THIS KIT IS FLAWED | REVIEW of Xiaomi 14 Utra Photography Kit | WATCH BEFORE YOU BUY !
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- Опубліковано 10 лют 2025
- As the title says really... major flaws and concerns with Xiaomi's latest Photography Kit for the Xiaomi 14 Ultra phone. Please XIAOMI, if you're watching, these issues need addressing !
Before you rush out to buy this kit make sure to watch this video, might save you a headache later !
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5:04 literally couldn't have said this better myself. These are some spot on very real issues and literally no "sponsored" review has called out these issues. Clearly they were getting paid well to not find a single issue.
I honestly wish these issues were being looked at but even after reaching out to Xiaomi's CEO not much has happened since, literally nothing... Sooooo yes it's just a dumb battery grip with a nice filter holder case and a pretty orange ring (which I'm a sucker for 😅)
@@UpsideLens Yeah. Looks like its better to try the second hand method when getting this kit. Because I really do want the filters when im getting this phone and I also heard the grip itsself provides more battery which is good if your only going to be using this phone on a shoot.
I also have a theory that xiaomi might just do what every name brand company does and fix this feature on the xiaomi 15 ultra lol
Great video. Spot on. Most reviewers don't have time to really review a phone. 2 weeks of usage and I tell you everything is not enough especially if you have 2 or 3 other devices that come in in this time and need a review. Impossible.
Oh absolutely agree ! So many features to go through and so little time. My point was that (and I did not want to name and shame, that's really not what I stand for) all the reviews I watched and read specifically about the grip and the photography Kit (not going through the phone itself) did not mention those points, not one ! A reviewer even went as far as making half of it up by saying they were able to do such and such which is not even a feature of the grip... But hey ho as long as it gets the views and the paycheque 🤦 the day I start making shit up please someone point it out lol 😂
@@UpsideLensdas
I have been using the Kit too mate and the review is SPOT ON.. Thanks for being that honest.. The pics that i was taking after Half Pressing the Button were coming out to be blurry.. Which kind of defeats the purpose of having a proper Digi-Cam type Attachment..The Lever actually doesn't help either... But i won't deny that it still makes the phone unique. Hope they will fix it up..
Yeah let's hope they sort this out, it literally makes 0 sense having this grip attachment otherwise !
can you pre-focus by selecting an area on the display and then pressing the shutter after?
@mfm2998 you can tap to focus if you want or if in pro manual mode holding down the shutter button will lock focus if you want to lock the focus on your subject and recompose before taking the shot 👍
But you cannot do the same with the grip. The grip, holding the half press button will continuously focus on whatever is in the frame so it's good for panning shots, that's about it
Much appreciated the info regarding the photo kit before purchasing. One more point. The original camera kit for the Ultra 13 had bluetooth capability, which was a plus. The ultra 14 kit has had this substituted for the usb connection. For the money it could have had both options.
True but at the same time it is more convenient to have a consistent USB connection which reduces the shutter lag, which is the reason they used it. Plus we get a power bank use out of it 👍
I wouldn't call this video negative, you're completely right.
Luckily it seems the hardware is all well and good, while all issues you talked about should be easily fixed via software, I think it will take a bit time until they will get fixed, because the kit is very niche at the end of the day, so not many users will report these flaws.
You mentioned already how these addons already are for cheap on Ebay which pretty much proves that not many are actualy using these kits yet.
That is indeed the bright side of it, it's all software 👍 now I really hope Xiaomi looks into... Time will tell. What gets me is that out of the dozens of reviews on YT not 1 mentioned any of these issues !
@@UpsideLens It's pretty common tho, tons of reviewers are paid or have some streamlined BS review that only really is an ad for a phone. Reviewers that do proper reviews these days are super rare.
Appreciate your candor! I currently have an Xperia 1 IV & I'm pretty fed up with the overheating issues & the sub-par camera. Never again am I caving into UA-camr hype lol. Anyway I've been keeping an eye on Xiaomi 14 Ultra and I'm thinking about picking it up this year. I hope Xiaomi can update their software to fix the photography kit issues because being able to put full frame lens filters is pretty tight, especially CPL since variable aperture makes variable ND a bit moot. Also you're 100% right, I have yet to see any other review (UA-cam or otherwise) talk about the issues you highlighted, so kudos for that!
You're more than welcome 👍 I have reached out to Xiaomi's CEO to highlight those issues and have been contacted by the Xiaomi team who have assured me the issues have been taken on board... Now whether it's something they'll fix for this gen or not is another story, but the more vocal we get the more chances there is something might happen 👌
The kit makes sense only if it's free. I'm guessing Xiaomi wanted those pre-order numbers.
