Modern smartphones of the Chinese brand Xiaomi have long ceased to be just budget devices for calls and have become powerful tools for mobile photography. Owners of the flagship models of the Mi series, Xiaomi 12, 13 or 14, as well as advanced “medium” from the Redmi Note line, often wonder about the possibilities of night photography.
But the standard automatic mode is often powerless in the dark, giving out blurry spots instead of clear lights. To get a quality result, you need to understand the physics of the process and be able to control the exposure parameters manually. In this article, we will discuss how to turn your gadget into a professional tool for shooting the night sky, what settings to put on the menu and what additional equipment you may need.
The success of night shooting on a mobile matrix depends not so much on megapixels, but on the ability to work with light sensitivity and shutter speed. Xiaomi smartphones are equipped with artificial intelligence algorithms that help in normal conditions, but for the starry sky it is better to take control. Next, we will look in detail at the preparation of equipment, the choice of location and the technical details of the camera setup.
Choosing the Right Place and Time to Shoot
The first and most critical step is finding the right location. Light pollution from cities, highways and industrial sites makes it almost impossible to shoot stars, turning the sky into a uniform gray mass. You need to move away from populated areas at least 20-30 kilometers to see the real picture of the starry sky.
In addition to the lack of light, the moon phase is an important factor: the full moon creates powerful natural light that illuminates dim stars; the ideal time for astrophotography is the new moon period or when the moon is low above the horizon; and it is also worth considering the weather conditions: cloudy conditions will completely spoil the frame, and high humidity can lead to fogging of the lens.
It is convenient to use specialized applications that show the position of the Milky Way and the phase of the moon in real time to plan the shooting, which will allow you to choose in advance the angle and time when the celestial objects will be in the most favorable position relative to your landscape.
⚠️ Warning: At night, in a deserted place, always observe personal safety precautions, let someone know your location and bring powerful lights with you.
Here is a list of factors to consider when choosing a location:
- 🌌 Minimum light pollution (use light pollution maps).
- 🌙 The Moon Phase (Best New Moon).
- ☁️ Atmospheric transparency and lack of clouds.
- 🏔️ Availability of an interesting foreground (mountains, trees, buildings).
Equipment necessary for stabilization
The main enemy of night photography is the trembling of hands. To get a good picture of the stars, the exposure must be from 10 to 30 seconds. To hold the smartphone still with your hands during this time is physically impossible, so having a reliable support is a must.
The ideal solution would be a full-fledged photographic tripod with a smartphone mount, and if it is not available, you could use mini-stations (octopuses) that allow you to attach the device to a tree branch, stone or railing, the main requirement is the absolute immobility of the device during exposure.
☑️ Screening readiness check
Additionally, it is recommended to have an external battery with you, since the camera in long exposure mode and the screen on quickly plant the battery. Also a useful accessory can be a blend or just a piece of dark fabric to cover the lens from the sidelight with a flashlight or a phone screen during shooting.
Setup of the built-in Camera application
In the MIUI shell and the new HyperOS, the camera’s built-in app offers a Night mode that automatically takes multiple exposure shots and glues them together. It’s a good option for static scenes, but for stars, it’s better to switch to Pro mode.
In manual mode, you get full control of three key parameters: ISO, shutter speed and focus. Go to the shooting mode menu, choose Pro or Manual. Here you will need to turn off automatic settings so that the camera does not try to "lighten" the sky to a state of gray porridge.
Focus setting is critical. Autofocus in the dark doesn't work well, so turn focusing to manual mode (MF) and slider setting the value to infinity (mountain icon). For more accuracy, you can turn on the magnifying glass (if available in video or photo mode) and target a bright star or a distant lantern.
The basic settings for the start are as follows:
- 📷 ISO: Set the value from 800 to 1600 (above – noise will appear).
- ⏱️ Shutter speed: 10 to 30 seconds (longer stars turn into tracks).
- 🔍 Focus: manual, at infinity.
