How to make astrophotos on Xiaomi phone: from the moon to the Milky Way

Capturing the starry sky, the moon or even nebulae with a Xiaomi smartphone is more real than it seems. 11/12/13, Redmi Note 11 Pro+ or POCO F4 They have hand-held cameras that allow you to capture deep space objects with minimal investment, but even budget models can capture the Milky Way or lunar craters, if you know the nuances of the survey and post-processing.

In this guide, we will take a look at all the steps of astrophotography on Xiaomi: from equipment preparation to final image processing in Lightroom or Photoshop. You will learn what camera settings to use to capture star tracks, how to get around the limitations of the phone’s sensor and what errors spoil 90% of beginners. HDR Why nighttime is 99% useless for astrophotos.

1. Which Xiaomi smartphones are suitable for astrophotography

Not every Xiaomi phone is capable of shooting high-quality starry sky.

• 📷 Sensor size: minimum 1/1.5" (for example, Xiaomi 13 Ultra with sensor 1" or Redmi Note 12 Pro+ s 1/1.28"). Smaller sensors (e.g, 1/2.76" In budget models, too little light is collected.
• 🔍 The light of the lens: optimally f/1.7–f/1.9. Phones with f/2.2 They will have to be very busy, which will lead to noise.
• 🎛️ Manual mode (Pro Mode): must support shutter speed up to 30 seconds, manual focusing and ISO 100 to 3200+.
• 🌌 Night mode: in astrophoto it is almost useless (blurring stars), but its presence indirectly indicates a good sensor.

The best models for astrophoto in the Xiaomi line (in decreasing quality):

If you have an older model (like the Redmi Note 9 Pro or Mi 10), astrophoto is also possible, but you will need an external lens (see Section 3) and a more aggressive post-processing to combat noise.

⚠️ Note: Phones with Helio G media library (e.g. Redmi) 9A) They're physically unable to shoot stars because of a weak processor and a small sensor, and if you try to shoot them, you'll get soap shots with a lot of noise.

2.Preparation of the phone: settings and applications

Before shooting, you need to optimize your phone to minimize power consumption and avoid overheating.

For shooting, use only Manual Mode (Pro Mode) in a standard camera app or specialized applications:

• 📱 Camera FV-5: Best choice for beginners (there is a histogram, manual focusing on the stars, support) RAW).
• 🌌 AstroCamera: Optimized for shooting the Milky Way (automatically calculates shutter speed by the level of light pollution).
• 🔭 NightCap Camera: suitable for shooting the moon and planets (there is a mode "Star trail").
• 📸 Open Camera: Free Alternative with Support RAW manually.

Important point: always shoot in format RAW (if the phone supports). JPEG-files lose up to 80% of star data due to compression. FV-5 turn on RAW in settings: Format → RAW (DNG).

Also install applications for shooting planning:

• 🗺️ PhotoPills (paid) – shows the trajectory of the Milky Way, the phases of the moon and the time of rising stars.
• 🌠 Stellarium (free) – interactive star chart for looking for nebulae.
• 🌑 Moon Phase Calendar – Helps you choose the best days to shoot the moon (first/last quarter).

3.Equipment: What you need besides a phone

Minimum set for astrophoto on Xiaomi:

• 📱 Statutory: mandatory for excerpts over 1/4 Even the budget Xiaomi Mi Tripod will do (1500₽) or.
• 🔋 Powerbank: shooting in the cold quickly drains the battery. Optimal 10,000 mAh with Quick Charge 3.0 support.
• 🔍 External lens: to shoot the moon / planets you need a telephoto lens (for example, Xiaomi Lens) 2x or universal Kase Macro 10x). For the Milky Way, it is wide-angle (for example, Moment Wide). 18mm).
• 🎛️ Remote control: to avoid shaking when pressing the screen. will fit Bluetooth remote Xiaomi Bluetooth Remote or wired from Sony.
• 🌡️ Phone heating pad: at a temperature lower +5°C sensor starts to make noise. Use chemical heating pads or special heated covers.

To shoot star tracks (long exposures) additionally require:

• ⚙️ Equatorial mounting (e.g. iOptron SkyGuider Pro) – compensates for the Earth’s rotation, allowing exposure to up to a few minutes.
• 🔄 Intervalomer: for a series of frames (you can use the Intervalometer application).

⚠️ Warning: Do not use cheap plastic tripods with heights of more than 1.5 m - they vibrate even from the light wind, which spoils the frame).

4. Camera settings for shooting stars and the Milky Way

Basic parameters for shooting wide-angle frames of the sky (Milky Way, star fields):

• 📸 Focus: Manual (MF), If you set it to "infinity" (turn the ring to the end). On some Xiaomi models, infinity is marked with a symbol. ∞ mountain-scape.
• ⏱️ Shutter speed: 10–25 seconds (30 seconds maximum, otherwise stars will start to “lubricate” due to the rotation of the Earth).
• 🌓 ISO: 1600-3200 (on Xiaomi 13 Ultra you can raise to 6400, but noise will be more).
• 🔘 White balance: 3,500–4000K (Auto-BB will give you yellowness.
• 📥 Format: RAW (DNG) or RAW+JPEG.

