Samsung’s best phone just got the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s best feature for free

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Samsung has today given the Galaxy Z Fold 4 a hot new photography feature that will make it even better at taking photos of the night sky.

The feature, called astrophotography mode, comes from the very top of Samsung’s phone lineup in the shape of the Galaxy S23 series of phones. It allows devices to take detailed photos of the night sky in a way that isn’t normally possible all while creating some truly impressive images. Now, that same feature is available to Galaxy Z Fold 4 owners.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 - Image source: samsung.com

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 – Image source: samsung.com

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Samsung had previously said that it intended to roll the feature out to people who owned non-Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S22 devices and now it’s made good on that promise. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 isn’t the only model that’s in on the act either, with the Galaxy S20 series, Galaxy Note 20, and Galaxy Note 20 Ultra all also able to enjoy the new astrophotography capabilities. All of the Galaxy Z Fold phones except the very first will also get the same feature, as will the Galaxy S21 which means there are plenty of phones out there that can now take some stunning photos of the moon.

The astrophotography mode is made available thanks to an updated Expert RAW app that can now be downloaded from the Galaxy Store. The app can also note your location and then give you tips on where you should be looking for specific constellations. What’s more, it can then take long-exposure shots to help you capture as much light as possible for even better shots. Those photos can go up to 10 minutes in terms of exposure, something helped by the fact the Galaxy Z Fold 4 can actually prop itself up, removing the need for a dedicated tripod.

Those who have a Galaxy Z Fold 4 can now download the updated Expert RAW app and we’d definitely suggest that you do that before it next gets dark. Once the app is downloaded and installed actually taking shots using the astrophotography mode is a simple case of tapping the final button in the top-right corner of the viewfinder.

This new update comes as Samsung continues to work on getting the Galaxy Z Fold 5 ready, with the phone likely to be announced alongside its flip-based cousin as soon as July 2023. Samsung’s phones are far from the only foldable on the way, with Google expected to announce the Pixel Fold on May 20 during its annual developer conference.

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Astrophotography brings out passion and a feeling of permanence for this Colorado Springs woman

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Storing telescopes, mounts, tripods and cameras inside their home, the couple takes out all the heavy equipment to their backyard to try and capture an element in our universe not seen by the naked eye. This method of photography is called astrophotography — it goes beyond landscape photography to use a combination of lenses, computers and telescopes to capture a moment in deep space.  

You can go out in the summer and set up a tripod and a camera and a wide angle lens and do a long exposure … and get to see the stars in the Milky Way in the core and some beautiful details of the sky,” Marcus explained. “I would say the biggest difference between that and deep space astrophotography is with deep space astrophotography, you’re looking way closer in on a target.” 

To do that, Marcus and Miles must understand and keep track of what is happening in the sky above and when. Then given those parameters, they pick a target or two for the night, set up their equipment to get it polar aligned and then take long-exposure pictures for as long as possible — often lasting throughout the whole night.  

The idea is to capture a series of long-exposure images, which invite more light into the lens, to gather as much visual data as possible. Marcus and Miles’ equipment keeps them on the target throughout the night as the subject moves across the sky. The series of photos, which will be later layered on top of each other, add more detail to the image.  

As one might imagine, this hobby isn’t best served by partial commitment.  

“If you meet anybody in the astro[photography] community, they’re going to talk about the time that they spent on this,” said Marcus with a smile.  

On top of the time it takes to capture the images overnight, it takes about an hour to set up the equipment and a little bit less than that to take it down. While a lot of technology helps Marcus and Miles, they still must constantly check on the equipment throughout the night.  

“We got up to the observatory property last Friday night at about 7:00 and we left the next morning at 7:30. So, we were there for 12 and a half hours,” said Marcus.  

Marcus and Miles often take the deep space photos from just their backyard, but they also have connected with a person who has an observatory near Florissant, about 11 miles west of Pikes Peak. There they have access to power to operate their equipment, and it’s under a dark sky protected area and at high elevation. These conditions give Marcus and Miles an even better chance of capturing the beauty of the stars above.  

“When I go to a dark sky and I look up and I see these things, these stars, these brighter stars, it’s like I reaffirm that they’re still there as am I. Me and the universe, we’re on the same terms,” said Marcus.  

When Marcus returns to inside her home, she then has the immense task of stacking the images and pulling out the beauty from them. A single image can look like a smattering of stars, but as she is able to put several images together, nebulas, galaxies and other targets really start to take shape.  



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