The Nothing Phone (2a) was launched in India with a competitive price of Rs 23,999 for the base 8GB RAM + 128GB storage variant. In our review, we found that the smartphone’s transparent design, with a glyph interface, is nicely complemented by its display, cameras, battery life, and performance. In this article, we will be comparing its camera performance with one of the most popular smartphones in the segment – Redmi Note 13 Pro.
Before we get down to the results, here’s a glance at the Nothing Phone (2a) and Redmi Note 13 Pro camera specifications.
| Nothing Phone (2a) | Redmi Note 13 Pro |
| 50MP OIS+EIS main camera | 200MP OIS+EIS main camera |
| 50MP ultrawide lens | 8MP ultrawide lens |
| – | 2MP macro camera |
| 32MP selfie camera | 16MP selfie camera |
Table of Contents
Daylight
In daylight, the 200MP primary camera of the Redmi Note 13 Pro outputs better results compared to the Nothing Phone (2a)’s 50MP main sensor. The latter captures vibrant images, with pleasing colours and acceptable detailing. However, the dynamic range looks slightly underwhelming, resulting in blown-out details in areas with harsh lighting. The Redmi Note 13 Pro exhibits cooler tones but boasts superior detailing and dynamic range.
Winner: Redmi Note 13 Pro
Ultrawide
Similar to the primary camera, the 8MP ultrawide lens on the Redmi Note 13 Pro prefers cooler tones. That said, due to its small sensor size, the images don’t appear as sharp and detailed as the Nothing Phone (2a)’s ultrawide shots. The Nothing smartphone is equipped with a 50MP snapper, which leans towards warmer tones, offering pleasing images, at least in daylight.
Winner: Nothing Phone (2a)
Portrait
While the edge detection might not look perfect upon closer inspection, both the Nothing Phone (2a) and Redmi Note 13 Pro excel in capturing nice portraits with good depth of field and facial detail. However, between the two, the Redmi Note 13 Pro delivers more promising results in terms of skin tones and exposure to finer details. Additionally, the handset doesn’t crush the shadows like the Phone (2a) does.
Winner: Redmi Note 13 Pro
Selfie
The Nothing Phone (2a) emerges as the clear winner here, boasting near-accurate skin tones and facial detailing. This could be attributed to its larger 32MP selfie snapper, compared to the 16MP snapper on the Redmi Note 13 Pro. The Redmi smartphone’s front camera tends to smooth out the details. Additionally, the colours also look a bit faded.
Winner: Nothing Phone (2a)
Low light
In low light, the Nothing Phone (2a) automatically enables night mode when the ambient light is low; however, on the Redmi Note 12 Pro, you will have to switch on the mode manually. The night mode was turned off for the above low light shots on both devices. There is a noticeable drop in quality, but the Nothing Phone (2a) outputs relatively sharp and accurate images. The Redmi Note 13 Pro, on the other hand, overexposes the image, resulting in the loss of both details and sharpness.
Night mode
With night mode enabled, the images shot from the Redmi Note 13 Pro look much more contrasty than those from the Nothing Phone (2a). Even though the Nothing smartphone seems to be doing a better job of keeping the colours closer to reality, the Redmi smartphone images look more appealing.
Winner: Redmi Note 13 Pro
Verdict
In conclusion, the Nothing Phone (2a) and Redmi Note 13 Pro both cater to different preferences.
- The Nothing Phone (2a) excels in ultrawide and selfie photography, delivering warmer tones and sharper details compared to its counterpart. The handset also impresses with its relatively better low-light performance.
- The Redmi Note 13 Pro, on the other hand, outperforms the Nothing smartphone in daylight and portrait modes, offering superior dynamic range and skin tone accuracy. While the handset’s low-light performance may look underwhelming, its night mode produces appealing images.
