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

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra (which is officially on sale, along with the rest of Galaxy S21 line), already have proven to pack a formidable camera, full of features to help newbies and professionals take brilliant photos when out and about. It is not a dramatic review of the Galaxy S20 Ultra, with title specifications like the 108 megapixel sensor and 100x zoom being common on both phones. But there are some new tricks to know.

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

Single shot

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

It was a feature launched in Galaxy S20, but has been expanded to produce even more effects. It looks complex, but using it is very simple. To begin, tap Single Shot camera mode on the mode dial next to the shutter button. So, all you have to do is touch the shutter button and wait for the 10 seconds it takes to capture everything. The idea is that you move, perhaps 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 is done, you can go to the gallery and find your Single Take file and swipe up to see the different items produced. There will be still images, different video clips, GIFs – all with applied effects. 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, a 10x optical zoom and can take images with digital zoom up to 30x and 100x. Using them is very easy. In standard camera mode, you will see small leaf icons next to the shutter button. A single sheet means to zoom in (ie, get closer to the sheet); the three-leaf icon means using the super wide-angle lens (that is, capturing more leaves in a photo). Touching the icons will quickly take you to 3x or 10x zooms, but you can also touch the numbers that appear next to them.

It works the same way if you are zooming in when taking a photo or if you are recording a video.

Night mode

The proper night mode on the S21 Ultra can be frustrating to find out if you’re new to the phone and may not even know it’s there at first. The phone can take great images in low light in its standard camera mode, but when things get really dark, go to More in the mode panel next to the shutter button and you’ll see a wide 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 for several seconds to capture more light. While you use image stabilization to keep your photo as sharp as possible, you can help further by keeping your hand as steady as possible, or even better by stabilizing your hands on a nearby wall or other object to minimize shaking.

Director’s View

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

The Director’s View has an additional feature, however, that allows you to record video with the front and rear cameras simultaneously. The idea is that you can shoot a scene in front of you and, at the same time, capture your own reaction to it. When in the Director’s View, you will see a square box in the upper right corner of the screen (when held in portrait orientation, or in the upper left corner if kept in landscape). Touching it will allow you to select how you want your front video to be displayed; as a split-screen display, where your face takes up half the screen, or as an image style in a smaller image, where you appear as a small window overlaid on the main display.

Touching any one of them will bring your face into the image and hitting the record will allow you to capture video with both sides at the same time. However, remember that the phone permanently merges the two videos into a single file, so do not film with the front and rear cameras at the same time, hoping to separate them into individual videos later.

108 megapixel images

The 108 megapixel resolution of the camera’s main sensor is huge, and although it has the same resolution as the S20 Ultra, it received some software tweaks to improve it, so it’s worth checking out if you haven’t already. To activate it, start in standard camera mode and you will see some icons at the top of the screen (or on the left, if you are holding in landscape mode), one of which will be for aspect ratio and will be indicated with numbers like 3: 4, 1: 1 or Full.

Touch it and you will see the 3: 4 108 MP option. Touching it will activate the high resolution mode, but keep in mind that with that active you will not be able to use any of the zoom lenses, as it depends only on the main camera’s image sensor.

12 bit raw

Samsung apparently gave the S21 Ultra a boost in its 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 photo later. Raw files are normally used by professional photographers who want maximum control and quality of their images.

The 12-bit raw files, in theory, capture a more dynamic range, which means more details in highlights and shadows. Maybe it’s a professional resource, so it’s not surprising that More and then activate the Pro mode. This will open all manual exposure, white balance and auto focus settings, so it’s only worth experimenting with if you’re confident with your photography knowledge. However, activating raw mode takes an additional step; tap the settings gear, go to Advanced format and options and call RAW copies, which will allow the phone to obtain 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 low on space, make sure you haven’t left this mode on and accidentally fill your gallery with raw image resolution of your pet. Unless you like it.