Xiaomi 15 Ultra got its zoom camera beans spilled hours before the unveiling

Xiaomi 15 Ultra, probably the only Chinese Ultra that's going to get a global release (if indeed Oppo's Find X8 Ultra won't make it to international markets, as just suggested), is mere hours away from being officially unveiled.

Of course, by now, we know a ton about it, thanks to early leaks and clever tipsters. It's shaping out to be another powerhouse flagship from Xiaomi with the traditional focus on photography (pun intended).

However, we don't necessarily need to wait much longer for the official launch and presentation to take an X-ray-like look at one of its cameras: the 4.3x zoom snapper.

Here is what it looks like. Oh, yeah, one more thing: it's periscope system is called "Yakami Telephoto", at least in the official poster, shared on Weibo:



We learn four things from it:

• It's a 200 MP sensor;
• The camera offers a 100mm equivalent focal length
• It's a large 1/1.4-inch sensor
• The aperture is large at f/2.6

Now, 50mm is considered to be "standard" for photography, but ~24mm is what the overwhelming majority of phones offer on their main cameras; so 100mm is indeed in the zoom range.

We actually get to look at the "Yakami Telephoto" insides as well and it's fascinating. In the lens itself, there are no less than six elements; we can clearly see the periscope prism which allows the magic to happen. Periscope cameras utilize a combination of a prism and a mirror to redirect light at a 90-degree angle, guiding it through a series of lens elements before reaching the sensor.

The periscope lens system provides users with impressive optical zoom, offering far superior image quality compared to digital zoom, which simply enlarges and crops images from the main lens.

What's best about it is that the additional optical zoom comes without the need for a bulky camera module. Traditional optical zoom works by shifting a lens element farther from the image sensor – the greater the zoom, the farther the element must move. However, since a large protruding lens is impractical for smartphones, a periscope system uses a unique sideways design and lens arrangement to achieve true optical zoom instead of relying on digital zoom.

With its large sensor and high megapixel count, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra is expected to maintain exceptional detail even at above-average zoom levels. While the f/2.6 aperture might not sound impressive to some, I think it's got a great potential!