Shooting the starry sky on Xiaomi: from preparation to photo processing

The starry sky, with its twinkling constellations and the blurry band of the Milky Way, is one of the most exciting stories for a photographer. But many Xiaomi owners mistakenly believe that such a shoot requires a professional camera with an expensive lens. In fact, even the budget models of the Redmi Note 12 or POCO X5 Pros can capture stars with the right approach, and the key is to understand the physical limitations of a smartphone's sensor and get around them.

In this article, we will look at all the stages of shooting, from location and time to fine-tuning the camera and post-processing. You will learn which Xiaomi models are better at night photography, how to do without a tripod in the field, and why even RAW-Files don't guarantee perfect results without the right exposure, and for those who want to get right to practice, there's a checklist at the end of the article with step-by-step instructions.

What Xiaomi smartphones are suitable for shooting stars

Not all Xiaomi devices are equally good at astrophotography, and key options to look out for are:

• 📷 Sensor size: The larger the physical size of the matrix (e.g., the sensor size, 1/1.28" Xiaomi 13 Ultra vs. 1/2.76" Redmi Note 10), The more light it captures in a unit of time.
• 🔍 The light of the lens: the optimal value of the aperture — f/1.7–f/1.9. Models with f/2.2 And they will require longer exposure.
• 🎛️ Manual mode: without the ability to exhibit ISO, Shutter speed and white balance manual shooting of stars is impossible.
• 🔋 Support RAW: format.DNG It stores more data for post-processing than.JPG.

The table below is a ranking of Xiaomi models by suitability for astrophotography (from best to worst):

Importantly, even Xiaomi’s flagship models lose out on SLR cameras because of the small size of the sensor, which can only be compensated by increasing shutter speed (from 10 seconds) and using external accessories.

Preparation for shooting: time, place and equipment

The success of shooting stars depends on 70 percent preparation, and even the perfect camera settings can't help if you choose the wrong place or time.

1. Selection of location

• 🌌 Light pollution level: use the Light Pollution Map (opens in a new tab) and the best area is a gray to green color.
• 🏔️ Mountains or hills will help avoid fog and smog that scatter the light of the stars.
• 🌲 Obstacles: Avoid forests and tall buildings in the south (there passes the Milky Way).

2. Optimal time

The best time to survey the Milky Way in the Northern Hemisphere is from March to October, when the galactic center is visible above the horizon.

• 🗓️ April-May: 2 to 4 a.m.
• 🗓️ June-July: 23:00 to 1:00.
• 🗓️ August-September: 20:30 to 22:30.

For precise planning, use PhotoPills (paid but most accurate) or Stellarium (free) to show the Milky Way's trajectory relative to your location.

3. Required equipment

• 📱 Smartphone: model from the table above (preferably with support) RAW).
• 🔧 Tripod: Even a lightweight pocket (like the Xiaomi Mi Tripod) will cut camera jitter.
• 🔋 Powerbank: cold quickly puts the battery, and shooting in RAW increases energy consumption.
• 🔦 Red light flashlight: does not blind the eyes and maintains night vision.
• 🧤 Gloves with touchscreen support: in the cold, the smartphone screen ceases to respond to the fingers.

💡

If you don't have a tripod, use a bag of rice or sand as a support, put your smartphone on top of it and record your position with tape, which will reduce the shivering when you're holding it for up to 4 seconds.

Xiaomi camera settings for shooting stars

Now, the most important thing is the camera setup, and there's no universal settings, because they depend on the model of the smartphone, the level of light pollution, the phase of the moon, but there are basic principles that work 90 percent of the time.

1. Shooting mode

Use Manual Mode in a standard camera app or third-party apps like Camera FV-5 (Xiaomi's Night Mode Automation Algorithms aggressively noise and smear stars.

2. Basic parameters

• 📸 Format: RAW (DNG) — necessarily! JPG Loses up to 80% of data during processing.
• ⏱️ Shutter speed: 10-20 seconds for wide-angle shots (without star tracks). 25-30 seconds if you want to capture the movement of stars (tracks).
• 🌓 ISO: 1600-3200 for dark areas (gray area on pollution map) 3200-6400 for urban areas (orange zone), but expect a lot of noise.
• 🎯 Focus: Manual (MF), set to infinity (🔄). Autofocus at night is unstable.
• 🔘 White balance: 3,500–4000K (Colder colors will reduce yellowness from city lighting).

3. Additional settings

In the appendix of Camera FV-5 (Recommended for all Xiaomi models: activate:

• 📊 Histogram - will help to avoid overlight.
• 🔄 Timer 2-5 seconds – eliminates trembling when pressing on the spasm.
• 🔇 Shuttering – In the silence of night, clicking can be scary.

Critical: Turn it off. HDR, AI-Improvement and noise reduction in camera settings. RAW-files by adding artifacts.

Shut down. HDR and AI-improvement|

Set a manual focus on infinity|

Select the format RAW (DNG)|

Set the shutter speed 10 to 20 seconds.|

Expose ISO 1600-3200|

Calibrate white balance by 3,500–4000K|

Activate the shutter timer 2-5 seconds-->

Shooting techniques: from static frames to timelapses

Shooting the sky on Xiaomi is not just static photography, you can experiment with different techniques to get unique shots.

1. Static photograph of the Milky Way

The classic version for beginners. Follow the algorithm:

1. Set your smartphone on a tripod.
2. Point the camera south (the Milky Way passes there).
3. Take a test shot with a shutter speed of 10 seconds and ISO 3200.
4. Check the histogram: the peak should be on the right side (but not resting on the edge).
5. Adjust the shutter speed/ISO to achieve a balance between brightness and noise.