- ⚡ Flash: necessarily switched off.
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Use a 3 or 5-second delay timer when you release the shutter, which will eliminate the movement of the smartphone when you press the screen, which can lubricate the frame.
Use of third-party applications for astrophotography
Xiaomi’s staffing is good, but specialized apps give more flexible control over the system. RAW-One of the best solutions is the Camera app. FV-5 ProCam X, which allows you to save pictures in format DNG (digital).
RAW (DNG) captures the maximum amount of light and color information that is critical for later processing. The phone's built-in processor, when saved in JPEG aggressively, compresses the file and eats away at the details in the shadows that could be pulled out in post-processing.
Another powerful tool is the Google Camera (GCam) app in ports for Xiaomi. GCam's Astrophotography mode works wonders by doing several long exposures and folding them with smart noise cancellation. You can find the right port for your model on the 4PDA or XDA Developers forum.
| Annex | Support for RAW | Manual exposure | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| State Chamber | No (usually JPEG) | Aye (up to 30 seconds) | Low. |
| Camera FV-5 | Yes (DNG) | Full control. | Medium |
| GCam (Port) | Yes (DNG/JPEG) | Automatic machine + manual | High (search version) |
| ProCam X | Yes. | Full control. | Medium |
Technical parameters: ISO, Shutter speed and Focus
We'll go into detail about the effect of each parameter on the final image. ISO is the sensitivity of the matrix. In night photography, you want to put the maximum value, but on Xiaomi smartphones after ISO 1600-3200, there's a noticeable digital noise that turns the sky into granular porridge. Try to keep ISO in the range of 800-1600.
Shutter Speed determines how long the matrix collects light. The 500 rule says divide 500 by focal length (for a wide angle of a smartphone, it's about 13-15 mm equivalent) to get maximum shutter speed without smearing stars into tracks. For smartphones, it's usually 20-25 seconds. If you put 60 seconds, the stars will already start to flow.
⚠️ Warning: With long exposure, the smartphone matrix can heat up, which increases the "hot pixels.
White balance is also important. Automation often makes the night sky unnaturally orange or green. 3500K-4000K To get a cold, deep blue color of the night sky.
What are "hot pixels"?
Post-processing: how to improve the picture
A raw shot of the sky almost always looks pale and dull. That's OK, because we're saving data, not the finished picture. You'll need mobile editors like Lightroom Mobile or Snapseed to refine the image.
First, you need to raise contrast and clarity (Clarity/Structure) to highlight the stars against the sky. Then carefully work with the sliders "Light" (Highlights) and "Shadows" (Shadows) to show details in the Milky Way without illuminating the bright stars.
So the big thing is noise cancellation, and there's a part of Lightroom called "Details," where you can smooth out color noise without losing the sharpness of the stars, and don't overdo it, or the sky will become plastic.
Key processing steps:
- 🎨 White balance correction (remove yellowness).
- 🔼 Raising contrast and clarity.
- 🌑 Working with Curves to Darken Black.
- 🧹 Removing noise and hot pixels.
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A RAW image gives 10 times more opportunities to recover details in shadows and lights during processing than a finished JPEG from a camera.
Frequent Beginner Mistakes
Many users make common mistakes that negate all efforts. The first mistake is using digital zoom. When you zoom in (2x, 5x, 10x), the smartphone simply cuts the center of the frame and interpolates it, which dramatically reduces quality and increases noise. Shoot on the main wide-angle module (1x).
The second mistake is shooting through windows or windows. Glass creates glare from internal light sources and reduces sharpness. Always open windows or go outside. Also remember to wipe the lens before shooting: fatty fingerprints from the fingers turn the dots of stars into blurry rays.
The third mistake is to ignore the foreground. It's just that the sky with the stars looks boring. Find the silhouette of a tree, a building, a mountain or a person to create composition and scale. Expose in the bright sky, and the foreground darken or illuminate separately (drawing with light).