How to remove the starry sky on the Xiaomi phone: a complete guide with settings and life hacks

Starry Sky is one of the most exciting stories for a photographer, but it seems almost impossible to shoot it on a smartphone, especially when it comes to Xiaomi’s budget models, where the camera does not always cope with night shooting. However, with the right settings, technique and a couple of tricks, even the Redmi Note 12 or Poco X5 Can take impressive footage of the Milky Way or stellar tracks.

In this article, we will discuss all the stages - from preparing the phone and choosing a location to post-processing images. You will learn which Xiaomi models are best for astrophotography, how to get around the limitations of a regular camera with third-party apps, and why even the flagship Xiaomi 14 Ultra does not guarantee the perfect result without the right technique. IMX707 Samsung ISOCELL HP3 — And don’t miss the chance to try!

What Xiaomi phones are suitable for shooting the starry sky

Not all Xiaomi smartphones are equally good at night shooting. Key factors are the size of the matrix, the aperture of the lens and the presence of manual mode. TOP-5 Astrophotography models (from best to worst):

• 📱 Xiaomi 14 Ultra - flagship with 1-lens-and-inch f/1.6-f/4.0, photograph RAW.
• 🌌 Xiaomi 13T Pro – 200 MP camera with pixel binning, perfectly collects light in the dark.
• 💫 Poco F5 Pro – budget version with 64-MP main camera and manual settings.
• 🌠 Redmi Note 12 Pro+ — 200MP sensor, but weak processor can limit long exposure.
• 🔭 Xiaomi 12S Ultra is an outdated model, but with a 1-inch matrix and proprietary Night Mode 2.0 mode.

If you have a different model, don't despair. 10A It can shoot stars with the right approach, the main thing is that the phone supports manual shutter speed settings (from 10 seconds and above) and allows you to save pictures in format. RAW (or DNG). Check out the specifications of your model on the official Mi Community website.

Critical: phones with a main camera module less than 48 MP are not physically able to collect enough light to take detailed pictures of stars, in which case you will have to use external optics or limit yourself to shooting the moon.

Preparation of the phone: settings and applications

Staff cell MIUI Even in Pro Mode, it often limits shutter speed to 32 seconds. ISO — It's not enough for high-quality astrophotography, so first you install one of these applications:

After installation of the annex:

1. Open the settings and enable Save in RAW (or DNG).
2. Set the maximum resolution (e.g. 48MP instead of 12MP).
3. Turn off the car.-HDR And noise suppression -- they spoil the details of stars.
4. Activate the Manual Focus and set it to Infinity (∞).

Install an application for manual settings|

Disable energy saving in battery settings|

Charge your phone at least 80 times%|

Connecting an external battery (recommended)|

Clean Memory (minimum 2 GB free)-->

⚠️ Attention: On Xiaomi phones with Snapdragon processor 4xx (Like Redmi. 9A) If the phone gets hot, take a 5-10 minute break, or the camera will automatically shut down.

Selection of location and time for shooting

Even with the perfect phone settings, you won't shoot stars in the city because of light pollution. Use the Light Pollution Map to find the nearest dark place.

• 🌑 Moon phase: New Moon or narrow sickle (the smaller the moon, the better).
• 🌌 Weather: Cloudless sky, low humidity (fog scatters light).
• 📍 Mountains, fields, lake shores – the higher, the less atmospheric distortion.
• ⏰ Time: 23:00 to 4:00 when the Milky Way is best seen (use Stellarium for precise time).

Check the cloud forecast on Yr.no or Windy. If the wind speed is more than 10 m / s, long exposure will not be possible - the phone on the tripod will shake.

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Use the PhotoPills app (Android/iOS), To plan a survey of the Milky Way, it will show the exact position of the galaxy relative to your location and the time of best visibility.

⚠️ Attention: Northern latitudes (above 60)°) The Milky Way is almost invisible because of the angle of the Earth's tilt. If you live in Murmansk or Yakutsk, focus on shooting star tracks or auroras.

Shooting technique: exposure, ISO focus

Now, to the most important thing, camera settings, here are the basics to start with (you can experiment later):

• ⏱️ Shutter speed: 20-30 seconds (maximum for manual shooting without star tracks).
• 📷 ISO: 3200–6400 (on Xiaomi 14 Ultra you can raise to 12800).
• 🔍 Focus: Manual, set to Infinity (∞).
• 📏 White balance: 4,000–5000K (cold-toned).

Shooting algorithm:

1. Set your phone on a stable tripod (even the slightest shaking will ruin the frame).
2. Connect the remote control or use a delay timer (2-3 seconds) to avoid shaking when pressed.
3. Take a test shot with a shutter speed of 10 seconds and ISO 3200. Check if the bright stars are over-glowed.
4. If the stars look like dots, increase the shutter speed to 30 seconds. If you have tails, reduce it to 15-20 seconds.
5. Shoot a series of 10-20 frames with the same settings (then you can fold them into StarStaX to reduce noise).

Star tracks (circular tracks from the Earth's rotation) will require a shutter speed of 2 minutes or more, but Xiaomi's regular camera doesn't support such values - use Open Camera or Camera. FV-5 plug-in USB OTG The battery is external (otherwise the phone will run out in 10 minutes).

Equipment: What will help improve the staff

While Xiaomi’s phone can be used as is, the additional hardware will greatly improve the result.

If you're serious about astrophotography, consider buying a telescopic adapter for your phone (like the Celestron NexYZ), which allows you to attach Xiaomi to a telescope or a lens from a SLR camera, which greatly improves the detail. ₽, But the result justifies the investment.

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The most important equipment is a tripod. Even with perfect camera settings, the tremors will ruin the shot. If there is no tripod, put your phone on a bag of rice or use improvised tools (for example, a folded towel on the roof of a car).

⚠️ Note: Do not use gyroscopic stabilizers (e.g., gyroscopic stabilizers, DJI Osmo Mobile, which is designed for video, will compensate for the Earth's rotation, causing stars to become blurred lines.

Post-processing: how to "pull" the stars from the picture

Raw images of the sky from your phone usually look dull and noisy. To unlock their potential, you need processing. Here is a step-by-step guide for Lightroom Mobile (free version):

1. Import. RAW-File in Lightroom and go to edit mode.
2. Increase the exposure to +1.5–2.5 EV (Don’t be afraid of the light, we will remove it).
3. Raise the Shadows to +80–100 to show faint stars.
4. Reduce the Light to -30--50, to bring back details in bright stars.
5. Add Contrast (+20-30) and Brightness (+10–15).
6. In the Details section, set Noise Reduction to 30–50 and Sharpness to 40–60.
7. In Color, reduce the saturation to -10 and move the temperature towards cold tones (3800–4200K).

For advanced processing, use Photoshop (Camera Raw filter) or GIMP (plug-in’MIC). If the stars are colored (which is normal for bright stars), increase saturation only for cold shades (Blue and Purple).

To add several frames (reduce noise) use:

• 🖥️ StarStaX (Windows/macOS) — star-track.
• 📱 Star Trail Camera (Android) is a mobile solution.
• 🌌 Sequator (Windows) - for "stacking" (addition) stars without tracks.

Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Even experienced photographers make mistakes in shooting the sky, and here are the most common problems and solutions:

Another mistake is shooting in the JPEG. This format compresses the image very tightly, losing the details of the stars. RAW (or DNG), Even if the files take up more space, if the phone doesn't support RAW, Use Open Camera with Save option enabled DNG.

⚠️ Note: On Xiaomi phones with a MediaTek Helio processor (e.g. Redmi) 10C) filming RAW Artifacts can appear as green pixels, and this is a processing defect in the matrix. JPEG with maximum resolution and minimal compression.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions