The neutral density filter is the great novelty of the Expert RAW app, one that is usually used in mirrorless cameras to take very special photos.
Just on the same day as the big update of Galaxy Enhanced-X, an application that has become a small photo studio thanks to AI , Samsung released another update for Expert RAW, another of its applications that carries the professional mode of the camera app to another level. One of its new features is the new neutral density filter that allows you to take long exposure photos like never before with a Galaxy.
This photography filter for a SLR camera usually costs between 19 and 79 euros depending on its quality, and what it does is control the amount of light that enters the camera . It is called this because it does not affect the chromatic quality of the images by filtering all colors equally.
And that is precisely what the filter in the Expert RAW app does, it respects the colors when taking the photo , since if it is not used they appear completely distorted. This is where the magic appears with the tutorial It must be made clear that this type of filters for SLR cameras can be used in extremely bright environments, but in this case, in a mobile phone like the Galaxy S23 Ultra, it is not recommended at all.
Yes, it does an exquisite job in night photos for those types of well-known photographs in which you can see the beams of light travel the length of streets and roads of a city like Madrid; the environment in which the photos that illustrate this tutorial are located.
How to use the neutral density filter
The steps to follow are very easy and you only need the Expert RAW app available for Samsung flagships. An app that also offers a great astrophotography mode to take great photos of the night sky . This is how to use this new mode available with the latest update from the Galaxy Store:
- Expert RAW is downloaded from the Galaxy Store .
- The app opens and at the top right click on the ND button .
- Now the ND filter appears right at the top: it is set to strength 16 or 32 .
- You have to modify the shooting speed (speed) to 4 seconds ; the time it will take to capture the image. The ISO in this case is 50 .
- Now you have to press the shutter button and hold the phone firmly for four seconds.
- Optional : use a mobile tripod to make the image as static as possible.
A recommendation is to do several tests with strength 16 or 32, as it depends on the lighting in the scene. In the case of the examples shown, the perspective used shows the buildings darker so that all the lighting is generated from the same avenues and their closest surroundings.
The other important point is the sharpness of the photographs, since if you do not have a good pulse, some will most likely come out out of focus. What is recommended is to rest the mobile phone on a surface so that the wobble that may be generated is as minimal as possible.
And finally, the photos that must be taken must always have moving objects , whether they are vehicles traveling on a road or street or someone doing a show in which they play with fire torches or simply some balls of light; This photograph will be in charge of portraying the beams of light that are formed in that movement.
A great filter for a type of photos that are very easy to take now with any of the Samsung flagships that have Expert RAW. Which by the way, is a mode that can also be accessed from the more tab in the camera app placed next to portrait, photo and video.
