While Redmi Note 5 is yet-to-be-launched in India (however, expected to launch on 14th Feb), the Honor 9 Lite has already become popular in India. Huawei has given this smartphone a very competitive price. Probably that’s the reason it goes out of stock in merely few seconds during flash sale.
Previously, we put the Honor 9 Lite against its sibling Honor 7X in a comprehensive camera comparison where the Honor 7X turned out to be better than the former. You can read that article here. Anyway, as the newcomer got defeated by its sibling, we are curious to know whether it will defeat other smartphones in this price segment or not. So today we are putting the Honor 9 Lite against Redmi Note 5 for camera comparison.
Before we hit the road, let’s have a look on the camera specs first:
| Honor 9 Lite | Redmi Note 5 | |
| Rear | Dual 13MP + 2MP, PDAF, LED flash | 12MP, PDAF, Dual-LED dual-tone flash |
| Front | Dual 13MP + 2MP | 5MP |
DAYLIGHT PHOTOS
Photos taken by Honor 9 Lite in daylight condition look a bit better than those on Redmi Note 5. Have a look on samples below:
In some photos, one can tell the difference by just looking at them while some of them required to be zoomed in. For example, see the sample below. Both images look identical to each but when zoomed in, less details and lack of saturation can be seen on Redmi Note 5.
Color reproduction of Redmi Note 5 is also not better than the Honor 9 Lite. The former captures nearly-realistic color whereas the latter is very good at it. See the sample below:
In this section, the Honor 9 Lite leaves the Redmi Note 5 behind.
HIGH DYNAMIC RANGE or HDR
Turning on the HDR mode brings hell of a change in the photos of Redmi Note 5. It looks a bit better than the Honor 9 Lite here. Have a look on the samples below:
Both samples look good but Redmi Note 5 is marginally better in terms of sharpness and details that can only been seen when you zoom in these photos. Another interesting thing is Honor 9 Lite tries to brighten the darker area instead of capturing the realistic details. See the plant’s leaves in the sample photo below:
In this section, the Redmi Note 5 defeats the Honor 9 Lite.
BOKEH or DEPTH OF FIELD
Images taken with bokeh mode enabled are definitely better on the Honor 9 Lite and one can easily tell the difference between the two. Have look on the sample below:
Though I can’t deny that Redmi Note 5 is also good at bokeh effect, the Honor 9 Lite is marginally better here. It blurs the background effectively while keeping the primary object in focus. The Redmi Note 5, on the other hand, does blur the background but blur level is not better or similar to the Honor 9 Lite. However, at some point, colors look a bit oversaturated on Honor 9 Lite. Have a look on the sample below:
In this section, the crown goes to Honor 9 Lite.
PANORAMA
Much like the HDR mode, the Honor 9 Lite fails to capture details in this section too. Also the colors look faded, have a look below:
As you can see, the image taken from Honor 9 Lite look dull. After zooming in, I found that it lacks saturation and sharpness too. The Redmi Note 5, on the other hand, performs well in panorama mode. Its sample doesn’t lack saturation or sharpness and has good details.
This section is won by the Redmi Note 5.
LOWLIGHT
And here comes the most challenging part – lowlight. Before I say anything, have a look on the sample below:
As you can see, the Redmi Note 5 is better than the Honor 9 Lite, though marginally. Both smartphones’ lowlight photos have noise with Honor 9 Lite having more than its competitor. Have a look on another sample below:
The Redmi Note 5 is better than the Honor 9 Lite in terms of capturing details and sharpness. Though none of them produce actual colors in lowlight condition, the Redmi 5 is close to realistic colors.
This section, undoubtedly, goes in the favor of Redmi Note 5.
LOWLIGHT HDR
Shooting the lowlight photos with HDR enabled brings changes on both handsets however, the Redmi Note 5 is still leading. Have a look below:
The level of noise is decreased on Honor 9 Lite and details are a bit clearer now however, the Redmi Note 5 is still better. Its photos are more detailed, clearer and sharper. Also the former tends to overexpose the bright areas in the image. See another photo below:
Much like the previous section, the Redmi Note 5 is winner
SELFIE
The trend of selfie has evolved to an extent level over past couple of years and that’s the reason smartphone companies are even more concerned for the quality of selfie camera. For example, Oppo and Vivo! Anyway, let’s have a look on the selfie samples (without beauty mode):
Selfie taken from Honor 9 Lite is brighter than that on Redmi Note 5. It also has more details and saturation comparing to the latter whose selfie look a bit dull. So for normal selfie, I would vote the Honor 9 Lite. Further, let’s check the sample with beauty mode enabled. Have a look below:
With beauty mode enabled, the Redmi Note 5 doesn’t bring so many changes. It just smoothens the picture. Even the brightness remains as normal selfie. The Honor 9 Lite, on the other hand, completely wipes out the facial contours. To be true, I won’t enable this selfie mode again on the Honor 9 Lite. I would go with the normal ones.
In the beauty mode section, my vote for winner is with Redmi Note 5 however it completely depends on you whether you like natural selfies or beautified look.
VERDICT
In my opinion, the winner is Redmi Note 5 for producing marginally better quality images with good color accuracy and details.
Further, for this price, the Honor 9 Lite isn’t a bad choice either. The handset closely follows the Redmi Note 5.