Modern Xiaomi and Redmi smartphones have impressive cameras that often outperform budget SLR cameras in processing quality. However, to create professional shots in low light or to paint with light, you need to go beyond the standard automatic mode. Many users do not know that their device is hidden powerful tool — long shutter speed, available through manual settings.
Understanding the matrix and the shutter allows you to turn a normal evening landscape into a work of art. Unlike automatic mode, which tries to pull out the light programmatically, manually adjusting the exposure time gives you physical control over the amount of light that hits the sensor. This is the key to creating the effect of silk water, light traces from cars and clear sky without digital noise.
In this article, we will discuss in detail how to activate and adjust shutter speed on Mi, Redmi and POCO smartphones. We will consider not only the standard capabilities of the MIUI or HyperOS system, but also third-party solutions that may be required by owners of older or trimmed models.
Preparation of equipment for long exposure
Before you start setting the camera, you need to ensure that the device is physically still. When using a long shutter speed that lasts more than 1/60 of a second, any, even microscopic hand shake will lubricate the frame. A tripod is a must for a sharp image.
If a professional tripod is not available, you can use any stable surfaces, such as a parapet, a stack of books or a sandbag, the main thing is to eliminate vibration during shooting, and you should also turn off the vibration of the keyboard and notifications, since they can be transmitted to the phone body.
- 📸 Status or monopod: ensures absolute immobility of the body during exposure.
- 🧹 Wipe for optics: at long exposure, any fat spots on the lens turn into bright glare.
- 🔋 External battery: modes of long shooting and working screen actively consume battery power.
⚠️ Attention: Never use digital zoom when shooting at long exposure. Digital zoom spits the matrix and reduces the quality, making the noise more noticeable. Better get closer to the subject or use optical zoom if there is one.
☑️ Ready to shoot
Activation of Pro mode in the standard annex
In most modern Xiaomi models, manual mode is built directly into the standard Camera app. To start, you need to open the application and find the item “Eye” in the lower menu.
The interface will change, and you'll see sliders adjusting the basic parameters, and we're interested in a parameter that's called the S or the shutter icon, and that's what's responsible for the time that the matrix is open to light, and it can range from 1/4000 of a second to 30 seconds or more.
When you change the shutter speed in real time, the exposure to the preview will change. If you set the value to a few seconds, the screen can turn almost white in the afternoon or bright yellow in the evening. This is normal and requires the use of additional filters or shooting in the dark.
Why can the Pro regime be hidden?
HDR, night mode and image stabilization may stop working or not work properly as you take full control of the process.
Configure ISO parameters and focus
Shutter speed isn't the only parameter that affects the final image, it always works with matrix sensitivity, or ISO. To get a clean frame without grain (digital noise) at long shutter speed, you need to set the minimum possible ISO value, usually 50 or 100 units.
The second critical parameter is focus. In automatic mode, the camera can walk around looking for an object, which will lead to blurring. In Pro mode, you need to turn the focus to manual mode (MF). When you move the slider, get maximum sharpness on the preview. For accuracy, you can use the magnification function on the screen.
| Parameter | Recommended value | Influence on photo |
|---|---|---|
| Excerpt (S) | 1/4 sec - 30 sec | Brightness and blurring of movement |
| ISO | 50 - 100 | Digital noise levels |
| White balance (WB) | 3500K - 5500K | Color temperature (heat/cold) |
| Focus (AF/MF) | MF (manually) | Sharpness of subject |
💡
Use a 2 or 5-second delay timer, even if you have a tripod. Pressing the down button causes a micro-vibration that will smear the frame at long shutter speed.
White balance is also better fixed by hand. Automatics can go wrong with mixed artificial lighting, making the frame too blue or orange. Experiment with the WB slider to achieve natural colors.
Use of the "Long Shutter" mode in MIUI
Newer versions of the HyperOS shell and some MIUI updates have a separate mode called Long Shutter, which is in the "More" menu and is a simplified version of the Pro mode with presets ready.
Here, the user doesn't have to manually select the values, and the system offers multiple scenarios: "Light footprints," "Silk Water," "Starry Sky," and the phone sets the shutter speed and takes a series of images, which it then programmatically combines.
- 🌊 Silk Water: Makes the flowing water smooth like milk, aging near 2-4 seconds.
- 🚗 Light traces: captures the movement of headlights, requiring exposure from 4 to 8 seconds.
- 🌌 Starry sky: accumulates light from faint stars, exposure can reach 10-30 seconds.
⚠️ Warning: In Long Shutter Mode, you can't zoom or move your phone during the process. If the system detects movement, the shooting will stop and you'll get an error or blurred frame.
This mode is ideal for beginners who want to get a beautiful result quickly, without deep immersion in the theory of photography. However, it is less flexible than the full manual Pro mode.
Shooting in RAW format for better post-processing
For those planning to process photos, it is critical to use the RAW format. Unlike compressed JPEG, a RAW file contains raw data from the matrix, which gives you a huge freedom when editing.
To activate this format, in Pro mode, tap the HD or RAW icon at the top of the screen. Files will be saved in.DNG format. They take up more space (20-30 MB vs 5 MB), but allow you to pull details out of the shadows and fix white balance without losing quality.
The path to files: Gallery → Albums → Camera → (files.dng)When filming in RAW In long exposure, you can remove the color noise (chromatic), which often appears in the dark areas of the sky or water. JPEG-The phone’s processor can “cover” these parts with noise reduction.
💡
RAW + long exposure = maximum nighttime photo quality available on a mobile device, which requires mandatory post-processing in Lightroom or Snapseed.
Alternative applications for advanced users
If Xiaomi’s standard camera app doesn’t allow you to set shutter speeds longer than 30 seconds or give you complete control, third-party solutions come to the rescue, with Manual Camera: RAW (formerly known as Manual Camera) being the market leader.
It supports the hardware level of camera access, allowing you to set shutter speeds up to a few minutes, which is necessary for astrophotography, Open Camera and ProCam X are also popular applications. They are free or conditionally free and provide a histogram for exposure control.
To use all the features of third-party cameras, you need to give the application full permissions in the settings of the Android system. Without permission to access the camera hardware, the application will work in a limited mode.
- 📱 Manual Camera: RAW: Better interface and support RAW Xiaomi.
- 🆓 Open Camera: Free, open source software with flexible settings.
- 🌌 NightCam: Specializes in Night Shooting Algorithms.
The use of third-party software is especially important for older models of phones, where the manufacturer has limited the functionality of the standard camera software.