2. Star Trails (Star Trails)

To create the effect of rotation of stars around the Polar requires a series of frames at intervals.

• Use the Star Trail Camera app (automatically glues the footage).
• Set the interval between the pictures 30 seconds, shutter speed 20 seconds, ISO 1600.
• Take at least 1 hour off for noticeable effect.

3.Starry sky timelapse

For a dynamic video from the photos:

• 🎥 Shoot a series of 200-300 frames with an interval of 10-15 seconds.
• 🖥️ Process in Adobe Lightroom (Bags Processing).
• 🎬 Collect in video (24-30 fps) via CapCut or Premiere Rush.

The problem with all Xiaomi smartphones is that when you shoot for longer than 30 minutes, the camera overheats and automatically shuts down.

⚠️ Note: Use an external fan (e.g., external fan, USB-Laptop cooler, or take breaks every 20 minutes, also help reduce the cost of the cooler. ISO up to 1600 and reduce exposure to 8 seconds.

Photo processing: from RAW before the final image

The raw files from Xiaomi's smartphone look dull and noisy -- that's OK. Post-processing is about pulling out the parts and removing the artifacts.

1. Basic processing in Lightroom Mobile

Sequence of action:

1. Import. DNG-lightroom.
2. In the section Light: Increase the exposure to +1.5–2.5. Reduce the Contrast to -20. Raise the Shadows on +50–70. Lower the Lights to -30 (so as not to light up the stars).
3. In the Details section: Set Noise Reduction to 30 to 40. Add a Sharp 20 to 30 with a mask on the edges.

Color.

• Reduce the temperature to 3,500–3800K.
• Increase the saturation of the blue channel +15.

2. Advanced processing in Photoshop (optional)

To remove noise without losing details:

• Open the file in Photoshop.
• Duplicate the layer and apply the Reduce Noise filter (Settings: 8-10 for brightness, 50% for chromaticity).
• Add a layer mask and brush restore details to the stars.

3. Applications for rapid processing

If Lightroom seems complicated, try:

• 📱 Darktable (for PC): free analogue of Lightroom with support RAW.

Unique life hack for Xiaomi: in files DNG Xiaomi 13 Ultra and 12S Ultra has an additional data channel hidden for night shooting. To activate it, when processing in Lightroom in the Camera Calibration section, select the Camera Neutral profile, which will reduce noise by 15-20% without losing details.

Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Even experienced photographers have problems shooting stars on smartphones, and here are the most common mistakes and ways to solve them:

1. Blurred stars (out of focus)

Reason: Autofocus is working on a nearby object or manual focus is set not to infinity.

Decision:

• Use a manual focus (MF) and set the slider to maximum (badge) 🔄).
• If the focus "floats", seal the lens with black tape, leaving only the center open - this will reduce parasitic glare.

2. photos too noisy

Reason: High. ISO (over 6400) or overheating of the sensor.

Decision:

• Lower down. ISO up to 3200 and increase shutter speed to 20 seconds.
• Take breaks between series of shots (5 minutes every 15 minutes of shooting).
• In post-processing, use noise reduction through color channels (in Lightroom: section) HSL, Reduce the saturation of purple and green).

3.The stars look like dots, not tracks

Reason: too short exposure (less than 15 seconds).

Decision:

• For static stars: exposure of 10-20 seconds.
• For tracks: exposure 25-30 seconds + frame-piece.

4.The photo shows a green or purple hue

The cause: light pollution or the wrong white balance.

Decision:

• Set white balance to 3,500–4000K.
• In Lightroom, section HSL Reduce the saturation of the green and purple channels.
• Use a light filter (e.g. Lee Filters) SW150 ND 0.9) to block city lighting.

⚠️ Warning: if the photo appears horizontal banding, it is a sign of overheating sensor. Immediately stop shooting and let the smartphone cool for 10-15 minutes.

Examples of photos and analysis of settings

To better understand how settings affect the result, let’s take a look at three real-world examples of shooting on different Xiaomi models.

1. Xiaomi 13 Ultra (flagship)

Conditions: Altai mountains, moonless night, light pollution - gray zone.

Settings:

• Exposure: 15 seconds
• ISO: 2500
• Diaphragm: f/1.9
• Focus: manual (infinity)
• White balance: 3700K

The result: a clear Milky Way with visible dust clouds, minimal noise.

Processing: Lightroom Mobile (increased exposure to the +1.8. noise reduction 30).

2. POCO F5 Pro (mid-segment)

Conditions: suburb of Moscow, light pollution - orange zone.

Settings:

• Exposure: 20 seconds
• ISO: 4000
• Diaphragm: f/1.9
• Focus: manual
• White balance: 3500K

The result: The Milky Way is barely visible, a lot of noise, but bright stars are visible (Sirius, Vega).

Processing: Snapseed (increased contrast in the shade, reduced saturation of green).

3. Redmi Note 12 Pro+ (budget)

Conditions: Crimea, light pollution - yellow zone.

Settings:

• Exposure: 10 seconds
• ISO: 6400
• Diaphragm: f/1.9
• Focus: manual
• White balance: 4000K

The result: stars are visible as dots, the Milky Way is indistinguishable, a lot of noise.

Processing: Darktable (aggressive noise reduction, increased sharpness on the mask).

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions