Lesson 1: Taking Photos and Videos – Camera basics, zooming, filters

Camera Basics:

Smartphones of today have incorporated advanced features making it possible for people to capture and use good pictures and videos. iPhone and Android devices come with both rear and front cameras with different megapixels (from 12MP to 108MP in the latest models).

The camera apps are very easily understandable, and they do not require much time to switch between camera modes, that is between photo and video modes. Photographing is executed by pressing the shutter key and if set in video mode, then using the key to record a clip of a period of time selected.

Zooming:

By tapping on the image with two fingers or through the use of on screen controls, iPhones and Android Smartphone’s enable the zooming in or out on a subject.

iPhones have both digital and optical zoom depending on the model of the iPhone in question. For example, phones with 2 or 3 lenses that are on iPhone models enable optical zoom and all the models have digital zoom that can reduce the quality as you zoom deeper.

As for Androids, many of them also include digital and/or optical zoom and often the zooming principle might differ from that of the Samsung. Samsung or Google’s high-end Android models also provide features of increased zoom capabilities through the presence of multiple camera systems.

Filters:

They are integrated into the cameras of both iPhone and Android devices to apply enhancements to a photo or video on the spot. They modify certain parameters such as color balance, saturation, and contrast, to achieve certain effects.

For iPhone, when in the Camera app, after taking a photo, there is a strip at the bottom of the screen to swipe through presets as well as adjust them. Besides the capture of moments, the Photos app has other editing tools that may be used once a photo is obtained.

They are also found in the Camera application of any Android operating system. If one wants to apply other filters, they are available in the choice after a picture is taken and many Android models support application of third-party apps such as Instagram, Snapseed etc.