For the Moon and Planets (with Telephoto Lens):

• ⏱️ Excerpt: 1/100–1/50 c (The moon is bright, long exposure will illuminate the frame).
• 🌓 ISO: 100-400 (the lower the noise, the less).
• 🔍 Focus: manual, with an increase of 5–10x point-blank.

Example of settings for Redmi Note 12 Pro+ When shooting the Milky Way in a mountainous area (light pollution) 1/9 Bortle scale):

Mode: Pro Mode


Focus: MF (infinity)




Exposure: 20 seconds




ISO: 2500




White balance: 3800K




Format: RAW




Stabilization: Off.




HDR: Off.




AI: Off.

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If the stars are not visible on the phone screen when setting your focus, use a red light flashlight (does not spoil your eyes’ adaptation to the dark) or the Night Vision Camera app for pre-crypting.

5. Shooting technique: from framing to post-processing

Step 1: Selecting location and time

Use PhotoPills or Light Pollution Map to find places with no higher light pollution 3/9 (In the city, even the flagship Xiaomi will not shoot the Milky Way:

• 🌌 Milky Way: March to October, 23:00 to 3:00 (depending on the month).
• 🌕 Moon: first/last quarter (less glare), sunrise/set.
• ⭐ Star Trek: Any cloudless night, the longer the exposure, the brighter the tracks.

Step 2: Coverage

For the Milky Way, use a wide-angle lens (or the main camera of the phone) and place the center of the galaxy in the frame according to the rule of thirds. For the moon, frame it so that it occupies no more than 30% of the frame (otherwise details will be lost).

Step 3: Shooting a series of frames

To combat noise, take 10-20 frames with the same settings, and then combine them into Sequator or StarStaX. This is called stacking and reduces noise by 3-5 times.

Step 4 Post-processing

Handle it. RAW-Adobe Lightroom or Darktable files using the following algorithm:

1. Increase the exposure to +1.5–2.5 EV.
2. Reduce the black dot to -30 (star).
3. Increase the contrast on +20-30 and clarity on +15–25.
4. Reduce noise (but not more than 30%, otherwise the stars will turn into spots).
5. Add a blue tint in the shadows (temperature) ~3800K).

6 Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Mistake 1: Shooting in JPEG

80% of newcomers are filmed in JPEG, But this format loses up to 80% of the data about stars due to compression. RAW (DNG) It stores 10-15 times more information, which is critical for post-processing.

Error 2: Long exposure without mounting

When more aging 30 So, in seconds, stars turn into devils because of the Earth's rotation. 500 (maximum exposure = 500 / focal length. For example, for Xiaomi 13 Ultra with a focal 23 mm: 500 / 23 ≈ 21 second.

Error 3: Shooting at a high level ISO stackless

ISO 6400 or higher makes a lot of noise. Better to shoot 10 frames on the top of the top. ISO 3200 and combine them into a Sequator than one frame per ISO 12800.

Mistake 4: Using Digital Zoom

Digital zoom (anything above optical) just increases the pixels by adding noise. To shoot the moon, use an external telephoto lens or shoot a video in the image. 4K, And then cut the frame.

Mistake 5: Ignoring Light Pollution

In the city, even Xiaomi 13 Ultra won't shoot the Milky Way - only bright stars and the moon. Check the pollution level in the Light Pollution Map (optimum: blue/green).

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The most common reason for failure is to try to shoot the Milky Way in the city.Even with the flagship Xiaomi, you need to leave for 50+ km from major settlements.

7. Photographing specific objects: Moon, star tracks, nebulae

Luna

Use a telephoto lens (e.g., Xiaomi Lens) 2x kase 10x) and the following settings:

• 📸 Mode: Pro Mode or Moon Mode (on new Xiaomi).
• ⏱️ Excerpt: 1/100–1/200 (c) (so as not to re-light).
• 🌓 ISO: 100–200.
• 🔍 Focus: manual, with increasing in 10x point-blank.

To detail the craters, shoot a video in 4K, Then choose the best shot in the PIPP (planetary video processing).

Star Trek.

You need a series of frames at intervals of 1-2 seconds.

• ⏱️ Exposure: 20-30 s.
• 🌓 ISO: 1600–3200.
• 🔄 Interval: 1 s (in Intervalometer).
• 📊 Number of frames: 100-300 (for tracks 1-2 hours long).

Combine the footage in StarStaX (Lighten mode) or Sequator (Star Trails mode).

Nebulae (e.g. Andromeda or Orion)

To shoot nebulae on Xiaomi you need:

• 🔭 Telephoto lens with focal length from 50 mm.
• ⏱️ Shutter speed: 10-15 seconds (so as not to lubricate).
• 🌓 ISO: 3200–6400.
• 📊 Stacking: at least 50 frames.

Process in AstroPixelProcessor or DeepSkyStacker using dark frames (closed-lens frames to remove sensor noise).

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions