on 14/01/2019 - 12:39

        Privacy has always been a concern to me but when researching the Huawei didn't have any actual evidence from their phones of this. Either I'd look further in to this if the brand I was looking at was still Huawei as my no.1 choice.

      • HighAndDry on 14/01/2019 - 12:48

        Eh. I'm not sure privacy is too big of a difference - more really whether you want the CIA/NSA/5Eyes spying on you or the Chinese Govt. The real question is if the spying has any impact on performance/battery life, but I haven't read about any issues like that on reviews of the Huawei or Xiaomi products so on that front at least should be okay.

    • Davo1111 on 14/01/2019 - 12:34

      I'm biased (pro xiaomi)

      The stock Miui is average. If you dont have the patience and reasonable tech knowledge to root and flash, then you need to consider them all on an even playing field. It's very easy to say "oh flash google camera" but it's not a one step process.

      Also, with most grey imports, warranty is non existant. So if your $700 phone breaks, are you prepared to walk away with nothing?

      • Wonderstache on 14/01/2019 - 12:41

        I've read good and bad things about the Miui, personally I dont think it'll bother me too much as I'll either use Nova Launcher or root my device, which I've done with previous Androids.

        I was wondering about the grey imports too, Kogan couldn't specify Xiaomi's warranty on the phone on the product page so I'm a little concerned about that. Any other legitimate places I could buy it from with a better warranty?

        EDIT: I checked out Kogan's warranty guidelines and I look like I'll be in safe hands (protected for 2 years): https://www.kogan.com/au/warranty-guidelines/

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