Galaxy S21 Ultra: All the new camera tricks (and how to use them)
Andrew Hoyle/CNETThe Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra has an incredible camera that's one of the best you'll find on any of today's high-end phones. He is able to take...
29/09/2021
Andrew Hoyle/CNET
The Samsung
Galaxy S21 Ultra
has
an amazing camera
it's one of the best you'll find on any of today's high-end phones. It is capable of taking great pictures magnified and
to compete with the iPhone 12 Pro Max
in its overall image quality. It's packed with great features to help both novices and pros take brilliant photos on the go. While this may not be a radical overhaul of the
Galaxy S20 Ultra
(with key features such as the 108MP sensor and 100x zoom common to both
< p>phones), there are a few new tricks to know.
Read more:
Samsung's Galaxy S21 is the no-fuss upgrade phone p>
Let's dive in to see what the new features are and how to use them.
Andrew Hoyle/CNET
Single Take
Single Take 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. Its aim is to allow you to capture a variety of interesting photos and videos of, say, your child unwrapping a birthday present, without having to decide in advance on a style, zoom or image. a particular filter.
It was a feature launched on the
Galaxy S20
, but it has been extended to produce even more effects. It looks complex, but its use is very simple. To get started, tap the Single Take camera mode in the mode dial next to the shutter button. Then all you have to do is press 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 the phone has more hardware to work with to create all the different options for you.
Andrew Hoyle/CNET
Once done, you can go to the gallery and find your Single Take file and swipe up to see the different items it 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 your friends and family.
Andrew Hoyle/CNET
Using Zoom
The S21 Ultra has 3x optical zoom, 10x optical zoom and can take digitally zoomed images up to 30x and 100x. Their use is extremely simple. In standard camera mode, you'll see little leaf icons next to the shutter button. A single sheet means to zoom in (i.e. get closer to the sheet); the icon with three leaves means to use the super wide lens (i.e. capture more leaves in one shot). Tapping the icons will quickly get you 3x or 10x zooms, but you can also tap the numbers that appear next to them.
It works the same whether you zoom when taking a still image or recording a video.
Andrew Hoyle/CNET
night mode
The proper night mode on the S21 Ultra can be frustrating to find if you're new to the phone and you might not even know it's there at first. The phone can take great low-light images in its standard camera mode, but when things get really dark, scroll down to
More
on the mode panel next to the shutter button and you'll see a whole 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 an image over several seconds in order to capture more light. Although it uses image stabilization to keep the shot as sharp as possible, you can help it more by keeping one hand as steady as possible, or even better by steadying your hands on a wall or other nearby object. to minimize hand tremors.
Andrew Hoyle/CNET
Director's View
A new feature for the S21, Director's View is a video feature that shows you thumbnails of the scene you're shooting. looks like using the different zoom lenses. You'll find it in the same menu screen as Night mode (press
More
on the mode dial). Once there, you will instantly see the different thumbnails and can tap on them to start recording the video in each zoom length.
The director's view has an additional feature, however, which 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. In Director's View mode, you will see a square box at the top right of the screen (in portrait mode or top left in landscape mode). By tapping on it, you will be able to select the display mode of your video from the front; like a split-screen view where your face takes up half the screen, or like a smaller picture-in-picture style, where you appear as a small window overlaid on the main view.
Andrew Hoyle/CNET
By tapping on any of these, your face will appear in the image, and by tapping on record, you can capture video from both sides at once. Remember though that the phone permanently merges the two videos into a single file, so don't shoot with the front and rear cameras at the same time hoping to separate them into individual videos later.
Andrew Hoyle/CNET
108 megapixel images
The 108-megapixel resolution of the main camera sensor is huge and although it's the same resolution as the S20 Ultra, it's received some software tweaks to improve it, so it's worth a shot to check if it is not already done. To turn it on, start in standard camera mode and you'll see a few icons at the top of the screen (or left, if you're holding it in landscape mode), one of which will be for the aspect ratio and will say by numbers such as
3:4
,
1:1
Where
Full
.
Tap on it and you will see the option
3:4 108MP
. Tap on it to enable high-res mode, but keep in mind that with this active you won't be able to use any of the zoom lenses as it relies solely on the main camera's image sensor.
Andrew Hoyle/CNET
12-bit Raw
Samsung has apparently given the S21 Ultra a boost in its raw shooting skills with support for 12-bit raw files. Raw files are essentially "digital negatives" that do not save information such as white balance or digital sharpness, providing a better base image for editing the shot later. Raw files are typically used by professional photographers who want the best control and quality of their images.
Brett Pearce/CNET
12-bit raw files, in theory, capture more dynamic range which means more detail in highlights and shadows. This may be a pro feature, so it's no surprise you need to access
More
then activate the
Pro
< p> fashion. This will bring up all the manual settings for exposure, white balance and autofocus, so it's only worth experimenting if you're confident in your photography knowledge. Enabling raw mode takes an extra step though; tap the settings cog, go toFormat and advanced options
and activate
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 a lot more space than JPEG images, so if you're running out of space, make sure you haven't left this mode on and accidentally filling up your gallery with images. high resolution raw images of your pet. Unless that's what you like.
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