How to use Galaxy S21 camera modes?
Sooner or later, you will find that the default camera mode (Auto mode) is not enough. You can try other Galaxy S21 camera modes to get the desired photos or videos.
02/02/2022
Sooner or later, you will find that the default camera mode (Auto mode) is not enough. You can try other Galaxy S21 camera modes to get the desired photos or videos.
This Galaxy 21 Camera Guide explains what the Galaxy S21 Camera Modes are, the meaning of all (15) available Galaxy S21 Camera Modes, when to use them, how to use them and how to manage them on the Galaxy S21, S21+ and S21 Ultra.
Although
The Galaxy S21 Ultra differs significantly from the Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S21+
, in terms of lens and camera capabilities, they all share an almost identical camera app. The camera models of these three Galaxy S21 phones are almost identical. So this guide applies to everyone.
Content
hide
1.
What are the Galaxy S21 camera modes? why do you need it?
2.
How to Manage Galaxy S21 Camera Modes?
3.
All Galaxy S21 camera modes explained
3.1.
1. Photo mode (automatic mode; default)
3.2.
2. Video mode
3.3.
3. Single shot mode
3.4.
4. AR Doodle Mode
3.5.
5. Pro mode (for rear camera only)
3.6.
6. Panorama mode (for rear camera only)
3.7.
7. Food mode (for rear camera only)
3.8.
8. Night mode.
3.9.
9. Portrait Mode
3.10.
10. Portrait video mode
3.11.
11. Pro video mode
3.12.
12. Super Slow Motion
3.13.
13. Slow mode
3.14.
14. Hyper Lapse Mode
3.15.
15. Director's View Mode
What are the Galaxy S21 camera modes? why do you need it?
By default, when you
open the Camera app
on the Galaxy S21 since
homepage
Where
lock Screen
, you are in Photo (Auto) mode. Of course, you can set it to the
last used camera mode
in
Galaxy S21 Camera Settings
.
Please note that you can also use
Galaxy S21 Camera Quick Launch
to start the Camera application without unlocking the phone.
In most scenarios, the default photo mode (or video mode for videos) is sufficient. You simply turn on the camera and take photos or record videos.
But sometimes on special occasions you may need other Galaxy S21 camera modes, for example,
You want to take photos at night under the sky.
You want to blur the background to keep the person in focus.
You want to take pictures of children at a sporting event.< /p>
You want to save the
RAW files
so that you can edit the photos with professional tools/apps.
You want to take one
panoramic picture
.
You want to shoot videos in slow motion or super slow motion.
You want to check and switch multiple cameras while recording a video.
A Galaxy S21 camera mode is just a collection of preset configurations optimized for a specific scene.
So when you switch camera modes, you apply a new set of settings and a new camera algorithm. You can capture the scene better if the new camera mode is suitable for the scene.
By default, there are 15 Galaxy S21 camera modes:
Photo mode (default). p>
Video.
Single take mode.
AR Doodle mode.
Pro mode (for rear camera only).
Panorama mode (for rear camera only).
Food mode (for rear camera only).
Night mode.
Portrait mode.
Portrait video mode.
Pro video mode (for rear camera only).
Super slow motion mode (for rear camera only).
Slow mode
Hyperlapse mode.
Director's view mode (for rear camera only)
We'll explain them one by one (read on) after exploring how to manage Galaxy S21 camera modes so you can quickly access frequently used modes.
How to manage Galaxy S21 camera modes?
By default, on the camera app preview screen
Galaxy S21
, there are 4 buttons on the
camera modes region
, as shown in the screenshot below.
One take.
Photo.
Video.
More.
Please note, when you rotate the phone, the preview screen rotates except for the icons. In other words, the camera modes region is always positioned there. The orientation of the icon and text also does not change.
You can press one of the mode buttons to switch to that camera mode.
To see all the camera modes available on the Galaxy S21, you need to press the button
More
, as shown in the screenshot below.
Now, on the camera modes page, you can find all the available Galaxy S21 Camera Modes as shown in the screenshot above.
As mentioned, there are a total of 15 Galaxy S21 camera modes (including those on the preview screen) on your Galaxy S21.
< p>You can also find two shortcuts for Bixby Vision and AR Zone apps respectively. These two apps, which are not part of the camera app, can be launched outside of the camera app.Unfortunately, you cannot remove these two shortcuts from the camera mode page.
Most Galaxy S21 owners might want to add a few camera modes to the camera modes area on the preview screen and rearrange the mode order.
You can press the
+p>
, as shown in the screenshot above, to add, remove, or move camera modes to the camera modes area (on the preview screen) or the camera modes page camera.
After tapping the + button, you can then long-press any camera mode and then drag it to your desired location.
For example, you want to add Pro Mode to the preview screen so you can use it quickly without hitting the Plus Button.
Press and hold on Pro Mode as shown in the screenshot below. You can drag it on the screen and drop it wherever you want.
In this example, since you want to use Pro Mode directly on the preview screen, you need to drop it to the location aligned with Photo (and Video), as shown in the screenshot above.
When you drop out of Pro mode, you can choose any slot. You can choose the position, for example, directly to the video. as shown below.
You can keep adding other Galaxy S21 camera modes to the row (thus preview screen) for quick access if you want.
You can also remove any camera modes from the line except Photo and Video modes.
These two modes cannot be removed from the preview screen
. So both will be greyed out when you can move the camera modes.
Once you are done adding, deleting or moving camera modes, you MUST press
Record
as shown in the screenshot below.
Otherwise, all changes will be discarded.
As shown in the screenshot above, the Pro mode can be accessed in the preview screen directly.
You can manage other Galaxy S21 camera modes by following a similar procedure.
All Galaxy S21 camera modes explained
In this part, we will explore the meaning and use of all the Galaxy S21 camera modes.
1. Photo mode (automatic mode; default)
Photo tethering, aka auto mode, is the default camera mode of the Galaxy S21.
In photo mode (automatic mode), the Galaxy S21 will try to make the camera perfect for everyday occasions.
Galaxy S21 will also apply
the scene optimizer
automatically unless you turn it off. This Galaxy S21 camera mode is also compatible with most
Galaxy S21 camera settings
.
In short, if you are unsure, you should try Photo Mode first.
2. Video mode
Video mode is the Galaxy S21's default camera mode for recording videos.
It is similar to photo mode for photos. Some optimized settings will be applied automatically for recorded videos.
When using the front camera to record videos, you can choose to use mirrored or non-mirrored video
Galaxy S21 Camera Settings
.
3. Single shot mode
Single Take Mode was first introduced in the Galaxy S20 and is one of the flagship features of the Galaxy S20 as explained
here
in detail. It helps you to take different photos and videos with the captured scenes in maximum 10 seconds.
Galaxy S21 apparently improves the
AI
technology used in the single take mode.
You can now choose up to 6 types of shots simultaneously, in addition to normal photos and videos,
Portraits.
Filtered photos.
Filtered videos.
Highlight videos.
Speed effect clips.
Wide/cropped shots.
So it can save more than 10 photos and videos for one shot. Of course, you can choose to delete any of them individually.
4. AR Doodle Mode
AR Doodle mode allows you to add your drawings or texts on the video (or image).
You can use your finger to draw with different pen styles and colors on the stage. You can also grab text and place it anywhere on the Stage.
The
augmented reality technology
(AR) camera used in this Galaxy S21 mode allows doodles to follow faces and objects and therefore can move with them when you change the focus.
The front camera only supports face doodles.
Please refer to this guide (coming soon) on how to use AR Doodle on Galaxy S21.
5. Pro mode (for rear camera only)
Galaxy S21 Pro mode lets you adjust all aspects of photography. And photos taken in Pro mode can be saved to the
RAW format
so you can use many pro photography apps to process them further.
You can play with the
ISO
,
opening
,
shutter speed
,
white balance
,
autofocus,
exposure
, and many other professional photographers settings.
You can consult
this guide
on how to use Pro mode on Galaxy S21, S20, S10 and S9.
6. Panorama mode (for rear camera only)
Galaxy S21's panorama mode lets you combine all 360° scenes into a single panoramic photo.
In panorama mode, there will be an alignment box to help you keep the scene aligned. You then slowly move the Galaxy S21 in one direction.
7. Food mode (for rear camera only)
Galaxy S21's food mode helps you take pictures of food by automatically adjusting the colors of the food in the frame to make it more vivid and blurring the background to highlight it.< /p>
When using the Galaxy S21's Food Mode, you have two additional options:
Color temperature
. This Galaxy S21 camera mode always adjusts the color temperature automatically. If you wish, you can use this option to override the default settings.
Radial Blur
. Galaxy S21 Food mode applies radial blur to highlight the targeted food. By default, the focus is always in the center. You can adjust the location and size of the targeted area.
8. Night mode.
Samsung has removed Night Mode in Android Oreo and instructed owners to use Photo Mode (Auto Mode) for such scenarios.
But it didn't work well. So in Android 9 and 10 updates,
Samsung added night mode
for low light conditions.
The Galaxy S21 camera night mode automatically turns off the flash. You cannot use the flash in this Galaxy S21 camera mode.
So if you want to use the flash for a night scene, you can use Auto mode and turn on the flash.
Galaxy S21 night mode requires you to hold the camera steady. Most of the time, it takes at least 2-5 seconds to take the picture. The time required will be displayed on the screen.
Either way, it's recommended to use a tripod if you need to take a lot of night shots.
9. Portrait Mode
Galaxy S21 Portrait mode is a renamed live focus mode (like in Galaxy S20) with more bokeh effects. You can use this Galaxy S21 camera mode to take photos with adjustable depth of field.
You can use Galaxy S21 Portrait mode on both front and back cameras.
Please note that you can still change the background blur effects in the Gallery app if the photo is taken in portrait mode.
10. Portrait video mode
You can also use portrait mode for videos if you change the Galaxy S21 camera mode to portrait video mode.
Compared to portrait mode, Galaxy S21 portrait video mode lacks studio and backdrop effects.
11. Pro Video Mode
As mentioned earlier, in the Pro mode of the Galaxy S21 camera, you get a lot of professional photography settings, e.g. ISO, aperture, shutter speed, white balance, autofocus, exposure, zoom level .< /p>
In addition to these image-related settings, the Galaxy S21 Pro's video mode also offers microphone source options, including:
Omni
. Audios from all directions will be captured.
Before
. The sound from the front (object side) will be captured. The sound from the rear (camera side) will be muted.
Back
. The sound from the rear side will be captured.
USB
. The audio input from the USB source will be used.
Bluetooth
. Galaxy S21 Pro video mode can also use Bluetooth mic input
BT-Mix
. You can also choose to mix the mic input of Bluetooth headphones (eg Galaxy Buds Pro) with others.
Please note that the Galaxy S21 does not have a dedicated microphone
zoom-in< /p>
. It uses its 3 microphones (
2 up
, and
one down
, as explained on the < /p>
Galaxy S21 layout page
e) to identify the sound source.
12. Super Slow Motion
Samsung has introduced super slow motion mode
in the Galaxy S9
. And it has improved slightly over the years.
But on the Galaxy S21, the super slow motion mode is a bit confusing. Samsung has recalled some features.
On Galaxy S21 and S21+, super slow motion mode lets you record 720p video at 960
fps
for up to 0.5 seconds (instead of 1 second on Galaxy S20 phones). The Galaxy S21 Ultra lets you shoot 720p video for up to 1 second, but only at 480 fps. The final 960fps video was “digitally enhanced” from the raw 480fps video.
13. Slow mode
The Galaxy S21's slow motion mode allows you to record Full HD videos (
1080p
) to
240fps< /p>
. You cannot change the resolution or frame rate.
If you need a higher frame rate, you can use the
super slow motion
, which can record HD video (
720p
) to
960fps
for 0.5 seconds (for Galaxy S21 and S21+ or 1 second for Galaxy S21 Ultra), as explained above.
When using Video mode on the Galaxy S21, you can choose:
30 or 60 fps for FHD (1080p) and 4K UHD (2160p) videos
.
24fps only for 8K UHD video (4230p)
.
30fps only for HD videos (720p)< /p>
.
Please note that only the rear camera can record 8K videos.
14. Hyperlapse mode
Hyperlapse camera mode has been
introduced in the Galaxy S7
. There have been some incremental improvements over the years for this camera mode.
Galaxy S21's Hyperlapse mode lets you create your own
time lapse video
. The Galaxy S21 records the scene at different frame rates (time-lapse speed) and is able to adjust them automatically to create impressive time-lapse videos.
15. Director View Mode
Director's view mode is one of the most important new features
of the Galaxy S21
.
This Galaxy S21 camera mode allows you to record videos from different angles by switching cameras.
You can also view scenes from each camera using thumbnails and edit scenes by tapping thumbnails while recording video.
Please check this guide (coming soon) on how to use Director View Mode on Galaxy S21.
Do you have any questions about the Galaxy S21 camera modes on the Galaxy S21, S21+, and S21 Ultra?
< p>If you have any questions about the Galaxy S21 camera modes on the Galaxy S21, S21+, and S21 Ultra, please let us know in the comments.The community will help you.
You can also share your thoughts on Galaxy S21 vs Galaxy S21+ vs Galaxy S21 Ultra in the comment box.
If you have any questions about how to use the Galaxy S21, you can check out our step-by-step detailed Galaxy S21. guides:
Galaxy S21 New Features Guides
.
Galaxy S21h How To Guides
.
Galaxy S21 Camera Guides
.
Galaxy S21 Accessory Guides
.
You can also post questions or share your thoughts on our
Facebook page
.
Official Samsung Galaxy S21 User Manual (PDF) in your local language can be read and downloaded
here
.
If you wish, you can send us an e-mail on the
contact us page
.
Enjoy your Galaxy S21.
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