China Rising: Xiaomi Yi M1 MFT
 

first they're going after Samsung with phones, then went after GoPro and DJI for action cams/drones

soon to be GG GH4, RIP a6300

Yi M1

Sony 20MP
4K recording
MFT compat
3" touchscreen with focus-peaking (sans zoom)
5fps burst
WiFi/BT
281g
$330US body only
$450US with portrait/macro prime + kit zoom

the leica copycat is just the start of the revolution

#longlivegulululu

http://images.indianexpress.com/2016...camera-big.jpg

You know, I have quite a different take on the latest attempts by Xiaomi. It is well known that revenues have dropped big time for Xiaomi in the recent quarters -- apparently Huawei is stealing Xiaomi's lunch right in its face. To make up for the short fall, Xiaomi has been desperately branching out to all kinds of different markets, and I personally see it as a desperate attempt more than anything else. It doesn't look healthy, and I wouldn't be surprised to see Xiaomi falling flat on its face when it is expanding to so many different markets all at once.

nope didn't know that
I guess in mobile there's big players like Oppo/Huawei
and rugged camcorders there's SJ cams and other small brands but nothing that rivals the Yi in sales in their domestic market I believe
there's practically no interchangeable lens camera under $500US (I think may be an Oly PEN)...if M1 performs half decently it'll do well commercially

You also have to look at the market. Asian/China have very different market then say N.America/Europe this might not fly well in China. Unless they plan to sell this internationally

Does this use standard mirrorless lenses? Like Sony lenses? Or is there some sort of adapter needed?

micro 4/3
so it already has a healthy selection of Olympus/Panasonic lenses supported

xiaomi has horrible after sales customer service. If your product breaks then good luck even getting a response from them. At least that's how they are in the local Chinese market, maybe they'll be different for western markets since they want to make themselves look good to foreign markets. Treat your own people like shit and kiss ass to the foreign market showing a false company image. Unfortunately, typical Chinese company culture :(

so is Sony and DJI

Where and when can I get one of these?

Given the price point, I think it would be kind of fun to goof around with one of these without having to shell out double the price for a semi-equivalent Olympus or Sony etc.

Edit: Went to their website and the link lead to AliExpress. The dual lens kit ramps up close to $1000 CAD. Not as great of a deal as I thought it would be. Would rather mitigate the risk and get an Olympus with a single lens.

product's barely on the official channels...of course you'll see scalpers in the grey market
wait a while and you should see the kit go for around $500US me thinks

As Traum said, Xiaomi is in a shit of its own. In its home turf, it's getting pressed by other players such as LeTV, Huawei... etc.

Go take a look at yesterday's Mi 5s announcement event. It was sad really. The presenters wanted to copy that Apple feel and yet failed miserably, making them look very bad... there was hardly any excitement from the crowd except pricing.

I think the problem with XiaoMi is its profit margin. It's too low to maintain a healthy R&D team, something highly important in the field they are in. All they can do is taking a reference design from OEM partners, and add a few touches here and there.

Same thing with this camera... all it's doing is taking Sony sensors, Olympus/Panasonic's format and asking the lowest bid EMS to put everything together. Hardly anything exciting.

I don't mean to trash Xiaomi (in fact I am getting a Mi 5s for my in-laws), but as a photo enthusiast, I don't see Xiaomi bringing anything new to the field. Think it this way, with all the R&D, marketing and $$$ prowess that Samsung had, it failed to do anything worth mentioning to the market, what does Xiaomi have that Samsung didn't exactly?

why do they need great R&D/exciting tech to sell right now? Would you rather pay $400 with known internals or double/triple the cost for in-house stuff with unknown quality from a newcomer?

I'd argue entry price is way more important for market entry/penetration.

The jump from Yi action cam to Yi 4K action cam was substantial. And now Amazon carries it for $250 compared to the Sony and GoPro ($400+)

If they tried to come up with their own lens mount, it'd likely be DoA. because they can tap into existing MFT users...it has a decent shot.

That's what killed Samsung. They did their own mount. It wasn't cheaper for the end-user. Samsung didn't have the expertise like Sony nor build quality like Fuji.

the NX1 was a beast for its time too...just can't carve out its niche.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung_NX1

photographers are unwilling to ditch systems and jump into a new one because it's a hassle/expensive process. MFT compat makes this more accessible.

Price isn't everything and neither was a new mount a problem. Samsung's cellphone is the most expensive as far as Android builders go but it's still the best seller.

Look at Sony's E-mount. It was a completely new mount and still succeeded because Sony had the marketing and technical know-how to establish the niche it wanted and expanded from there.

Take a look at MFT field, Panasonic focuses on video (4k/6k) while Oly got its phenomenal IBIS and build qualities. And both have a good reputation for its IQ and product reliability.

The problem with Xiami's M1 is that it doesn't have its niche. It's simply a "me too" product at a lower price. And even the "me too" is highly arguable as it doesn't exactly have what Panasonic/Olympus have. They might be able to convince a consumer to try it once, but unless they actually bring something better on the table, users will move to other alternatives given their need, even at a higher price point.

What I'm saying is that they need to come up with something unique... something that people in the market for MFT cams are looking and Pana/Oly don't quite have it and go from there. As far as this M1 goes, it doesn't have anything. And price alone isn't enough to convince people to switch/stay, not in the camera field at least because unlike smartphone, people don't update once every year or two.

Samsung's mobile division had solid marketing in the S3 era..that's how it picked up steam when iPhones then were starting to stagnate

Sony got a foothold because they were the first of the big 3 to start the mirrorless game and they know sensors.

Again, Panny/Oly are established photography brands. Xiaomi is a newcomer, if they tried to bring something new it would easily double-triple the cost, and Westerners would rather buy Panny/Oly than lesser-known brand at similar price points. Price and retail availability will be key.

If you need a decent example look at how Vizio's doing in the AV market. It doesn't dethrone the Korean giants but holds its own very well. Their stuff isn't revolutionary, just great bang for buck. People upgrade their TV every 5-10yrs

time will tell. If this is officially sold outside of China I can see it doing well.

some major limitations in video...all correctable with firmware but I have a feeling it's going to be ignored

YI M1 Mirrorless vs. Sony A6300 Comparison Review