How to turn on serial shooting on Xiaomi

Creating dynamic photos of moving objects is often a challenge for a photographer, especially if you don’t have a professional SLR camera at hand. Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones can face difficulties when trying to capture a sharp moment in a sport or a pet jump, since the standard photo mode takes only one shot. Fortunately, powerful tools for creating a series of frames that allow you to choose the best moment from dozens of options are hidden in the shell of MIUI and HyperOS.

The serial shooting function, or Burst Mode, is activated not by a single button, but by a combination of actions or through a special settings menu that many users do not even know about. Understanding the shutter mechanics in your smartphone model will avoid blurry frames and get a clear image of a fast-moving object. In this article, we will discuss in detail all the ways of activation, the finerities of setting intervals and the secrets of obtaining maximum frames per second.

Not all models support the same recording speed, as it depends on the performance of the processor and image processing algorithms. For example, the flagship line Xiaomi 13 or Xiaomi 14 cope with the task much more than the budget models of the Redmi Note series. However, even on less powerful devices, you can achieve excellent results if you adjust the settings correctly before shooting.

Basic method of activation through long pressing

The most common and intuitive way to start creating a series of images on Xiaomi smartphones is to use long-term pressing of the shutter button. This method works in standard mode "Photo" and does not require switching to complex professional menus. You just need to open the camera app, point the lens at the subject and tightly press your finger to the button shooting, holding it for one or two seconds.

Once this mode is activated, the counter in the corner of the screen will flash quickly, recording the number of frames taken in real time. The image creation speed can vary from 10 to 30 frames per second depending on the lighting and model of your gadget. It is important to understand that in this mode, focus and exposure are usually fixed when the button is pressed, so prepare the frame composition in advance.

If the long-awaited series did not start after a long press, perhaps the camera settings have activated the function "Improved portrait" or enabled HDR mode, which can block fast serial recording. In such cases, the system prioritizes the processing quality of one frame over speed, ignoring the command to create a multi-exposure. Disable additional effects to unlock the full speed of the shutter.

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Use flight mode when shooting fast series so that notifications do not overlap the viewfinder at a critical moment.

Setting up a delay timer for sports scenes

Photographing objects moving at high speeds often requires the camera to be prepared in advance to avoid missing a crucial fraction of a second of the finger response. The built-in delay timer in the MIUI camera interface allows you to adjust the time count before shooting, which is ideal for self-capture or snapping the start moment.

In the menu that opens, you'll find a few delay options: 3 seconds, 5 seconds and Timer with Counting. The 3 sec option gives you minimal preparation time, whereas 5 sec allows you to take the right position or wait for the right moment in the frame. Once the countdown expires, the camera will automatically take a series of pictures if you pre-configure the corresponding mode in additional settings.

Power users often use a combination of timer and series mode to create video-like photo shoots, for example, setting a timer for 5 seconds and selecting the "Take 5 photos" option, you are guaranteed to get several frames in a row without having to keep your finger on the screen, which is especially useful when shooting children or pets who can not pose for long.

It is worth noting that using a timer in low light conditions can lead to lubrication of the first frames while you remove your hand from the device, in such situations it is better to use voice control or volume button to start the countdown to minimize the shaking of the smartphone body at the time of recording the series.

Using PRO mode for manual control

The PRO mode in Xiaomi’s camera gives the photographer full control over exposure parameters, which is critical for high-quality serial shooting. By switching to this mode through the “More” menu, you can manually set shutter speed, ISO and focal length, eliminating automatic algorithm errors. To freeze movement, you need to set a short shutter speed, for example, 1/500 or 1/1000 seconds.

In professional mode, you can also customize the file saving format. Selecting RAW format over JPEG will save maximum detail, but will significantly reduce the speed of serial shooting due to the large size of the files. If your goal is to get the maximum number of frames per second, it is recommended to use a compressed JPEG format with high quality.

To activate serial shooting in PRO mode, the method of long pressing the down button is also used. However, unlike automatic mode, here you can block focus and exposure in advance by clicking on the corresponding AF and AE icons. This ensures that all frames in the series will have the same brightness and sharpness, which will simplify further processing.

⚠️ Attention: When shooting in mode PRO Long shutter speeds may not work properly or be limited by a memory buffer. 1/100 seconds to get a clear series.

Special regimes: Sport and Children

Some versions of the HyperOS shell and older MIUI builds feature custom motion-optimized shooting scenarios. Sport automatically increases the sensitivity of the matrix and reduces the processing time, allowing longer series to be done without delay, and can be found in the "More" section or in the scene menu if displayed in the main interface.

Children and Pets uses facial recognition algorithms to continually adjust the focus on a moving object, and when activated, the camera tries to predict the trajectory of the movement and takes a series of pictures when the object is in focus, which is a great option for those who don't want to mess with manual settings, but need high-quality shots of children running.

The effectiveness of these modes depends on the lighting: in bright daylight, they work almost flawlessly, producing dozens of clear frames. Indoors or in the evening, algorithms may not keep up with the movement, resulting in blurry images, so it is recommended to additionally turn on the flash or use external lighting.

Comparison of capabilities of different Xiaomi models

The performance of serial shooting varies greatly depending on the installed processor and software version. Flagship models are equipped with faster memory modules and powerful ISPs (image processing processors), which allows them to buffer more frames before saving to a memory card.

Below is a table showing the approximate performance of different smartphone lines when shooting in standard mode:

As the data shows, the performance difference can be doubled, with budget device owners being encouraged to shorten the series, giving the phone time to process and write data so that the camera app doesn't freeze, while flagship devices are able to shoot almost until free memory is filled.

Processing and selection of the best personnel

Once a series of images is taken, the user is tasked with selecting the best shots from dozens or hundreds of photos. In the Xiaomi gallery, the series is displayed as one file with a small icon of a stack in the corner. By clicking on such a file, you will be in the series viewing mode, where you can scroll through all the images and select the best ones.

The system allows you to tick your favorite images and save them only by deleting the rest so you don't have space in your memory, a feature called "Save your favorites" and is available through a three-dot menu or a special button at the bottom of the screen, and removing the failed frames immediately after shooting saves up to 80% of the storage space.

There is also the option to save the entire series as it is if you plan to create an animation or collage from it in third-party apps. Remember to periodically clean the Deleted folder, as remote series still take up space for 30 days unless you set up an automatic cleanup.

⚠️ Attention: When large series of high-resolution photos are mass-deleted, the gallery interface may temporarily hang.

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Serial shooting on Xiaomi is a balance between processor speed and free memory, so keep an eye on filling up the storage.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)