Who uses the volume button as a dedicated shutter button when taking pics?

primetimelive · Nov 15, 2013

I've always found the on screen shutter button to be cumbersome when taking pictures and longed for phones that have dedicated shutter buttons. Since I'm a big fan of the Nexus line of phones, having a dedicated shutter button on the top right while holding the phone in landscape was a long shot.

Playing around with the Nexus 5 the past few days has opened up the possibilities of having a dedicated shutter button on the phone. Yeah, the volume button is on the lower left when holding the phone in landscape mode for pics, but I find it to be way better than tapping on that blue on screen button. Seems to be very ergonomic and in line with how the phone should be used when taking photos.

Do you guys use the volume button when taking photos or do you just use the on screen button?

Try using the volume button when taking photos with your Nexus 5. You might just like it

bblzd · Nov 15, 2013

I actually hit it accidentally with my thumb trying to take a picture one time. Pleasantly surprised. :good:

jbdan · Nov 15, 2013

Love this! Didn't even know

Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

cooooooop · Nov 15, 2013

News to me, thanks for pointing this feature out, this is really useful. Makes me wonder if some of the poor reviews of the camera's inability to focus quickly enough might have been mitigated by this knowledge.

primetimelive · Nov 15, 2013

cooooooop said:
News to me, thanks for pointing this feature out, this is really useful. Makes me wonder if some of the poor reviews of the camera's inability to focus quickly enough might have been mitigated by this knowledge.

I find that it still takes a while to focus. However it makes it so that the phone is a little bit more stable since you have two hands supporting the phone as you would as if you were holding a camera.

Stable phone = better pics

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

EddyOS · Nov 15, 2013

primetimelive said:
Yeah, the volume button is on the lower left when holding the phone in landscape mode for pics, but I find it to be way better than tapping on that blue on screen button.

Rotate the phone the other way, it's now on the top-right!

primetimelive · Nov 15, 2013

EddyOS said:
Rotate the phone the other way, it's now on the top-right!

LOL but then the Nexus logo on the back is upside down! How will people know that I'm taking their pic with a Nexus phone? j/k

Scottland · Nov 15, 2013

cooooooop said:
News to me, thanks for pointing this feature out, this is really useful. Makes me wonder if some of the poor reviews of the camera's inability to focus quickly enough might have been mitigated by this knowledge.

Not really, pressing the volume button instead of the on screen shutter triggers the same action. The focus issues seem software related so should be fixed in a future release hopefully...

skippa · Nov 15, 2013

Thanks for the heads up on this. didnt know you could do this!!

primetimelive · Nov 15, 2013

skippa said:
Thanks for the heads up on this. didnt know you could do this!!

No problem. I actually thought it was widely known. I just wanted to see if people use it a lot.

I had a Galaxy Nexus before the 5 and I would use the volume button as a shutter on occasion. However the volume button on the GNex is situated lower and isn't too ergonomic when for taking pics. The Nexus 5 on the other hand, seems to be more suited to have the volume button as the shutter since the volume buttons are at the right place for your fingers when you're holding the phone as a camera.

I wonder if the designers took this into consideration when they designed the phone.

wyrman · Nov 15, 2013

So hows this give us better pictures. I'm not into cameras as you can see.

jbdan · Nov 15, 2013

wyrman said:
So hows this give us better pictures. I'm not into cameras as you can see.

It may not. Try it and see

mattcoz · Nov 15, 2013

EddyOS said:
Rotate the phone the other way, it's now on the top-right!

But, the way I hold it, my finger then covers the lens. Also, it ends up displaying a black bar on the left side, very weird. Why doesn't the camera user immersive mode?

I usually use the on screen button, since I'm often touching the screen to focus anyway.

doubleatheman · Nov 15, 2013

bblzd said:
I actually hit it accidentally with my thumb trying to take a picture one time. Pleasantly surprised. :good:

That's how I found this feature too.. Lol.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app

flonker · Nov 16, 2013

In a perfect world:

Volume rocker - zoom in/out
Power button - shutter

Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

bleuiko · Nov 16, 2013

Omg i didn't know.

dastinger · Feb 21, 2014

flonker said:
In a perfect world:

Volume rocker - zoom in/out
Power button - shutter

Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

I know this is an old thread but I didn't feel like opening a new one just for this.

Is there any way to do this? Maybe an Xposed Module?

Neverendingxsin · Feb 21, 2014

I didn't even know this was possible until now

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

simms22 · Feb 22, 2014

i use the volume keys to shoot photos only if im shooting with one hand, like for this shot..

Gatz · Mar 13, 2014

Volume rocker is great when taking a picture of yourself, or in every situation where you don't really know where you are tapping :good:

Who uses the volume button as a dedicated shutter button when taking pics?

Which shutter button do you use when taking pics?

Onscreen shutter button

Volume button as a shutter

I don't like taking pictures with my phone

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