How to turn on the shutter speed on the Xiaomi phone: the complete guide

Xiaomi’s modern smartphones are equipped with powerful optical modules that allow users to not only take pictures in automatic mode, but also fully control the process of taking photos. One of the key features for creative photography is the ability to manually adjust exposure time, or, more simply, shutter speed. Understanding how to turn on the shutter speed on a Xiaomi phone opens the door to the world of mobile photography, where you can capture the movement of water, create light plumes from car headlights or, conversely, “freeze” a fast-moving object.

By default, the standard Camera app works automatically, determining the lighting itself and selecting the optimal parameters for a bright shot. However, in complex conditions, such as night shooting or low-light macro shooting, automation often mistakes, creating blurred or too noisy images, and this is where manual shutter speed adjustments come to the rescue, allowing you to lock the matrix open for a specified time.

In this article, we will discuss in detail the algorithm of actions for activating manual camera control on Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO devices. You will learn what values to use for different shooting scenarios, how to avoid common errors when working with long exposure and what additional tools are available in the professional interface.

Preparation of the camera for manual shooting

Before you start changing the technical parameters, you need to switch the application interface to the appropriate mode of operation. The standard algorithm "Photo" blocks access to most settings, leaving the user only the ability to framing and use the flash. To gain full control over the optics, you need to activate the PRO (Professional) mode.

Open the Camera app on your device. At the bottom of the screen, you'll see a horizontal menu with different shooting modes, such as Video, Portrait or Night. You'll scroll through the list to the right, and you'll find an item labeled as THIS or a PRO icon, depending on the MIUI or HyperOS shell version.

Once you select PRO, the interface will change, with sliders or numerical values for focal length, white balance, ISO and, most importantly, exposure time, allowing you to turn on the shutter speed on your Xiaomi phone to its fullest extent, ignoring the recommendations of artificial intelligence.

⚠️ Warning: When you go into manual mode, the camera stops automatically adjusting the brightness of the frame. ISO, The photo can be completely black or, conversely, illuminated to white spots.

It is important to note that on some budget smartphones, the functionality of the professional mode may be limited software. In such cases, the shutter speed slider may be absent or have a limited range of values. For full operation, it is recommended to use Xiaomi Mi series devices, the latest generation Redmi Note or the flagship POCO F models.

Customization of shutter speed in PRO mode

The manual interface may vary depending on the software version, but the logic remains the same for all devices. After activating the PRO mode, pay attention to the top or bottom of the screen where the icons with letter marks are located. We are interested in the parameter indicated by the letter S (Shutter speed) or sometimes T (Time).

Click on the shutter speed. You'll see a scale that shows fractions of a second. Numbers like 1000, 500, 250 are 1/1000, 1/500 and 1/250 seconds respectively. These are the short shutter speeds required to capture dynamic scenes. As you move the slider to the left, you'll see values that change by 1/60, 1/30, 1/15 and then, going into whole seconds (1, 2, 30).

Long exposure time (1/30th of a second or longer) allows the matrix to accumulate more light. This is critical for nighttime shooting without using Night mode, which often makes the photos too bright and unnatural. By increasing exposure time, you also blur the movement: the flowing water becomes fog-like, and the people in the photo disappear if they are not standing still.

• 📸 To capture a running person or car, use the values shorter 1/250 seconds.
• 🌌 To capture the starry sky or Milky Way, set shutter speeds of 10 to 30 seconds.
• 💧 For the effect of "silk water" on waterfalls and rivers, the optimal values of the 1/4 before 2 seconds.
• 🎆 To draw with light (light-pating) in the dark, set the shutter speed on 10-30 seconds.

When you change the shutter speed in real time, you'll see how the exposure changes to the preview, which helps you immediately evaluate the result and adjust the settings before the final shot, and don't be afraid to experiment with extreme values to understand the limits of your matrix.

Relationship between exposure and ISO

Shutter speed doesn't exist in a vacuum; it's inextricably linked to a matrix light sensitivity parameter known as ISO. In PRO mode, these two parameters work together. If you increase shutter speed (make the frame longer), the matrix gets more light, and the ISO value needs to be lowered to avoid overlighting.

Conversely, if you need to freeze motion by setting a short shutter speed (e.g. 1/1000), there is very little light in the picture, in which case the phone will have to automatically or manually (if you blocked the ISO) increase the light sensitivity, but a high ISO makes the image digital noise, making the picture grainy and less detailed.

The golden rule of mobile photography is to keep your ISO at the lowest possible value (usually 50 or 100 units) for the best quality. Adjust your brightness primarily by shutter speed, and only if exposure time is not enough, gently raise your ISO.

