This $550 Redmi phone just beat top flagships on DxOMark

For better or worse, DxOMark has become the go-to website for smartphone photography benchmarks and testing. The company puts phones through a variety of tests, covering various photography and videography scenarios.

Now, the firm has tested the Redmi K30 Pro Zoom Edition, and the phone has managed to take tenth place in DxOMark’s rankings. This means it’s behind the likes of the Huawei’s recent flagships, the Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro, and the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra. However, it’s just ahead of the Galaxy S20 Plus, the OnePlus 8 Pro, and Apple’s latest iPhones.

Read: Poco F2 Pro review — Cutting the right corners

The website gave the phone a photo score of 129 points, which is behind the Mi 10 Pro, Oppo Find X2 Pro, and Huawei’s flagships. But it noted that the Redmi K30 Pro Zoom Edition wasn’t far behind these players and often outperformed similarly priced phones.

More specifically, DxOMark praised the phone’s autofocus, outdoor performance (i.e. exposure, detail, zoom), and bokeh effects. However, the website took issue with white balance, color shifting with some tones, “localised loss of texture,� and zoom shots while indoors. Furthermore, the testing company also expressed dissatisfaction with ultra-wide and night shots (e.g. detail and dynamic range).

The Redmi K30 Pro Zoom Edition achieved a video score of 101 points, with the testing firm singling out stabilization, color rendering, overall exposure, and a “good texture/noise trade-off.� In saying so, the website observed a red color cast, poor dynamic range in some situations, focus “instabilities,� and artifacts like ghosting and aliasing. It also suggested that the phone’s video recording is better when not moving, as focus, exposure, and stabilization issues pop up when you pan or move the phone.

“To sum up, if you’re after flagship photography performance at significantly less cost than a premium smartphone, Xiaomi’s Redmi K30 Pro Zoom has a lot to offer,� the DxOMark team noted.

It’s also worth noting that this Redmi K30 Pro variant isn’t readily available globally, as the series is generally restricted to the standard model or Poco F2 Pro outside China. This swaps out the Zoom model’s 8MP 3X zoom camera for a 5MP telephoto macro lens that isn’t half bad.

Looking for more mobile camera goodness or photography articles in general? We’ve picked a few articles that might interest you below.

• The best budget camera phones you can buy
• The best of Android mid-2020: Which phone had the best camera?
• Want a phone with a great camera? Here’s what to look for.
• What is dynamic range in photography? Everything you need to know.
• Your regular reminder: More phone cameras do not equal better photo quality