
It may have an unusually (in these times) compact and sleek design. It might boast top-notch, flagship-level hardware, but make no mistake about it, what makes Xiaomi’s latest flagship, the Xiaomi 14 are its cameras that have been designed in collaboration with one of the biggest names in photography, Leica. And unlike some collaborations between phone and camera brands in the past, Leica’s involvement in the Xiaomi 14 goes beyond its name appearing on the camera unit of the phone. There are many Leica features in the Xiaomi 14, features that make the cameras on the device unique as they are not found on any other brand’s phone.
Table of Contents
The Leica look you like: Leica photographic styles
Speedy and super, no matter the light: Leica Summilux lens
Master them portraits: Leica’s Master-lens system special modes
In most phones, the telephoto sensor is for zooming in to get a relatively closer view of distant objects. The telephoto on the Xiaomi 14 does zoom too – you get 3.2x optical zoom and 60x digital zoom (tip: Do not go beyond 10x). However, the telephoto camera on the Xiaomi 14 also has a uniquely Leica touch. It is a “floating telephoto” lens, which means it can shoot at different focal lengths. But that is not the Leica spin – what makes this lens so Leica-ble is the fact that it adds four Leica-flavoured modes to the normal portrait mode of the phone. Called the Master-lens system, this allows you to shoot not just in the normal portrait mode (which is very good, incidentally) but also in four special Leica modes at different focal lengths:
- 35 mm documentary
- 50 mm swirly bokeh
- 75 mm portrait
- 90 mm soft focus
Each of these modes comes with its own Leica signature, be it in terms of colour composition, contrast handling and even the kind of bokeh. Speaking of bokeh, you can actually tweak the level of bokeh in each of these modes as well by simply adjusting the aperture slider that appears at the base of the frame. Our favourites are the 50mm swirly bokeh and the 75mm portrait modes, both of which deliver brilliant portraits and are great not just for human subjects but for product shots as well. We would advise some caution with the 90mm soft focus, which as its name indicates, can deliver shots which might seem a trifle blurry but which actually are in line with Leica’s unique focus aesthetic. As for the 35mm mode, we actually recommend it for street photography, as it lets you shoot from a discreet distance and get very good results indeed.
Photo filter coffee: Leica’s magnificent monochrome filters

Blame it on Instagram, but it is common to see phones come with filter options these days. These filters add a different look to photographs and videos by highlighting certain shades and textures. By and large, these have become so templatised to be almost predictable – there will be a certain filter that has a monochrome effect, another with a touch of sepia, yet another that will saturate colours to the point of precipitation and so on. The Xiaomi 14 however, comes with four filters especially designed by Leica. And in best Leica tradition, these are all monochrome. Leica is legendary for its black and white photography, and the four filters featured by it on the Xiaomi 14 bring you the magic of classic Leica photography, showing that you do not need a riot of colours to take a great photograph or video. The Xiaomi 14 has four Leica filters:
- Leica BW Nat
- Leica BW HC
- Leica Sepia
- Leica Blue
The BW Nat is perfect for those who want a simple black-and-white snap or video clip, with those slightly richer shades that are trademark Leica. BW HC makes the contrasts a little deeper, while Sepia and Blue add different shades. These filters are available while shooting (in ‘live’ mode) and also while editing your image and video, and are available on all three cameras on the back of the Xiaomi 14. You can even use them while shooting in the Master-lens portrait system described earlier. However, these are not available while shooting selfies, although you can use them while editing them. Call us traditionalists or old-fashioned, but Leica BW HC is our favourite for its sharpness and for being the most Leica of the lot!
The telephoto that does macro: Leica floating telephoto lens
Snap, it’s a Leica: Leica shutter sound
The Xiaomi 14 can not just shoot like a Leica, but can sound like one too. The Xiaomi 14 can emit the classic, crisp click sound that a Leica M series camera does every time you take a photograph. For some reason, this is not labelled as a Leica feature on the phone itself, though. To get on the Leica soundwagon, open the Camera, go to Settings (go to More and tap the Gear icon on the top right corner of the display) and switch on Shutter sound.