We put the Xiaomi 12 Lite 5G through our rigorous DXOMARK Camera test suite to measure its performance in photo, video, and zoom quality from an end-user perspective. This article breaks down how the device fared in a variety of tests and several common use cases and is intended to highlight the most important results of our testing with an extract of the captured data.
Overview
Key camera specifications:
- Primary: 108 MP 1/1.52″ sensor
- Ultra-wide: 8 MP, f/2.2, FOV 120°
- Macro: 2 MP, f/2.4
Scoring
Sub-scores and attributes included in the calculations of the global score.
Xiaomi 12 Lite 5G
109
camera
104
Huawei Pura 70 Ultra
Best: Huawei Pura 70 Ultra (130)
102
Apple iPhone 16 Pro
Best: Apple iPhone 16 Pro (130)
92
Huawei Pura 70 Ultra
Best: Huawei Pura 70 Ultra (125)
83
Apple iPhone 15 Pro
Best: Apple iPhone 15 Pro (124)
83
Huawei Pura 70 Ultra
Best: Huawei Pura 70 Ultra (117)
71
Xiaomi Redmi 12 5G
Best: Xiaomi Redmi 12 5G (82)
40
Huawei Pura 70 Ultra
Best: Huawei Pura 70 Ultra (85)
66
Apple iPhone 16 Pro
Best: Apple iPhone 16 Pro (93)
37
Xiaomi 14 Ultra
Best: Xiaomi 14 Ultra (120)
95
Huawei Pura 70 Ultra
Best: Huawei Pura 70 Ultra (122)
90
Apple iPhone 15 Pro
Best: Apple iPhone 15 Pro (116)
103
Apple iPhone 16 Pro
Best: Apple iPhone 16 Pro (120)
80
Huawei Pura 70 Ultra
Best: Huawei Pura 70 Ultra (120)
110
Oppo Find X6 Pro
Best: Oppo Find X6 Pro (118)
105
Apple iPhone 16 Pro
Best: Apple iPhone 16 Pro (120)
79
Xiaomi 12S Ultra
Best: Xiaomi 12S Ultra (86)
107
Apple iPhone 16 Pro
Best: Apple iPhone 16 Pro (119)
Use cases & Conditions
Use case scores indicate the product performance in specific situations. They are not included in the overall score calculations.
Outdoor
Photos & videos shot in bright light conditions (≥1000 lux)
Indoor
Photos & videos shot in good lighting conditions (≥100lux)
Lowlight
Photos & videos shot in low lighting conditions (<100 lux)
Friends & Family
Portrait and group photo & videos
Position in Global Ranking
136
th
4. Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
157
9. Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
154
20. Honor Magic4 Ultimate
147
23. Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max
146
23. Motorola Edge 50 Ultra
146
28. Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
144
30. Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
141
30. Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold
141
34. Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
140
40. Vivo X80 Pro (Snapdragon)
137
47. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Snapdragon)
135
47. Vivo X80 Pro (MediaTek)
135
54. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6
133
54. Samsung Galaxy S24+ (Exynos)
133
54. Samsung Galaxy S24 FE
133
54. Samsung Galaxy S24 (Exynos)
133
64. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6
132
65. Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
131
65. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos)
131
76. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5
128
78. Asus Smartphone for Snapdragon Insiders
127
78. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5
127
78. Samsung Galaxy S23 FE
127
83. Vivo X70 Pro (MediaTek)
126
87. Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra
125
87. Samsung Galaxy S22+ (Exynos)
125
92. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4
124
95. Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
122
100. Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus 5G
121
101. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G
120
101. Samsung Galaxy S22 (Exynos)
120
101. Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro 5G
120
108. Apple iPhone 12 mini
117
108. Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
117
108. Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon)
117
108. Samsung Galaxy S21 5G (Snapdragon)
117
114. Vivo X60 Pro 5G (Snapdragon)
116
117. Motorola Edge 50 Neo
115
117. Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G (Snapdragon)
115
117. Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Exynos)
115
127. Crosscall Stellar-X5
113
127. Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G
113
131. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4
112
133. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 5G
111
133. Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G (Exynos)
111
133. Samsung Galaxy S21 5G (Exynos)
111
138. Samsung Galaxy A55 5G
108
138. Vivo X60 Pro 5G (Exynos)
108
143. Samsung Galaxy A54 5G
107
146. Samsung Galaxy A35 5G
104
147. Motorola Edge 40 Neo
103
148. Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G
102
150. Motorola Edge 30 Pro
101
152. Apple iPhone SE (2022)
100
159. Samsung Galaxy A34 5G
92
159. Samsung Galaxy A25 5G
92
163. Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 5G
91
165. Motorola Moto g85 5G
88
165. Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
88
165. Samsung Galaxy A52 5G
88
169. Motorola moto g54 5G
85
169. Samsung Galaxy A33 5G
85
169. Samsung Galaxy A16 LTE
85
172. Honor Magic6 Lite (5300 mAh)
84
174. Samsung Galaxy A15 5G
83
176. Samsung Galaxy A15 LTE
81
177. Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
79
179. Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
78
181. Samsung Galaxy A16 5G
77
183. Xiaomi Redmi Note 13
75
185. Honor Magic5 Lite 5G
74
187. Samsung Galaxy A23 5G
70
188. Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 5G
69
191. Motorola moto g34 5G
67
191. Samsung Galaxy A14 5G
67
193. Motorola Moto G62 5G
66
194. Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S 5G
65
196. Xiaomi Redmi Note 12
63
201. Honor Magic4 Lite 5G
61
203. Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
60
211. Xiaomi Redmi 10 2022
51
213. Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
48
Position in High-End Ranking
17
th
10. Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus 5G
121
15. Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G
113
18. Samsung Galaxy A55 5G
108
19. Samsung Galaxy A54 5G
107
20. Apple iPhone SE (2022)
100
26. Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
88
26. Samsung Galaxy A52 5G
88
28. Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
79
Pros
- Accurate target exposure in most conditions in photo, with smooth transitions in video
- Pleasant white balance and color rendering in most conditions
- Accurate color rendering in video in outdoor and indoor conditions
Cons
- Occasionally autofocusing on wrong target, with a shallow depth of field
- Visible noise in low-light conditions in photo and video
- Low level of details in low-light conditions, with visible motion blur
- Occasional ghosting, ringing, and color quantization
- In bokeh, visible depth artifacts, with unnatural blur gradient
- Narrow dynamic range for low-light conditions in video
- Visible sharpness differences between video frames in all conditions
The Xiaomi 12 Lite 5G is the most basic model available in the 12-series. While its rear-camera setup looks just like the others in the series, featuring three modules — primary, ultra-wide, and macro – the 12 Lite 5G’s camera modules actually use different sensors, which mainly account for the differences in image quality.
Overall, the device behaved well in good lighting conditions. Target exposure and color rendering were pleasant in outdoor situations in both photo and video, but image details were quite low. Indoors, and especially in low-light conditions, however, image noise was often visible with some artifacts.
For its price, which is about half of the top-end model in the series, the 12 Lite 5G’s camera performance was quite average overall, even when judging it against other devices in its High-end segment ($400 to $599). The lack of a tele module and a limited ultrawide module, compared with other devices in the segment, hampered the device’s performance.
Test summary
About DXOMARK Camera tests: DXOMARK’s Camera evaluations take place in laboratories and in real-world situations using a wide variety of subjects. The scores rely on objective tests for which the results are calculated directly by measurement software on our laboratory setups, and on perceptual tests in which a sophisticated set of metrics allow a panel of image experts to compare aspects of image quality that require human judgment. Testing a smartphone involves a team of engineers and technicians for about a week. Photo, Zoom, and Video quality are scored separately and then combined into an Overall score for comparison among the cameras in different devices. For more information about the DXOMARK Camera protocol, click here. More details on smartphone camera scores are available here. The following section gathers key elements of DXOMARK’s exhaustive tests and analyses. Full performance evaluations are available upon request. Please contact us on how to receive a full report.
Xiaomi 12 Lite 5G Camera Scores
This graph compares DXOMARK photo, zoom and video scores between the tested device and references. Average and maximum scores of the price segment are also indicated. Average and maximum scores for each price segment are computed based on the DXOMARK database of devices tested.
Photo
111
Huawei Pura 70 Ultra
Huawei Pura 70 Ultra
About DXOMARK Camera Photo tests
For scoring and analysis, DXOMARK engineers capture and evaluate more than 2,600 test images both in controlled lab environments and in outdoor, indoor and low-light natural scenes, using the camera’s default settings. The photo protocol is designed to take into account the main use cases and is based on typical shooting scenarios, such as portraits, family, and landscape photography. The evaluation is performed by visually inspecting images against a reference of natural scenes, and by running objective measurements on images of charts captured in the lab under different lighting conditions from 1 to 1,000+ lux and color temperatures from 2,300K to 6,500K.
Xiaomi 12 Lite 5G Photo scores
The photo tests analyze image quality attributes such as exposure, color, texture, and noise in various light conditions. Autofocus performances and the presence of artifacts on all images captured in controlled lab conditions and in real-life images are also evaluated. All these attributes have a significant impact on the final quality of the images captured with the tested device and can help to understand the camera's main strengths and weaknesses.
Xiaomi 12 Lite – Accurate target exposure with pleasant color rendering.
Autofocus irregularity and speed: 1000Lux Δ0EV Daylight Handheld
This graph illustrates focus accuracy and speed and also zero shutter lag capability by showing the edge acutance versus the shooting time measured on the AFHDR setup on a series of pictures. All pictures were taken at 1000Lux with Daylight illuminant, 500ms after the defocus. The edge acutance is measured on the four edges of the Dead Leaves chart, and the shooting time is measured on the LED Universal Timer.
DXOMARK CHART (DMC) detail preservation score vs lux levels for tripod and handheld conditions
This graph shows the evolution of the DMC detail preservation score with the level of lux, for two holding conditions. DMC detail preservation score is derived from an AI-based metric trained to evaluate texture and details rendering on a selection of crops of our DXOMARK chart.
Visual noise evolution with illuminance levels in handheld condition
This graph shows the evolution of visual noise metric with the level of lux in handheld condition. The visual noise metric is the mean of visual noise measurement on all patches of the Dead Leaves chart in the AFHDR setup. DXOMARK visual noise measurement is derived from ISO15739 standard.
Zoom
72
Huawei Pura 70 Ultra
Huawei Pura 70 Ultra
About DXOMARK Camera Zoom tests
DXOMARK engineers capture and evaluate over 400 test images in controlled lab environments and in outdoor, indoor, and low-light natural scenes, using the camera’s default settings and pinch zoom at various zoom factors from ultra wide to very long-range zoom. The evaluation is performed by visually inspecting the images against a reference of natural scenes, and by running objective measurements of chart mages captured in the lab under different conditions from 20 to 1000 lux and color temperatures from 2300K to 6500K.
Xiaomi 12 Lite 5G Zoom Scores
This graph illustrates the relative scores for the different zoom ranges evaluated. The abscissa is expressed in 35mm equivalent focal length. Zooming-in scores are displayed on the right and Zooming-out scores on the left.
Video
121
Apple iPhone 16 Pro
Apple iPhone 16 Pro
About DXOMARK Camera Video tests
DXOMARK engineers capture and evaluate more than 2.5 hours of video in controlled lab environments and in natural low-light, indoor and outdoor scenes, using the camera’s default settings. The evaluation consists of visually inspecting natural videos taken in various conditions and running objective measurements on videos of charts recorded in the lab under different conditions from 1 to 1000+ lux and color temperatures from 2,300K to 6,500K.
Xiaomi 12 Lite 5G Video scores
Video tests analyze the same image quality attributes as for still images, such as exposure, color, texture, or noise, in addition to temporal aspects such as speed, and smoothness and stability of exposure, white balance, and autofocus transitions.
Xiaomi 12 Lite – Accurate target exposure with pleasant color rendering.
DXOMARK CHART (DMC) detail preservation video score vs lux levels
This graph shows the evolution of the DMC detail preservation video score with the level of lux in video. DMC detail preservation score is derived from an AI-based metric trained to evaluate texture and details rendering on a selection of crops of our DXOMARK chart.
Spatial visual noise evolution with the illuminance level
This graph shows the evolution of spatial visual noise with the level of lux. Spatial visual noise is measured on the visual noise chart in the video noise setup. DXOMARK visual noise measurement is derived from ISO15739 standard.
Temporal visual noise evolution with the illuminance level
This graph shows the evolution of temporal visual noise with the level of lux. Temporal visual noise is measured on the visual noise chart in the video noise setup.
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