It turns out that you can photograph the Milky Way with the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
May 1, 2020
John Aldred
John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter – and occasional beta tester – of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
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It usually takes a lot of specialised equipment to shoot good astrophotography. But it is something that some users are able to achieve with their smartphones, too. Of course, it depends on your own skill level, the apps you’re using, and the specific device on which you’re using them. But how does Samsung’s latest flagship, the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra stand up to this task?
That’s what photographer Brent Hall wanted to know, as he took his Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra and the Moment 18mm Wide Lens out into the New Mexico night to photograph the Milky Way. Actually, his results don’t look that bad at all – considering it’s a phone.
The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra hasn’t had the greatest start when it comes to its camera, receiving some criticism from DxOMark vs the competition. But Brent’s video shows that the S20 Ultra can indeed shoot some quite decent astrophotography and even capture the Milky Way. And he managed to do it all using the standard camera app that comes supplied with the phone in “Pro” mode – which opens up all of the manual exposure settings.
Sure, you’re not going to get the same kind of quality and detail that you’d get with a high-end DSLR or mirrorless camera, but Brent manages to get some impressive results out of that tiny smartphone sensor.
If you don’t have access to expensive camera gear (or the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra), but still want to give this a try with your own phone, Brent’s video offers a lot of great tips and advice to help you get started.
Have you shot the stars with your smartphone?
John Aldred
John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter – and occasional beta tester – of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
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4 responses to “It turns out that you can photograph the Milky Way with the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra”
I saw this first time with Xiaomi mi 4 like 5 years ago.
every “new” phone with google camera can do it.
Yep. pretty much every modern phone not made by Apple can do this out of the box with no other software.
Only the S20 Ultra can do this becaus of the 100+MP lens and Samsung’s unique Pro Mode.
From a different world than the simplistic far overrated cryphones.