I mean even free (which is only if had pre-ordered the phone) the problems are still there. You can give me a car for free, if it hasn't got a steering wheel it's no use to me 😅
Has anyone found out how to show the Grip battery level? The Grip handbook gives instruction on how to add a battery widget for the Grip to the homescreen - but they are wrong.
Not too sure tbh but I definitely can see the battery level when first plugged in, after that tho.....
@@UpsideLens Yes, that's the only place I can find it.
Well, you can also press the Grip shutter button and whether it's connected to the camera or not, a red light means its battery is below 20%.
But I want to know more clearly than that!
Does anyone know if Xiaomi have addressed any of the issues with the photo kit before buying it? Any type of update?
Nope still the main issue of not being able to lock focus on half press. I have raised the issue on various platforms but no answers were given and the grip hasn't been updated since, at least on my UK version
@@UpsideLens OK, thanks for the response, many thanks, holding back on that for the time being. Cheers.
@leegalea9724 I mean it is good for the case alone and the ability to use filters and the grip does act as a power bank, I just don't use it as a grip that's all
Many thanks, will be using the ultra 14 to document deep cave exploration as well. Handset arriving tomorrow, and really looking forward to it. Thanks for all of your help.
If shooting video in low light aka deep cave exploration I highly suggest you shoot with a third party app called fcpro24fps and use their 10bit log mode at full bitrate (160mbps) which not only allows for a much cleaner less processed look than native app due to bypassing the ISP but also allows for much more in-depth editing afterwards
one more flaw for the grip attachment. When you shoot video with dedicated red button on the grip, and stop shooting, you cannot use shutter button for taking photos, unless you need to select photo mode from menu on screen... weird
Really ? 😲 I only used the red button as a shortcut for peaking so didn't notice this issue. Worth dropping a message to leijun on twitter/X to report this issue 👍
That's because the red button actually moves you to the dedicated video mode in the camera app, so if you want to take photos afterwards with the shutter button you would either need to a) change back to photo or other such modes, or b) close the app and open it again
Great review! Did they fix all the problems with the grip? Cheers!
Thank you 😊 and nope they fixed none of it 😞
@@UpsideLens That's unfortunate, I was hoping they fixed it already after so many months. Thanks for the reply :)
@feeldaus that's one of the downsides of Xiaomi they do not really take customers opinions and feedback onboard !
Excellent review! Subscribed
Thank you, really appreciate the kind words 😊🤙
Being an Xperia user this is just laughable. Such stupid UX mistakes definitely should have been noticed by others. Thanks Seb for revealing them to open public!
Good points. I've had my 14 Ultra with Photography Kit for a few days now and I'm so happy with it because I've been waiting for something like this for over 10 years. As others have said, thankfully the defects are all in the software so a fix shouldn't be a big deal, and should apply retroactively to all us old users.
1. The lack of focus fix on a half-press is just daft.
2. The zoom lever inoperative in Pro mode is equally daft (but I don't use Pro mode)
3. The defect someone else mentioned that after using the red button to go take a video, the shutter button just takes videos as well! Daft upon daftness! who are these moron programmers? (I programmed for 50 years so I think I'm entitled to say that).
4. The problem you mentioned about the right hand thumb area triggering phone mode - I couldn't recreate it. I thought maybe it's because you were using 16:9 aspect ratio, but no, you use 4:3 like me. However, I hate the new Android button-less swiping mode for the Navigation Bar (at the bottom of the screen), so I always select to have buttons. The thing is, those buttons only appear if you swipe up from the bottom, so I'm not in any danger of triggering them accidentally. [I've got good reasons for hating the Gesture Mode Navigation Bar, but that's another story]
N.B. You will also have to select option "Automatically disable navigation buttons when status bar isn't displayed", then you should not suffer from this problem.
Unfortunately at this stage I don't think any update will sort those issues since it has been a few months and after posting this video, logging it in on feedback app and contact CEO directly via twitter, nothing has changed... One can hope but.....
@@UpsideLens Well, well done for reaching out to the CEO!
I wonder, if any of us could write in Mandarin/Hanji, if the points would gain more traction. They must get a bit sick of having to deal in our language.
@lesact I mean in all fairness being CEO of such a big company kinda entails having to speak English at the very least I would assume haha
@@UpsideLens Ha ha, yes. But then he passes the message to his staff.
Long story, brief explanation. I was in China recently. The "Century of humiliation" is a big thing. Well, I know how I'd feel if people with inferior technology kept writing to me in Chinese.
@lesact true true
How is the battery life of the kit itself while on standby? I guess it would be a hassle clipping it on and off throughout the day
The battery grip doesn't fast charge so to be honest it's best to keep it on an forget about it or use a powerful power bank . The capacity is not that big and you'd be hard pressed to get half a charge with it on. I haven't tried it scientifically but I'd say about 30/40% ?
Dang Seb throwing shade over here 😆. I was so jealous when I found out about this kit. (I have the samsung 24 ultra)It seemed like such a good idea. Maybe it still is with some fixes. I hope other phone manufacturers pay attention.
Problem is will Xiaomi actually rectify the issues 🤔
Geat video, i feel this kit was a waste of money.
I have an extra issue in which the grip doesn't hold a charge, i set the options so it wont charge unless i want it, but it seens the battery still depletes on its own..
Am i missing something perhaps?
I mean the case itself is very nice, I give them that but I truly hope they did watch my video and can improve upon the next version. Really disappointed they didn't push a firmware update which could have solved those issues ! Now in terms of battery life can't say I've had that problem myself though. Maybe reach out to them ?
Mine acts the same. I charge up the grip, attach it to the phone, disable phone charging in the settings, and the grip battery still depletes very quickly.
Weirder still is that the phone isn't benefitting from this loss, so where is the 'juice' going? I can charge the grip and leave it sitting by itself on the counter for days and it remains fully charged so there's some parasitic loss with the phone/grip connection. 🤔
Thanks for the honest review and your attempts to get through to Xiaomi. Sadly it has been months since you uploaded this video and Xiaomi has made no changes; the photographer kit remains flawed.
Here's another issue you can add to the list of flaws with this kit: in the grip settings menu, it states: "You can set camera grip functions independently. Customized dials and buttons only take effect under the mode in which they were set." Sorry Xiaomi, but this does not work.
Indeed it is sad that no-one listened, even after reaching out to them. My hope is that in time, as the channel grows my voice can have more of an impact but hey it is what it is 🤷. And yes I also noticed the fact that the functions don't get saved per mode, it is indeed incorrect ! I do not use the grip at all as it's just absolutely useless to me, bugged and not doing what it should. I only use the case (which I have on since day 1) and extensively use the ability to screw filters on though 👍
Most UA-cam reviewers (not you) are not photographers. It’s all about clicks and views for them. They probably only take pics for review only.
Geesh... Almost bought the kit. Will not buy it now. Thanks for the honest review
You're welcome , sadly as of today the issues remain the same. I still use the case on a daily since day one though and is very handy for using filters, the grip just gathers dust.
I hope in the new xiaomi 15 they will make things better and learn by there mistakes but this is a simple update and they could fix i hope this video will help on making the software better good job for this video
I really hope so too !!! Fingers crossed !
@@UpsideLens I m still thinking if I should wait for the new one or get this because overall the phone is really great
Put it this way, I found the Xiaomi 14 ultra for £650 on eBay the other day !!! Can't get a much better deal than that ! Of course depends where you live but seeing it's been out for a while now I'm sure you can find it at a really low price ! The 15 Ultra if rumours are true might make some major sacrifices when it comes to focal lengths and shoving a high megapixel count sensor ala Samsung for the telephoto, which would be a downgrade in my eyes, time will have to tell whether I upgrade or stay with the 14 ultra for another year 👍
Please make a video on Huawei Pura 70 Ultra.
Sorry no "native" Google support = no buy from me.
@@UpsideLens ok thankyou for replying
Good video. It once again proofs how that we shouldn't take all those attention seeking UA-camrs too seriously. And about Xiaomi's software updates: I wouldn't count on that so easily. Xiaomi is known for its slow updates. My 13 Pro is still running Google's March update...
Xiaomi probably would release a camera grip version 2
Technically this IS version 2, they already had one for the 13 Ultra, still can't get my head around how they didn't include the ability to lock focus on half press of the shutter button like any camera can do !!! 🤯 Blows my mind !
Please do a photography pov with Xiaomi like you did with the sony!!! 🙏
Oh believe me I will 😅 I have been really busy with doing this comparison, takes a lot longer creating this type of videos, not only that but made 2 videos this week, and also uploading a video last Tuesday and juggling with my daytime job... Been hectic haha I will have A LOT of content coming, starting with a full review of the Xiaomi as a photographer and a lot of POV videos, don't worry got you all covered 👍
@@UpsideLens thankyou so much
NOT weatherproof grip.you forgot to mention
I hope Xiaomi will fix this in the software update.
I hope so too !!! 🙏
yeeees but it works. enough for me.
I missed the major flaw. Clickbait at it's best. I usually use the phone without the grip but when I use the grip I enjoy it.
Clickbait ?? How is such a basic function that is available in 100% of all cameras in existence not available on this grip ? A photographer will use half press shutter button to lock focus and exposure before recomposing the shot, correct me if I'm wrong but this kit is geared towards photographers, it's not a fisher price toy !!
No follicalist actually.
When I use half shutter press I feel it hunts for focus. If you are used to high-end AI focus like Sony Alpha or Fuji camera subject detection to then you probably feel hard done by.
3:02 I thought we all agreed that the blonde jokes were racist?
money money money
Is so funny