How to turn on shutter speed on Xiaomi: the complete guide to Pro-mode

Modern Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones feature advanced camera modules that allow users to create professional images without using SLR technology. However, standard automatic mode often fails to cope with difficult lighting conditions, making night frames blurred or too noisy, and it is in these situations that manual adjustment of exposure parameters comes to the rescue, and shutter speed becomes a key element.

Many device owners are wondering where to find these hidden settings and how to manage them correctly to get the desired artistic effect. Enabling manual control of exposure time opens up access to long-exposure images such as car light trails or silk water, and allows you to make perfect nightscapes without lights. In this article, we will analyze the PRO activation algorithm in detail and learn how to correctly combine the value of exposure with other parameters.

Understanding the matrix and the shutter is essential for anyone who wants to unlock the potential of their camera. Shutter speed is the amount of time that light hits the sensor, and that's the key to the brightness of the frame and the lack of lubrication of moving objects, and once you've mastered this skill, you'll be no longer dependent on the whims of automation and you'll be able to create in any environment.

Activation of manual mode in the Camera application

The first step to professional shooting is to move from automatic to manual. The standard Camera app on the MIUI or HyperOS shell has built-in functionality for advanced users, but it is often hidden in the optional swipe menu. To begin, open the app and pay attention to the top or bottom of the screen where the main shooting scenarios are located.

You'll need to find a point that can be called "NOTHER," "MORE," or have a three-dot icon. When you click on it, you'll see a list of additional modes that we're interested in, like, "PRO" or "Manual," and it's the switch to PRO that activates full manual shutter speed, ISO and focus settings, making all the levers of exposure available. In some models, like the Xiaomi 13 Pro or Redmi Note 12 Pro, this mode can be swiped to the home screen left or right.

Once you activate the mode, you'll notice that the interface will change, with the alphabetic parameterizations that were previously hidden. Now you can directly influence how the sensor perceives light. Don't be afraid to experiment with sliders, because digitally, it's safe for the device.

⚠️ Note: When switching to manual mode, automatic image stabilization may work differently. Try to keep your smartphone as still as possible or use a tripod, especially when setting long exposure times, otherwise the frame is guaranteed to be blurred.

Setting up the S (Shutter) parameter and time management

The central control element in manual mode is a setting marked with the letter S (Shutter), or sometimes just a stopwatch icon. Pressing this button opens a scale where you can choose the shutter speed value. The range of values available depends on the particular model of your device and the capabilities of its sensor.

At the top of the scale are usually fractional values, such as 1/1000, 1/500, 1/250. These numbers are fractions of a second and are used to capture fast-moving objects, freezing motion. The smaller the denominator of the fraction, the more light will hit the matrix, but also the higher risk of lubrication. For shooting sports or running children, it is optimal to use values shorter than 1/250 seconds.

If you scroll to the right, you'll go to long exposure mode, where the time is measured in full seconds (1, 2, 4, 8" or more). Long exposure is necessary for night shooting, when ambient light is not enough for a short pulse. In this mode, the matrix accumulates light for a long time, which allows you to get a bright image even at dusk.

• 📸 Short exposure (1/1000 - 1/250): Ideal for shooting sports, animals on the move, water splashing or any fast-moving objects.
• 🌃 Average exposure (1/60 - 1/15): Suitable for static scenes in daylight or well-lit areas, imitating the work of the human eye.
• ✨ Long exposure (1" - 30"): Necessary for nightscapes, starry sky shooting, light graffiti and the "silk water" effect on waterfalls.

When selecting a shutter speed, always look at the exposure indicator (usually a scale of -2 to +2). If the indicator is green, the exposure is considered normal according to the algorithms, but in manual mode you decide how bright or dark the frame should be.

Interrelationship between exposure and ISO: Balance of exposure

The shutter speed setting on Xiaomi doesn't exist in a vacuum; it's inextricably linked to the matrix sensitivity parameter known as ISO. These two parameters work in tandem: changing one, you often have to adjust the other to keep the image bright, and understanding this connection is key to quality photos.

When you increase the exposure time (make it longer), more light enters the matrix, and to compensate for this, you need to lower the ISO value to avoid overexposed (too white) frame. Conversely, when you short the exposure time, there is little light, so you have to raise the ISO to keep the image from turning black.

But there's a big quality nuance here: High ISO values (like 1600, 3200 and above) lead to digital noise, which is graininess that degrades detail. Low ISO (50, 100) gives a clean, smooth picture, but requires a lot of light or long exposure.

