The photos I took with my Xiaomi Leica phone are some of the best I’ve ever taken

the Leica Letzphone is powered by Xiaomi – to use its full name – is the latest collaboration between Xiaomi and the famous German camera brand Leica. This Android phone has great imaging hardware that allowed me to capture some of my favorite photos ever taken on a phone.

But more than that, this phone takes photos that aren’t just “good for a phone” — they’re downright amazing. In fact, it’s the best camera phone I’ve ever used, which is why I gave it a CNET Editors’ Choice award.

You can read more about the phone in my full review, but here I wanted to share a selection of my favorite images from the 2,000 or so I took throughout the testing period. Let’s dig deeper.

First, this shot of the pigeon flying overhead. I took this photo with my main camera and am thrilled at how quickly I was able to capture the perfect moment as the bird was circling with its wings outstretched.

I used the Leica Chrome color profile, which produces beautiful image tones and is actually the same film profile I use when shooting photos With an actual Leica Q3 43. I like the fact that the phone has the same built-in ringtones and the results are remarkably similar.

Here I’ve switched to high contrast black and white mode. By exposing it to the bright sky behind it, the bird is thrown into complete darkness, creating this stark silhouette. I captured this using the 8x hybrid zoom mode in order to frame the bird between its perch and the ceiling above. Fine details are very sharp and I adore that I was able to capture such a dramatic photo on the phone.

In fact, the phone does a great job of capturing moody tones. Many of its competitors use a huge amount of image processing to try to artificially brighten the shadows, but that’s not the case here. Instead, I was able to expose the highlights in the distance, creating this simple, low-key image that actually celebrates the dark tones in the image rather than trying to remove them.

At 8x hybrid zoom, the seagulls remain sharp.

I love this night scene overlooking St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. Despite the low-light situation, the phone got a great display with spot-on colors and plenty of detail. It’s a difficult shot from any camera, but from a phone I’m particularly impressed.

I love street photography, and here I was able to use the zoom to isolate this subject while taking a smoke break. Chrome’s color profile helped achieve bold orange tones on the wall and boxes while also maintaining the drama of the deeper shades.

Another night scene, this time using the 8x zoom and, yes, Chrome’s color profile. I really think it should be the default color mode because it always provides such beautiful tones and it works especially well here.

The phone also has a mode that aims to replicate Leica’s Monopan 50 analogue film. IT worked well here, producing a well-exposed image with soft contrast and subtle film grain. I took some comparison photos of actual Monopan film and I can confidently say that the phone does an excellent job of emulating film stock.

Shot at maximum zoom using the high-contrast black and white mode, I love the simplicity of this image. We have the dividing line of the cliff edge with a very small addition of the two characters towards the right of the frame.

Chrome did a great job of producing deep orange tones and pleasing contrast in this nighttime bar scene.

I do a lot of this type of high-contrast black-and-white street photography in my personal photography and I love how well the phone mimics the look I’d expect to get from an actual Leica camera.

I shot this in the Pro mode set to capture images in raw DNG format. Next, I brought it into Adobe Lightroom to give it my own tweak, pulling out the bright skies a bit and adjusting the colors and grain to get a subtle, cinematic look.

Despite being taken at night and using the 8x hybrid zoom, this shot is crystal clear. I’m really impressed with how it captures highlights from the building’s windows while maintaining enough detail in dark areas.

The vibrant colors from these climbs contrast perfectly with the muted gray of the wall itself.

I’m very glad the phone didn’t try to balance the exposure artificially here. By keeping the background shadows the same, an image is obtained that looks like it was taken on any professional camera.

I went low for this shot. The dog moved very quickly which resulted in slight motion blur due to the relatively poor lighting where I was. But the tones sound great and it’s a great moment to capture with the crossed legs of the character on the right.

This low-light shot was captured well by the phone in high-contrast black and white mode.

Condensing the window really helped create some mystery in this image, resulting in an almost abstract scene that I’m a pleasure to capture.

I used the ultra-wide lens here in high-contrast black and white mode. By exposing the image manually, I was able to capture the deep contrast that transformed this concrete structure into an abstract swooping form.

This image combines zoom, Chrome’s color profile, and some deliberate exposure to create a shot with beautifully balanced tones.

I did the same thing here, exposing the bright light at the top of the building, allowing the rest to fall into shadow.

A quiet moment, captured perfectly on the phone.

By trying to capture this shot in a split second, I lost focus a little on the shapes, but I still think it’s a great shot that combines a lot of elements.

Inside, at my favorite coffee place in Edinburgh, Santo, the natural yellow tones of the interior appear rich and vibrant in the chrome look.

I underexposed this image in order to keep the sky looking nice and moody. As a result, the entrance to the building turned black, creating this stunning frame with this stark column of light cutting through it.

I used these two shapes as a front frame for my friend on the climbing wall behind him.

Likewise, I used these coffee cups as an out-of-focus foreground in this scene which helps draw the eye to my friend’s face.

A simple attempt at a Wes Anderson style composition, where the figure is placed centrally with plenty of negative space on all sides.

I used the 8x hybrid zoom here to focus my composition on the colorful door elements, shapes on the walkway, and Bas Rock in the sea in the background. This image was captured in DNG Raw format, and I edited this image myself in Adobe Lightroom.