Understanding this relationship allows you to creatively manipulate an image, for example, to blur the background of a moving crowd, but leave a static object sharp, you need a long shutter speed and a low ISO, which is physically impossible without fixing the phone.

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If you still get a long shutter speed, even from a tripod, check if you're pressing the screen while you're exposed. Use a timer or volume button to pull the shutter.

Use of tripod and stabilization

Turning on the shutter speed on the Xiaomi phone, especially at values longer than 1/30 of a second, makes the device extremely sensitive to any vibration. Human hands are not able to provide immobility for even one second. Any micromotion will cause the whole frame to go “lubrication”, and there are no sharp elements in the photo.

For long shutter speeds, a tripod is a must, and it can be a professional heavy tripod or mini tripod, which often comes with selfie sticks, and it's important to ensure that the smartphone's body is rigidly fixed, and even wind or heavy footsteps passing nearby can transmit vibration to the phone.

If you don't have a tripod on hand and you need to take a long shutter speed shot, try using improvisational stabilization techniques: Put your phone against a wall, put it on a table, press it against a window frame, or use a sandbag (or cereal in a package) as an improvised stand. It's important that the phone doesn't move when you press a button and during the exposure process.

Also worth mentioning is the image stabilization feature. In PRO mode, optical stabilization (OIS), if your model has one, usually works, but electronic stabilization (EIS) can be turned off or not work correctly at very long shutter speeds. EIS algorithms often try to "cut" the frame to compensate for the jitter, which, when exposed long, results in artifacts.

• 🏗️ Use a Bluetooth remote or timer to avoid touching your phone while you’re shooting.
• 🌬️ In windy weather, cover your phone with your body or bag from wind gusts.
• 🔋 Long shutter speed and processor operation in mode PRO quickly plant the battery, watch the charge.

⚠️ Warning: Do not try to remove from your hands during exposure 1/10 The odds of getting a sharp shot in these conditions are close to zero, even if you have very hard hands.

Low-light shooting

One of the main reasons users are looking for ways to turn on the shutter speed on a Xiaomi phone is to improve the quality of night shots. Automated Night mode uses a multi-frame addition (HDR) algorithm, taking multiple shots with different exposures and combining them. This gives a good result, but often looks unnatural: night becomes day, shadows disappear, atmosphere is lost.

Manual shutter speeds allow you to keep the natural contrast of the night city, and by setting shutter speeds of 2-4 seconds and ISO 100-200, you get a shot where the lights are bright and the sky remains dark as it is, and this is especially true for shooting architecture and urban landscapes.

When shooting in the dark, it is also important to turn off the flash. In PRO mode, the default flash may not work, but it is worth checking the settings. The flash on the phone is low power and short duration, it is not able to illuminate distant objects at long shutter speeds, but can spoil the foreground with relighting.

Another interesting thing is to shoot a lightbrush or paint with light, which requires total darkness, 10-30 seconds exposure, and any light source (phone flashlight, LED tape, screen of another smartphone) while you're exposed, you draw light in the frame, creating luminous figures.

Creative effects through exposure

Managing exposure time is not only a technical necessity, but also a powerful creative tool. Knowing how to adjust shutter speeds can turn ordinary household scenes into artwork. Xiaomi smartphones with their processing power allow you to realize effects previously only available to SLR camera owners.

Try to take a waterfall or a fountain with a shutter speed of about 1-2 seconds. The water will turn into a soft, milky cloud, creating a sense of dynamics and smoothness. Normal mode would capture individual droplets, which often looks chaotic. Long exposure smooths out these details, leaving only the shape of the flow.

Another popular technique is to photograph busy places (areas, transitions) during the day, which will require very short exposure to freeze people, or vice versa, long enough (if there is one). ND-It's hard to get long shutter speeds on phones without filter threads in the daytime because of the excess light, but it works great at dusk.

It also captures moments that are invisible to the eye, like a bird flying, a splash of water from a fallen object, a glass breaking, and setting shutter speeds at 1/1000 or 1/2000, and using a series mode coupled with manual tuning, you can capture the perfect split second.

• 🎨 Experiment with white balance (WB) mode PRO to create a cold or warm atmosphere.
• 🌊 Take the sea off at sunset with exposure 1/2 seconds for the effect of blurred waves off the coast.
• 🚗 Catch the plumes from the headlights of cars on bridges in the evening (exposure) 2-5 seconds).

Don't be afraid to break the rules. Sometimes, the "wrong" shutter speed is the most interesting artistic effect, and the lubricated background of wiring an object can convey speed better than a perfectly sharp shot.

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The main secret of mobile photography is not the number of megapixels, but the ability to control light and time through shutter speed and ISO settings.