Try to keep your ISO as low as possible. If you shoot at night and the shutter speed is already long (for example, 2 seconds), but the frame is still dark, only then start raising the ISO. During the day, try to keep the ISO at 50 or 100, adjusting the brightness solely due to exposure.

Using long exposure for creative effects

One of the most impressive features of manual mode on Xiaomi smartphones is the creation of effects that are usually associated with expensive cameras. Long exposure allows you to capture the movement of time in one frame. For example, shooting a waterfall or a surf with a exposure of a few seconds turns water into a smooth, foggy veil.

To do this, it's critical to keep your smartphone still. Even microscopic hand shaking in 2-3 seconds of exposure will turn the landscape into mush. Use tripod or put your phone around a stationary object: a stone, a parapet, a book. Some models have a timer that allows you to press the descent button and remove your hands 2-3 seconds before exposure.

Another popular effect is drawing with light. In total darkness, set the shutter speed for 10-20 seconds, open the shutter and draw the figure in the frame with a flashlight or a screen of another phone, the camera will record the trajectory of the light source as a bright line.

• 🌊 Water effect: Set shutter speed 1-2 for a few seconds to easily blur the waves or 4-8 seconds for a full fog».
• 🚗 Car trails: Find the elevation above the road, install 4-10 Wait for the second and wait for the car to flow.
• 🎆 Fireworks: Use B mode (Bulb) or long shutter speed 2-4 seconds to capture the entire firework explosion cycle.

Remember, when shooting with long exposure in the city, you may have problems with the lights. ND-filters (if you have external optics) or simply choose an angle where bright light sources are hidden by objects.

⚠️ Warning: When using shutter speeds longer than 1 second in mode PRO It's normal for a physical process, but if the phone gives you an overheating warning, stop shooting and let the device cool down to avoid damage to the internal components.

Focus (MF) and White Balance (WB)

Although the main issue is shutter speed, you can't ignore other manual settings. The MF (Manual Focus) option allows you to manually control focal length. In automatic mode, the camera can make mistakes and focus on the near-term when you need a long-range one, or vice versa. In manual mode, you can move the slider to infinity (mountain icon) for landscapes or macro-mode (flower) for shooting small details.

Hand focus is especially important when shooting with long exposure. Autofocus can walk during long exposure, which will lead to blurring. Lock the focus before shooting. Also useful is Focus Peaking (if available in your version of the software), which highlights the contours of objects in focus in bright color.

WB (White Balance) is responsible for color temperature. Automation often miscalculates in mixed lighting, making the photo too blue or yellow. In manual mode, you can choose preset (Lamp, Day, Cloud) or set the value in Kelvins manually to achieve natural colors.

The combination of manual focusing and proper shutter speed gives you complete control over the image. For example, to shoot the starry sky, you need: shutter speed 15-30 seconds, ISO 1600, focus on infinity and white balance about 3500-4000K to emphasize the depth of space.

💡

Use the RAW format. In the Xiaomi camera settings, enable saving in RAW format. These files weigh more, but contain all the information from the matrix, which gives a huge opportunity to edit shutter speed and light after shooting in editors like Lightroom or Snapseed.

Common mistakes and ways to fix them

Beginners often find that the images are not as expected. The most common mistake is lubricating the frame when trying to take from your hands at a shutter speed longer than 1/30 of a second. Remember the golden rule: if the shutter speed is longer than 1/focal distance (the equivalent of 35 mm), you need a tripod. For a smartphone, this means that anything longer than 1/30 requires support.

Another mistake is to ignore the histogram. Turn on the histogram in the viewfinder settings. If the graph is pressed to the left edge, the frame is underexposed (black), if the right one is overexposed (white). Try to spread the graph evenly.

Also, users often forget to wipe the lens before shooting, and in long exposure, any fat spots and fingerprints turn into bright rays of light coming from the light sources, which ruins the shot hopelessly.

• ❌ Handshot for 1 second: Guaranteed lubricant. Use a timer and elbows against your body or put your phone on the surface.
• ❌ Digital zoom: When using manual mode, try not to use digital zoom (crop), as it degrades quality and stabilizes the frame worse.
• ❌ Ignoring stabilization: Even with a tripod, turning on the electronic stabilizer can sometimes make micro-corrections that will give you a "shaking" at long exposure.