My Trip to Ecuador: Photographed with the Remarkable Xiaomi 13 Ultra

For those of you who know me personally, you’d know that my wife of 20 years passed away in September of 2018. After a year of figuring out how to live without her (and two years of COVID), I finally began dating again. It’s been an interesting journey for me but I’m learning to just enjoy these new opportunities that life is giving me to figure out who this newer (and better) Dan Perez is at this stage of my life.

That said, I’ve begun dating a new (and pretty wonderful) young lady named Serena, who just so happens to be from Ecuador (and a photographer!). So after several months of dating, we embarked on a trip to Quito, Ecuador (where she was born and raised) back at the end of April (yeah, I know I’m running a bit late). And unlike just about every other trip abroad I’ve taken, this one was planned 100% by her, which was 93% cool with me.

Mirador Pisque, Quito, Xiaomi 13 Ultra

Now, my daughter and I spent three weeks in Portugal back in December/January of 2022/2023. On that trip, I decided to put my iPhone 13 Pro to the test and use it to snag a few photographs along the way. It wasn’t gonna replace my 42.4MP full-frame Sony A7RIII (I’ve since moved up to the 61MP A7RV) but I thought that for certain situations (and for quickly posting to social), it might relieve the load of carrying the camera and several lenses.

I will say I was generally pleased with the results of the iPhone. However, I was disappointed on several occasions (especially on outdoor, overcast days of which we had many on our trip) with facial overexposure and weird skin tones. This led me to consider looking into the iPhone 15 Pro (or better?). But as I journeyed down that rabbit hole, I came upon reviews of a camera phone maker I had not ever heard of – Xiaomi.

Xiaomi is a Chinese designer and manufacturer of consumer electronics and related software, home appliances, automobiles and household hardware, with headquarters in Beijing, China. It is the second-largest manufacturer of smartphones in the world (surprise!), behind Samsung. It also produces a remarkable smartphone – the Xiaomi 13 Ultra.

Now I’m not gonna bore you with all the specs (you can view them HERE) but I will tell you that the phone features a 50-megapixel, 1-inch Sony IMX989 sensor, which only a few other Chinese camera phone brands also feature (Huawei, Oppo, and Vivo) but the Xiaomi 13 Ultra features a grand total of four cameras honed through a partnership with none other than Leica(!), who worked with Xiaomi to create various filters, styles, and effects.

View of Quito from our Airbnb

There’s a 50-megapixel, 1-inch Sony IMX989 sensor, a 50-megapixel telephoto lens offering 5X optical zoom, and a 50-megapixel telephoto with 3.2X optical zoom, all with OIS (optical image stabilization). As if that wasn’t enough, there’s also a 50-megapixel wide-angle lens with macro mode for close-ups. Now, the 50MP refers to the megapixel count of the sensor, actual megapixels used in photo and video will vary. The robust resolution, however, allowed for greater flexibility (over the iPhone 13 Pro) when editing the photographs in Photoshop (even the phone app version).

Iglesia y Convento de San Francisco

The Xiaomi 13 Ultra also features a very interesting technical feature, the option for duo aperture, which allows the aperture to automatically (or manually in “Pro” mode) switch between f/1.9 and f/4.0. The phone is powered by a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor inside, backed by 12 GB of RAM (compared to the 8 GB of RAM found on the iPhone 15 Pro) and a 90-watt charging adapter in the box (not the usual extra charge) which charges the phone from dead to 100% in less than an hour.

Plaza de San Francisco, Quito

Xiaomi announced its 13 Ultra with a camera accessory kit that, after reading several reviews, I also purchased ($220 on ebay). It’s a quality protective case with a lens cap, a 67mm filter adapter (for use with ND and circular polarizing filters!), a camera grip with shutter button and Bluetooth, a zoom rocker(!) and a very handy lanyard.

And unlike the other 1 inch cameras available from the other Chinese camera phone brands, the Xiaomi 13 Ultra is compatible with T-Mobile, my current phone service carrier. I still brought along my iPhone but this time just as a phone, not as a camera. But knowing I could swap my iPhone’s SIM card into my new $899 (ebay) 256GB phone and still keep my T-Mobile service was the tipping point.

On the road in Quito

I purchased the Xiaomi for a 29 day trip to Europe with my daughter this past December and was very pleased by not only the results of the photographs, but with the camera’s impressive video capabilities. Those photographs (in the thousands!) are still being edited but I’ll be posting images from that unforgettable trip soon.

Laguna de Cuicocha

Now, no camera phone is ever going to seriously compete with today’s mirrorless full-frame cameras and lenses. Period. But did I find the images from the Xiaomi 13 Ultra to be superior to what my iPhone 13 Pro produced? Si señor! Would I feel comfortable unburdening myself of a camera bag filled with my Sony A7RV and the three lenses (24-105 f/4, 35mm f/1.4, 85mm f/1.8) I usually travel with and carry just the Xiaomi for a quick stroll in a park or plaza during the day or a visit to an art museum? Yes. Yes I would.

And that’s really all I want a camera phone to do for me when I travel – unburden me for an afternoon or two when I’m traveling so that my 50+ year-old body could amble a bit more freely during my usually long trips overseas. Nuff said.

Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de Guápulo

Enjoy the images from a memorable trip to lovely Ecuador – all taken with the Xiaomi 13 Ultra…

TelefériQo (from teleférico and Quito)

Rucu Pichincha, Quito

Quito

Iglesia de la Compañía, Quito

Iglesia de la Compañía, Quito

A surprise stop in our trip was to an excellent Spanish restaurant called Casa Damián in Quito where Serena held a gathering of old friends. The restaurant used to be the house her and her family lived in when she was a young girl(!)

Casa Museo Guayasamín

When I was a far, far younger man (in my teens/early twenties), I worked at the New York Public Library on 5th Avenue packing and sorting books. I remember coming across a book of paintings by Ecuadorian artist Oswaldo Guayasamín and being deeply affected by his work. Naturally, one of my requests to Serena was to stop at his museum in Quito. My wish was granted.

Oswaldo Guayasamín was an Ecuadorian artist whose work is characterized by its Cubist-styled depictions of Latin American people. The artist focused especially on portraying the rampant oppression, poverty, and political strife he witnessed growing up in the region. Casa Museo Guayasamín is the former home of the legendary painter. Now a museum, it houses the most complete collection of the artist’s work.

Born on July 6, 1919 in Quito into a humble Kichwa and Mestizo family, he was one of 10 children, losing his mother at an early age. The death of his closest friend, who was shot during a demonstration, fueled his passion for art and led to his earliest works.

Guayasamín left his old school and entered the School of Fine Arts. This step was the most important turning point in his entire life. Graduation from the School of Fine Arts finally marked his path as a professional artist. Being only 21 years old, his prints were highly praised and recognized among art lovers in America. His work caught the attention of famous American businessman Nelson Rockefeller who assisted the young artist in selling his works.

In 1952, the Guayasamin paintings were exhibited in the Museo de Arte Colonial Quito. In 1957, at the Fourth Biennial of São Paulo, he was named the best South American painter. The artist’s last exhibits were inaugurated by him personally in the Luxembourg Palace in Paris, and in the Palais de Glace in Buenos Aires in 1995.

His death on March 10, 1999, was considered a great loss to Ecuador and occurred in the midst of a political and socioeconomic crisis, with the day marked by strikes by the indigenous people (whom he spent his life supporting) and other sectors of society. He is considered a national treasure and has been likened to the Michelangelo of Latin America by the Spanish art historian José Camón Aznar.

Guayasamín is buried alongside his friend, the writer Jorge Enrique Adoum, under a pine tree near the house. Being face to face with his original works, several of them the very same paintings I saw in that very same book I held in my hands some 35 years ago, was one of the highlights of the trip.

Hacienda Cusín

Another one of Serena’s special surprises during our trip was a stay at Hacienda Cusín, a restored 400-year-old Spanish colonial estate and one of the finest haciendas in Ecuador. Located in the city of Otavalo, an hour north of Quito’s international airport, the manicured complex has 45 rooms, suites and cottages and features five acres of beautifully landscaped gardens – a true sanctuary of trees and cobblestone paths.

In the early 19th century, when Alexander Von Humboldt, a German geographer and explorer, made his Ecuador explorations and Charles Darwin visited the Galapagos Islands, Hacienda Cusin, named after the mountain at the head of the valley, was the country home of a successful farming family. The often more than two-day horse-ride from Quito encouraged visiting family and friends to extend their visits. Cusín became an informal hotel, and still is today.

Owner Nicholas Millhouse who came from England and fell in love with Ecuador during a visit more than 30 years ago. He bought Cusin in 1990 and immediately began conserving and restoring its salas, salones, guestrooms and landscape. Many rooms are furnished with antiques, paintings and sculptures of the Cusco and Quito Schools of art. To separate conference dynamics from the tranquility of house-guests an original looking monastery with conference facilities was built nearby.

Parque Central De San Pablo del Lago

After a few hours walking the lovely grounds of Hacienda Cusín, we decided to walk to a nearby park and plaza. I left my big boy camera in my room and ventured out with just the Xiaomi.

View of Iglesia matriz de San Pablo, which dates back to the 18th century

Mercado Artesania Otavalo

The Ecuadorian town of Otavalo is famous for one thing: its outdoors craft market – the biggest indigenous market in South America. I brought my Sony A7RV with me but also managed a few shots with the Xiaomi…

The indigenous Otavaleño people, who make up approximately 50% of the town’s population, have been weavers since pre-Incan times[*]. In colonial days, their skills resulted in many of them being forced into obrajes (textile workshops), creating a textile trade that continues freely today.

As with most street markets worldwide, prices are negotiable at Otavalo Market’s “Plaza de los Ponchos”

It was an absolutely wonderful trip (gracias, Serena!) and I’m sure we will return to visit more parts of this lovely country. As for the Xiaomi 13 Ultra, I was very pleased with the images it produced and am growing more and more comfortable traveling with it as my (part-time) go-to camera. Better than my iPhone 13 Pro in so many ways. A more robust image for Photoshop editing, great in low light, excellent telephoto lenses, great battery life, and far better skin tones thanks to its partnership with Leica. More images with the camera coming soon…