DIY Photography

Your one stop shop for everything photo-video

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

Xiaomi’s brings interchangeable lenses to phones with its new 12S Ultra Concept smartphone

Nov 5, 2022 by John Aldred 5 Comments

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

The idea of using a lens from a “real camera” on a smartphone is not new. There have been a number of adapters announced over the years with some as far back as 2014 and older. Most of them haven’t really had an amazing reception, which is why they’re not really all that mainstream today. But mobile photography has come a long way since those early devices. Now, there are a number of 3D printable adapters and other options out there to do this.

Xiaomi, though, is doing away with adapters completely and building an interchangeable lens mount right into the phone itself. Their newest 12S Ultra concept phone sports a Leica M mount with a 1-inch 50.3-megapixel sensor.

Here's @Xiaomi's promo video for the wild "12S Ultra Concept Phone," which can mount any interchangeable @leica_camera M lens over its *second* 1-inch sensor. More here: https://t.co/CQkL6dayll pic.twitter.com/YEQNHdI4IE

— Richard Lai (@richardlai) November 2, 2022

It’s a very interesting design and you’re not forced to use it with an M mount lens if you don’t want to. As with most smartphones today, the 12S Ultra concept has an array of lenses and cameras built-in, but the 12S Ultra Concept Phone features two 1-inch sensors. One of these is placed directly in the centre of the array and has had its lens assembly completely removed. The device has had to sacrifice its periscope array to account for this but given that you’ll be able to use pretty much any Leica M lens with it (and a lot of things can be adapted easily to Leica M) that’s not much of a sacrifice if you care about telephoto.

Unlike in a traditional camera where the sensor is exposed when the lens is removed, this sensor does sit behind a protective cover. That way, it doesn’t get damaged in your pocket and you can still use the other cameras as normal when you just want to grab a quick phone shot. But, it gives you more options when you want them.

Phone📱? Camera📷? BOTH!
What would you classify this as? #Xiaomi12SUltraConcept pic.twitter.com/uzJVzifou4

— Agatha Tang (@aggasaurus) November 2, 2022

From looking at the promo video and photos above, a protective ring typically covers the built-in Leica M mount on the back of the phone itself when not in use and removing it allows you to attach your lenses. You still need to add a kind of extension tube, though, in order to get the correct flange distance between the back of the lens and the 1-inch sensor contained on the phone.

It’s a pretty awesome concept indeed, although right now it is still exactly that. A concept. There’s been no word from Xiaomi if the idea will ever go into production or not, although Digital Trends reports that Xiaomi says that the 12S Ultra Concept as it stands will not be mass-produced. They also say that had it become a production smartphone, it would’ve cost around $41,000 to make. I’m not sure where DT gets that figure, but hopefully, if such a design does come to a smartphone at some point, the price will be a little more reasonable than that.

Would you buy a smartphone that had a built-in mount to use your DSLR/Mirrorless lenses?

[via Engadget]

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

Xiaomi’s 12S Ultra packs a huge 1-Inch camera sensor with Leica optics Qualcomm’s upcoming 700 series chips brings triple cameras to mid-range phones Samsung brings dual-cam “bokeh” effect and low light shooting to cheaper phones Google goes ultra-wide with the new Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a phones

Filed Under: news Tagged With: Concept Technology, Leica, Leica M, smartphone photography, Xiaomi, Xiaomi 12S Ultra Concept

John Aldred: from diyphotography.net

About John Aldred

John Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

« How to turn your old TV into a stunning photo and video background
Use this Photoshop trick to make sure you have a subject in your shot »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Learn photography

Recent Posts

  • Sony unveils three wireless microphones for content creators
  • This is why you should stop shooting music videos
  • First look at the Laowa Proteus Flex interchangeable flare optics
  • The Fotodiox RhinoCam Vertex shoots medium format images on L mount cameras
  • San Francisco filmmaker tracks stolen camera gear, police do nothing

Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.netUdi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

Alex Baker: from diyphotography.netAlex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

David Williams: from diyphotography.netDave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred: from diyphotography.netJohn Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.netDunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy