dual aperture

How to use Galaxy S9 camera Pro Mode on Galaxy S9 and S9+?

Everything about Samsung camera Pro mode on Galaxy S9, S9+, S8, S8+, S7, S7 edge, Note 9 and Note 8.

Galaxy S9 camera Pro mode gives you full control of your shootings: ISO, aperture, shutter speed, autofocus mode, filters, white balance, and exposure. If you properly use the Galaxy S9 camera Pro mode, you may get far better pictures than using the Auto mode (default).

But for many users without photographic backgrounds, sometimes, it is overwhelming to adjust the settings for Galaxy S9 camera Pro mode to get the desired photos.

This Galaxy S9 camera guide explains the what Galaxy S9 camera Pro mode is, when you may need it, and all settings for Galaxy S9 camera Pro mode.

Please note, Galaxy S8, S8+, Note 8 and Note 9 have a similar Pro mode to that on Galaxy S9 and S9+. So, this guide also applies to the Pro mode in these Samsung phones.

What’s Galaxy S9 camera Pro mode? When do you need it?

In the old days, smartphone cameras are usually inferior to many middle-range (sometimes, even entry-level) point-and-shoot cameras. And it is impossible to compare them to DSLRs.

But in recent years, with the advances in camera sensor technology and software, more and more high-end smartphones can replace middle-range point-and-shoot cameras. Some Android phone vendors started to offer some photographic features that used to be exclusive in DSLR cameras

Since Galaxy S6, Samsung has included the Pro mode in many of its phones. But the quality of photos taken in the Pro mode depends on the phone hardware and software.

With Galaxy S9 camera Pro mode, some users now can easily get many far better photos than in the Auto mode.

Galaxy S9 camera Pro mode allows you:

Adjust the ISO value
Adjust the aperture to use the dual apertures as explained in this guide.
Adjust the shutter speed.
Adjust the autofocus mode.
Choose camera filters.
Adjust the white balance.
Adjust exposure compensation.
Save photos in RAW format.

You may want to try the Pro mode whenever you are not satisfied with photos taken in the Auto mode or other camera modes.

For example, in the low-light conditions, you may play with the ISO value and shutter speed to get less noisy photos in Pro mode. The Auto mode in this situation sometimes works well; sometimes not.

Or, if the lighting conditions vary dramatically in different parts of the photo, you can choose the proper ISO value, shutter speed, white balance, … Read the rest

How to use dual aperture to manually switch Galaxy S9 camera aperture in Pro mode?

Dual aperture allows you to switch the aperture between f/1.5 and f/2.4 for the rear camera in Galaxy S9 and S9+.

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Dual aperture, which allows the system to choose the suitable Galaxy S9 camera aperture depending on lighting conditions, is one of the significant improvements in Galaxy S9 (and S9+) camera compared to previous Galaxy phones.

However, in most camera modes, choosing Galaxy S9 camera aperture will be done automatically, and therefore you cannot manually select one of the two apertures.

The Pro mode is an exception, which allows you to manually choose Galaxy S9 camera aperture.

This Galaxy S9 camera guide explains dual aperture feature in Galaxy S9 and shows you how to manually choose Galaxy S9 camera aperture in the Pro mode.

What does dual aperture mean for Galaxy S9 camera aperture?

In photography, aperture, which controls how collimated the admitted rays are, is one of the three legs of the exposure triangle.

Photographers use the combinations of aperture, ISO and shutter speed to get desired photos for various scenarios.

In most digital cameras or more expensive DSLRs, you usually have a certain level of control of the aperture.

But in smartphones, due to the compact size, the aperture of the camera lens is usually fixed. Therefore, the camera app can control exposure through ISO and shutter speed.

Samsung introduced the dual aperture in the real camera od Galaxy S9 and S9+ so that the system can adjust the aperture based on lighting conditions.

Galaxy S9 and S9+ camera only supports two discrete apertures f/1.5 and f/2.4. The system cannot set an aperture between these two values.

Typically, when ambient is very dark (in the night), the system will set the aperture to f/1.5. This allows more light to pass through the lens to get brighter photos.

When the ambient is very bright (e.g., under the sun), the aperture will be set at f/2.4. The photo will generally look more crispy than using f/1.5

How to use dual aperture to switch Galaxy S9 camera aperture manually?

Although dual aperture is a good feature for the rear camera, Samsung does not want you to mess up Galaxy S9 camera aperture. Therefore, aperture switching was programmed as an automatic Galaxy S9 camera feature.

In other words, it does not allow you to manually switch the Galaxy S9 camera aperture in most Galaxy S9 camera modes.

The only exception is the Pro mode, which allows you to control almost all aspects of the camera settings manually.

Please note, Pro mode is … Read the rest

How to use Galaxy S9 camera app?

Get to know the new Galaxy S9 camera app interface

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As explained in the new features of Galaxy S9 and S9+, the camera in both phones was significantly improved with an updated Galaxy S9 camera app.

Samsung revamped the user interface of Galaxy S9 camera app to make it more user-friendly (arguably) with different ways to access Galaxy S9 camera modes and effects. This new Galaxy S9 camera app interface is different from that in Galaxy S8.

This Galaxy S9 camera guide explains the items in Galaxy S9 camera app user interface (UI) and how to use them.

How to access Galaxy S9 camera app?

There are at least 6 different ways to access Galaxy S9 camera app in Galaxy S9 and S9+:

Galaxy S9 camera quick launch;
App icon in Galaxy S9 lock screen;
App icon in Galaxy S9 Home screen;
App icon in Galaxy S9 Apps screen;
Bixby voice command;
Google Assistant voice command.

You can also access the camera app from Galaxy S9 edge screen.

Although the identical Galaxy S9 camera app will be used, there are some restrictions if you access the camera without unlocking Galaxy S9 or S9+.

How to use Galaxy S9 camera app?

By default, when you start the Galaxy S9 camera, the Auto mode is activated as shown below.

In the Auto mode, in addition to the navigation bar in the bottom, you can find at least 11 items as marked in the screenshot:

Shutter button.
Video recording button.
Shortcut to Gallery app.
Galaxy S9 camera modes.
Switch between two rear cameras (Galaxy S9+ only).
Bixby vision.
Galaxy S9 camera settings.
Full-screen view.
Turn on/off the flash.
Galaxy S9 camera effects.
Switch between front and rear cameras.

1. Galaxy S9 camera spp Shutter button

You can press this shutter button to take photos immediately.

If you tap and hold (long tap) the shutter button, the camera will take photos in burst mode.

Photos taken in Galaxy S9 burst mode will be always saved in the internal storage even you set photo location in the micro SD card.

2. Video recording button

You can tap the video recording button to record a video immediately.

You can also tap and hold the recording button to frame the video.

3. Shortcut to Gallery app

To the right of the shutter button, the shortcut to Gallery app allows you to access the Gallery app directly from … Read the rest

Top 10 new features of Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+

New features of Galaxy S9: Android Oreo, dual aperture camera, intelligent scan, positioning of fingerprint scanner, 960p slow motion, stereo speakers, latest processor, 64/128/256GB storage, new DeX pad, and AR emoji

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Samsung announced Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+, the 9th generation of Galaxy S phones, on February 25, 2018, in Barcelona, Spain, immediately ahead of MWC 2018. You may want to know the new features of Samsung Galaxy S9.

As in previous Galaxy S phones, Samsung staffed some new features of Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ to lure new customers and keep existing customers.

This post details the top 10 new features of Galaxy S9 and S9+ to help you decide whether Galaxy S9 or S9+ is the right phone for you.

#1. Android Oreo

Android Oreo is the latest Android OS.

Samsung packed Galaxy S9 and S9+ with Android Oreo 8.0 out of the box.

You can enjoy many new features and improvements of Android 8.0 in Galaxy S9 and S9+, although Samsung tweaks a lot of the stock Android.

For Galaxy S9 notification dots (notification number badge, app icon badges) on Galaxy S9 and S9+, you may check this guide.

#2. Dual-aperture in the main camera: one of the most welcomed new features of Samsung Galaxy S9

Samsung tried to direct your attention to one of the best new features in Galaxy S9 and S9+: the camera.

And the most prominent features of the Galaxy S9 camera is dual-aperture.

In Auto mode, the Galaxy S9 and S9+ main camera can switch between two apertures of f/2.4 (under normal lighting conditions) and f/1.5 (in low-light conditions) automatically.

In Pro mode, you can set the two apertures manually. Unfortunately, you cannot set anything in between.

Essentially, the dual-aperture camera makes it easier to capture good photos in low-light conditions.

Galaxy S9 and S9+ are the only smartphones in the market with such a feature.

You may check this guide on how to use the two apertures in Galaxy S9 and S9+.

#3. Intelligent scan

Iris scanner and face recognition is not new in Galaxy phones. You can enable either of them to unlock the phone in your Galaxy S8, S8+ or Note 8.

Both methods work well in contrast conditions: iris scanner does not work well under the sun ( or under intense light), and face recognition refuses to work in darkness.

In Galaxy S8 and Note 8, these two methods are mutually exclusive: you can only enable one of them.

As another one of the top new features of Galaxy S9 and S9+, these two methods … Read the rest