Samsung Shutter Speed: Freeze Action, Shoot Light Trails

The longer the shutter speed, the more light will reach the sensor. Since recent Galaxy phones have a fixed aperture, shutter speed and ISO are the two exposure controls you can change in Pro mode.

Using a fast shutter speed can freeze motion in Galaxy photos, while using a slow shutter speed can introduce motion blur or light trails.

What shutter speed should I use on a Samsung phone?

The shutter speed you choose depends on the speed of your subject and whether you’re shooting handheld or with a tripod. To freeze fast-moving action, for example the swinging chair on a fairground ride, Nikon recommends a shutter speed of 1/500s. To freeze a child riding a bicycle, it suggests 1/250s. To turn the water in a small waterfall into a soft blur, Nikon recommends using a shutter speed of 2.5s. To get a similar effect, a smooth, white blur, on a different waterfall it recommends using 8s. On many phones the fastest shutter speed available in Pro mode will vary, but bear in mind that each step faster halves the amount of light that reaches the sensor, so you’ll need to compensate with either more light or an increase in ISO. On the latest flagship Galaxy phones you can choose shutter speeds as slow as 30s, which should be enough to capture all of the subjects below. Use the shutter speeds we’ve suggested as a starting point and fine-tune from there. Take a shot and adjust the shutter speed one step at a time. For more information about the other Pro mode settings, refer to our Pro mode guide.

How do I change shutter speed on a Samsung phone?

In Pro mode you can select the shutter speed manually. Here’s how, per Samsung’s guide: Open Camera. Tap the camera mode button at the bottom of the screen and choose Pro. Tap the shutter speed button and drag the slider to your desired setting (you’ll see changes to brightness in the preview). Samsung notes that ISO sensitivity won’t be able to remain set to Auto when you manually choose a shutter speed, and the exposure value will change accordingly. The maximum shutter speed that you can set on recent Galaxy flagship phones is 30 seconds (as SlashGear also points out, the longest available in Pro mode). On some Galaxy A and M series models it’s only 10 seconds or there’s no shutter speed setting at all, so check before you need it for a particularly tricky low-light situation. If you really need an exposure longer than 30 seconds, you’ll have to use a third-party camera app or take multiple shots and combine them in an image editor. If you plan to edit, set Pro mode to save RAW as well, so each Pro shot also saves a DNG file, which the RAW vs JPEG guide explains. On Samsung’s One UI 9 software and the Galaxy S26 series this is called the Pro mode picture format and can be found in Camera settings > Photo format (on One UI 7 it’s in Advanced picture options).

What is the slowest safe handheld shutter speed on a Galaxy?

The reciprocal rule, which Digital Photography School calls a starting point, says the slowest safe handheld shutter speed is one over the focal length. The table below shows the slowest shutter speed that’s safe for each of the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s cameras (according to GSMArena, they’re 13mm, 24mm, 67mm and 111mm equivalent, and you should use this number for the rule of thumb, even on a crop-sensor camera or a phone).

However, that’s only to avoid blur as a result of camera shake. If your subject is moving, you’ll need something quicker. And because all Galaxy S24 phones have optical image stabilisation, you should be able to use slower shutter speeds than those suggested, but the extent to which this is true will vary both from phone to phone and person to person. Try photographing a still life at 1/30s, 1/15s and 1/8s and enlarge each to see which is the slowest that produces acceptably sharp shots. You’ll probably find that you can get away with much slower shutter speeds on the three wider-angle cameras than on the 5x telephoto camera, though, so err on the side of caution (1/125s or quicker) with this one unless you’re using a tripod or other support.

Long exposures on a tripod

Long exposures (of one second or more) are great for smoothing waterfalls and capturing light trails from cars. Because the camera’s sensor is exposed to light for so long, any movement will be captured as well. Moving objects will appear as streaks of light or blurs. This means you want to keep your phone as still as possible. Even breathing on it during a five-second exposure will result in a blurry picture! Use a tripod or prop your phone up against a railing or wall, and use the camera’s built-in 2-second timer so you don’t shake the phone when you press the shutter. Long exposures are susceptible to digital noise, so choose the lowest possible ISO setting. For silky smooth waterfalls, try exposures of 1 to 4 seconds. This will give you smooth flowing water, while still retaining some texture. For light trails, wait until the sky has darkened and try exposures of 8 to 30 seconds. If it’s too bright to get a good long exposure, even at the lowest ISO, consider purchasing a clip-on neutral density (ND) filter, which will reduce the amount of light getting into your lens (perfect for shooting smooth waterfalls during the day). In our tripod guide we cover what to buy. In our northern lights guide we’ll be looking at how to shoot the night sky. Storing the values as a Pro mode preset means the camera will remember the tripod values for the next time you set it up for long exposures.

Light trails from a road bridge

A 10-second exposure will give two or three cars time to cross the image and will balance well with the last light in the sky if you shoot this about 30 minutes after sunset when the sky is still reasonably blue. Use a small tripod or balance the phone on the guardrail, as there's no way you'll hold it still enough for 10 seconds! Find a pedestrian bridge or other overpass above a busy road for easy light trails like this.

1. 1

   Open Pro mode and set ISO

   Noise accumulates during the entire length of time that the shutter is open for a long exposure, so use the lowest ISO setting available on your phone.

2. 2

   Set the shutter to 10 seconds

   About half an hour after sunset, 10 seconds will usually expose the sky and road nicely and pick up a couple of cars.

3. 3

   Set white balance to 4500K

   Headlights will appear more white instead of orange. It's a good compromise setting for streets with a mix of lighting.

4. 4

   Focus manually

   Autofocus may not perform well in low light and can result in inconsistent shots. Set your camera to manual focus. Use the focus slider and focus on something in the distance until lights appear as pinpoints.

5. 5

   Use the timer and wait for traffic

   Use the 2-second timer. Don’t stretch the exposure to 30 seconds (the sky gets too bright). If you want the trails to be thicker, try to shoot when there’s a good number of cars coming down the road.

If the headlights are reduced to indistinct blobs of white light in your fully zoomed-in first frame, then it’s still too bright for a ten-second exposure. Come back again in 15 minutes’ time, or shorten the exposure to four seconds and try a few more shots.

Fixing common shutter speed problems

Nikon’s camera manual lists 1/100s, 1/50s and 1/25s as flicker-free shutter speeds for 50Hz electric power and 1/125s, 1/60s and 1/30s for 60Hz. Shooting video follows a slightly different rule of thumb with shutter speed being set to approximately double the frame rate. This is covered in more detail in our cinematic video guide along with using ND filters to allow this in daylight. 500 divided by the focal length (in 35mm equivalent terms) is the so-called 500 rule to avoid star trails due to Earth’s rotation. With a 24mm focal length that would be exposures of about 20 seconds. AstroBackyard suggests starting a couple of stops faster than that for very high megapixel cameras.