All the new Galaxy S21 Ultra camera tricks and how to really use them

From Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra (which officially on sale, along with the rest of Galaxy S21 line), you already have tested to carry a formidable camera, packed with features to help beginners and professionals take brilliant photos on the go. It is not a dramatic revision of the Galaxy S20 Ultra, with headline specs like the 108-megapixel sensor and 100x zoom common on both phones. But there are some new tricks that you should know.

Let’s dive in to see what features are new and how to use them.

Single shot

Single Shot is a feature that allows the phone to capture multiple images and video clips, each with a different effect applied, simply by pressing the shutter button once. Their goal is to allow you to capture a wide variety of interesting photos and videos of, for example, your child unwrapping a birthday present, without having to decide on a particular style, zoom lens or filter in advance.

It was a feature launched in the Galaxy S20, but has been expanded to produce even more effects. It sounds complex, but using it is very simple. To get started, tap the single-shot camera mode on the mode dial next to the shutter button. Then all you need to do is tap the shutter button and wait the 10 seconds it takes to capture everything. The idea is that you move, maybe move the camera between faces, so that the phone has more material to work with to create all the different options for you.

Once that’s done you can head over to the gallery and find your Single Take file and swipe up to see the different items being produced. There will be still images, different video cuts, GIFs, all of which will have effects applied. You can save them all or choose your favorites to share with friends and family.

Using the zoom

The S21 Ultra has a 3x optical zoom, 10x optical zoom, and can shoot digital zoom images up to a whopping 30x and 100x. Using them is very easy. In standard camera mode, you will see little leaf icons next to the shutter button. A single leaf means to get closer (that is, to get closer to the leaf); the icon with three sheets means to use the super wide lens (ie capture more sheets at one time). Tapping on the icons will quickly take you to 3x or 10x zooms, but you can also tap the numbers that appear next to them.

It works the same whether you are zooming in when taking a still image or recording a video.

Night mode

It can be frustrating to find the right night mode on the S21 Ultra if you’re new to the phone and may not even know it’s there at first. The phone can take great low-light pictures in its standard camera mode, but when things get really dark, scroll down to Plus in the mode panel next to the shutter button and you will see a variety of different shooting options.

One of them is called Night and is represented by the image of a moon. In this mode, the phone will take a picture for several seconds to capture more light. While it uses image stabilization to keep the shot as sharp as possible, it can help you even more by keeping one hand as steady as possible, or better yet, stabilizing your hands on a nearby wall or other object to minimize hand shake.

Director’s view

A new feature for the S21, the Director’s View is a video feature that shows you thumbnails of what the scene you are shooting will look like using the different zoom lenses. You will find it on the same menu screen as Night mode (touch Plus on the mode selector wheel). Once there, you will instantly see the different thumbnails and can tap on them to start recording video at each zoom length.

However, the Director’s View has an additional feature that allows you to record video with the front and rear cameras simultaneously. The idea is that you can film a scene in front of you, while capturing your own reaction. When in Director’s View, you will see a square box at the top right of the screen (when kept in portrait orientation, or at the top left if kept horizontal). By tapping this you will be able to select how you want your front video to be displayed; as a split-screen view where your face occupies half the screen, or as a smaller picture-in-picture style, where it appears as a small window superimposed on the main view.

Tapping any of these will bring your face into the image and hitting record will allow you to capture video with both sides at once. Remember, though, that the phone permanently bakes both videos into one file, so don’t shoot with the front and rear cameras at the same time in hopes of separating them into individual videos later.

108 megapixel images

The 108 megapixel resolution of the main camera sensor is huge, and while it’s the same resolution as the S20 Ultra, it has had some software tweaks to improve it, so it’s worth a look if you haven’t already. has done. To activate it, start in the standard camera mode and you will see some icons at the top of the screen (or the left, if you keep it in landscape mode), one of which will be for aspect ratio and will be indicated with numbers like 3. 4, eleven or Full.

Touch and you will see the 3: 4 108MP option. Tapping that will activate Hi-Res mode, but keep in mind that with that active you won’t be able to use either zoom lens as it relies solely on the main camera image sensor.

12 bit raw

Samsung has apparently given the S21 Ultra a boost in its raw shooting abilities with support for 12-bit raw files. Raw files are essentially “digital negatives” that do not store information such as white balance or digital sharpness, providing a better base image for editing the shot later. RAW files are often used by professional photographers who want maximum control and quality of their images.

12-bit RAW files theoretically capture a more dynamic range, which means more detail in highlights and shadows. Maybe it’s a professional role, so it’s no wonder you need to get into Plus and then activate the Pro mode. This will display all manual settings for exposure, white balance, and autofocus, so they’re only worth experimenting with if you’re confident in your photography skills. However, activating the raw mode requires an additional step; tap the settings gear, enter Format and advanced options and turn on RAW copies, which will allow the phone to take a raw image as well as a standard JPEG.

Keep in mind, however, that raw files take up much more space than JPEG images, so if you’re running out of space, make sure you haven’t left this mode on and accidentally fill your gallery with high-resolution images. raw of your pet. Unless that’s what you like.

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