How to shoot the moon on Xiaomi: a complete guide with camera settings and examples

Photographing the moon on a Xiaomi smartphone is a task that seems easy only at first glance. In practice, many people face blurred frames, over-lit areas or a complete lack of detail on the surface of the satellite, the reason is not the weakness of the camera, but the wrong settings and shooting techniques. Even low-end models of Redmi or POCO can give impressive results, if you know a few key points.

In this article, we'll look at all the steps from smartphone prep to post-processing. You'll learn which Xiaomi camera modes are best for the moon, how to manually adjust exposure and focus, and what accessories will help improve quality. We'll focus on the typical errors that make 90% of users get unsatisfactory shots. Are you ready to learn how to shoot the moon so that the photos show its craters and texture?

Why are Xiaomi’s photos of the moon so bad?

The main problem with shooting the moon on smartphones is the camera’s automatic mode, which is not optimized for such conditions. Xiaomi’s algorithms are by default aimed at shooting Earth objects with normal light, and the moon requires a completely different approach.

• 🌕 Overlight: Moon reflects sunlight, and camera mistakenly thinks it's too bright, shadowing details.
• 🔍 Wrong focus: Autofocus is got stuck over infinity, but due to hand tremors or smoothing algorithms, the image blurs.
• 📱 Noise at high ISO: In the dark, the camera automatically increases sensitivity, which leads to graininess.
• 🌌 Lack of stabilization: even microscopic hand movements during prolonged exposure spoil the frame.

For example, on the Xiaomi 13 Pro with Sony’s IMX800 sensor, the moon often appears as a white spot with no textures in automatic mode. On the Redmi Note 12 Pro+, the contrasts between light and dark areas are lost due to aggressive HDR processing. The solution is one: disable all automatic assistants and switch to manual settings.

⚠️ Note: If your Xiaomi smartphone does not support Manual Mode (Pro Mode), shooting the Moon with details is impossible without additional accessories (for example, a telephoto lens.

Which Xiaomi models are better for shooting the moon?

Not all Xiaomi smartphones are equally good for astrophotography, the main criteria for choosing the size of the matrix, the presence of a telephoto lens and support for manual settings. The table below is a rating of models by decreasing the quality of shooting the moon:

Note that even flagship models without a telephoto lens (such as the Xiaomi 13 or 13T) lose in detail of the moon due to the smaller focal length. If your smartphone did not hit the table, check the specifications on the official Xiaomi website - look for focal length and aperture parameters (preferably not worse than f/1.9).

Preparation of a smartphone for the shooting of the moon

Before you take a picture of the moon, you need to turn off all automatic camera functions that can spoil the frame.

Disable HDR in the camera settings

Select Pro Mode (manual)

Set the minimum ISO value (100-200)

Turn off digital zoom (use optical only)

Turn off image stabilization (EIS)-->

Let’s now take a closer look at each item:

1. Disable HDR: This mode creates multiple images with different exposures and combines them, but for the moon it is useless - the object is one, and additional frames will only add noise.
2. Pro Mode: It has manual shutter speed, ISO and white balance settings, and can be found on the camera menu by swiping left or clicking on More → Pro.
3. Minimum ISO: High ISO increases noise. ISO 100-200 is enough for the moon, because it is bright.
4. Digital zoom: It just zooms in on the pixels, making the image blurry. Use only optical zoom (if any) or shoot without zoom and frame later.
5. Stabilization (EIS): It can deposit artifacts in long exposures. It's better to use a tripod.

It is also recommended to clean the lens of fingerprints and dust - they can create glare. Use a microfiber wipe (as for glasses). If shooting in the cold, let the smartphone acclimate for 10-15 minutes to avoid fogging the lens.

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Before shooting, charge your smartphone at least 50% - in the cold, the battery sits down faster, and discharging during shooting can interrupt the process.

Optimal camera settings for shooting the moon

Now we move on to the most important options – manual settings in Pro Mode. Below are the recommended values for most Xiaomi models (may require adjustment depending on the conditions):

• 📸 Focus: set up MF (hand focus) and move the slider to the right (infinity, symbol) ∞).
• ⏱️ Excerpt: 1/100 — 1/500 The moon is moving, and the long shutter speed will blur it.
• 🌡️ White Balance: Daylight (5000-5500K). Automatic mode can make the moon yellowish.
• 📊 ISO: 100-200. If the frame is too dark, raise it gradually to 400, higher.
• 🔍 Zoom: Use only optical (if any). Xiaomi 13 Ultra is optimal 5x, for the rest of us, no zoom.

Example of settings for Redmi Note 12 Pro+ (without a telephoto lens):

Mode: Pro Mode


Focus: MF (infinity)




Shutter speed: 1/250 s




ISO: 100




White balance: 5200K




Format: RAW (if supported)

If your smartphone supports RAW shooting, be sure to choose this format - it will save more parts for post-processing. On models without RAW (for example, Redmi 10), shoot at maximum JPEG resolution.

⚠️ Warning: Don't use night mode to shoot the moon! It's designed for low-light scenes and will only degrade quality by adding unnecessary noise cancellation and blurring.

Shooting technique: how to avoid blurring and trembling

Even with perfect camera settings, the moon can be blurred by hand tremors or atmospheric distortions. Here's how to minimize these effects:

1. Tripod or support: be sure to secure your smartphone, even an improvised book stand or window sill will do. For best results, use a tripod with a smartphone mount and a remote descent (for example, via a Bluetooth remote control or a timer in 2-3 seconds).
2. Remote Descent: Even tapping the screen can move the smartphone. Turn on the descent delay timer in the camera settings (Settings → Timer → 2c or 3c).
3. Serial shooting: take 5-10 frames in a row, and then select the clearest one. In Pro Mode, you can do this by holding down the down button.
4. Atmospheric counting: if the moon is low above the horizon, its image will be distorted by the atmosphere, and shooting at the zenith (high in the sky) gives a clearer result.

To check for clarity, use the post-shoot approach: if the craters of the moon are visible as dots rather than blurred spots, the settings are correct. If not, reduce the shutter speed or check the focus.

Post-processing: how to improve photos of the moon

Raw pictures of the moon from a smartphone rarely look perfect — they usually require contrast correction, noise reduction and cropping. Here is a step-by-step guide to processing in free apps:

1. Pruning and framing: Use Snapseed or Lightroom Mobile to trim the extra and zoom in on the moon. Don't be afraid to cut aggressively, as long as the resolution stays at least 2000x2000 px.
2. Exposure correction: In Lightroom, reduce shutter speed by -0.5...-1.0 to return parts in light areas. Raise Contrast by +20...+30.
3. Noise suppression: In Snapseed, use the Selective → Noise suppression tool in dark areas (but don’t overdo it, otherwise the moon will become plastic).
4. Sharpness: Apply the Sharpness Mask (in Lightroom: Details → Sharp → Mask) with a radius of 1.0-1.5 px to highlight craters.

Example of settings in Lightroom Mobile for RAW-moonshot:

Exposure: -0.8


Contrast: +25




Shadows: +15




Black: -10




Sharpness: +40 (Mask 1.2 px)




Noise suppression: +20 (colored noise)

If you filmed in JPEG, Be careful with the sharpness - the format is already compressed, and overprocessing will add artifacts. → Structure.

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Shoot the moon in RAW if your Xiaomi supports this format – it gives 30-50% more detail when processed compared to JPEG.

Additional accessories for shooting the moon

If you want to get professional quality, a regular smartphone camera might not be enough, and here are some accessories that will help take photography to the next level:

• 📸 Telephoto lens for smartphone: for example, Xiaomi Lens 2x Optical Zoom, or Moment's universal lenses, increase focal length, allowing a larger moon to be shot.
• 🎥 Tripod with flexible legs: models like Joby GorillaPod allow you to fasten your smartphone on any surface, even on a tree branch.
• 🔘 Bluetooth remote: cheap remote descent solution (e.g. Xiaomi Mi Selfie Stick Tripod with remote control).
• 🌌 Light filter: ND-The filter will help reduce the brightness of the moon, if it is overlit even at a minimum. ISO.

The cost of this set is from 1,500 to 5,000 rubles, but the difference in quality of images will be huge. For example, with a Moment 58mm telephoto lens on the Xiaomi 13 Ultra, you can get the detail comparable to a SLR camera.

If you don't want to spend money, try shooting through binoculars or a spyglass, and then you can put your smartphone lens on the eyepiece of your binoculars (no lenses!) and focus by hand, and this is a practice-based technique that's going to give you amazing results.

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To avoid glare when shooting through binoculars, cover your smartphone and eyepiece with dark cloth, leaving only a small hole for the lens.

Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Even experienced photographers sometimes make mistakes when photographing the moon, and here are the most common ones and ways to fix them:

Another common problem is atmospheric distortion, where the moon appears to be "smoking" or blurred, because of turbulence in the air, especially in cities.

• Take it off in calm weather.
• Avoid shooting over asphalt or roofs (they heat up and create heat flows).
• The best time is 2-3 hours after the moon rises when it is high in the sky.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions